Chapter 19
THE BRIDGE BENEATH the train connected two cliffs and was built to accommodate tracks in both directions. A vast river flowed through the valley below, fed by the distant and impossibly high waterfall.
The sky was clear, but the bridge was wet with mist from the waterfall. Mira ran over to the reformed demon and looked up.
“Urgent was right,” she mused.
Above the bridge, over a hundred Lesser Demons had gathered, along with a few higher ranked ones. Some were descending to land on the rails and fight with Wallenstein. Mira could see dozens had already been defeated. It looked like Wallenstein was handling it for the moment.
Noticing Mira, the reformed demon said, “I heard about you. Friend of Wally’s, right? I’m Faust. I hate to impose, but we could really use your help here.”
“Call me Mira,” she replied. “He also told me of your work. Fill me in on the situation, and I will assist however I can.”
It seemed Faust could put away his wings at will, as they were no longer on his back. Not to mention he acted like no other demon she’d ever encountered. He was…pleasant.
He gave her a quick rundown. They had successfully subdued the demon who had plotted all of this. Mira noticed he was tied up at Faust’s feet. However, the demon had made some move before they captured him that called this a horde of Lesser Demons. Faust’s guess was that these Lesser Demons had been standing by for a larger scheme. But now that the demon had been cornered, he’d had nothing left to lose and released them.
Lesser Demons were essentially pawns. Without a true demon’s orders, they would not move. The number of pawns that a demon controlled was proportional to its strength. Even with the majority of its abilities sealed, this viscount-rank demon could control hundreds of Lesser Demons.
“Good grief,” Mira murmured in surprise. “I had no idea viscounts had such abilities.”
“Yeah. There are more, but they’ve been sealed for the most part. But controlling Lesser Demons is a skill that can’t be sealed,” Faust said, looking down at the demon at his feet. “It’s as easy as breathing for them.”
“Like Faust said, this mob of Lesser Demons is carrying out orders. I just don’t know what the hell the orders are that require so many of them,” Wallenstein, having returned at some point, muttered in irritation. As expected of a Wise Man, he had already blown all the Lesser Demons currently on the bridge to smithereens.
Right on cue, the demon lying on the bridge began to cackle madly as more Lesser Demons dove to attack. There was the sound of an explosion, followed by the entire bridge rattling. The Lesser Demons clinging to the bridge began self-destructing. It seemed the demon was simply going to destroy the bridge while half of the passengers remained aboard, waiting to be evacuated.
The Wise Men couldn’t let the bridge fall. Wallenstein rushed to head below the tracks, shouting, “Danblf, take the ones up above!”
“Hmph. Leave it to me,” Mira answered and promptly summoned Garuda.
The magic circle rose into midair, and from it emerged an iridescent bird. With a single flap of its wings, it blew the Lesser Demons away. They shrieked as they were flung off course. But the buffeting winds also shook the train. Mira could hear the terrified screams of passengers through the open windows.
“Hmm. Wide area attacks are too dangerous, then.”
Mira swiftly changed tactics.
Garuda responded and amped up its overwhelming presence as it glared at the enemy, holding them back by sheer force of will. It was now prepared to obstruct their charge with its own massive body. Realizing that they couldn’t make it through the massive Spirit of Wind, the Lesser Demons stopped their charge and began looking around for openings.
With the demons held back for the moment, the evacuation resumed. Mira decided to check up on Wallenstein underneath the bridge.
As Mira watched, he ran along, using the multilayered structure as a foothold to destroy the mob of Lesser Demons with white fire. Amid the white flame, his black suit stood out even more. Occasionally, black flames spread and crept up on foes to burn them to a crisp. It seemed he was still living up to his title—The Shadow.
Mira was familiar with the general tactics, but many of his movements and spells excited her with their unorthodoxy. She’d thought that he had already mastered his field in-game, but it seemed he’d been sharpening his skills. Recalling how she had only recently developed partial summoning, she looked up to the sky with a big smile, anticipating what else she might discover.
Mira left Wallenstein to do what he did best, and returned to clean up the area above.
Garuda had acted as an impenetrable shield blocking attacks from the sky. But some Lesser Demons were taking wide detours to land below the bridge. With so many coming his way, even Wallenstein might accidentally let some slip through.
Best to deal with them up here…
Mira summoned Pegasus. Garuda’s wide attacks would strike friend and foe alike, but Pegasus was a summon suitable for a close midair battle.
“Come, Pegasus. Today, we fight. Be careful; they have strength in numbers.” Mira patted Pegasus’s mane as it nuzzled her cheek. She pointed at the Lesser Demons blotting out the sky and commanded, “Run wild.”
Pegasus neighed gleefully and took flight. It broke through Lesser Demons’ defenses and knocked them down one after another. Soon the Lesser Demons reformed their ranks to minimize casualties.
“Hrmm. They have a captain among them.”
Lesser Demons and monsters could sometimes have exceptionally proficient leaders known as captains. The presence of a captain could tip the balance of a battle, especially during a monster swarm.
Based on the coordinated actions of the Lesser Demons, this leader was no slouch. Some were even able to break off to harass the evacuating passengers. Adventurers had spread out to protect the weak, but their attackers were ready to strike at any opportunity.
If Mira took too long, there would be too many evacuees to protect.
She cast another summoning spell.
[Evocation: Hippogriff]
A magic circle rose up, and the Hippogriff emerged with slow steps. With the upper body of an eagle and the torso and legs of a horse, it was truly a legend come to life. Mira’s Hippogriff had pronounced eagle features. Its eyes were piercing, and it was enveloped in magnificent wings that looked truly ferocious when spread. Its legs were muscular, adding the strength of a warrior to its elegant bearing.
The Hippogriff was just as adept at midair combat as Pegasus. If Mira sent it from the opposite side, they ought to be able to break the Lesser Demons’ formation with ease.
But…this was their first time seeing each other in thirty years. How would the Hippogriff feel? Feeling uneasy, Mira looked the Hippogriff in the eye, just as she had when they’d first met.
After a moment, the Hippogriff stretched out its wings and stepped closer to Mira. It extended its head forward and bent its legs as if bowing. It looked like a knight pledging allegiance to its liege, and its eyes were full of joy at its master’s return.
“I see. Thirty years later, and you still serve?” Mira smiled and rested a hand on the Hippogriff’s forehead. “Your loyalty is appreciated. Let us fight together once more.”
The Hippogriff flapped its wings powerfully in response.
Mira gestured toward the horde of Lesser Demons in the sky and roared, “Exterminate them!”
The Hippogriff shrieked and darted forward like an arrow, assaulting the Lesser Demons in an aerial pincer attack with Pegasus. The sudden ambush from both sides shook the fiends, who had focused their attention on Mira.
“This is a rare opportunity for another test. Might as well give it a shot.” Dozens of lesser demons were cut down in an instant as black arms bearing black swords appeared from nowhere and swung down on their hapless foes. “Aha. No problems there.”
Mira found that if she aimed for a moment in which the enemy had stopped for any reason, she could summon multiple swords and still hit her mark.
Next test: hitting targets in concert with her partial summons. Mira gave Pegasus and Hippogriff new orders. This battlefield was now Mira’s testing ground.
Faust stopped fighting to watch.
A pincer attack and a sudden killing blow from thin air. As the demons tried to short up their ranks, Pegasus crackled with lightning and scattered them. It didn’t end there; the lightning sought and tore through them one after another. Pegasus’s mood had changed. It now fell on the enemy with terrifying ferocity, its eyes burning with jealousy every time it laid eyes on the Hippogriff.
Garuda continued to provide a barrier between land and sky. Pegasus and Hippogriff devastated the enemy formations, and black swords felled the demons at every opportunity. Soon, the hundreds of Lesser Demons who had covered the sky were eliminated.
“Hmph. Was that it?” Mira surveyed the sky in satisfaction as she touched down next to Faust, confirming that no demon had escaped.
As she did, her eyes paused on the adventurers standing with the group of evacuated passengers. Since they were more than a hundred meters away, she couldn’t see their faces, but they all looked to be frozen in awe.
“Wonderful work. They didn’t even get close to the passengers. Erm… Should I call you Mira? Because Wally called you Danblf a minute ago, but…” Faust seemed impressed, but there was a measure of confusion on his face as well.
“Ughh…” Mira shuddered.
“As I recall, Danblf was another Wise—”
“Faust, I’m going to stop you there,” Mira interrupted, glaring daggers at him. “Do you understand me?”
“…Okay. Mira. Your name is Mira.” Given that she’d just won an aerial battle single-handedly, Faust was not inclined to argue.
“Good. Now, I wonder why so many demons were gathered here?”
Wallenstein was still fighting below the bridge, but he was sure to have them mopped up soon. Mira left Garuda on guard duty and spectated.
“I think they were getting ready for the bridge’s destruction,” Faust answered. “A single demon can’t collect the life energy of over a thousand deaths at once. The Lesser Demons were probably looking for scraps.” He paused a moment, then added, somewhat disquietingly, “I would know.”
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