We live at the foot of Dragon Peak.
Enemies, allies, and dolls alike.
Roots and branches thicker than the trunk of the great tree writhed as if they had a will of their own. And they thrashed about, sweeping away demon race members wielding weapons and dispelling flames.
Those standing against them with weapons in hand are likely the Demon Race Army, who have sworn allegiance to Cadis.
However, they are no match for them.
Whether sword strikes or magic spells, roots and branches deflect them all.
The only thing that seems to be able to resist is the fire magic Cadis seems to be casting.
Fire magic burns away the raging roots and branches.
But perhaps they cannot afford to hold back, as the flames engulfed not only branches and roots but also the demon capital, reaching into the surrounding dense treachery forest.
“What in the world is going on?! If they are attacking Cadis and the rebel army, does that mean the Verdant Demon Lord is alive?”
“Fufu. Fufufu. I wonder about that? It’s possible that it’s just the residual magic of the Verdant Demon Lord running wild. Look, over there, ordinary people are being attacked indiscriminately.”
“We have to save them!”
Amidst crumbling houses, vines attacked the fleeing people!
Residents with no escape route screamed!
I launch my Dragon Lance.
The vines attacking the people explode, and the shockwave blows out the flames.
People saved at the last moment cheer for their rescue. However, following the trajectory of the Dragon Lance, they look up into the sky and scream even louder at the two giant dragons flying in the sky, fleeing in disarray.
“Hahahaha! The demons are scared of us because they are not used to the sight of Nimia-chan and Lady Revalia!”
“Kts. We can’t afford to spread any more unnecessary chaos, can we?”
Nimia reads my mind and lowers her altitude.
Just then, roots and branches mercilessly attacked them.
“They really attack indiscriminately!”
“Meow.”
Nimia lets out a cute meow. In the instant the roots and branches turned into white ash and scattered, she quickly descended.
“Laira, let’s go!”
“Yes!”
“I’m going too!”
“Fufu. Fufufu. It’s starting to get fun, isn’t it?”
“I’m definitely not getting off Nimia-chan!”
“Astel, stay in a safe place, okay?”
Astel alone has no means to protect himself amidst the chaos and fierce battle.
After all, his physical abilities and magic are equal to or less than a low-level demon.
So, we jumped down to the ground, leaving Astel behind.
Giant winged dragons descended at high speed. And we fell from them.
Among them, sensing the presence of the Puppet King, who possessed an unusually potent magical power, the fleeing demons halted for a moment. However, they immediately screamed and fled.
For the powerless, the current situation is terrifying in every way.
So, they flee instinctively, screaming and without any plan.
But wherever they run, they are met with a sea of flames and roots and branches that attack indiscriminately.
Even though we came down to save them, the people are in chaos and uncoordinated.
If this continues, lives will be lost meaninglessly!
“Fufufu. This is a predicament, isn’t it?”
The Puppet King, looking at the people in chaos as if watching a comedy, smiled.
That kind of sensibility is truly demonic, something we cannot understand.
However, the Puppet King sided with us.
With a *hyururi*, dozens of magical threads extend from the fingertips of the Puppet King.
The tips of dozens of extremely thin magical threads ensnared the people, who were fleeing and screaming in disarray.
At that moment, everyone within sight stopped moving in unison.
“Lord Elnea, should we take these people to the Great Shrine?”
“Yes, that’s right! Erin-chan, use your puppet magic to control everyone one after another!”
There’s no time to debate.
No matter the method, saving lives is the top priority!
“Which direction is the Great Shrine? If it’s far, we can consider evacuating them to branch shrines or subordinate shrines!”
“Lord Elnea, I will confirm the direction of the Great Shrine from the sky. It’s that way!”
Meijina-san pointed in the direction of the burning Demon Lord’s Castle.
The Great Shrine seems to be located in front of the Demon Lord’s Castle.
“It’s close. Alright, everyone, move while protecting the residents!”
I take the lead. Meijina-san follows, then the Puppet King and his attendant dolls line up. And Laira is at the rear.
The people controlled by the Puppet King follow us without screaming.
They are completely controlled. But for now, that’s fortunate.
There’s no time to explain things or get them to understand!
In the sky, Revalia had started to go wild.
She burns away approaching roots and branches, and releases terrifying roars that frighten the demon race.
“Revalia, minimize the damage from your flames, okay? Don’t burn the treachery forest down.”
“Such a demanding request.”
Even so, Revalia listened to my request and did not attack indiscriminately.
Perhaps recognizing Revalia, who appeared in the sky, as a formidable enemy, numerous roots and branches stretched towards the sky. Each of them was thicker than the trunk of the giant tree.
“Meow!”
Nimia’s meow falls upon the burning demon capital.
The roots and branches that stretched towards the sky turn into white ash and rain down like snow.
I thought I faintly heard Astel scream, but that was probably my imagination.
The top of Nimia’s back is the safest place.
We run through the sea of flames.
Fortunately, all the roads laid out in the demon capital are wide, and even though the buildings lining both sides are burning intensely, our path is not obstructed.
The giant roots and branches are mostly directed towards Revalia, Nimia, and Cadis in the sky, who continue to cast fire magic, and they hardly attack us.
“Now’s our chance!”
As we run down a wide road that appears to be the main street, we encounter more people.
The Puppet King casts his magic.
There’s no time to explain.
People who come into our sight, the presence of those left behind in the sea of flames, we have the Puppet King control all the survivors we sense, and we run!
“There are so many people now!”
Meijina-san exclaims in surprise.
Of course, Laira and I are also surprised.
How many residents are there in the demon capital ruled by the Verdant Demon Lord?
Tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of demon race members and slaves might be living there.
The Puppet King releases his magical threads as if to control all of them.
Furthermore, while controlling them all, he shows no signs of effort and remains calm.
It seems he still has plenty of magical power left.
This is the true ability of the Puppet King.
When he was bothering us, it was just child’s play magic.
“Fufufu. Please leave the removal of burning branches and vines to Lord Elnea and the others? Cadis’s flames can also burn my threads, so I cannot control them.”
“Cadis’s flames are a natural enemy not only to the Verdant Demon Lord but also to Erin-chan, aren’t they?!”
“Fufu. Fufufu. A natural enemy? That must be a mistake. Cadis is no match for me.”
“Uwah, I don’t want to hear about this…”
His magical threads can also burn. That’s why Cadis shows such disrespectful arrogance towards the Puppet King.
But the Puppet King himself doesn’t seem to consider Cadis as a threat.
Perhaps if the Puppet King had returned to the castle, Cadis would have been defeated.
But then, a question arises.
If the Puppet King is stronger than Cadis, then the Giant Demon Lord would not have invited him into the country to shelter Cadis.
Beyond just involving me, if Cadis had been defeated, the rebellion itself would have ended. So why go to the trouble of sheltering the Puppet King and instigating Cadis’s rebellion?
Perhaps there are motives hidden that I am not yet aware of.
But there’s no time to investigate that!
Tree roots that block the road writhed, emerging from underground.
I unleash my Dragon Lance with all my might, blasting apart the obstacles.
And then, we just run!
We clear the tree roots that further erupted from the ground and run through the main street with a large group.
Then, a clean brilliance, unfitting of the burning demon capital, comes into view ahead.
“It’s the Great Shrine! It is protected by the barrier magic ‘Afuki’s Formation’!”
Meijina-san’s words tell us our destination is near.
And we see many people escaping to the Great Shrine besides ourselves.
Demon race members and slaves alike are fleeing.
Residents are rushing into the Great Shrine and the sphere of barrier magic surrounding it.
Without hesitation, we also leap inside the barrier!
“Hahahaha. It’s filled with a mysterious presence!”
“It’s enveloped in a sacred atmosphere, but can this level of barrier magic really defend against the Demon Lord’s magic or Cadis’s flames?”
The strongest barrier magic we know is the great magic “Full Moon Formation.” However, this “Afuki’s Formation” does not seem to have the powerful blocking capability to completely repel external malice. If the bubble-like barrier membrane were to burst from some impact, it feels fragile enough to be easily broken.
If those roots and branches attacked here, wouldn’t it be unable to deflect or defend against them?
Meijina-san, who is also an expert in magical arts, seems to have felt the same doubt.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Even with all this commotion, they are relying solely on Afuki’s Formation to get by? Perhaps in the countries dominated by the Demon Race, high-level magical arts are not passed down?”
As we raise our doubts, several figures run towards us from the direction of the Great Shrine.
“Everyone, please calm down! The Great Shrine is protected by His Majesty the Demon Lord. As long as you are here, you will be safe!”
Towards the people fleeing in a state of chaos from outside the barrier, women in Miko’s Attire and men in priest’s attire call out to them.
“It seems they are safe due to the Verdant Demon Lord’s protection. Does that mean the Demon Lord is alive? Or does it simply mean they are not attacked by the tree roots and branches?”
As they are called addressed by the Miko-sama and priests, the people gradually begin to calm down.
And as they speak to the residents, one Miko-sama approaches us.
“You people… are strange, aren’t you? The people who evacuated with you are all calm and orderly?”
“Hello, Miko-sama. The reason they appear orderly is that the Puppet King is controlling everyone.”
Upon my explanation. The Miko-sama’s eyes widen to their fullest as she looks at the Puppet King standing behind me.
It seems she knows the appearance of the Puppet King.
However, judging by her reaction, she is undoubtedly afraid.
“Please don’t worry. We came here to help with the chaos engulfing the demon capital!”
We are not enemies, I say, spreading my hands to show harmlessness.
Then, Meijina-san steps forward.
“This is a matter of urgency. Stop being so surprised and fulfill your responsibilities!”
“Ah, you are…! Yes!”
Seeing Meijina-san’s special Miko’s Attire, the Miko-sama snaps back to reality. She quickly turns around and begins calling out to people again.
“As expected of you, Meijina-san. You can identify Shooting Star Sama just by their Miko’s Attire, can’t you?”
“Yes. How I do it is actually a secret, though?”
“Isn’t it just that the costumes are different?”
“That’s right. Just by their Shooting Star costume, one cannot discern their status or anything like that.”
“I see!”
The Miko-sama from before, having discerned the status hidden within Meijina-san’s Miko’s Attire, became respectful.
And despite suddenly arriving from the outside, she meekly followed Meijina-san’s instructions.
“Meijina-san, are you actually a high-ranking Miko?”
“No. I’m just a special rank Battle Priestess.”
“Just the ‘special rank’ part doesn’t sound ordinary. I’ve never heard of a ‘special rank’ like that from Ruiseine or Madrine.”
Where did Meijina-san and the Shooting Stars come from?
Well, I have a hunch, and I’m sure I’m right.
But that’s not something to pursue right now.
And now, we need to focus on something else!
“Evacuation of residents is important, but we have other things to do, don’t we!”
“Yes!”
Outside the barrier magic “Afuki’s Formation,” a horrific situation continues.
The houses have burned down to nothing, and tree roots, branches, and vines are raging while burning.
And fire magic is constantly being cast, seemingly to destroy the demon capital.
“Didn’t Cadis want to become the Demon Lord of this country?! Why is he indiscriminately destroying the demon capital he intends to rule?”
It makes no sense!
The one who defeated the aging Verdant Demon Lord and intended to reign as a new Demon Lord himself is destroying the people and the demon capital he should rule.
Or perhaps the Verdant Demon Lord’s magic is so troublesome that Cadis cannot hold back?!
If that is the case, then perhaps the Verdant Demon Lord is still alive.
“In any case, let’s quell this disturbance!”
In response to my resolve, Ares-chan manifests.
