We live at the foot of Dragon Peak.
The civil war has broken out.
Panting, we burst out of the forest and saw it.
A battlefield where dust kicked up by the dry winter wind and angry shouts and screams echoed.
“Apparently, armies of demons have clashed with each other.”
“Lady Mine, you mentioned it in the past tense. Does that mean…”
When I asked Lady Mine, who had emerged from the forest before us and was observing the demon battlefield, she pointed to a retreating group to the south.
“It was a fierce battle until just now, but the army stationed in the north has begun to push. The southern army seems to have started retreating.”
Nodding, not only I but also Listea and Slaton agreed.
“A battle between armies. If we consider the situation we heard about, one side is a rebel force, and the other is the regular army.”
“As Listea says. We can only hope that the northern demons are the regular army, suppressing the rebels.”
From a distance, the dust swirling up in the wilderness made it impossible to see the details.
Still, we could sense that the southern army had begun to retreat.
“Ara, ara ara ara? The path of some of the retreating forces has changed?”
“Ehh!?”
Was I mistaken?
The command of the army that had begun to retreat southward seemed to have collapsed, and the demons began to flee in disarray. And then, the direction of some of the retreating forces changed drastically, and the demon army was approaching us!?
“Lord Reed!?”
“Ara ara ara, I didn’t do anything? Perhaps a clever demon is trying to shake off the pursuing army by using the forest rather than fleeing endlessly across the plains.”
Indeed, one couldn’t escape by aimlessly running around in the wilderness. If they didn’t find a way to escape the pursuing army, what awaited them was death, or something worse than death.
“But even so, you don’t have to come this way!?”
The retreating demons were fleeing at full speed. That’s because their lives were at stake.
But from our perspective, it was nothing but a nuisance!
“L-let’s run away too! It’ll be a big problem if we get caught up.”
We tried to retreat deeper into the forest.
But reality is not so sweet!
“Kuh.”
“Guoh!”
Along with Listea’s and Slaton’s bewildered voices, I also sensed an abnormal situation.
“Our feet are buried in the ground!?”
That’s right. All of our feet were buried in the ground up to about our ankles.
Needless to say, this was the prank of the Earth Spirit!
Fortunately, we were only lightly buried, so we were able to pull our feet out immediately.
However, in that brief moment, the retreating demon army had approached us closely!
“Tsk, the demons have already spotted us.”
“Still, we run! Everyone, move to the back of the forest while eliminating the demons without straying!”
Following Listea’s instructions, we retreated back to the depths of the forest we had just come from.
But the physical abilities of demons are far superior to those of humans. Even if they were lower-ranking demons.
Therefore, it was inevitable that the retreating demon army would catch up to us.
“I’ll cover the rear! Slanel, you too, take charge of repelling the demons from the rear!”
“Ooh!”
Listea and Slaton, in perfect sync, drew their swords and slowed their running speed slightly, moving behind us.
“Eluru, you lead the way while dealing with the spirits!”
“Dealing with them? How am I supposed to do that? But I’ll try my best!”
The pranks of the spirits that Lord Reed had left unattended might not be limited to just burying our feet earlier.
Spirits don’t care if we’re in combat or in a difficult situation.
Especially since they are unfamiliar spirits in an unfamiliar land, neither side knows how to handle the other.
“Spirits, I have a request for you!”
“What is it?”
“What is it?”
“What could it be?”
The spirits of various attributes, who were waiting to play their next prank on us, responded to my voice.
Even though we couldn’t understand each other, I had Ares-chan, the Spirit Tree Spirit, possessing me. Basically, all spirits are friendly towards us.
I devised a plan to get out of this situation by utilizing this “benevolence towards those accompanied by the Spirit Tree Spirit.”
“Isn’t it more fun to play pranks on the demons than on us?”
I proposed this to the Wind Spirit, who approached me, asking “Why?”.
“Because, I think the demons, who know nothing, will have a more interesting reaction when they fall for a prank than we, who are wary of your pranks.”
“Ooh.”
“Now that you mention it?”
All right, they’re on board!
“I’m sure Ares-chan also wants you to do that.”
“I think so, I think so.”
Ares-chan is on our side!
With Ares-chan’s agreement, the spirits’ attention shifted from us to the demons.
Those demons had already spotted us!
“You guys are in the way! I’m going to survive!!”
“You’re the one in the way. If you hinder me, I’ll kill you first!”
“Damn it, the commander said it wouldn’t be like this…”
“Not yet, as long as I can get back to our base…”
Amidst the shouts and angry voices, I picked up the voices of those demons.
The retreating demon army seemed to have completely lost its discipline. It had turned into individual escape plays without any formation, and there was no order or planning.
So, the fleeing demons were approaching us, directing hostility and killing intent towards each other, pushing and shoving.
And I realized that the retreating army approaching us was purely by chance.
Demons desperately fleeing the battlefield.
In their bloodshot eyes, the sight of lowly humans running through the forest was not reflected.
“Kuh, these guys!”
The vanguard of the retreating army, using their superior physical abilities and magic, quickly caught up to us. However, they ran past us into the depths of the forest, ignoring us completely.
“Hey, hey, hey! I don’t want to get caught up in this, but are you ignoring us completely!?”
Slaton grumbled at the group of demons that ran past him.
Eh?
If this is the case, will we be able to escape without getting involved, even without asking the spirits for help?
Just as we started to feel optimistic.
“Why are humans here!?”
“Get out of the way! Die!”
“You’re the one who’s going to die, you damn demon!”
A four-eyed demon attacked Slaton with the decidedly demonic thought of eliminating obstacles with force. Slaton cleaved it in two with a single blow.
“Tch!”
A demon running alongside reacted to the sight.
“Mere humans…”
“Shut up!”
Slaton’s blue long sword severed the arm of a monstrous demon that tried to cast magic at us as it ran past!
The demon fell with a scream, and other demons surged forward, mercilessly trampling over it.
“Everyone, run while protecting yourselves! Eluru, what about the spirits?”
Listea was already being attacked by the half-crazed fleeing demons.
We continued to run through the winter-bare forest. The retreating demon army, as if to swallow us, entered the forest, and we were completely caught up in it. And worst of all, the victorious demon army also entered the forest to annihilate the fleeing army.
“Spirits, please!”
“Understood!”
“It can’t be helped.”
“We know.”
The presence of the spirits gathered around me spread throughout the forest.
And then, in various places, confused screams and shouts, different from the screams of the battlefield, began to occur.
“Let’s hurry and escape while the spirits are causing chaos!”
Although I suggested it, it was not easy for us, who had been caught up in the escape of the retreating army, to escape from the demons.
The two of them desperately repelled the demons that attacked them, deeming them a nuisance. Lady Mine and Lady Anna also wielded their naginatas, warding off the sparks of chaos. Not only that, but they even used magic to protect me, who was concentrating on dealing with the spirits.
“Hey, hey, hey, Eluru! Why are you being protected by Lady Shooting Star!”
“Slanel, it can’t be helped. There’s a reason for this!”
“We can talk about trivial matters later. Slanel, you too, put more effort into making sure Eluru and Lady Shooting Star aren’t targeted by the demons!”
“I don’t need you to tell me that!”
I’m sorry, Slaton. And Listea.
I’ll explain properly later!
I still cannot unsheathe the Spirit Current Sword.
However, even circumventing the protection of Slaton and Lady Shooting Star, demon attacks were coming at me.
I dodged the demon’s attacks with only my physical skills, without unsheathing the Spirit Current Sword.
“Ara, ara ara ara.”
Of course, the demons attacked Lord Reed, who was running with us, mercilessly.
However, Lord Reed defeated the demons effortlessly.
His ability to defeat demons so vividly without drawing his twin swords, something I couldn’t replicate, had an unusual beauty in the chaotic scene.
“So that’s how you can fight so well without drawing your sword, if you master the basics of Dragon Veins.”
I was admiring Lord Reed’s movements, but I shouldn’t be!
“Annihilate the rebel army!”
“Kill them all!!”
The demons’ command echoed from behind us. And then, a deep cheer, like a war cry, resonated throughout the forest, followed by screams that spread chillingly into the winter sky.
The pursuing army had caught up, and the massacre had begun!
If we get caught up in it too, it’ll be terrible!
“Everyone, run hard!”
“We’ve been running since before!!”
Slaton was also more desperate than usual.
Even though he was the partner of a top-class hero among humans, compared to demons whose physical abilities were far superior to humans, there were inevitably parts where he fell short.
In fact, he seemed to be barely managing to fend off and counterattack against the “demons who, while running away, attacked us because we were an eyesore.”
Of course, this was because we were all desperately running through the forest, and neither side was putting their full effort into the fight.
What if, in such a situation, a demon that aimed to fight appeared…
My bad premonition came true.
“Tsk, you weaklings.”
My ears caught that voice.
I felt a chill run down my spine, sensing a killing intent.
“Everyone, get down!”
I shouted instinctively.
And then, I threw myself to the ground as if falling!
Everyone else reacted quickly.
Without me telling them, they all threw themselves to the ground, as if dodging the dense killing intent that had spread throughout the forest in an instant.
Everyone except Lord Reed.
Immediately after.
A sharp wind magic, filled with dense killing intent, swept across the forest.
“Tch!”
In front of us, who were lying down.
The demons, who had been fleeing for their lives, were cut in half, their upper and lower bodies separated.
The fleeing demons died, some screaming, others without even letting out a death cry.
“Don’t involve us outsiders in this!”
Even Slaton, who shouted this, had a strained expression on his face.
This was undoubtedly magic cast by a high-ranking demon!
“Everyone, run!”
We had no choice but to escape!
The army that had pursued the retreating army was serious about annihilating the fleeing demons.
Demon wars are cruel battles where the victors trample the vanquished without mercy. If one was in the midst of such a battlefield, they would be killed regardless of whether they were an outsider.
We stood up and started running.
The demons who had avoided the high-ranking demon’s magic also began to flee again, screaming.
However, we, who had stopped for even a moment, could not escape the pursuit of the demons.
“Damn it, we’ve been caught up by the pursuing army too!”
“Eluru, the spirits!?”
“Yeah, I know!”
Asking the spirits for help, we had them play pranks on the demons again.
Disruptive pranks by the spirits began to occur again in various parts of the forest, without distinction between the retreating army and the pursuing army.
Nevertheless, the chaos in the forest deepened.
The retreating army desperately fleeing. The pursuing army relentlessly unleashing blades and magic to annihilate them.
And us, who were completely caught up in it.
If this continues…!
Should I unsheathe the Spirit Current Sword and use all my strength, even if it weakens me, to get out of this situation!?
Just as I resolved myself to do so.
“Why are humans, a miko, and the Mimicho Race fleeing with the retreating army?”
The voice I had picked up earlier on the battlefield was heard again.
With a “Hah,” I looked around at my surroundings as I ran.
In my line of sight.
I caught sight of a gray shadow running in the depths of the forest, seemingly running alongside us.
The moment I thought that, the gray shadow had already approached me!
“Uwah.”
I instinctively drew the Spirit Current Sword.
And then, a sharp metallic sound echoed.
“Tch!?”
I managed to block a sword strike that was aimed precisely at my neck.
The gray shadow, whose fatal sword strike had been deflected by me, stared at me with wide eyes.
“What did you just do?”
The man was a beautiful demon with striking gray hair.
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