We live at the foot of Dragon Peak.
A war cry echoes in the snowy mountains.
Run?
Or fight?
The existence of Demon Lord Kusharilla is concerning.
But, more than that…
“Your master was easily killed, wasn’t he?”
“What?!”
Tris is speechless at Balvria’s cruel confession.
My own soul trembled intensely at Balvria’s words.
That Ruilala was killed by Balvria?
No, that’s ridiculous!
An immeasurable sense of impatience rapidly gnawed at me from within. At the same time, my heart pounded as if it would burst, and my head felt like it would boil over in an instant.
“That swordsmanship fanatic! He was probably swinging his sword around until the very end!”
As if to voice my feelings, Slaton shouted. And then he swore vulgarly and clicked his tongue.
However, I could sense Slaton’s inner turmoil from the way he glared at Balvria, emitting a killing intent that rivaled that of a demon.
“You have no need to worry about your master’s death. Because, all of you will follow soon after.”
Balvria coldly issued the order to kill them all.
The black-clothed demons advanced silently, like shadows fallen upon the white world.
“Damn it, you weaklings!”
Slaton swung his long sword.
The first demon, who had foolishly charged, became the first victim of the Curse Power Sword.
“Elnea, if it comes to this, do we have no choice but to repel them?!”
“Uh…”
I tried to use my heated head to think calmly, but I couldn’t shake off my agitation.
Nevertheless, I desperately analyzed the situation with my dulled head.
Listea drew her substitute Curse Power Sword instead of her broken Holy Sword and faced the demon army.
Tris also drew his Magic Sword and Divine Sword, and started fighting the black-clothed demons, albeit with great difficulty.
Lost in thought, I fell a step behind everyone else. But, thanks to that, my thoughts finally started to connect.
And, several things that I found very concerning came to mind.
“Nimia?”
Among them, the most worrying issue was that even if we escaped this place, it would be meaningless if we were detected again and attacked.
If pursuers appeared immediately no matter where we ran, we would be attacked repeatedly without any time to rest, exhausting our strength and spirit.
So, should I fight here and repel the demons?
However, if Demon Lord Kusharilla were to appear, we would be no match for her.
Fighting the Demon Lord without any preparation would be utterly reckless.
Other questions also came to mind, and I asked Nimia for confirmation on what to do.
Then, I received an unexpected answer from Nimia.
“Fight, nya?”
I see, so that’s Nimia’s judgment?
“Nyan,” Nimia chirped cutely. With just that, the demons charging at Nimia instantly turned to ash.
However, the attacking black-clothed demons seemed to know no fear, and even though their comrades were turned to ash, they continued their assault silently.
Nimia, unable to help herself, took flight.
“Louvent, attack the demons from the sky.”
“As you command!”
Without needing orders from Alex, Louvent flapped his pure white wings and soared into the sky. Then, he unleashed his Divine Arts without holding back, supporting us on the ground.
“I will handle Ogre General Balvria.”
Effortlessly cutting down the encroaching demons, Alex glared at Balvria.
Alex’s presence is reassuring.
The only ones who can counter the demons are their natural enemies, the Divine Race.
And Alex possesses enough ability to be called a descendant of the Fighting God.
“Light Path Annihilation!”
In accordance with Alex’s powerful words, a beam of light was emitted from his Divine Sword.
The dazzling beam annihilated numerous demons approaching from in front of Alex. And it even reached Balvria, who was lurking in the rear.
“Tch,” Balvria clicked his tongue and dodged the beam.
As expected, such a simple attack wouldn’t work.
However, with that single blow, Balvria’s attention was completely fixed on Alex.
“Divine Word, Divine Arts. So, you are of the Divine Race.”
“What are you saying now? If I were a demon, you would have seen through my race at a glance, wouldn’t you?”
Balvria confronted Alex without letting his guard down.
Alex also kept his Divine Sword ready, cautiously probing for Balvria’s next move.
Alright. If this is the case, we’ll concentrate on the black-clothed demons, defeat them quickly, and go to Alex’s aid.
Before the main opponent appears!
Swinging the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, I knocked away a demon that entered my range.
It seems I’m being treated as small fry.
While demons swarm towards everyone else, only occasional ones are reluctantly sent to deal with me, as if they have free time.
Unlike everyone else who wields splendid weapons, is it because the weapon I’m holding is a wooden sword?
At any rate, thanks to the meager attacks, I was able to analyze the battlefield further with my composure.
The demons reappear one after another from behind the rocks, even after being defeated.
Hey, where in the world are they pulling such an army from!
Even when I try to sense their presence, I don’t feel the momentum of a large army waiting behind the rocks. Yet, the black-clothed demons appear endlessly.
Louvent would probably have a clearer view from the sky.
This abnormal battlefield.
“Damn it, damn it. You weaklings!”
No matter how many I defeat, the next ones approach. The terrifying nature of an army that feels no fear lies not in the individual strength of its members, but in their overwhelming numbers.
No matter how strong we are, if we continue fighting, our strength and spirit will be depleted. If that happens, eventually an opening will appear, and we will make a mistake.
“I was planning to save this for the Demon Lord’s appearance, but I can’t help it! Appear, Duranel!”
In response to Slaton’s spirited call, his shadow began to rise.
It was Duranel, a Dark Attribute Earth Dragon, who looked even better in black than the black-clothed demons.
Duranel, as a greeting, swung his thick tail and swept away the surrounding demons in a single stroke.
“Amazing! Slaton, you really were a Dragon Knight!”
“Of course I was!”
Slaton became enraged at Tris’s surprise.
Apparently, Tris still harbored doubts about Slaton’s background.
Alright, then I’ll also show off my own splendid achievements!
“Ares-chan!”
In response to my call…
“Huh?”
…responded?
“I’m out and about!”
A cute voice came from my hand.
It’s the Spirit Tree’s voice, isn’t it?
But, more importantly.
“Wh-what?!”
At this point, Ares-chan is out on an errand!
“Because I’ve been flying around nya, I thought it was safe, nya?”
“Grrr, it’s because Slaton complained about food!”
At Nimia’s remark from the sky, I slumped my shoulders in dejection.
It seems that Ares-chan left me immediately after the potato distribution, perhaps thinking it was fine while I was flying around the sky looking for the Eastern Magician.
Ares-chan was supposed to make periodic trips between Mistral and the others, to inform each other of their situations.
However, I felt a deadlock in this unexpected crisis.
Alex began a fierce battle with Balvria.
Perhaps disliking close combat, Balvria countered with magic, and Alex also fought using Divine Arts.
Responding to Balvria’s magic power, the swirling snow was released towards Alex like sharpest blades.
However, when Alex uttered some Divine Words, the innumerable blades easily returned to their original soft snow form.
But, the swirling snow continued to blow, attacking Alex as a blizzard.
Alex’s feet faltered slightly. Seizing that opening, Balvria distanced himself from Alex and unleashed new magic again.
The exchange between Balvria, who wouldn’t let Alex get close, and Alex, who tried to dive into his range, intensified, and neither we nor the surrounding demons could approach.
Meanwhile, Listea and Tris were clearly struggling.
Although Listea has the ability, the weapon she wields is just a normal Curse Power Sword.
She was being pressured by the low-level demons who overwhelmed her with numbers.
Tris, though wielding splendid weapons in both hands, was at a disadvantage against the demons. Nevertheless, he fought bravely against the demons with the power of his extraordinary weapons.
“This is ridiculous!”
The ones fighting well are Slaton and Duranel.
Even though he is still a young dragon, Duranel is of the Dragon Race. He won’t fall behind against mere low-level demons.
Slaton also thrashed the demons, compensating for Duranel’s blind spots.
But, the sheer number of them was overwhelming.
And so, Slaton finally lost his temper.
Slaton leaped onto Duranel’s back and raised his long sword.
And then he gave Duranel instructions.
“Duranel, sweep away these weaklings with Dragon Arts!”
“Ah,” not only I, but Listea also reacted.
But, it was too late.
Duranel let out a mighty roar that echoed through the mountain range and activated his Dragon Arts.
Shadows created by the demons writhed. The shadows transformed into swords of darkness, and the demons were pierced by their own shadows.
But, the aftermath of the Dragon Arts unleashed by Duranel didn’t end there.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, the ground began to shake slightly.
“Geez!”
“You stupid Slaton!”
Not just us, but everyone, including the demons, looked back.
Towering mountains. A steep slope. Far above, white smoke, different from clouds, erupted from the ground and was approaching us with terrifying speed.
“An avalanche!”
No need for Tris to say it, everyone understood.
In the snowy mountains, avalanches can sometimes be triggered by sound alone.
And then, there was Duranel’s roar just now.
“N-Nimia!”
“Nyan.”
I have to escape riding Nimia!
But, the avalanche’s momentum was tremendous. Even if Nimia, who was flying, descended, there wouldn’t be enough time for all of us to mount her.
A desperate crisis.
At that moment, Listea moved.
“Flame!!”
Listea drew her broken Holy Sword.
That’s right, that was an option!
While unusable as a sword, the Holy Sword produced flames in response to Listea’s magic power.
“Everyone, gather by my side!”
We kicked away the obstructing demons and rushed to Listea’s surroundings.
If this is how it is, we can only bet on Listea’s flames!
With immense heat, she’ll annihilate the incoming snow!
On top of that, if we can eliminate the demons and Balvria caught in the avalanche, it’ll be a two-for-one deal.
The sudden turn of events caused not only the black-clothed demons, but also Balvria to stop moving.
However, it wasn’t because of the avalanche.
Balvria’s eyes were fixed on the Holy Sword that Listea had drawn.
No, that’s not right.
More precisely, Balvria was staring intently at the Orb of Flame embedded in the Holy Sword.
“Th-that Orb…!”
What does this mean?
Balvria knows about the Orb of the Holy Sword?
Before I had time to confirm, the avalanche swallowed us.
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