While the battle between Alya and the demonic dragon was raging on, and sometime before she decided to use her technique.
Somewhere in the vast mountainous region the corpses of many dragons lay scattered across the ground.
"That's the last of them."
A young youth, with flaming reddish black hair, the famous Dragon slayer—Leo, sheathed his sword, Crimson Saber into its scabbard.
Due to the demonic dragon's abnormal regenerative ability, it had taken considerable effort, and the battle had lasted an entire day.
"Just what was up with those dragons, you know, don't you?"
Although he hated the blood of the evil dragon that had chosen to bond with him, he had no other choice but to ask it for information.
(A demonic dragon… Why would one appear here, and in such large numbers?)
After what happened three hundred years ago, all the demons were supposedly sealed away. He was confused as to why a demonic dragon would suddenly descend.
<<… Those Dragons were infected with the miasma of the Demon God, Lucifer. As a being who held the authority over corruption, it was his nature to corrode everything.>>
The evil dragon responded after a moment of thought. Its raspy voice sounded very conflicted.
"But wasn't the Demon God sealed away? How could his influence have reached this place after being gone from the world for so long?"
<>
"But there haven't been any signs of his return until now? So why…?"
<
"Abnormal phenomenon? Ah, you mean back when the sky was dyed crimson?"
<
It was referring to when the Witch of Calamity—Celestia, had weakened the seal suppressing the Demon God.
As such, the seal was slowly becoming weaker it was losing the strength to contain the miasma from corroding the world.
"Tch… If we want to have a better understanding I suppose we'd need to check on the seal."
Leo sighed heavily as he turned his gaze over to the distance shrouded in darkness, but then…
BOOOOOOOM!
Something fell down from the sky with the force of a meteor impact, slamming into the ground. Stones and dirt were sent scattering in all directions.
"Guh… Don't tell me, another demonic dragon?"
Leo heightened his wariness and reach for the hilt of his sword, hanging at his waist, but—
"Hm, as I thought, it really was the presence of miasma, that guy Lucifer will have to explain himself."
The carefree voice of a young girl resounded from within the dust. Once it had receded, the young slender figure of a girl in her early teens appeared.
She was draped in casual clothing that was torn in several places that exposed much of her fair skin. Contrary to her cute and delicate face, it gave her a wild impression.
She was known as the mother of Dragons, or the Dragon Goddess. She was the Dragon class Nullborn—Lyra. Currently, her wings and draconic features were hidden, so she looked no different from an ordinary young girl.
Her beautiful orange coloured hair that was tied up into twin tails was scattering faint embers.
"You… Why are you here?"
Leo stared at the young girl in puzzlement. Judging by her appearance alone, it would be strange for such a delicate and slender girl to be all the way out in the wilderness alone, and at a time like this when the sun had yet to rise. But…
His rationale thoughts were telling him she should not be in such a dangerous place. But when Leo stared at the ground around her, he subconsciously swallowed his saliva with a grim expression.
The force of her fall had gouged out the earth into a deep crater. Furthermore, his instincts were screaming at him to not meddle with her.
Despite his worries, he could at least tell she was not one to be underestimated. In fact, there was a strange, mighty pressure exuding from her delicate body.
(J-Just who is she? For me to actually feel threatened when she hasn't even directed any hostility towards me?)
Cold sweats were trickling down his face. The hand that was still reaching for his sword was visibly shaking.
<
The evil dragon was also shaken, its voice oddly stern.
"Oh, a new face… But how curious, you seem to be human, and yet there is something about your blood that seems oddly familiar to me."
Lyra was glancing around unpleasantly at the corpses of the defeated demonic dragons, when she notice Leo in her field of vision. She tilted her head cutely as if she was a small bunny confused about something.
"Ah, now I remember. Could you be the descendant of that human I had gave my blood to a while back?"
She asked with her head still tilting to the side.
(… Descendant?)
Leo tilted his head in confusion, then narrowed his eyes.
"Hmmm… What was his name again?"
Lyra placed her hand beneath her chin while digging through her memories.
"… Someone you gave your blood?"
"Yes… It was a human male who helped me a long time ago."
While she could faintly sense Leo's hostility Lyra paid it no mind as she continued to search her memory.
"His name was probably Eion."
"Hm, Eion? Yes… It was Eion."
Lyra said cheerfully. Eion was the human who had helped her while she was wandering a human town. At that time, she was wandering for so long that she collapsed from fatigue and he had given her a free meal.
Although she wouldn't have died from hunger, she was still moved by his kind act. And she decided to give him some of her blood to repay him.
"I'm a member of the dragon clan."
"The dragon clan? I thought so, so you really are that man's descendants, then?"
"… I see, so it's you, you're the one who gave my great grandfather his blood!"
Leo had been unsure of what she was talking about but when he had piece together something in his head, he finally came to an understanding.
His great grandfather was once a human, but he had received the dragon blood from a certain traveller he had helped out in the past, and became a new race known as dragonoid.
As a result, all those after him were also from that same bloodline as well, becoming dragonoids.
While their dragon blood diluted with each generation, they had established a ritual to maintain their bloodline.
Leo glared at Lyra with fury, if she hadn't given him her blood, then his great grandfather wouldn't have formed the dragon clan and lived in seclusion, away from human civilization. His family wouldn't have been wiped out by dragons.
In an instant, he drew the sword at his waist, slashing at her in a vertical arc, but—
"… Guh."
The blade of his sword came to a halt once it was an inch away from piercing her skin. Lyra herself had not reacted, nor had she erected any barriers with her magical energy.
It wasn't because she was underestimating him, but rather because there was no need to.
"Fufu, that's an impressive sword you got there, but unfortunately, you are unfit to be my opponent."
Lyra said with a small shrug of her shoulders. The blade of crimson saber was stop by the draconic aura that was faintly surrounding her body.
It wasn't a defensive mechanism she had set up intentionally, but rather there was so much of her draconic energy that was leaking from her body, It had become a passive barrier of energy around her.
It would take another Nullborn or at the very least, one of the Four Elemental Goddesses to get through the paper-thin barrier surrounding her.
"I heard what happened to your clan. Although I must say, I didn't think you all would create a ceremony where you drink the blood of dragons."
Lyra said, staring at Leo with slightly narrowed eyes. By drinking the blood of dragons, they would indeed be able to strengthen their diluted dragon blood, but the fact they were using dragons as sacrifice left a bad taste in her mouth.
"I do feel bad for what happened, but you can also look at it as human karma, just how many dragons has your clan slain in order to strengthen their diluted blood I bestowed onto that person?"
"Enough talk! Sword technique—Crimson wave!"
With a wide horizontal swing of his sword, a crimson slash was released from his blade, the slash left the ground scarred where it travelled.
But Lyra did not move from her spot, instead her lips lifted upwards into a slightly mocking grin as she caught the slash with her seemingly delicate hands.
"Wh-What?"
Crimson wave was a high-level sword technique. He was confident even the originator of dragons would take substantial damage. And yet—
<
The evil dragon pointed out bluntly.
"I've been meaning to ask, but your soul seem to be infused with the essence of a true dragon, isn't it?"
"Keep quiet!"
Leo ignored the words of the evil dragon and slash at her again with his sword, but Lyra smoothly evaded it with minimal effort.
"… Fine then. I guess I'll have to make some sacrifice if I want to be able to land a blow."
With that thought in mind, crimson aura became to swirl around him.
"Oh?"
Lyra was staring at that peculiar sight with deep interest. This time the aura was not shrouding his blade like usually did, but instead, it was covering his entire body like an armour.
In that instance, draconic wings and horns grew from his body, resembling those of the dragonoids.
"That's… Draconification? And this crimson aura... It's not mere magic power, is he imbuing himself with willpower?"
Lyra tilted her head. She could tell that he'd grown considerably stronger from that. Her dragon eyes could perceive the origin of the overwhelming energy circulating around him. By drawing out the powers of his bloodline, he had partially turned himself into a dragonoid.
<
"You be quiet! Once I kill the mother of dragons, I'll make sure to get rid of you as well as the other dragons!"
Leo kicked off the ground with tremendous force, shattering the ground beneath him as he accelerated towards Lyra in a crimson streak.
"… You still don't get it, huh?"
Lyra sighed as she stared at his incoming charge.
…
At the same time, in the capital city of the Albanian kingdom, the streets shook under the thunder of battle. The clash of steel and the roars of monstrous beasts echoed through the bustling city.
Inside a dimly lit bar, a young woman lay sprawled across a worn wooden table, the sharp scent of alcohol clinging to her. Empty bottles littered the surface and floor like fallen soldiers.
Her brown hair, streaked with deep navy blue, fanned around her face, and her light brown eyes were half-closed beneath a haze of intoxication.
"L-Lady Triska! Please, evacuate with the others!"
A panicked voice called. The bar owner, a man in his mid-thirties, stood near the counter, wringing his hands.
Triska barely stirred. Her gaze was unfocused, her thoughts muddled by alcohol.
"…Mm, another bottle,"
She murmured, deliriously holding up an empty glass as if it were a chalice.
The bar owner furrowed his brow. The situation outside was already dire—any moment now, the city could be overrun by demonic beasts.
His brow twitched as he weighed his options. He could evacuate with the others—but leaving her behind in this state felt wrong.
Not to mention, she wasn't just any ordinary customer. She was a member of the White Moon organization.
If he selfishly abandoned her here that was no different than leaving her to her death. If word got out, not only would his livelihood be endangered, but his life was as well.
"Tch… I have no choice but to carry her,"
He muttered, gritting his teeth. He braced himself. Carrying her while fending off countless numbers of demons was a near-suicidal gamble—but he had no other choice in this situation.
Bang!
The tavern door splintered inward. A massive, hulking demonic beast lunged inside, eyes molten with fire.
"Ah!"
The bar owner shouted, instinctively moving to defend himself—but the creature was faster. It closed the distance in a heartbeat, snapping at his head.
"Ngh… Ahh!"
He grabbed a broomstick, swinging desperately, but the beast's jaws snapped it in half like fragile twigs. Just as it prepared to strike again, it froze, jerking violently as if an invisible force had slammed into it.
Triska's hair fell over her face, hiding a faint, careless smirk. She murmured,
"Thunderbolt."
Her drunken haze vanished in an instant. A deck of cards glittered in her hands, their runes shimmering with deadly enchantments she had long mastered.
With a flick of her wrist, a card shot forward.
Lightning arced from its surface, striking the beast squarely. It let out a tortured scream as a violent electric current filled its body, it collapse in a smouldering heap.
Another beast leapt through the shattered window. Triska held up another card between her fingers, another bolt of lightning—and it, too, disintegrated mid-air. Her movements were effortless, almost casual, yet devastatingly precise.
The bar owner gawked, his mouth agape as he stayed frozen in disbelief. He knew Triska was a member of the famed White Moon Organization—but this was the first time he had seen her fight in person.
"Lady Triska…?"
He whispered, dumbfoundedly.
She leaned back, hair falling over her light brown eyes, swaying slightly on her chair.
"…Mm. My head still hurts,"
She said, her voice slurred. Though her body had reacted instinctively during the presence of danger, her mind remained mildly intoxicated.
"It seems I went a bit overboard last night… but?"
She held her head softly, sighing. Then, as if remembering something, her gaze shifted to the bar owner. It seemed she hadn't notice him until now. Or rather…
(Was he here the entire time?)
Such doubts filled her head, but she had other important questions she needed to ask.
"Do you mind explaining what happened while I was asleep? Just how did those beasts manage to get in here of all places?"
She asked casually, unbothered by the chaos outside. Outside, the sounds of knights and mercenaries and adventurers defending the city echoed.
Inside, Triska remained untouchable, lethal, and utterly indifferent to the destruction around her. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the destroyed entrance of the tavern.
"I thought you'd be here…. Triska."
An exasperated voice resounded. Triska's rosy lips curved upward as she responds.
"What can I say, once I have a glass there is no stopping it."
She shrugs her shoulders. Ezekiel's dry gaze pierced through her, but she paid it no mind. Utterly carefree and wild, that was her nature.
"More importantly, do you mind explaining what's going on here? I've never seen a black wolf like this before, honestly I can't help my curiosity."
"I don't understand it myself, but we were ordered to defend the capital by Lady Vaerisse along with Mira."
He informed bluntly. But he seems to have some thoughts on that himself, there was a somewhat puzzled look on his face.
"Oh, that's rare… usually she's so indifferent to what happens in this city, but now she ordered us to defend it, hm."
Triska tilted her head in a slightly surprised manner.
"Her reasoning makes no difference; we will naturally carry out her orders. As it is our duty as members of the White Moon."
Ezekiel said, his tone oddly stern.
"Fufu, that's the case, isn't it?"
Triska chuckled, as she brushed her long brown hair with streaks of blue aside. In her hand was a deck of cards, each enchanted with various magic spells.
"Fufu, I get to drink and go wild it seems I'm blessed by the Goddess of water."
She said with a cheerful smile plastered on her face.
…
Meanwhile, on the streets of the capital city, battles raged on multiple fronts. The sky was illuminated by the various magical spells that cast by the royal sorcerers.
Midst the chaos a hulking man in his mid-thirties swung a massive axe in a wide, vertical arc.
Each strike cleaved a demonic beast in two, spraying blood across the cobblestones and coating his visage in gore.
The hot sickening stench of the foul blood would normally make anyone twisted their face in disgust, and yet—
"Hahaha! Keep coming! More! More blood!"
The man laugh and roared, madly as his mouth twisted into a wide crescent grin, reflecting the thrill of slaughter. The carnage was relentless, but he seemed to revel in it.
The way he fought lacked the elegance typically seen in those who wielded the sword to perfection, instead he seemed like a wild beast. However, such behaviour was mundane to the likes of mercenaries.
"Heheh, these beasts are stubborn, aren't they, Boss?"
Another giant, wielding a massive hammer, crushed every demonic beast he hit into pulpy, unrecognizable flesh. The sheer force of each swing shattered the cobblestone of the paved streets and leaving behind large cracks.
"Hmph. Their resistance is a nice welcome,"
The axe-wielder, Merco, replied, his entire body streaked with blood. His feral grin widened as he observed the regenerative abilities of the beasts.
"That just means we can grind them to dust as much as we like."
A demonic beast lunged toward him, fangs bared, but before it could reach him, a massive fist slammed into its chest from below. Bones snapped with a sickening crunch as it was sent flying.
"These beasts rely on that dark mist to recover,"
Said another warrior, Naru, short red hair gleaming as he pummelled his enemies with gauntlets.
"Oh, so you noticed too, eh?"
Merco swung his axe in a wide circle, repelling a charge of beasts.
"Indeed,"
Naru said, flattening another demon into a pulp. The scent of metallic blood filled his nostrils, but that seems to only stimulate his bloodlust.
"Without the black mist, their recovery slows—though there are still far too many of them."
"Then all we have to do is keep slaughtering them until that mist is gone, right, Boss?!"
Brakka grinned, smashing another beast with his fists. His large, menacing body cast towering shadow over the demonic beasts as he held one of their head and ripped their jaws apart with brut force.
Many knights fending off the demonic beasts nearby felt sick from the brutality. Merco's grin widened, eyes glinting with a bloodlust that matched the chaos around him.
"Heh. Draw as much blood as possible! Paint the streets red!"
The cobblestone streets splintered under the force of their attacks, chunks of stone and debris flying as axes, hammers, and fists tore through the demonic horde.
A short distance away, a young female royal knight faced two demonic beast on her own, her expression tightened into a deep frown.
"Ugh… What an uncivilized bunch,"
She muttered, frowning slightly. Years of battle had hardened her heart to bloodshed, but even she couldn't ignore the sheer savagery she was being forced to witness.
Guts and heads along with cracked skull splattered across the streets, the air thick with the metallic stench of blood.
"I'll use enchantment magic."
A young royal sorcerer held up her finger and wrote an enchantment into the air.
The Word "bind" that was written with magic power seem to come to life, thick tendrils of light suddenly protruded from the ground, binding the demonic beasts in place.
The royal knights used that opportunity to slay each of the demonic beasts that was being forcefully restrained.
"Keep attacking! Force them out of the city!"
A royal knight shouted. Finally gaining momentum, the knights slaughtered the demonic beasts mercilessly. But…
BOOOOOM!
"… Gufh."
One of the demonic Cyclops forcefully broke free from the tendrils restraining it and swung its stone club, a fierce shockwaves spread from the point of impact, sending the knights flying and destroying their circular formation.
Many of the knights were too injured to keep fighting, as the battle progressed their vast numbers were diminishing rapidly.
(We can't keep this up. At this rate…)
The female knight swung her sword diagonally, cutting open a demonic beasts. Her breathing was rough and she could tell the situation wasn't in their favour.
The regenerative properties of the demonic beasts was the most difficult aspect of fighting them in such large numbers. The number of knights, adventurers and mercenaries fighting in the front line was roughly five times the number of demonic beasts gathered.
But now that number had been greatly reduced to three times that amount. And it only kept decreasing as time passed.
"Aren't there any reinforcements yet?"
She questioned, frowning.
"Unfortunately, we have yet to receive any news from the knight that had left to inform His Majesty the situation."
Another knight reported.
"Tch, at this rate, will we be able to hold out?"
The female knight—Lula furrowed her brow with a look of concern. The attack this time was just too sudden.
There was no news of there being this many monsters near the outer walls, as such there was a heavy lack of knights guarding the outer perimeter of the forest.
By the time the knights finally notice the abnormalities, it was already too late. They were naturally unable to suppress the demonic beasts with their fewer numbers.
"The citizens has already evacuated, but…"
(Ridden the capital city of these beasts isn't going to be easy.)
They'd at least need to use wide range magic of the highest class, but in doing so the city would be unlikely to come out unharmed.
"Where are the S Ranked Adventurers?!"
She yelled. During times like these the more forced they had the better their chances, the Adventurer guild had the obligation of lending reinforcements during these crisis.
"My apologies, Lady Lula, many of the higher ranked Adventurer are currently unavailable, and the Dragon Slayer has yet to return from his last quest."
A young lady who was managing the reinforcement of the Adventurer guild informed solemnly.
"At a time like this… How unfortunate."
Lula heaved a sighed of irritation. Just then, a demonic beasts leapt at her from the front, but she skilfully manoeuvred her body, swinging her sword diagonally to sever its head, the blade of her sword let out residual colours of lights, the ground charred black from the light.
However, the demonic beast was not hindered by its detached head, it kept attacking relentlessly.
Awoooo!
More demonic beasts also rushed ahead in surging waves. They seemed fully intended on sinking their fangs into the royal knights and Adventurers presents.
Lula swung her sword, a slash of light resembling all the colours of the rainbow was released.
As a result, the approaching demonic beasts were incinerated, but their abnormal healing made them ignore their injuries as they kept approaching.
"Royal sorcerers, get into formation!"
Fearing the possibility of being surrounded from all sides, she yelled and signal the sorcerers standing back to the rear.
"Mother of fire burn my target—Incinerate!"
At that, several magic formations appeared, igniting into a blast of flames that directly burnt the incoming demonic beasts.
(We can't keep this up; will we really be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive?)
At this rate, their magic power was more likely to run dry before they can get any more reinforcements from the royal castle. But then…
"Lady Lula… Sir Aron has just contacted us."
A young knight came running, in his hand was a small device—Communicator type artifact.
{Lula, what's the situation over there?}
The solemn voice of a man could be heard through the device—Sir Aron, the royal knight captain.
"Sir, we are doing our best to hold the front line, but…"
It was unlikely the balance could be maintained for long. In fact, the number of knights currently fending off demonic beast was still declining even now.
{…. I see, we've already sent various knights to support the south, west, and north, as for the east, I'll go there myself.}
Sir Aron explained, his voice stern. He was probably concerned as to why there was so many demonic beasts attacking the capital.
Considering beasts were usually cautious and wouldn't approach towns themselves, it was extremely disquieting that so many of them would gather in large numbers to attack a city.
And monsters typically don't gather in such numbers either. Even if there were from the same species as the Cyclops, they usually fought for prey in the forest, so it should've been unlikely for them to coordinate in vast numbers, yes it should've been, but…
{Whatever the reason is, conserve your magic power. This battle could last all until sunrise.}
"Understood!"
Lula nodded with a serious expression on her face. But it was at that moment a change happened on the battlefield.
"Haaah!"
A young adventurer closed in on the demonic Cyclops, the blade of his sword igniting in flames.
"Hm… A magic sword?"
Lula narrowed her eyes as she observed the blade of his sword. The Cyclops seems to sense the danger and swung its stone club in a wide horizontal arc, but he stooped down from under it, slashing the giant's abdomen, and cutting it in half from the waist.
"How splendid."
She muttered in admiration. Magic swords were extremely rare to come by, but finding a worthy wielder was even rarer.
"Hahaha! As expected of you, Lord Rize."
Another Adventurer said with a wide grin. The flames engulfed the body of the Cyclops, hindering its regenerative ability.
On another side, Mira moved like a shadow, flicking in and out of sight. Every time she appeared, several demonic beasts heads soared through the air, severed cleanly by her relentless strikes.
Even while outnumbered, the Heartless Enchantress pressed the attack without hesitation. She seemed almost otherworldly, vanishing into the darkness whenever a demon beast lunged at her, melding with the shadows around her like a wraith.
Mira twisted her body midair, a roundhouse kick dug into the head of a cyclops, snapping the neck of the giant mercilessly, while her dagger-wielding arms cut another down simultaneously.
Each movement was precise, fluid, and lethal—a deadly dance of steel and shadow that left her enemies in pieces before they could even register her presence.
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over her. Another demonic Cyclops charged, swinging its stone club in a crushing downward arc.
"Tch."
Mira reacted, albeit a split second late. She raised her twin daggers into a defensive stance, grunting as the stone club slammed against them with the force of a falling boulder.
The impact dented the ground beneath her feet, sending cracks spidering across the cobblestones. Undeterred, she planted her weight, pushing back against the stone club with all her strength.
With a fluid, twisting step, she weaved diagonally out of its path, then slashed horizontally in a crisscross in one lethal motion—beheading the cyclops with a single, clean stroke.
However, her eyes narrowed warily as she saw the fist of the cyclops she had just beheaded approaching her face.
On pure instinct, she lowered her upper body, narrowly evading its fist and dropped her body in a downward motion, kicking its leg from under it.
As the giant tumble backwards unsteadily, Mira leapt forward and planted her heel into its stomach, kicking it down with the weight of her body.
In the next moment, her right arm moved swiftly, plunging the dagger into its heart mercilessly, it's headless body squirming wildly.
"Such abnormal vitality."
Mira observes the jolting body of the cyclops with deep interest. Black mist coiling around its body like tentacles.
(The regenerative ability of these guys is stronger than the demonic beasts. Since their bodies are vastly larger, should I assume that mist surrounding it greatly enhances its recovery.)
In just those brief seconds, she had analysed the methods of its superior healing. Since the cyclops can still move even after losing their heads, she could only target their other vitals.
A cyclops charges at her again in a rush attack, it seemed fairly warily of her as it was wildly swinging around its stone club to keep a fair distance from her.
But Mira kicked off the ground with incredible force, leaping several meters above its head.
In the next moment, the blade of the dagger in her right hand collided against the club.
"Guhffu."
The cyclops seemed to smirk at her. Naturally, it had the advantage in physical strength, Mira was knocked away from the recoil of their collision.
The cyclops instantly closed the distance as it swung its stone club in a crushing swing, believing it had an opening with her fall.
However, Mira took advantage of her smaller frame. She reflexively discarded the deflected dagger in her right hand and created a tangible barrier of magic energy to balance herself midair.
Then she twisted her body with incredible acrobatics movements to manoeuvre herself before its giant body, using the stone club of the cyclops as a stepping stone to close the distance.
"Guyufhh!"
The moment she inches near the cyclops she swung the dagger still in her left hand, ruthlessly gouging out its eye. A deafening shriek of agony filled the air. But Mira casually stepped on its head to stifle her momentum and leapt backwards to gain distance.
"Mother of wind, slice my target—Air cutter!"
A magic formation appeared at her outstretched hand and released a gust of condensed wind in the shape of a blade.
The cyclops didn't even get the chance to let out its last desperate cry of pain as its body was slice cleanly in two halves from the head down. Both sides falling in piles of flesh with a heavy thud.
As she descended to the ground, Mira yanked out her dagger still lodge in its collapse body.
Her daggers coated in blood glinting under the ray of the silver moon partially obscured by the clouds and miasma overhead.
More demonic beasts and demonic cyclops appeared, surrounding her from all sides. Mira's expressionless eyes glinted fiercely, pure murderous intent shone in those beautiful gem-like eyes of hers. The air around her growing colder, or so it seems.
In an instant, she closed the gap, twirling and swinging her twin daggers in wide continuous arcs, cutting through flesh and spraying blood.
The hood of her robes fluttered downwards as soft strands of her honey-coloured hair dance in the wind.
…
At the same time in the forest, four figures draped in cloaks could be seen running through the dark and dreary woods of the forest.
Judging from their figures it was most certainly two men and women. They were running at an astonishingly fast speed, sprinting through the densely woods filled with lushed trees and the scent of floral.
As they ran, they were occasionally attacked by stray demonic beasts, but they were slain by their enchanted weapons without even a blink of the eye.
They were also members of the White moon organization—The four shadows. Vaerisse had dispatched them to check on the state of the seal, which imprisoned the demons three centuries ago.
"Do you really think the seal is actually weakening?"
The voice of a cheerful girl resounded. Although her features were hidden behind her hood, it was easy to tell she was extremely beautiful.
Despite running for so long, while manoeuvring through the trees she didn't appear to be out of breath.
"Who knows, but Lady Vaerisse seems wary of something, not to mentioned."
The stern voice of an older man replied with uncertainty, he seems to be thinking deeply about something, as he had a rather contemplative look on his face.
"Hm… Is something wrong, Weiss?"
The young girl questioned, noticing the man known as Weiss was lost in thought.
"Oh, no, it's nothing, anyway, Mina, do you hear anything? Your traits as a wolf beastkin should give you more insight in this dark forest, right?"
Weiss cleared his throat as he asked.
"Hmph, don't think I can't see that you're changing the topic, no. The only thing I can hear for miles are the cries of beasts… Though."
Mina, the wolf beastkin answered, then furrowed her brow into a frown.
"Is something wrong?"
The man running on the left finally spoke up.
"N-No it's just… The scent of these beasts seems different from usual."
"Hm, different… How so?"
Unsure of what she meant, both Weiss and the man running on the left exchange looks of confusion. Since they were humans, they did not have the heightened senses typical to beastfolks.
"I mean, usually wild beasts have a… Hm, let's see, they usually smell like wet fur, but now there is something really stink about them."
She said after making a pondering gesture.
"They usually smell like damp fur; I can't tell if I should be glad my nose isn't sensitive or feel envy."
Weiss said with a wry smile. Just then, a snake-like demonic beasts suddenly leapt at them, but he sliced it in half with a single swing of his sword.
"These monsters have a sickening stench around them? Is that why they are behaving so aggressively, I mean… More than usual?"
"Most likely, also… For some reason it's rather difficult for me to differentiate the scent of beasts and monsters."
Mina added, her usual playful voice was stern with concern. While monsters and beasts both have scent that differs between species, for some reason the demonic beasts and demonic monsters all smell like they came from the same species.
"That aside, we should really quicken our pace."
The man running along the left—Bantu, suggested.
"…"
Meanwhile, during that time the young woman running along the rear kept her silence. The sounds of leaves crunch as she ran through the sprawling forest. It was difficult to see what kind of expression she was making as she ran.
"Hey, Isalith, how are you holding up?"
Mina asked, glancing over her shoulders. But Isalith did not show any signs of responding to her inquiry.
"Sigh… Still refuse to talk, huh?"
Mina frowned slightly in displeasure. But this was typical for Isalith, who wasn't much of a talker to begin with.
"Hm, we're here."
Weiss said, after running for so long with their physical body strengthen through magic, they had finally left the forest. What stood before them now was a vast mountainous landscape.
The ground was dry with dirt and stones; there was not a single vegetation in sight for miles.
"So, this is where the Demon king and his army was sealed by the powers of the heroes three centuries ago."
Mina uttered, glancing around the surrounding with deep interest. Even after all this time, this place still showed no signs of returning to its once lush landscape.
"The seal should be over there."
Weiss said, pointing off into the distance.
In an instant, they took off, running downhill at rapid speed. The lumpy terrain would make it difficult for safe travels, but they showed no signs of slowing down.
"Hm, there it is."
What lay ahead was a large black coloured sphere, its mass slightly obscured by the dense clouds of miasma.
"The seal seems to be holding up okay, but…"
Bentu narrowed his eyes as he observed the sphere. It was difficult to see the exact state with the seal being obscured by the miasma, but he could at least tell there wasn't anything wrong with it.
"I dunno, does it seem like the seal has gotten a lot smaller than it was last time?"
Mina pointed out. She removed her hood, revealing her long bluish hair, a fluffy wolf ear. Behind her, her fluffy wolf tail was also moving back and forth.
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Although, I thought it was just my imagination."
Weiss nodded his head, his brow furrowing with doubt.
"… Let me check something."
Bentu glance around the ground and took up a single rock as big as his palm, then he threw it with moderate force. As the rock came into contact with the black mist, it dissolves into the air, melted.
"Wh-What is that black mist?"
"I'm not sure, but it's best not to get too close."
Towards Mina's question, Weiss had an extremely grim expression as he observed the mist. It was fairly obvious nothing good would come out of making contact with it.
"…"
Isalith who had maintained her silence until now narrowed her eyes from underneath her hood and unsheathed her sword with flowing movements, swinging it in a wide arc.
Clang!
"Wha?!"
Weiss, Mina and Bentu whirled around in surprised at the sudden sound of metal. There, they saw Isalith sword colliding with a dark demonic figure.
It was humanoid in shape but was clad in a pitched black armour-like exoskeleton made of some kind of black metallic material.
Furthermore, one its head was an oddly conspicuously looking horns, and a tail that snapped about.
(Those features… And that horn, don't tell me?)
"Is that a demon?"
Bentu wondered, his eyes widened in surprise. In an instant, the demon inched closer, slashing at Isalith with its sharp claws, but she easily leaned backward, narrowly avoiding its claws, then with a sharp turn of her body, she swung her sword diagonally upwards.
But the demon blocked the blade of her sword with its arm encased with its exoskeleton.
(Tch, so tough.)
Despite using the weight of her body into her strike she was unable to cut its arm. However, the tail of the demon began to dance, it shot forward like a spear, aiming straight for her heart.
"As If I'd let you!"
Before the tail could reach her, Bentu had already grabbed his enchanted bow, firing an arrow engulfed with flames.
However, as it was intercepted by an arrow shot directly for its head, which was the only place that wasn't protected by its exoskeleton.
The demon promptly moved its head to the side, evading the charging arrow by mere inches.
"Haaah!"
A shadow loomed over its figure, Mina holding her enchanted hammer aloft, swung downward with the force of her fall.
BOOOOOOM!
A fierce shockwave spread directly from the point of impact, the tremendous force levelling the ground beneath her.
"Guh… It evaded."
Mina frown when she realized her surprise attack had missed its mark. The demon silently appeared behind her, swinging down its claws towards her head mercilessly, but that strike was parried by Weiss's sword, who had circled around to protect her back.
"What the hell are you? Why are you attacking us?!"
He questioned; voice filled with murderous intent.
"…"
But the demon did not utter a single word. Its glowing red eyes were dull and empty. It was hard to tell if it even understood what it was being asked to begin with.
"Tch, we'll restrain you and get our answers."
The demon raised its left hand, jabbing at Weiss's heart, but he weaved to the side, evading its attack before following up with a swing of his sword.
The demon blocked the blade with its elbow, the blade rebounding from its exoskeleton.
(In that case…)
Since it was pointless to keep attacking the areas of its body that was protected, he swung his sword horizontally sideways toward its neck. But the demon backed away before the blade came within reach.
At that moment several arrows shot towards its body, each aiming directly for its head. But the demon raised its hand above its head, protecting the area it was most vulnerable.
"Haaaah!"
With a war cry, Mina once again swung her giant hammer downward to deliver a crushing blow. The demon tried evading again but was unable to move. At his leg, the ground was moving around unnaturally.
Isalith had her hand place against the soil. Instead of magic, she was using spirit arts to manipulate the ground.
BOOOOOOOM!
The crunch of bones breaking resounded as Mina's hammer slammed down against the demon mercilessly. The ground shook and undulated from the force.
"It's unfortunate we can't interrogate it for answers."
Mina uttered with a frown. However—
"Wh-What?!"
The head of the hammer shook as it slowly rose from the ground. The demon had raised its arm and was holding the hammer, Mina exerted more force into her hands, but the hammer didn't move an inch.
"Kyaaa!"
With a single swing, both Mina and the hammer were sent flying several meters away.
"The armour… Don't tell me!"
Weiss's expression became grim as he stared at the demons shattered exoskeleton rapidly recovering as miasma gathered around it.
"The speed of its recovery is also faster than those wild beasts."
Bentu pointed out, his brow furrowing in annoyance.
"…"
Isalith maintained her silence with an indifferent expression. She ignored those around her and moved forward.
"Ah, Isalith, wait!"
Isalith ignored Weiss's orders and slash with her sword, her movements were smooth and fluid, it would've been fairly difficult for a human to blocked. But the demon easily deflected the blade of her sword calmly, taking advantage of the toughness of the exoskeleton.
"Earth spears."
Isalith lips parted softly as she whispered faintly. Dirt rose up into the air, forming countless spears of dirt several centimetres in length.
In an instant, they shot towards the demon with tremendous speed, aiming towards its head with pinpoint accuracy.
The demon seems to anticipate where she would aim and raised its hand to guard its head. But Isalith was also anticipating that, she sent her magical energy into her blade and instead of aiming for its neck, she stabbed forward towards its heart.
"Guh."
The blade of her sword was naturally met with resistance, but as the heated light of her sword burn fiercer, the blade bore into its armour, stabbing its heart.
"… Sh-She actually did it."
Mina stared at Isalith with admiration, while Weiss and Bentu were also staring at her with surprise.
However, the demon did not seem the least bit concerned, it aimed a sharp claw to pierce her heart in turn, Isalith reflexively released her sword and backed away.
The sword now freed, fell to the ground with a clattering sound, the exoskeleton of the demon began its repair.
"This thing has insane vitality."
Mina frowned in displeasure as she glared at the demon.
"What should we do?"
"We can only retreat for now and explain the situation to Lady Vaerisse."
At Bentu's question, Weiss gave a logical answer, albeit reluctantly.
"However, if we ran away what's stopping this thing from coming after us?"
Bentu pointed out. If they retreated back into the forest, they'd be at a disadvantage.
"Hmmm… Let's Launch a wide range attack to cut off its senses then retreat."
Weiss suggested. But suddenly, Mina's ears stood up, her fur bristling as she exclaimed.
"Ah, in the sky!"
A pillar of red flames came crashing down, slamming into the earth.
"As I expected something really has happened to the seal."
From within the pillar of flames, a young woman seemingly in her mid-twenties came out. She had long waist length crimson hair, and eyes of the same colour.
Her lips were also painted red as she dons a red gown, in her hand was a small fan.
"That woman… A spirit?"
Isalith stared at the crimson-haired woman and narrowed her eyes. Yes, this woman was among the four spirit monarchs, the highest-class spirits in this world. The divine flame spirit monarch—Livia.
The demon who had been indifferent the entire time now seem to hesitate. It was staring at Livia with wariness within its dull, empty eyes.
However, despite its caution, it closed the distance, swinging its claws towards her head, however…
"Hmph, a mere lesser devil wants to challenge me? Come back once you've at least reached the rank of the demon kings."
She uttered indifferently and waved her hand, following that gesture a pillar of fire rose up, engulfing the body of the lesser Devil.
"Hshshsh!"
The Devil who had been silent until now screamed in pain. Not only was its body being burnt but also its soul. The miasma was also unable to assist as it was being devoured by the flames.
Livia ignored the screams of the Devil and stared up at the seal obscured by miasma, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"It's faint, but I can actually sense the presence of chaos surrounding the barrier."
Once she noticed that Livia didn't dare take another step forward. Instead, her eyes were filled with wariness and disbelief.
Chaos was usually an uncontrollable power. A power capable of consuming everything, even the universe.
There shouldn't have been anyone capable of manipulating such energy.
(At the very least, not anymore, but…)
As she observed the barrier the face of a certain woman appeared in her mind, she shook her head as if such thoughts were impossible.
"In any case, this area will soon be filled with lesser Devils. I'll have to erect another barrier to neutralize them once they appear."
Livia opens her palm, and a crimson sphere of flame took shape, it slowly rose higher and higher into the sky, only stopping once it had ascended ten odd meters above ground.
The red flames gave off tremendous heat, burning away any miasma before they could spawn any more Devils.
"As for the power of chaos, I'll have to inform the others about this."
Livia scratched her head with a somewhat annoyed expression on her face, sensing trouble over the horizon.
"Hm?"
Then, she directed her gaze towards Isalith and squinted her eyes. She snapped her fan shut and pointed it directly at her.
"You girl… You have merge with a spirit, haven't you?"
Livia questioned, her voice was cold and detached. The aura of an otherworldly being did not fade.
"…"
Isalith kept her silence with a frown. Although faint, she could sense a subtle hostility directed towards her. Depending on her answers, it was clear her life could be put in danger.
As if comprehending the situation, Weiss, Mina and Bentu also held their breaths with conflicted expressions. Although they weren't aware of the details themselves, they too had heard of Isalith incorporating herself with a spirit.
For a spirit monarch, such an act was no different from trampling on the dignity of the spirits. Livia's icy gaze narrowed into slits.
"That's enough… Flame spirit Monarch, that girl is with me."
Suddenly, a beautiful voice filled with warmth echoed through the surrounding. Livia frowned and directed her gaze toward the sky. Floating there was a young woman who was endowed with extraordinary beauty.
"Ah, my Lady!"
Seeing the figure of their master, Weiss, Mina and Bentu all knelt down in reverence. Only Isalith remained standing, her gaze fixed on Livia.
"You, are the daughter of Syl Thalyra, Vaerisse, I assume?"
Yes, the woman was none other than Vaerisse, the former elven empress and the daughter of the Dryad of the forest.
"Fufu, it's my honour to be remembered by one of the four great spirit monarchs. In consideration for my mother, can I ask that you overlook this matter regarding my subordinate there?"
"She has infused herself with the essence of a spirit, an act that defiles the will of a spirit, you know such an act cannot go unpunished, right?"
"Of course, I am aware, but that girl was merely an experiment and it's not like she herself wished to be infused with a spirit herself."
"She did not wish for it?"
Livia stared at Isalith with a scrutinizing gaze as if she wanted to understand everything about her. Those crimson eyes of hers were chilling, an ordinary human would flinch, but Isalith didn't even twitch.
"… I see. I'd like to question you more about that, but for now, I have other pressing concerns."
Livia moved her gaze from Isalith and once again directed her attention towards the power of chaos she sense before.
"Yes, actually there is something I'd also like to confirm with you as well."
Sensing that Livia no longer had any interest with Isalith, Vaerisse sighed and cough before her expression contorted into a stern face.
"Just now, you said you sense the power of chaos, didn't you? Does that mean someone was trying to destroy the barrier using that power?"
She asked the question she was most certain about, if her premonition were right, then the world may end up facing something far worse than just the return of the demon god.