It was now morning.
I was tired out of my mind, but I was also very successful in finding the demons.
So much so that I went ahead and interrogated all of them.
Most lied to me about the location of the core of the ritual, but there were a decent few who had said the same thing.
In the end, I had a rough location of where the ritual's core could be.
The sea.
It was not ideal at all.
Anywhere else would've been fine, but this just lowered our odds of victory by a lot.
But I didn't let that discourage me too much.
Instead, I floated around the city for a little while longer, and eventually, I saw Isabelle in the city's center, helping out a few of the civilians.
Kevin was training his swordsmanship, and Melina was inside an inn, drinking beer.
Long story short, I went down to each one of them and told them to gather just outside of the city.
Isabelle and Kevin read my tone and agreed right away.
As for Melina, she was a bit more difficult to convince.
Not only because she was drunk, but also since she really didn't seem to like me all that much.
But in the end, after convincing her and buying her an expensive bottle of wine, I managed to gather all three of them outside of the city.
And as I stared at the three of them, I began to give an explanation.
"This whole mission is a trap. The demons are setting up a ritual, and they're going to trigger it soon. I spent the whole night hunting down the demons and I know where the ritual's core is... But I need you three to help me out."
Seeing their expressions, I couldn't help but let out a sigh.
None of them believed a word that came out of my mouth.
Everyone except for Kevin.
"I thought something was a little off too. My grandfather had told me about human sacrifice rituals too, so that was the first thing I thought about when the headmaster told us about the mission."
I nodded at him.
"It's a human sacrifice ritual, but it's not meant to summon anyone. Instead, the main purpose is to turn someone berserk."
"You seem to know a lot about this kind of stuff," Melina said. "You can probably see where I'm going with this though, can't you?"
"No, I'm not with the demons." I rolled my eyes. "If I was, I wouldn't have gathered you three here and told you about the ritual."
"Is that so..."
Melina twirled her hair slightly, then met my gaze.
"Could you assure us then that you don't have any connection to the demons?"
Her eyes glowed for a moment.
It seemed like she activated her Gift.
Rather, her Gift was very versatile and overpowered, especially in the late game.
She could give orders, and the world would react to those orders.
If she told someone to die, and that certain someone was weaker than her, they'd die.
If she were to tell someone to grovel at her feet, they'd most likely do it.
And when she asks a question, she can detect lies.
But sadly for her, I was stronger than her.
Much, much stronger.
So I didn't have to worry about these orders, at least not until she fully awakens her Gift.
Therefore...
"As I already said, I have no connection to the demons."
She stared at me for a moment, then shrugged.
"In that case, I'm on board. Tell me your plan."
I smiled inwardly, and then glanced at Kevin who nodded back at me.
Lastly, I glanced at Isabelle.
Out of the three, I expected her to be the most curious.
Yet ever since I brought her here, she hadn't asked a single question.
It was too uncharacteristic of her.
But I took her silence as agreement.
And so I began telling them my plan.
"To disrupt the ritual once and for all, we need to break the ritual's core the moment the ritual starts. If we don't get the timing right, the ritual might extend past the Mudflats..."
One would think that destroying the core before the ritual started would do the trick.
I was one of those people.
Sadly for me, the moment I destroyed the core, the ritual triggered and it didn't stop until it swept at least ten cities off the map.
Shaking my head, I continued:
"Now since the core is in the ocean, I want you three to do a few tasks for me."
Starting with Kevin...
"Kevin, when the ritual starts, every single one of the red trees with corpses inside them are going to awaken. The corpses will turn into demons, and I want you to kill all of them before they can reach the city."
His eyes widened.
"But aren't there thousands of trees?"
"Yep. But your swordsmanship relies on speed, and since the demons aren't that strong, you're perfect for the job."
He lowered his gaze.
"Shouldn't we tell the others about it? Why did you only call out us three?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Reinhardt is with the demons. Natasha isn't a powerful fighter, but she'll be good when it comes to saving people."
Then there was one more Top Priority cadet.
Draven.
He was the cadet in 10th place.
And just like Natasha, he wasn't a fighter.
He was a healer.
A really damn good healer.
And that's why he's going to stick to being a support alongside Natasha.
I said those same words to the three, and they seemed to understand.
But obviously...
"So you know Reinhardt is with the demons and you haven't done anything to him?" Melina asked. "Are you trying to use him as bait?"
"Exactly," I replied. "If he's the only person who can activate the ritual, then he's perfect."
She was clearly satisfied by my answer.
"And afterwards we kill him?"
"Obviously. When he activates the ritual, he won't be useful anymore."
Honestly...
Despite what I thought at first, it looked like Melina and I were getting along just fine.
Kevin didn't seem too keen on my idea since he was the overly heroic type, but he was too weak to really call the shots here.
So after agreeing to his role, I moved onto the others.
"Melina, I want you to order the fish to destroy the ritual's core when it's time."
"Sounds easy enough," she said. "Is that it?"
She had arguably the hardest job here, but since I knew how strong she really was, I could leave it in her hands.
"Yep. Lastly... Isabelle. When the ritual's core is destroyed, a massive tsunami is going to hit the Mudflats. I want you to freeze it."
"..."
"You want me to do what?"
Was it that absurd?
"Yeah. You just have to freeze the tsunami, and I'll take care of the rest."
Honestly, if all three of them can handle their roles perfectly, our odds of surviving this go from 50% to 80%.
I wouldn't have to waste all of my energy doing their tasks.
I would only need to focus on fighting.
Could Isabelle not do this?
I swear... at this point in time, she definitely had enough energy to stop a tsunami.
Was I wrong?
"I can do it."
Isabelle assured me.
"I just... how long do I have to keep it frozen?"
"Gosh, this is why I hate you imperials," Melina said. "Always whining about something. If you can't do it, then let me do it instead. I can just order the water to freeze instead. That should be the same, right?"
I glanced at Melina and then back at Isabelle.
Her idea didn't sound half bad.
In which case...
"Sure. If you see Isabelle struggling, then step in and help her."
Isabelle flashed me a slightly angered look.
As for Melina, she let out a victorious chuckle and waved at me.
"If that's all, I'll get back to drinking. Let me know when all this bullshit starts, yeah?"
With those words, she made her way back to the city.
She really was a wild card.
But as one of the heroines with an overpowered Gift, I needed to keep her alive until the end.
Smiling to myself, I turned back to Kevin and Isabelle.
"You two can go as well."
Just as I was about to leave, Kevin spoke up.
"Amon, can we spar?"
"...Why would I want to spar with you?"
"The swordsmanship you showed me the day we met... I can't forget about it. I want to experience it one more time... two more times."
Oh god.
The battle-crazed junkie is here.
Now, unless I agree, he's going to keep pestering me.
But then again, I didn't have anything to do but monitor Reinhardt every now and again.
I could spar with Kevin.
So I agreed.
"Fine."
I pulled out a wooden sword from my dimensional ring and aimed it at him.
He did the same.
But...
Was Isabelle going to spectate the match?
She moved aside and sat down on a log.
Both Kevin and I were a little puzzled, but it seemed like she had nothing better to do just like the two of us.
So, while she spectated us, we began our spar.
***
I rolled my sleeves back down and stashed away the wooden sword.
Glancing down at Kevin, who was battered and bruised on the ground, I couldn't help but sigh.
Out of the 50 times we fought each other, he didn't manage to get a single hit on me.
However, with every attempt, I saw him start to copy my swordsmanship.
It was a bit annoying.
Almost like a complete genius stealing your life's work.
But since he was the main character and someone who had a knack for swordsmanship, I didn't let it bother me too much.
So after the spars were over, I went back into the city.
Isabelle watched the entire sparring session, and now she once again followed after me.
I ignored it all the previous times, but now... I just didn't understand her.
So after making a few turns into an alleyway, I stopped and turned around, meeting her neutral gaze.
"Isabelle."
She tilted her head.
"Why are you following me?" I asked.
On the off chance she was into me, I didn't know how to respond.
Would I be interested in a relationship with her?
Did I even have the luxury of wanting something like that when I knew how shitty this world really was?
I wasn't sure.
"Do I need a reason to follow you?"
What kind of answer was that?
"Well... You do seem kind of like a stalker right now, you know?"
"I'm not a stalker. I'm the imperial princess," she replied.
Only in times like these would she really use her title.
But oh well, if she wanted to play games, then I'll join her.
"And I'm the demon child. The closer you are to me, the worse your luck will be. Do you want to be unlucky?" I asked. "Because if not, I suggest you stay away from me."
It was a children's tale that the nobles spread about me.
Or rather, about Amon.
A child who failed to become an offering to the demons.
A child who was rejected by the demons.
A cursed child.
And yet, even after knowing all these things, Isabelle didn't seem to want to back away.
Not only that, she wasn't as naive as I thought.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just interested in how you fight. I feel like if I copy the way you fight and implement that style when I use my Gift, I'll be able to reach new heights."
That's...
How do Telekinesis and Frost seem even remotely close?
"So you've been following me like a stalker just because you want to copy my style and how I use Telekinesis...?"
She nodded at me.
"..."
At times like these, I felt like I didn't know nearly as much about the characters as I had hoped.
I thought I knew everything about her.
But not once did I see her as someone who would go out of her way and do something so childish.
Maybe I should stop treating these people like game characters.
After all, they seem pretty damn alive to me.
And if she's so alive and so determined... why don't I just make her abnormally strong?
"You can follow me," I replied. "However, whatever you see when we're together, I expect you to keep it to yourself."
Before she could say a word, I added, "And I mean you keep everything to yourself. Who I kill, who I save. What abilities I use, and even the kind of information I give you. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
I made sure that she wasn't lying with Blood Sight.
And since that was now clear, I suppose I should help her out a little.
After all... I knew just how powerful her gift can become.