“We need to leave this place!” Midnight shouted, sweat rolling down her temple.

  They could all feel the urgency, but as it stood, there were a few questions that needed answers before they could all move on.

  “First of all, who are you!?” Felicia asked, speaking for everyone.

  Hoshino and Marco nodded, echoing her concerns. A young black-haired man had entered the tunnel with Verity, but he was now nowhere to be seen, replaced by a pink-haired beast-woman. Even they could not simply brush this off as irrelevant.

  Verity shot Midnight a glance, and then scratched the back of his neck. “This is…Dawn.”

  Marco raised an eyebrow. “From what I remember, Dawn was a dude.” He glanced at Midnight. “And you’re definitely not a man.”

  “Right!” Hoshino chimed in. “What sort of twisted transformation magic is thii—”

  “It doesn’t matter!!!” Midnight lashed out. “We don’t have time for this!” Her voice was raw with urgency. “That flower is called a Thorn of Sin, if it has bloomed, it means that demons have crossed over to this side!!”

  She then shot a glare at Felicia, her teeth clenched. “And you! Wipe that grin off your face! I know your kind–Try to fight it, and you’ll die before even knowing what happened!”

  Felicia covered her mouth with her hand, not even realizing she’d been grinning. ‘A demon, huh…’ She thought, her fingers flexed.

  From her eyes, Midnight could tell that Felicia had not abandoned the idea.. “Ah! Whatever! I’m out of here! Come with me or don’t, I don’t care!”

  She went ahead, leaving the others behind. Midnight was not a coward, far from it, but facing a demon was not a question of courage. That was a job for the Knights and the Priests of the Kingdom, not a rag-tag group of adventurers.

  Verity looked at the others. “Yeah, I’m with her. I trust her judgement, and I like the idea of not dying.”

  [Your sponsor scoffs.]

  ‘...?’

  Marco scratched his head. “Sounds good to me. We’ve accomplished what we were here to do..”

  Hoshino gathered the wind below her feet. “Justice never cowers before evil…” She flew ahead, leaving a gust of wind in her wake. “...Which is exactly why they should fear my return—next time!”

  Felicia tightened her grip on Knight Jerin’s heavy frame. He groaned, muttering incomprehensible words into her ear. She sighed, and followed after them. “...Maybe I can just fight him a little, then run away if it gets dangerous…”

  ‘Felicia!’ Erilsa’s voice rang sharp in her mind.

  She flinched. “Okay, okay! I’m running!”

  Together, the six of them crawled through the narrow passage. They passed the scattered remains of the earlier battle, and quickly reached the main tunnel, running as fast as they could.

  “If we can just make it out of the forest, we should be fine!” Midnight shouted. “Even demons wouldn’t dare approach a human city so far from their territory!”

  And if they dared, a monster they couldn’t hope to handle resided in the heart of Plamodel. Hence, the idea of reaching the city suited Verity just as well.

  The moonlight seeped through the tunnel entrance in front of them, the exit nearly in view. Leaving the forest would only take a few more minutes, and if they all ran at full speed, they’d be in Plamodel in half an hour at most.

  BADUM

  Verity’s heart tightened, his heartbeat thundering in his chest. He knew this sensation. He had felt it before, but never to this degree. His body was warning him, begging him not to take another step forward.

  “W-Wait!” He cried out.

  But it was already too late, they had reached the exit, and in the next second, they all basked in the soft moonlight.

  They had left the cave.

  And they came face to face with them.

  “Would you look at that? It seems a few maggots have found themselves before us.”

  The voice was silky, smooth, but most of all, arrogant.

  The group looked ahead, where it had come from, and they froze. Two figures emerged from the darkness.

  Demons.

  The first was tall, two obsidian horns protruding from its head, and skin as pale was the winter snow. It was draped in a long, raven dark robe, its glowing eyes like two pearls of blood embedded in its skull.

  Its hair nearly matched the color of its skin, and most disturbingly, that man– No, demon, was strikingly beautiful. More so than any human they’d ever seen before.

  The second, walking closely behind the first, resembled him greatly, but its horns were shorter, its appearance less striking, and its hair as dark as Verity’s.

  Both of them bore strange symbols etched into their foreheads. The smaller one had a singular horizontal, golden line, while the former bore the mark of three interlocked ellipses.

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  “Bel.”

  The smaller demon immediately lowered his head. “M-my apologies for speaking out of turn.”

  The white-haired demon then looked at the group, its hands behind its back, and utter indifference in its eyes..

  Midnight panicked. “D-Damnit, run awa–”

  “Kneel”

  The words had been merely spoken, but their bodies obeyed, as if compelled by a divine – or rather, profane decree.

  As she kneeled, Felicia dropped Jerin’s limp body onto the soft blades of grass.

  [The sub-skill -Indomitable Will- is in full effect. You are resisting the effect of an outside force.]

  Thanks to this, Verity was only forced to one knee, but he still couldn’t move.

  The white-haired demon pointed to Jerin. “Retrieve it. Kill the rest.”

  Bel, the black-haired demon, raised its clawed hands before him. “Your word is my command, Lord Azazel.”

  The group could not even speak, much less raise a weapon to defend themselves as the demon’s steps slowly neared them.

  It walked toward Felicia. Half of the reason was because he needed to retrieve Jerin’s body, and the other was because Bel had decided she would die first.

  He felt a strange unease when he looked at her, though he did not know why.

  ‘Move! Move! Move!!’ she thought furiously.

  Her Aura refused to manifest itself, and she couldn’t even unsheathe her sword. As her death drew near, Felicia couldn’t help but grin madly. ‘Isn’t this just unfair…? Haha…’

  Verity watched, bloodshot eyes wide, muscles spasming as he fought to break free of the command. ‘Come on!!’

  His hand twitched, and Azazel frowned, ever so slightly.

  “Do not worry, you shall serve as fertilizer for our race.” His claws glinted as he raised his arm. “There is no greater honor!” Bel said with a sneer.

  Then, he brought his claws down, aiming for her throat. A quick, swift death.

  Azazel’s eyebrow twitched and he clicked his tongue.

  SWOOSH

  His figure blurred, and he pulled Bel back, saving him from certain death.

  A paw, a large furry paw, materialized beside Felicia.

  Erilsa clicked her tongue, and her voice boomed like thunder. “And here I thought that would be enough to get rid of one of you vermin.”

  A majestic wolf with sky blue fur and emerald green eyes revealed itself beside her. It was imposing, five times her size at least, and above all, it was angry, furious. It bared its teeth at the demons.

  Bel fell down, his heart racing. He now understood what that feeling of unease was. “You dare!”

  Azazel raised his hand, and Bel shut his mouth, lowering his head with gritted teeth.

  For the first time, Azazel showed a hint of emotion. He smirked. “Perhaps you could have lived if you had fled.” He said, his eyes fixed on Erilsa. “Your insignificant presence was of no interest to me, but now you’ve shown yourself to die a meaningless death.”

  Erilsa scoffed, a mocking grin on her lips. “Aren’t you too full of yourself? Such pride is unbecoming for a demon ranked third from the bottom, don’t you think?”

  Bel sprung up. “How dare you insult Lord Aza–”

  Azazel turned around, shooting Bel a single, chilling look. “I will not warn you again, Bel.”

  Bel froze mid-sentence, and lowered himself to his knees. “Y-yes, Lord Azazel!!”

  Azazel turned back to Erilsa. “Nothing but a spirit mutt. Eons ago, your kind fled your world, seeking shelter under the shadows of…humans.”

  Bat-like wings unfurled behind him, and the air seemed to grow colder. “Shall I remind you why?”

  Erilsa growled, baring her fangs. ‘Felicia, once I attack, you’ll be freed from his control. Your only task is to survive until my return, understood?’

  ‘...Understood, but… be safe, Erilsa.’

  Erilsa grinned slightly, and she lunged toward Azazel, the ground quaking as she charged. The both of them disappeared within the darkness, the forest itself trembling in the wake of their battle.

  Those remaining acted in an instant. Verity stood up, his spear tightly clenched in his hands, and he adopted the first stance of the Nine Hells style.

  Felicia did the same, and immediately enveloped her sword in Sword Aura.

  Marco raised his guard, silent but ready.

  Midnight, unsheathed her daggers, her breath ragged but focused.

  And Hoshino–

  “Hoshino!!” Felicia cried out.

  As quick as they were, the demon was faster, much faster. The first rule of battle was to kill the mage, and so he lunged toward Hoshino, a grin on his lips. “I’ll kill you before you become a bother!”

  “Light becomes me - Lightspeed!”

  Hoshino’s body exploded into light itself for a fraction of a second, and she moved at an impossible speed.

  Even faster than the demon.

  She reappeared a hundred meters farther, her chest heaving, but the demon would not wait for her. His feet sunk into the ground and he shifted his course to slaughter Hoshino.

  “Skies heed my command - Gale!”

  She rose into the air, out of the demon’s reach, and she immediately began the chant for her next spell.

  “O Stars so bright, O skies so high–”

  The demon bent its knees ready to meet her in the sky.

  But four figures lunged at him. Daggers, Sword, Spear, and fists all simultaneously threatened to rip him apart.

  Bel clicked his tongue. “Annoying.”

  His wings spread behind him, and with a single flap, they produced a shockwave powerful enough to knock them all back.

  Again, he bent his knees.

  ‘No you don’t!’ Verity thought. He couldn’t let him reach Hoshino.

  He cocked his arm back, and threw his spear with all his strength, sending it straight into Bel’s abdomen, and stopping him for a moment.

  This was enough time for Midnight to rise from his shadow and lodge both of her daggers deep into his neck, the poison seeping into his blood.

  At the same time, Felicia appeared before the demon, her sword shining blue brighter than ever before. Bel raised his arm to block the blow, but the sword cut right through it, Bel’s flesh unable to stop it..

  The demon smirked. “Oh? Maggots with fangs. This might even be fun.”

  The demon raised his hand, and in a flash, Midnight’s chest was torn open, a river of blood pouring out. He then swiped his other hand toward Felicia.

  She reacted in time to block, but her Aura was no match for the demon’s sheer might. Her sword broke, her armor gave way, and she was sent crashing into a tree, the wound just shallow enough for her guts not to spill out.

  “Felicia!! Midnight!!” Verity roared.

  He grit his teeth and ran toward the demon, unarmed.

  The demon sneered. “Worry not, it will be your turn in due time.” It said, staring Verity in the eyes.

  “No!!” Verity would not make it in time.

  The demon unfurled his wings once more, preparing to fly toward the still chanting Hoshino, but a towering figure wrapped its arms around him before he could move.

  Marco had moved without an ounce of hesitation, locking the demons in a steel embrace. “Hoshino!! Hit him hard!” He yelled. “If it’s a contest of strength, I’m confident I can hold out!”

  Bel’s face twisted. “Primitive.”

  The sigil on his forehead pulsed. “Lacerate.”

  Where Marco’s body touched the demon, wounds began to appear, despite the demon himself not attacking.

  “AHHH! What the hell!” Marco cried out, but he endured. He’d gone through much, much worse.

  He had seen Hoshino’s magic before. He knew that if she was allowed to fire, the fight was as good as won. He could endure this moment of pain if it ensured victory.

  And there it was. The complex magic circle was complete.

  Hoshino aimed her wand toward the demon. “Destructive Magic - Empyrean Ray!”

  And a light as bright as the suns descended.

  Hoshino fell from the sky as her light rained down on Bel. Verity caught her before she crashed into the ground.

  Her complexion was pale, blood trickled from her eyes, and she could barely find her breaths.

  She spoke with a tired, but confident smile. “I’ve…huff huff…I’ve concentrated the beam on that vile creature. It shall be reduced to ash…!”

  Verity glanced at the ray of light, but he said nothing, his eyes fixated on it.

  A few seconds passed, and the light dimmed.

  THUD

  Something heavy collapsed to the ground, and for a moment, no one dared to breathe.

  Verity and Hoshino’s eyes widened when they saw who it was.

  Blood pooled beneath Marco, the demon holding onto what seemed to be his still beating heart.

  “K-Knight…?” Hoshino’s voice broke.

  “Marco!!!”

  Bel crushed the beating heart within his hands, a disgusted look on his face. His skin was charred, and half of his face had been burnt off, but he did not seem to care.

  He pulled the spear from his abdomen and threw it to the ground.

  Then, the sigil on his head pulsed. The wounds on his neck healed, a new hand grew in the place of the lost one, the hole created by Verity’s spear closed, and his skin mended itself.

  He cracked his neck, a bored expression on his face.

  “Are you ready to die now, maggots?”