The faces of the people paled at the intensity of the magic. Kaen and Rigon, as well as Lea, were no exception.
“Step back!”
Yuz urgently shouted, gripping his sword tightly.
The amorphous mass of magical energy surrounding the man writhed before taking the shape of a spear.
Swish!
Yuz swiftly swung his sword, deflecting the massive spear that came flying at him.
The blade, engulfed in energy, was partially shattered, and Yuz took a step back in shock.
“How dare you interrupt a sacred ritual for him, aaah?!”
The man emitted a radiant glow and created even more spears this time.
The man’s level was 75, four levels higher than Yuz.
Was he the leader of this group of demon contractors?
I honestly didn’t think there would be anyone stronger than Yuz, but this guy was much stronger than I expected.
'What should I do?'
Crack!
Considering the level difference, Yuz was holding his own quite well, but it wouldn’t last long.
Dealing with the man alone would be difficult.
On the other hand, openly confronting him would obviously be a tricky situation.
So, the best course of action would be to secretly take his life without anyone noticing...
Currently, the man was surrounded by dense magical energy throughout his body.
It was impossible to sneak a drop of blood, as it would burn before it even touched him.
I felt sorry for Yuz, but fully stepping forward would be dangerous.
I decided to wait it out and look for an opening.
***
The magical spears rained down, enveloping Yuz. Yuz barely managed to throw himself to dodge.
The battle clearly seemed to be in favor of the male priest.
Kaen, Rigon, and Lea could only watch the spectacle, retreating along with the people to a corner.
“There’s no room for interference. We need to help Yuz...”
Rigon muttered.
Kaen watched the battle silently, while Lea wrinkled her brows in helplessness.
'I can’t believe Yuz is struggling like that...'
All three were realizing it. At their level, interfering would only get them killed.
“We have to get out of here.”
As Lea spoke, Rigon and Kaen looked at her.
“Let’s take advantage of the opening and get the people out. We only have one shot.”
“What are you talking about? What about Yuz?”
“We won’t be of any help if we get involved in that battle. It’s like when we took the Academy exam. We have to do what we can to stay alive.”
Ran stepped in and supported Lea’s words.
“Lea is right. Let’s get the people out first.”
“But...”
“Don’t be stubborn at a time like this, Kaen. We don’t have time for that. Don’t you realize that if we stay here, we’ll only hinder Yuz from using his full power?”
Kaen couldn’t argue any further, wearing a desolate expression.
“...I’m sorry, Lea.”
“Stop talking. Just take care of the people.”
At that moment, Yuz, who had launched a fierce attack, aimed for the man’s throat and drew his sword.
The man stretched his magic spear like a stalk, wrapped it around himself, and swung it around, throwing himself out of the way.
A look of despair crossed Yuz’s face as he failed to land a killing blow.
However, thanks to that, the blocked entrance was now open.
“Run!”
Ran pointed towards the entrance and ran ahead. People reflexively followed him and ran as well.
Kaen and Rigon also ran, but they suddenly stopped when they saw Lea at the entrance and turned their heads.
“Lea! What are you doing!”
“Quickly, take the people and escape!”
“Miss!”
When Lea didn’t come out, the knights also turned their bodies to follow her.
Kaen and Rigon realized that from the beginning, Lea had no intention of escaping herself.
“Miss! Please go, I’m fine!”
“No! No master would abandon a vassal and run away!”
Lea tried to unleash her magic. Yuz urgently shouted towards the knights.
“Take the miss and escape! Hurry!”
At that moment, more forces came rushing in from outside the passage.
People were blocked from moving forward or backward and stood still in their place.
“This, this is...”
Kwaaaang!
At that moment, the balance of the battle between the man and Yuz shifted.
Yuz, who couldn’t completely block the attack, was forcefully thrown to the ground. Lea rushed to his side.
“Yuz!”
The situation had reached its worst.
The man who had withdrawn his magic snapped his fingers at his minions. Within moments, they were blocking the passage.
The man straightened his disheveled priest's robes and glared at Yuz.
“So, where on earth did you little rats crawl in from?”
“......”
“Argh, annoying! Annoying! I should be welcoming him with reverence! The materials have escaped, and those idiots couldn’t even catch them properly! Everything is ruined! What’s going on?! Why do you keep doing this to me?!”
The man kicked the floor and began to shine again.
Kaen and Rigon drew their swords with grim expressions. That’s when it happened.
“P-Please, spare us!”
One of the people cried out, bowing their head to the ground.
“We didn’t know anything! It was that vampire bastard who escaped alone and brought people along on his own!”
“...Huh?”
Kaen turned his head to stare at the man who had screamed that.
Soon, one by one, the others also fell to their knees and started begging.
“Sob, sob! We were really just staying quietly in place!”
“The vampire and those people are the bad ones! Please, just spare our lives!”
Heppy’s face turned pale. Enma exclaimed in disbelief.
“What are you all doing now?! Heppy risked his life to save us!”
“Shut up! Because of those guys, we will all end up dead! Why should we die too?”
Rigon chuckled bitterly. Kaen looked blankly at those people.
She couldn’t understand it at all.
She came to rescue the people, even risking her life. But what are those people talking about?
“Don’t make me laugh. Yuz fought for whom exactly?”
Lea shouted, but no one listened.
The man, who had been staring at the pleading people with an amused face, raised an eyebrow at Lea’s ramblings.
“Well, well, it’s quite amusing. How amusing.”
“...”
“You there, woman. This is the wretchedness of you humans. You have no strength, no dignity. You’re just insects trying to save your own lives by any means possible. It’s repulsive. You’re no different. Did you come here out of a sense of justice to save people? Truly foolish, pitiful, and wretched. You’re nothing more than weak and feeble insects!”
At that moment, Ran spoke up.
“You’re no different, old man.”
“...Huh?”
“You’re also a human, you idiot. Have you gotten senile in your old age? And with your meager strength, you think you’re something among these trembling cowards?”
“What?”
Rigon and Lea looked at Ran in surprise, and the people who had been begging grew even paler.
Kaen stood there, holding her sword in a daze.
She recalled the words Del had said to her before.
[If necessary, you must fulfill your responsibilities, even at the cost of everything you have. Kaen, not only for the people who are precious to you, but also for those you dislike and hate, for everyone’s sake. Can you do that?]
It was Del’s wish that she should inherit her sword.
There must have been a reason deep in her heart why she couldn’t simply overlook injustice and forced herself into this situation.
She wanted to confirm her true will, and whether she truly deserved to inherit Del’s sword.
But... how could Del do it?
Kaen didn’t want to fight for the people here. A part of her wanted to beat them up so they wouldn’t talk anymore.
They were people who only cared about themselves, even in this situation.
Why did she try to save these humans, even at the risk of endangering everyone?
...Ah.
Upon reflection, the answer was nothing special.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of Enma with her arms around Heppy.
She came down from the mountains and met many people along the way.
There was no reason to be disappointed. She already knew that not everyone was like them.
So, even if they were pathetic humans, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be at least one person willing to protect them until the end.
If someone precious to her asked her to fulfill that role, Kaen would be more than happy to do so.
“Have you gone crazy because you’re so scared? You must have lost your mind because you want to die, you damn bug!”
The man gathered immense magical power and shot it at Ran.
A rush of exaltation shot through her body. Kaen instinctively raised her sword. And she swung it.
The golden energy enveloping the sword split the magical power in half and cut through the man’s body.
***
At the same time, in the Holy City.
Whoa!
Aindel woke up in surprise as a bright light covered the entire Holy City.
“What is this...?”
Two beams of light were emitting from the Holy Sword, shimmering in the air.
***
Poof!
The man’s body, engulfed in a golden sword blast, spewed blood and collapsed. At the same time, Kaen also fell.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight.
'What...?!'
What did Kaen just do? How did she execute such a powerful sword strike?
Yuz swiftly regained his composure and shot a blade of energy towards the fallen man to finish him off.
However, whether he was still conscious or not, the swirling dark aura surrounding him deflected the energy blade.
Yuz retrieved his sword and shouted, “Miss, hurry! Everyone, get out!”
Even though they couldn’t completely finish him off, this was their chance to escape while he was seriously injured.
The knights and Yuz rushed towards the enemies, blocking their way.
“Kaen! Snap out of it!”
Rigon took care of the fallen Kaen.
Kaen blinked her eyes, clearly exhausted. “I’ve completely run out of strength...”
“I understand, but hold on a little longer! We need to get out of here!”
Amidst the chaos, everyone ran along the passage.
The remaining enemies were swept away by Yuz, clearing the path. But then...
“Aaaaah! Where do you think you’re going?!”
The passage shook with the man’s scream.
Massive chunks of magical power began to pulsate, smashing through the walls.
The ceiling, which started to crumble and collapse, fell above Rigon and Kaen, who were the furthest behind.
At that moment, Lea rushed towards the two, tearing off her bracelet.
Powerful magic erupted from Lea’s bracelet, enveloping the surroundings and sweeping away all the falling rocks.
“Come quickly!”
“Thank you, Lea!”
Kukugugu!
But the entire collapsed wall enveloped them once more.
“Ah...”
At the moment when the three people’s faces turned pale with fear, someone forcefully pushed them aside.
Narrowly avoiding the falling rocks, they fell to the ground and looked to the other side of the falling rocks.
“Ra, Ran...”
Pushing them out of the way, a pile of rocks instantly crushed Ran.
Lea tightly clenched her lips and led the two dazed individuals out.
Eventually, everyone safely escaped from the cave. Except for one person.
***
“Whoa.”
I sighed as I watched my arm return to its original state, wriggling with blood.
I used Gascalid’s [Blood Art] and borrowed Heppy’s ability for a moment.
I blocked the falling rocks with a [Floating Veil] and escaped through a crevice using Heppy’s [Blood Art].
Rocks completely blocked the front passage, but if I transformed my body into blood, I could easily escape.
By the way, what on earth happened?
I was thinking of jumping into the fight since there was no other choice. But...
Kaen’s golden sword strike that knocked down the enemy in one blow.
Compared to the hero, it was infinitely insignificant, but it was undoubtedly the power of the Holy Sword.
How on earth? Could it be that Kaen had finally fulfilled the conditions of succession?
'Let’s get out of here first.'
I expanded my senses and explored the blocked passage behind me.
There was no sign of life. The contractor seemed either exhausted or had been crushed to death..
Using Heppy’s [Blood Art] once again, I slipped past the pile of rocks.
Having reached the junction I encountered earlier, I entered the right path that I had left untouched before.
“......”
At the end of the junction, what appeared was a structure resembling an altar in a spacious area.
On one side, there were piles of corpses. There was no one alive.
I clicked my tongue and approached the altar.
In the middle of the altar, a large gem was embedded, and something squirmed inside it.
Whiirrrr...
I could easily surmise that it was the souls of the dead.
The wails of the horrifying souls echoed in my mind as if reverberating.
I could think of many reasons why they would do such a horrible thing.
Perhaps they were conducting some kind of magical experiment or offering it to the demons who granted them power.
“It’s disgusting.”
I reached out towards the gem and used my [Instant Kill] ability. The souls vanished instantly.
All I could do was offer them rest to prevent further suffering.
When I was done checking for survivors, I escaped outside.
From the entrance of the cave, I heard people’s voices.
“Ran died... because of me...”
It was the voice of Kaen.
I stumbled out of the cave, alive and well, of course.
Kaen, who was sitting on the ground, and Rigon and Lea standing beside her, came into view.
“...Huh?”
Lea was the first to notice me and was surprised. I waved my hand.
Kaen, who had been sobbing, turned her head and her eyes widened.
“Hey, you!”
I stopped Kaen as she rushed towards me and calmed her down.
Rigon, with an exhausted expression, asked.
“Ran, what happened?”
“I almost got crushed by a rock, but I barely managed to avoid it. Luckily, there was an empty space on the side, so I was able to escape.”
Lea, who had been staring at me with a strange gaze, spoke up.
“You’re definitely...”
“Yes?”
“Well, never mind. It’s really fortunate. Thanks to you, all three of us made it out alive. Thank you.”
I ignored her doubtful gaze and patted Kaen.
I couldn’t sense the aura of the Holy Sword from Kaen anymore.
“It’s really fortunate. Whew, I think we need some rest for now.”
“Yuz, are you feeling okay?”
“I don’t have any injuries. I just got a bit exhausted from exerting too much mana.”
At that moment, the group of demon contractors surrounded us.
“They really don’t give us a chance to rest.”
Yuz and the knights once again grasped their swords.
Were they the ones who were outside? Well, if we deal with them, it should be over...
“......!”
A chilling energy that made the body shudder.
I quickly turned my head towards the source of the energy.
On the other side of the forest, something dark and massive was approaching this way at an alarming speed.
Kwaaaang!
Instantly, sweeping through the bushes, a monster appeared...
No, it was a demon.
His overwhelming presence caused everyone, even Yuz, to stop breathing and freeze.
[Level 95]
A constant black smoke emanated from the creature’s body, covered in bone armor from head to toe.
I sighed as I looked at its level.
It’s a demon on the same caliber as an archdemon. Was he the owner of that contractor? What a damn bastard...
At that moment, members of the demon contractors shouted at the demon, bowing their heads.
“Oh, mighty god! Your pitiful seedlings...”
Swoosh!
The demon swung its hand and crushed them all. Blood splattered on the ground.
“Useless fools! I told you to prepare sacrifices, and this is all you could offer?”
Breathing heavily, the demon turned its gaze towards us.
“Damn it! If only I had fully regained my power, I wouldn’t have to suffer such humiliation!”
The demon reached out its hand towards us. Yuz trembled and tried to speak.
“E-Everyone, run...”
However, nobody could move their legs.
Kaen, Rigon, Lea—they all stood there, dazed and trembling.
I prepared myself for battle.
It was the moment when I was about to confront the demon...
A blue flash from nowhere pierced the demon’s body. There was silence.
Beeeeep.
Like thunder, a deafening sound tore through the air a beat too late, causing ringing in the ears.
A massive shock, as if struck by lightning, turned the ground upside down.
“Kuh, kuhkuk. Just how far do you intend to chase me, persistent... bastard...”
With those last words, the demon’s entire body crumbled into dust and disappeared.
I blankly stared at the scene and turned my gaze in the direction where the light had flown.
At the summit of a distant mountain peak.
With my vision heightened to the maximum, I could barely make out a person standing there.
'...Heavenly Archer?'
