A few hours earlier, Rheas had been quite confident.
Her slithery green body and snake-like body from her waist downward made it clear she was a Lamia.
She had flowing black hair, and on her hand was a staff that had a crystal at the very top. The black stone glowed malevolently as she slithered with her army in tow.
As one of the strongest members of the Nine Stars—officially ranked third in power—most Demon Generals wouldn't even stand a chance against her.
It was for this single reason that she was sent to the Northern Border of the Eastern Kingdom.
It was their greatest stronghold, and so she was meant to test their security.
If things got too dangerous, all she had to do was retreat. That was what her master—Lord Zenkiel—told her.
However, Rheas knew that wouldn't be necessary.
At the very least, she would decimate the area with Peak-Level Magic Spells until she was satisfied.
The only reason she would ever retreat would be a result of running low on Miasma. If that happened, she would simply utilize the corrupted Souls of those she killed as nourishment.
Zenkiel usually told his underlings never to underestimate or overestimate their foes, so Rheas wasn't acting as a result of overconfidence.
She simply didn't believe humans were worth much.
Her colleagues in the White Tribe told her several times how weak the humans were. Sure it was only restricted to the areas she investigated, but it had to be the same in other places.
Rather than Humans, their focus should have been the Elves and Fairies—then the big guns called the Beastfolk could come later.
But, she couldn't refuse her superior's orders. That was why she was leading an army of a thousand Demon Beast to wreak havoc on the Northern Border.
"Hehehe. Make this interesting for me." She gave a toothy grin, revealing the fangs she had.
'Maybe I'll treat myself to a few male humans... I wonder how they'll taste like inside me?' Her snake-like tongue licked her curled-up lips.
Her disgusting habit of taking in her prey while they were still alive—preferably males—and digesting them with her fluids, was clearly showing in the way she was eyeing the people atop the garrisons that she approached.
Before Rheas was a very tall and sturdy fence.
It blocked any possible routes past the vast seas that connected the Demon Realm to the Eastern Kingdom.
Not only were the walls enchanted with Magic, but they were made with only the best materials.
'Hmm... it's going to take some time to break through...'
Rather than simply wasting her time breaking the wall—which could have some Magical Repair function—wouldn't it be better to simply fly over it?
'Yes, I'll do just that.' Rheas grinned, looking at the obedient Demon Beasts behind her.
Usually, it would be difficult for anyone to cast Magic on people this many, but Rheas was a Demon General, after all.
Casting the [Flight] Spell on all the thousand numbered Demon Beasts wouldn't be too difficult.
Once they passed the barrier of the walls, then they would begin their slaughter.
'Huhuhu. I'll first begin with the men at the garrisons, then proceed to annihilate every military personnel in sight.'
Her goal was to completely devastate the Northern Border.
"Then, once I'm done, I'm sure Lord Zenkiel will praise me himself. Hahaha, I can't wai—"
Before she could conclude her statement, Rheas noticed some movement among the humans who defended the top of the walls.
'What's going on there?'
As she was trying to observe the situation, a girl jumped out of the tall fence and descended with great speed.
Just before she reached the ground beneath the monolith, lightweight Magic allowed her to land safely.
'What the...?' Rheas struggled to make sense of the situation.
What was a single human doing here? The other soldiers atop the fence didn't even try to stop her.
The looks on their faces displayed that they were scared—worried even—but none of the soldiers tried to prevent the girl from meeting her doom.
'Humans... do you not care about what happens to that child?'
"Wait for meeeee!!!" Yet another voice surged from above, and another person rushed to meet the girl.
This time, it was a boy.
He appeared no older than the girl—these two were most likely young adults.
Rheas couldn't understand humans—and she didn't bother learning their language. Still, she heard the rushed conversation between the two.
"What are you doing Jerry? Get back up!"
"You're not leaving me behind this time! I can defend myself—and the base too!"
"Oh? You think you can keep up?"
"W-well, I'll do my best. I refuse to give up. I'll catch up to you soon."
"Really, now? Looks like you've gotten cocky these past few months. Just because you got your name embedded in Ainzlark's records, uh?"
"S-shut up!"
"Look at you, already talking back to me. Well, I'll just have to show you the difference between us."
It was as though Rheas and her army were invisible as the two young people chattered away.
"That's enough. There's a limit to my patience when it comes to impudence." The Magic User Demon General growled, slithering forward.
Her army followed behind her.
As a result of their sudden movements, the two humans finally looked in the direction of Rheas and the Demon Beasts behind her.
"Let's do this, Ciara!" The boy grinned, readying himself for action.
"Pfft. Please, you're not in my league. Just try not to die."
"I won't! You be careful too."
"Y-you... Hmph! I don't need your worry. I can handle them myself."
"Very well, then. Here I go!"
The boy and girl released their Mana, causing Rheas to be surprised by the intensity.
Still, she didn't falter.
There was a limit to the amount of Mana that a human could summon. All she had to do was cut them down before they tried anything funny.
Preparing her staff, the Demon General readied an Advanced Spell—ready to execute it.
However—
"Mage Mode."
"Elemental Chamber."
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<
—The quality and quantity of the humans' Mana peaked to an unprecedented degree.
It was beyond what she had sensed earlier.
As she looked at the two menacing people, Rheas had a sudden thought within her head.
'I... I think I'll have to go all out!'
