"Haha, I got you there!" Anna shouted while slashing the demons that were about to hit Noel.
"No." Noel's reply was simple as he also killed the demons that chased after her. They had been killing the demons like none other. Their synergy was rare even among the Demon Relief Squad.
Rose, who had been watching them this whole time, couldn't help but chuckle.
"Despite the rumors about them, those two look like a couple who have traversed so many battlefields," Rose muttered with a smile. "They are moving in sync. Is it because the rumor is incorrect?
"Or do they fall in love with each other? This is intriguing and I'd love to hear about it later. I just hope that it's not like they're still enemies who try to figure out each other's weaknesses… That's why they know what to do to help each other."
Rose was smiling when she saw them cooperating with each other. She had heard a lot of rumors about their relationship, so she managed to confirm it was wrong during this battle.
Unlike Stella, who always saw Anna as an opponent to beat, she looked at this pair more objectively.
So, she thought about accepting both Noel and Anna wholeheartedly into the group.
Meanwhile, Noel and Anna were actually discussing an important matter while they were fighting.
"Say, Noel. Do you know what happened to the Water Lord? We wouldn't be able to gain a complete victory without him."
"Don't worry. The Water Lord will make an appearance later." Noel assured her.
"Huh? Why are you so sure? Do you know anything about it?"
Noel smiled. "Do you remember when he tried to remove the alcohol content from my drink?"
"Yes. Why do you talk about it?"
"What if I told you that was just a scheme to grab everyone's attention?"
"To grab everyone's attention? But why—" Anna suddenly fell silent as if she had figured out the situation. "Don't tell me…"
"Yeah. The Water Lord knows about the mole, but he's not sure about his identity. That's why he asked me to purify his wine while he grabbed everyone's attention. Hence…" Noel stopped talking. A smile appeared on his face, giving her the answer.
Anna couldn't help but suck a cold breath, never expecting this turned out to be the case.
…
"Stella, how is your side?!" Clara shouted.
"I can take care of this. Jonathan is chasing after the people who have gone inside!" Stella replied out loud while waving her sword, repelling the enemy's attack.
They had been besieged by the Supreme Devil Organization this whole time and had a hard time killing them because they had a lot of people. And among them were three Devil Inspectors, whose strengths weren't lower than Stella's.
"Alright. Keep focusing on your side. We need the rest of the people to help us here, especially Paul and the Valley Master. Aren't they together according to you?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Haha, you must haven't known this… But it's useless to rely on that Water Lord!" The Blood Berserker laughed out loud. "After all, the Water Lord can't even lift his hand anymore."
"!!!" Clara was surprised. The Water Lord was one of the strongest people in their Kingdom, equal to her in strength. Yet, the Blood Berserker claimed he had died. How could she believe him?
However, the Blood Berserker added, answering her doubt. "Fagant Leaf."
"!!!" Clara widened her eyes in shock. There were only two types of people who would recognize this name. The first one would be a poison master. Since they had worked on poison for so long, they would eventually ask about the strongest poison. And one of them was none other than the Fagant Leaf, which was said to be able to seal one's Spiritual Energy.
And the second type was none other than the one who healed the poison. Yes, Clara belonged to the second category. She had detoxified a lot of people as a healer, so she had heard a poison that she might not be able to detoxify.
But there was a problem.
"Fagant Leaf should have gone extinct! You're just bluffing!" Clara shouted, not wanting to believe it. However, she could understand why the Water Lord couldn't go to help them if he was poisoned by the Fagant Leaf.
"Captain! You don't have to worry, Paul is staying beside him! He will be fine!" Stella shouted, assuring Clara.
"It seems you have forgotten something. There is one more person that could threaten your so-called Vice Captain in that castle." The Blood Berserker smirked.
Stella's body shook as she remembered one thing. 'That's right. The head butler hasn't made his move this whole time. If he is the one taking care of the Valley Master, Paul would have gone all the way here to help us… Don't tell me!'
"It seems that you have realized it. Both your Vice Captain and the Valley Master have—" The Blood Berserker enjoyed Stella's horrified expression, so he continued.
But before he could finish his words, Clara appeared before him, waving her hands to form multiple threads to sew his mouth.
"You're too loud!" Clara snorted coldly. She didn't show it on her face, but she was also shocked by what she discovered, hoping Paul was safe.
"Hahaha!" The Blood Berserker laughed while protecting himself from the threads.
But before the fight escalated to a whole new level, there was an explosion coming from the castle.
*Boom!*
The explosion didn't seem to come from a fire. Instead, it looked like someone had just destroyed a part of the tower.
"!!!" Everyone tried to look at the castle, but because of their current position, they couldn't see past the wall.
Unbeknownst to them, a part of the castle's upper floor had been destroyed and there were three people visible to the people close to the castle.
One was Paul, who was holding his arm. The other one was the head butler whose neck was choked by the third guy's hand. And yes, last but not least, he was the one that everyone had waited for, the Valley Master.
