The wave of ten thousand monsters. The presence of the demon was clear even amid their endless ranks. Julie was naturally aware of where the demon was.
“…”
The demon looked peculiar. Julie couldn’t even find a way to describe its figure. It was over three meters tall, but its shape was of an entirely different configuration from a human. It was like making a person of clay but then crushing its body to where it would move forward using three legs and four arms. In a way, it was like watching an octopus trying to move on land. What a revolting creature…
Boom—!
Deculein knocked his cane against the ground. Julie looked back at him in surprise.
“It’s the demon of hallucination.”
“…What?”
“It portrays a human’s imagination and creates a being that has never been seen.”
The simplest example was an alien. Though they weren’t human and everyone described their face or skin color as entirely different from humans, the basic factors such as walking on two legs and having two arms were the same. Yet this was putting together a being that had never been seen before.
“That guy uses human memories and experiences. So he would look a little weird to you.”
If it was a Named demon, its appearance and identity were obvious. Even if it weren’t in the game scenario, it would be recorded in the many ancient books that Deculein had read.
“…”
Julie stared at Deculein, leaning in a bit closer before nodding.
“…Yes, but.”
She answered under her breath and turned her sword to aim at Deculein.
“Professor Deculein is not an easy character to copy.”
“…”
Deculein- no, the demon who took the form of Deculein stared at Julie silently. He did not ask stupid questions such as how she knew. Rather, he would have known already from her memories. Nevertheless, Julie kindly explained.
“Your face is growing distorted.”
There wasn’t even a need to look closely. She was confused for a while from looking at his side profile, but it was clear from the front.
“Are you supposed to be a halibut?”
It was so ridiculous that she almost laughed. At that moment, Deculein’s form shifted as he looked through her head to find another appearance. But, at the same time, Julie’s sword pierced his shoulder and cut down to his hips, a bitter cold filling him.
“You don’t seem to have a special form.”
She grabbed the hilt of her sword with both hands.
“Extreme cold freezes even gas.”
Craaaaaack—!
His body froze into a sculpture.
“…”
Julie was briefly lost in thought, recalling Deculein’s voice.
—If you’re going to hate someone, hate them sincerely. Hate them enough to kill them.
“Knight Julie! What is this?!”
Reylie came running. Julie shook her head.
“It’s nothing. Just focus on the battle.”
Julie swung her sword again. Far away, the demon was still there advancing. It was different from the one who imitated Deculein.
“…Ugh.”
Julie grabbed her chest. The dark energy fog had already become thick. But, it was bearable for now.
“Reylie!”
She quickly ran out and cut the monster on Reylie’s back. Reylie sighed and let out a small chuckle.
“Thanks!”
“Focus!”
In the next moment, a clear wind passed between them as Syrio arrived.
“Good job, everyone~.”
He gave Julie and Reylie a small smile.
Krrrrrrrrrrr—!
Mana swirled around Syrio’s sword like a storm to sweep away the enemies.
Boom—!
The earth began to shake under Raphael’s sword some distance away, the ground rising around them.
Gaaaaaaah—!
Raphael’s superhuman strength was somewhat comparable to that of Zeit’s.
“Hup!”
After that, Gwen’s rapier came flashing in.
Schwaaaa—
It drew sharp and thin lines that pierced only vitals.
“Show your loyalty—!”
Delric’s roar cut over the din of battle. To whom was he showing his loyalty? Whether it was Deculein or the Emperor, there was no questioning his skills.
Srrrrrrrrr—!
His sword stretched like a snake through the battlefield. He could freely change the size, length, and strength of the sword, making him particularly excellent in close combat. Perhaps that was the reason why Deculein refused to let him go.
“Lord Delric! Can you see the demon over there?”
Gwen called out. Delric nodded as he looked back.
“I can see it.”
An odd-looking demon stood still over there.
“…No.”
No, not still; his stomach was sloshing around like he was readying to throw something up.
“He’s trying to spit something out!”
It was already too late. The demon spewed out dark energy from the holes in its face. A fog of dark energy wrapped around them. Fortunately, all the knights were equipped with gas masks.
“Julie!”
Gwen looked for Julie first. Fortunately, Julie already had her mask on and a thumb up. The tough battle continued. The knights tore into the monsters with the wizards’ support magic, and the monsters tore into the knights, encouraged by the fog.
Then, at some point-
Step—
Faint and light, a single set of footsteps cut across the battlefield.
Step—
The composure of his stride was enough to attract attention despite his silence.
Step—
The first ones to look over were Lia and Leo, who joined the knights in battle. The two children, more sensitive than adults, found him before anyone else.
Step—
There was dense dark energy all around. It was toxic enough to melt even armor, so the knights fought carefully to avoid damaging their masks. Just like that, their gaze shifted one by one.
Step—
The owner of those footsteps didn’t suit the battlefield, and the knights who saw him watched in shock as he continued forward. Delric began to shout out.
“…Professor! It’s dangerous.”
Deculein, without any defense other than a thin robe and a cane, was walking through the chaos to the middle of the battlefield.
Step—
“Deculein! What are you doing?!”
Gwen shouted in surprise.
“…”
But he was calmer than anyone else there.
“Protect the Professor.”
Delric shouted. There was no wood steel beside the Professor right now, as they were sticking to the barrier and acting as a catalyst for Metal Enhancement.
“…I don’t need it.”
He sighed. The dark energy in the area permeated his body and aroused the tenacity imprinted in the Yukline blood.
“…”
Deculein glared at the demon pouring out energy. At the same time, he took out a small crystal that burned both hot and cold: the [Snowflake Obsidian].
“Professor! The dark energy is too dense!”
“Don’t make a fuss.”
He lightly dismissed Delric. He stared into the endless waves of foes and activated the [Snowflake Obsidian]. The beautiful metal floated according to his will, and a vast amount of dark energy gathered under his feet.
Ssssssss…
The body of a Yukline purified the dark energy it absorbed and burned it as fuel. Right now, the dark energy purified by Deculein far exceeded his limits.
Goooooooooo—!
It erupted from the ground because it couldn’t fit in his body.
Goo—! Drrrrrrrrrrr—
The ground vibrated like a volcano about to explode. Above it, Deculein calmly pulled in the dark energy, then infused the purified mana into the [Snowflake Obsidian].
“Annihilating demons is the Yukline’s tradition.”
At that moment, his eyes went wide, those crystal blue orbs capturing the entire battle.
“…Be afraid, you demon.”
His mana permeated the Snowflake Obsidian. The thrumming of the metal brought the chaos to a halt.
…
At that moment, [Snowflake Obsidian] manifested as blue lights spun around them. As if time had stopped, as if space had stopped, only the Snowflake Obsidian spread out amidst the standstill. The metal that froze and burned, the [Snowflake Obsidian] swallowed everything.
*****
…Three days later.
The migration was finally coming to a dead end. The knights who had used up all their strength and mana still moved outside the barrier, and many exhausted wizards were manning the top of the wall. The residents came with food, water, medicinal herbs, and hot towels, but it couldn’t help overcome their mana exhaustion.
“…Leaf, are you okay?”
Ihelm asked. Today was their fifth straight day of fighting, but the war was still raging on.
“Yes, I’m fine. I think… it’s almost over.”
Epherene watched the rising sun. It had been a while since she had seen it not covered by a thick fog.
“…Great job.”
Of course, many had fallen. Almost 90% of the prisoners on the front line died, and about a hundred knights were killed. Ten wizards were badly injured.
—But.
“How… how… how did it not collapse?”
The barrier protecting Reccordak remained intact. Epherene tapped on the wall and smiled softly.
“…Is this because of Deculein? Is that guy still out on the battlefield?”
“Yes, he left two days ago and hasn’t come back yet.”
After the demon appeared, Deculein crossed the barrier and still hadn’t returned.
“…Is he dead?”
Epherene narrowed her eyes to glare at Ihelm.
“He’s not.”
“How do you know that? Have you called him?”
She shook her head and shrugged. Then, she took out a piece of wood steel.
“If the Professor is in danger or if he’s in trouble, this will make a fuss.”
“…That?”
“Yes. It’s something that I received from the Professor. This is a very expensive piece of steel, you know.”
She triumphantly exhaled through her nose. As if finding it ridiculous, Ihelm grinned and tapped the wood steel.
“Hey! Don’t touch it!”
Epherene kicked Ihelm away. Ihelm sneered.
“Hey, are you crazy? Don’t you know who I am? How dare you little-”
“Ah, forget it.”
“…Tsk. So, how do you know? Is he talking to you with this?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Epherene pouted and placed a finger on the metal. Then, the wood steal burned red and started to vibrate.
“Oh, that’s right. Just like this, like this.”
Whiiiiiiiiing—!
“It would change like this if the Professor was in danger.”
“Oh, I see.”
Ihelm nodded.
Whiiiiiiiiiiing—!
The wood steel continued to vibrate. Epherene smirked and patted it.
“That’s enough. You can stop now.”
Whiiiiiiiiing—!
The vibrations didn’t stop, nor did its color change.
“…I said you can stop now.”
Epherene hesitated a little and tapped the wood steel. Then-
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!
The vibrating became stronger.
“Why? What’s going on?”
Epherene grew increasingly flustered as it shook. Ihelm waited a moment before chiming in.
“…This, does this mean that he’s in danger?”
“…”
“…”
They looked at each other for three seconds.
Whiiiiiiiiing—!
The wood steel shook again, now as if growing frustrated.
“…Oh! You’re right!”
Only then did Epherene realize the real purpose of the wood steel.
