Elizabeth had never felt so furious than when she saw the man in front of her and the man in the robe. It was like he was mocking her with his face that looked like her brother. But she could tell instinctively. That wasnât her brother. He could never be like her older brother.
âIâm gonna kill you.â
Elizabeth murmured with pure murderous intent and threw her Morningstar, the rune flashing. Each flicker caused it to double in size, and by the time it reached the enemy, it was already about the size of a house.
ââŠ!â
The man in the robe stretched out his arms again, muttering words she didnât understand. A magical force appeared, and something black and hideous opened its mouth.
âDie!â
The Morningstar flew with a momentum that threatened to overwhelm the world, clashed with it, and soon broke it down. Then she took the momentum and hit the man.
â!â
The man used the magic of space movement just before the collision, but it didnât work correctly. As soon as the Morningstar flew in and collided with the Magic Circle, Elizabethâs power destroyed all the magic that made up the Magic Circle.
âBoom!
âKahak!â
The man was thrown back, letting out a scream. Elizabeth chased after the man that had just landed on the floor. The magical energy around the man was still intense, and her temper was changing little by little every moment.
âA wizardâŠâ Elizabeth murmured. That sort of monster used to appear in the Sherden dungeon. They would die quickly because of their weak defense if they could be beaten up close, but once their magic was activated, it was very troublesome.
âHah!â
ââŠ!â
Elizabeth swung her Morningstar again to finish him quickly, but the magic circle that appeared above him just before she could break the manâs head stopped her. This time, the magic circle didnât break. Elizabethâs attack was analyzed and the magic circle converted to a form that could better prevent it.
âWhat?â
Elizabeth increased her destructive power by giving the Morningstar strength, and the magic circle spun furiously in the air and bounced off her magic.
ââŠâ
While Elizabeth wrestled with the magic, the man bounced himself into the air. Unintelligible words continued to flow from his mouth. It had its laws that werenât interpreted in any language in the world. It was magic that interfered with the order of the world bizarrely.
â Giguk, gugog, Goagaga.
And then, a chilling sound came from the magic circle, as if breaking a rib. Feeling an abnormality, Elizabeth tried to step back for now, but this time her weapon wouldnât budge as if she had been caught by the magic circle.
âIeeeek!â
The moment Elizabeth forced herself to pull the Morningstar, the magic circle suddenly expanded to ten times the size. In the middle of that magical circle, a monster that looks even more terrible than it did earlierâŠ
A monster appeared and cried, one that was neither a middle-class monster nor a Demon.
âGoooooaaaa!
âAh!â
A monster without substance attacked Elizabeth with strange magic in his voice. It held an impossible pressure to resist, flying from an area beyond cognition. Elizabethâs body bounced into the air like a stone. The monster drooled bloodily, sticking his mouth out of the magic circle. The next moment as the man nodded, it moved entirely out of the magic circle, soaring like lightning to chase Elizabeth away.
âGeeeeeeeeeee!
However, when the monster was about to devour her whole, her eyes promptly flashed open.
âMe, too, I can handle this muchâŠ!â
The runes carved in the Morningstar scattered harsh light, and Elizabethâs body, which was flying frantically, snapped into the air and stopped. It destroyed all the lightning energy generated by the impact.
âBoom!
With him, there was the sound of a bomb exploding. The head of the monster, which was about to swallow Elizabeth right away, was smashed.
ââŠâ
The man hurriedly tried to create a new magic circle, but it exploded before it was completed. Elizabeth hadnât even swung her Morningstar yet. As soon as the man realized the meaning and froze in place, he was knocked down by a vast, invisible force.
âKaaahâŠ!â
âUgh, youâll never be like my Oppa.â
Removing all the threats coming to her, Elizabeth gently stepped down to the floor and approached the man with a frown. The man was drawing a new magic circle in the air while he was on the floor, but Elizabethâs power erased them one after another. If it were Evan, he would have just eliminated all of this in one go.
âBut Iâve got a grasp now.â
She swung her Morningstar, saying something genuinely terrifying. The manâs arm was crushed.
âHuuuâŠâ
Perhaps his concentration was disturbed by the extreme pain, as the magic circle created in the air fell apart and soon disappeared. Elizabeth tried to crush the man completely with the Morningstar in her other hand, but then, Eir called her.
âHelp me, Liz!â
âHmph, all right! âŠHah!â
She wanted to turn him into chopped meat, but she couldnât help it. Elizabeth finished off by kicking the man (causing him to fly very far) and rushed straight to Eirâs bully. She read some of the patterns of Eirâs bullets flying in one after another and stopped moving when he tried to grab her by the neck to avoid it.
âKaaaaah!â
âDonât bully Eir!â
âGosh, another hybridâŠare you a human?â
Elizabeth simply replied by using her Morningstar. However, the man who identified himself as the First Demon created a thick Dark Magic shield for a short time and stopped it. The shield disappeared at the moment of attack, but he moved to another place simultaneously as he created it, so the Morningstar couldnât even nick his collar. Just by looking at the brief movement, Elizabeth could guess it was a much stronger one than the one she had just blown away.
âI didnât know that humans were operating in this world. Then hybrid, youâre a mixture of human bloodâŠha, thatâs funny. I canât believe Iâm being held back by these vermin from fulfilling the order of His Majesty the Great Devil!â
Elizabeth was flying this way, so she must have had a rough understanding of the situation. The First Demon smiled in vain when he realized that they had become invisible.
âTo the scum!â
Soon after, Dark Magic surged from the First Demonâs body. The dark, soul-bound Dark Magic that couldnât even be reached by Elizabeth the Destroyer.
âHow dare you criticize the name of the Devil!â
âIsnât he trash!â
âHa!â
Eir fired a magic bullet, but even that only bounced in vain in front of the swirling Dark Magic that was surrounding his whole body. He stretched his arms up, controlling that massive amount of magic. The Dark Magic was gradually united around the manâs hands as he stretched upward, becoming a distinct figure. Among the ten demons, the history of the man who topped the list with overwhelming power was showing up in the world.
âArmamentâŠ!â
Rose, who had been hiding between Eirâs hair, groaned at it. The only thing that the Mahwa Tribe, which was superior to the others in every way, didnât have was the demon armament. They poured all their potential into the soul, not to mention their bodies, so they had no connection with such a thing, which stretched and harmonized the power of the soul against the body.
âWhat a self-proclaimed man to call himself the First Demon. Kids, back off!â
âWowâŠâ
However, Elizabethâs expression as she watched the First Demon was far from tense. Her eyes glistened furiously.
âI want to do something like that.â
âDoes it appear to be a force that will be allowed to human beings? Foolish thing.â
Before they knew it, there was a dark red metal halberd in the Demonâs hands. It was a double-bladed halberd! Moreover, his armament wasnât done with that. Behind the man holding the halberds, dark energy spread out, creating a vast shadow. Holding two halberds like the First DemonâŠwas a vast, drooping shadow.
âBlood shadow. My work, blood-stained shadow, follow me.â
The First Demon declared solemnly. It was the most substantial armament, which was much simpler to use and much more destructive than the Second or Third Demonâs, as it maximized its effect on the blood-stained battlefield. Of course, there was no blood here, so he had to live with the weakened armament, but he thought this was enough.
âItâs a waste of strength to clean up two little girlsâŠI canât control my anger right now.â
The First Demon picked up his Halberd and aimed at Elizabeth and Eir, respectively. A colossal shadow missed by the earth likewise took up arms and aimed at her.
âIf I get rid of you, Iâll be able to dig up the hidden Queen of the Mahwa Tribe.â
âYou donât have to.â
ââŠ?â
At the exquisite timing with the First Demonâs attempt to swing a Halberd, he stopped when he heard a voice.
âBecause Iâm here.â
ââŠQueen?â
Rose showed herself. He was so shocked that he froze.
âRose, are you all right?â
âYeah, I was going to leave it in your hands, but it looked too dangerous.â
Rose grew to her regular size and stepped forward. The First Demon still had an indescribable look on his face, but he fixed the Halberd and aimed it at her.
âI can take you for myself. And your body.â
âIâm already taken. How rude you are.â
Rose stretched out her arm. The land, which was once home to the Mahwa, began to vibrate in unison, and blackthorn stems began to rise from all sides. Over countless years, she was finally able to mount a battle that maximized the advantage of her home ground. But it couldnât be done with the body of Queen Rose of the past.
âThis magic isâŠ!?â
The First Demon felt that the situation was unusual and tried to attack her first, but the thorned stems rising from the floor grabbed his shadow and refused to let go. The shadow boasted a powerful force, but as it was deeply connected to the main body, if the shadowâs movement were sealed, the main body wouldnât be able to move either. After analyzing the First Demonâs magic, Rose quickly moved to hit him.
âAh!?â
âYou need to find your manners.â
At this, First Demon clenched his teeth and tried to pull his Dark Magic up. Rose swung her hand against him in response. The thorny field began to dance violently against the intruder.
* * *
âIf we stand up against them, we wonât have a problem for another three years,â Louise spoke in a calm voice. What she called âthemâ were monsters popping up from cracks in the Spirit Realm that had become more common these days.
âIâm picking up things that I donât need in the future, and Iâm consuming them. Sometimes Iâm grateful for them. The world will move in the right direction.â
âIf the world hadnât been like this, you would have been recorded as a great tyrant.â
The witch, Ctheasil, snorted. She had a cracked probe in her hand for the Spirit Realm that she had previously worked on with Evan and Bernard.
âAll of this has meaning to you, so whatever others think, it doesnât mean much to me. If only you would rate me.â
That teacher would be most appalled. But knowing that Louiseâs spirit wasnât so intact, Ctheasil decided to move on without saying a word. She wasnât a saint who was proud of the lives of all human beings living on earth, and now it was more important than anything else to fulfill the duties of the witch clan.
A woman who could control the great empire and manipulate it. With the battle against the Devil, there was no more qualified talent to reduce the loss of mankind as a whole. Ctheasil was charged with creating a rare evil called the Devil Rune, which led to a heavy burden on the witch clan. In the process, she took over Meloniaâs rune as a witch elder instead of her lost rune.
It was hilarious. It was just a coincidence that she lost her rune, and she had been waiting for it.
âMelonia, you damn old lady. Sheâs the witch of all people.â
Evan probably didnât know about this because this was the only thing that couldnât be known to anyone except the witch clan.
âI never thought the day would come when Iâd perform some duty before I died.â
But the very moment Evan disappeared from the continent, Ctheasil instinctively realized that she had come to fulfill his duty. Through the blood of the witch clanâŠprecisely because the ancient memories passed through the rune were awakened. For the rest of her life, Ctheasilâs dream of living with her younger brother and Master Evan collapsed in vain.
Was she coming to this country to protect Evanâs child? It was just an impromptu lie by her lovely brother. Of course, it was confirmed that Louise was carrying Evanâs child.
âSo, Ctheasil.â
Ctheasil had been busy lamenting her new condition, and Louise has asked with a dangerous flash of her obsidian eyes.
âHow long is left before the day comes?â
âNot the time he told you, but yes. Maybe soon. We have to complete it as soon as possible.â
âOf course.â
Looking at the continental prospects before their eyes, the corners of Louiseâs mouth raised with satisfaction. On the continental front, graffiti was drawn with red lines. At first glance, it was a scribble that looked like a magic wand. Still, if you had any mastery in the witchâs magic, the absurd power of the sorcererâŠit would have been possible to identify the power to impose constraints on only one specific object.
âIt wonât take another week. Our people are far superior.â
âAll of them are puppets that are moving your way.â
Ctheasil snorted back and left the chamber. To be honest, she felt sorry for the Devil because he was being dragged into such a perfectly contrasted place.