Ch.123123. The Battle of Mercury (4)

The man whose talent reached the heavens might be able to enhance his body through mana manipulation, but creating miracles in the world through mana—

Magic was something he could never handle, according to the absolute and immutable law that spread throughout the world.

Yet today, that law had spectacularly crumbled.

The scene atop the castle wall was horrific, splattered with blood and flesh. Not only were corpses strewn about carelessly, but the place was filled with monsters emanating such strong killing intent that it struck fear into anyone who saw them.

Amid this gruesome landscape that would make even the bravest women shake their heads, one man quietly drew his bowstring in silence and composure. He was defying the laws of the world.

Whoosh!!

A fierce turbulence began to swirl atop the castle wall.

The cold winter wind gathered and settled upon the man’s arrow.

And then, flames suddenly bloomed.

The flames rose beautifully, riding the passionate wind.

“Magic…”

Lavi Cournel was astonished.

She knew that Ray, Sione’s personal attendant, had been hiding something, but she hadn’t deeply considered that he could actually wield magic.

Seeing that sharply howling wind, she had to acknowledge it. That wind was probably the magic that had thoroughly shaken the orc’s insides.

Gulp.

Lavi swallowed dryly. She was already captivated by the magic Ray was manifesting.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Everyone on the wall who felt this turbulence on their skin turned their gaze toward Ray, and once their attention was captured, they showed no signs of looking away.

Twang!

The moment the arrow left the bowstring, everyone, despite their different impressions, came to the same conclusion.

That the Count’s family had been hiding a monstrous man all this time.

* * *

This was a proper attack that consumed over 70% of my mana.

Not only did I definitely increase its power, but I also put in extra effort to deliver a solid blow to those damn monster spawn surrounding the demon.

And the result wasn’t bad. No, it was rather impressive.

The arrowhead touched the demon’s skin. At that moment, the condensed essence of the typhoon violently erupted upon contact with the enemy.

Knife-like winds tore through flesh and cut through bone, slashing in all directions.

BOOM!!

A massive explosion echoed.

Following the cutting winds, the fire energy I had shot exploded. Anything caught in that explosion would likely perish instantly.

The pure elemental flames that burned monsters and demons spread with the lingering breeze, incinerating enemies even after the explosion.

A wasteland. The area centered around where the demon had stood was completely devastated.

The demon who foolishly revealed itself to me lost its upper body. A rather futile death, if one could call it that. But it was also an inevitable one.

Just a lower demon. While they might be adept at controlling monsters that serve as their limbs, their personal power isn’t that great.

A mid-level demon would probably be much harder to kill with a single strike.

“Huff…”

I sighed.

I tried to inhale the cold air deeply to cool my rapidly beating heart.

However, since the mountain of corpses right in front of me was burning vigorously, hot air rather than cold filled my lungs.

“Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue.

Having used 70% of my mana at once, I felt quite drained. I drank another mana potion in big gulps and came down from the castle wall’s parapet.

Hmm… even for someone like me, it’s a bit burdensome when everyone stares so openly.

Sure enough, everyone on the wall was looking at me.

They couldn’t hide their emotions. The feelings they all displayed were astonishment and admiration.

Ainel was no different. She seemed quite surprised, probably having witnessed something stronger than she had imagined.

Among those who had just seen the arrow I released into the world, only one person didn’t show emotions close to shock.

Sione Sianella was the only one.

Instead of admiring my skill, she looked at me with a worried expression.

Having often supported or carried me when I collapsed from mana exhaustion, Sione knew my meager mana capacity better than anyone.

It seems Sione was more concerned about my well-being than the secret of my abilities.

I gave her a small smile to indicate I was fine, then turned to Ainel.

“What was that just now…”

Even knowing I could handle elemental magic, she probably never dreamed I could wield it to this extent.

I detected a hint of disbelief in the voice she casually let slip.

So I knelt on one knee before her, lowering my posture as if I were a knight.

With dozens or hundreds of eyes watching, I thought I’d observe some formalities like other nobles.

Then, slightly bowing my head to show respect to my superior while simultaneously reporting my achievement to her, I tried to erase the disbelief she still harbored despite seeing it with her own eyes.

“Ray, attendant of the County of Sianella, has successfully eliminated the demon.”

Ainel, no, everyone here should be grateful to me.

Who else could have killed a demon from such a distance? If it weren’t for me, countless priests and soldiers would have had to be sacrificed to defeat that demon.

I’ve done more than my share, even taking on Sione’s portion splendidly. Now I should be able to rest a bit.

No, having dealt with one demon, taking a break would be a fair reward.

“I plan to withdraw to the rear until my mana recovers… would you permit it?”

So I’ll rest a bit below the wall, and you all can handle the cleanup.

* * *

The aftermath of the lower demon’s death was not insignificant.

The monsters at the front line that seemed to be under its influence lost their ferocity and became disoriented.

It seems that as the Magia that the beast-like creature had been spreading thinned, they finally regained some sense.

As survival instinct returned to minds that had forgotten everything except killing intent, the pressure on the wall eased somewhat.

I’m not sure about the countless monsters still remaining in the rear, but at least the enemies at the front line had their ferocity broken once. They stopped their suicidal charges against the wall.

What followed was swift and efficient.

Several battle mages swept the battlefield with their magic. Concentrated fire changed the terrain, and the corpses that filled the ground disappeared.

Thousands of enemies vanished futilely, and finally, the mages who had stayed up all night collapsed from exhaustion when the sun rose.

It was the end of the first night.

‘Killing a lower demon doesn’t end the war.’

The number of monsters killed in just one night was sickening, yet many still remained, swarming everywhere.

The reason why killing a demon doesn’t send all monsters back to their realm, though some lose their previous ferocity, is simple.

‘It’s impossible for a single lower demon to control this many monsters in the first place.’

To lead such a large army, one demon isn’t enough.

There are probably several demons hiding among that sea of precious monsters, waiting for the wall to collapse.

It’s really infuriating that they hide behind monsters, unable to face their own hardships, but it can’t be helped. That’s just how demons are.

Even lower demons, with unstable personalities and not particularly outstanding intelligence, are capable of thought.

Only that pathetic one I killed was foolish enough to come forward and reveal itself.

‘I wonder how long this war will continue.’

I’m not sure.

But if there is an end point, it will be when the heads of all demons fall to the ground.

I just hope the Count’s family doesn’t get wiped out before all the demons’ heads are cut off.

There were no attacks during the day.

During the time when the sun overlooked the world instead of the moon.

Because demons hide their Magia and retreat underground where sunlight doesn’t reach, monsters are also less affected by Magia during times when demons are inactive, so not many would suicide-charge the wall.

Occasionally, some who didn’t know their place would howl in front of the wall, and Sione, myself, and various archers would shoot them dead.

The second night arrived.

The same struggle as yesterday continued.

Many soldiers died or were injured, and despite the heroic roars and efforts of mages and knights, morale began to drop.

Dozens took their own lives, unable to overcome the tragedy unfolding on the wall.

Some threw themselves off the wall, while others gave up their lives in acts of revenge to join their fallen comrades.

“This person…”

Ainel’s eyes sank deeply as she looked at one corpse.

A woman with an empty eye socket. She was a ranger who had been dispatched to the Beltrin Mountains and had brought urgent news to her.

“…She charged at the creatures climbing the wall, calling out the name of a friend who had gone before her. She killed seven of them before dying heroically.”

Ainel observed a moment of silence before her.

“Send word to her family and ensure her body is properly recovered. The same for all other fallen warriors.”

“Yes, I will obey your command.”

Night passed, and day finally came again.

Amid increasingly declining morale, reinforcements finally arrived.

War mages and excellent knights. War supplies were replenished, and under Ainel’s orders, they were deployed strategically.

That wasn’t all.

Reinforcements also arrived from churches in neighboring territories. Combat priests and holy knights, as well as numerous clergy, entered the territory. Among them were several with quite a reputation even in the kingdom.

It was somewhat fortunate amid the worsening situation.

Night came again.

The moonlight shone particularly bright.

The monsters went even more berserk, and finally, another demon revealed itself.

Soldiers with fallen morale.

The negative emotions of those pessimistically predicting the future of the territory and themselves drew in the demon.

Eventually, one demon arrived atop the wall.

“…Damn it.”

Not a lower one, but a cursed mid-level demon.

If it had been at a distance, I could have slowly bled it dry with my bow. With my current power being somewhat limited since elemental summoning is blocked, confronting it at close range is concerning.

And just my rotten luck.

This bastard appeared right in front of Sione and me, of all places.

That looking-down gaze from a mere demon.

It’s so detestable that I want to shoot an arrow and make it one-eyed right now.

If I were alone, I would have somehow rolled on the ground to deliver a blow to it and escaped.

But with Sione by my side, I quickly summoned the wind and said:

“Sione.”

“…Yes.”

“Hold on tight. Don’t let go no matter what.”

I drop the honorifics.

I’ve already been given permission to speak informally, and the situation is what it is.

This isn’t the time to worry about others’ eyes.

I was planning to flee immediately since my abilities aren’t flexible enough to protect Sione while dealing with that thing.

But it seemed to have sensed my intention and sneered, spreading murky Magia.

“Human, and a male at that, using mana to kill my kind. The males of this dimension are designed to accumulate discipline and technique instead of mana.”

Mid-level demons take forms closer to humans than lower ones.

With human vocal cords, it spoke in human language.

“A demon speaking…?”

Sione’s eyes widened in shock at the demon speaking the continental language.

The demon, as if not even seeing Sione, just stared at me.

The demon raised an arm covered in fur instead of a beast’s foreleg. That ominous black fur-covered index finger pointed at me, who was still creating a gentle breeze.

“How did you manage to accumulate that much mana in your heart instead of life’s trajectory to handle magic? Even the lower ones among us seemed to have difficulty dealing with you.”

The demon’s finger drooped.

“Well, if you don’t want to answer, I can kill you and investigate directly. It should provide some brief entertainment.”

Just as Magia began visibly rising from the creature’s body—

“As expected of a demon—”

Slash!

Ainel Sianella cut off the demon’s wrist without hesitation. Thick black blood began to seep from the cut surface.

“You certainly know how to wag that disgusting tongue.”

Ainel recited her anger in measured tones.

On this night with particularly strong moonlight.

Ainel’s silver-white hair shone more brilliantly than usual.