Ch.124124. The Battle of Mercury (5)

A sinister killing intent surged through Ainel’s sword as it severed the wrist. A gleaming malice overlaid Ainel’s clear eyes.

Her pupils focused not on her own severed wrist, but on the demon facing the enraged knight. More precisely, she was targeting the exposed neck of the creature.

A large downward strike in a straight line. Ainel’s sword had cut through the demon’s wrist and was now positioned downward.

She immediately assumed a middle guard stance to prepare for any possible counterattack from the demon.

While doing so, she moved her feet. In an instant, the distance closed, and Ainel’s mana began to clash with the demon’s magia, starting a battle for dominance. A collision of forces. Both gathered their energies to dominate the space and gain absolute advantage in this battle.

“Disgusting demon, you’re putting on quite a show.”

That magnificent energy was because Ainel had surpassed a mid-level demon. She pushed her right foot into the space dominated by magia.

Her right foot swept across the floor, followed by her left. In sync with this movement, she raised her sword.

Ainel’s blade descended to behead the demon. If the creature showed no response, its head would soon fall to the fortress wall.

“…What a bold knight.”

Unfortunately, despite his endlessly bored expression, the demon had an uncanny awareness of his own mortality.

With a sudden grimace, he pulled his body back in an instant, barely avoiding Ainel’s sword. A small line appeared on his Adam’s apple, with black blood trickling down his neck.

“Tsk.”

Ainel clicked her tongue. Judging by her twisted lips, she was clearly disappointed at failing to take the demon’s head in one strike.

Certainly, if she had thrust just a bit deeper, there would have been a meaningful result. I vaguely understood her feelings.

But that was that.

Ainel was engaged in combat with the demon, and I, as Sione’s attendant, had my own duties to perform without any further distractions.

I took Sione’s hand—my master who had momentarily been captivated by glimpsing her mother’s fragmentary martial prowess—and led her away.

“While Lady Ainel buys us time, we must hurry and escape.”

“But… shouldn’t we help my mother?”

“Even if we joined the fight now, we wouldn’t be much help. We’d only get in the way. Are you confident you won’t get caught up by the demon if you enter that battle, Lady Sione?”

Sione quietly nodded at my words. Fortunately, unlike the festival day, she didn’t add any unnecessary comments to my suggestion.

“…It would be better to fall back and gather the holy knights and knights.”

She even gave exactly the answer I wanted. I thought it had been a while since Sione and I had agreed on something.

Just as we were about to withdraw, it happened.

“That hair and that ominous energy. I remember now. Kaina… you’re a descendant of that mad woman.”

The demon’s magia began to spread more thickly.

That damned creature was filled with rage. Kaina Sianella. Given that he mentioned the name of the first head of the County of Sianella, he seemed to have some connection to her.

Judging by his reaction—like someone who had vouched for the wrong person—his past with the first countess didn’t seem particularly beautiful.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t make such a rotten expression.

‘This is getting troublesome.’

I reflexively circulated my mana. Such concentrated magia could corrode human flesh. It would be wise to avoid suffering from magia intoxication.

Sione possessed the power to destroy demons, so I didn’t need to worry about magia corruption for her. That Hunter who had the power to destroy demons was the type who could wander through that cursed demon realm without any protection and remain unaffected.

Even if her power had weakened somewhat, the magia emitted by a mere mid-level demon wouldn’t be able to harm Sione.

“There are clergy over there. Ray, quickly—”

As expected, Sione walked along the fortress wall unaffected by the magia.

What blocked her steps were not the magia but the monsters climbing onto the wall.

“Grrrr……”

“Kieeee—”

Demonic beasts surrounded Sione and me.

Drawn by the thick magia of the mid-level demon, these creatures had climbed onto the fortress wall and were drooling profusely. The problem was that we were caught in their sight. Eventually, these damn creatures began to lick their lips while looking at Sione and me.

“Our retreat is blocked. This is troublesome……”

Sione pulled an arrow from her quiver.

While doing so, she glanced at the clergy in the distance. Since the monsters had gathered around us, they had some breathing room.

In fact, several battle priests and holy knights had noticed our dire situation and were approaching, so we just needed to hold out against their assault.

However, simply holding out didn’t suit my temperament.

“Ray?”

“As you can see. I’ll clear a path.”

I drew an arrow and stepped forward.

I had already severed the lifeline of a lesser demon. There would be nothing more embarrassing than struggling with these worthless minions.

The next moment, my magic engulfed them.

* * *

“Kaina… how do you know the name of the first countess?”

“Any demon involved with this dimension would know, wouldn’t they? Countless demons fell to that damned woman’s hands. However—”

The demon’s eyes narrowed. His hideous face, with its lips curling up unpleasantly, evoked even greater revulsion.

“Though she was remarkable, her descendant is subpar.”

Viscous magia erupted.

Demonic beasts, following the malicious energy, converged on one side of the fortress wall where Ainel and the demon stood.

Intoxicated by the foul energy, the beasts had become monsters obsessed only with devouring flesh and drinking blood.

The demon had never intended to engage in a one-on-one duel with Ainel.

Ainel quickly widened her field of vision to check on Sione.

Her daughter, who hadn’t managed to get far away, was now engulfed in this wave of monsters.

‘At least that’s fortunate.’

Ray was reliably by Sione’s side.

Having previously vaporized a demon, he should be able to protect both Sione and himself.

As proof of this.

Whoosh!!!

A turbulent current began to swirl over the previously calm fortress wall.

This phenomenon occurred when Ray handled magic. Having witnessed with my own eyes the powerful magic formed by these currents, I knew that the horde of demonic beasts would be a surmountable trial for Sione and Ray.

Therefore, Ainel withdrew her attention from them.

Her blue eyes focused solely on one thing: the hideous human-like figure with black horns.

‘I’ll take his head as quickly as possible.’

Nothing good would come from letting magia devour the fortress wall. Moreover, she intended to appease the souls of the dead with the demon’s head.

“Hoo—”

She exhaled, momentarily relaxing her muscles.

Her breath floated up in wisps. Like the souls of allies escaping from the cooling bodies of soldiers killed by these damned demons and monsters.

That’s when it happened.

“Grrrr!”

A four-legged beast lunged with sharp claws.

“Hup!”

Ainel held her breath.

In an instant, she tensed her muscles and swung her sword.

With a clean diagonal strike, the creature’s body was split in half.

Her shoulders felt heavy, and her chest was always tight. It had been this way since preparations for the defense began.

Head of the County of Sianella. Descendant of knights who valiantly exterminated demons. Legitimate successor carrying on the spirit of her ancestors. All these words describing her, the pressure of them weighed on her mind.

But retreat was not an option for her. She had to embody the unyielding spirit of her ancestors and always make choices worthy of the Sianella name.

“I am the countess.”

Literally, I am the head of the county. As the leader of one of the kingdom’s foremost houses in the kingdom with faith.

She must uphold the covenant between the first queen and the county. As a knight serving the kingdom as her lord, she had to stop the monsters and demons from the demon realm from ravaging the kingdom right here.

“And soon my name will be Sianella itself of this era.”

As the inheritor of the will left by the previous countess, her mother, she had a duty to stop the demon’s rampage.

“Even if my personal achievements don’t match those of my ancestors, I have inherited their spirit without deficiency.”

Ainel stomped the ground.

Her rising aura shook the space.

“I intend to kill you to uphold our spirit and honor the resentment of the dead.”

Dozens of exchanges continued between Ainel and the demon.

Ainel indeed possessed a more venomous sword than Siabel. It was a characteristic of Sianella swordsmanship.

A sword forged with demonic souls to hunt demons. Against that chilling attack aimed at severing life threads, the inhuman being summoned demonic beasts.

The fierce battle continued.

Ainel wielded her sword. She cut the throats of attacking beasts and kept the demon at bay when it tried to exploit openings. Sometimes she deliberately created openings to launch counterattacks.

Ainel’s swordsmanship began to gradually perfect itself through combat with the demon.

The problem, however, was…

“……!”

She was at a severe numerical disadvantage.

Finally, she allowed the first hit. A beast sank its sharp teeth into her thigh. Burning pain shot up her leg.

Thwack!

Ainel quickly drove her sword into the creature’s neck. But that alone wasn’t enough to make it release its grip. Only after twisting the blade to gouge out its windpipe could she regain freedom of her leg.

“For all your bold words, you’re showing quite a weak performance.”

“…Shut that mouth.”

Ainel growled. The demon merely snickered, enjoying her anger.

Allowing one attack meant there would be more. Ainel began to feel her body gradually breaking down.

But she didn’t stop her sword. This time was different.

Now she wielded her sword voluntarily as a knight, not out of duty as the head of the county.

Perhaps from cutting through so much magia, she felt her previously stagnant swordsmanship approaching its final essence. At the same time, she found the direction of swordsmanship she would pursue and refine for the rest of her life.

“…My ancestor became a demon to slay your kind. My sword is proof of that.”

She was out of breath. Her right leg, bitten earlier, was already soaked in blood. Multiple injuries and impacts had accumulated on her body from intense skirmishes with various beasts.

“But I will be somewhat different.”

Her monologue continued.

To straighten her own heart.

“Instead of becoming a demon, I will cut down the damned moonlight and night.”

Slash!

A large monster lunging at Ainel fell as its head was severed.

“Without becoming a demon myself, I will cut down the moon and night—the source of you wretched demons—and cast you into the abyss.”

The wall collapsed.

A step forward.

Ainel took a large stride. Twisting her waist, she swung her sword horizontally.

A flash. An aura more brilliant than anyone else’s on the fortress wall drew a half-moon. The magnificent strike rising from this imprinted the presence of one individual on everyone in the chaotic battlefield.

Space distorted. The forms of demonic beasts positioned within the distortion collapsed, revealing the demon hiding behind them.

Ainel took one more step forward.

Despite her rapidly deteriorating condition, she maintained her dignity.

One sword.

The moonlight was cut by her elegantly swung sword. The night of the world, her realization reached the demon’s neck. Thus it was proven. Her sword, as she had wished, had cut the moonlight and severed the night.

In the cold night sky above the kingdom’s battlefield, a new star rose.