Ch.126126. The Battle of Mercury (7)

The impact of the mid-level demon’s death was not insignificant.

Its head, impaled on a spear and displayed for all to see, helped boost the morale of our forces. Stories about me and Ainel killing the demon were enough to create a small hope among the people.

The effect wasn’t limited to those inside the walls.

Outside the walls, when the control of one mid-level demon disappeared, quite a number of those damned monsters began moving chaotically. Thanks to this, everyone felt that tonight would be easier to get through than yesterday.

“I too will climb up to the wall.”

That’s why Sion wanted to go up on the wall like the other clergy.

A holy knight who had been accompanying him waved his hands in protest at his choice.

“Climb up to the wall? That’s absolutely out of the question.”

“But the enemy’s momentum has weakened considerably… and other priests are already up there bestowing God’s blessing on the injured, aren’t they?”

Sion looked at the patients below the wall.

Most had severe wounds and were hovering between life and death because they couldn’t receive immediate treatment. The priests on the wall were limited, and those not chosen by them had to come down to the priests below the wall.

Unstoppable bleeding. Gaping wounds. Consciousness fading from the worst burning pain and excessive blood loss.

“You know it too, Sir Holy Knight. Once they come down below the wall, it’s too late.”

Although Divine Power could heal their wounds.

Their lost consciousness usually didn’t return to their bodies.

“I need to treat the soldiers on the wall.”

“But—”

“I am a priest who carries the Sianella name. My entire family is fighting up there. I cannot waste Divine Power here in safety.”

He’d even heard that his older sister, Sione, was making significant contributions.

They said her arrows accurately pierced the heads of enemies, steadily reducing the number of monsters. During the day, he could hear archers praising her archery skills.

Sion looked up at the wall and then back at the holy knight.

The holy knight’s expression was rigid. He clearly didn’t like the idea of Sion going up on the wall.

However, seeing the determination in Sion’s eyes, she sensed that she couldn’t stop him.

“I’ll bring several more reliable guards. Could you wait a moment?”

“Alright.”

With those words, Sion once again began looking at the wall.

Not long after, an unexpected event occurred.

A figure in black descended from the high wall. Dense Magia burst out like an explosion from this unidentified person. She stabbed her Magia-enveloped sword into the wall to stop her endless fall.

The person who reached the ground exchanged glances with the closest person, Sion.

Sion could make out her eyes visible inside the pulled-down hood.

“…Demonkin!”

Along with the surging Magia, those were human eyes, not the hideous eyes of a demon.

She was unmistakably a Demonkin, and.

“A Sianella, I see.”

The moment the Demonkin saw Sion, she unleashed her killing intent, scattering Magia.

And at that moment, Sion saw a man following her down the wall.

Unlike the Demonkin in black, he knew the identity of this person.

Sione Sianella’s personal attendant. Yet somehow, a man who could handle magic and annihilate a low-level demon in an instant.

“A suicide attempt…?”

Ray was falling directly above the Demonkin’s head.

* * *

The battle situation wasn’t bad.

Tonight’s wall defense was more relaxed than any other night so far.

“Thanks to Mother cutting down the demon, the monsters have been properly intimidated.”

“If this continues, I think we can hold out until the royal army arrives.”

“Yes, I hope so… hup!”

Sione hit a monster climbing up the wall with a sliding release.

The creature with its head pierced fell to its death.

“Your archery has improved a lot.”

“…I shoot until I’m half-dead every night, so it would be more frustrating if I didn’t improve. But I’m still not as good as my teacher.”

I nodded at Sione’s small complaint that followed.

That’s only natural.

There’s no way Sione could surpass my archery skills already.

Ever since she saw me kill the demon with that one strike filled with magic, she had been practicing archery more diligently. She must have been quite inspired by my attack. Thanks to that, Sione’s skills had improved so much that I felt she didn’t even need my protection today.

We were in the midst of a battle that was more relaxed than usual.

Unwelcome visitors appeared on the wall where only monsters had been climbing.

Dozens of women in black appeared all at once and began moving busily.

“We must destroy the wall! Awaken the final contingency left by those who died before us!”

With one woman’s murky voice, a malicious energy burst forth.

“Ray, that’s Magia. It seems lighter than a demon’s, so it must be Demonkin.”

“…It certainly looks that way.”

I frowned at the thought of this troublesome development.

Planning to destroy the gate.

Given that these vicious Demonkin have come with determination, they really intend to destroy it somehow.

In that case, I’ll have to smash their heads in return.

Having heard their shouts about destroying the gate, knights led by Siabel began moving busily.

I looked at Sione, who was aiming at one of the Demonkin.

“Can you shoot? The target is human, after all.”

“…The target is Demonkin, isn’t it?”

Aura gathered at Sione’s arrowhead.

Then she released the arrow. The straight line pierced the Demonkin’s heart.

“I’m sick of this kind of Magia now.”

When she killed the cultist who appeared at the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony, she was trembling alone.

But now, perhaps due to all she had experienced, Sione maintained a flat composure even after cleanly killing a Demonkin.

The battle continued.

The knights’ quick response and the pressure from the clergy suppressed their Magia.

While the situation seemed well under control, there was an exception.

One Demonkin burst out with Magia and suddenly attempted a breakthrough.

Then that crazy person threw herself down toward the inside of the territory, below the wall.

“Is she insane…?”

How can someone make even suicide look so spectacular?

I briefly separated from Sione. Then I clung to the wall to check the outcome, but I couldn’t find her corpse.

She had used an audacious method, actively utilizing Magia to stab her sword into the wall as she descended.

“As expected of a Demonkin.”

It was quite impressive how she performed such a crazy act so nonchalantly.

She’d just go down alone and soon be eliminated by the knights or holy knights there.

I was about to look away with that thought when I noticed something.

The priest ahead had a familiar face. Well, he couldn’t help but be familiar.

“…Sion Sianella?”

Where else would there be a silver-haired priest here besides Sion Sianella?

Who knows where he left his guards, but he was staring intently at the Demonkin all alone.

That wasn’t all.

The Demonkin also pointed her sword at Sion, taking a stance to charge immediately.

“Ah, shit. Really.”

Surprised by this unexpected situation, fluent Korean started coming out.

Sion must not die.

Not only is the quest linked to him offering a Seed of Power as a reward.

No matter how poor their relationship, they’re still blood relatives, so Sione would spend another depressing day in her room.

Moreover, that Demonkin wouldn’t have thrown herself down the wall for no reason.

Her Magia gave off a more ominous atmosphere than any other Demonkin on the wall.

If left alone, she would cause a major incident.

I needed to eliminate her as quickly as possible.

I began checking my mana.

“This much should be enough.”

I might as well try something crazy like that Demonkin.

I immediately threw myself down the wall.

Gravity pulled me down more strongly. While trying to maintain my body’s center as I fell toward the ground, I circulated my mana.

A turbulent current rushed into my body.

Whoosh!

A strong wind assisted my body.

Using the wind’s power, I balanced my body and slowed my fall.

A feeling of buoyancy filled my entire body.

Instead of falling, I achieved a beautiful flight and landing, instantly positioning myself behind the Demonkin.

“Hup!”

Taking a sharp breath, I drew the sword at my waist.

The moonlit blade burned white. The sword that pierced the sky descended in a diagonal slash.

“……!”

The Demonkin widened her eyes and dodged my attack.

However, due to the narrow escape, her hood was cut off.

Then Sion and I could see.

“Half-human, half-demon?”

With a human form but two small horns growing on her head.

The woman was an ambiguous existence, neither human nor demon, rejected by both.

But regardless of that, this was still a battle situation.

I immediately drew an arrow to match the distance between us.

As I used a sliding release, I simultaneously cast magic.

I increased the speed with wind and infused it with a small spark to give it the power to annihilate the enemy.

I shot the arrow. It missed. She was more agile than I thought.

“So you’re the man they say handles magic.”

“You said you’d destroy the wall. How exactly do you plan to break that holy structure alone?”

“Hmph, you have a long tongue.”

The woman regained her composure.

The sharp tip of her sword aimed not at Sion but precisely at my throat.

Her killing intent, mixed with Magia, was quite intense, causing me considerable pressure.

“Do you think I would so easily tell you the answer!”

A fierce battle followed.

Perhaps because she was half-demon, this cultist was tough.

Unlike the others, she had a grasp of sword forms and flow, and her Magia, which made it more violent, was quite troublesome.

But this too didn’t last long.

I had told Siabel before.

Just as with arrows, it’s perfectly possible to infuse magic into a sword.

She eventually collapsed, spitting blood, from a slash filled with raging wind.

“I cannot die like this…!”

A face distorted like an evil spirit.

The last remaining Magia burst forth from the cultist who screamed as if leaving this world.

The western gate of the wall.

As the surging Magia approached the front of it, a large magic circle began to appear on the massive iron gate.

“That is……”

A large and intricate magic circle.

Judging by its scale, which would have required dozens of magicians to create, the magic circle was not something that had just been made.

All this time, dozens of magicians had been going around trying to erase magic circles on the wall. Who would have thought such a large magic circle was hidden on the gate?

Even the magicians from the Allenar Marquisate frequently patrolled in front of this gate. Does this mean even they didn’t sense anything unusual?

I instinctively knew. If the Magia reached it, the wall might be fine, but the gate would certainly collapse.

The Magia must not reach it.

With that thought—

Slash!

“Kuk!”

Even though I cut off the neck of this damned half-human, half-demon.

Her Magia didn’t stop but continued surging toward the gate.

“Ah, please.”

Even though tonight was more relaxed than previous nights, there were still so many monsters gathered in front of the gate. If the gate were breached, considerable chaos would ensue.

As I frowned deeply and stamped my feet in frustration.

Sion began pouring Divine Power toward the Magia.

That wasn’t all.

The clergy who had gathered during my battle with the Demonkin began to suppress the Magia.

Magia without its master could only dissipate, and it was soon subdued by the Divine Power.

Only then did I catch my breath.

“Phew……”

The territory almost became a mess with the gate breached before the royal army even arrived.

Finally relaxing from the tension of having avoided the worst situation, I could feel even more eager gazes directed at me than when I was on the wall.

I slowly looked around.

Lavi Cournel, who had hurriedly rushed to the magic circle that appeared on the gate. Sion Sianella, who was looking at me with an expression close to astonishment. From the wall, Sione and Ainel’s gazes followed me.

The moment I was deeply imprinted in their minds.

All those who arrived late at the scene were focused on me, standing intact in front of the cultist’s corpse.

“Really, I’m not a monkey in a zoo.”

Is it the first time you’ve seen a man use magic?

* * *

Several days passed.

Several priests and magicians began investigating the half-human, half-demon I had killed. While Demonkin might be one thing, humans mixed with demon blood were rare.

The battles during the night were still intense. Especially Sione, who was making increasingly outstanding contributions, was very well-regarded among the soldiers.

Well, it’s impossible not to be well-regarded when you shoot and kill hundreds of monsters a day.

Sione had already become a skilled archer.

That wasn’t all.

Rumors about me had spread widely throughout the territory.

Since I had only used magic on the wall, those who weren’t on the most dangerous frontlines couldn’t directly witness me handling magic.

But after revealing magic once below the western wall, more people saw me, and they began to talk about me extensively.

Whether it was a trickle-down effect of Sione’s fame, or of my fame, Sione and I became regular topics of conversation, almost always mentioned together.

In the process, many cringe-worthy nicknames were attached to me, but…

That wasn’t what I needed to focus on. After all, the nicknames were just things like “Sianella’s Knight” or “Magic Swordsman.”

What was important was that the royal support and Adelheid’s personal reinforcements had finally arrived at the territory.

It was time to raise the beacon of counterattack, and Ainel didn’t hesitate.

During the day when the monsters’ momentum faltered, she launched an attack.

“Magicians, commence bombardment!”

“Yes!”

Led by royal magicians and those from the Allenar Marquisate, a fierce rain of magic poured down on the battlefield.

Countless monsters evaporated without leaving even bones.

“Open the gate!”

“Open the gate!!”

Following the woman’s shout, soldiers opened the western gate of the wall.

“Cavalry, advance!”

“Ha!!”

Led by the cavalry from the Velleia County, which was the first to provide support, the war horses charged forward.

The Demonkin had died, and several more demons had been killed since. As a result, although they were numerous, they had lost the focal point that had united them.

The cavalry pierced through and scattered the disorganized sea of monsters, then entered the territory through the northern gate.

The monsters were swept away.

The soldiers’ morale was boosted.

The number of monsters decreased significantly, and afterward, it was a battle for the soldiers and knights.

After stubbornly holding out on the damn wall, the county was definitely moving toward victory, though the battlefield soil was stained with blood.

Finally, the end of this wretched war was in sight.