Ch.199199. Response to the Attack (1)

“That won’t do. Why are you messing with the altar when the ritual is almost complete?”

A gloomy yet irritable voice. Despite being incredibly quiet, not a single person in this place failed to hear those syllables.

Diolia and especially Sione had already turned their heads in that direction even before the voice came in. The long-eared ones also proved they didn’t have those elongated ears for nothing, as they were sensitive to sound.

So everyone couldn’t help but feel tense and puzzled about the being that had just appeared.

‘…A male voice?’

The owner of the voice was none other than an unidentified man.

Men of this world don’t belong in forests like this where monsters could jump out from anywhere at any time. Their place should be in peaceful flower gardens where butterflies flutter about, not in this eerie forest filled with traces of beast roars and fighting.

‘In any case, judging by what he just said…and the fact that he’s here.’

He must also be connected to those damn demons.

I, no, not just me but everyone. We all adjusted our posture and raised our heads in alertness, looking in the direction where Sione was quietly staring.

Diolia pointed her sword, Friel placed his hand on his sword handle while embracing Piel’s wind. Even Airine focused all three spirits’ attention on one place, and finally, the owner of the voice slowly revealed himself.

“Living buried in the forest for hundreds, thousands of years. I wonder if your brains have properly hardened.”

The man snorted and lifted his chin, looking down at the elves.

“I wonder why you’re so desperate to touch us when you keep getting burned every time. Don’t you know better? If you want to live—”

That uniquely arrogant expression and that confident gesture.

“You should stop bothering us and abandon the World Tree and leave.”

It was enough to provoke the elves’ pride.

“Because your brains are hardened. You keep trying to clash with us instead of taking the simplest approach, which is why so many elves have died—”

He kicked something that looked like remains lying on the ground.

The debris floated up from his kick and rolled weakly toward Airine’s feet.

“……”

Airine, who was still staring at the man stiffly without the slightest bow. Her eyes rolled.

“Becoming living sacrifices like these uncivilized beasts?”

She quietly looked down at the white bones.

The man’s provocation seemed to be working on the elves.

At the same time, Airine’s expression, which had always seemed to maintain cold reason, broke. With a mixture of slight irritation and anger, she finally began to glare at him with clear hostility instead of her cold, emotionless gaze.

Rather than being intimidated by the eldest daughter of House Ianet getting angry, he started to snicker as if he had been waiting for this reaction.

“Well, thanks to the living sacrifice coming here on its own, it’s become more convenient for us. That blonde one is from Arielt… and that red-haired one must be from Ianet.”

The energy slowly flowing from him began to stimulate a primal sense of rejection.

He was a Demonkin who had received power from demons. Despite receiving quite a large amount, he was someone who had managed to hold onto his sanity despite being intoxicated with fanaticism.

—Shinwoo.

‘I was going to do it without you telling me.’

Before his Magia could activate further, and before those words could end.

I quickly pulled out an arrow. From the beginning, I took it out with the end of the shaft between my index and middle fingers. Without giving him any chance to easily dodge, I placed it on the bowstring and pulled.

Zwaaack—!

The sound of the tough string being pulled overlapped with the voice of that crazy fanatic.

“Be careful of those two and capture as many of the rest as possible—”

Bang!

I quickly changed my stance to a figure-eight position and cleanly shot using the Flandre archery technique. The arrow that flew in a straight line lodged in his throat.

“Gurk……”

The Demonkin, foaming blood and glaring at me with intensely furious, reddened eyes.

Well, what are you going to do? Come and hit me? Can you even get here in that state?

I deliberately showed him an arrogant expression like the one he had been using to provoke our team’s forest guardians, and he began to charge at me like a madman.

It was at that moment.

“Our family was killed by that cursed thing! Attack them all!”

“Turn them all into sacrifices! Secure as many as possible, even if you have to kill them!”

Along with him, women who appeared to be Demonkin emerged from all directions.

Women with the scent of blood entered among the elves and swung their swords wildly in all directions. With this, the battle began again.

However, even in the midst of this, the man with the arrow in his neck thanks to me was still desperately trying to rush at me.

“…Crazy bastard.”

I could read the look in his eyes, consumed by obsession and madness, enough to make me curse involuntarily.

Demonkin have always been full of such madmen. I had forgotten how dangerous they were lately.

‘Let’s focus without underestimating them.’

Demonkin are full of crazy people. The combination of fanaticism and Magia is enough to turn them into excellent killing machines, and I know that.

Even Siabel, who had that venomous sword, had been badly hurt by Demonkin attacks before. These guys have such abnormal thinking that they would boldly enter the kingdom and the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony to cause chaos.

“Where do you think—!”

“Gaaack……”

The man who was still charging at me with only me in his sight.

In the end, he helplessly lost his life to Diolia, who was holding her sword in front of Sione to protect her.

Even in that situation, it was quite hair-raising to see him swing his sword to take Diolia down with him when her sword strike approached his face.

As I took in that series of images, I quickly said:

“Ugh… disgusting…”

“Tania.”

“What? Should I burn them all?”

“…No.”

I wish she would, but.

If she creates fire like that, even though the mana consumption for magic casting after summoning spirits is greatly reduced, it’s different with this number of enemies. Not only would they burn up, but all my mana would be completely consumed too.

“Switch with Orna. If it seems dangerous, immediately support with magic or finish them off.”

“…Will you be okay without me?”

“I have Orna. I can handle this much without you.”

“Yet you say that while not looking as good as you used to.”

“……”

As I quietly looked at Tania, she puffed her cheeks and said:

“If it looks dangerous, I’m coming right back, whether it’s your master or that knight or whoever. I won’t yield on this.”

“Alright then.”

“Aish, your reaction—”

Tania muttered something and flew away with a huff.

Soon, the cotton ball Orna filled her place.

—Myeong!

“Can you help me with arrows and movements from now on?”

—Myaaang.

As if telling me to just trust her, Orna proudly fluffed up her thick fur.

At the same time, I hurriedly began to join the battle.

I started running without hesitation along the bumpy forest path. Fortunately, since Orna could keep up with my pace, the gentle breeze surrounding me made my actions even quicker.

As soon as I pull out an arrow, a whirlwind forms and my arrow pierces through a Demonkin. I continue the melee, blending in with the elves and Demonkin moving in perfect unison.

With each swing of the sword, an enemy’s head rolls on the ground. Each time I hide behind a tree trunk and shoot an arrow, an enemy’s heart is pierced.

The forest guardians, who quickly adapted to the repetitive combat, gained the upper hand in the confrontation with the Demonkin, who had relatively less professional combat training or experience.

It was at that moment when victory seemed imminent.

My instinct screamed. The rear was in danger.

“Ray!”

“…Lady Sione!”

My master, firmly gripping the bow Ainel had given her, began running toward me, leaving behind a confused Diolia who was startled by her sudden action.

She only runs that desperately when she’s nagging me to lose weight.

The moment I turned my body around, I saw a woman in the distance. She was different from the other Demonkin. I could see her lips curled up in a relaxed smile under the deeply pulled hood of her robe.

It was sudden. Even I, with my sharp senses awakened, couldn’t sense her presence.

The moment she lifted her robe and drew the sword from her waist, instinct told me.

To dodge. To absolutely not think about countering with this improperly prepared stance.

“D-damn it…!”

Sione, who had run over with gritted teeth, threw herself at me and embraced me.

We rolled on the ground. Properly at that.

As we rolled far away, I could see that Demonkin already standing where I had been, having delivered a slash.

Ominous Magia was bursting forth.

At the moment when she was about to plunge her sword into me and Sione rolling on the ground.

“Damn woman.”

“…Cursed cultist minion.”

A small girl stood proudly in front of us, unleashing her full power, and.

Sione, who had fallen and picked up an arrow scattered on the ground and immediately nocked it to her bowstring, spoke with utter coldness.

“Where do you think you’re aiming at my contractor?”

“How dare you try to touch what’s mine?”

Whoosh!

The spirit’s fierce flames burst forth, and Sione’s sharp arrow filled with aura struck the enemy.

After the wall of flames disappeared and the sound of Sione’s arrow hitting something beyond was heard, we could identify the identity of that Demonkin.

“Judging by your expressions, it seems my welcome greeting was more pleasing than expected?”

A pair of black goat horns on top of her head.

She was none other than our extermination target, the half-human half-demon.