Ch.7777. Free City of Lachburg (6)

From the thick cloud of dust emerged a figure—a woman clad in armor that exuded an ominous presence.

Her body, standing just over 2 meters tall with broad shoulders, was covered in dark crimson armor adorned with dangling chains and spiky decorations. On her head was a helmet that fully exposed her face, and in her hand, she wielded a greatsword.

The massive sword had its blade half-composed of red energy, with pointed decorations along its length, and a single eyeball embedded in the hand grip, rolling about in all directions.

The left half of her exposed face was marked with red tattoos, and a demonic horn protruded from beside her left ear.

This being, who anyone would immediately recognize as a demon contractor, extended her sword to recover the red magical energy from the queen’s corpse…. As I watched, a sudden thought crossed my mind.

Could it be that the queen had been under this woman’s control all along?

Thinking about it now, there were many strange things. Things I had dismissed as the queen being a mutation now seemed highly suspicious in retrospect.

The fact that the queen had established herself near human territory, or that cave worms that normally live underground had invaded the surface—it was all strange. Furthermore, they had executed an invasion plan that would have been impossible without understanding the city’s structure.

My doubts had now become certainty.

[—Strike!]

Without the slightest hesitation, I launched a slashing attack toward the demon contractor (presumably) who had killed Corin with a single blow. I didn’t expect it to defeat an intermediate warrior—I merely wanted to gauge the enemy’s level.

But her response exceeded my expectations.

“…?!!”

Just before my claw-like slash could reach her, the demon contractor sneered contemptuously and released her aura, intercepting the slashes coming from all directions.

She hadn’t even made a special effort to defend herself. She had simply employed one of the basics of aura manipulation—releasing aura from her entire body in an ordinary manner.

Yet… that alone was enough to block my attacks.

Her aura overwhelmed my magic-based slashes with sheer power, causing them to shatter helplessly and dissolve into the air.

And then…

[[[—■■■■■■!!!]]]

Hydra, sensing my dismay, roared to draw attention, then opened its jaws and fired toxic magical bullets toward the demon contractor.

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deadly poison bullets poured like machine gun fire from the 12 widely opened heads. Though not particularly accurate, their strength lay in their shotgun-like spread and the lethal potency of the poison.

Hydra’s venom was a product of mystery—a terrible toxin that infected body, mind, and even soul, causing excruciating pain.

A single drop could kill thousands, and its toxicity was potent enough to incapacitate and kill even a Swamp Dragon, an immature but pure-blooded dragon species.

As this deadly rain of poison—where even a single drop could be fatal—poured down, the demon contractor extended her sword with a visibly malevolent expression—

-Crash!!

In the next moment, a crimson aura light cut across the ground, and several slashes sharply tore through Hydra’s body.

[[—■■■■■!!!]]

-…Groan!

After deflecting Hydra’s venom with her aura, the demon contractor charged forward with her greatsword, instantly severing four of Hydra’s heads. Though caught off guard and screaming, Hydra frantically moved its remaining heads.

Three heads lunged forward attempting close combat, while the remaining five filled their mouths with venom, preparing to spray it.

[Wind!]

[Break, tree!]

Meanwhile, we weren’t just standing by watching.

As Minerva and Sophia completed their incantations in that brief moment, hard seeds shot from plants that had sprouted from the ground, enveloped by Sophia’s “blade wind.”

[Vines, bind!]

I also summoned vines from the ground to restrain the demon contractor.

Attacks rained down on the demon contractor from all directions…

-Slash!

All our attacks collapsed with a single slash from the demon contractor.

-Groooan…!!

Hydra collapsed to the ground, its body—especially the heart and lungs—split in half.

The contents spilling from its split body scattered into photons upon touching the ground, and its soul was recovered to rest by my side.

The seeds that had been wrapped in blade wind and fired like bullets crumbled powerlessly, and the vines that had tried to bind the demon worshipper lay scattered on the ground in pieces.

“…?!!”

This display, far exceeding my expectations, was enough to plunge me into fear for the first time in a long while.

Corin, who could have unleashed our maximum firepower, had been ambushed and killed.

Even Hydra, our toughest fighter, had been slain before it could even activate its regenerative abilities.

Could we possibly defeat this enemy…?

No matter how efficient her aura usage was supposed to be, the sheer amount she was expending without showing any signs of depletion was astounding, as was her aura control that enabled her to launch slashing attacks.

Her extraordinary greatsword cut through solid rock and Hydra’s body like tofu, and she possessed the physical ability and skill to wield such a weapon according to her will rather than being limited by its performance.

Add to that the unknown mind control ability she seemed to have obtained through her contract with a demon.

I had to acknowledge reality. In our current state, with Corin and Hydra dead and less than half our magical power remaining, I couldn’t think of any way to defeat the demon contractor.

The fact that this battle had begun in the worms’ nest, underground, was another factor pushing the situation toward the worst possible outcome.

Sophia’s specialty, celestial magic, was weakened without the sky as a medium.

There was nothing preventing the use of nature or wild magic, but the fact that we were inside a cave made me hesitate.

In truth, the best option available to me now would be to cast earth-controlling nature magic.

Earlier, when the “master of the otherworld”—the queen—was still alive, the dominion over the earth belonged to her, making such magic impossible. But now that she was dead and the otherworldly influence had partially dissipated, it was entirely possible.

…The only reason I hesitated was that casting earth-manipulation magic from this deepest part would result in us being buried alive.

Moreover, we couldn’t expect external support. From the life forces I could sense, Adolf and his companions appeared to be engaged in fierce battle with the cave worms swarming toward this inner sanctum.

In short, we had to fight with only the forces remaining here, now…

‘…Alright, let’s go.’

Firmly resolving myself, I emerged from my accelerated thought state and focused my mind on the magic within my staff.

One of the functions of the staff I inherited from my mother was its ability to store magical power. I reached for the abundant magic I had stored inside and bound it with my will, weaving it into the form of a spell.

All of this took just 3 seconds. By reducing the casting time to the absolute minimum and using all the magic stored in my staff to supplement the required resources, the spell took only 3 seconds to cast.

I couldn’t defeat the demon contractor before me through conventional means. So… why insist on conventional methods?

I recognized Corin’s soul, which had returned to my side through our animal friend contract. Through our mental connection, I extended my magic to observe and mimic its structure.

Meanwhile, as I prepared to cast my spell, the demon contractor’s attempt to kill me was blocked by Sophia and Minerva’s magic.

[[Gale!!]]

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

The wind barrier created by the two intermediate magic users was remarkably sturdy. Even with her transcendent power, the demon contractor would need considerable time to break through it…

During this time, my soul and Corin’s finally achieved resonance.

Golden feathers grew over my cloak made of ogre and dragon hide. My hair, originally brown due to nature’s mysteries, turned golden.

-Crackle…

Powerful electricity sparked across my body as the mystery of lightning naturally settled into my mind.

At this moment, Corin and I had become completely one.

I was Corin, and Corin was me. The distinction between us was unnecessary.

Lightning-formed magic moved fluidly according to my will. This wasn’t about using some principle or force to generate lightning—it was in the realm of “authority.”

Unlike power based on the laws of the world that allow something to be done through specific theories, this was the power of a Spirit—”the right to do so.”

With mystery-infused lightning wrapped around both arms, I faced the demon contractor who had begun to eye me warily—

-Rumble!!!

With a thunderous boom, Robo, now charged with lightning by the mystery I had bestowed, began to advance forward.