Chapter 406

“…Demons, you say.”

Guardian Knight Sigmund’s eyes narrowed.

The depiction of demons in the Church’s scriptures.

They were creatures remarkably similar to those records.

There was nothing else to think.

Those beings were undoubtedly demons.

And the Church’s scriptures also stated this:

When a great calamity befalls the world, demons will reappear.

This was that time.

That great calamity.

“This is not the time. Immediately…”

“Yes, let’s go.”

At Sister Marianna’s words, Sigmund swiftly launched himself forward.

Marianna followed him.

“Kuaak!”

“S-Save me!”

Where people were being slaughtered.

A demon was there.

-Kiki.

Letting out an unpleasant laugh.

“Spawn of evil, return to hell!”

Sigmund’s holy sword was drawn.

A holy sword that vanquishes evil.

*Thwack!*

That sword severed one of the demon’s arms, which had transformed into a bladed whip.

A scene showing that “vanquishing evil” was not an empty claim.

However.

*Swoosh!*

The severed arm soon grew back.

Unbelievable regenerative power.

Sigmund’s brow furrowed.

“A tougher bastard than weeds.”

“…It’s as the records say.”

Marianna’s voice was subdued.

The records of demons in the scriptures.

They were described as terrifying monsters with fearsome vitality and regenerative power.

There was no mistake in those records.

“Hmph, they’ll die eventually anyway.”

Sigmund’s expression relaxed.

No matter how tough and resilient they were, all living things must die.

Unless they were gods.

“One more!”

Marianna’s face hardened.

Because another demon had appeared.

“You take it.”

Before Sigmund even finished speaking, Marianna had already blocked the demon with her sword.

Thanks to them, at least, this place was able to escape the gruesome demonic slaughter.

The problem was.

“Ugh, another one over there!”

Marianna, witnessing another demon in flight, let out a groan.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because there were by no means many skilled individuals who could face demons.

It was the same even if they fought together.

It was like a flock of sheep, no matter how numerous, being unable to overcome a single beast of prey.

Even holding out was not an easy task.

Furthermore, defeating a demon was something only a very few strong individuals could achieve.

Therefore, it was inevitably a dangerous situation.

“We’re short-handed. At this rate…”

Marianna’s complexion darkened.

Sigmund also knew what she was worried about.

“I know. But we can’t just move people to the castle right now, can we? If we did that now, the enemies would flood in like a wave.”

Sigmund’s words were a calm assessment of the current situation.

The Castle of Illusions.

It was the final bastion of the academy’s defense, where even the Saint had taken refuge.

If they couldn’t hold out here, fleeing there was an unavoidable choice.

But not suddenly, like now.

Even if they were to retreat, they had to hold out at the front.

Only then could they buy time to retreat safely.

“But…”

“For now, we have to hold out as long as we can. And.”

Sigmund’s eyes gleamed.

“We still have a place where we can expect reinforcements.”

Reinforcements they could expect.

Marianna immediately understood that he was talking about Max.

Because she was one of the people who most eagerly awaited Max’s help.

“…I understand. May God’s grace be with everyone.”

“That very God is the one who sent a judge to destroy us.”

Sigmund let out a bitter laugh at Marianna’s words.

“No, I believe. This is merely God’s arduous trial, and His benevolent heart that thinks of His creatures remains unchanged.”

Unwavering faith even in such a situation.

It was a way of thinking difficult for Sigmund to understand, but he couldn’t help but admit that it might be the very source of her strength.

“Alright. I shall pray for God’s blessing upon Sir Marianna as well.”

Sigmund, with a faint smile, fiercely slashed at the demon with his holy sword.

* * *

“Heh heh, their defenses are wavering.”

The messenger laughed.

Demons, in chess terms, were knights.

The strongest knights, capable of leaping over defensive walls, whether they existed or not, to attack.

With those strongest knights penetrating the enemy lines and shaking them from within, cracks were bound to appear in the solid defenses.

Of course, it was unfortunate that the Heavenly Lord had used his power to create the demons, but it was already an irreversible event.

Utilize the advantage the Heavenly Lord had created to the fullest and destroy the defenses.

That was their job.

“No, it’s still not enough.”

But Natasha seemed to find the current situation insufficient.

“Not enough? At this rate, we should be able to breach the defensive wall without much trouble…”

“Aren’t you concerned about what’s behind? We can’t afford to delay.”

“Umm…”

The messenger’s mouth closed.

Because only then did his attention turn to something he hadn’t been conscious of until now.

That their allies were not coming from the west and south.

That meant their allies had been annihilated.

And it meant that the enemy forces that had annihilated their allies might strike their flank and rear.

“That is certainly…”

The messenger blinked his eyes heavily.

Of course, the probability of the enemies, who had fought a bloody battle against their allies, including executives of the organization and giants, being unharmed was not high.

However, there was no absolute in the world.

What if the enemy’s strength was more intact than expected?

Their combined attack could by no means be taken lightly.

“Then we must push harder.”

“I will break through.”

Now that the strong enemies were tied down by the demons, this was the chance.

A chance to breach the main gate’s defensive wall in one go.

“Then I also…”

“No, you just prepare to advance immediately.”

Natasha walked forward with cold eyes.

* * *

“Damn it, what the hell are these things?!”

Alfred, the Masked Prince and current student council president, spat out in annoyance.

The appearance of monsters with black wings.

The unwavering defensive wall had begun to crack purely because of those monstrous bastards, so his annoyance couldn’t help but surge.

“They say they’re demons.”

Leon answered.

“Demons?”

It was a damnably fitting word.

If those things weren’t demons, then there were no demons in this world.

“That’s not what’s important right now. They’re coming.”

Leon’s spear moved.

*Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!*

The incredibly swift movement of the spear, befitting his reputation as the Lightning Spear.

That stopped the demon.

But only just.

*Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!*

The demon’s arm, transformed to be as hard as steel and as long as a spear, clashed fiercely with Leon’s spear in mid-air.

“Tsk.”

Neither speed nor power was anything less than threatening.

If the opponent hadn’t been Leon, it wouldn’t have been strange at all if he had already been impaled and fallen.

“As expected, they’re strong, these things.”

Just the fact that such words came from Leon’s mouth showed how strong the demons were.

“Damn it, I hate to admit it, but I can’t handle this alone.”

Such words even came out of the mouth of the prideful Alfred.

He knew it painfully well, having clashed with them several times already.

That unless one was at least as strong as Leon, they were not an enemy one could handle alone.

“That’s why I’m helping, isn’t it?”

A man holding a spear, just like Leon.

His expression looked extremely tragic.

However.

“No, Senior, you’re not much help, you know?”

The response he received was not encouraging.

Because the man was not Leon Benesse, but Allen Benesse.

“What are you saying to my brother!”

Leon, even while fighting frantically with the demon, flared up.

It was heartwarming brotherly love.

But Alfred was not the type to hold back his words just because Leon flared up.

“Quickly, bring Senior Max! Isn’t that Senior Allen’s greatest value?!”

“C-Cough, cough!”

Allen, as if he had suffered a deep internal injury.

“…”

Leon, perhaps flustered by the insane honesty, seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Quickly, Senior, before more demon bastards show up!”

Did his words bring misfortune?

Max, whom he had called for, didn’t appear, but another being did.

“Huh?”

Allen’s eyes widened.

Because a familiar face had suddenly appeared over there.

A face he had seen in the underground dungeon of Diotess Island.

There was no mistaking it.

Because the opponent was not human, but a Dark Elf.

“U-Uwaah! T-That…”

A scream erupted from Allen’s mouth.

Because he knew.

How terrifying that Dark Elf was.

Max, Elaine, Leon, Slain, Lucia… He had been with his renowned classmates and juniors from the academy in the underground dungeon, but they had almost been killed by that Dark Elf.

Demons were scary, but that Dark Elf was even scarier.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden, Senior?”

Alfred looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“T-There… M-Monster… Q-Quickly, we have to do something…”

Allen, his heart racing, seemed to have developed a stutter.

Alfred naturally couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“No, just speak properly.”

Alfred clicked his tongue.

However, from Allen’s urgent eyes and pointing finger, he could figure out where he was referring to.

Alfred turned his gaze towards the main gate.

The main gate, barricaded with sturdy iron fences.

As if that wasn’t enough, it was even reinforced with a magic circle.

With a defensive wall erected and diligent support from behind, that gate had been holding up well as an impregnable fortress until now.

“Hmm?”

The enemies in front of that gate had suddenly disappeared.

No, just one.

“Dark Elf?”

Alfred tilted his head.

It was news to him that Dark Elves still existed in this world.

That aside, what on earth was he looking at that made him so breathless?

What exactly was the problem?

At that moment.

The Dark Elf drew her sword.

However.

“What’s that?”

A sword without even a blade.

No, that wasn’t a sword, but just a hilt.

An absurd scene, unheard of and unseen.

The Dark Elf held that empty hilt horizontally and pulled it back fully.

“What the hell is that?”

It was so preposterous that he couldn’t even laugh.

“Crescent Moon.”

Regardless, Natasha softly chanted the name of the technique.

Her habit.

That brief moment saved Alfred.

“G-Get down, now!”

Allen shouted.

No, he didn’t just shout; he threw himself at Alfred, tackling him to the ground.

*Thud!*

“Ugh? W-What are you doing?”

Right at that moment.

*SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH!*

The sound of the air being sharply torn was heard.

*SLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!*

And then a loud sound of something being cut was heard.

“Huh?”

Alfred’s eyes widened, feeling a bizarre strangeness.

Because he felt the sensation of a cold blade above his head.

But that couldn’t be.

It didn’t make sense…

It was then.

*Thump! Crash! Thump! Craaaash!*

The roar of something collapsing in succession and colliding with the floor was heard.

“W-W-What is this…?!”

Alfred’s eyes shot open.

An unbelievable sight.

The main gate and the barricades were miserably cut and had collapsed.

T-This, no way, did t-that Dark Elf…?!

“T-The main gate…?!”

“C-Crazy! T-The main gate is destroyed!”

“W-What on earth happened?!”

The voices of the horrified students and staff were telling the whole situation.

* * *

“Everyone, hurry.”

I urged the combined forces.

Because I had a bad feeling.

While the academy held out with its defenses, I would lead reinforcements and strike the enemy’s flank and rear.

That was my original plan.

And that plan seemed to be working out almost perfectly.

If only the academy’s defenses could hold.

However.

‘I have a bad feeling.’

A hero’s intuition.

That intuition was telling me.

That an unknown, ominous aura filled the academy.

‘Please, let nothing be wrong.’

I ran with a hardened face.

Towards the academy.