"I, I...!"

The primitive arena that had formed around the Martial King trembled.

He still didn't know the mechanics behind it, but it likely didn't mean anything good for the Martial King. And something bad for the enemy meant an opportunity for him.

"I'm not a loser!"

The Martial King threw Kankan aside and looked this way. Whether Kankan was alive or dead was unknown, but it wasn't the important issue right now.

What was truly important was that he must not miss the opportunity Kankan had bought by stalling for time until now.

"A loser who isn't even a warrior anymore sure talks a lot!"

Thus, Deathbringer quietly moved his steps under the protection—probably—of the Berserker.

Because not only the demons but even the Martial King had focused all their attention on her, there was not a single being who noticed his movements.

"I! Am not—!"

"Hah, the Berserker does not fight the weak!"

The Berserker snorted and ignored the Martial King. It was a situation where the gaze could have easily shifted back to him, but no such thing happened.

Though he couldn't tell if she was being sincere or just drawing aggro, her response showed an excellent effect.

"Where are you going! Come here right now!"

The moment she headed toward the sand tiger as if she didn't care about the Martial King, the Martial King leaped up in a wild fury.

"Fight me, I said fight me!"

"You there, move! That demon is mine!"

It was a perfect unrequited love. Deathbringer evened his breathing, relaxed the tension in his body, and observed the Martial King.

His skin was flushed red and burning, but his mouth was clamped shut like a clam, and his limbs only trembled slightly without any thought of moving.

It was proof that beneath the wrath and jealousy lay an inherent terror and an old sense of defeat.

"Berserker!!!"

What was the trigger? Well, did he even need to know? The world was overflowing with people who tried to be the beak of a chicken because they couldn't be the head of a cow and refused to be its tail.

Furthermore, the Martial King lacked the strength to even become the beak of a chicken, forcing him to resort to foul play. Unlike someone else who stood proudly as the head of a cow without using a single trick.

CRASH!

In the meantime, the Berserker clashed with the sand tiger. Seeing her tear its front legs apart and smash its jaw with her halberd, it would not be an exaggeration to place her in the ranks of superhumans.

"...!!"

And precisely because of that, someone couldn't help but be provoked even further.

It is only natural that a crow-tit tears its legs trying to walk like a stork, yet unable to accept his own place, he ended up getting swallowed by his emotions.

SWISH.

And the moment he was blinded by his emotions, the Martial King was no longer his match.

Of course, with the table perfectly set for him, the name Deathbringer would weep if he couldn't seize this opportunity.

SSSSS.

Behind the curtain of attention, he finally stood behind the Martial King.

His body, lowered tight to the ground so the demon in the sky wouldn't sense him, was like a shadow, and his physical form, having controlled even the movements of his extremities so the bowel worms wouldn't notice, was extremely restrained.

His shallow, drawn-out breaths no longer held even the slightest warmth.

"How, how could you do this to me—!"

At that moment, unable to hold back his wrath, the Martial King moved. It was the moment he had wanted most.

Masked by the commotion the Martial King was making, Deathbringer's footsteps moved forward. It wasn't very difficult. He had done this quite a lot, and most decisively, he had done it when subduing the Demon Knight.

So compared to that time, the Martial King was inevitably a joke.

"Berserker!"

CRASH!

The sand tiger finally collapsed onto the ground. Even in that moment, the man who couldn't bring himself to challenge the Berserker was merely screaming at the top of his lungs a few steps away.

"I, I'm..."

Against that very neck, a blade completely devoid of light was placed.

"A cowardly loser."

"...!"

The moment the back of his knee was stepped on, the Martial King did twist his body. However, he was too late. Having blown his first opportunity at the cost of failing to account for regeneration, the assassin laid his life on the line for the second.

Instead of leaving a path for evasion, he chose a path that would guarantee the enemy's death. Without even employing the trickery of poison, holding nothing but the belief that his blade would be able to slice the enemy's neck.

GURGK!

And that belief was rewarded. Although the arm holding the blade was grabbed and he was slammed into the distance, the Martial King was pouring blood from his neck like a fountain.

In that state, no matter what measures were taken, he could not survive.

"Forever."

Deathbringer had won.

SHATTER. All the false illusions spread around them broke apart.

"Damn it, it fucking hurts..."

He squirmed his body, which had crashed into the building debris.

Having been thrown into a pile of fragmented rocks, his back and everything else throbbed relentlessly. It was a relief that the back of his head hadn't been smashed in.

"Ugh."

Well, the arm that had been grabbed felt broken, though.

Deathbringer moved his somewhat fine hand to grab the sword that his broken arm had dropped.

CHOMP!

A fierce pain flared up from his leg.

"Fucking...!"

Right, he had wondered if it would really end without him getting caught by the demons. He had just been lucky not to have been bitten even once until now.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

However, becoming demon food right after overcoming the biggest hurdle was still infuriatingly unfair.

He gritted his teeth as he watched the bowel worms swarming up around him. Even if he wanted to swing his sword to kill them, one had already attached itself to his arm.

Due to the paralyzing poison, he couldn't control his arm properly.

"Fuuuuck..."

Was it a relief that at least his tongue was still free? No, it felt like his tongue was slowly stiffening, too.

He squeezed his eyes shut, looking at the demons gathering to tear him apart and devour him.

"What, are you already dead?"

SQUELCH!

He felt the bodily fluids splatter from the demon that had been biting hard into his leg. The one on his arm and the ones swarming toward him, too.

"Not... yet."

He barely managed to move his eyeballs. Someone completely drenched in the sand tiger's fluids was looking down at him. Behind her, the sand tiger's corpse stood as sturdy as a massive mountain.

In that brief moment, she had ripped apart that mighty demon to death and come over.

"I'm, a-alive..."

Was an untimely laugh about to slip out of him? Her amber eyes curved into crescents.

"Hah! Right, you should be! How could the one who brought a loser to his knees go out so pitifully! Now, if you are alive, hurry up and get on your feet!"

Was she a crazy person? How many humans could actually move their bodies after being bitten by a bowel worm?

But the Berserker lacked common sense. She just grabbed him and violently hauled him up.

His stiffly paralyzed body slumped like a puppet with its strings cut, but the Berserker's strength made it possible to lift him by the scruff of his neck.

"Can't you overcome that level of paralyzing poison with sheer willpower?"

"..."

She was a person who masterfully spouted bullshit just because she herself had transcended humanity. The Demon Knight simply lacked consideration, but he wasn't this recklessly unreasonable.

"Kan... Kankan is..."

Still, she was the person who saved him. Deathbringer let his gratitude cover up her ignorance. The fact that there was another person in even more urgent need also played a part.

"... I'm, alive."

Fortunately, Kankan's voice came from the other side. Although he looked like he was on the verge of death and was being supported by someone, wasn't it a blessing that his life was at least intact?

Victory is something one can only enjoy if they are alive.

"... Let's, go. To the... rear..."

And to properly secure lives that were barely clinging on, they had to go to where the healers were.

They gathered the living and hurriedly retreated to the designated location.

As it turned out, it seemed there had been an attack on the Inquisitor's side as well. Twice, at that.

The first time, DeB noticed and came to help, and the second time, it seemed Kimchi Dumpling managed to handle it alone somehow.

There were no casualties, but it made sense that she didn't have the leeway to come help me. In the first place, she didn't even know that I was fighting up top.

"I should have paid more atten..."

"Please be careful. You have overused your divine power. Now is the time for you to rest."

Most importantly, the kid had become gaunt from applying blessings to the entire castle wall. Anyone who would say anything to her after seeing that was a bad person.

I simply went down after confirming the Inquisitor's safety. It was because I had something to tell the Archmage.

"You're here right on time. Was there any particular incident? Do you still have strength left? But why did you come alone? Are you perhaps hurt..."

"A Great Demon came."

"...!"

Judging from what I saw on my way down, thank goodness it seemed nothing major had happened on this side. It wasn't that there were no intruders, but I heard they got fried by the barrier.

Since I saw blackened, charred corpses in the hallway where the mages were, I could be sure of it.

"What are you talking about!"

Even though they were equally unaware that a Great Demon had descended on the castle wall.

"What in the... I understand for now. If the Great Demon returned intact, an attack might come back again. You should just stay here, no, go to where the Temple people are—"

"I have delivered the message, so I will be going."

"Wait, where are you going? If you're thinking of going for backup, stop it. You don't even know where the Great Demon might be hiding. A monster that sneaked in once can definitely sneak in a second time. It would be less dangerous to just stay here..."

"Dangerous?"

I recalled the frontline soldiers and commanders chattering about how the casualties were lower than expected, and I thought of the city center that looked like a complete mess when I saw it from above.

And the demon that babbled about how the status quo was great and that we should just keep things the way they are.

"It is nothing but a lump of dust tightly wrapped in deceit and lies. Its touch does not reach me."

"... Is that a judgment born out of your pride?"

"... I attacked it countless times with my mana, but it took no damage either. As if it were an illusion."

The status quo being good... well. Since I am neither an involved party nor the one directly affected, I won't make a judgment on it. However, I do know that there were casualties as a result of this battle.

Whether the casualties were lower than usual or whatever, the fact remained that people were hurt and killed.

If so, wasn't that enough of a reason for me to lend a hand? This battle wasn't completely over yet, and there were still quite a few demons flying around.

"The bastard called it a double dream, while simultaneously stating that the double dream permitted by the tribute had reached its limit. Even though a demon's words hold no value to be trusted, it probably isn't a complete lie, either."

"... If it is a demon that primarily deals with illusions, just as you said, and if your attacks don't work but it also cannot inflict damage on you, then it wouldn't bother expending more tribute on you."

Furthermore, there was nothing the Great Demon could do to me. As the Archmage said, why would it try to fight again when it would only waste energy and we couldn't damage each other?

It probably didn't have the ability to do anything beyond this either. I wasn't just believing the demon's words; I simply thought that if it had such means in the first place, it would have used them when we first met instead of waiting for a next opportunity.

"But that might just be an overly optimistic view. What if the demon..."

"Do not think you can hold me back with mere possibilities."

I cut off the Archmage's words. I appreciated the concern, but it felt a bit too excessive. If I was going to play the probability game, I shouldn't have come to this land in the first place.

"... The bastard said it wanted to maintain the status quo. However, there's no way that's the truth. You must maintain vigilance regarding that as well."

"... Is that so. I understand. I shall keep an eye out for additional intrusions."

When I made my opinion clear, the Archmage finally accepted it. Not that he let me go easily, though.

He particularly tried to oppose it again when I told him the seal was broken. If I hadn't alternately used the carrot and stick by handing over a few more pieces of information about the Great Demon and showing some stubbornness, he would have held me back until the very end.

Even so, I couldn't avoid him repeatedly urging me to equip a seal before going. Anyway.

Though I was required to undergo the process of putting on a seal again, it was something I had to do anyway. Thinking of it as getting permission in exchange, it wasn't a bad trade.

Now, no one could say anything to stop me.

"H-how did you get there...?"

And so I have arrived, at the rear.

By cutting across the city center.

"Piss off to the ward."

I hurriedly shooed away the people I had picked up while cutting straight across the city, sending them off to the hospital ward.

"Have you seen a dark-green-haired Cutie or a Redmane?"

Afterwards, I sought news of those two guys. It was because I heard that DeB had left the castle wall to find the traitors—along with Kankan.

They probably went to find the traitors at the defensive line, but now that the inner city defensive line had collapsed, there was a high probability they were here, unless they were hiding in a building.

If nothing else, I had to hear whether they were alive or not.

"Ah, if you mean those people, I saw them heading to the ward earlier."

But, the ward? Of course, considering they went into the city where demons were running rampant, it made sense they'd get hurt, but...

"Are their injuries serious?"

"Um, quite a bit..."

If even the civilians who stepped up to help with medical care remembered them, just how badly were they hurt?

I urgently made my way to the patient camp. It was a bit hard to find them because there were so many injured people, but thanks to DeB spotting me first, I didn't wander for too long.

"Ah... Boss, you are safe after all."

More importantly, what's wrong with DeB's arm? Why is it in a splint? And why is there a bloodstained bandage on his leg? I thought he'd only be moderately scratched even if he got hurt...!

Wait, what is that on his face? Is that demonic erosion?! Did you get bitten by a demon?!!?

"I was a little worried after seeing the black fog form, but I'm glad to see you aren't heavily injured."

Leaving the faintly chuckling DeB aside, I examined the space next to him. Right next to DeB was Kankan, who was not only wrapped tightly in bandages all over his body, but was also missing an arm.

I clenched and unclenched my fists.

There was no way DeB was safe while Kankan ended up in that state. That must be why his arm was crushed.

Then did that mean while I was being toyed with by Duke up on the castle wall, Meat Dumpling almost died?

Really?

"Uh, Boss."

Of course, unless it was for the story, I didn't think it would kill off a companion. The fact that I couldn't move in that situation probably wasn't my fault either.

Naturally, who would leave a boss mob and go somewhere else just because their attacks weren't working? You never knew when the phase might change, and there was the possibility an attack would come the moment you tried to leave.

And yet.

"Are you ang...?"

It still weighed on my mind.

It was even more so because I had never seen these guys get hurt and bleed before, especially DeB, who was in a relatively weak position. Although we weren't close, Kankan also got his arm cut off, sustaining a permanent disability.

"Boss?"

I recalled that even the Inquisitor, though she struggled from overusing her divine power, had never suffered anything like a broken bone.

To think a mere trash mob dared to do this to a kid I'd grown attached to while being together these past few months...!

"Uh, ah! If you happen to be worried about the demonic erosion, there is no need for that. They have enough medicine, but because the situation is so urgent, the distribution is just being delayed a little..."

'You little punk, does it look like I'm worried about that? I'm just pissed off that you went somewhere and got beaten up.'

FLUTTER.

"W-where are you going?"

However, my concept dictated that I shouldn't show these feelings, so I coldly turned my body around.

Rather, I even thought I should keep more distance from now on. Right, my setting was keeping people away because I didn't want to get attached, so what would become of my concept if I got angry over him getting hurt?

"Boss?"

I left the patient ward where DeB was resting and directed my steps toward the inner city.

"Oh! As expected, you survived too!"

For the record, this wasn't because I had a special reason. My hatred for demons had merely been reignited by Duke, and leaving them be would go against my concept, so I was simply going.

"Where are you going?"

"Piss off."

A-anyway, if I say so, then that's how it is.

"The Berserker asked. Where are you going."

Yeah, that's none of my business.

With the Berserker I coincidentally ran into trailing behind me like a tail, I crossed the defensive line. Some people tried to block me, but for whatever reason, they just made a show of it and stopped.

"Aha, you're going demon hunting! Good, a Norda warrior cannot be left out of such an event. The Berserker will join you!"

It was time to clean up the rats existing in the city.