'Wrath will come.'

["... There is no way."]

'Wrath will surely come.'

["Why do you think I even ate that impure flesh...!"]

'He will come to kill you.'

["I am Biryuho! I have even obtained the power of a Great Demon! There is no way I would lose to a mere human!"]

'An entity you cannot defeat, is coming.'

["There is no way I would lose...!"]

"Biryuho?"

SWISH!

Biryuho instinctively spun around with its claws raised. In front of the hand that barely managed to stop was the human it had decided to possess.

"... Is something wrong?"

Instead of losing color, the human, whose veins themselves were dyed black, looked at Biryuho with bloodshot eyes. On his cheek was a thin line of blood engraved from what had just happened.

["Oh dear. I hurt you."]

Biryuho's heart ached. While it was slightly pleased by the fact that the wound was inflicted by none other than itself, the reality that it almost killed this fragile thing brought forth a sense of sorrow.

And Young Lord Leon, who ended up being embraced in its arms like that...

Thought to himself, 'What bullshit.'

Was that all? Along with the impression that the smell was getting progressively more disgusting, there was also the mockery that even its previously beautiful appearance was becoming ruined.

His face, held in its embrace, numbly turned his gaze to the surroundings. A few more words from Biryuho reached his ears, but they did not register in his mind.

His eyes could only capture the rotting land around them.

'Maybe it's right to just kill Biryuho.'

He recalled the forest that was lush just at the beginning. It was a forest so abundant and dense that he was shocked as to how it hadn't been discovered until now.

Perhaps that was why. Whether the beasts living there were influenced by the thick vitality, their sizes were huge and they were incredibly swift.

It was as if... they harbored magical energy despite being mere beasts, as mystical as the beasts from the era before humans had even established language.

However, the rising and setting of the sun six times was enough for all of that to fall into ruin.

Just six days were enough for the mystical-looking beasts to unleash their hidden demonic energy, and for the entire forest to rot and harbor poison.

Because of this, he was able to quickly realize. If things continued this way, he himself would die before long.

This was a fact he could be certain of just by looking at the back of his hand right now.

Black veins. The typical symptom of demonic energy corruption, which any human would learn about at least once, was completely covering his skin.

However, he rather welcomed it. Indeed, sitting blankly in the middle of a rotten forest while being treated like a comfort doll was far too difficult.

Setting aside the boredom or discomfort, it was because it was hard to breathe, his head was dizzy, and his body ached as if he had been beaten up.

So, dying early from demonic energy corruption would rather be a blessing. Uttering such self-deprecation, he gently pushed Biryuho away.

["What is it?"]

Biryuho, interpreting it as a rejection, gained a vicious look in its eyes. It was a familiar development.

Leon wordlessly took Biryuho's hand and led it to a place where blades of grass were still somewhat alive. It was a good spot to lie down.

["Did you want to rest?"]

'Stupid beast.' He lay down in the grass, leaving Biryuho to misunderstand and resolve its anger all on its own. The beast, which couldn't even perceive that its surroundings were rotting but was quite lenient only towards him, lay down beside him.

Even that was agonizing. The person he wanted by his side did not have white-gold hair, but black hair.

"Why did you leave?"

["Hm?"]

"In the past, you hid yourself from us, didn't you."

["Ah."]

... Small talk was the best way to forget one's thoughts. He barely managed to forget the afterimage casting over a corner of his vision.

["It was nothing special. It was merely to delay the approaching death."]

"... Pardon?"

Even if he hadn't expected that only resentment and wrath would swell up as the price for it.

["Indeed, even the turtle crawling beneath the earth received immortality, so why should I be the one to die? I alone have the right to enjoy eternity."]

"Then, the land drying up was...?"

["I simply took some of the life that should have flowed into the world. It must be an honor for them as well. Becoming my flesh and blood would be far more valuable than becoming a life that fades away in vain."]

He covered his eyes with his hand at the welling misery. The quivering of his hand could be felt even through his skin.

["Of course, magical energy accumulated in the forest I used as a nest, causing several side effects, but... isn't it fine regardless? For that is how I came to meet you."]

But even at that moment, the words provoking him did not stop.

Leon grabbed a tree branch scattered nearby and pondered if Biryuho would die if he stabbed it into that neck.

Even knowing it was impossible, he couldn't endure it if he didn't at least do this much. If he didn't at least do this...

["Are you trying to..."]

CRASH!

An explosion roared. Just like it had once before.

"...?"

["What in the..."]

And also like that time, one side of the forest was overturned, scattering debris and kicking up a dust storm.

Amidst the reddish-brown dust storm caused by the rotted trees, a black hem fluttered like a flag of war.

"I found you."

["You bastard...!"]

It was a moment truly identical to the castle's flower garden.

"I will not miss you this time."

The only difference was one thing.

"You insect."

The Knight would not let the tiger slip away like he did back then.

* * *

[ROAAAR!]

"Where do you think you're going!"

A shield was slammed down in the middle of the forest that was dyed reddish-brown or purple and reeked of nothing but foul stench.

At the same time, a massive golden barrier spread out with the shield at its center, blocking the tiger's front paw. CRASH! A deafening roar echoed.

THUD!

Not only did it block the attack, but the barrier of divine power forced the tiger back. It was precisely then that my sword moved.

My sword slashed through the empty air and the skin beyond it. If Biryuho hadn't immediately returned from its giant beast form to its human shape, the wound would have been much deeper.

["You humans!"]

"Liar! Comrade is a liar! You said you would yield the tiger to Berserker!"

However, my sword wasn't the only thing Biryuho had to dodge. Berserker swung her halberd widely and struck the spot where Biryuho had just been.

When it nimbly dodged backward, she rapidly angled her halberd with her characteristically tough physical strength to chase after its movements as a bonus.

CLATTER!

"Uh!"

Meanwhile, with a sound that triggered someone's PTSD, pale blue chains snatched Young Lord Leon.

Speaking from experience, having a rope tied around your waist and being pulled made you feel incredibly nauseous and left severe bruises... but it would still be better than staying over there.

Indeed, wouldn't it be more of a thriller to be stuck with the body of a normal civilian between an entity shifting back and forth between a human and a giant tiger, and three humans fighting against it?

["How dare you! My possession!"]

"Hahaha! Where are you looking!"

"Foolish! He is not yours!"

As a bonus, we could also steal Biryuho's attention.

"Now."

["...!"]

"Do you know your place?"

My sword spewed out three groups of black half-moons. As a bonus, Biryuho, who was rushing this way to retrieve the Young Lord, was forced to step back again.

The entity, whose overall color had become murkier than last time, bared its teeth.

["A mere human!!!"]

It seemed to have forgotten that the very being it coveted was also a human. If it was because he was a special rose, then there was nothing to be done.

"His condition is serious. Hurry and carry him to the rear."

"Whoa there. Shouldn't we give him medicine first?"

"If it's medicine, I have it right here."

"... Mia?"

"You said you'd be a man who didn't require much care, but you broke that promise before we even got married, didn't you?"

"M-Mia."

However, the Young Lord had already crossed over to our side, and there was no chance of him ever returning to Biryuho.

After confirming that DeB and the Young Lord of Camberer—I was quite surprised when she showed up with a sword saying she would come along. I had no choice but to allow it in the end due to her spirit of representing everyone's revenge—were taking Young Lord Leon away, I swung my sword in a circle.

Moving perpendicularly to the ground in a circular motion like an arm exercise, the sword left black stains in the air. It was leaving traces of magical energy as if stamping sword-shaped marks into the empty air.

And when my sword completed a half circle and stood perpendicular to the ground, I lifted the sword horizontally.

SWOOSH. The black stains left in the air twisted 90 degrees and aimed straight ahead.

"I'll kill you."

'Kill it.'

Like someone taking their anger out on the wrong target, pent-up resentment that hadn't originated from this place gradually seeped into the stains.

'Damn it. If I had turned even half of my sorrow into wrath, by now...'

SWISH!

The blades of magical energy surged forward like dozens of arrows.

The magical spears pierced the shoulder and front paw of the giant beast that was aiming for Berserker's opening.

"Ahahaha!"

In succession, a golden barrier crushed Biryuho, who had transformed into a human, and Berserker smashed her halberd down, shattering that very barrier.

Biryuho urgently raised an arm to block it. The ink-black blade dug halfway into Biryuho's forearm.

"Good, good. You gotta have a good feeling when cutting!"

"Hap, here I go!"

Ah, did our timing overlap?

I leaped in time with Berserker's attack, only to see the Inquisitor trying to swing a golden barrier like a baseball bat.

Should I dodge? No, I don't want to.

SLASH!

"Demon Knight!?"

I put the momentum of my forward dash directly into my sword and slashed Biryuho's leg.

In return, I was also smashed by the divine power barrier formed by the Inquisitor... but it was less damaging than taking a direct hit from his mace.

SSSSS.

So it was fine. Even my clothes getting slightly burned would eventually be restored anyway.

"Don't interfere! Both of you!"

"Demon Knight, are you okay—Berserker! This is not a game! We must all join forces!"

"Urghhh!"

More importantly, our teamwork was an absolute mess. Since there had rarely been a time we fought cooperatively like this, it was an unavoidable result.

After all, the only record of the three of us fighting a single opponent together was against Moby Dick.

Even then, Moby Dick's body was huge and its movements were sparse, so it felt closer to fighting individually.

Furthermore, the Inquisitor couldn't properly engage in combat because he was busy compensating for the environment. So, if we had managed to coordinate well because of that, it would have been more surprising.

"I said I'm hunting it!"

I adjusted my grip on my sword while watching the predetermined mess.

Meanwhile, Biryuho had an even more pissed-off look on its face.

True, it couldn't pass through due to our checks, aiming for an opening was tough since there were three of us, and yet its opponents were squabbling amongst themselves about who would hunt it. It would have to be a saint not to get angry here.

["First I will chase those humans... The beasts of the forest are...!"]

On top of that, even its minions weren't listening.

Ah, it wasn't that they weren't listening, but that they couldn't? After all, we had killed every single one we encountered on the way here.

They all took our magical energy and divine power attacks exceptionally well.

Thanks to that, the worry of having to find the demonic energy... magical energy... anyway, the mutated beasts that I had forgotten about for a while was lessened. Since anyone could tell this was the source.

SLASH!

Putting that aside, whether Biryuho was pissed off or not, I had no intention of just letting it go.

["Urgh!"]

"Aah, Comrade!"

Instead of the zweihänder, I drew my longsword and poured magical energy into it. CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! Every time it collided with Biryuho's claws, a loud noise rang out.

"I'm never going to trust your words again! You said you'd hand it over to me!!"

When did I ever. You just shouted at me to hand it over on the way here; I never agreed to it.

And even now, you're getting your fair share of hits in just fine.

Seeing the halberd putting both Biryuho and me in its attack range, I quickly leaped away. It suddenly felt like the 2:1 dynamic had turned into a 1:1:1 three-way battle, but oh well.

"W-What, what should I do."

The Inquisitor, who had stopped his attacks out of fear of hitting us as well, stomped his feet anxiously.

"Do I even have to decide the attack order for you guys now?"

The Archmage, who hadn't been able to find the timing to join in from the start, had been lamenting for a while now.

"Berserker will cut it first."

"Try it, if you can."

At my declaration, Berserker gripped her halberd like a tonfa, forming a guard on the outside of her arm.

Holding the shaft short, a length equivalent to a normal sword protruded forward, while the long shaft extended far behind her elbow.

BANG!

Thighs thicker than mine kicked off the ground. The axe-like blade performed a diagonal slash from bottom to top.

When Biryuho stepped back, she bent her forearm and used the shaft protruding past her elbow to strike its waist and aim for its solar plexus. This was followed by a flowing combo where she changed her grip and slammed the axe blade down.

However, that very behavior of not giving Biryuho a moment to breathe made it easier for me to intervene.

I found a position where I wouldn't hinder Berserker, nor would I be hindered by her, and swung my sword. It was right after Biryuho dodged Berserker's downward smash.

SLASH!

["You insect...!"]

Fearing Berserker might get swept up in it, I simply coated the sword in magical energy and slashed instead of firing off sword energy.

However, when Biryuho sensed the danger and transformed into a giant beast, sacrificing its front paw, that judgment turned out to be slightly incorrect.

If it had been in human form, its torso would have been split in half, but since it took beast form, it ended at merely slicing about 70cm of its front paw.

It was a deep wound, but considering Biryuho's size, it wasn't necessarily a fatal one. It wasn't like my sword strikes would stop here, so there was no need to feel too regretful about it.

"You!"

On the other hand, Berserker flared up in anger at my cheap move. I didn't care.

I poured even more magical energy into the longsword, then pulled the sword back and thrust it forward.

Bombard, condensed narrowly and precisely as the blade of the sword, pierced Biryuho's nape.

It didn't pierce the center but rather grazed the side a bit deeply, yet from Biryuho's perspective, it must have been quite chilling.

"That is Berserker's!"

Berserker didn't stay still either. She passed by me, who was momentarily stopped by the recoil of Bombard, and swung her halberd. The long-gripped halberd spun once, spun twice, and on the third time, it lashed across Biryuho's front.

CRASH!

The front paw Biryuho had extended to attack me before Berserker leaped forward collided with her halberd.

RIP!

Eventually, the halberd's blade pierced through Biryuho's front paw and tore through it. As a bonus, the tiger's paw was split in two like a goat's hoof.

In the pain of having the top of its foot torn between its toes, Biryuho took a large step back and let out a high-pitched cry.

["A mere human, a mere human...!"]

On top of that, there was the humiliation built up from being utterly ignored by me and Berserker.

["I will not forgive you!"]

Finally, Biryuho began to unleash its wrath.

Unlike its wicked nature, its white-gold fur, which had still been beautiful, gradually became dyed grayish-blue.

["Never, I will never!"]

CRACK.

Even from the center of its belly, a pitch-black darkness that devoured even light began to gradually gnaw away at Biryuho's true body.

RUMBLE-CRASH!

The rapid plant growth ability I had been wondering why it wasn't using activated, blooming tens, hundreds of vines. Across a massive area that even included the ground Berserker and I were standing on.

["I will bring you death!"]

What did we even do to trigger phase 2?

Such a thought brushed past my mind.