Pandemonium forced the corners of his mouth up at the goosebumps breaking out all over him. The death of Biryuho, who had eaten Moby Dick? That was so obvious it wasn't even surprising.

However, what surprised him was the martial prowess displayed by the Vessel of Wrath.

[I thought he would at least join forces with the Hero...]

What was that? Wasn't it practically the same as catching it alone?

[I don't know if this is the right thing to do.]

It was proven that even the power of a primeval beast that had eaten a Great Demon's power couldn't defeat Gretchen. Even so, was it right to take the risk and snatch that away?

"Should we pull back?"

[No.]

The correct answer was 'yes'. If even something that had become that strong was no match, then it was certain that he, who was weaker than it, would be killed without even being able to resist.

[We begin.]

I don't even wish for the power to win. So I just hope to become at least capable of escaping when we clash next time.

CLATTER.

Right next to Pandemonium, the humans who had dragged in numerous boxes poured their contents onto the floor. Gold, silver, and countless jewels spilled onto the ground.

And they instantly melted down, becoming a single pool of lava.

[Because it'll be different next time!]

A massive hand rising from the lava swooped down on the humans who were just harvesting Biryuho's body.

* * *

Was it because their souls were drained when the Demon Knight suddenly collapsed? The unexpected events didn't stop there.

A massive hand of fire appeared and crushed down on them.

The incredibly heavy lava poured over the barrier she had urgently created, increasing the burden.

"Wh-What!"

Moreover, she couldn't rashly declare a sanctuary because of the Demon Knight. He had already collapsed from being poisoned, so if she poured out more divine power here, his life would be in danger.

"I-Is it a demon..."

"Don't move!"

"Archmage!"

"It's almost done!"

Fortunately, the barrier that would filter the divine power was almost complete. The Inquisitor gauged how much of the power she had been suppressing she could squeeze out.

"It's coming!"

That was when the Berserker, who had been sitting with an apathetic face, reacted. The Inquisitor, having sensed the approaching corruption, also glared fiercely.

SHATTER!

"...!"

She was one step too late. The golden barrier shattered, dropping the lava it had been blocking.

"Oh God!"

A corrupted thing had intruded, but its priority was pushed back slightly. If they were swept away by that lava, it was obvious that the others would die even if she didn't, so it was only natural.

Thus, rather than dealing with the intruder, the Inquisitor focused on creating a new barrier.

The ceiling height was lower than before, but the barrier of divine power once again succeeded in blocking the lava.

"Where do you think you're going! The Berserker guards this place!"

In the meantime, the Berserker engaged in combat with the intruder who had broken through the lava.

One might wonder how she could fight in this narrow space with a long weapon like a halberd, but the Berserker's skill was truly outstanding. She managed to hold off the enemy somehow.

"A de, demon...!"

"Are you determined to die!"

The Demon Knight trying to get up only to cough up blood and fall to his knees was a bonus.

[For a human, you're pretty good. But even so, it's only at a human level.]

"Kuh!"

[That's not enough, you know?]

"...!"

On the other hand, the Berserker steadily continued the melee combat.

However, at the end of the exchange, the Berserker was hit by the opponent's kick and slid backward.

Just as the Berserker, having toughly withstood the impact, was about to rush forward again, the floor in front of her shattered as if erupting, spewing out lava.

The Berserker's steps halted slightly.

"I must step in...!"

"Inquisitor, it's ready!"

Fortunately, at that exact moment, the Archmage succeeded in completing the protective barrier.

At that moment, a brilliant light settled in the Inquisitor's eyes.

"... Don't, worry about me!"

"I apologize, Demon Knight!"

Just in time, permission had even been granted.

The Inquisitor decided to temporarily forget that the Demon Knight could be hurt. She couldn't let go of a corrupted demon comparable to Moby Dick.

"Oh God, please hear my prayer!"

The divine radiance descended upon this land, burning the lava and purifying the corrupted thing.

BOOM!

With that, the hand part of the arm that had been crushing them was completely blown away. The forearm still remained, but it held no great meaning. It could no longer crush them.

[Tch!]

However, even though the intruder had taken a shock, it didn't stop moving.

The opponent shook off the Berserker who had caught up again and hurriedly kicked off the ground.

In one of the intruder's hands was Biryuho's body, and in the other, corruption had temporarily gathered to both deal with the Berserker and break the golden barrier.

"Where do you think you're going!"

She couldn't miss this chance. In the instant the golden barrier shattered, she dashed in that direction and created another massive barrier.

It was an applied method she had realized the moment the opponent tried to break the barrier to get out.

What keeps things from coming in from the outside can also keep things from going out from the inside.

"I won't let you escape!"

[Ho.]

She then ran out next to the Berserker and raised her mace. The Inquisitor's green eyes captured the opponent.

The entity that looked like a woman with purple hair was just gathering corruption in its hand.

[Clumsy.]

However, that corruption wasn't aimed at her or the Berserker.

"Ah!"

What the intruder aimed for was the Archmage and the Demon Knight.

"No!"

She hurriedly blocked that attack. Did her steps halt for a moment because of it? CLANG! The enemy, having parried the Berserker's attack, smirked.

CRASH!

"Keh-heuk!"

It wasn't the lava shot out, but the lava made to surge from the ground that pierced the Archmage's protective barrier.

The Archmage hurriedly summoned water to block it, but its role was already over.

The moment the protective barrier shattered, divine power rushed into the Demon Knight. The Inquisitor's instincts reflexively tried to withdraw that power.

"I told you, not to mind me!"

With fierce eyes, the Demon Knight lifted the two-handed sword he had been using to support his body.

"What!"

Mighty demonic energy shot out like a flash and struck the intruder's shoulder. Due to the impact, the intruder's hand dropped the torso section of the corpse it had been barely gripping.

[Keuh!]

"Cough!"

But that attack was all. Whether because he had overexerted himself, or because he was receiving an attack of divine power. The Demon Knight coughed up blood and completely collapsed.

Seeing that sight, the Inquisitor ultimately had no choice but to withdraw her power.

The Demon Knight, pouring blood from every single orifice in his body, looked like he would die at any moment, so it couldn't be helped.

[How naive. If it were me, I wouldn't have stopped.]

However, that action was the decisive fatal move.

The opponent, having splashed lava on the Berserker as well, shattered the barrier and dashed backward. The lava that had been pouring from above had been purified and disappeared, so there was no fear for their lives, but all means to catch the opponent were gone.

"Where do you think you're going!"

At least the Berserker still pursued the opponent while being covered in lava. However, it seemed the intruder had prepared thoroughly.

Outside the barrier, on the opponent's escape path, there were three of the hands of fire that had been crushing them earlier.

The hands made of lava blocked the Berserker. Even though the Berserker was the type to fight while enduring considerable damage, it was a situation she couldn't easily push past either.

In the meantime, the intruder grew further and further away.

Fortunately, no one died, but they had ultimately been robbed of a part of Biryuho's corpse. And specifically the head portion, which held more demonic energy.

"Berserker, you!"

"Damn it! I lost them!"

The Berserker, who had attempted pursuit a few more times, eventually lost the opponent. Spitting out anger over the escaped entity was the natural course of action.

However, lava had splashed all over one of her arms, her shoulder, thigh, and part of her face, leaving her skin sizzling and roasting. Even so, the Berserker didn't cry out in pain even once. It seemed lava splashing onto her body meant absolutely nothing to her.

The Inquisitor and the Archmage, who hadn't even been hit by the lava, were the ones left more dumbfounded.

"T-Treatment."

Losing the enemy couldn't be helped. It couldn't, be helped.

She repeated that to herself as she grabbed the Berserker with trembling hands and treated her wounds. The heat faded away, and the crisply burnt flesh sprouted anew.

Once the treatment was finished like that, her gaze naturally turned to the surroundings.

"Cough."

She could see the hands of fire and the lava flowing from them sparking fires in all directions.

The current forest had become imbued with poison due to Biryuho's corruption, and that was what was burning.

"At this rate...!"

If they didn't burn it with holy flames, the poisonous gas would spread in all directions. And that poison would reach the nearby Ednium and Camberer.

It might even reach the Great Forest thinly connected along the mountain ridge.

"I-I will purify it."

On top of that, if things went on like this, they would suffocate and die from the smoke, not the poison. In the end, she couldn't just stand by as a spectator either way.

She closed her eyes tightly, leaving the Demon Knight who was still violently spewing blood even at this moment. Divine power began to protect them and suppress the wicked flames.

The fire and poison gradually subsided.

"That thing just now... must have been a demon, as expected."

"Damn it, damn it!"

Was it when the Archmage formed a new protective barrier to give the Demon Knight room to breathe and sustained his life with healing magic?

The Archmage defined the incident that had just occurred. Honestly, there was no need for grand speculations.

The opponent was clearly a demon of a similar class to Moby Dick, and its goal had been Biryuho's corpse.

"At least it's fortunate that no one died. And that it wasn't all stolen, too."

The Archmage's words were right. The fact that there were no fatalities was definitely a stroke of luck.

The Berserker or the Inquisitor would have been fine even if it charged at them, but if it had set its mind to targeting the Demon Knight, he would have died.

"... Although it intentionally kept him alive, that is."

"What, do you mean..."

"Looking at it coldly, if the Demon Knight dies, Inquisitor, wouldn't the shackles restricting you also disappear."

"...!"

... So is that why the intruder had said that? That she wouldn't have stopped? That she would have traded the Demon Knight's life for the intruder's life?

No, maybe it wouldn't have been a trade. Since a Great Demon dwells within the Demon Knight's body.

Doesn't it forcibly sustain the Demon Knight's life? If it were to use some trick...

"Is your body okay?"

"... I'm perfectly fine."

"Don't be too indignant. It's not your fault you lost them."

"The Berserker isn't angry because of that...!"

What if it did? There was no way she could take such a gamble.

In the first place, demons aren't trustworthy beings. She didn't regret her choice.

She didn't regret it.

She didn't regret...

She regretted...

"Never mind."

The Inquisitor clenched her teeth as she watched the Berserker plop down.

"Let's head back for now. We can't leave the Demon Knight like this..."

Right, losing the demon wasn't the Berserker's fault.

It was the responsibility of no one else but the Inquisitor.

"I, I..."

"...?"

However, how could this be? It wasn't a situation where her body was overloaded after using divine power recklessly like last time, and she definitely still had strength left to spare.

How could she let the enemy escape.

How could she, who had the duty to punish all demons, do that.

"I..."

That was simply unforgivable.

This was her incompetence.

"Hey, what's going on here!"

It was an indelible disgrace.

"Ah, you!"

"I came because smoke suddenly started rising, but what is all this. Why is everything burned to a crisp??"

"Perfect timing, mages skilled in healing magic and those knowledgeable in poison... no, you can do it."

"Huh?"

The Inquisitor's vision unwittingly blurred at the welling emotions.

Crying didn't help with anything. She knew that, but she was so frustrated she couldn't hold it back.

In a situation where she didn't even have the ability to heal the Demon Knight who had collapsed from poison, the fact that she had lost the very opponent the Demon Knight had risked pain to try and catch hit her too painfully.

"This is... fuck! It's a hemorrhagic poison! When did he get bitten by a snake?!"

"I haven't seen him get specifically bitten, but..."

"It must be because of the white snake magpie flower the tiger made bloom. The Berserker has seen that before. A lot of people died back in my hometown because of that flower."

"White snake magpie flower? Crazy, this is crazy."

Furthermore, unlike her, who had only ruined everything, the slacker quickly drew a conclusion and began taking appropriate measures.

"Damn Knight Boss, if I hadn't gotten the antidote in the Great Forest... seriously..."

In the bone-dry air and the wait that felt as sticky as a swamp, the slacker moved his hands diligently.

He fed the Knight something through the mouth, and injected something into his forearm and leg.

"... Done. Quickly use healing magic. There's a high chance blood will pool and form blisters, but magic can handle that, right."

"... Did he, survive?"

"Since the antivenin went in in less than 30 minutes... he'll probably live. Even if it's a pain in the ass to treat, it's not a poison that kills quickly. On top of that, the Knight Boss isn't an ordinary person either... if you add healing magic, it'd be harder for him to die."

And finally, the conclusion was drawn. The Demon Knight would live.

Even though there was absolutely nothing she could do.

"More importantly, put that divine power away. The Knight Boss doesn't say it, but honestly it doesn't seem like it's good for... softie?"

That sense of wretchedness ultimately brought out large teardrops.

"I am..."

"Inquisitor?"

"What, Priest, are you crying?"

"I am incompetent..."

It wasn't just a problem of this time.

The guilt of having evacuated first at the very end when they were subjugating Moby Dick.

The helplessness of not having been able to do anything when persuading people about the subjugation of Biryuho.

The misery of having been no help at all with her sluggish body at the beginning of this subjugation, and the reality of not having been able to help in the final battle due to a bad matchup, even if it was at the Berserker's restraint.

Or perhaps all the inferiority complex that had been piling up layer by layer since before then, and the lack of ability she had realized all along, could be mixed in too.

Though it didn't matter much now that her sorrow had burst forth.

"I am not qualified to be a Hero..."

Sorrow came over her like a fever and tightly squeezed her tear ducts.

"W-W-What are you saying all of a sudden."

"Inquisitor, if it's about what just happened, wasn't that something no one expected. Please do not blame yourself so much."

"Priest, don't cry."

The party tried to console her, but it didn't really resonate. Because those were words she had always heard.

However, she couldn't distinguish whether that was the truth or just empty words meant to comfort her.

To her ears, it sounded a bit closer to the latter than the former.

"I am not qualified..."

"Inquisitor..."

She wished there would rather be sharp rebukes and points made that she didn't even have the right to cry, just like when she was seeking to learn at the Temple. If that happened, she would rather at least be able to hold back her tears.

However, the problem was that both the Archmage and the Berserker were too kind. She grew even more sorrowful at that kindness.

"Someone like me..."

"Fuck, what are you talking about."

"Hic."

Just then, the slacker uttered a vulgar swear word he had never once brought up in front of them.

"Are you making fun of me right now? Are you kidding me? Some of us can't even fight even if we want to because we lack the ability...!"

It was only natural that her dissatisfaction—which had subtly harbored envy toward the slacker—was provoked.

"You, you at least figured out the Great Demon's location! And you just detoxified the poison! While I, I'm only a hindrance...!"

"That's just a special case for this time! You can fight side by side with the Boss every time, can't you!"

"Look at this state! How is this fighting side by side! I'm no help to the Demon Knight!"

"Fuck, bullshit! You have the power to stop the Knight Boss if he goes berserk, and you can reach out to give him a hand when he's short-handed, can't you!"

Verbal abuse that she had never once heard in her life burst out. However, if asked whether it was grating or unpleasant, well.

"The Demon Knight can fight without me!"

"That guy can fight without me too! Stop pissing me off by saying such obvious things!"

"You're the one, p-pissing me off! Why the fuck are you muddying the point!"

"I-Inquisitor, your words."

"Are you done talking, you damn softie?!"

"Are YOU done talking, you idiot! Scoundrel!"

Rather, the more she heard the verbal abuse, the more only the sorrow of her incompetence and the anger of her helplessness swelled up.

"Are you saying that knowing how it feels to have to stay in the rear and wait every time?! Do you know how miserable that is!"

"Do YOU know how it feels to want to be of help but only cause trouble instead, and to see the person who doesn't even lose to the enemy collapse because of me!!"

No. That was something that had originally been there.

It was just that the crater of her emotions had gradually expanded amidst the exchanged shouting and then burst wide open.

"Bullshit, like I would know that! I don't even get the chance to stand by his side or have a conversation with him anymore!"

"I can't stand by his side or talk to him either!! I'm exactly the same as you!"

The frustration and resentment that she had never properly expressed poured out like a waterfall.

"In such a situation, I, I! Because I feel like my judgment is always wrong...! You've always been of help to him, but I only ruin things every time...!"

"God damn it, what judgment did I make that was ever right! Try and name one! For your information, my most recent track record was keeping my mouth shut and trying to die!"

"Well said! You idiot! Why did you try to keep your mouth shut and die! Damn it, do you find me untrustworthy too!"

"No, fuck, you're the one who muddied the point first! And it's not that I didn't trust you?! It's just, I'm just... because I'm a person who isn't worth that...!"

"Why aren't you worth that!!"

"F-F-Fuck! You aren't just an idiot who only causes trouble either!"

The Inquisitor and Deathbringer, who had been yelling at the top of their lungs, ultimately had tears welling up in both their eyes. It was because their emotions had surged up as they laid all their inner thoughts bare to each other.

"I'm useless..."

"Stop your fucking bullshit, if you're useless then I'm even more useless..."

"You are useful... I am not..."

"Stop saying things that piss me off... I, I even this time..."

"This time whaaat... Sob."

"God damn it, the Knight Boss is definitely so disappointed he won't even talk to me... Sobbb."

"Sniff, what are, you saying. He doesn't get disappointed or anything like that... Because he's someone who doesn't expect anything in the first place... Sniff."

"Fuck, you're the worst, you damn softie..."

It was the moment the Archmage, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, instructed the Berserker to go call people, and made the choice to dedicate himself to treating the Demon Knight.