‘Of course, if we fail, we’re all going to be incapacitated, because we’re all going to turn to stone and shatter into pieces.’

He looked up at the sky where Lydon had been, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. After a moment of thought, Cadel spoke up.

“Did you find the seal circle?”

“Yep. It’s right around the corner.”

“What else stood out to you besides the seal circle?”

“There was nothing.”

There was nothing?

Cadel’s complexion clouded at Lydon’s statement.

‘Palaig may have been invisible because he can attack even when he’s hiding, but if he used his petrification skill, there should be something that stands out.’

Cadel had carefully reviewed Palaig’s skills before arriving here, and he was confident that he could handle most of them. But no matter how much he had played the game before, his memory was limited. A missing memory could have created a loophole.

“First, let’s move to the seal circle. We can’t find out the cause of the petrification by just staying here. Guide us, Lydon.”

Dealing with Palaig in person would correct any misinformation. The  Knight Order marched toward the seal circle, Lydon leading the way.

Lydon was right, the seal circle was close. The activated seal was fortunately unbroken, and so far there was no sign of a crack.

The Knight Order probed around the seal circle, wary of ambush. Over their bodies was a double layer of Kunra’s scale armor and Cadel’s wind barrier.

“……It’s quiet.”

The center of the plateau, where the seal circle sat, was deserted. A cool breeze blew in the waning sun, and nothing stood out in the darkening visibility.

“Hmm, there’s definitely a foul odor coming from somewhere, and I’m not sure if it’s from the mountains, Garuel, or a new demon.”

Beside Lydon, who rubbed his nose irritably, Cadel rolled his eyes in frustration. Puzzlement flashed across his eyes as he scanned his surroundings carefully as if searching for something.

‘It’s not here. I thought that if the dispenser was left behind, it would definitely be near the seal circle.’

Dispenser. It was the key to Palaig’s’petrification ability’. The powder that petrified was spewed out of the dispenser, so the strategy in the game was to break the dispenser next to Palaig’s side.

But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find a single of Palaig’s toes, let alone a dispenser. Palaig’s priority would be to destroy the seal, so even if he sensed the Knight Order’s presence and hid, he wouldn’t get far.

Cadel chewed on the inside of his mouth at the ominous thought. And the next moment.

“……It’s coming.”

Yozen muttered to himself.

It didn’t matter so much where what came from.

Boom. Kaboom.

The ground they stood on began to rumble with a heavy thud as if a massive rock had been pounded into the ground. A force so terrible that it was hard to guess its source. Amidst the shaking, the Knight Order raised their weapons and waited for the enemy to appear.

“It’s the north!”

All heads turned to Lumen’s cry. In the distance, an enemy could be seen approaching at high speed. It was a foe whose weaponry was impressive, pounding the ground mercilessly.

“Hammer……?”

Frowning, Van muttered. The shape was clearly a hammer. If there was anything special about it, it was that the size of the hammer was far beyond the category of ordinary weapons.

“Wouldn’t that be closer to a temple pillar than a hammer?”

Garuel spat out a hollow laugh and drew his sword. A handle that must have been ten meters long, a head that boasted a magnificent area and thickness. The hammer, a miracle to lift, was being played like a toy in its master’s hands.

Behind his stunned subordinates, Cadel spoke calmly.

“This is Palaig, the High Demon who petrified Lydon’s wings. That’s a nasty weapon, but you can dodge it, so don’t be afraid, but don’t approach him until you figure out how he petrifies us!”

In the game, the dispenser was next to Palaig, like a boss companion. Therefore, Cadel initially expected that the dispenser would be stuck near Palaig, but the reality seemed to be different.

‘It’s weird to have something so important lying around. I’m sure he’s hiding it somewhere. I need to find it.’

In terms of danger, the demon himself was not much different from Mendel. However, he was far more difficult to deal with than Mendel. Mendel’s petals could be dealt with by Garuel’s healing technique, but not Palaig’s petrification.

The barrier could only slow the penetration of the petrifying powder slightly, but it could not stop the process of petrification. Lydon’s wing had also received a small amount of petrification powder, but that was as far as it went.

Cadel reached forward, shoving aside the subordinates who blocked his path. A bright red fireball formed in his outstretched palm, and the wind around it hissed and spun.

The size of the fireball was insignificant. It barely filled half of Cadel’s palm. But propelled by the wind, it had the speed of a bullet.

With a crackling sound, the first fireball was fired. Without delay, the reloaded fireballs streaked through the air.

In an instant, dozens of fireballs were aimed at Palaig in front of Cadel. The trajectory was chaotic, spreading out in all directions, but as it neared Palaig, it zeroed in on his head.

A technique based on mana condensed to the extreme and the fine control to adjust it to the millimeter.

[Ignition Bullets].

Dozens of fireballs curved into a single point, leaving a colorful trajectory of fire.

It was a thunderous barrage. The sheer power of the concentrated fireballs left the subordinates watching speechless for a moment.

Even if it was blocked, it would result in at least serious injury. There was no way one would come out unscathed after being hit by so many attacks from an 8-star magician. As if to prove it, the earth-shaking rumble ceased.

‘Close range is not allowed. I’ll fire a few shots at him, so if he wants to fight back, he’d better take out the dispenser.’

If Cadel drilled it into his head that close combat was going to be difficult, Palaig would naturally want to use the petrifying powder. What he needed to look at then was the direction the petrification powder was coming from. He needed to figure out which direction Palaig had set up his dispenser.

Cadel waited with bated breath for the next petrification attack. Palaig would surely target him. If he could bait himself and pinpoint the location of the jets, he could leave the rest to his subordinates.

He squinted at the thought.

“……He’s still going strong after that hit.”

Palaig began to charge again, slashing at the ground instead of using his petrification attack. The rapidly closing distance was punctuated by a powerful rumble of the ground, and dirt rushed in.

Stopping in front of them was a ghastly figure, a giant of a man.

“You’re one step too late! If I had eaten just one less piece of meat, I would have been able to arrive earlier than you humans. What a shame! But my stomach was full, so it was okay!”

A smooth scalp with a mottled bloodline. Thin, slitted eyes, a large nose, and harsh lips with an angular scar. His wings were a diminutive dark red that didn’t match his hulking frame.

In person, Palaig gave off a different vibe than any of the High Demons they had seen before. Lydon shuddered at the sight of Palaig, a pillar-like hammer in hand, pounding away at his hard stomach.

“He reminds me of Grandpa Melphis. I don’t feel good.”

He was certainly similar to Elder Melphis in that he was a strong, muscular man. Silently sympathizing with Lydon, Cadel soon realized that there were no scars on his body.

‘Nonsense. It’s a magic spell that condenses my mana and I fire it like a gun. I even aimed for the head, why…….’

Palaig was definitely tricky to deal with in the game, but that was due to his petrification ability. He had a good base attack and was fast for his size, but he didn’t have much defense.

So it was a battle of speed. Palaig, and them, too. There was no point in holding out too long.

Cadel was sure it would be so.

‘A swollen forehead, that’s it? That’s it? Are you kidding me?’

A little red swelling on his bushy forehead, that was all. Cadel swallowed hard and rubbed his eyes.

Behind him, his subordinates stared at Palaig, ready to pounce at any moment, a sense that they could accomplish any task at his command.

But Cadel couldn’t order an advance with Palaig in sight.

“Miss Emilia said! My compatriots who escaped through the recent summoning circle are seriously injured or are unable to return, so I must be careful too! Of course, I respect Miss Emilia’s wishes! But!”

Palaig let out a deafening yell and raised the hammer. He flipped over, almost touching the floor, the massive hammer slamming down along his twisted back.

“This Palaig! Don’t back down from a fight!”

Following the recoil of his leaned-forward waist, the hammerhead cast a massive shadow over the group.

“Leader!”

Falling at a speed proportional to its weight, the hammer struck the ground in an instant. Lumen grabbed Cadel and rolled on the ground, while Garuel pushed the grounded Lydon, barely out of striking range. Van and Yozen also narrowly avoided the attack and stepped back.

Everyone had dodged the attack, but the impact of the single blow hadn’t gone away.

“Gee, I guess I don’t need to play my role here, because if I get hit, I’m going straight to the goal.”

“That’s quite a statement, Sir Garuel.”

Its destructive power was unimaginable, but its speed was also formidable. The members’ stunned gazes quickly subsided.

A cloud of dirt rose from the ground that had been pushed up by the shockwave. Cadel slowly pushed himself to his feet, staring off into the blurred distance.

‘……No, it can’t be right. All the demons so far have had the same stats as in the game. And now he’s the only one who’s suddenly got the perfect combination of attack, speed, and defense?’

That was ridiculous. The enemies might be more difficult in real life than in the game, but that shouldn’t change their stats. And even if it did, it was odd that Palaig was the only one who got that exception.

‘He must have done something to defend himself. Tools? Did he bring any special demonic tools from the Demon Realm? ……No, demons pride themselves on their strength, especially those like Palaig. They wouldn’t rely on tools. So he fended off the attack with his own abilities…….?’

As he thought, Palaig’s hammer reared up once more. Palaig’s towering outline was blurred in the dust.

His bulging biceps bulged as if ready to explode at any moment, ready to bring the hammer down once more.

“Leader, are we just going to avoid it like this? If we don’t get close, we can’t figure out how he petrifies us.”

Even now the sun was completely setting. There were too many risk factors to deal with that huge hammer in the dark.

Lumen stared at the hammer rising through the dust and urged Cadel on his command, but the words that came out of Cadel’s mouth were completely different from what he wanted.

“Everybody move away! We need to get out of range of the hammer!”

Cadel shouted loudly and shook off Lumen’s hand pulling him. And he gave a firm order to Lumen, who was flustered.

“Don’t worry, Lumen, I won’t get crushed to death.”

“You’re trying to stop the hammer by yourself?”

“I need to check something.”

“If so, then I’ll―.”

“Your role will be confirmed after my confirmation. Hurry up and go.”

If you mess up, you will be crushed by the hammer. Lumen’s anxiety was palpable, but Cadel’s expression remained calm. There was no point in being stubborn in the face of a commander who had a clear goal in mind.

“……If you’re in danger, I’ll come running.”

“Sure.”

The rest of the group, including Lumen, quickly distanced themselves from Palaig. Then Cadel reached out, touching Palaig’s silhouette in front of him.

‘If this hammer was just for offense, he wouldn’t have to swing it from so far away. The dirt that the hammer creates as it strikes the ground is meant to obscure the opponent’s vision. If you have something that will be obscured by the dirt…….’

A series of rapidly loaded [Ignition Bullets] rounds were fired, and at the same time, Palaig’s hammer, which had been rising, descended.

‘Why Palaig has stubbornly closed the distance when he could have easily done it from a distance.’

The wind pressure from the falling hammer crushed him. But Cadel didn’t take his eyes off the fired [Ignition Bullets]. Dozens of bullets converged at the tip of a gracefully curved trajectory. The searing flames were aimed squarely at Palaig’s head.

But just before they hit Palaig’s head.

Shaaa―

“Kahaha! Mighty as it may be, this Palaig’s rigid body cannot be scratched!”

Fine particles floated up from within his robes and wrapped around Palaig’s head like a shroud. The gathered particles quickly seeped into his skin, transforming his head into solid rock.

Temporary petrification.

The onslaught of [Ignition Bullets] struck Palaig’s stone head but failed to shatter the rock. All that remained of Palaig’s head in the extinguished flames was a shallow crack.

Soon, the fissure cracked open, revealing the skin inside. And Cadel’s eyes took it all in.

“I knew it.”

With a smile of recognition, the hammer was raised to just above Cadel’s head.

“Commander……!”

A roar pierced the air. On the shaking ground, Van’s pupils widened slightly as he stood back.

Cadel didn’t move from his position until the hammer came down. He wasn’t trapped, but he didn’t dodge the attack. He must have a plan. As always, Cadel had…….

The brief flicker of agitation in Cadel’s eyes subsided to coldness, and at the same time, Yozen’s calm voice cut through the air.

“He’s been caught.”

The members’ eyes shifted as they searched for Cadel’s form in the decomposing dirt. Yozen’s head was still turned toward Palaig’s hammer.

“Caught, by whom?”

“Cadel.”

“Knight Commander……?”

They didn’t need to ask Yozen for a second confirmation. A sudden gust of wind swept away the dirt around them, revealing Cadel’s form.

Between the hammer and the ground, wrapped in a barrier of fire, was Cadel. The immense amount of mana that made up the barrier burned as if it would consume the hammer. The firepower pushed it back, and Palaig could no longer press his hammer against the ground.

But Cadel still refused to budge, his near-stalemate puzzling the members of the group.

Lydon exclaimed with a twinkle in his eye.

“Wow, darling! It’s a couple petrification!”