It wasn’t that Cadel didn’t dodge the hammer, it was that he couldn’t. His legs were already petrified. The rock up to his thighs had petrified and bound him, immobilizing him.

“I-Ignorant bastard……!”

The pressure of the hammer showed no sign of abating, even as he poured mana into the barrier. A thin trickle of blood dripped from his lips. His venomous gaze turned to Palaig, not the subordinates behind him.

‘Fighting while holding the dispenser? It’s a strategy that can’t happen in a game, you damn demon.’

The dispenser was placed in his chest and used as a shield. The path of the petrifying powder could be adjusted arbitrarily by Palaig, but it took time for the powder to fly. It was a strategy that would not have been possible if the dispenser had been installed far away.

‘At least I know where the dispenser is now.’

Defeating Palaig was no big deal if they could just break the dispenser. The only thing left to do was to…….

Cadel ducked his head and looked down at his legs. It was the result of Palaig’s sprinkling of petrifying powder as soon as the fire barrier blocked the hammer. It was faster for his feet to harden than for Cadel to drop the barrier and duck.

‘We can’t get too close. The closer we get to Palaig, the faster we’ll be eroded by the petrifying powder. ……We need to get him to drop the dispenser first.’

Until then, they had no choice but to rely on long-distance attacks. Cadel, having made his decision, turned his head and shouted loudly.

“Don’t approach! Keep that distance!”

The pressure from the hammer was sickening, but not unbearable. After all, he was an 8-star magician. How could he not withstand an attack from a High Demon?

“From now on, you’ll be hitting Palaig with ranged attacks. If ranged isn’t an option, stay back and conserve your stamina. Lydon! You’re in charge of the barrier from now on!”

The knights hesitated for a moment at the firm command, but quickly found their bearings. Cadel was not a weakling they had to defend, but a commander they had to follow. His orders on the battlefield were absolute.

The wind barrier that protected the knights vanished, replaced by Lydon’s ice barrier.

“Lydon, the barrier is too thick and we can’t see. Adjust the thickness.”

As Lumen frowned at the thickness, which was closer to a wall than a barrier, Lydon responded harshly.

“What’s Lumen, who can’t attack from a distance, going to do with a line of sight? Just stand there and watch me perform.”

As Lumen watched Lydon walking away while waving his hands, blood vessels suddenly started to sprout on his forehead, but he had nothing to say in response.

Van, Lydon, and Garuel, who could attack from a distance, took the lead. The only ones left behind were Lumen and Yozen.

“……Can’t you attack from a distance too?”

“I can.”

“Then why…….”

“Disruption is not my strong suit.”

Yozen was waiting, gauging his timing. Lumen looked into Yozen’s unreadable face and then turned away, his face crumpling at the sight of Cadel’s reflection. The sight of his leader standing alone under the enormous hammer, bearing its weight, was no less impressive.

‘What on earth is he planning to do?’

Anxiety came with faith. A time when Lumen was torn between those ambivalent feelings.

“Kahaha! Not bad! Let’s see how long you can hold out!”

The muscles in Palaig’s arms, which seemed to be unable to inflate any further, expanded like balloons, and a rumbling grunt rang through the air. Cadel’s stomach cramped under the weight of his increased strength.

Crack. Crack.

His petrified legs began to buckle beneath him, and he could feel himself sinking lower and lower, but Cadel clenched his jaw and silently increased the power of his barrier.

He would have to take the brunt of Palaig’s petrification from the front. As long as his subordinates were behind him, the petrifying powder would always pass in his direction.

‘Even if I can’t stop them all, I have to minimize the damage to my subordinates.’

He must clear the way for Palaig’s assault. Determination flashed in his eyes, and wind mana flowed beneath the barrier. The wind pressure surged, lifting the hammer. Palaig’s eyebrows knit together as he sensed the hammer’s movement.

“Such a petty trick…….”

In a battle of strength and power, there was no way he would lose to the little human. Palaig, his face full of confidence, was about to apply force to the hammer once more when he paused.

‘Chill……?’

He felt a chill. It wasn’t from the outside. Palaig’s blood-red eyes rested on his chest.

‘The chill is spreading from within.’

It was a very slight change, but Palaig could notice it. His relaxed gaze became sharp and he glared at a specific location.

Lydon. The fairy whose wings had been petrified and whose movements were blocked was staring in his direction. An eerie, unwavering gaze from red eyes. Palaig realized that something unusual was happening to his body.

“……Hmph, he’s quick-witted. Is it because he’s a High Demon?”

Lydon’s eyes locked with Palaig’s, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. Before he realized it, Lydon was already attacking Palaig.

[Soul Killing Ice Thorns].

A technique used in the previous battle with Ergo. It was an advanced magic spell that implanted mana into the opponent’s body and exploded it.

If Palaig had let his guard down, the Soul Killing Ice Thorns’s mana would have spread like wildfire, tearing through Palaig’s flesh.

Lydon clicked his tongue in disappointment, but did not withdraw the technique. Palaig drew on the demonic energy in his body to extinguish the growing chill.

But as if to distract him, a series of red sword energy flew at him. Palaig quickly petrified the sword energy’s strike range to block the attack.

“……Demonic energy?”

Palaig had detected the demonic energy that had slipped through the gap. What kind of cowardly bastard would throw demonic energy in Palaig’s face?

The demonic energy that pierced through the gap between the sword energy exuded a formidable power. Palaig’s murderous gaze quickly found Garuel.

The dark aura that colored his left half was inexplicably demonic energy. A High Demon himself could not be mistaken about the demonic energy.

“A man of noble demon blood has chosen the path of being with a lowly human…….”

How dare!

Palaig’s eyes glowed with rage. The demonic energy in his body heated up like a furnace, erasing the chill in an instant.

“I’m going to have to kill you first!”

He had planned to kill the magician first, but now it seemed like a good idea. It seemed like it would be difficult to maintain composure if he didn’t kill that half-demon right away.

Palaig tried to lift the hammer with the strength that had been weighing Cadel down. However.

“Haha……. You’re playing petty tricks until the end.”

Cadel’s mana grabbed hold of the hammer’s head and wouldn’t let go. The flames that had been nothing more than a barrier had now consumed the head, holding it in place.

It was a part that showed Cadel’s will to never allow his comrades to be attacked. Palaig stared at Cadel for a moment and nodded.

“Interesting. But! Don’t think that’s all there is to this Palaig!”

Palaig imbued the dispenser in his arm with demonic energy. Except for the first attack on the fairy, he had used it defensively the entire time. He wanted to see what the humans were capable of.

But enough was enough. It had been interesting, to be sure, but as long as there was a demonic traitor in their midst. The game was over.

Particles of petrifying powder escaped from the dispenser and streaked toward the humans beyond Cadel. He didn’t mind petrifying all of the magician’s comrades and then killing them. The powder completely missed Cadel’s path and began to target Garuel. No matter how hard they concentrated, they couldn’t tell the difference between the dust particles in the air and the petrifying powder. Dodging was impossible…….

“……?”

That was what he thought, but the petrifying powder kept getting pushed back, unable to go beyond a certain distance. The same was true when he adjusted its path in the other direction. Palaig’s brow furrowed in momentary bewilderment at the unexpected turn of events.

At the center of the boundary of the petrifying powder was Cadel.

“Is it the wind……?!”

The gusts of wind that formed a wall around Cadel were pushing the petrifying powder back. Had it been a barrier, the petrifying powder would have been able to penetrate it easily, if slowly. But what Cadel’s magic had created was simple wind pressure. And it was a very large wind spell, with a range that was difficult to gauge.

As long as Cadel’s subordinates stayed behind him, the petrifying powder could not fully penetrate his wind. Palaig gritted his teeth in defense, as if he knew what Cadel was doing.

And Cadel, seeing Palaig’s face contorted in frustration, let out a delighted chuckle.

‘In the game, there was no attack to block the petrifying powder because of the wind. But that’s the same for you, right?’

In-game knowledge was not enough. If his opponent was going to unleash his full power, Cadel must not be limited to game strategies.

His ashen eyes flashed fiercely beneath his black hair, which blew in the strong wind.

“Let’s see whose brain works better.”