* * *

“Don’t be afraid of the meteors! They won’t hit us! Let’s ignore them and charge!”

The fighting spirit of the soldiers, who had been helpless until a moment ago by the demons’ onslaught, was ignited. They banded together to defend the city, slashing at the demonic energy that came at them from all directions. Unfortunately, the soldiers’ attacks didn’t do much damage to the demons, but it didn’t matter. Their role was sufficient: to distract the enemy and disrupt their attacks.

“Kkuargh!”

“Vincen! Damn it, where the hell did that monster come from…….”

A red circle of magic quickly filled the sky, and when he spotted an unearthly amount of mana writhing within it. He should have taken cover then and there.

Daya, a High Demon who had invaded Rania, gritted his teeth as he watched his kinsmen fall one by one. The square where they stood had long since burned to the ground. The pit created by the falling meteors isolated them, and an endless stream of meager sword energy flew around them.

They had wings, but they could not fly; the falling meteors followed their trajectory like guided missiles. The first of their kind to fly were blown to smithereens by dozens of orbiting meteor bundles. No one dared speak for some time after witnessing such a simple and futile death.

‘How is such magic possible?’

At first, they thought it was a coordinated effort by a group of magicians, and the power was baffling enough. As far as they could tell, there weren’t enough magicians in the Empire to complete a wide-area spell of that caliber. Most of the magicians were scattered across the land, struggling to keep the great magic circle at bay.

It didn’t take long to prove them wrong.

“I’ve never heard of such a magician in the Empire!”

The enemy magician was alone, making the attack impossible otherwise. The trajectory of all the meteors was consistent, and they moved in unison. The control to deflect all humans and target only demons was beyond even the most coordinated of magicians.

It was unbelievable. Between the screams of their own kind, who were falling too quickly, the meteors echoed in a cacophony of sound.

“Da, Daya……. Send…… a report to the Princess, informing her of the magician’s presence…….”

Vincen, sprawled on the ground with both arms torn from his body, blinked his bloodshot eyes as Daya, who had unleashed a shield of demonic energy to desperately ward off the meteors, suddenly frowned.

“I know! But how do I get out of here? There’s no sign of that damn magic ending!”

The range and power alone were surreal, but the persistence didn’t make sense. The meteors became more persistent over time, and their firepower was consistent from start to finish.

Daya was growing impatient on the battlefield with no way out.

“To the victory, of the Demon Realm…….”

Vincen rolled over on the ground and jerked his head. Then, with a grim, life-gnawing groan, dark demonic energy began to leak from his parted lips.

* * *

Cadel’s left eye twitched. His left pupil was as sharply constricted as it had been when he shattered the magic circle.

His eye, imbued with Kunra’s power, could see dozens of times farther than his normal vision. It was how his magic was able to target demons so perfectly despite the distance from the square.

“……A self-destructor.”

Cadel mumbled something low and clicked his tongue in frustration.

‘Is it Vincen? I should’ve killed him for sure. He’s a lot tougher than I thought.’

The five demons that invaded Rania. Cadel already knew about them. If it weren’t for the surprise arrival of Sol and Berry, they would have been the first enemies he would have faced. Vincen, Daya, Lucan, Starley, and Holiar.

With the Demon War, the troop ranks on the stage were entirely made up of demons, so he drew on Kunra’s power from the very beginning to fire off wide-range attacks.

Lucan, with his annoying healing, was the first to go down, followed by Holiar, who specializes in guarding allies. Next up was Starley, who specializes in using wide-range attacks, followed by Vincen with the self-destruct. Vincen’s self-destruct was triggered when his blood levels dropped below a certain point. Worried about that, Cadel fired a heavy bombardment but missed by a hair.

“Garuel, I need you to issue evacuation orders for me. If you can, create a wide area barrier. Something big is coming.”

Cadel, who had thrown [Ullo] to Garuel, retrieved the magic circle that covered the sky. A languid voice, with a trailing edge, drifted through the soldiers, bewildered by the sudden disappearance of the meteors.

[I’m the harmless black magician of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order. How did you enjoy my healing? I’ve restored you to health, so in return, please follow my instructions. Move away from the square. I suggest you move as quickly as possible.]

After a moment’s stunned silence, the soldiers began to stir; their spirits were still high, but the name of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order was absolute, having turned the tide of such a hopeless situation in a single strike.

Cadel condensed the recovered mana to create a barrier of fire. It was not a barrier to protect his allies. A dome-shaped barrier that enveloped the square. It was a barrier to ‘trap’ the enemies.

‘Anyway, I’m going to finish Daya in one fell swoop.’

Any self-destructors that fail to breach the barrier shall wipe out their non-human kind. Cadel could feel the demonic energy rising from within the barrier. The demonic energy, bubbling like hot lava, began to expand as if it would break through Cadel’s barrier at any moment.

“Can I help you with that, Knight Commander?”

Garuel, who had been spreading a thin stream of demonic energy over the retreating soldiers, turned to Cadel. Cadel was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. Garuel assumed it was Cadel’s confidence that he could handle this alone, but the truth was different.

“……It’s done.”

“Hmm? It’s faster than I thought. Is it also thanks to the timely response of our talented Knight Commander?”

It would be nice if it was, but it wasn’t. Cadel lifted the barrier and peered into the center of the square, where Vincen’s body lay, the result of a failed self-destruct.

Cadel’s left eye slid shut. Just before the self-destruct, Vincen had taken his last breath. It might have been a fateful end to his life, but it wasn’t often that a self-destructor ended in such a futile manner.

Someone had deliberately killed Vincen just before the detonation, and there was only one person who could have done it.

‘……Daya is missing.’

However, there was no sign of Daya, who might have stopped the self-destruction from Vincent’s immediate vicinity. He couldn’t have broken through the barrier. Nor did they see him fleeing after the barrier was lifted. Where, then, had Daya gone?

Behind Cadel’s rapidly growing concern, he heard the voices of his subordinates, who had returned from killing Sol and Berry.

「Demon Realm Summoning Progress: 20%」

「Human Realm Invasion Progress: 69%」

All progress had been halted. The destruction of the great magic circle and the extermination of the demons were proof that things were going well. But still, what was this strange prickle that kept creeping up his spine?

Cadel tore his gaze away from the system window that dominated one side of his vision and looked back at his subordinates.

“Everyone, please don’t bear any minor bruises and ask Garuel to heal them, because if I find a scar the size of a fingernail, I’ll have you strapped to the bed.”

He couldn’t have been prouder of them for defeating the High Demon without further instructions from their commander, but he deliberately kept his voice stiff. If he didn’t act decisively, these guys would simply shrug it off as small scratches, even if they were bleeding.

“The same goes for you, Lydon.”

“Huh?”

“Stop hugging me and go to Garuel.”

Cadel patted Lydon’s arm, which clung to him like a turtle’s carapace, and an innocent-looking face rested on his shoulder.

“I’m not hurt, I’m competent.”

“Are you sure? If I inspected you and found a wound, I would be angry.”

“Ugh, don’t be mad at me, Cadel, I’m scared.”

“If you’re scared, get healing treatment in advance. We don’t know when we’ll meet the demons again.”

The magic circle in the area of responsibility had been disarmed, and the demons that raided the city had been slain. Unless an urgent call for help came in, Cadel planned to keep an eye on the vicinity and restore his power. In a time of war, even a lull like this should be utilized to one’s advantage.

But Lydon was unperturbed by Cadel’s continued insistence. In his own words, his ‘Cadel blood level’ was low and needed to be replenished, but it was clear that he was stubbornly refusing to accept Garuel’s healing.

“No, Sir Lydon. If you stick around like that, you’ll be in trouble.”

Then Garuel stepped in front of Lydon. Having healed the wounds of the rest of his comrades, he held his palms together with a sly grin. He had the look of a crafty swindler.

“What? Stay away from me and my darling.”

“I can’t do that. There’s something I need to receive. Am I right, Knight Commander?”

It’s something you deserve. Cadel looked at Garuel with a puzzled look for a moment, then remembered a promise he had forgotten.

“It’s a physical contact you like better than words of encouragement, and if you succeed, I’ll give you one more.”

Ah. That.

“……Now? Here?”

“Yes, now. Here.”

Troubled eyes swept over his surroundings. The gazes focused on Cadel were unlikely to lift until they found out what it was that Garuel was supposed to be getting from their commander. Lydon, clinging to Cadel’s back, already looked uncomfortable, as if he sensed something ominous.

In this atmosphere, even a kiss on a strand of hair instead of Garuel’s cheek would be enough to spark a riot. Cadel, who had endured countless checks from his subordinates, smiled.

“Now it’s a little bit……. I’ll do that later.”

“That’s unfortunate. I wonder when I’ll have time like this again.”

“Uh, wait……!”

To a half-demon with regenerative powers, the enmity of his comrades seemed to matter little. Garuel gripped Cadel’s chin firmly as he tried to pull away, pulling him closer and kissing him on the lips. Not on the cheek, but on the lips.

“Huh……?”

Behind Cadel, who closed his eyes tightly at the anticipated giddy future. Lydon, who was closest to Cadel and intuitively recognized the other’s kiss, made a stupid sound.

“……Have you lost your mind?”

“If you wanted to die, you should have said so, Sir Garuel.”

Van and Lumen’s faces hardened murderously as if they had witnessed Cadel being attacked by a beast. They stepped forward with arms folded, their bodies restored to health by Garuel’s healing, but Lydon was quicker.

“What are you doing to my human?!”

His crimson eyes narrowed, and he began to smash down on Garuel’s head with fierce force. The crunching blow was reminiscent of whack-a-mole, and Garuel’s lips parted in uncontrollable laughter.

“Aren’t you hitting me too seriously, Sir Lydon? I just received my promised kiss.”

Once Garuel was out of striking range, Lydon went after him, pushing Cadel as well. With Van and Lumen on the other side, Garuel was quickly surrounded and in danger.

And all the while the three men were punishing the daredevil who had taken Cadel’s lips right before their very eyes.

“……Yozen?”

Wordlessly, Yozen strode over and stood in front of Cadel, his hand brushing across Cadel’s face with an uncharacteristically impatient touch, and soon he was tugging at the long sleeve of his robe to press his lips against Cadel’s.

“Oof……! Yo, Yozen? Wait……!”

The friction was so intense that it felt like his epidermis was peeling off. Cadel, unable to withstand the burning pain, grabbed Yozen’s wrist, and only then did his passionate movements stop. He gently traced Cadel’s red, swollen lips with his fingertips and spoke in a rather firm tone.

“Better be careful in the future.”

“……Yeah. I’d go without my lips if I had to go through that twice.”

Cadel let out a low sigh, his lips twitching in a way that was more than tingling, it was burning. The cause of this mess was surrounded by his own comrades, being tortured and persecuted, and yet the smiling figure seemed to be enjoying the whole thing.

‘When I look at him like that, he really looks like a pervert.’

Shaking his head, Cadel paused, hesitant to mediate the squabbling of his subordinates. In his slow-moving vision, the numbers in the system window changed rapidly.

「Demon Realm Summoning Progress: 11%」

「Human Realm Invasion Progress: 71%」

The progress of summoning the Demon Realm was decreasing at an absurd rate.