* * *

“……It’s too risky a gamble.”

The corners of Emilia’s mouth twitched up as she leaned against the balcony railing. She looked down without answering, for there lay the fragments of the great magic circle, the same ones she had etched in the Human Realm.

The great magic circle consumed all of her mana and glowed dazzlingly, but only a few fragments had formed intact summoning portals. This was because the humans were suppressing the activation of the great magic circle. Most of the demons had climbed up the towering cliffs of the Demon Realm and dug directly into the ground above. They were like worms trapped in a barrel.

“There are no gambles in this war, Lord Lawrence. Victory is won only by endless blood and struggle.”

As Emilia watched the procession of her kinsmen, she turned slowly. Before she stood a tall, middle-aged man, his graying hair lifting to reveal purple eyes tinged with worry.

“It’s not that I doubt your will, Princess, it’s just that……. If we shift all of our power to the Empire, the great magic circle that has barely been activated will lose its power. If the Demon Realm, which has barely poked its head into the Human Realm, begins to sink, not only will the mana of your own kind, but the mana of Your Highness will also―”

“The Empire is the center of the Human Realm. No invasion is more effective than destroying the center. Besides, Lord Lawrence. Didn’t Your Lordship hear it with me?”

“…….”

“Unfortunately, demons are absurdly few in number compared to humans, but what we do have in return is a fighting force that humans can’t match. One that is worth a hundred. That’s the norm.”

Clasping her hands in front of her navel, Emilia gently tilted her head. She was pale and slender, a precarious beauty in a grayish landscape of dark demonic energy.

“Four such demons in one fell swoop. Just one magician. Also, Lord Lawrence, there’s a half-breed demon there who heals humans with powerful demonic energy.”

Emilia’s eyes narrowed. Her smile was as fresh as a quivering flower, but her mood was far from docile. Her sharpened gaze swept over Lawrence, who was now kneeling on the floor.

“……I will take responsibility and eliminate that pest.”

“Stand up. I didn’t say this to criticize you.”

As Lawrence stood up gingerly, as if begging for forgiveness, Emilia spoke up.

“An unknown power threatens to resurrect the Demon Realm, and it just so happens to reside in the Empire we most desperately need to destroy. We will destroy the Empire even if we must mobilize all our external forces.”

“I accept Your Highness’s wishes.”

“And…… Don’t worry, Lord Lawrence. The humans, who have barely found their footing, will try to destroy the great magic circle somehow, but they will never succeed.”

Behind her innocent exterior, she was extremely calculating. That was why Lawrence chose to follow Emilia: she had a fierce determination and a vicious streak.

“I’m going to use my father’s power. No one will be able to stop the resurrection of the Demon Realm.”

* * *

‘……That’s weird, something’s going wrong.’

In the midst of the bustle of his subordinates, Cadel stood alone, staring intently at the system window.

「Demon Realm Summoning Progress: 09%」

「Human Realm Invasion Progress: 72%」

The Demon Realm summoning progress had become excessively low. This was, of course, proof that his allies were effectively destroying the great magic circle. He should rejoice.

The problem was the invasion progress.

‘If we’re in a normal battle, summoning progress and invasion progress should be proportionally reduced, as we’re killing demons who are trying to defend the great magic circle and destroying the magic circle fragments.’

If the magicians deployed were powerful enough, the destruction of the magic circle might be faster than the destruction of the demons. However, it wasn’t likely that such powerful magicians would be spread across the world. A normal development would either be a slow decrease due to head-on conflict with the demons, or an intermittent increase due to being swept up in their momentum. It had to be one or the other.

‘But now the summoning progress has plummeted and the invasion progress has risen slightly. Why?’

The invasion progression had increased, but the summoning progression had decreased. It wouldn’t bother him as much if they were both reduced.

‘Are they…… not fighting?’

The invasion progress in the system window didn’t indicate how much damage his allies were taking, but rather how many demons remained in the Human Realm. So the current situation should look like this.

‘The demons are not touching the magic circle. And the allies used that opportunity to accelerate the destruction of the magic circle.’

Another problem here, then. Why would the demons leave their magic circle unattended? The assumption that they were trying to retreat because they were demoralized by the onslaught of humans…… was absurd. Were they planning to wait for a superior High Demon to arrive and wipe out the entire force? Or was it a technique that required a large group of demons to execute?

“……Gosh, my head hurts!”

Cadel roughly shook his head as he struggled to find an answer to his concerns. Garuel, who was nearby, opened his eyes wide at the hysterical cry.

“Do you have a headache? Would you like me to use a healing spell?”

“No, I’m fine. Other than that, does [Ullo] have any other support requests?”

“Hmm, let me double-check.”

Garuel activated [Ullo], and the voices of the Imperial knights came through.

[This is the 2nd Battalion of the Guardian Knight Order. Enemy numbers are increasing. If you can spare the force, please support the magicians at the eastern gate.]

[This is Meisha Forest! We need reinforcements. Requesting healers and additional troops!]

[This is the joint 4th and 1st Battalions of the Heaven Time Knight Order. The enemy has gathered at the northern gate, so troops in the city should evacuate the residents.]

Calls for help came from all directions. Unlike inside the Empire, where there was a brief lull, outside the gates, the battle still seemed to be raging.

“There are so many requests coming from so many places. Well, we can’t split us up and go to each one.”

This was an elite Knight Order, so a single presence would be a great help, but if they were scattered like that, they wouldn’t be able to help each other when it mattered.

“Stand by for now. Unless the gate collapses, there’s no need to move quickly. Let the others take care of it.”

They didn’t have enough stamina to respond to every request for assistance. Cadel listened to the reports from within the Empire first, then touched [Ullo] lightly to infuse it with mana. The reports from other nations, however, were more than enough to baffle Cadel and the subordinates nearby.

[This is the southwest gateway to Dunkelhai. The magic circle has been destroyed. We’re tracking the fleeing demons.]

[Snivec Inte Snowfields, remaining demons cleared. The wounded are returning. Please have a healer on standby.]

[Kenzhar Island, magic circle destroyed. Found an escape tunnel built by a demon. Investigating.]

[This is Mount Meltene, White Kingdom. We’ve lost the demon we were chasing. It has moved east, so troops in that defense should remain vigilant.]

Unlike the Empire, which was in the midst of a fierce battle, the other nation’s forces were calmly wrapping up the fight. Cadel listened carefully to [Ullo]’s voice and slowly narrowed his eyes.

“The demons have all fled……?”

Fleeing. It was not uncommon for soldiers to flee in war, but these were demons. Cadel had seen enough battles to know the demons’ tendencies. They were not a race that would back down easily in the face of humans. But now there were reports of demons fleeing, not just one or two, but many, many nations at once.

“Something’s not right, Leader.”

“They can’t have fled, they must be up to something.”

Lumen and Van approached, growing more serious by the second. Cadel nodded in agreement with them.

“What’s even weirder is that while demons are fleeing from every country, the demons of the Empire are not fleeing, but are coming in greater numbers. ……Knight Commander.”

Cadel’s face grew as pale as Garuel’s stony gaze. He rose from his brief seated position and looked back at his subordinates.

“It looks like the enemy has narrowed their targets. The demons haven’t fled, they’re just traveling to the Empire. ……If this is true, it’s only a matter of time before the Empire collapses.”

Why were they trying to deal with the Empire while giving up the safety of other magic circles? Cadel recalled the existence of Daya, a High Demon whom he had been unable to kill.

‘He didn’t disintegrate in midair, he fled to the Demon Realm and carried the information to the Princess.’

He must have warned them of the danger on this side. Cadel had killed five High Demons in one fell swoop and overused his power in defense of the city. He had nothing to say if he was checked.

‘To say the least, I’m surprised that such an extreme decision was made after such a short battle.’

He wondered if there was another way to preserve the great magic circle. It was a tactic that could not be understood through common sense, but common sense did not always apply to demons.

“If demons from across the continent descend upon the Empire, our combined forces will not be able to stop them. We must call upon our allies for help.”

“But even if they do send help, it’ll take a while for them to arrive, and the magicians will have already used up a lot of mana.”

“……We can’t help it. No matter how long it takes, we have no choice but to endure. Garuel! You relay the anomaly to the knights with [Ullo]. Lydon, you are coming to the castle with me.”

Cadel quickly joined Lydon and deployed traveling magic. If the Empire had become the Demon Realm’s top priority target, the Emperor needed to be informed before anyone else.