After defeating the Demon King Type and exterminating the surrounding monsters that were attacking the area, it was time to spread the word to the other battlefields and prepare for the mop-up operation… at least, that was the plan.

“Vice-Captain. Didn’t you say something just now?”

Noticing my downcast face, unlike the excitement around me, the leader called out, wondering if something was wrong.

“Yeah… well, never mind. I’ll go inform others that I’ve defeated the Demon King Type here. You all should be ready for anything, just in case.”

“Huh? Oh… Something else is going to happen?”

“The last wolf… Well, after the Demon King Type died, the influence didn’t disappear right away…”

Though I only knew about dungeon monsters, normally, when a Demon King Type dies, the monsters affected by its presence lose their enhancements. However, that wasn’t the case with the wolf earlier.

It could be due to the difference between dungeon monsters and those outside…

The enhancement by the Demon King Type could only be seen by me, so others probably wouldn’t understand if I explained.

“You mean there might still be more? Got it. I’ll stay alert.”

“Thanks.”

It was likely nothing, but it was better to be cautious. I was also curious about the central area, which I expected to be the main target. I decided to leave the leader in charge here and head there.

Thus, I moved from the southern battlefield to the next one, the one Teresa was in charge of.

“Teresa isn’t here…”

Although the battle continued below, Teresa was nowhere to be found.

There were no signs of the number of adventurers decreasing… Had she gone to the other side?

From what I could tell, the Demon King Type’s influence hadn’t reached this battlefield, and there were no obvious changes. Even without Teresa, who had been dividing the monster groups, the battlefield seemed stable, so there was no need for me to land here.

Next, I headed to the neighboring battlefield!

◇

“…Huh?”

The training camp where the headquarters was located. A plain stretched out between the forest and the camp. It also faced the eastern gate of the capital, and if the Demon King Type were to break through, this would likely be the place, so August had decided to personally take charge here.

He was quite meticulous, so I expected him to be running a tight operation.

“…It’s a mess.”

However, from the sky, the battlefield looked chaotic, with both people and monsters mixed together, and no formation to speak of. The Demon King Type was supposed to have been defeated at the southern battlefield, but Teresa and August were nowhere to be seen. I didn’t think they’d been defeated, but perhaps they’d moved to the headquarters?

“Hmm… Maybe I should head down first?”

I could try going to the headquarters, but the situation below clearly seemed to be in trouble.

“Alright… First, there!”

I charged towards a party that had just been thrown off-balance by a giant boar.

After breaking through, the giant boar turned to counter-attack. I kicked it right in the exposed back of its head.

It wasn’t enough to kill it with one strike, but Akame and the others quickly followed up with a finishing blow. If it had been a dungeon monster, I could have taken it down in one hit by targeting its core.

Leaving the boar’s corpse behind, I went over to the fallen party. Though they had been blasted away, they seemed only lightly injured and should be able to talk.

“You’re quite messed up… What happened? Where are the leaders?”

“It’s Sera…”

Though tired, I activated 【Prayer】. I had been holding off on using it during battle, as it might startle people, but maybe I should have used it sooner?

“Ah… Sorry. So, what happened, you ask? A second Demon King Type appeared.”

“Yeah… Wait, what?”

I nodded, realizing that the second one had appeared here as well. Though we’d already defeated one in the south… it didn’t count for this battlefield, right? So, did two appear here?

“One was taken down by the leader, but right after that, a much larger wolf appeared. The leader and the others immediately went to handle it, but it broke through and escaped to the other side. The leader chased after it, and Teresa must have noticed the situation here, so she joined them, and they went after it together.”

He pointed north as he spoke.

It sounded like one of the Demon King Types had been taken down by August alone. Impressive. But even he hadn’t been able to finish it off…

“The leaders left, but we managed to defeat the remaining monsters ourselves. However, shortly after, another wave of monsters attacked… and this is what happened.”

“Hmm…”

The monsters here now were a mix of large and small ones. The large ones had strong breaking power, while the smaller ones weren’t as powerful but worked in packs and could be tricky.

And if the monsters were also affected by the Demon King Type… well, this was the result.

But what should I do?

I couldn’t just leave the Demon King Type alone, but I also couldn’t abandon this chaotic battlefield…

It seemed that the supply lines were still holding at the front, and the situation wasn’t completely collapsing, but we were definitely being pushed back. I wasn’t sure how long we could hold on.

“Ugh…”

As I listened to the situation and thought about my next move…

A sudden burst of intense light appeared in the north, followed by a series of explosive sounds reaching this area.

“What’s that?!”

It wasn’t just the adventurers in front of me who were surprised, but everyone around. And, of course, I was too.

———————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Cloak】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】・15 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・33 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards