* * *

“……Demonic energy?”

It was surprising that the humans’ coordinated attack was more effective than expected, but what was more shocking was the demonic energy that covered the field of the battlefield. Not his, of course.

Mendel’s gaze naturally turned to Garuel, the owner of that demonic energy. Although his appearance was obscured by dark mana, there was no reason why he couldn’t be recognized as a wielder of similar power.

‘Similar to the demonic energy of High Demons, but subtly different. ……Is he mixed race?’

If that much demonic energy could be used, it must have been mixed with the blood of a powerful demon. A demon of that caliber mixed with an inferior human to produce offspring. It was absolutely disgusting.

He wanted to tear the shame of the demons apart right then and there, but unfortunately, Mendel was not given the luxury of time.

“Damn you, Lydon! What if you shoot an ice spear at me?”

“Hmph, don’t frame me, Van. I didn’t shoot you, it’s you who interrupted me.”

Mendel didn’t know how he’d gotten a hold of his technique, but the demonic energy on the battlefield was healing humans in real-time.

‘Demonic energy that heals other people’s wounds, what a nasty mongrel.’

The petals that were supposed to absorb their flesh, blood, and energy gained nothing from their rapidly healing wounds and vanished barriers. As a result, the humans he should have subdued long ago were closing in with fierce intensity.

‘The human I need to pay special attention to is the dark energy user who attacked me. Where is it?’

The magic of a fairy, an aura that became more and more massive as time passed, a sword energy that was impossible to follow with the eye, and an intrusive demonic energy. Everything seemed threatening, but Mendel judged that the most dangerous of them all was Yozen’s dark energy.

No matter how stressful the situation was, Mendel did not let down his guard. But until the dark energy pierced his throat, he could not sense anything. A moment’s respite from this dazzling onslaught would be fatal. It was even more dangerous when the petals became useless.

Once the dark energy user had been thwarted, he would deal with the mongrel, minimizing the loss of protective shields.

That was Mendel’s plan, however.

Wheeze. Crunch.

“……?”

From a completely unexpected direction, something unexpected happened. Mendel suddenly stopped swinging his whip and looked down at his left arm.

It was twisting. As if a black flower petal was absorbing the energy of another living being, the entire space where his left arm was located was distorted.

A terrible pressure and pain radiated from his left arm. Mendel’s jet-black eyes flicked open, and there, standing before him, was the human swordsman he’d deemed too weak for his speed.

“This is trickier than dealing with a stationary rock. I need to practice more.”

He slowly unsheathed his half-drawn sword, and at the same time.

“Not…… bad.”

Mendel’s left arm ‘vanished’ without a trace. That technique ignored all of his regenerative powers, including his protective shields, and blew off one of his arms. Even then, he didn’t close the distance. As if to show off that he could dodge attacks whenever he wanted.

The swordsman’s body was surrounded by flower petals. Even the slightest cut in his flesh was able to regenerate and maintain its intact form.

‘……I’ve changed my mind. I’ll have to deal with that mongrel first.’

As Mendel didn’t give his all, he briefly overlooked the fact that the human side might also be holding back. Dealing with the mongrel was a top priority in order to block their movements and absorb them all.

A vortex swirled around Mendel as he made his judgment, lifting his body into the air. The fairy flew up to follow him, but soon hesitated, quickly widening the distance.

‘Did he instinctively sense the danger, or did someone know my skills and alert him?’

Ever since they started fighting, he felt like he was being read. If anyone could do that, it was that mongrel with half-demon blood.

With a flash of intensity in his jet-black eyes, Mendel’s explosive wind swept through the swamp, and at the same time, countless bone fragments began to fall from his flesh.

The bone fragments released as if they were decomposing themselves were blown by the wind and spread throughout the swamp.

‘That mongrel must be killed for sure.’

As long as he could isolate him, killing that mongrel or something like that was no problem. Right here, failures that tarnished the pride of the demon race would be severely punished. Mendel’s eyes became thin and curved like a crescent moon as he thought of that exciting future.

Mendel’s ultimate skill that greatly increased the defense of his allies at the cost of a portion of his life force, while maintaining temporary invincibility until his allies were annihilated.

[Festival of Bones].

It was a technique that Cadel had been on the lookout for ever since he anticipated the emergence of Mendel.

“Blech, the smell of monsters.”

Lydon frowned and pinched his nose, as if feeling uncomfortable. After hearing the order from Cadel to ‘do not approach Mendel’, all the knights gathered in front of the seal circle.

Above them was Mendel, slowly descending following the weakening wind. After completing one giant release, his appearance changed strangely.

Grotesque bone armor covered his entire body, replacing the clothes he wore. A skull with bull’s horns sat atop his head like a helmet, and a tangled web of bones stretched over his wings. His left arm, which Lumen had destroyed, regenerated like a prosthetic limb. The armor’s bony form was eerily beautiful, its joints bending at will.

“……That’s a grim sight. I’m afraid something unpleasant is about to happen. What are you thinking, Leader?”

Lumen’s gaze shifted from Mendel to Cadel. Cadel remained seated and silent, even as Mendel’s transformation came to an end.

In this battle, Cadel did not use any direct force except for the cover of the Knight Order. The relaxed command was clean and without unnecessary elements, and thanks to it, the Knight Order was able to maintain minimal damage throughout the battle.

A fight that was not biased against anyone and could truly be called ‘cooperation’. So, this momentum must not be lost until the end.

Instead of answering the question, Cadel looked back at Lydon and said.

“Lydon. How many do you think are coming?”

“At least 200. Hmm, the smell just got stronger. I feel like throwing up! It’s even more disgusting than the others. If I hadn’t trained with Garuel, I would have thrown up right away.”

“Please refrain from making misleading statements, Sir Lydon.”

There were at least 200 monsters under Mendel’s protection. Not a bad number, but not a good one either. Cadel summoned Garuel, who was eager to prove his cleanliness to Yozen, his new companion.

“While we deal with the monsters, Mendel will be targeting you, Garuel.”

“Well, that’s to be expected, because healers are the most annoying people wherever you go.”

“And unfortunately, until all of those monsters are defeated, Mendel is practically invincible.”

“……Is this information from Lord Kunra?”

“Yeah.”

“This means that…….”

“10 minutes. In the meantime, let’s compete to see who has better regenerative power.”

The monsters summoned by Mendel were different from ordinary monsters. If Cadel had not known Mendel’s technique beforehand, the subjugation might have taken more than an hour. If Garuel had to withstand Mendel’s intense bombardment for an hour, no matter how much demonic energy he used, Cadel wouldn’t be able to guarantee his safety. But 10 minutes was enough.

Cadel gestured to Garuel, who scratched his cheek nervously. He leaned down and grabbed Garuel by the scruff of the neck, pulling him in front of him.

“Knight Commander……? Could it be that you will give me a kiss of encouragement…….”

“I know you have accepted the demonic energy and are trying to fight with it as best as you can.”

“…….”

“But don’t let that seal away the power you’ve built up so far. Demonic energy and light mana. Being able to use the two together is your unique advantage.”

There was no kiss of encouragement as expected, but Garuel’s expression was blank and relaxed as Cadel retreated. Cadel left him rigid and relayed the new plan to the rest of his subordinates.