“What! The hell! Is this!”

Sellev stomped her foot violently, brushing back her hair in frustration. Her furious gaze fixated on the ice staircase that connected the upper and lower levels of the castle. No matter how many times she pounded her fists against it, it was useless. The ice staircase remained steadfast despite countless attacks.

‘That damn fairy—it’s ridiculous enough that he survived, but now he’s done something like this? Just how tenacious is that bastard?’

She should have killed him sooner. Grinding her teeth in frustration, Sellev spun around sharply, coming face-to-face with two High Demons. One was a man with dark gray hair and black skin, while the other was a woman with dazzling blonde hair and pale white skin.

“What are you standing around for? Go down there and stop those humans from climbing, or destroy this damn staircase already!”

“Still as loud as ever, huh?”

The sharp-featured woman sneered, making Sellev’s expression twist instantly.

“What did you just say, Elina?”

“Were you born this vulgar? With how that cheapness oozes from your every pore, it’s a wonder you’ve managed to stay at Her Majesty’s side.”

“Hah. Looks like someone’s got a death wish……!”

Sellev’s fist crackled with demonic energy as she lunged toward Elina.

“Get out of my way, Russo!”

“If you cause a scene here, we’ll all be left behind. Do you really want to risk upsetting Her Majesty?”

Russo stepped in front of Elina, blocking the path. Sellev glared up at him murderously. But that was it. She didn’t push further and withdrew her demonic energy. Clicking her tongue in irritation, she spat on the ground. Russo, ignoring her tantrum, grabbed Elina’s hand and pulled her aside.

“We’ll handle the humans before they get any closer. You focus on finding a way to destroy the ice staircase.”

“Don’t order me around!”

“It’s called division of tasks, Sellev. Calm yourself.”

“Ugh! Annoying! If you’re gonna leave, then just get lost already!”

Elina opened her mouth as if to add another jab, but Russo silenced her with a glance. Without another word, the two descended toward the lower levels, leaving Sellev behind.

As they passed through thick clouds and dense mist, the sight of humans climbing the staircase came into view.

“Stay alert, Elina. These humans have fought their way into the castle—they are warriors of the Human Realm.”

“Oh, poor Russo. If you live your life worrying about humans like that, how exhausting must that be? Tell me, want to take a break in your lovely big sister’s embrace?”

“I don’t want to lose you. Leave no possibility of death, not even the smallest one.”

“……Seriously, you never take a joke.”

Elina pouted, forming a gun shape with her index finger and thumb. A small sphere of demonic energy condensed at the tip of her extended finger, vibrating as it spun rapidly. Fixing her gaze on the steadily approaching humans, she muttered in a tone that was more amused than displeased.

“So boring.”

With a slight jerk of her hand, the demonic energy bullet fired. Silent and without any trace of presence, the bullet cut through the air, aimed directly at one of the humans ahead.

* * *

“Commander Ector!”

“No! Sir Ector!”

The sudden attack struck deep beneath Ector’s collarbone. He had barely managed to twist his body at the last second, avoiding a fatal hit. As he staggered, Sorin rushed to support him, pressing against the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Modeleine stepped forward.

“I will deploy healing magic. Cover me!”

“It’s just a scratch! First, locate the enemy—”

Ector’s sentence was cut short as he suddenly coughed up blood. His face twisted in pain, a clear sign that something was seriously wrong.

“Commander!”

“……Stop making a fuss, Sorin.”

Shrugging off Sorin’s hand, Ector applied pressure to the wound himself and dropped to one knee. He wanted nothing more than to shake off their concern, even if it meant forcing himself to endure. But the pain was swelling, expanding into something excruciating enough to blur his vision.

Lumen, who had been assessing Ector’s condition alongside the others, frowned slightly.

“There’s no blood flow.”

None of them had seen exactly what kind of attack had struck him. But for Ector to be brought to his knees, it had to be something powerful. Even so, the hand pressing against his wound remained oddly clean—no sign of blood.

Modeleine, who had been preparing to cast healing magic, took note of this as well. Gripping Ector’s shoulder firmly, he spoke with urgency.

“Don’t be stubborn, Sir Ector. We need your strength to fight the Demon King. You have to stop for just a moment so I can heal you.”

“Damn it…… If this isn’t disgraceful, I don’t know what is. Where’s the enemy?”

At Ector’s question, Yozen responded.

“500 meters northwest. They’re keeping their distance, watching our movements.”

Following Yozen’s words, Van narrowed his eyes toward the northwest.

“Two of them? Who launched that last attack?”

“The High Demon on the right. It wasn’t a completely undetectable attack, but the speed was overwhelming. Even if I warn you in advance, dodging it won’t be easy.”

“Then blocking it won’t be easy either.”

They still didn’t know what abilities the other demon possessed. With one of their own already wounded, recklessly initiating combat was a dangerous gamble—especially on these treacherous ice stairs, where a single misstep could lead to a fatal fall.

“I’ll move forward and try to keep them in check. Hurry and—”

“Gaaaah!”

Behind Van, just as he was about to advance before the demons could get closer, Ector—who had been staunching his wound—let out a strangled scream. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, the pain was unbearable, his face flushing red from the sheer agony. As the others turned toward him in alarm—

“What is this?!”

“Commander!”

“E-Everyone, stay back……!”

His hand, which had been pressing against the wound, was suddenly forced away as something began to emerge from the small hole in his flesh. It twisted and spiraled outward, steadily growing as it expanded and spread across Ector’s upper body. Then, with a wet, squelching noise, it finally revealed itself.

“A…… flower?”

A massive bloom had sprouted, concealing Ector’s upper body. The numerous white petals, fully unfurled, bore a striking resemblance to a chrysanthemum. Bent forward as though weighed down by the flower, Ector gritted his teeth and rasped out—

“It…… it’s draining my blood……!”

“A vampiric flower?! Sir Ector! Steady yourself and hold on! We’ll remove it immediately!”

Without hesitation, Modeleine unsheathed his sword and slashed toward the flower. But—

“Step aside! Why are you stopping me?!”

Yozen had stepped between them, blocking Modeleine’s strike with his dagger. He smoothly deflected Modeleine’s blade and said calmly.

“The flower has already absorbed a significant amount of his energy. If you cut it off now, that energy will be lost with it.”

“What……?”

“Unless you plan to send him back down, don’t touch the flower.”

“But if we leave it alone, it’ll drain every last drop of Sir Ector’s blood!”

“Then we kill the one who controls it first.”

The flower’s master.

Modeleine’s gaze naturally shifted northwest—toward the two High Demons who still hadn’t moved. Tightening his grip on his sword, he spoke with grim determination.

“If we eliminate them, we can climb the stairs without further delay. The castle isn’t far now.”

Their time limit was clear: before Ector lost all his blood and collapsed. Ensuring Ector’s survival and pressing onward toward the upper floors—both objectives could only be achieved by taking down the High Demons ahead.

* * *

“So, it was you, Knight Commander.”

Garuel sighed, wiping his face with one hand as he panted. Next to him stood Cadel, his expression rigid, lips pressed tightly together in stubborn silence. Running a hand down his face, Garuel looked at Cadel in disbelief before speaking in a voice heavy with disappointment.

“How could you possibly think that wall was taller? Anyone with eyes could see it was the other one.”

“……Sorry.”

It had taken 12 attempts to properly activate the southern mechanism. Once a mechanism was triggered incorrectly, it kept shifting positions, making things even more complicated. Throughout those 12 tries, Garuel had tried his best to convince himself that the endless waves of attacking bats were somehow his fault. Kunra, who had gone completely silent, and Cadel, who kept rushing over looking guilty—he had tried to shoulder the blame for them both.

But after all that effort, when they moved east and repeated the same mistakes all over again, Garuel had to accept the truth.

“Knight Commander…… Is it because you’re short? Does that make it harder to judge heights? If it’s something tragic like that, I’ll try to understand.”

“I’m not that short. You’re just tall.”

“Then why—”

“I swear, all the walls I checked looked about the same height! I don’t know about your side, but on mine, they were practically identical! I figured I’d have to rely on luck, but I got it wrong every time. What was I supposed to do?!”

“But when I checked just now……”

“They looked the same before activation!”

Cadel was beyond frustrated. Did Garuel think he wanted to keep getting it wrong? The moment he imagined Kunra sighing again, his eyes prickled with unshed tears. How had they managed to get through these ridiculous mechanisms before? His resentment toward the High Demons only deepened.

Seeing Cadel on the verge of tears, Garuel couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. For someone who had once shone like a savior of the century, these little slip-ups made him seem more endearing than exasperating. Of course, Garuel kept that to himself—Cadel’s pride would take too much of a hit if he said it out loud.

Garuel held back the urge to tease Cadel further and instead leaned past the edge of the wall to take a look beyond.

Three towering statues, each easily 10 meters tall, were marching through the village with raised axes and swords. They had wings, indicating they were modeled after High Demons, but their masked faces made it impossible to identify exactly who they represented.

“Destroying the statues would take too much energy. Let’s just stay hidden until they give up searching.”

From his observation, the statues ceased their patrol and returned to their original positions after a set amount of time if they failed to find anything. There was no need to waste strength taking them down when simply outlasting their search would do.

Cadel seemed to agree, but that didn’t mean he was at ease. With his back pressed against the wall, he dragged a hand down his face and murmured bitterly.

“We don’t have much time……”

Garuel silently observed him before gently placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling him closer.

“Don’t rush. You can do this. And your comrades will hold out, too.”

This was all he could say. He didn’t know enough to offer deeper reassurance, not in a way that would truly help. But within his own limits, he did his best to steady Cadel. He might not be able to share all his secrets, but at the very least, he wanted to be someone Cadel could lean on when he needed strength.