[Duty]
An androgynous appearance. Slit eyes.
And even Special Division 4's combat uniform.
It was not a mistake. It really was Hans.
Hans traded several blows with a middle-ranking demonfolk, then drove him far back.
“I am glad you appear to be unharmed.”
“How did you know to come?”
“I attached a tracking magic tool to you, Lord Lewis.”
“?!”
There had been no such thing on me.
When I looked down at myself in alarm, Hans added,
“I secretly embedded it in your body while you slept. It was Her Majesty the Empress's order.”
“Really?!”
“I am joking.”
Hans let out a short laugh.
But his eyes were still fixed on the enemy.
“Has that eased your tension?”
“What tension? I am your senior.”
“Try hiding those shaking hands before you say that.”
“I'm only suppressing my strength.”
Hans and I traded words in our usual manner.
Then Forein and Elaine, who had only just regained their composure, seemed to relax a little as well.
“......”
Even while we spoke, the middle-ranking demonfolk only watched us with a grim expression.
Once Hans saw that Elaine and I had pulled ourselves together, he took a step forward.
“If you surrender quietly, I will bury your corpse properly in the ground.”
“Why leave out the part where it will be a corpse split into dozens of pieces, human knight?”
“I thought you would understand without my saying it.”
Hans gestured at the surroundings with his chin.
The light illuminating the area came from a special mineral called Sunstone.
It was called Sunstone because it was effective against demonfolk, whose strength weakened under sunlight.
“The encirclement is already complete. Even if you try to flee....”
“Hmph!”
CLANG—!
The middle-ranking demonfolk snorted and lunged at Hans.
“I only need to kill every last one of you!”
At the same time, the other demonfolk charged at the Special Division 4 knights all at once.
Several of them came our way.
“I'll hold them off, so support me.”
“Yes.”
“If any slip past me, stop supporting me and deal with them with everything you have.”
“I told you. I took part in the Yggdrasil War too.”
Elaine's voice trembled slightly, but not enough to be worrying.
CLANG! CLANG!
THUD!
SLASH—!
Before long, the sounds of battle blanketed the area.
Yet the atmosphere was astonishingly calm.
Other than the sounds of weapons striking weapons and bodies striking bodies, there were no screams or shouts.
The demonfolk could not allow their existence to be discovered any further.
And Special Division 4 could not allow word to spread that there was a demonfolk unit near Gloria Academy.
With their own reasons in mind, everyone gritted their teeth and swung their weapons.
SWISH—!
One demonfolk with arrows lodged in his shoulder and forearm approached and swung his sword at me.
It would have been difficult if I had to face a whole pack, but one of them was no problem.
There was no need to use a tarot card ability.
I met his blade with my own.
CLANG—!
“Tch?!”
But the impact was greater than I had imagined.
Even though I had not trained much lately.
Even though the injuries I had received in my battle with a Demon King had not fully healed.
It was not the kind of strength one should feel from a mere lower-ranking demonfolk.
As I was caught off guard, he tried to swing his sword again.
Rustle—
Tree vines obscured his vision and struck at his arms and legs.
SLASH! SLASH!
The demonfolk turned his blade and cut the vines apart.
Thanks to that, I had time to recover my stance.
Once I had recovered, I could see black demonic energy flowing from his body like fog.
‘Obviously, they did not come to the surface for a stroll around the neighborhood.’
They were a suicide squad.
A suicide squad that had staked their lives on accomplishing their goal.
Of course, they would have brought elixirs that temporarily amplified their abilities.
Pop— Pop—
As if proving that I was right, thick veins bulged across the lower-ranking demonfolk's face.
Blood rushed into his eyes, and a dark crimson light pooled in his already black pupils.
Tap!
His attack began again, and instead of Imperial Swordsmanship, I faced him with the Desert Swordsmanship Kanibara had taught me.
Desert Swordsmanship emphasized conserving stamina, so it had more techniques for redirecting blows than meeting them head-on.
It was the perfect swordsmanship against a demonfolk whose strength had been amplified by an elixir, leaving him with too many openings.
“?!”
The demonfolk's eyes filled with bewilderment, as though asking how someone so pale could use Desert Swordsmanship.
He must have assumed that, since I was with Imperial knights, I would naturally use Imperial Swordsmanship.
But it was already too late.
I redirected his descending diagonal strike, then turned both my sword and body to slash open his chest.
SPLURT—!
A fountain of blood burst forth, and a foul, wet sensation covered my whole body.
In the brief instant that my view was obscured—
Tap! Tap!
I heard something approaching from both sides.
SWISH—!
CLANG!
One was caught by the sword I swung on instinct and stopped.
But I missed the other one.
“Elaine!”
“I'm fine!”
At Elaine's shout, thick tree roots erupted from the ground.
It was a spell that bound not only the demonfolk approaching her, but even the feet of the demonfolk facing me.
“Hold on a little longer!”
I intended to deal with the enemy whose legs could not move and quickly help Elaine, but then—
CRUNCH!
“Guh... Hk....”
It was not Elaine's voice, but a deep, sinister death rattle.
After cutting down the enemy that had rushed at me, I quickly turned around.
Elaine's axe had split a demonfolk's head open.
“...A broken character with melee, ranged, and magic damage.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
No matter how deeply Elaine had been born under the World Tree's blessing.
No matter how Elaine grew stronger simply by breathing because of the World Tree Staff.
To think she could already dispose of a lower-ranking demonfolk so easily.
In human terms, it was like a girl barely twelve years old displaying the skills of a seasoned knight or better.
If I had not known that Elaine was a broken character in the game, I would have seriously suspected performance enhancers.
“What about Forein and Griam?”
“They're unharmed. I threw my axe and dealt with him before he could even approach them.”
“Thanks.”
Once the three of us had dealt with around three enemies, even the noise around us began to subside.
The remaining demonfolk cried out as they desperately clung to the Special Division 4 knights.
But Special Division 4 was made up of veterans who had faced demonfolk ever since their days in the Golden Mane Knights.
Within the area lit by Sunstones, not one of them was weak enough to be defeated by a lower-ranking demonfolk.
The middle-ranking demonfolk facing Hans had also been driven onto the defensive.
“No wonder your horn was cut off.”
“......”
The middle-ranking demonfolk gritted his teeth at Hans's provocation.
He tried desperately to find an opening in Hans's guard and land a strike.
But even in the Golden Mane Knights, Hans had been famous for textbook-perfect, ironclad swordsmanship.
In the end—
CRACK—!
Hans's sword shattered the middle-ranking demonfolk's horn, bringing the battle to an end.
The middle-ranking demonfolk could not even scream at the shock of his horn breaking before he lost consciousness.
“Whew.”
Hans calmly let out a breath and sheathed his sword.
An adjutant approached him and reported the casualties.
“No deaths. No serious injuries. Five minor injuries.”
“The demonfolk?”
“Seventeen killed. Thirteen captured alive.”
“Good work.”
Hans turned his gaze to me.
“Next time, please tell us before you leave.”
“It was too urgent. I forgot.”
When Jerome had urgently come looking for me, I had not imagined a demonfolk attack.
I had only rushed over because I was afraid that bastard Griam would make the wrong choice.
I had brought Elaine because we needed to find an elf's tracks in the forest.
“At any rate, it is fortunate, but....”
Hans looked over the scene with a complicated expression.
The Special Division 4 knights were clearing the area, but it did not seem they could erase every trace of the battle.
“Is it because we cannot avoid a commotion?”
This was not a simple disappearance case.
It was a planned kidnapping and attack.
Furthermore, the victim was not a human, but an elf.
Naturally, it would become an issue between the Empire and Yggdrasil, going beyond the academy.
But that did not seem to be what Hans was worried about.
“I find it strange that they did not run.”
“Is it not because they knew they would die if they ran?”
Demonfolk who came to the surface suffered two penalties.
First, just as they had been affected by the Sunstones a moment ago, they weakened under sunlight.
Second, moonlight prevented them from hiding their demonic energy.
It was said that Teruna had imposed those restrictions after defeating the darkness in battle during the Mythic Age.
Naturally, unless demonfolk had collaborators on the surface, they could not avoid being exposed and killed eventually.
But Hans still looked as though he did not understand.
“That is not wrong, but they could have used the terrain of the forest to wage guerrilla warfare.”
“Guerrilla warfare is not as easy as it sounds.”
“They were elite enough to make it possible.”
With Elaine on our side, we would have won in the end even if they had waged guerrilla warfare.
But they could have forced us to waste time through guerrilla warfare.
There might even have been casualties.
Or they could have truly escaped, then caused another incident elsewhere.
“So you find it strange that they charged as if dying in battle were their wish?”
“Yes. The devious, filthy demonfolk had some other aim worth being wiped out for....”
As he spoke, Hans nodded as though he had realized something.
“No. It seems there will be no problem.”
“Why?”
“I simply have a feeling that there will not be.”
“No, you realized something, did you not? Explain it to me too.”
“More importantly, should we not move Forein to the academy quickly? It is not desirable for Elaine to be outside right now either.”
At Hans's words, I nodded sullenly.
“Fine. For now.”
“We will take Griam with us.”
“Do whatever you want. I do not plan to stop you.”
I started walking to leave the forest with Forein on my back.
“Ah, if you need to handle the students too, please show Jerome leniency.”
“Jerome? The Jerome who was with Griam?”
“Yeah. He told me.”
Hans nodded, seeming to understand roughly what had happened.
“But how did you really know to come?”
“Classified.”
“That's cheap.”
“If you want to know so badly, join the Special Affairs Ministry. Her Majesty will give you a good position. Then you can look through classified information as you please.”
“They say curiosity killed the cat.”
I stopped thinking about it.
Special Division 4 had been moving busily as well, so they must have noticed some sign.
Hans arriving when he did had been an immense stroke of luck for me.
As we left the forest to return to the academy—
[S. Seeds of Malice Complete!]
[100 SP Acquired.]
Out of nowhere, the Sub Quest completion Message Window appeared.
If it was going to appear, it should have appeared right after the battle ended.
Why did it appear only now?
***
Gloria, the academy autonomous city that had formed around Gloria Academy.
As Rupert, a high-ranking demonfolk, moved through a secluded alley in that city, he repeated to himself,
‘I only need to be careful of Elder Yureph and Sonya, the middle-ranking spirit.’
Even as a high-ranking demonfolk, he could not guarantee victory against either of them.
The operation had to be considered a failure the moment either one discovered him.
‘At night, I should keep as far from the academy as possible, and during the day, I should watch from nearby.’
It was an extremely difficult mission: infiltrate the academy and assassinate a key figure.
Naturally, helpers had also been prepared to assist with the mission.
There were the human nobles who had helped him conceal his identity on the way here.
And there was the Garum Unit, which would kidnap an elf and a human in the western forest and create chaos.
‘On the night the bodies are discovered and the city falls into disorder, the Garum Unit will attack the academy, and I will infiltrate from the opposite side.’
He would infiltrate and assassinate elf or spirit students.
The best outcome would be killing the owner of the World Tree Branch.
Rupert repeated his mission to himself again and again.
‘It will be difficult to return alive.’
His strength weakened during the day, and he could not hide his demonic energy at night.
Even if he barely succeeded in the assassination, escaping would be impossible.
‘Even so, I will succeed.’
Demonfolk had been banished to the Underworld since the Mythic Age, so long ago that not even proper records remained.
From that ancient time, demonfolk had adapted to the Underworld's harsh environment while waiting only for the day they could go to the surface.
But for some reason, the limbs of the Underworld invasion plan had begun to be cut off before it even started.
The Demon Kings, sensing something strange, had hurriedly invaded the surface, but even that had been stopped.
The demonfolk had been forced to crouch in the harsh Underworld once again.
‘My sacrifice today will bring the day my kin can go to the surface forward by a hundred years.’
Rupert truly believed that.
‘It would be good if I could learn who owns the World Tree Branch while I wait.’
Rupert pulled his thick robe tighter around himself.
Whenever his skin was exposed to sunlight, he felt burning pain.
As Rupert, who drew his robe close as though he were cold, was about to circle the academy's surroundings once more—
“Ghk.”
A woman staggered into the alley where Rupert stood.
“......”
Even in the middle of winter, she wore nothing but thin leather trousers and a single tank top.
Judging by the liquor bottle in one hand, she was clearly dead drunk in the middle of the day.
She seemed to have forgotten her outerwear somewhere.
‘She will freeze to death if I leave her alone.’
Rupert quietly leaned against the alley wall and waited for the woman to pass.
There was no need to touch her. She was sure to die on her own.
As the woman passed before Rupert—
Grab!
She threw an arm around Rupert's shoulder.
“Hey, suspicious mister. What business do you have at the academy?”
Rupert's eyes filled with shock.
‘I did not see her move at all...!’
At the same time as he thought that, Rupert moved his hand to his waist.
He intended to draw a dagger and slash her throat in one motion, but—
CRUSH—
His right hand, already caught in the woman's grip, refused to move.
“I'm asking you. What are you doing here?”
The woman, Kanibara, leaned her head in close beside Rupert as her voice dropped low.
It was a situation where he should have made some excuse to get out of it.
“......”
But no words came from Rupert's mouth.
He had the intuition that nothing he said would help.
“Hmph. You must have come to kill someone. Acting noble when you are that sort. This is why demonfolk are disgusting.”
Rupert could not gather his wits.
How had a drunken passerby figured out his identity?
It would have been strange even if she were an academy guard or knight.
He had thoroughly concealed his demonic energy.
It was impossible at night, but at least it was possible during the day.
He had concealed his horns too, under a thick hat and a robe pulled low.
‘Then how did she know that I am a demonfolk...?’
On top of that, a sharp smell of alcohol wafted from her.
It was so strong that he felt he might get drunk just from smelling it.
Yet she was displaying movements difficult to follow with the eye, as well as absurd strength.
‘There was no information that someone this powerful was at the academy!’
Rupert concentrated demonic energy in his captured right hand.
The unexpected situation was certainly bewildering.
But if his opponent was strong, that was rather welcome.
The demonic energy possessed by a member of the Clan of Corruption was more effective the stronger the enemy was.
But no matter how much demonic energy he concentrated, it did not transfer to his opponent.
Instead, the demonic energy continued accumulating around his wrist, swelling as though it would burst.
“Just as I thought. You serve under a shitfly.”
“......”
“Ah, you probably do not understand when I say it that way. I mean your boss, Baal.”
At those words, Rupert reflexively put strength into his arm.
How dare she insult the great Demon King who would save demonfolk from the Pit of Sorrow!
But Rupert's arm did not move as he willed.
CRUNCH!
“......!”
Instead, his wrist was crushed, and agonizing pain surged through him.
“Think carefully. If I let go of your arm now, you will be a cripple for the rest of your life.”
Rupert looked down at his wrist with bloodshot eyes.
Kanibara was holding the demonic energy Rupert had gathered in her hand.
If it surged back all at once, Rupert would become a cripple just as Kanibara said.
“Who are the people who let you get in here?”
Rather than answer, Rupert swung his leg.
He had intended to kick Kanibara's knee, break her balance, and counterattack, but—
CRACK!
Kanibara lightly kicked her leg back, and Rupert's leg broke instead.
“......!”
“If you do not want to talk now, you do not have to.”
CRACK!
His left shoulder dislocated as well.
Before he had any chance to resist, someone grabbed his throat, and his consciousness began to fade.
Only then could Rupert finally look directly at his opponent.
‘Red hair, a Southerner, and impossible strength.... Could it be...!’
He remembered a human who had slaughtered countless members of his kind in the Yggdrasil War.
But Rupert's realization came far too late.
“You were never here today. Nothing happened at the academy.”
Beyond his darkening consciousness, he heard Kanibara's sneer.
“It may not be as good as the underground where you live, but the Special Affairs Bureau's basement is quite livable too.”