As Aria gazed at the shadowed reed fields, she sank deep into thought.
“Mr. Lev Denec…”
Of course, it was about that man.
– I killed that guy…
– Because I killed him, I inherited his powers.
Even now, after some time had passed and her emotions had simmered down, accepting that was no easy feat.
For now, Aria had placed Surveillance Magic on Lev.
Knowing well it was a somewhat cowardly ability, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious and worried about him who had disappeared last night.
Fortunately, even though he had gone quite far from their base, she sensed no sign of Dark Magic or combat.
“…But still.”
There was something else that bothered Aria even more.
Last night, she had tossed and turned, struggling with her complicated emotions, finally dozing off just before dawn.
In and out of her sleep, she heard Lev and Yeriel conversing.
Surely, it was supposed to be Aria’s turn for the next watch after Yeriel.
Yet, she never came to wake her.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t quite figure out what those two were talking about.
The bonfire crackling and Edwin’s loud snoring drowned out their conversation.
Just as Aria was about to step outside to see what was going on…
What she saw was…
“….”
A shadow that seemed to overlap the two figures.
That made her angrier.
Sure enough, Lev and Yeriel had feelings for each other.
He really said those things to push her away, didn’t he?
However,
– First, Lev should apologize to Aria.
…
– If he answers her confession properly… then she would think about it again…!
The meaning behind Yeriel’s words… gnawed at her.
Surely there was something she didn’t know?
Could she trust that his words and actions weren’t just simple deceit?
– Whooooosh!!!
It was then.
“!”
A wind mixed with dense magic swept through, disturbing the reed fields.
– Swish! Swish!
And a sudden scream.
– “R-Run away!!!!”
– “■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!”
– “!!!!!!”
The unexpected loud noise stirred the surroundings.
In the distance, the three-headed dog – Cerberus, which had been sleeping just moments ago, began to stir.
As Aria cautiously tried to return to her party to warn them…
Before her stood Nicolseta Haisman, grinning.
“Hi, there?”
His eyes were halfway rolled back.
“You, you’re on the same watch as Yeriel, right?”
“…Yes?”
“If you don’t want to die… b-bring, bring Yeriel and Lev Denec… n-now!!”
Nicolseta’s plan was simple.
Hehehe. You touch me? I’ll kill that guy!
After enchanting himself with ‘Haste’ using a scroll, he intended to bring the hellhound and joyfully stomp on both Yeriel and Lev Denec.
Of course, he was the one who drew first attention…
So he was in danger as well, but he had a way to easily escape.
– When in danger~ drink this!
It was the Demonization potion provided by Crow Pay…
‘I was told I could return to being human…!’
– “■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!”
Meanwhile, Cerberus charged toward Nicolseta at full speed.
“Look, over there!”
Despite Aria’s cry,
He paid no mind, grinning as he downed the Demonization potion.
– Gulp, gulp.
“!”
– Thud.
The empty bottle dropped, and
“Ha-ha-hahaha…?”
– Pssshh! Pssht!
With ominous sounds, Nicolseta’s body began to turn a reddish hue.
“Aria Bluebell. Commoner girl. I know about you. You were adopted by the nobility, right?”
“…”
Nicolseta roughly grabbed Aria’s wrist, forcing her.
“Drink up. You should drink too, right?”
“…Let go…!”
“Do you think I’m kidding? You trying to die now?!”
The intelligence of the three-headed dog wasn’t particularly high, but it still recognized fellow demons as allies.
That meant the Cerberus charging at Nicolseta had likely shifted its target to Aria, who was closest.
However, Aria seemed resolved as she forcefully broke free from his grasp.
‘Why am I so weak…?!’
Sadly, Nicolseta, watching with a grin, didn’t budge an inch.
“Hyah! Are you gonna die??”
Right now, Nicolseta felt like he could easily take down Lev Denec, that annoying piece of work.
“This isn’t… Let go…!”
“Damn it! Just drink! If you do, I’ll take care of you for the next four years, alright?”
Demons instinctively loathe Sacred Powers.
Yet, corrupting the holy ones was a common hobby for the demon race.
An insane high was consuming Nicolseta.
As he reached out to roughly pry open Aria’s mouth…
– Preee-ing!
A clear crimson light pierced his head.
“U-uh?”
That was the end of him.
As his glasses were neatly penetrated, his left field of view went dark.
“Ah, I can’t see… I can’t see!”
Then, an unimaginable pain began to wash over him.
“W-what the heck is this?!!!”
The usual over-exaggerating man’s last words.
– Thud!
In that moment, Aria managed to slip her arm free.
A deep red handprint was forming on her wrist.
‘Uwa… A-a?’
Nicolseta had to think.
He needed to find out who the attacker was…
But he couldn’t pinpoint it.
His head was empty.
All he could do was pray that another attack wouldn’t follow…
– Preee-ing!
Nicolseta’s body jolted again and he rolled across the ground.
After that, he couldn’t even manage to speak properly.
– Cough! Cough…
Thick blood burst forth from his mouth uncontrollably.
It was black blood.
Proof that his body was unstable as a demon, and that he could never return to normal.
In the end, Nicolseta collected his senses and crawled along the ground.
– Squeak… Squeak…
Even in this moment, he remembered the servants from the mansion he served.
They were probably thinking to themselves how it was a damn disaster.
Yet, that was fine with him.
The pain he was feeling was too horrendous.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Just a little further to go.
Before him stood a woman who appeared like a ray of light.
Yes, Aria Bluebell.
She was in the healing class, so if she recovered him, he would be fine, right?
“C-c-c….”
However, Aria had no intention of healing him, nor did she have the means to do so.
Demons could not benefit from Sacred Powers.
Nicolseta could not be saved.
*
“Despite being warned, he still manages to stir up trouble.”
[Unique Trait: Soul Collector activated! Collected the soul of the defeated enemy.]
[By defeating a Demon, your Erosion Level has increased!]
[Hidden rewards can be acquired!]
As my targeting status window popped up one after another,
– Preee-ing!
I immediately fired another ghost bolt toward Cerberus.
– ■■■■■■■■!!
[Critical hit!]
[Vulnerability hit!]
[Additional damage proportional to agility.]
[Sniping trait activated! Additional damage proportional to agility.]
[Demonic Dragon’s tendon effect activated! Additional damage proportional to darkness attribute.]
[Additional status effect from crafted crossbow bolts.]
[Enchant – Additional damage from holy attribute.]
As the crossbow bolt struck the center of one of its heads, for an instant, it fell into a groggy state.
It was the effect of the craft that Hazel had prepared.
It might have been better to snipe Nicolseta earlier to prevent him from awakening Cerberus, but…
It was essential to kill him while he was in Demon form; otherwise, he would leave behind troublesome remnants. More importantly, I needed to extract the demon-hunting rewards from him.
Besides, time was of the essence.
Caeran should have already entered District 4 by now,
I planned to catch Cerberus today and then break through to the Magic Tower straight after.
‘Let’s do this.’
I strapped on the Gray Ashen Bolt and immediately dashed toward Aria.
.
.
.
– “If you’re in the front, everyone get out and help! We need to work together!”
– “Just, just run away! We can’t handle it!”
– “Was it really a monster?!”
– “H-how do we catch that?!”
It was pure chaos.
Some students were trying to organize an attack team somehow, but it was hopeless.
The magical pressure it emitted was the real deal.
“…!”
I spotted Aria, who was sitting all alone, and approached her.
“Are you alright?”
“…”
She was pale, trembling all over.
Unlike the other main characters who had somewhat awakened, Aria hadn’t achieved Andras’s feat yet, so I should have kept a closer eye on her.
“Lev! What’s going on?!”
“Lev…? Aria…?”
Edwin and Yeriel both approached this way.
They seemed to have guessed the situation just by looking at Cerberus.
“Where’s Lily?”
“She’s sleeping. I’ll wake her up…!”
With that, Yeriel disappeared,
I gave Edwin my orders.
“Edwin, hold the front for a moment.”
“Got it.”
– Swish!
Edwin made a determined face as he drew his sword and stepped forward.
Then I whispered to Aria, who was awkwardly hugging me from behind.
“I know it feels bad, but… stay right behind me. It’s dangerous.”
“…”
“Healing is only for Edwin. Monsters are sensitive to holy power, so we’ll keep it as discreet as possible. And when Yeriel and Lily arrive, they’ll get acceleration buffs.”
“…Yes.”
– Boom!
– “!”
At that moment, the groggy Cerberus stirred as the students attempted ranged attacks.
– ■■■■■■■■!!
“W-what?! It hit!”
“No… the left head is recovering while the right one slows down…”
“I-I don’t know, I’m sorry…!”
“Damn it… I’m out!”
– ■■■■■■■!
The Cerberus that was heading toward Aria turned to charge at the other students.
In fact, there was a sequence to capturing it.
If you randomly hit any head, it would endlessly recover due to its mechanics.
But if only the order were followed, certain damage could be consistently dealt.
.
.
.
After a little while,
“What’s happening? Huh…?!”
When Yeriel and Lily arrived, I issued further commands.
“Everyone listen up. For now, I’m planning to take that down. If we run, the damage will only increase. Can you all help?”
In this urgent situation, thankfully everyone nodded their heads.
“First, Lily, assist Edwin with a summoned beast. Even a lightweight golem is fine. It should resonate with the dog’s instincts a bit.”
“Okay!”
“And Yeriel, every time Edwin deals a valid hit, quickly use fire spells to cut off its healing.”
“Got it!”
“Lastly, Edwin. It won’t be easy, but target the heads in the order I specify.”
“Understood!”
Everyone moved into position seamlessly, and a subtle warmth lingered behind me.
– Swish.
Aria’s confused eyes were clutching onto the back of my sleeve.
“……”
Seeing her like that made me resolve once more.
There’s a saying, when you start, see it through to the end.
‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll go all the way.’
Next would be Caeran, and then Markosias…
Final bosses always seem to grow after having mid-bosses fight them first.
“…I will definitely kill him with my own hands.”
I recited that cliché as I loaded the Gray Ashen Bolt.
