"Hey, didn't you say you wanted to be the pride of the princess or something?"
"Let the damn nobles pay for it! They've certainly got the coin!"
And just like that, as though they were going for a picnic, several adventurers peeled off from the huddled group. There was no discussion, not even a glance in each others' eyes— they simply walked out in perfect synchronization to stand before the demon.
Seeing the carefree way in which they went to their deaths, Lakyus bit her lip and turned away.
"Break out with all your strength! As long as you can walk away in the end it'll be fine!"
With that, Lakyus charged the demonic hordes, raising Kilineyram in her hands. She trusted her defense entirely to her armor and her magic. Abandoning the nearly-broken defensive line, she prepared to carve a crimson road through the demons.
It felt like she was being ripped to shreds, her flesh pierced by daggers, forcing Lakyus to grit her teeth against the pain that assailed her. From a detached point of view, she knew that her body was nearing its limits, so she cast a silent healing spell. Although Lakyus absolutely had to survive this encounter, she could not do it without exerting herself to her utmost.
"Haaaaaaa!"
Lakyus channelled most of her remaining mana into Kilineyram. The stars in its body began to shine with an unearthly radiance, and the body of the blade swelled up as well.
“Super skill! 「Dark Blade Mega Impact」!”
With a horizontal sweep, black power flowed out in a vast, slashing wave. The lower ranking demons were reduced to sightless atoms by the explosive burst of non-elemental energy.
Strictly speaking, calling the attack was not necessary, but if it worked, it worked. However—
"Still… not… enough?!"
Lakyus' tired eyes could only see a veritable wall of low-tier demons. Although she had just blown away so many of them in one stroke, the breach she made had been immediately filled back up.
Could she break through? Lakyus' unease began growing again. Kilineyram had returned to its original dimensions.
At this moment, Lakyus saw behind the demons— a flash of metal, the roar of a man's voice.
“—「Sixfold Slash of Light」!”
The six simultaneous cuts cleaved the demon hordes apart.
"「Sixfold Slash of Light」! 「Pace of the Wind」! Hooooh!"
Once more, seven demons were slashed through like a hot knife through butter. That sharpness made her think of Razor's Edge, the sword that could cut through anything, and it scared the demons senseless.
"Kill them all!"
In time with his wrathful cry, a hedge of spears bristled out from behind Gazef.
There was no mistaking the glint of that metal. Countless spears stabbed out from behind Gazef. Those were the palace guard knights and troops. A force of hundreds of soldiers that looked like they were going to flood the alley.
Seeing that they were outnumbered more than two to one, the demon horde’s encirclement began to waver.
Shouts of joy rang out, and the ragged adventurers began to retreat, covered by the soldiers.
"Why— what is Stronoff-sama doing here?"
Wasn’t he supposed to stay behind to protect the palace and the royal family? As though in response to Lakyus' words, his face turned in another direction.
Lakyus' line of sight followed his, and her eyes widened. There were four priests and four arcane magic casters protecting an old man. Upon his head was the crown which only one person in the kingdom was permitted to bear. His body was clothed in sturdy armor.
King Ranpossa III.
This was a supremely dangerous move.
Although his body was protected by plate armor, some demons' attacks could easily pierce steel. Also, even if he were protected, area-effect spells that overwhelmed his protectors could still harm the king. And the king was still an ordinary person, so he would probably die if struck by some magic. Even if resurrection spells could be used on him, the king would surely be unable to bear the life force drain it would cause.
"His Majesty so declared— ‘are you to protect this lifeless city, or me?’ There can only be one answer to that. To guard the King's body is my duty. That being the case, this is a battlefield where we must fight! Charge!"
The soldiers let out an earthshaking cry, and thundered forward.
Force clashed against force, but just when everyone thought the tide had turned, the body of an orichalcum ranked adventurer flew through the air, hitting a nearby wall and leaving a bright red splatter mark.
"OOOOOOHHHHHHH!"
As though saying, "come get some", the giant demon’s body halted the soldiers in their tracks.
There were monsters which could not be beaten by mere numbers alone.
"Stronoff-sama! Give me a hand!"
"Of course."
The voice that followed Gazef's answer made Lakyus' eyes go wide.
"Hang on. Don't you need an awesome fighter backing you up?"
"And an excellent ninja-to-be as well."
There was no mistaking these voices. Still, Lakyus called out in surprise, still barely able to believe her ears.
"Gagaran! Tia!"
The two of them slowly stepped out in front of her. They were fully armed and ready for battle.
"Hey. I've gotten stiff from all this sleeping around, so I asked Stronoff-san to bring me along."
"Ready to fight."
It shouldn't be like this. She already told them they were forbidden to fight right after being resurrected. Normally, one would need to get complete bed rest and even then they would still feel drained. Even so, they knew how important this battle was, which was why they had joined the fight.
Getting everyone back together was the biggest boost she could receive.
Lakyus prayed with all her heart.
She prayed that Momon would defeat Jaldabaoth, and get rid of the demons in the capital.
"I see him."
Looking ahead, one could see the masked demon standing in the center of the plaza, making no attempt to hide himself. Although she could not see the forms of other demons, Evileye was not foolish enough to think that they were not there.
Having noticed them approaching, Jaldabaoth turned and bowed elegantly. There could only be one meaning behind this.
"A trap… what now, Momon-sama?"
"It doesn't matter what awaits us. We just have to smash it all."
"Just so."
Momon's tone no longer had its original seriousness and formality, which was probably because their travel together had made them more familiar with each other. With this in mind, Evileye began switching to a more casual way of speaking as well. If she kept concealing her true self, when they started going out seriously, they would probably break up right away. So even though revealing her true self might have been too early, taking a more casual tone would probably be a good idea, Evileye thought.
"It seems it's starting right on schedule."
From behind, the sound of drums and battlecries rang out. In order to ensure Momon could fight Jaldabaoth one-on-one, the troops would begin their attack. This was the only chance they would have. As such, there was no other way to save the capital other than by defeating Jaldabaoth.
"Ahh, that seems to be the case. It would appear that it’s time for the final battle. Momon-sama… leave the other enemies to myself and Nabe. Momon-sama should focus all his attention on fighting Jaldabaoth."
"Understood. In that case, since you've come this far with me, when I defeat Jaldabaoth and return in triumph, can I hope that you will stand by my side? Please work with Nabe on this, for I hope the three of us can return together."