The Old Duke's Mansion, in the Garden.
Amid the devastation caused by the flood unleashed by the demonic sword Fuls, I stood facing the Duke... along with Tsugumi's followers—a group of young female soldiers.
The girls closed ranks around the Duke, shielding him.
"How dare you lay a hand on the Duke...!"
"Your Grace, please step back!"
"I won't forgive this... I'll never forgive you!"
Though there was something slightly off about their words, anyone who didn't know them wouldn't suspect they were being manipulated. Their demeanor was completely different from when the Duke had pretended to be under my control earlier.
So this is the perfected Mind Control Art? They remain exactly as they were, except for the necessary alterations. I see now—with this, the Duke really could have secretly ousted Tsugumi.
The Duke stroked his proud mustache and gave the girls an order.
"All of you... kill him."
In an instant, Tsugumi's followers lunged at me.
Five swords, two spears—all aimed at me with deadly precision.
"Hah!"
I swung my sword with brute force, knocking three blades aside and forcing the remaining four to veer off-course, slicing only air.
You think this is a joke?!
I've been hunting stray monsters in caves and villages every damn day. I'm not like you pampered bodyguards with no real combat experience!
"Everyone!"
Riri, the apparent leader, signaled the others.
"O Ruler of Earth, Yord!"
Magic?!
Thanks to special bracelets they wore, these girls—despite being female—could wield magic.
"—Earth Howling (Earth's Roar)!"
"—Blue Ice Spear (Ice Lance)!"
"—Black Abyss (Deep Dark)!"
"—Sword Tree (Sword of the Great Wood)!"
A barrage of spells rained down on me.
This is bad.
I'm not that strong to begin with. There's no way I can withstand consecutive magic attacks.
The spells hit me head-on. There was no escaping the onslaught from all sides.
None of them were particularly high-level spells, so I wasn't going to die or suffer major injuries. But my legs were frozen in place, and my clothes and sword were impaled by ice and wooden blades. I was completely immobilized.
"Checkmate."
Riri, the ponytailed girl, pressed her sword against my cheek.
Dressed in fantasy-style armor, she looked every bit the valiant knight. To an outsider, it might have been a picturesque scene—but for me, with a blade at my throat, there was nothing but terror.
"The Duke is my life. Betraying him is a crime worthy of death."
"Calm down, Riri! He's your enemy!"
Her eyes held no mercy.
Was she really going to kill me? Her own classmate? Could Mind Control Art really warp someone's heart to this extent? That's terrifying.
"Don't kill him!"
At the Duke's command, Riri's blade froze mid-motion.
"What's your game, Duke?"
"If I take you hostage, perhaps that 'hero' Kazusa will surrender to me? She seemed rather fond of you. Worth a try, don't you think?"
Right now, Kazusa was the biggest obstacle to Duke Felix's plans. With her power, she could probably silence everyone here.
From the looks of it, Tsugumi wasn't an option. She might've already been captured by Riri and the others.
Is this the end?
I let my anger over Nao cloud my judgment and rushed in unprepared. I never expected the Duke to hold such a strong hand... My own carelessness did me in.
I resigned myself and raised my hands in surrender.
Then—
"Tch. Pathetic, underclassman."
A familiar voice rang out.
"Who are you?!"
Riri, her sword knocked aside, leaped back toward the Duke.
Standing there was a muscular middle-aged man, sword at the ready. Around him stood several other men armed with similar weapons.
"Senpai!"
That flood must've been massive. The adventurer guild probably sent people to investigate.
Who'd have thought I'd be saved by adventurers?
"That guy's one of ours. Can't let you take him. Hey."
"Listen here, nobleman. We've been eatin' scraps thanks to you lot. How 'bout some remorse, huh? Huh?"
"We ain't slaves to women. This is all your damn fault!"
They all knew Duke Felix. As a moderate with widespread respect, he wasn't the kind of man people would normally curse like this.
The reason they were turning against him?
Me.
Because I was their comrade, hurt and cornered, they stood up to the Duke.
So...
My struggles weren't in vain. This really is where I belong.
There were ten adventurers in total—not an overwhelming force, but more than enough to overpower inexperienced young soldiers.
"The tables have turned, Duke. Care to surrender peacefully?"
"......"
Without a word, the Duke pulled something from his pocket.
A... bone whistle?
The Duke blew into it, producing a shrill, piercing sound.
"What did you just do?"
"Who knows?"
"...I've got a bad feeling. Everyone, grab the Duke and let's get out of here!"
We moved to seize him, but the girls put up just enough resistance to slow us down.
"What the hell... is that?"
One of the adventurers spotted something approaching from the distance.
A massive, moth-like creature.
Mottled wings. Antennae as thick as a human torso. Glittering scales drifting from its body like dust.
A being designed to trigger primal disgust.
"That's... a demon!"
A demon.
Not like the undead in caves or the monsters roaming the grasslands. These were beings that spoke human tongues, sometimes even taking human-like forms.
They dwelled in the Regulus Labyrinth—a vast underground domain. An organization structured like a pyramid, with the Demon King at its peak. They almost never ventured into the human world alone.
The giant moth landed before Duke Felix. Its sheer size, its ominous presence, the overwhelming pressure of a battle-hardened warrior—this thing was on a whole other level compared to the undead I'd fought before.
"That's a demon from the Regulus Labyrinth?"
"Why's it here...?"
Even my fellow adventurers were stunned.
"Felix."
The demon's voice was like the screech of cicadas mixed with distorted human speech—grating enough to make us cover our ears.
"Hurry. My master is not patient."
"Understood."
Felix leaped onto the demon's back.
With him aboard, the moth took off into the sky.
"Wait!"
Breaking through our shock, Kazusa—where had she come from?—stepped forward.
Had she been tracking this demon from the labyrinth?
"Release—Grüen! Weiss!"
She unleashed her demonic and holy swords.
Nagabe Kazusa was the strongest hero.
Her compatibility with demonic and holy swords surpassed even Felix's—equal to mine. The blades in her hands could unleash the greatest power humanity had to offer.
"Unleash, Flame Emperor! Shine, White-Bladed Saint!"
Swinging both swords, she sent forth two massive blades of energy—one wreathed in flames, the other gleaming white.
They sliced through the demon's legs.
The creature shrieked in agony, but its retreat didn't slow. It wasn't a fatal blow.
Damn, Kazusa's strong. If this had happened in the labyrinth, where escape was harder, she'd have finished it off.
That demon was powerful. We... wouldn't have stood a chance.
"...What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know. That demon just flew out of the labyrinth... But I never expected it to help a human."
"So it really came all this way... for the Duke? Unbelievable."
We were summoned to save a world suffering under the Demon King's tyranny. The royal family hadn't lied about that. The labyrinth's demons tormented nearby settlements, and some of the stronger ones had even destroyed entire cities.
Hatred for demons was universal.
That's why this... was unthinkable.
The Duke had enlisted a demon's aid.
"A pity it's come to this. But we are past the point of choosing our methods."
From atop the retreating demon, the Duke spoke down to us.
"Takumi. You will regret your decision. You chose... the wrong side."
All we could do was watch as he soared into the distance.
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