The demon army immediately closed in on the capital, trampling the fields and burning the forests in their wake. They were already in battle formation just twenty kilometers away from the walls. Why weren’t they attacking yet? Were they waiting to see what the humans would do?
Astel’s side had also gathered soldiers from the area. And even beyond the military, they’d mobilized the militia and the Adventurer’s Guild. Nevertheless, they still didn’t have enough personnel.
The flat plains surrounding Metel provided zero geographical advantages, so they resorted to digging trenches, camps, and barricades around the city with magic. But these were hasty constructions, and so not very reliable. Considering they were facing demons, it was unclear whether they would be of any help or not. These defenses seemed, overall, quite flimsy.
The city’s defense could be summarized thus, in Graziella’s words: “It’s better than nothing.”
The goal in a siege was to defend the city and buy time. Any delays in the enemy’s offense granted more time for reinforcements to arrive. When enough reinforcements had been gathered, the city could shift to the offensive. The enemy army would then have to face an attack from two fronts—a tough situation in which their supplies would incur massive losses, and they would therefore be forced to retreat.
It was unclear whether a demon army even cared about supplies, but the theory seemed sound enough to apply to this situation. The initial clash over the plains, however, was a different story.
“Why do it this way?” Reiji asked. “Isn’t it easier to fight by barricading ourselves inside the city?”
“Mages can’t be put to proper use in urban warfare,” Graziella explained. “It’s possible to fire magic from the walls, but since some of the demons can fly, placing the mages there would make them an easy target.”
“I get it now.” Reiji nodded.
During the war in Nelferia, they’d marched forth to meet the demons in a mountainous region. Reiji remembered witnessing entire formations of mages firing their magic as one unit. But if such a thing was done within the city, the nearby buildings would be severely damaged, possibly destroying their only cover. With that in mind, it was typical to use magic where there were no obstacles. They could whittle down the enemy forces as much as possible that way before retreating behind the walls.
Reiji’s party was currently standing within a battle line, getting ready to clash with the demon army.
“Why aren’t the demons trying to encircle us?” Titania mused.
“Who knows?” Graziella said. “There’s no telling what goes through a demon’s head.”
“Is that weird?” Mizuki asked.
“Yes, very much so,” Titania said.
“Why’s that?” Mizuki asked.
“It’s simple—if they split their army into three or four groups and encircle the city, we’ll be forced to retreat within the city walls,” Titania explained. “Encircling us would also make it more difficult for us to quickly contact any allies outside the city.”
“So they don’t want us hiding within the walls either?” Mizuki said. “The demons would have a harder time fighting us if we did?”
“That’s entirely possible, but there’s far more to gain for our attackers by forcing a siege,” Titania said. “The defending side still maintains an advantage either way, though.”
“Hmmm.”
“What I don’t understand is why they’re moving in such a way that allows us to evacuate our civilians,” Titania added. “It’s as if they want us to retreat. Why exactly are they attacking like this?”
“It’s not like they want the territory,” Graziella commented. “The demons aim to destroy humanity... And yet they’re being so lax on the offense and aren’t encircling us.”
Both Titania and Graziella were befuddled by the demons’ bizarre plan of attack. From their perspective, it looked like the demons were holding back. Currently, the demons were in formation directly to the front and to one side of the city. Astel’s army had set up barricades to face them, but the demons far outnumbered them. Compared to the swarm of approaching demons, the city’s defenses seemed unreliable.
It was unlikely for them to attack in scattered formations, like Reiji had once witnessed. More likely they were just waiting for the right time to charge as one, a clear sign they were being well commanded.
“How’s the evacuation going?” Reiji asked.
“Very slowly,” Gregory answered. “And not as we hoped.”
“Why’s that?” Reiji asked. “The demons are already right outside.”
“Everything happened so suddenly that people found it hard to believe,” Gregory explained. “So they dragged their feet. Only now, when things have reached this point, are they beginning to realize the gravity of the situation. They’re panicking.”
Unlike the modern world, information traveled very slowly in this world. Unexpected developments were often poorly handled. The thought of a demon invasion was so unrealistic that the people’s first thoughts were often “It’ll probably be fine” and “It’ll pass.” And there were limits to what the nation could do to force an evacuation. The civilians had to travel a long distance and a lot of the men had to stay behind, so it had to be complete logistical chaos.
Reiji was thinking all this when the ground suddenly started trembling.
The demons were on the move.
“It’s finally starting...” Mizuki said.
“Mizuki, if it’s too hard on you, you can stay in the city walls,” Reiji suggested.
She shook her head. “No. I’ll fight too. I can’t let you be the only one going through all this.”
“Mizuki...”
“We shall protect Mizuki-sama with our lives,” Gregory said.
Roffrey and Luka nodded in agreement, and in that moment they appeared incredibly reliable. After thanking them, Reiji headed over to Titania.
“I’ll launch the first strike,” he said.
“Reiji-sama, our lives are in your hands.” Titania bowed low, far more reverently than usual.
Reiji stepped forth to cut down the vanguard. The soldiers before him opened a path. Their faces were lined with clear tension, but seeing Reiji advance, they found their courage, their expressions softening with a slight air of relief.
It pleased Reiji to see how others took heart in just his presence. Bathed in the soldiers’ encouragement, he eventually reached the front, the empty boundary that had sprung up between the two armies. It was as if someone had taken a ruler and drawn a perfectly straight line to neatly divide the two forces.
To the front was an enormous demon army. This was the second time Reiji had been faced with so many enemies. Despite having prior experience, he found himself trembling. How many of them had to be defeated? How long would they have to fight? Those anxieties pressed on him like a sudden weight in his chest.
Reiji slapped his cheeks to drive such thoughts away. Lines from a movie he’d watched suddenly came to mind.
“Fear is nothing but an illusion of the mind. It doesn’t strike from without. It is something your mind creates on its own. It is a product of your own weakness. You can’t let it overcome you.”
Yes. I’ll prove that right here and now. Somewhere out there was a voice questioning his worth—criticizing his existence. To silence that voice, Reiji brandished the Sacrament and was just about to transform it into a weapon... when a single demon stepped forth.
The demon was a woman with horns. She wore a knightly outfit and had a sword at her hip. With white hair, bloodred eyes, and dark skin, she looked far more human than any other demon Reiji had seen.
“Would you be Astel’s hero, Reiji?” she asked, drawing the sword at her waist and pointing it at him.
“I am,” Reiji answered.
“I am Moolah, the general who leads this army.”
It seemed she’d stepped forth in answer to Reiji’s advance. Such a move indicated immense confidence in her own strength. Still, this was unexpected. Reiji had seen demons with human features before, but this woman was almost indistinguishable from a human. Only her horns and the Evil God’s power identified her true nature. Excluding those features, she was actually quite beautiful.
But Reiji couldn’t afford to hesitate. Before him was the enemy leader who’d come here to kill every human in the city. She may have looked extremely human herself, but Reiji had to discard any and all doubts from his mind.
“Coming to battle empty-handed?” Moolah said, a hint of irritation in her sharp gaze. “What the hell are you planning? Did you actually approach to get yourself killed?”
“I’ve got a weapon right here,” Reiji said.
“What—”
Listening to Moolah’s bewildered voice, Reiji spoke the words Sir Ryzeia had taught him.
“My crystallized sword spirit which glimmers with the blue light of the Lapis. Crystal Sword... manifest in the parted world!”
An azure brilliance surged from Reiji’s hand, becoming large enough to envelop his whole body. Before long, the Ishar Cluster’s hilt was in his palm. It had transformed into a slender straight sword, one suffused with a chilling aura.
“What a strange weapon...” Moolah said. “That’s not the Goddess’s power.”
And with the Sacrament’s transformation still lingering in the air, Reiji charged.
“Let’s go!” he shouted.
Moolah moved to intercept him.
“Don’t look down on me!” A wisp of black miasma coiled around her straight sword like a worm, quickly amassing size and strength.
Reiji struck with a downward slash, but Moolah caught the blow with a horizontal slant of her sword. The clash created a shock wave that swept down on demons and humans alike. One side was frozen in place by the overwhelming pressure of the Ishar Cluster, while the other was demoralized by the concentrated power of the Evil God Moolah emitted.
With their blades suddenly locked, Reiji started pushing Moolah back.