Regardless, the grotesque demon proceeded to crush all the soldiers who came before it. No one seemed able to stop it. The fight was one-sided. Hopeless. It wasn’t even a fight; it was just a massacre.
“Aaaaaah?!”
“S-Stay back! Stay baaaaaack!”
The soldiers’ screams spread fear among the others. The entire area was quickly overcome with terror. And as some soldiers stepped back, the grotesque demon headed toward its next victims.
Reiji could see how things would play out: Blood fountaining in the air. Torn limbs and heads flying all over the place. Though these were only mental images, in a matter of seconds they seemed likely to become reality.
“Stoooooop!”
Before he knew it, Reiji was screaming, running toward the grotesque demon, weaving his way through the ranks of soldiers. He ran with powerful strides, pushing the Goddess’s blessing within him and the Sacrament’s power to their full extent.
Moving at nearly the speed of light, he forced his way between the grotesque demon and the soldiers, brandishing the Ishar Cluster high in the air. However, the misshapen claws moved faster than he could.
I’m too slow!
Noticing this in an instant, Reiji immediately held the Ishar Cluster horizontally to block the grotesque demon’s claws. He believed the Sacrament’s power was enough to stop it; when he wielded it, his power was amplified exponentially. He’d even been a match for an outlandish demon. He was definitely going to prevail.
“Gaaah?!”
Upon contact, Reiji was assaulted by an unbelievable impact. Unable to withstand the blow, he was blown back a great distance—and so, too, did his blind faith in the Ishar Cluster vanish. He momentarily lost consciousness, preventing him from landing on his feet.
“Ugh... Gah...”
All the air was expelled from his lungs. He was without oxygen. He couldn’t breathe. Every pore in his body was producing a cold sweat. His vision warped like a marble ball as he watched the grotesque demon approach.
Crap. Crap! This is bad. I have to stand up. I’m going to die.
As those fears ran through Reiji’s mind, the Lapis Judaix in the Ishar Cluster glowed even brighter. And then came Graziella’s voice.
“Heed my desires! Fly in from the beyond to the one who refuses an audience with me! My hail detaches you from the world’s entangled and inseparable laws! Become a power that surpasses all reason! Devigi Konekti!”
A hole opened in the sky, and from it emerged an enormous boulder. Like a mountaintop flipped upside down, it crashed into the grotesque demon. The ground trembled, as if under the effects of a major earthquake, and the sight of the demon was quickly replaced by a massive gray rock.
“Reiji-sama!” Titania screamed, rushing over to him. “Are you alright?!”
“Y-Yeah... Somehow,” Reiji answered through ragged breaths.
He still couldn’t breathe properly. His pulse was skyrocketing. If Graziella’s magic had been a second late, he would’ve died.
Reiji took a quick look around. Even now, the grotesque demon’s vile presence hadn’t vanished.
“Tia! It’s coming!”
“Gh! Right!”
Right as Titania acknowledged Reiji’s warning, the enormous boulder Graziella had summoned burst open as if shattered by dynamite. Reiji immediately stepped in front of Titania and used the Ishar Cluster to create a crystal shield.
The shield looked made of glass, seemingly so flimsy a pebble could shatter it. However, no matter how many stone fragments crashed against it, it didn’t even crack. On the contrary, every stone that made contact with the shield pulverized into dust.
The grotesque demon was closing in. Reiji kept a close eye on it and strengthened his crystal shield.
“Reiji-sama?!” Titania yelled.
“Tia, fall back!” he shouted back to her. “Quickly!”
The grotesque demon threw itself at Reiji in a reckless charge. The brute simplicity of the attack was exactly what granted it unparalleled power. But the crystal shield was now more than twice as thick as before. It wasn’t going to break so easily.
Even so—in complete defiance of Reiji’s expectations—cracks formed along its surface.
“Wha?! This isn’t enough either?!”
Reiji immediately switched tactics. He stretched the shield to the side on a slight angle to try and divert the ramming attack. It was like a sideways slide. Just as planned, the grotesque demon was incapable of controlling its own strength, losing its balance and tumbling to the ground.
Reiji didn’t waste a moment. He immediately yelled to the soldiers still in the area, “Get away. You can’t handle this thing!”
The soldiers scattered. Due to the demon’s immense mass, a ditch had been carved through the earth by its fall, creating a cloud of dust that obscured all vision.
“Reiji!”
“Reiji-sama!”
Graziella and Titania ran over to secure Reiji’s flanks. Before long, the grotesque demon slowly rose from the ditch it’d created from its fall. Through the dust cloud, Reiji could see the evil glimmer of its eyes swaying about.
A freezing chill ran down his spine. It felt like an icicle had been jammed down his shirt.
“What is that thing?” he muttered. “It’s as strong as that demon general we fought before.”
“No, I honestly think it’s far more terrifying,” Titania said. “I can’t really explain it. I can feel a fear building in the depths of my mind that’s far greater than what I’ve felt from any other demon.”
The grotesque demon was far too powerful. What it lacked in intelligence compared to other demons, it made up for in brute strength and the sheer pressure of its presence. However, judging by the ramming attack they’d just witnessed, it wasn’t able to fully control its strength. It didn’t know how to moderate its power to suit the situation. It was simply an instrument of reckless destruction that attacked everything before its eyes. That lack of control made it all the more troublesome to handle.
What do I do?! What should I do against an enemy like that?!
Reiji’s mind went sluggish before such a display of raw power. He kept repeating those questions in his head over and over and over.
If Suimei was here...
Yes. If Suimei was here, he would probably come up with a brilliant plan. The moment that thought crossed his mind, Reiji realized something.
Even after all this, I’m still depending on him...?
If Reiji always relied on Suimei, wouldn’t he truly become worthless? Reiji quickly shook his head to ward off such thoughts.
“Reiji-sama!” Titania cried out. “Time is up! Let’s retreat for now!”
Reiji suddenly raised his head. They’d reached their limit. The original plan was to inflict a certain amount of casualties on the demons, then gradually pull back to the city gates. To accomplish this retreat, Reiji’s party shifted strategies to stalling the demons.
Lishbaum stood inside the Demon Lord’s castle, within a cave without exit or entrance, alone. The magic circle glowing faintly at his feet illuminated the area with an ominous light. His eyes were fixed on the scene in front of him. On the black cavern wall, as if being projected on a screen, an army of demons and humans clashed.
“It has begun...”
After the initial collision, the two armies jostled for superiority, but before long the demon Lishbaum had created joined the fray. The humans were soon overwhelmed, becoming ants trying to confront an elephant. Their meager resistance didn’t even scratch the demon. Lishbaum’s grotesque creation crushed them unimpeded.
That was when Reiji charged in. He brandished the Ishar Cluster against the grotesque demon, but he couldn’t get the upper hand. Even with the abnormal power of a Sacrament, it was impossible for him to rival the grotesque demon.
Did that mean the Sacrament’s power didn’t measure up to the grotesque demon? Or was Reiji still unable to draw out its true power? Lishbaum naturally believed it was the latter, but could that really be the case?
“Hmmm... A skilled enough fighter should be able to fend it off without even relying on the Sacrament...”
Reiji was but a trifle to the demon. He couldn’t seize the initiative at all, and it was largely because he was an amateur. No matter how gifted he was, it was necessary to put in significant effort to overcome his lack of experience.
Though the grotesque demon possessed tremendous power, Lishbaum saw it as no more than poorly made and defective. No, not even that—it was just trash. He’d created it, but the “strength” he believed in wasn’t reflected in this demon in any way whatsoever. That only stood to reason.
“Power. Power that can be understood at a glance. That’s not your way.”
Lishbaum had created this demon at Nakshatra’s orders. She’d told him to follow her instructions to the letter: “Bestow humans with genuine fear through its sheer presence. However, one with simple and pure power has to be able to overcome it. It must be unleashed upon man like an ordeal from the gods.”
“Well, I can see why.”
Lishbaum had a clear picture of what Nakshatra—or rather, the Evil God behind her—was plotting. This was all part of laying the foundation, a roundabout way for the Evil God to get the upper hand in the long war against the Goddess.
However, it was also proof that the Evil God still underestimated humanity’s potential. The future was unpredictable, and the same could be said of the Goddess. Lishbaum let out a bored sigh.
He then heard the sound of a small magic circle manifesting. This spell was unique to this world; a communication spell that only those faithful to the Evil God could use. Lishbaum pressed a finger against the small magic circle and was greeted by an irritated woman’s voice.