“The demon invasion is very sporadic so far, but the assault is quite fierce,” the commander said. “We can’t let our guard down.”
“It’s only a matter of time before they tear down the first wall,” Graziella grumbled bitterly.
“What about the people left in the city?” Reiji asked, turning to Titania.
“They’ve already taken refuge behind the second wall,” she answered. “We don’t need to worry about them for now.”
“It’s good Metel’s design is so ancient,” Graziella commented. “If not, this would already be over.”
“You can’t laugh at our nation’s long history now, can you?” Titania retorted.
“The outdated architecture just happened to be useful here,” Graziella said. “It’s like taking pride in coincidence and luck granting you a bull’s-eye.”
“Oh? Yet luck is just another facet of strength.”
It seemed these two still had the composure to trade barbed cynicisms.
Much like Filas Philia, Metel also had walls constructed within the city. So, even if the first walls fell, the second, then third walls would still hold the enemy army back.
But Titania still seemed stiff. Was this because her home was being invaded? At the rate things were going, it was inevitable that the streets of her home would soon be dyed with blood. How much did this weigh on her?
“How many managed to evacuate?” Reiji asked.
“About half are still within the city walls,” Titania said. “There wasn’t much we could do about that. But the evacuation continues. We should be able to reduce the number of casualties.”
“Huh? How is that still possible?” Reiji asked.
“Underground,” Titania explained. “With magic, we’ve built several underground tunnels that will serve as evacuation routes.”
“You can even do stuff like that...?”
Reiji was honestly taken aback. Digging underground tunnels would normally take a lot of time, but again, this was a magical world. If they could burrow to a safe distance, they could run away. But even this was only possible because the demons were being so lax in their siege.
“That female demon and that grotesque demon...” Graziella muttered. “We’ve got a mountain of problems.”
“True...” Reiji agreed. “Graziella-san, do you also think that female demon is...?”
“She went as far as naming herself and challenging you,” Graziella said. “Also, that concentrated power of the Evil God... She’s a considerable foe.”
“Reiji-sama, do you consider her dangerous too?” Titania asked.
“Moolah called it a warm-up,” Reiji said. “She’s probably still hiding her true strength.”
“I bet she is. My head hurts,” Graziella grumbled.
“What about that demon? Is it making a move?” Reiji asked the officer.
“It still hasn’t shown up,” the man answered. “None of our forces have reported spotting anything like it.”
“If it does, the wall will fall in seconds...” Graziella said.
“True,” Titania agreed. “I suppose all we are capable of is warning everyone to be ready to handle the inevitable...”
“It was, like, really gross,” Mizuki joined in. “It’s hard to believe that thing is even a demon...”
Reiji shared Mizuki’s opinion. It was as if a sci-fi creature had been thrown into a fantasy world.
“Reiji, what are your thoughts on it?” Graziella asked.
“It was extremely strong,” he answered. “Honestly, it took everything I had to keep it from killing me.”
“So you think so too...” Graziella then turned to Titania. “Your Highness, how are the soldiers holding up?”
“You saw how strong it was, so, um...” Titania hesitated to continue. “They witnessed Reiji-sama being pushed back, so the ranks are rampant with unrest...”
“Figures,” Graziella said.
Reiji gritted his teeth at his incompetence. He had done his best to take down as many demons as possible in the initial clash, but had been completely outmatched by the grotesque demon. And since it had happened right in front of the soldiers, many of them were left quite anxious.
What was he to do, then? To clear such anxieties, he needed power—enough to overwhelm that grotesque demon.
“I’ll fight that demon,” Reiji said.
“R-Reiji-kun...?”
“It’s alright, Mizuki. I’ll fight better next time.”
“Really? You’ll really be okay?”
“Yeah.”
Reiji nodded reliably back to her. He had nothing to back his confidence, of course. But in order to keep Mizuki from worrying more—and honestly, to convince himself to face the demon again—he felt like he had no choice but to act like this.
“The one saving grace in this battle is the lack of blockades,” Graziella pointed out. “Having a constant flow of people and supplies gives us considerable room to maneuver.”
“Have the demons not realized that?” Titania mused. “Or do they think it unnecessary?”
“This invasion is relying entirely on brute force,” Graziella said. “I assume the latter.”
Both their expressions remained dubious, indicating just how strange they found this battle to be.
“Is that weird?” Reiji asked.
“Yes,” Titania said. “Their offense is too half-hearted. In a siege, it is only right to immediately slam the full extent of your forces against the defenders.”
“There must be some reason they aren’t doing so...” Graziella muttered.
“They’ve withdrawn themselves to the point of holding that grotesque demon in reserve,” Titania said. “Their strategy makes no sense.”
The two continued to rack their brains for an answer, but they couldn’t find any. Divining a demon’s motivations was nearly impossible; they were just too different from any other race.
Reiji suddenly turned his attention away from the command post. Somehow or other, he had a bad premonition.
“I should get moving,” he said. “We need to delay them at the first wall for as long as we can.”
“Understood. We’ll accompany you,” Titania said.
Mizuki and Graziella nodded in agreement. With that, Reiji’s party left the command post and returned to the fray.
Two swords danced atop the walls. Before his eyes, Reiji was witnessing Titania’s techniques in all their glory. She leaped in the air and cut down winged demons who were trying to fly over the wall as if completely negating any advantage their flight might have given them. She struck like she was dancing, flitting about in the sky. Normal soldiers had no way of providing her any support. The weak were nothing but hindrances to her.
A shrill cry resounded in the air. Two demons shrieked as they charged in to challenge Titania.
“Do you think I’ll lose to clumsy fools who can’t even wield a sword?” Titania declared, her words chilly.
The two demons circled around as if they were trying to make sport of her, but just as Titania said, they were nothing. With calm and slow movements, she lured the demons into a false opening.
She turned cold eyes on them, dodging one and moving so that it got in the way of the other. The two demons collided and lost their balance. Titania thrust her sword at once, impaling both demons and killing them simultaneously. It was like she was a conductor at the symphony, with each and every player under her control. Trying to overwhelm her with numbers simply wouldn’t work.
In short, she was terrifying.
If only I had Tia’s skill with a sword, Reiji thought. If he did, perhaps he would’ve made more of an impact on that demon general, maybe rattled her a bit. With such thoughts clouding his mind, Reiji checked on the Ishar Cluster. He closed his eyes and hung his head. In the newfound darkness he found an azure glow.
He pictured pulling a bucket up from the bottom of a well. Immediately, he was overcome by a feeling of omnipotence and an overwhelming amount of mana. Once he was sure he’d drawn out its power without an issue, he called out to the girl behind him.
“Mizuki, I’m off.”
“M-Mm... If it gets dangerous, come right back, okay?” she told him.
“It’s alright. Don’t worry.”
Reiji looked down over the wall. Demons were everywhere. It was like looking at a swarm of bugs, or like watching a wave break against a concrete block on the beach.
“Hero...?”
One of the soldiers next to him raised his voice curiously, in the same tone someone would use to ask another if something was wrong. Reiji didn’t answer. He jumped down from the wall. The soldiers yelled in shock as he dropped over ten meters to the ground.
Reiji felt time slow and stretch. As expected, there were demons right beneath him. Some were clinging to the wall, some were trying to climb it, and some were just trying to break it. Reiji unleashed a powerful attack against all of them.
He swung his sword without using any skill or technique, deploying the energy in the Ishar Cluster as if slamming down a hammer. The demons were sent flying away by the explosion of energy, while Reiji was left unscathed. Was this because he was strengthened by the Sacrament? Or was it because it automatically protected its wielder? Perhaps his power as a hero had reached new heights too.
A semicircle had been excised out of the demons at the bottom of the wall. Reiji adopted this open space as his foothold, using the adaptable crystal powers of the Ishar Cluster like he had the other day to overwhelm the demons. And as he did, he heard a soldier scream from above.
“They’ve broken through the wall!”
“Ugh... Already?”
Reiji searched from within his position in the swarm, seeing a group of demons heading to one point along the wall. They’d broken through. But this was to be expected; it was inevitable for the demons to break through the city’s first wall. One could say things were still going to plan.