“L-Lloyd? What are you doing?” Daggers watched me incredulously as I stared at the ground and circled the same spot. Yui and the others shared similar expressions.
“Hey, Lloyd? What are you up to? Weren’t we gonna rush in?”
“Yeah, that’s why I was trying to figure out where to enter from.” I used my detection magic to feel out the place and locate the exact positions of the demons. All right, this seemed like the spot. “Silica, you can use earth magic, right?”
“Yes, I can. But you don’t mean...?”
“Yes, I do. We’re breaking in from here.” Then, we’d immediately launch a surprise attack on the enemies below. “First, get a grasp on our enemies’ positions, then collapse the ground exactly where I tell you. But be careful not to hit the beastman.”
“Why? Aren’t they our enemy?” Cross was right. There was a good chance this beastman was our foe, and that we needed to defeat them. But something was off.
“I’m not sure why, but...my detection magic barely picks up on that signal.”
Detection magic was a spell that searches and senses for MP. Given our proximity, I could tell exactly the nature and strength of a signal’s magic. But what I sensed was far too weak given the beastman’s capabilities. The only explanation I could think of was...
“They’re weakened for some reason.” Had they depleted too much MP? In any case, collapsing the ground could kill them, so we had to adjust the spell’s strength to keep it from doing so. We needed to make sure they remained alive.
“So, have you figured out a plan?”
“Yeah, I’ve already calculated where we should collapse the earth. All that’s left is to put it into action.” Well, then...
“Anyway, I guess it’s time.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes... Our plan is going swimmingly!”
“Bwah hah hah! I’m sure those S-rank adventurers are dead by now!”
“The monsters will soon be attacking the city...”
“And we’ve got another ace up our sleeves too! I can’t believe two of the Four Fiends are aiding us.”
“Yes, let’s hurry up and ruin them!”
The demons’ voices reverberated beneath the ground.
The lips of one demon stretched into an unsettling grin. “Yeah, that sham of a Hero will...”
That’s when the ceiling began to violently shake and clamorously rumble.
“Wh-What?!”
“The ceiling’s shaking!”
“This cavern’s too strong to crumble from an earthquake!”
“Th-Then what do we do?!”
The demons panicked. Dirt began to rain down on them.
“Agh! Damn it!”
The ceiling began to collapse, burying the demons alive and filling the underground space.
“Agh! Wh-What the hell?!” muttered one of the demons as he looked around the room. He was worse for wear, and couldn’t see any of his fellow demons. “Were they buried? Then what about the beastgirl...?!”
All blood rushed from his face as he desperately began to search for the beastwoman. That’s when a man jumped down from above the collapsed ceiling.
“Wh-Who the hell are you?!”
The man silently pulled out a rope.
“Where’d you get that?! Wait, huh?! Hold on! What are you...?!”
Then, he tied up the demon, gagging him to prevent him from chanting any spells.
“Mm-hmm...! Ngh!” With his limbs and mouth bound, the demon was left writhing on the floor. He couldn’t use any magic.
“All right, we’re done here,” I muttered, staring down at the struggling demon. Then, I looked back above. Having tied up the demon and confirmed that he was alone, I ordered Yui and the others—who were waiting above—to come down. As I waited, I held the demon in check.
“That was easier than I expected.” We had targeted the one demon most skilled in magic among the seven, since as long as his mouth was forced shut, he couldn’t cast any spells. At least, that was true as far as I knew...
“I guess even demons need a staff to cast magic.”
I didn’t know a lot about demons, honestly, making this a dangerous gamble that depended on if the guy I had tied up could cast magic while gagged or not.
“You okay, Lloyd?” asked Daggers as he hurried down.
“Yeah, no problems here. All’s going according to plan.”
“I see. And the other demons?”
“I think the other six died immediately, but go and make sure. Oh, and work in pairs.”
There was no knowing what might happen. If one lived, they might be as strong as an S-rank adventurer...or even stronger. It was a real possibility.
“We don’t know how strong these guys are, so be careful.”
“Got it! Let’s go, Daggers!” answered Yui. Then, the two went off in search of demons.
“Cross, Silica! Could you search for the beastman? They shouldn’t be dead. We’ll need their powers, so I want to capture them alive if we can.”
“Got it...”
Cross and Silica dashed off, headed right to where I sent them.
After a short while, Yui and Daggers returned. They didn’t seem to be injured.
“Are you two okay?”
“One was alive, but barely. We finished him off, but he was a goner regardless.”
“I see. Sorry, and thanks.”
“It’s fine! We’re fighters, after all!” said Yui.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
I needed to keep my focus on what lay ahead. Our battle wasn’t over quite yet.
“Hey, Lloyd! Hurry here!” Cross’s voice snapped me out of my pondering. He sounded rather panicked.
“Yui, Daggers, can you take this guy? I’m gonna go on ahead to where Cross is.”
“Got it! Leave this guy to us!”
I handed the demon over to Yui and Daggers and rushed to where Cross was. Based on what I heard, there didn’t seem to be a battle, but he had still sounded rather panicked. Just what was...?
“Lloyd, over here!” I saw Cross waving his hand.
“Cross, Silica? What’s...?”
“Lloyd, she’s...” I looked in the direction of Silica’s pointed finger. There was the beastwoman. She was slumped over, her arms chained and her body covered in cuts and bruises. She was awfully gaunt, and her limbs looked feeble enough to snap at any moment.
“This is...”
So that was why the magic signal was so weak. She was here.
“This...doesn’t look good,” I muttered. I heard Silica and Cross gulp.
This was really bad.