Chapter 72

――The Dragonfly Corps was slightly ahead of Grace.

"Look at that!"

One of the knights shouted. Since they were searching from above with the eyes of the dragonflies and the knights, it was impossible not to notice any suspicious figures. A man standing on a pier in a corner of the port, and a large dorsal fin visible on the water's surface. If the report was still in progress, it could be interpreted that they had arrived just in time. At the same time, the man also raised his head and visually confirmed the Dragonfly Corps.

"Don't move!"

"We are the knights. We will inspect that creature!"

The man, who was spoken to, acted quickly.

"Go!"

He gave a brief command to the shark-like familiar in the sea, releasing it into the ocean, and then soared into the sky himself. His form had changed. With a thud, the human shape began to collapse. A silver body. A smooth, egg-like face with no eyes, nose, or mouth, reflecting the surrounding scenery. His arms and fingers were abnormally thin and long. His legs had a structure similar to the hind legs of a beast.

"Indeed, a demon!"

The silver demon—Zalbash—positioned himself in the air between the knights and the familiar.

"Ah, the arrival of the knights. The report was cut short—"

His entire face vibrated, making a sound. His neck turned sideways like an owl.

It was impossible to pursue the familiar. The demon had a clump of miasma in his hand, and it was easy to imagine that if they focused on the sea, he would attack from behind.

Compared to the silver demon Zalbash in front of them, the familiar that held the report was of higher priority, but it was difficult to ignore the demon itself.

The knight on the dragonfly, without any further ado, infused his combat aura into the long lance and charged forward.

The demon, who met the attack, shrugged indifferently and swung his arm like a whip to fend it off. The arm was even longer and more flexible than the lance. The knight tried to block it with his shield— but.

"What!?"

The arm that clung to the shield wrapped around the knight's body from an unexpected direction and threw him into the air.

"Annoying."

"U, uh, oh!?"

A miasma bullet was fired from the palm towards the knight who was thrown into the air. However, Chester caught it as if snatching it away and retreated.

He flew parallel to the head of the dragonfly, whose rider was absent, and returned to the empty saddle.

"Sorry."

"Don't rush in recklessly! We will attack with multiple people!"

Under Chester's command, four knights flew in a circular pattern around Zalbash. Their ability to fly close to each other without colliding was a testament to their training. They performed acrobatic flights while thrusting their lances at the limit of their reach, but they missed. The demon avoided them by twisting his thin body like an invertebrate.

Chester closed the distance. He instantly judged that thrusting was not effective and delivered a sweeping strike with his lance, exploiting the gap. Zalbash crossed his arms to block it.

"What!?"

It was supposed to be a light attack for the sake of intimidation—Chester's eyes widened. Despite this, Zalbash was sent flying a considerable distance. There was no visible damage. He had controlled his flight and allowed himself to be pushed back by Chester's lance, breaking the encirclement.

This time, Zalbash started flying at high speed to avoid being surrounded again. While the dragons had the advantage in terms of simple speed, the demon's irregular flight path made it impossible to catch up.

The only one who could keep up with the movement was Chester, who swung his lance to clash with the silver whip.

"Right off the bat—this isn't peaceful, is it?"

While exchanging blows, Zalbash said,

"Sure, we are enemies with humans. But can't you listen to our side of the story?"

"You demons have no justifiable reasons!"

"Hey, hey. We have our reasons. For example, if I told you that we have starving companions, what would you say? We've been chased away by humans and forced to live in remote areas. Can't you understand the desire to change that?"

Chester's eyebrows furrowed at these words.

"What about you? Don't you want to help your starving companions? Can you talk about justice while crushing them with overwhelming numbers? What do you think, knight?"

His tone was emotional, almost pleading. The words were poisonous. If one didn't know what a demon was, they might think there was room for negotiation.

Zalbash spread his arms as if to suggest a conversation, and Chester's movements momentarily slowed. Then—

"I don't think so at all."

He negated his own words—cracks like a crescent moon appeared on his head. From the dark depths of the smile-like crack, a miasma bullet was fired. Chester, who was wide-eyed with shock, was at a distance where he couldn't avoid it.

"—Nonsense."

A thick metal mass flew in, deflecting Zalbash's miasma bullet and roaring past with great force.

"The situation where your hunger is fully satisfied means, in other words, dominating and severely tormenting humans. I cannot accept that."

Grace caught up to the battlefield. She pulled back her axe and stepped into the spot where Zalbash had dodged. Regardless of how Zalbash flew around, she closed the distance with sheer explosive power.

Yet, Zalbash was still smiling.

"You... bastard!"

Chester, who glared at him in anger, was given a glance by Zalbash.

"Hahaha! That's right. We haven't fallen so low as to need pity from inferior beings! This young lady knows it well!"

Zalbash received the two roaring axes with miasma wrapped around his arms. He must have judged that a direct hit would not be without consequences.

The high-speed whip and the two axes clashed, creating a strange metallic sound as the tips of their weapons met at a speed that left no trace.

Zalbash tried to create distance, and Grace pursued him. The knights couldn't get close due to the fierce swinging of Zalbash's silver whip. The advantage in close combat went to Grace. She deflected the whip and moved in to slash at his torso.

"Damn!"

Zalbash spat out a miasma bullet, but Grace used the flat of her axe as a shield to block it. The recoil sent her flying backward, increasing the distance between them.

Grace bent her body to close the distance, but—

"Whoa, hold on. Don't you notice something?"

At his words, Grace looked around with a puzzled expression. It was a shimmer. A silver mist-like substance was dancing around them.

"I've been spreading this around while fighting. You seem to think that you're immune to it because you're blessed, but that's a delusion."

One of the knights, touching his head, opened his eyes wide.

"Hehe. That's how it looks to you. You can't let go of your mother, can you?"

Zalbash's technique was an illusion. The mist made those who inhaled it see familiar faces. The effect also reached Grace. She frowned and glared at Zalbash, who laughed, his shoulders shaking.

"Let me tell you, the effect of the mist won't wear off until I die. If you keep inhaling, it will affect not just your vision but other senses as well."

Zalbash approached Grace this time. They clashed with their weapons in both hands, but it was clear that Grace's movements were lacking. She tried to create more distance from Zalbash, who was pressing forward with his face in front of her. Given that Zalbash had the advantage in reach, this put her on the defensive.

Was she trying to avoid inhaling more of the mist, or was she distracted by the face in front of her?

A silver whip flew in to strike Grace, who tried to jump to the side. She barely blocked it with crossed axes, but her body was pushed back significantly.

"Damn!"

"Your movements are predictable. At first, I was a bit surprised, but you only move in straight lines. You can only jump in the direction you kick, so it's easy to read your moves. Hehe. I'll take my time to play with you."

"Say that with that face—"

At that face, Grace frowned. At that moment—

"Grace!"

A boy called out while battling a heat demon in the sky. He was using wind magic to amplify his voice to reach her.

—He was watching. As he said, he was using a portion of his magical control to think in parallel, grasping the general situation. He had told Grace that it was a simple task.

"Don't look with your own eyes!"

"—Yes!"

In response, she closed her eyes and smiled, then charged at Zalbash.

"Huh?"

Zalbash laughed mockingly. He dodged gracefully and circled around to strike Grace, who had kicked off into the air— but.

Grace's right arm accurately threw the axe at Zalbash's head. He barely avoided it by dodging.

Zalbash's whip cut through the air in vain. He had lost sight of Grace. The kick was a feint. If he had misread it and focused on that, he couldn't catch up.

Grace, who should have been in the direction the axe was retracted, appeared there, and Zalbash, turning his head in surprise, shouted.

"Wings—!?"

Black wings on Grace's back, illuminated by the sunlight. They were the transformed Caduceus.

The blood used to create the Caduceus. Half of the catalyst was Grace's.

Grace was also the master of the Caduceus, and her senses could be linked through the boy.

"—Yes. If you stay in that form, it's simple."

Grace controlled the wings with her will and saw Zalbash's monstrous form through the Caduceus's vision.

Grace, crouching, used her entire body as a spring and kicked off into the air.

Full speed. All or nothing.

"O—"

Leaving a purple trail of combat aura in the air, she swept through Zalbash's body.

Zalbash's lower body, from the waist down, fell into the sea. But it didn't end there. An axe was thrown from Grace's hand, drawing a large arc. The chain itself was wrapped in combat aura.

It entangled Zalbash's upper body, completely immobilizing him, and pulled him back. Grace, with her eyes still closed, bared her teeth in a fierce, predatory smile.

"H—ha!"

With a cool laugh carried by the wind, she was pulled back. Cracks appeared on Zalbash's mouth, and miasma bullets were fired from them— but.

"Haha, ahahaha!"

She ignored them.

Grace's axe, swinging with a loud laugh, cut through Zalbash's face along with the miasma bullets. The axe, which left no trace in the air, emitted multiple beams of light, and Zalbash's head was shredded into pieces.

A moment later, the torso of Zalbash, bound by the chain, disintegrated into dust in the air.