Chapter 37

Kicking off the ground, I lunged at the Demon Knight.

The blade I swung down aimed for his shoulder in a diagonal slash—but that strike was intercepted by the black longsword he raised.

It should have been a speed that wouldn’t allow a novice to react, but it seemed that this level of attack was easily handled.

After a brief clash of blades, the Demon Knight deflected my sword and unleashed a sweeping slash.

"Shaa!"

"Too slow."

Without resisting the momentum from being deflected, I leaped backward to avoid the attack and, from a standard stance, aimed a slash at the centerline.

Aiming for the opponent who had been forced to dodge to the side, I launched a sweeping slash from a low position, but it was intercepted by the longsword.

Good reaction, but—this was just a feint.

Sword technique—Soft Form, Blade Mist.

The blade, flipped with just a wrist movement, changed direction in an instant and attacked the Demon Knight.

His face was so mutated that it was hard to read his expression, but the Earl must have lost sight of my sword for a moment.

Naturally, his reaction was delayed, and my attack hit its mark, catching the Demon Knight’s side.

However, that strike only managed to scratch the Demon Knight’s armor.

"Hahaha, your attack is too weak!"

"Tch—*Sword of Demon Slaying*"

I dodged a sweeping slash that seemed to brush me off and cut through the ice spears that followed with *Sword of Demon Slaying*.

It seems that, unlike his son, this one’s body was quite sturdy.

■ Demon Knight

Type: Demon

Level: 20

Status: Normal

Attribute: Dark, Ice

Battle Position: Ground

After identifying him, it made sense that his level was high.

His stats were likely high as well, and it would be difficult to defeat him with a straightforward attack.

Still, there were plenty of ways to do it. While he was a skilled opponent—ultimately, he was just that to me.

Footwork—Earth Shrink.

I moved with a sliding step and launched a strike.

Surprised by my sudden appearance, the Demon Knight’s movements stiffened slightly.

Even a slight hesitation was more than enough for me. At that moment, I released a blade with a skill.

"—*Sword of Life*!"

"Ugh—!?"

Sword technique—Hard Form, Bamboo Split.

After increasing the power of the strike, I launched a slash from a dragonfly stance, cutting through the longsword he barely managed to raise in defense and slicing into the Demon Knight’s body.

A diagonal slash tore through, splattering green blood, and the Demon Knight let out a cry of pain.

However, it wasn’t a fatal wound. It seemed to have only cut the surface of his body.

It appeared that he had managed to retreat at the last moment before the direct hit. The speed of his reaction after realizing he couldn’t block it was commendable, though I wouldn’t say it out loud.

Wobbling backward, I didn’t pursue the Demon Knight but instead checked the surroundings.

The mica jellyfish were in a state of chaos. The problem was that they weren’t demons but humans being controlled.

From the earlier battle with the Demon Knight, it was clear that controlled humans could be returned to normal.

Therefore, the knights couldn’t actively hurt them and were focusing on restraining and immobilizing them.

"Tch, we’re short-handed…"

"Hehe, if that’s the case, why don’t you go help them?"

"Killing you quickly would be more efficient. I don’t need your preaching, so just die."

As I was about to attack again, I clicked my tongue.

Looking at the Demon Knight, I saw thin smoke rising from his body. The source was the wound on his chest, which was gradually healing.

It seemed he had a regeneration ability similar to *Automatic HP Recovery*.

While he was a troublesome opponent, his regeneration speed wasn’t that fast.

If I kept dealing damage, I could overwhelm him. With that judgment, I readied my blade—when the Demon Knight lunged at me fiercely.

"Oooh!"

"…!"

Sword technique—Soft Form, Flowing Water.

I deflected the vector of the Demon Knight’s attack to the side and launched a counterstrike.

However, without the *Sword of Life* skill, the attack didn’t deal much damage.

The problem was that the mica jellyfish were busy dealing with the controlled humans and had no time to send healing to me.

If I used *Sword of Life* too much, I would eventually be at a disadvantage.

However, my recovery method, *Sword of Seizure*, wasn’t very effective in dealing damage.

If I could hit a weak point, it would be different, but if I could aim for it, I might as well use *Sword of Life* to finish him off.

(Well, what should I do?)

I dodged a sweeping slash by retreating and approached again. When I slashed, my sword lightly wounded the Demon Knight’s shoulder.

I had a good grasp of the timing when he changed his movements, so it wasn’t difficult to land an attack.

However, it was too short a gap to hit a fatal spot.

I could probably manage with a hidden technique, but I didn’t have much leeway, and it would be a waste to use it on this level of opponent. With that thought, I took a deep breath—

"!"

Reacting to a chill, I jumped away from the spot.

A moment later, an arrow pierced the ground where I had been standing.

I didn’t need to check the direction; it seemed to have been shot from a window on the second floor of the mansion.

The problem was that all the windows were targeting me.

If they didn’t move from that position, there was no way to counter them.

In other words, they could shoot at me at will.

"Damn—Shit!"

"Hahaha! Don’t ignore me, outsider!"

"Shut up, low-level demon!"

I ran while deflecting the arrows with my sword, but the Demon Knight pursued me.

Stopping would mean being targeted. I couldn’t afford to handle it poorly.

However, I couldn’t ignore it either. Some arrows were also flying toward the knights.

They were managing for now, but outnumbered, they would eventually be overwhelmed.

The fact that most of the arrows were aimed at me was the only reason they hadn’t collapsed yet.

It seemed this Demon Knight was determined to kill me.

In the midst of his relentless attack—

"Haha…haha"

A clear smile of joy had appeared on my face.

It had been how long since I had been in a battlefield where death felt so close, even though I wasn’t really going to die?

My senses sharpened. The extra colors in the scenery faded, leaving only the incoming arrows and the charging Demon Knight in my field of vision.

I deflected an arrow with the tip of my blade, causing it to collide with another and fall, buying a little time.

Then, I turned and kicked up my gauntlet from a side stance.

Sword technique—Hard Form, Bell Tower.

The Demon Knight, who hadn’t expected a sudden counterattack, was slightly delayed.

The blade aimed at his face didn’t miss, slicing through his left eye.

It didn’t have the power to pierce his skull, but it must have blinded half his vision.

The Demon Knight, caught off guard by the sudden counterattack, stumbled but managed to dodge my follow-up attack by lunging forward.

If I could have followed up, I could have killed him with *Sword of Life*, but I wouldn’t be greedy.

I deflected the incoming arrows with my gauntlet and ran again—resulting in a crisscross movement with the Demon Knight.

"Ugh…that movement just now…!?"

"The essence of the Kugenshinryu, a glimpse of it. I’d say, ‘Watch carefully’—"

The "expanded" sensation provided me with information beyond my usual perception.

My senses detected the approach of a group.

The direction they came from, their numbers, and their disciplined movements—all made it clear who they were.

I smiled and announced the fact.

"The hero has arrived late, it seems."

At the same time as my words, Christoph appeared at the gate, leading the knights.

Wearing a shining but functional armor, the knight commander quickly assessed the situation and called out.

"All units, advance! Support your allies!"

"Commander! It seems they are just controlled humans!"

"I understand! Capture them without causing unnecessary harm!"

Christoph, answering my words with a sly smile, ordered the knights to charge.

With their numbers, we now had the upper hand. The only disadvantage was the archers on the second floor, but that was only a matter of time.

Most of the arrows were also heading toward the knights, but they weren’t having much effect.

The situation had clearly shifted in our favor.

"Well, what will you do, Demon Knight? Surrender quietly?"

In response to my words, the Demon Knight answered with a bitter tone.

You’re right. Ending the battle like this would be a real letdown.

Just when I was getting into it—

"—It’s not fun if it ends, is it?"

"You’re more like a demon than I am!"

"Hah, don’t be ridiculous."

I readied my sword. The side stance hid the reach of my blade from the opponent.

In that stance, I closed the distance with the Demon Knight.

The Earl, sensing my approach, swung his longsword down—

"—At least, call me Shura.”

Sword technique—Soft Form, Flowing Water Reverse Bite.

The moment my raised blade made contact, I twisted it upward again.

My sword, entangled with his, spun and knocked his black longsword away.

The Demon Knight let out a gasp of shock as his sword flew through the air.

But I wouldn’t allow any further reaction.

"*Sword of Life*"

Then, the sword, raised high, was brought down with a golden glow.

The amplified blade deeply slashed the Demon Knight diagonally—his body fell backward, spraying green blood.

If I had wanted to, I could have used a Hard Form technique to cut him in half diagonally.

But that would have killed him immediately.

In this state, he wouldn’t last long, but I could get some information.

I exhaled and pressed my blade to the fallen demon’s neck, sharpening my killing intent.

"Answer me, demon. What were you planning by blending in with humans?"

"Kukuku…do you really think I’ll answer, you…?"

Well, he has no obligation to answer.

But it’s clear that his actions were hostile to humanity.

I can imagine the specifics to some extent.

"That woman—Romperia, and by extension, all demons, aim for the destruction of humanity. Indirectly, their goal is the fall of the nation."

"…"

A nation, a collective of humans with high organization and combat power.

If they aim to destroy humanity, the nation is undoubtedly an obstacle.

The fact that they went to the trouble of blending in with humans suggests a high likelihood of an attack on the nation.

"Trying to collapse it from the inside? Too bad, now that your methods are exposed, it will be easy to counter."

"Cough…ah, indeed…you’re right."

In response to my words, the Demon Knight smiled mockingly.

A sneer directed at me.

"Perceptive human…or is it the instinct of a beast? In any case…you can imagine what a demon whose plans have been foiled will do, can’t you?"

"…You…"

The demon’s body began to swell.

The moment I saw it, I clicked my tongue and moved away.

As expected, the swollen body of the demon burst like a bubble the next moment.

I frowned at the stench of green flesh and blood and sighed, lowering my blade.

I managed to get some information, but it was difficult to extract more from this opponent.

*Your level has increased. Please allocate your stat points.*

*The skill level of *Sword* has increased.*

*The skill level of *Enhancement Magic* has increased.*

*The skill level of *Automatic HP Recovery* has increased.*

*The skill level of *Identification* has increased.*

*The level of Tamed Monster *Lumina* has increased.*

It seemed that the people who were being controlled also stopped moving when the Demon Knight was defeated.

Confirming that they had fallen like puppets with their strings cut, I finally shook the blood off my sword and sheathed it.

I needed to report to the knight commander—

*An announcement for a world quest is about to be made to all logged-in players.*

—The voice echoed through the world at the moment I was about to step forward.

■ Avatar Name: Quon

■ Gender: Male

■ Race: Human

■ Level: 14

■ Status (Remaining Stat Points: 0)

STR: 17

VIT: 14

INT: 17

MND: 14

AGI: 12

DEX: 12

■ Skills

Weapon Skill: *Sword: Lv.14*

Magic Skill: *Enhancement Magic: Lv.11*

Set Skill: *Dead Point Strike: Lv.11*

*Automatic MP Recovery: Lv.6*

*Seizure Sword: Lv.8*

*Identification: Lv.12*

*Sword of Life: Lv.9*

*Sword of Demon Slaying: Lv.4*

*Tame: Lv.3*

*Automatic HP Recovery: Lv.6*

Sub Skill: *Mining: Lv.1*

Title Skill: *Blessing of the Fairy*

■ Current SP: 10

■ Monster Name: Lumina

■ Gender: Female

■ Race: Fairy

■ Level: 8

■ Status (Remaining Stat Points: 0)

STR: 5

VIT: 8

INT: 22

MND: 16

AGI: 14

DEX: 9

■ Skills

Weapon Skill: None

Magic Skill: *Light Magic*

Skill: *Light Attribute Enhancement*

*Flight*

*Medium Magic Resistance*

*Automatic MP Recovery*

Title Skill: *Fairy Queen’s Servant*