Chapter 100 - Monster

William tried to boost their morale as much as possible, even if he was overdoing it somewhat.

Whether it worked or not, the square formation held firm, and the spear shafts aimed at the demonic creature's body even more resolutely.

-Security captain, what is the situation?

A telepathic message rang out.

William shouted.

"Engaging three demonic creatures! The security guards alone are not enough! We need backup!"

-Understood. Two of Iorga's spawns are heading your way. Please hold on just a little longer.

A moment later, something with spread wings flew down from the sky toward them.

They descended with elegant movements and confronted the demonic creatures.

"Filthy demonic creatures. Your master has already departed for the afterlife, yet your lifespans are uselessly long."

"Return to your master's side."

The spawns of Iorga displayed their hostility and opened their canteen caps.

The clear water inside moved according to the flow of their fingers, forming what looked like a whip split into ten strands.

SWISH!

As they swung the whip, the ten torn strands scattered and stretched out toward their targets.

The strands accurately grasped the demonic creatures' bodies as if they were extensions of their own limbs.

In an instant, the three demonic creatures were suppressed.

"Security captain, finish them."

"Yes, sir!"

The knight's sword, clad in red sword aura, aimed for the bound demonic creatures' vitals one by one.

"Ahhhh! Die!"

As if they couldn't just stand by and watch, the spearmen also moved with a hundredfold increase in courage.

There is an old saying that no hero can survive being ganged up on.

A completely immobilized demonic creature was bound to be pierced by a barrage of spears.

In that manner, William dispatched two of them, and the spearmen cut off the breath of the last one.

It was only a few minutes ago that they had been struggling, and they never imagined they would be suppressed so easily.

"Th-Thank you. Mages."

"..."

Iorga's spawns glanced at William before turning their heads away.

Then, as if their job was done, they flew off somewhere again.

The proud dragon spawns did not casually interact with humans of low status.

'It means I'm not even worth interacting with to them.'

Although it left a bad taste in his mouth, he didn't hold a grudge and quickly accepted it.

'If I had been a bit stronger and more charismatic, this might have been a problem I could have easily solved.'

He accepted his circumstances, but instead of settling for them, he used them as a stepping stone.

The security captain, William, thought to himself.

'Let's get stronger.'

A village under the rule of a Red Dragon; he resolved to possess strength befitting it.

* * *

"The knights of the Grand Duchy's territory are mobilizing now."

-Understood. I leave the north to you.

Two horses came down from Valdrova Castle.

No, one of them was not a horse, but a donkey.

The man riding the donkey wore a dumbfounded expression.

"S-Sir Zed! I don't think I'll be of any help, w-what should I do?!"

The one who answered his words was Penelope, who was seated behind him.

"What do you mean, what should you do? Go grab some popcorn and watch."

"M-Must I really?"

"Of course. Make enough popcorn for me too— Ugh!"

"Phew, every time you open your mouth, you spew nonsense that just makes me sigh."

"Ack! Cough! I surrender, I surrender!"

Zed had put Penelope in a chokehold, and Penelope slapped his solid forearm.

"If you want to be of help, then act as a meat shield! If the wolf demons show up, at least try to draw their attention!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"I'm heading that way! You keep moving straight down this path!"

"Understood!"

The moment they parted ways with Malcolm on his donkey, Penelope opened her mouth again.

"A meat shield? Isn't that too cold-hearted?"

"If it comes down to it, he'll run away at least."

"He didn't seem to have the intelligence for that."

"He's smarter than you, idiot."

"What? Why you little...!"

The moment Penelope tried to rip out his hair from behind, a massive object entered their line of sight.

It was a wolf demonic creature.

Putting aside their bickering, they focused on their target.

"Enemy spotted. It's similar to the one from back then."

"Yeah."

"The size and shape are similar too. We barely managed to dodge it last time, will you be okay now?"

"More than okay."

Zed smiled.

Hadn't he endured all that pain just for this moment?

"The moment you can take revenge is so thrilling."

Now, it was time to reap the rewards.

Zed unsheathed the short sword secured at his waist.

Blue sword aura surged from the short sword.

The blindfolded horse bravely galloped forward before coming to a halt.

Using the recoil, Zed launched himself off the horse's body.

"Pepe! Now!"

"Haste!"

The pink-haired demon cast the acceleration spell on the soaring Zed.

By now, the two of them had developed somewhat synchronized teamwork.

He landed on the ground with even more agile movements, and his figure disappeared at the same time.

-GROWL!?

The wolf demonic creature panicked.

The wolf demonic creature tried to track his movements, but the attached snake heads could only follow his afterimages.

It was different from when he was simply running away.

The blue sword aura imbued in his short sword drew a long trajectory along his afterimages.

SWOOSH!

The trajectory reached the wolf demonic creature's body and pierced through.

He neutralized it by severing all the snake heads and cutting its tendons.

The moment the neutralized demonic creature focused its energy on regeneration was the massive opening he was aiming for.

Zed thrust his short sword deep into its chest.

Unlike when he was protecting Ferda, it ended incredibly easily.

"Wow, that's badass!"

Penelope jumped up and down frivolously.

"Zeze! What the hell were you doing out there?"

"Do you think I was playing around, bitch?"

"You're looking a bit sexy, you know? You're the first man to be this sensual."

"Haha, get away from me, don't try your bullshit to suck out my life force."

"Don't be like that, you haven't had a woman in a week...!"

Penelope stroked her hungry stomach and sent him an alluring gaze.

It was called alluring, but to Zed, it was a sight that provoked disgust and the urge to beat her.

Just then, Isabella's telepathic message rang out.

-Sir Zed.

"Speak."

-Sir Malcolm is currently herding demonic creatures. Please provide backup there.

Zed answered immediately.

"What is his location?"

-He is heading your way. Look toward the alleyways.

There was no need to search for which alleyway it was.

A loud noise was approaching their location.

The first thing they saw was the face of a donkey.

And then came Malcolm, letting out a screech that hardly sounded like a scream.

"Gaaahh! Ahhh! I'm dyinggg!"

HEE-HAW!

Malcolm and the donkey were running toward them with tears and snot flying in the wind.

Soon, two wolf demonic creatures revealed themselves.

Watching the sight, Zed fell into shock.

'How the hell is that guy surviving?'

A man with no particularly outstanding physical abilities or martial arts skills was running for his life with nothing but a single donkey.

Let's say it was because he was riding a donkey.

Even that donkey was moving without any particular defining traits.

The wolf demonic creatures clearly surpassed it in both speed and agility.

Looking at the entire situation, it was the perfect scenario to be eaten by the wolf demonic creatures.

And yet, the wolf demonic creatures were unable to catch Malcolm.

More accurately, every time the two wolf demonic creatures moved to attack them, their coordination faltered and they tripped over each other.

Whether he was dealing with dull-witted beasts or just had absurdly good luck.

Whatever the case, killing the wolf demonic creatures was the priority right now.

"Hey, donkey mister! Come over here!"

"Ahhh! Ahhh! Gaaaahh!"

The guy just screamed violently instead of answering.

That useless piece of trash.

Just as Zed wondered if he would have to match the man's movements.

As if understanding Zed's words, the donkey twisted its body and started running toward him.

The completely enraged wolf demonic creatures charged again, determined to catch those two no matter what.

Regardless, things were going according to plan.

The donkey passed by Zed.

Zed counted down in his head.

3, 2, 1.

At 0, the body of the wolf demonic creature came into view.

Zed threw his accelerated body forward and dug into the heart of the frantic beast.

-YELP!

One wolf demonic creature died, and the other moved, realizing that this was no time to be chasing a donkey.

However, the lone remaining wolf was nothing but easy prey for Zed.

The short sword gripped in reverse fully claimed the remaining beast's heart as well.

For Zed, who thought handling two might be difficult, this outcome was unbelievable.

'He's the perfect bait.'

He wondered if this was the reason Ferda dragged him around.

At any rate, Zed praised Malcolm, if only to build some camaraderie.

"Wow, you were completely flawless as bait, good job mis—"

"Urgh! Ack! I'm dying. I'm dying..."

"..."

It took another three hours for Malcolm, the excellent bait, to regain his senses.

* * *

Before the demonic creatures attacked, Valdrova stood in the alleyway she was assigned to.

'The demonic creatures are coming in.'

Her five senses reacted to that echoing phrase.

Events in all directions were vividly seen and heard by her, mapped out in her mind.

The range extended beyond this village, past that forest...

Nothing could escape her senses.

Therefore, Valdrova dulled those senses.

'What I need to do is...'

Kill the wolf demonic creature coming down this alley.

That was all she had to do.

She could think about everything else later.

A moment later, the presence of the enemy made her open her eyes.

-GRRR.

The wolf demonic creature opened its maw and growled.

What could be seen were not the yellow teeth of a beast, but green fangs.

-BARK!

It lunged toward Valdrova.

A threatening charge that felt like an incoming artillery shell.

If it were a human, they would have been terrified and would have needed complete preparation to counter it.

But to Valdrova, it was nothing more than a mere bug.

Valdrova grabbed the demonic creature's snout and hoisted it up with speed and strength far exceeding its own.

She thrust her left hand into the body of the wolf demonic creature, which was dragged along without being able to resist.

SQUELCH!

Piercing the demonic creature's hide as if it were wet paper, she ripped out the heart inside and crushed it.

CRUNCH!

The time it took for that entire process was 0.1 seconds.

Because Valdrova had killed more demonic creatures than anyone else, she finished it quickly and easily, like a simple routine.

-Gurgle...

The wolf demonic creature died instantly without even being able to let out a yelp.

Valdrova confirmed its death and pulled her hand out.

Then she slammed the demonic creature onto the ground as if tossing out trash.

Valdrova did not spare a glance at the demonic creature.

No, she couldn't.

'I shouldn't look.'

The moment she rested her eyes on it, something wriggled and rose up from within her heart.

Valdrova knew this emotion.

It was hatred.

Whenever she faced demonic creatures, she felt a vivid hatred, and she used that hatred as fuel to burn everything down.

Like that, she had killed the many demonic creatures attempting to march out of the Land of Demons.

But the emotion she felt this time was a little different from that familiar feeling she usually experienced.

It was fear.

'Why is that...'

The answer was simple.

It was because the situation was different now.

If she had been trying to protect the continent as a dragon back then, she now had to protect the village as a single knight.

When she was a dragon, she had flown into the Land of Demons to tear apart and burn everything.

The things she needed to protect were behind her, and she had no need to worry about them.

Even if she expressed her deep anger and went on a rampage, no one would get hurt.

Because the only body getting hurt would be her own.

But now, the things she had to protect were right in the middle.

'If I end up going on a rampage...'

Everyone will get hurt.

Hestia village will burn, and people will die.

That was why she feared this emotion.

'Let's calm down.'

She tried to stop that emotion from boiling over.

However, her five senses were superior to anyone else's.

The scent of the demonic creature's blood and the echoing shrieks could not be blocked by mere willpower.

In the end, a wave of atrocious sorrow overturned her heart, sweeping everything away.

All that remained was an inextinguishable fire.

That was a deep fury directed toward the Demons.

That flame, that rage, poked at her unhealed wounds once again.

The pain of the wounds stimulated her memories.

'They're trying to take it away again...'

The things she had built up.

The things she loved.

Because Godwin's malice, which sought to take away and trample over everything, was still active.

It forced her to vividly recall that will.

"Ugh..."

The fire was lit.

Her unstoppable rage threatened to turn into impulse.

'I have to go back.'

I have to quickly leave this village and return to my lair.

It would all be resolved if I just rampage around a bit over there.

She prayed.

That everything would go smoothly until then.

Please, let nothing happen.

"Ahhhhh!"

She raised her head.

Two young girls who hadn't managed to evacuate caught her eye.

A tiny girl and a slightly larger girl embracing her.

Valdrova knew those two well.

They were the children she had rescued for 3 shillings.

She saw the figure of a vicious demonic creature trying to swallow them in one bite.

'No.'

It opened its maw to cruelly trample the two defenseless girls.

The moment that maw closed, the two would lose both their forms and their lives.

'No!'

At that moment, that voice pierced clearly into Valdrova's ears.

-Look, Valdrova.

It was Godwin's voice.

It was what he had told her while looking at her before the Dragon-Demon War broke out.

-This is what it looks like when the things you wanted to protect disappear.

At that moment, the hesitation in Valdrova's mind vanished.

Her body reflexively took a stance, bending her right leg and stretching her left leg back.

BOOM!

Leaving a massive shockwave behind her heel, she flew forward like a human cannonball.

Valdrova's fist extended forcefully toward that snout.

CRUNCH!

The wolf's snout didn't just twist—it was completely torn off and sent flying into the wall.

Its body tumbled like a tilted barrel, rolling all the way out to the main road.

-Hack... Hackkk...!

The wolf demonic creature couldn't gather its senses and spat out the blood pooling in its lungs.

Its belligerence, created solely to destroy everything, drove it to lunge at Valdrova.

-GRRRR, SNARL!

Its snout had been blown off, but its ability to vocalize was unimpaired.

It was never a wolf in the first place; it was merely something imitating the shape.

It was nothing but a filthy, crude amalgamation mimicking a wolf.

'Don't hurt them.'

The rage within Valdrova flared up.

In the midst of this, teeth harder than steel bit into Valdrova's pauldron.

However, her armor was made of a rare mineral several times harder than steel.

It was a masterpiece crafted by the Bronze Dragon, who was practically a god of blacksmithing.

The wolf, having committed to a meaningless attack, was grabbed in reverse.

She slammed the ugly creature into the ground.

'Don't touch them.'

Valdrova's fist dug into the wolf's flesh and shattered its bones.

CRACK!

-YELP!

The wolf demonic creature belatedly realized it.

The fact that it shouldn't have charged at this being, but rather run away.

But Valdrova's hand, embedded deep in its body, had no intention of letting it go.

'You're the one who needs to disappear.'

She was the Aspect of Power, and that Aspect was radiating a bright red glare from her eyes.

Valdrova ripped out what she had grasped.

The spine and ribs hiding beneath the flesh were yanked out with a grotesque sound.

Even the internal organs were severely shaken, turning the insides into complete mush.

'Not yet.'

Demonic creatures do not die easily. Valdrova reached right in and crushed its heart.

The source of the demonic creature's life was pulverized, and the wolf's figure began to melt away.

It was the complete death of the demonic creature.

'Not yet.'

Her rage did not stop.

Even its remaining form was detestable to her.

That corpse was still laughing and mocking her.

Valdrova clenched her fist and aimed at its face.

'From this continent.'

Her fist smashed down along with the ground.

'Disappear forever!'

KABOOM!

A massive tremor.

At the same time, green blood splattered inside her helmet and touched her skin.

Only then did she realize she had lost her reason and snapped out of it.

"Ah."

Rough breaths escaped her mouth.

The sight before her eyes was a floor stained with purple and green.

And both of her hands were painted even more grotesquely.

She raised her head.

Valdrova was standing in the sunken ground that looked like a crater.

Everyone had come out and was looking at her.

She turned her gaze to the alleyway.

The girls over there were the same.

They were still terrified of the monster.

Even though the demonic creature that tried to harm them was already dead.

'Ah...'

She knew.

That their fear was directed at her.

That the monster was her.