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“Show your passes or any identification.”

New recruit guard, Puls, was conducting a thorough inspection.

Senior guard, Seld, watched him and rolled his eyes.

“Hey, ease up a bit and do it moderately. If you keep going like this, you won’t last long in this business.”

“Ah, yes! I understand!”

“What do you understand? Kid, you still have a lot to learn. But compared to the clueless ones, you’re much better, so learn some tricks in that state.”

This time, a carriage approached the gate without waiting in line. It was clearly not an ordinary cargo carriage; at a glance, it was a noble’s carriage.

Seld stepped forward instead of the tense Puls.

“Excuse me. Can you please state your identity?”

“This is the carriage of House Wombel, rulers of the northern realm of Radrico! Your honor is on board. Please allow them to pass.”

Seld checked the pass handed over by the coachman and nodded with a smiling face.

“My apologies. Please proceed.”

As Puls watched the back of the carriage pass through the gates, Seld smirked.

“I thought it’s not a noble. Unfortunate, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me? Oh, no, not at all.”

“Sometimes, those mediocre merchant kids who think they’ll be treated like nobles ignore the line and come through. You can treat them without mercy. If they act too high and mighty, just throw all their luggage out the window in the cargo carriage. It’s the fun you can have while being on guard duty.”

At that moment, there was a commotion in the line.

“Hey, you guys! What’s the matter? Can’t you see the line here?!”

People standing in line heard shouting. Seld turned his gaze, assessed the situation, and furrowed his brow.

A group of people were blatantly ignoring the line and approaching the gate. They were wearing reversed robes.

“Hey! Stop right there. You need to follow the order. What are you doing?”

Despite Seld’s warning, they didn’t even acknowledge it and kept walking.

Seld momentarily wondered if they were nobles, but their demeanor and atmosphere didn’t seem like it at all.

Were they just crazy people?

“Hey, new guy. Pick up your spear.”

“Yes, yes!”

Seld held the spear out to them as they approached.

“I told you to follow the order–“

Snap!

Blood splattered as Seld’s body was split in half.

Puls, standing nearby, froze for a moment, then felt the warm blood on his face and screamed.

“Ah, aaah!”

The scream was short-lived, and Puls’ head fell to the ground.

The area in front of the gate turned into chaos in an instant.

People who had been standing in line scattered, screaming.

“What, what’s going on with that guy?!”

Soldiers on the city walls hurriedly prepared for an attack, aiming their drawn bows and casting spells.

“Shoot! Shoot them down now!”

The captain of the guard shouted in anger.

At the same time, a barrage of arrows and magical attacks poured toward the figures in robes.

The soldiers’ response was swift, but it didn’t hold any meaning at all.

One of the robed figures raised their hand in the air, and as they waved it, a gray light flashed, causing all the arrows and spells that were flying towards them to vanish instantly.

Thud…

At the same time, the forces on the castle walls also turned into piles of ashes in an instant. The ashes cascaded down the walls.

The robed being turned their gaze towards the fleeing people and gestured again.

They, too, were scattered into ashes like the soldiers before them.

“So weak. Utterly weak.”

The robed figure, who had reduced all the surrounding humans to dust, lowered the hood of their robe.

His face was deathly pale, and he had four eyes. He was clearly not human.

“How amusing. To be defeated by such weaklings and to think we’ve been cowering in Altelore for so long.”

The creature, a demon, laughed, spreading his arms wide.

“It’s been a long time since I set foot on Santea’s soil. Slay everything in sight.”

***

After Ran left Herwyn’s castle in a hurry, Kaen, Rigon, and Lea .

“Lea, can we pick and eat the fruits from that tree over there?”

“You fool, can’t you see they’re not fully ripe? If you’re curious how sour they are, go ahead and try.”

The three of them were strolling through the castle’s inner garden.

Lea clicked her tongue in frustration as she watched Kaen climb up a tree and frown at the unripe fruit.

“Why does she always do that?”

“She’s just very curious. It’s easier to just go along with her.”

Rigon took a seat under the shade of the tree Kaen had climbed and sat down.

Lea, after leaning against the tree, looked at the dozing Rigon for a moment before taking a seat beside him.

“Living in the castle for a week? How is it? Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“Oh? Of course not. We’re having a blast, enjoying the sumptuous feasts, and having fun every day.”

“Well then, that’s good to hear.”

As a cool breeze blew by, it gently swayed the hair of Rigon and Lea.

They sat side by side, watching Kaen sift through the branches above.

“How about you, Lea? It’s good that I’m not the only one you brought along, right?”

“Ran is not here, though.”

“Haha, well, it’s much more enjoyable with more people, isn’t it?”

Lea didn’t respond, but she didn’t deny it either. Seeing her like that, Rigon also smiled.

“Hey, guys! I finally found some well-ripened fruits here! Have a taste!”

Kaen took a big bite of the fruit and dropped it down. Rigon caught it, took a bite, ate it, and held it out to Lea.

“It’s delicious. You should try it too.”

Lea hesitated for a moment, then accepted the fruit and took a small bite.

In the short time she’d been with them, she’d experienced things that were new to her.

Inviting friends over to her home, showing them around the castle and introducing everything one by one, enjoying festivals in the city together, and sharing a single piece of fruit without hesitation.

It’s fun.

It was all strangely uplifting and joyful.

Lea no longer tried to deceive herself. Making friends wasn’t such a frightening thing after all.

Being together was enjoyable. Looking back, the time spent avoiding and pushing others away felt foolish. Why did she do that?

If only she had become friends with these people a little earlier…

Kwaah-aang!

At that moment, a massive explosion resounded. The gazes of Rigon, Lea, and Kaen all turned simultaneously towards the source of the sound, which came from outside the castle.

“…What was that explosion just now? What’s going on?”

The three quickly rushed inside the castle. For some reason, the troops inside the castle were bustling about. Even the knights were fully armed.

“Miss!”

Yuz, who they met in the first-floor hall, urgently called out to Lea. She asked him, “Yuz, what’s happening? What’s going on?”

“It seems like the city is under attack. We haven’t fully grasped the details yet.”

“What? Who dares to–“

At that moment, another deafening noise echoed, but this time it came from inside the castle.

Sounds of battle came from the entrance of the castle. Followed by terrible screams. Herwyn’s homeland was facing an unprecedented crisis.

There was no time to question who or how. Yuzu led Lea away with a grave expression.

“I will escort you, miss. Please, hurry…!”

Kwaaaaaang!

The entrance gate exploded, and the shockwave blew away those nearby.

The intruder that broke through the gates was a monster with a human body and a snake head.

The creature flung a knight’s head out of his hands.

Recognizing that it was the neck of the Knight Commander, Rowald, Yuz couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

The monster looked around with its tongue flickering.

“You insects gathered nicely. Die, all of you.”

Demon.

Yuz, Kaen, Rigon, and Lea immediately recognized that it was a demon.

It emitted a peculiar and eerie energy, just like the demon they encountered before.

“Kill him!”

The knights and mages who were in the hall immediately launched their attack.

But the demon stalked through the hall at breakneck speed, slaughtering knights and mages with ease.

The scales covering the demon’s bodies seemed impervious even to the lethal magic of the high-ranking mages.

“Yuz, quickly take Lady Leia and escape through the back door!”

In the meantime, the head mage of the Herwyn family, who had led more high-ranking mages to join the battle, shouted to Yuz.

The mages in formation began unleashing their magic toward the demons with determination. The air trembled with explosive sounds and flashes of light.

“Miss, hurry! We must escape through the back door!”

“But…!”

Kwaaang!

Yuz, who was about to take Lea, Rigon, and Kaen with him to escape, immediately doubted his eyes.

The mages were all blasted in one fell swoop by the aura that the demon had unleashed in all directions.

Though the head mage managed to survive for a short moment, he was soon captured by the demon and torn in half.

The power of the Herwyn family’s top mages was like nothing, unable to buy even a brief moment of time. Was this even possible?

The strength of the snake-headed demon was truly overwhelming.

With the current forces present in the castle, it seemed impossible to stop that monster even if they evacuated everyone to the stronghold.

“Please, miss, move. Quickly.”

Yuz said so and drew his sword. At the same time, the demon approached Yuz like a lightning bolt and struck him with its tail.

Yuz couldn’t even respond properly before being hit and slammed into the wall.

“No! Yuz!”

Lea unleashed her magic, and Rigon and Kaen drew their swords. But their actions didn’t matter.

It was the moment when the demon swung his hand like chasing away a bug, intending to slaughter them…

Kwaaaah!

A pure white sword energy flew out of nowhere and cut the demon’s arm in half.

“Aaaahhh–!”

The demon who was hit for the first time let out a scream filled with pain and retreated.

Outside the castle, a figure dashed in. Witnessing the scene, Rigon shouted involuntarily, “Asher!”

The intruder was none other than Asher.

With her entire body already clad in a pale white hue, Asher relentlessly attacked the demon without giving him any respite.

Her fierce sword strikes tore through the demon’s scales and flesh.

Though the demon held on for a while, facing a disadvantage because of the surprise attack earlier, his neck was soon severed in the blink of an eye.

Thud.

The demon, without a head, collapsed to the ground.

After retrieving her sword, Asher approached the three people standing there in a daze.

She confirmed that Kaen, the heir, was unharmed, feeling relieved inside.

“How did Asher end up here…?”

“Explanations can wait, Rigon. For now, follow me. Both of you.”

It was crucial to move quickly to a safe place at this moment.

After all, the city was under attack by demons.

However, at that very moment…

“…!”

An eerie aura that sent chills down her spine. Asher whipped her head toward the collapsed entrance.

She couldn’t feel any presence at all. There was another demon standing there before she knew it. However, the other was incomparable to the one she had just killed. An incredibly powerful monster.

“You’re a bit of a competent bug. The one who killed my men outside must be you.”

A pale-skinned demon with four eyes spoke up.

Asher immediately sensed his identity.

A demon with such a powerful aura could only be an archdemon.

Eighth in the Demon Hierarchy, Oxytodus.

An irresistible calamity had descended before them.