The Royal Capital (2)
"Grrraaah!!"
"Huk! Huk! Uwaaaaah!!"
"Reform the lines! Anyone who can hold a shield, get to the front! Everyone, snap out of it!"
"Believe in victory without a doubt! His Majesty fights with us!!"
The battle had already been raging for nearly an hour. More than half of the Demon God worshippers who had charged in with such momentum now lay as corpses. Yet even in death they tried to sink their teeth into the enemies' ankles. They clustered into groups, and when an entire group was wiped out, a summoning circle activated. Out came low-grade monsters at the very least, mid-grade ones more often, and—if fortune smiled in the worst possible way—high-grade monsters too. From the royal capital's perspective, every time they cut down the enemy numbers, even more troublesome foes simply took their place.
If only the royal guard knights and the capital's soldiers had been here alone, there was no doubt they all would have been offered up as blood sacrifices before an hour had passed. The assaults from the Demon God worshippers and the demon race were that desperate and ferocious. The damage inflicted by the monsters that had burst forth from the very beginning had been catastrophic. Soldiers and royal guard knights alike lay dead or wounded. Had these creatures not been stopped here and allowed to pour into the capital, hell itself would surely have descended upon the land.
The fact that the damage was only this severe was, in itself, a stroke of luck. If Daisy had not drawn the skeletal demonic human away to another battlefield, if Gerard had not pinned down the greatsword demonic human by himself, and—
"Ahahaha!! Ahahahahahaha!!!"
If not for the Iris over there, laughing like a madwoman while cheerfully pounding the high-grade monsters into submission, the defenders' formation would have collapsed long ago. They would have been chased down and slaughtered to the last.
"One more! C'mon, next! Next!!"
Iris roared as she smashed another monster's head into pulp. Her entire body was already drenched in blood of uncertain origin. Facing a single high-grade monster would have been an easy fight for her. The current situation, however, was anything but relaxed. More than ten high-grade monsters were swarming her at once. Even for a Hero, that was a heavy burden. And she had to handle every last one of them alone, without any support.
No matter how strong someone was, numbers could overwhelm them. Simply closing the distance and pressing the attack before anything else could be done was usually enough. But the Fighter Hero, the Peerless Iris, was different. She met every charge head-on, and when they tried to create distance she simply closed it again, pulverizing the monsters' bodies with wild laughter. She paid no attention whatsoever to whatever touched her own body. Her fists and feet were the most vicious weapons in existence.
The monsters felt no fear or terror. They only harbored hostility toward living beings. If their opponent held bright, hopeful feelings, they wanted to crush those first. And yet these creatures kept hesitating in front of Iris. It would be better to approach their behavior from another angle rather than assume they were simply afraid. Something like: Is that thing really an opponent we should be fighting? It feels more like one of us. Is it actually an enemy? Such doubts seemed to be flickering through what passed for their minds.
"Why! Why aren't you coming at me?! Hurry up! I'm getting bored over here!"
Watching Iris rampage like that, the other Iris could only shake her head. To think that wild woman was a Hero like herself. She had seen it in her previous life before the regression, but she still could not get used to it. All the Heroes had their own slightly strange quirks, of course. Still, when it came to combat they generally fought like proper Heroes. Even Daisy was flawless in battle. But Iris seemed normal enough in everyday life, only to become even more unhinged than the Demon God worshippers or demonic humans the moment fighting started. The monsters themselves seemed confused about whether she was actually a Hero or not.
She'll probably get herself badly hurt one of these days.
That was a problem for later. Right now, dealing with the Demon God worshippers and monsters in front of them was the priority.
With a sharp slice, a cultist fell with a choked cry. Iris's specialty was releasing her internal energy outward and detonating it. The technique placed a severe strain on her body afterward, but its effectiveness was undeniable. She could not use it recklessly here, however. Five minutes was the absolute limit, even if she pushed herself. And there was no way this battle would end within five minutes.
The demonic humans and high-grade monsters had already been claimed by her seniors. That left Iris to handle the remaining enemies. Even if we win the fight, too much damage will create its own problems! It was not only the blood of the innocent that became their power and fuel. Fear, terror, and the twisted faith that arose from trying to escape those emotions could all generate sufficient crisis on their own. The Demon God worshippers sought the blood and lives of the innocent first, but what they truly wanted to spread across the world was fear and despair.
"Uwaaah!!"
"The formation is breaking!"
"Fall back ten paces! Retreat! Reform the lines!"
Several mid-grade monsters had finally breached the defensive line. They had broken through at the worst possible spot—the corner of the flank, the weakest point in the current formation.
Tsk!
Iris immediately leapt toward the collapsing section. If she left her current position, the center—which had only been buying time—might fall into danger. But this side was already crumbling while that side was merely at risk. The answer to which was more urgent was obvious, so she did not hesitate.
We can't drag this out much longer in our current state. In that case…
She decided to use the last of her remaining internal energy. A clear, pure aura burst from her hand and took the shape of a sword.
"Haaah!!"
Becoming a storm of light, Iris plunged into the chaotic center of the battlefield. She cut and carved through the monsters so the soldiers who had fallen back could reform their lines. She kept swinging until they could shake off their confusion and regain the will to fight once more.
"Huk! Huk!"
Despite never neglecting her training, she had already reached her limit. Her chest felt ready to burst, her heart hammered wildly, and her internal energy was as empty as a dry well. This damned body of hers was simply too far from being a true Hero. Even so, this was a vast improvement compared to the past. Back then, her strength had been less than half of what it was now.
The moment she wondered Is this enough? the soldiers completed their reformed formation. They began advancing slowly, blocking the monsters' approach. Iris quickly fell back and took a moment to catch her breath.
"Haah… haah…"
She could not rest for long. Daisy, Gerard, and even the other Iris were all locked in battle against their respective worst enemies without pause. At least the royal capital's defense is holding for now.
In her previous life she had been trapped inside the Mirror Kingdom's illusion. By the time she arrived with Namgung Hyeon, the capital had already been reduced to ruins. She had not witnessed the battle here herself and only knew what she had heard from the other Heroes who had fought in it.
They said the ones who entered the capital weren't the only problem. The Demon God worshippers who joined up afterward swelled into a much larger force and spread out in every direction.
The prince and his disguised followers were not the full extent of the threat. Reinforcements had undoubtedly been sent from elsewhere to support them. Fortunately, they had prepared for that possibility as well. The reason her master and her grandmaster had not appeared at the royal capital was likely proof that an enormous battle was unfolding somewhere else.
If the royal capital battle stays like this, we can win. As long as no more enemies arrive!
But no sooner had the thought crossed her mind than a large group of Demon God worshippers began marching toward the capital from another direction.
Swish, swish, swish—
Under the fading afternoon sunlight, an unidentified group moved toward the royal capital. Normally soldiers should have been standing guard to stop them, but more than half had already rushed to the capital after receiving an urgent message. Those who remained had been killed in a sudden ambush before they could even scream.
"Brother. How much farther until we reach the capital?"
"Another thirty minutes should do it."
"Thirty minutes is still too slow. Let's pick up the pace. Our brothers may be in danger at this rate."
"We are already pushing ourselves as it is…"
"I know. But we must push even harder."
The battle would already be in full swing. Once the brothers who had gone ahead weakened the capital's forces, they would strike from behind. That was why they had brought every last sacrifice needed to summon the monsters. If their brothers had already entered the capital, they would kill anyone trying to flee. If the fighting was still outside the walls, they would simply hit the enemy from the rear.
"We must hurry. If we are late, we will miss our share of the glory."
The man who appeared to be the leader spoke firmly. Yet the other man who had been offering opinions only moments before gave no reply. The leader frowned slightly and turned around.
"Why aren't you—"
The words never finished leaving his mouth. What he saw was the corpse of the man whose head had already been severed. Immediately afterward a burning sensation flashed across his own throat, and his body collapsed.
Huh…?
No scream, no groan—nothing escaped his lips. No comfort, no floating sensation, nothing that was supposed to accompany death arrived. The Demon God worshipper who had so fervently praised death finally understood in that instant: death was utterly cold, cruel, and utterly worthless.
Only after the leader collapsed did the rest of the group finally notice something was wrong. The surviving worshippers hurriedly pressed their backs together and scanned their surroundings.
Thud.
Several of them suddenly toppled backward. The brothers they had been leaning against had simply gone limp. The worshippers who leapt to their feet to shout in protest froze like stone. The brothers who had been alive and vigilant only seconds earlier were now rolling across the ground as headless corpses.
"Wh-what is…"
A gentle breeze blew past. Each time the wind stirred, another Demon God worshipper collapsed. Their necks were severed with perfect precision, without the slightest deviation. The last remaining worshipper stared in disbelief at what was happening. Then he saw a shadow flicker in front of him.
"D-demon…?"
"...Not a demon."
"Wh-what… I heard they were all exterminated…"
"I… am not a demon. Not."
Silver hair that carried a dreamlike atmosphere, black horns sprouting from her head. To anyone looking, she was unmistakably one of the demon race that had supposedly vanished from the continent. Yet the demon herself kept murmuring that she was not a demon.
"Ester Marigold. The name given to me by that person. The existence decided by that person."
The moment those words left her lips, the demon woman severed the man's throat.