Long-Term Assignment (8)
“A domain, huh? Not bad for a mere human.”
The demon dismissed it as nothing special. He’d only been startled by the sudden appearance of a strong foe. The presence he sensed still fell short of his own as an upper-rank demon.
“Sorry.”
Sisilia pointed her sword at him with a sullen expression.
“I wanted to take it slow and enjoy this, but I decided to do this mission properly.”
“...Are you mocking me right now?”
The demon stood before her, eyes bloodshot. Sisilia didn’t flinch in the slightest.
“Yeah.”
“You... you... you...!”
Just as the demon’s face twisted in rage, he hurriedly leaped back.
Drip, drip.
‘What the—?’
He clamped his hand over his mouth. His jaw had been sliced open, blood pouring out. In his panic, he glared at Sisilia. Her sword was stained red. It regenerated quickly, but he hadn’t even noticed when she’d cut him.
‘I see. So the domain’s effect is inevitability.’
But he realized it too late from that strike. The domain’s power was to guaranteed hits. And moreover...
‘There were humans caught in the range, but none entered the domain. She must’ve shoved them out on purpose. Why? It’s obvious that more numbers would be advantageous.’
The domain’s inevitability effect weakened with multiple targets. That’s why she’d trapped only him. Domain-types were typically weak against large armies anyway, so it was a reasonable guess.
The demon grinned.
“What a shame. You possess a heavenly gift rare even among demons, yet you had to run into me.”
And rightly so—his Authority could perfectly dismantle this domain.
“This is my victory.”
The demon’s smile was chilling. But it didn’t last.
“Why?”
‘Again.’
The demon gritted his teeth. ‘From my blind spot again...!’
“You’re weak.”
Sisilia’s sword flew at him. This time, the demon raised his arm to block. But her blade severed the entire limb and slashed his throat.
“Gah.”
He staggered back, clutching his neck.
Boom!
With the sound of air exploding, Sisilia charged with terrifying momentum. Instinctively retreating, the demon brushed the Wind Shear curtain for about a second. In that instant, he was caught in the gale, his body shredded to pieces.
“...”
Sisilia gazed coldly at the demon’s remains, now disintegrated and absorbed into the curtain. She let out a soft sigh.
“There’s a limit to stupidity.”
Didn’t he see it coming? Wind Shear was a storm of wind blades. Touching it was like throwing yourself into a massive shredder.
“Ahahaha.”
But then, a voice from right behind her. Sisilia’s silver-blue eyes coldly swept the ceiling. Amid the shredded chunks caught in the wind—human remains, not the demon’s.
“Impressive, still. But can you kill me now?”
A girl about seven years old giggled mockingly. Obviously not the real one. It was Priscilla of Deception.
‘She devours presences, turns souls into familiars—and the body is claimed by the main one.’
Even her earlier form had surely been a human body. Naturally, this demon’s lives equaled the humans she’d consumed. Unless you erased her existence entirely...
‘An Authority like this has to be Seven Deadly Sins “Gluttony” level... What a broken balance patch.’
“Huh...? W-where am I?”
Priscilla looked at Sisilia with a terrified face.
“Sis...? Why are you looking at me like I’m scary...?”
Tears fell from Priscilla’s eyes. It was as if the demon was narrating: this wasn’t acting; she’d briefly released one of the real girls she’d eaten. This child was human, not demon.
“B-brother! Where are you...? I’m so scared... Help me. I don’t wanna die yet.”
Priscilla backed away, face a mess of tears—toward the Wind Shear wall.
Sisilia lunged without hesitation and grabbed the girl’s hand.
“Eek.”
Sisilia crouched to eye level. Fiery orange hair with hints of green, freckles. Classic “ginger” traits, rare in the Liannen Kingdom. Gingers were more common next door. But the Windsor Knights had one unique ginger.
—One day, we went to a dungeon, and there was my dead little sister.
Sword Emperor Jerryway.
“C-can’t you tell me, sis?”
Sisilia reached out sadly and took the flower-shaped brooch from Priscilla’s hair.
—Hey, kid. Thinking of giving this to my sister as a gift. She’s just your age.
Identical to what Jerryway had shown her ten years ago, back when he wasn’t yet a Windsor Knight.
“...Why do humans go soft at the sight of kids?”
Stab.
Priscilla grinned grotesquely as her arm turned to a blade and pierced Sisilia’s abdomen.
‘How’s that? Feels good getting hit from your favorite “blind spot,” right?’
But Sisilia just stared at the brooch, unmoving. Feeling déjà vu, Priscilla looked down. The dagger wasn’t in Sisilia’s gut—it was buried in her own stomach.
“...How?”
“Wind’s fickle like that. Happens all the time. Like when fire turns back on you and burns someone else.”
“This isn’t over!”
Priscilla screamed madly, pouring out all her mana. As an upper-rank demon, plus the devoured human presences, it rampaged wildly.
‘Normally, I’d wait it out.’
But what Sisilia hated most was a “one-shot.” Developers pour effort into boss patterns, only for specs to delete it instantly. Nothing more horrific. Sadly, no time today.
Sisilia gripped Priscilla’s wrist hard. That alone snuffed out Priscilla’s presence like a candle.
“...!”
Sisilia’s silver-blue eyes fully captured Priscilla. She felt overwhelming terror.
“L-let go! Let me go!”
She thrashed wildly, but Sisilia’s iron grip didn’t budge. Priscilla’s face paled.
Overwhelming mana pressed down. Sisilia whispered softly.
“Wind Shear.”
‘N-no way! Deploying a domain inside a domain?’
Snick.
A tiny cut. Priscilla’s hand was lightly slashed on the back. From it, a thin line spread, drawing in the surrounding air.
‘No, this isn’t a domain. Don’t tell me...’
Priscilla stopped struggling. She slowly raised her head.
“Monster.”
At that moment, the winds swirled into a vortex, shrieking like a razor-sharp wail.
Shrieeeek—!
A grinding of metal on metal echoed as pressure tore the atmosphere, injecting into the wound. The result—molecular annihilation.
The silence Sisilia loved descended.
“Monster? Rude.”
Wind Shear’s true nature was the most basic technique granted upon receiving one’s Aura. Simply layered countless times into a basic attack spell application.
Before the massive circular storm unfurled.
A bit removed, Aldred Gartan’s forces stood positioned.
“Incredible. So this is truly the extreme art of a Sword Demon.”
“We’ve only heard tales, but seeing it... the pressure is on another level.”
The three Sword Demons of the Gartan Knights couldn’t tear their eyes away.
“Can’t we enter?”
Aldred asked, and they shook their heads firmly.
“No one can invade that domain. It’s that absolute a power.”
“Unbelievable.”
Aldred Gartan chuckled dryly.
“Judgment and insight made you high knights? Anyone can see it’s pure brute force that got you there.”
He spoke coldly.
“All units, charge every ounce of available mana.”
No questions, no doubts. The troops unleashed their mana without hesitation at their lord’s command.
“Release the moment Wind Shear ends. Cleave the nightmare’s source.”
“M-my lord!”
Beatrice interjected urgently.
“Trust Sisilia! She’ll surely—”
“Of course I trust her. But we can’t waste the two minutes she’s buying us.”
Aldred didn’t even glance her way, all focus on the Wind Shear.
“I hope she’s there when it lifts.”
But most here knew that was unlikely. Especially the Sword Demons who’d faced its presence.
The domain was magnificent, but it couldn’t defy this world’s laws. An egg can’t crack a rock, no matter the trick. That was simple common sense.
Sisilia can do it.
Only Beatrice believed unwaveringly. Tears streaming, hands clasped, she prayed fervently. She looked almost saintly.
Aldred dared imagine: if Sisilia returned, humanity’s salvation might not be far off.
As if answering that prayer.
“Wind Shear is dissipating!”
“Maintain charge until orders! No premature releases!”
“Yes!”
The moment Beatrice’s tears hit the ground—the eternal storm began to slow.
Who won?
Who’s left?
Some had resigned themselves; others yearned for miracle. Their thoughts had differed until now. But in this instant, all wished the same.
Please, let peace follow this storm.
“...”
Where the storm receded. The clear sky was utterly still, cloudless.
Beneath it, Sisilia barely stood, propping herself with her sword in one hand.
From the dying winds, she proved one truth.
Humanity’s victory.
In that moment, cheers erupted like thunder, shaking earth and sky.