One Strike
The mages who could burn the pollen with fire and reduce the damage.
And Elbridge, who could use his divine authority to block the demon’s most essential ability.
It was a matchup so favorable it was almost unfair.
‘Still, I can’t let my guard down.’
People unaccustomed to battle often made mistakes out of tension and fear.
But those who had grown used to combat usually ran into crises because of complacency.
Complacency wasn’t anything grand.
It was simply stopping your thoughts for even a moment and letting your body move on instinct.
That alone was more than enough to cost you your life.
That was why Elbridge did not stop thinking, even during the brief time he spent charging at the demon.
‘How will the demon respond?’
The most common behavior shown by plant-manipulating demons was roots, stems, sharp thorns, or poison-coated leaves sprouting from directions that were difficult to deal with.
‘Then it should be about time…’
Elbridge, who had been running toward the demon, suddenly twisted his direction.
At that exact spot where his foot would have landed, a sharp root shot upward. If he had charged without thinking, his foot would have been skewered.
‘As expected.’
Elbridge continued running, adjusting his stride with every step and slightly changing the angle of his movement.
The demon’s roots and stems surged up, aiming for him. But dodging such attacks was not particularly difficult for Elbridge.
That did not mean he could afford to fight leisurely.
Ordinary plant-type monsters attacked by moving their roots and stems. But this demon was attacking Elbridge by rapidly growing its roots and stems.
At a glance, the two seemed similar. But there was a massive difference between the methods.
If you dodged a moving stem or root, that was the end of it. But once a plant had grown, it did not disappear even after the attack was avoided.
In other words, the space Elbridge could maneuver in grew narrower with every passing second.
‘I need to hurry a little.’
Given time, this demon would endlessly occupy space and eventually complete its own fortress.
It was the type that had to be dealt with quickly, even if it meant taking risks.
Elbridge’s form, which had been weaving back and forth, brushed past the demon’s side.
Crunch!
A deep gash appeared on the demon’s marble-like forearm. It wasn’t enough to completely sever the arm, but that was fine. Elbridge etched the sensation of his right hand into his mind.
‘Hardness confirmed.’
He immediately turned to look behind him, focusing on the demon’s reaction.
The demon turned its head a little later than Elbridge. That movement gave him a clue.
‘Reaction speed is slow for a demon.’
‘It turned its head even though its eyes are covered. It’s not used to being attacked from behind.’
‘Is this a demon unfamiliar with close combat, or combat in general?’
Plants that had grown before he knew it now surrounded both the demon and Elbridge, forming something resembling a bird’s nest.
The growth of the vines still showed no sign of stopping. New vines sprouted from existing ones, and fresh stems emerged from old ones. The speed at which the demon was claiming the surrounding space was growing faster and faster.
It was as if the demon, or rather the plant fortress it had created, was speaking to Elbridge. This is your last chance to escape this fortress. If you leave now, I’ll let you go.
‘That is not the correct answer.’
In nearly every battle, time was on the demon’s side.
If he retreated from here, the next time he would have to break through a solid fortress to subdue the demon.
Even for Elbridge, that was impossible.
An old piece of advice from Leonhardt suddenly came to mind.
It was sound advice. Both to minimize variables and to increase his chances of survival.
It was right to end the battle here as quickly as possible.
Elbridge swung his sword toward the demon’s neck.
"Hup!"
Most demons that resembled human form could be subdued by decapitating them or piercing their hearts.
Thud!
As expected, hard wooden stems shot out to protect its neck.
‘A feint?’
‘No. This demon isn’t experienced enough in battle to use feints. The neck is definitely a vital point.’
‘Then what about the heart?’
Elbridge’s sword abruptly changed direction and slashed downward.
Elbridge possessed physical abilities far beyond those of an ordinary human. Even so, the trajectory his sword traced placed considerable strain on his wrist and elbow.
Crunch!
But the strain had been worth it. With that single strike, one of the demon’s arms had been severed.
One arm. For a human, it would have been a fatal wound. For a demon, it was not.
Both the demon and Elbridge knew that.
‘The important part comes next.’
Elbridge’s arm twisted in a strange direction once more.
His sword, now held in a reverse grip, moved horizontally.
Elbridge’s blade dug into the severed cross-section of the demon’s arm and violently tore through the area where its heart should have been.
Elbridge held his breath and observed the demon’s reaction.
But the demon merely flinched slightly.
‘…Damn it.’
There were occasionally demons like this. Ones that could not be subdued even by stabbing their hearts.
However, in Elbridge’s experience, even these demons would stop moving without fail once their heads were destroyed.
The situation was not good, though.
The reason was that the demon’s vines, which had grown in an instant, were trying to seize Elbridge’s sword and right arm.
‘If I can’t use my sword, it’s over.’
Elbridge responded in a far more violent manner than usual.
He thrust out his left arm to push against the demon’s chest while forcefully pulling his sword free with his right.
Scraaaape—
It worked. But in exchange, the left arm he had used to push the demon’s chest was caught by the vines.
And it wasn’t just caught. Sharp vines had pierced into Elbridge’s left arm. He had hoped it was a simple puncture wound, but the pain in his left arm quickly dulled.
‘It’s poison. Paralytic? Or a compound toxin?’
It was still fine. The Goddess of the Rusty Shield would delay his death, and in the meantime, the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss would bestow her power once more to heal him. He had survived like that more than once or twice.
But that only worked up to a point. If he died from a physical cause while paralyzed, no amount of healing would matter.
Elbridge’s eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. His goal was simple: to secure enough space to strike at the demon’s neck.
The search was quick, and the decision was immediate.
The muscles in his pulled-back right arm swelled.
And Elbridge thrust his sword forward with all his might, as if executing a spear technique. The demon’s vines, reacting late, tried to block his right arm and sword.
He felt the sharp thorns of the vines tearing the skin of his right arm. But they weren’t deep. Elbridge did not stop.
Grrrrrrrrrind!
With superhuman strength, Elbridge drove his sword into the demon’s neck.
The demon’s eyes, covered by a blindfold, turned toward him.
And Elbridge felt the demon’s will.
[Not… yet…]
Elbridge snorted.
Yes. You need more time. That’s exactly why I refuse to give it to you.
Elbridge moved his right arm with all his strength, twisting and gouging the sword embedded in the demon’s neck. His right arm, like his left, was torn to shreds, but he paid it no mind.
A perfect victory without even a small wound existed only in the imaginations of children or in the stories of idle gossips.
The battles of holy knights were always like this.
After considerable pain, the demon’s vines finally stopped moving.
He felt the last remnants of the demon’s will vanish.
Then, a massive amount of divine power erupted.
It was an overwhelming quantity, incomparable to what was released when killing a monster.
Of that, only a tiny fraction could be absorbed by Elbridge. Even so, it was enough to completely fill his vessel.
‘It would be nice if I could offer the demon’s corpse as well…’
Elbridge’s chest swelled with childish joy.
Among the countless battles he had fought so far, the number of times he had subdued a demon alone could be counted on one hand.
Elbridge turned around and spoke to the mages.
"Please seal it."
The moment he said those words, Elbridge’s head spun.
‘As I thought, it wasn’t simple paralytic poison…’
Elbridge’s consciousness cut off.
*
"Please seal it."
Those were the words Elbridge left behind before losing consciousness.
It was a concise and clear request, yet the people around him reacted a little slowly.
Not only the ordinary mages, but even the vice tower master.
‘…What did I just witness?’
He had heard that even fairly skilled knights found it difficult to face a monster alone.
Yet Elbridge had subdued a demon—not a monster—by himself. It was a sight so unbelievable that even seeing it with his own eyes made it hard to accept.
‘He defeated a demon alone…?’
Of course, Elbridge was not the only person in this space.
But there wasn’t a single person who could claim they had helped him. No matter how generously one evaluated them, they had been nothing more than spectators.
Only then did the vice tower master realize one important fact. Elbridge had requested an acceleration spell, but he had been so stunned watching the battle that he had forgotten to cast it.
‘I did something foolish.’
With his face flushed red from embarrassment, the vice tower master approached Elbridge and the demon.
He used magic to create a gust of wind that blew away all the pollen floating nearby. Then, just as Elbridge had done, he covered his nose and mouth with his left forearm and began casting a spell.
The first step was to separate Elbridge from the demon.
Slice.
When the vice tower master swung his staff, a sharp wind rose and severed the stems and vines the demon had created.
Perhaps because the demon had been subdued, the plants—which had been harder than most metals—were now as soft as ordinary wood.
The vice tower master pulled Elbridge out, then joined the mages who had arrived beside him to chant the sealing spell.
"The open door shall close, and the closed door shall be forgotten. Even as the sun sets and the stars rise, time shall not reach this place…"
Before the demon had been subdued, sealing it would have required dozens, even hundreds of people.
But now that the demon had been completely subdued, only a few mages were enough to finish the seal without difficulty.
Marcus, who had come running, frantically rummaged through his pack.
He found a small glass bottle containing a red liquid—an elixir.
‘Good thing I brought it. I had a feeling I might need it…’
Elbridge had sustained concentrated injuries on both arms.
They weren’t vital wounds that threatened his life, but the bleeding was severe.
Was it a life-threatening injury? Was it severe enough to warrant using an elixir?
Marcus didn’t know medicine, so he had no way of knowing the answer.
But one thing was certain. It was better to pour the elixir on him and get scolded later than to hesitate and let Elbridge die.
Just as Marcus was about to open the elixir bottle—
Oooong—
The pillar of light he had seen earlier descended once more, enveloping Elbridge.
In an instant, the wounds on Elbridge’s arms vanished. All that remained were tiny scars.
"…"
Yet Marcus still held the elixir bottle in his hand.
Because Elbridge had not yet woken up.
Marcus checked Elbridge’s breathing.
‘His breathing seems normal… or is it? Is it a bit slow?’
Next, he grabbed Elbridge’s shoulder and shook him vigorously.
But Elbridge still did not wake.
‘Should I give him the elixir now? I probably should, right? If something goes wrong because I didn’t, it’ll be a huge problem…’
As Marcus agonized and finally moved to open the elixir bottle—
— Marcus. Stop making a fuss and just stay still… —
Marcus faithfully obeyed the oracle.
*
Elbridge was dreaming.
He dreamed of a woman stroking young Elbridge’s head with rough hands and whispering to him.
In a sorrowful voice, the woman urged him.
"Elbridge. Clench your teeth tightly and tell the uncle with a very angry face that you hate demons to death… Understand?"
Elbridge nodded.
The woman hugged the small Elbridge tightly, and Elbridge hugged her back just as tightly.
It was soft and warm…
No, it was warm, but somehow not soft. Rather, it felt fluffy and thick…
‘Fluffy…?’
Elbridge struggled to open his eyes.
A horrifying sight unfolded before him.
Rombel was nestled in Elbridge’s arms with a face like he had bitten into a bug.
It was a sight capable of dealing a severe blow even to the mind of a strong holy knight. So Elbridge’s immediate reaction was to protect himself.
Which meant he shoved Rombel away with his left arm and unconsciously swung his right fist, smashing it into Rombel’s jaw.
Bam!
Rombel lost consciousness and collapsed with a thud.