The Demon Vanguard Emerges

Luden was holding his own against Eldritch. …Not bad.

Eldritch muttered an incantation and gestured to cast a weakening spell on Luden.

"Liana! Cast Purify on Luden!"

"H-how did you even know I could use that…? [Purify]"

Liana had learned most of the spells needed for magic bestowal. Her magic stat was still low, placing her near the bottom of the academy rankings…

[Gwaaaah!]

Enraged that his magic had been nullified, Eldritch let out a shriek and prepared to cast Fireball. Whoosh!

…Yikes.

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The Death Knight, ignored and furious, swung its sword at me. I dodged lightly and struck back with my spear.

Clang!

My spear connected with the Death Knight’s helm, producing a clear, resonant chime. The sound of home… It reminded me of the temple bells I used to hear every New Year’s Eve, and I couldn’t help but smile.

The Death Knight’s menacing glow was already fading. Told you, it’s all about the gear.

With Goliath’s Shield and this spear, my stats were high enough to overwhelm even a Death Knight. At this level, I could probably go toe-to-toe with Luden without losing.

I spun my spear in one hand and charged.

…Lord Logue’s Eight-Span Spear is coming through!

Now this is what romance feels like.

…Is that guy smiling?

Dragged into a dungeon without warning and forced to fight bizarre monsters, the very person responsible for this mess was grinning while trading blows with one.

"[Heal]"

The man called Luden was fighting the skeletal monster fairly well, but he was gradually being pushed back. I kept layering enhancement spells on him, yet it was only a matter of time before he started losing ground.

…But how does he know so much about me?

If he knew I was in the Alchemy Department, it made sense he’d assume I could use enhancement magic. But how did he know I’d also studied holy magic?

I’d only learned holy spells to increase the variety of magic I could bestow, since my low magic stat limited me to low-grade spells. I’d never shown them to anyone, so there was no way he should have known.

Still puzzling over it, I focused on supporting Luden.

Clang!

The Death Knight’s armor finally gave way under my spear. Its glow faded completely.

That’s one down… Now for Luden’s side.

I’d thought Liana’s support would let him hold out longer, but he was clearly struggling. Burn marks covered his body, and Logue himself was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath.

"Hey. Tag out."

I hurled my spear at Eldritch. Caught off guard, the lich took the spear straight to the chest and was pinned like a skewered fish.

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[You bastard! I’ll kill you!]

Even so, being undead, he didn’t seem completely incapacitated. Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have thrown it…

Shield raised, I advanced on Eldritch.

"Luden, take a break. I’ll handle this."

In the old medieval days, there was actual shield-fighting technique. Even that American hero in the action movies fights with a shield. I charged, shield-first.

Whoosh!

A Fireball flew toward me. I blocked it with the shield and slammed Eldritch hard. He flew backward and collapsed, struggling to rise. He let out a grotesque scream and began chanting.

Soon, an ominous sphere began forming above him. This… little—!

I rushed in and struck his head. Eldritch went limp, but the black sphere didn’t vanish. The light in the area suddenly disappeared.

"Kyaaah!"

Liana’s scream rang out.

"Liana! Are you okay?!"

I frantically activated my light artifact, but even though it worked, the surroundings remained pitch black—as if the darkness had swallowed the light itself.

Then I felt something grab my wrist in the dark. I swung hard at whatever it was.

"Ow! It’s me! Luden!"

…It was Luden. Annoyed, I hit him again for good measure.

"Ow!"

Serves him right.

"Logue…? Are you there?"

Liana had also moved closer. Thankfully, she seemed unharmed.

A moment later, something went wrong.

"Logue… I hear a strange sound… inside my head… Aaaah!"

"Shit! Someone make it stop! Aaaaaah!"

Liana and Luden suddenly started screaming. I’m fine, though… Mental debuff.

They’d been afflicted with some kind of status ailment. We needed to get out of here fast, but we couldn’t see anything.

Step.

Footsteps echoed. Hard to make out over the screaming, but they didn’t sound human… Step.

The sound grew louder, approaching us.

Then a chilling voice, like nails on metal—nothing like Eldritch’s—spoke.

[So Eldritch was defeated…]

Light returned. The darkness hadn’t lasted long. The figure revealed was a demon in human form, its body covered in purple scales.

Th-that guy… He’s the one from the demon invasion event…?

Melek, the vanguard of the demon invasion that happened much later in the story. The same demon who fought with the spear I’d just been using.

I rushed to Eldritch and retrieved my spear. Liana and Luden were still screaming, trapped in their status ailments.

[If you came here… I suppose killing you is fine, right…?]

Melek hesitated briefly, then decided to eliminate us. I immediately took a combat stance.

I used [Insight] to check Melek’s stats. In the demon invasion event, Melek’s overwhelming stats and traits made party play mandatory. Even the Hero, who had a damage bonus against demons, struggled to beat this vanguard in a solo fight.

I looked at the spear in my hand. …If he’d still had this spear, we wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Aside from his monstrous Constitution and Magic, he was manageable. …If Luden and Liana were still in their right minds.

Without them, our odds were slim. …If I’d known, I would’ve brought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠status recovery potions… Huh?

An idea struck me, and I sprinted toward Eldritch’s corpse. Melek simply watched with an amused expression.

Eldritch’s drops included a necklace with purification effects and status recovery potions…

…Found them. I grabbed the potion and necklace from Eldritch’s robes and hurried to Liana and Luden. I forced the potion into Luden’s mouth and fastened the necklace around Liana’s neck. Didn’t feel like putting the necklace on Luden…

"Gwaaaah… Huh? Where…?"

"Hic… Sob… Hm? The sound’s gone…"

Both quickly regained their senses. Melek spoke in his spine-chilling voice, still relaxed.

[Shall we begin…?]

"…Yeah. Thanks for waiting."

Liana and Luden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked around in confusion before spotting Melek and freezing in horror.

"Kyaaah! What is that?! That’s a demon…?!"

"Why is there a demon here…?"

"Quiet and focus. Or you’ll die here. Liana, cast holy and enhancement magic on me."

"Y-yes…"

Power surged through my body. The necklace also boosted magic capacity, so the effects felt even stronger.

"Luden. When I charge, follow up and look for an opening."

"…Got it."

I finished speaking and dashed at Melek.

Whoosh!

My spear missed. Melek split open his own chest and pulled out a rib… shaped like a spear. A magic circle formed beneath us.

"Liana, Luden! Get off the magic circle!"

They leapt away just as massive, razor-sharp bones erupted from the ground.

The Melek boss fight had begun.