The Shadow's Counterattack
Elisa's heart pounded with a thrilling tremor as she gathered her magic power, directing it toward the enemy before her eyes. At the same moment, her body began to melt away, dissolving seamlessly into a pitch-black shadow.
And then...
“Wh-what the...?”
Those were the last words before even the shadow vanished. Elisa had disappeared cleanly from right in front of Antonius.
Antonius's expression hardened slightly. He immediately sharpened his senses, raising his guard to the highest level as he scanned the surroundings.
Given the situation, that bastard is Octavia's bodyguard. There's no way someone like him would abandon his charge and run. Which means... he's still hiding somewhere in this room.
With that thought in mind, Antonius focused his nerves, bracing for an attack from any direction.
In that instant...
“There you are!”
-Thud!
Sensing a presence from behind, Antonius swung his sword without mercy.
But...
“Guh... kuh... hrrk...”
“!”
What met Antonius's eyes was the sight of one of his own subordinates, impaled through the heart by his blade and dying.
“What... what is this? Why are you here...?”
He had clearly ordered them to attack Octavia and the dark elf, yet this subordinate had drawn his weapon and charged straight at him. As Antonius reeled in confusion at the incomprehensible behavior...
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
“Damn it!”
Another subordinate came lunging from his side, sword raised. Antonius kicked him hard, knocking him down, then stomped on his body to pin him in place.
The subordinate went limp as if he'd lost consciousness. But then...
“Uwaaah...”
“! This guy... he was definitely dead, wasn't he?”
The subordinate who had just been run through the heart moments ago now charged at Antonius again, blood pouring from his body as if nothing had happened.
-Thud!
Antonius sliced off the man's head. Yet even without it, the corpse swung its sword at him. In a panic, Antonius had no choice but to sever the torso completely to stop its movements.
“Kraa... aaah...”
The body, now cut completely in two, twitched for a moment before finally going still. Watching this, Antonius finally understood what was happening.
Damn it... they're being controlled? By that woman?
The subordinates who had attacked him with bewildered expressions. The corpses that kept lunging even after their vital points had been struck and their lives ended. Seeing all of it, Antonius realized with perfect clarity that his men had fallen under the spell of that demon girl's magic.
A terrifying spell... It seems she can't use it directly on someone of my caliber, but if she controls allies like this to strike from behind, it's practically impossible to deal with in a chaotic melee.
From the circumstances, it appeared the demon girl's magic involved manipulating shadows. But beyond that, most of its principles remained unclear. Antonius decided to play as defensively as possible while analyzing her ability.
For now, she can only control two targets at once... It's highly likely she's hiding inside the shadow of one of those two. I tried striking the shadows directly earlier, but it had no effect. In that case...
The moment that thought crossed his mind, a faint smile flickered across Antonius's lips.
He immediately drew up his holy power throughout his entire body and gazed at the subordinates still charging toward him.
And then...
-Flash!
“!”
A brilliant light erupted from Antonius's body. It enveloped everyone in the room and erased every last shadow present.
At the same time, the subordinates froze in place before collapsing to the floor. Seeing this, Antonius confirmed that he had successfully broken the demon's magic, just as he had predicted.
In the face of intense light, darkness cannot take hold. With this, that bastard's magic is...
At that moment...
“Guhhhk!”
“As expected, the ceiling was poorly defended.”
"From the shadows I emerge,"
"A blade in the dark, swift and unseen."
⟨ Shadow Strike ⟩
“Ah!”
Elisa suddenly appeared from the ceiling, driving her dagger into the nape of what appeared to be the assassins' leader. Watching this, Octavia couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration—and a faint spark of delight.
Incredible. Someone who can wield holy power at that level is rare even within the Holy Kingdom, yet she took him down so easily, without a scratch...
Elisa's skill in defeating a being who wielded holy power—the natural enemy of demonkind—without suffering even a single wound. Although she was technically an enemy of Octavia, the sight of her prowess... especially displayed in defense of her, left a deep impression in Octavia's heart.
What is this... Why... Why is my heart racing like this? I've never felt anything like it in my entire life...
In that moment, Octavia began to feel a strange emotion she herself couldn't understand. Right after, she stared blankly at Elisa, who lightly brushed her hair aside while standing before the fallen assassin with the dagger still embedded in him.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of Octavia's state, Elisa maintained a calm exterior. But inwardly, she was cheering with joy at the fact that her newly developed technique had produced such excellent results.
Yes! I knew from the beginning, when it was so hard to create, that it would be useful—but this is way beyond my expectations!
Truly delighted with her achievement, Elisa retrieved her dagger from the fallen man's neck and decided to deal with the remaining small fry.
But then...
“! Huh?”
The next instant, Elisa's face stiffened like stone as she pulled out the dagger. A sudden hollow feeling. And most decisively, the blade that should have been drenched in blood had not a single drop on it.
The moment she realized what that meant, Elisa spun around in alarm.
However...
“So the source of your magic really is shadows... That is your limit.”
“Guhhhhk!!!!”
In the next moment, Elisa's chest was slashed wide open by Antonius's sword. Wearing nothing but ordinary clothes with zero defensive power, the blow was devastating.
“E-Elisa!”
“Master!”
“Cough! Hrrk...”
Thanks to a desperate last-second dodge, she avoided instant death, but the injury was severe enough to make further combat impossible. As Antonius approached her, he spoke in a voice cold as ice.
“I had predicted this even before erasing the shadows. That once the magic was dispelled, you would attack in some way. I prepared accordingly. Using the moment when the flash blinded your vision, I created an illusion with my light-manipulating ability.”
“Kuh... Damn it...!”
“You deserve praise for driving me this far, but this is the end. Farewell.”
With those words, Antonius raised his sword to strike Elisa down.
“N-no!”
Watching this, Octavia rushed forward desperately, trying to save her somehow. But Amelda blocked her path.
“Haaaaat!”
“Slash!”
With a battle cry, Antonius's greatsword swung down. A vivid spray of blood erupted right after.
But...
“...Eh?”
Sudden shock flooded Antonius's face. On the other hand, the despair that had clouded Elisa's expression was replaced by pure astonishment.
“What... what is this...?”
The bloodstained greatsword now visible in Antonius's eyes. And a moment later, the terrible pain that began to engulf his body. Only then did Antonius realize that his abdomen had been pierced clean through by the massive blade.
And then...
“Good grief... I never imagined something like this was happening in here.”
A male voice reached his ears. With that, Antonius lost consciousness completely.
At the same time, Elisa stared at the man before her with an expression of intense shock.
“H-Hero? H-how are you here?”
The hero, dressed not in his usual armor but in light robes, had brought down Antonius. He then looked at Elisa and rummaged through his pocket as he spoke.
“I was just passing by and heard some commotion, so I came to check. Looks like I did the right thing. I never expected someone like you, Elisa, to be in such danger...”
“U-um... I let my guard down a little...”
Even in this situation, Elisa felt a deep wave of embarrassment at the hero's words and averted her gaze. Looking at her, the hero pulled out an emergency potion he carried and poured it over her wounds.
Right after, Elisa's body began to recover slowly thanks to the potion's effect. Though the injury was so severe that this was merely first aid, it would be enough until she could see a proper healer.
“Th-thank you... for coming to save me like this.”
“I only did what needed to be done. I'm more sorry that I didn't notice my comrade's crisis sooner.”
With those words, the hero offered her a gentle smile and extended his hand. Seeing this, Elisa felt her heart flutter once more as she cautiously took his hand and rose to her feet.
At that moment...
“It seems there was quite a large disturbance here after all.”
“!”
A familiar voice suddenly reached her ears. Not only Elisa, but also Amelda, who had been watching from behind, immediately turned their gazes toward the being before them—the one who had instantly wiped out all the remaining assassins—and bowed in respect.
“Y-Your Majesty the Demon King...”
“Your Majesty. How did you come all the way here...”