The Executive's Assault
By the time Eve and I headed for the Demon King's army, we had somehow arrived right in front of them. There were roughly a hundred of them at a glance. With executives added to the mix, it was obvious the Demon King had come prepared this time.
Hmm. Did the future change because the terror attacks have been complete failures so far? The question crossed my mind, but there was no time to ponder it. We needed to move quickly.
I hid behind a nearby rock, lost in thought, when Eve asked,
"What will you do?"
She stared at me with wide, innocent eyes. I narrowed my gaze, scanning the demons one by one.
"We have to reach the students while avoiding this area, but that won't be easy."
If it were Jane, she might manage, but for non-assassins like us, sneaking past that many demons was impossible. Of course we could force our way through, but the problem was the massive time loss.
"Then I'll act as the bait."
Eve volunteered without hesitation. If she hadn't regressed, I would have stopped her no matter what. But...
She won't die with her current strength.
She was weaker than in her prime, yet she remained an exceptional powerhouse. There was no real need to worry.
"If it gets dangerous, just run."
"Yes. Understood."
With that, Eve stood and slowly walked forward.
Eve advanced toward the demons. Truthfully, she would have preferred to follow Elric. Even knowing he was a regressor, he could still get hurt. But volunteering as bait would help him far more.
"Huh?"
The demons turned at the sound of her footsteps. The ones who had been smirking arrogantly quickly turned serious. At the same time—
"Hu—!"
Before they could shout, Eve swung her sword. A single strike killed one demon outright.
This won't draw enough attention.
Honestly, unless an executive stepped in, she could handle any number of regular demons. But the real objective was to get Professor Elric safely to the Class A students. She needed something flashy to seize their focus.
-Hwaaaaah!
Having settled her thoughts, Eve released the aura inside her body. Instantly—
"It's an ambush!"
"Over there!"
The startled demons rushed toward her. Eve glanced back at where Elric had been. The next moment, she spotted him stealthily creeping forward.
I need to dance spectacularly so they don't notice Professor Elric.
Thinking that, Eve layered aura onto her blade. At the same time—
-Whoooong!
Despite the flashy intent, she swung her sword in a simple horizontal arc. Then—
-Whoooong!
A blue aura shaped like a crescent moon engulfed the demons. It was a slash that formed a blue moon—beautiful to behold from the outside, but...
"Everyone dodge!"
In reality, any demon it touched would disintegrate in midair.
-Whoooosh!
Dust clouds rose from her strike. Once they settled...
"More survived than I expected."
Demons with their upper and lower bodies completely severed filled her vision. Their numbers had thinned considerably, but the area was still swarming with them. Eve let out a small sigh and spoke.
"Haa. Since you helped me this time, you'll grant one request, right?"
At the same time, the Class A students barricaded inside the castle jumped at the sudden surge of aura. Even from far away, their entire bodies tingled.
"Looks like the professors have started moving."
"Let's hold out until they arrive!"
As the Class A students steeled their resolve on the castle walls—
-Step. Step.
Light footsteps echoed nearby. Light footsteps at a moment like this could never belong to allies. Sure enough—
"Tsk. So they got caught after all."
A muscular demon appeared. Ordinary-looking demons soon followed behind him. The Class A students instantly realized that while the others might be manageable, this muscular demon was on an entirely different level from anything they'd faced before.
"I'll smash through first. Everyone fall back."
Zan sent his subordinates rearward, then clenched his fist tightly.
-Whoooong!
He threw a full-power punch. The next instant—
-Kwaaaaaang!
A deafening explosion rang out. His fist should have shattered the castle wall instantly, but...
"Hmm. So that's what it was."
Unfortunately, the wall was no ordinary barrier. More precisely, the divine power layered over it was anything but ordinary.
"Now I understand why those guys lost."
Zan had genuinely been unable to comprehend it. Demons losing to mere students who weren't even soldiers? It was humiliating. But now...
"There really is something unusual on their side."
Zan emitted his demonic energy as he spoke.
-Hwaaaaaah!
Killing intent-laden demonic energy rippled from his body. At the same time—
-Oooong.
Demonic energy concentrated in his fist. Then he unleashed a relentless barrage on the castle gate.
-Kwaaaang!
Sena blocked the blows, her brows furrowed in concentration.
"Kgh!"
In her prime she could have stopped such punches effortlessly, but this was long before her peak. She hadn't even properly awakened yet. And that wasn't the only issue.
The compatibility is terrible.
If it had been pure demonic energy, she could have endured even in her weakened state. But he was mixing physical force with it. Sena broke into a cold sweat, pouring every ounce of strength into holding the line, but—
-Crack.
Cracks began spreading across the gate. The students watching were horrified; they had never seen Sena's barrier damaged before.
-Crash!
In an instant, Sena's barrier shattered completely. Zan shook out his hand and shouted.
"Now!"
"Uwaaaaaah!"
At his command the demons charged through the broken gate. Sena looked at them and said,
"Sai. Lead the students and handle the demons. I'll take the executive."
"Yes! Understood!"
With that, the Class A students prepared to fight.
While Eve drew their attention, I raced toward the castle and narrowed my eyes at the thick demonic energy I sensed.
Tsk. Worst-case scenario.
-Why, Master?
I'm sensing executive-level demonic energy from inside that castle.
The whole reason I was running like this was to arrive before any executives intervened, but I was already a step too late.
-But that yandere saintess is there, isn't she? It'll be fine, right?
Well, the absolute worst might still be avoided.
Even so, the situation was clearly dangerous. And then—
"There's a human here too!"
The invisibility hat's time must have run out. Demons swarmed me as I tried to move undetected. I swung Jukchang quickly.
Then—
"Kyaaaaaaaack!"
"Kuhuk!"
"What the hell is this?!"
The demons foamed at the mouth and fainted with looks of utter disbelief.
-It's been forever since I transformed into the bamboo spear. This feels great, Master!
Yeah, yeah. More importantly, set every curse to maximum.
-Got it, Master!
With that, I gave the demons swarming me a taste of hell.
Around the time Elric was approaching the castle, Sai muttered,
"Huu... This is tougher than I expected."
He kept swinging his sword against the demons. They were far stronger than the Class B students from earlier. Even after he took a hostage, they charged without the slightest hesitation.
Of course, they still weren't opponents he couldn't handle.
-Slash!
Sai cut down the demon before him in one stroke and glanced around. The Class A students were struggling but landing the first blows against the demons. If things continued this way, no one would die.
However—
-Kwaaaang!
The real problem was the demon from earlier and Sena. They had seemed evenly matched at first, but Sena was gradually being pushed back. At this rate, total annihilation was inevitable. He needed to support her quickly.
"There's an opening!"
A demon exploited Sai's distraction with a surprise attack. He used body reinforcement to raise his sword and block.
-Screeeech!
The grinding sound echoed in his ears. It felt like his palm was tearing apart, but this was nothing compared to Elric's training. He could endure it.
"Stop interfering and get lost!"
He roared as he brought his sword down vertically.
-Slice!
The demon was cut cleanly in two. Organs and blood sprayed out, but he had to help the others. Sai swung his sword at the remaining demons, praying inwardly that Elric would arrive soon.
At the same time, Zan inwardly admired the woman before him. She was blocking every single one of his attacks.
"Are you really just a student?"
"Why ask something so obvious?"
She let out a hollow laugh, as if his question was ridiculous. From Zan's perspective, her words were even more absurd. She moved with more skill than most soldiers; she hardly seemed like a student. Moreover, the woman before him was his equal in strength.
So this is why the Demon King sent me.
If he hadn't come, the terror operation would have failed. Leaving the professors aside, this girl was beyond what anyone short of an executive could handle.
If she grows any further...
It would create an uncontrollable threat. Setting the others aside, this one had to die here. Having reached that conclusion, Zan unleashed his full demonic energy.
-Hwaaaaaaaaaah!!
Dense demonic energy poured from his body as if he had been holding back until now. At the same time—
-Hwaaaaaaaaaah!!
Sena released her divine power as well. Zan looked at her and declared,
"I don't care about the others, but you must die here."
"Hmm. You should run while you can. That person will be arriving here soon."
"Nonsense!"
With those words, he kicked off the ground with absolute confidence. At that moment, he had no idea just how dangerous the person she spoke of truly was.