Chapter 102
Chapter 102: Sword Duel, Brave Fight
— It was a step into another dimension.
The Sword Saints broke through the remnants of the annihilated fire magic and advanced.
In the next moment, they were already before the demon warriors.
“!?”
A young demon’s face contorted in shock.
In contrast, the Sword Saint before him held his twin swords, cold and sharp like honed blades.
“[My—”
The moment the young demon opened his mouth, two blades flashed.
With one sword, he sliced through the bothersome spear, and with the remaining blade, he decapitated.
The young demon’s head danced through the air, frozen in an expression of disbelief at what had just occurred.
Was he trying to chant a spell while moving his mouth?
“Crap! They’re Sword Saints!”
Gripping a spear engulfed in flames, another demon shouted.
They should have sensed the presence of the Fist Saint among the beastmen sooner.
What on earth were they about to face…?
“—Stay away!!”
With a whoosh, he exhaled flames like a circus act, trying to distance the Sword Saints.
However, the Sword Saint, wielding a round shield, effortlessly evaded it and elegantly swung his curved sword.
“—Tch.”
He quickly raised his spear to block. A metallic clink rang out as they clashed. The Sword Saint, ruffled but retreating slightly, took this opportunity to let flames spout from his hands and create distance.
“Ah, that was close…!”
In a brush with death, cold sweat broke out from him. Engaging the Sword Saint in close combat was a death sentence, no matter how many lives he had!
— Just then, the dwarf-crafted magical spear in his grasp snapped in two with a crack.
“Ah, my spear!”
— Following that, blood spurted from the demon’s torso.
“Ahh, my…”
His body.
Yeah, he hadn’t been able to fully absorb that attack.
The Sword Saint had merely stepped back because he had already secured the kill…
“Gah…”
A straight line cut from his abdomen to his chest tore through ribs, reaching deep into the heart, causing the demon to die instantly as if awakened to the truth.
“You bastard!!”
In an instant, two young ones had been slain, and the older demon warrior shouted angrily, veins bulging on his forehead.
“[Rot away!]”
As a seasoned warrior, his presence exuded confidence, showing no signs of fear even before the Sword Saint. He attempted to weaken the foe using magic, as was customary for demons.
A thick, poisonous deep green curse spilled from his hand, writhing like a swarm of snakes toward the Sword Saints—
“[Oh wind spirit, blow away the stagnation!]”
But the pure wind summoned by the elf mage stationed behind blew it all away.
“—Thank you.”
The Sword Saint smiled. He was a slender man bearing a small shield polished to a mirror finish and a straight sword.
With a gentle smile, he focused on the demon warriors.
The experienced demon clicked his tongue, but having anticipated interference, he remained relatively calm.
Sensing the curse, the Sword Saint slightly tempered his momentum, which was just enough for the seasoned demon to regain his stance.
“—Die!!”
Infusing magic into his spear, he lunged like a gale.
Yet, the strike was easily brushed aside by the Sword Saint. He parried the spear’s tip and smoothly moved in close—determined not to let that happen, the experienced demon kicked up his feet.
He buckled the ground with his toes and flung sand toward the Sword Saint’s face, aiming for a blinding maneuver, then brought down his spear in one swift motion—
“Unh.”
But the Sword Saint merely twisted his wrist slightly, bringing the blade before his eyes for just a moment, completely blocking the grains of sand.
And in retaliation, he tilted his small shield. The polished shield reflected the sun brilliantly.
That dazzling glare burned the eyes of the experienced demon.
“—Ahh!”
As he swung his spear, the demon found his vision turning completely white in despair.
His sight was stolen. Even in the blink of an eye.
Before the Sword Saint, that was utterly fatal—
“Don’t call it cowardly, will you?”
A chuckle echoed in his ear.
“You bastard—”
Before he could shout anything more, his head and body parted ways.
The heroes, who swiftly took down the guards, crashed into the lavish tent.
“…No one!?”
“This is— a conference room, huh?”
But contrary to expectations, it was empty.
Only a map of the battle and a round table, along with some documents, lay there.
He thought for sure the Demon Lord’s Prince was resting here— but alas, he was mistaken. Yet, there was no time to hesitate.
“[Fierce Fire!]”
Setting the documents ablaze, he rushed outside. What a painful waste of time— whether to search for the prince, retreat now, or just wreak havoc.
— No, the options were nearly nonexistent.
“It’s the Sword Saint!!”
“They’re tough! Don’t let them come close!”
“Kill the mage first!”
While searching for the prince, there was no choice but to rampage!!
Awoken by the alarm, warriors of the Demon Lord’s Army began pouring out from surrounding tents.
However, many emerged in their sleepwear, weapons in hand, regretting their light armor as soon as they realized they faced Sword Saints. Lightweight armor was useless against such opponents, and nobody wanted to fight them half-naked—
It was only natural that, as the heroes emerged from the larger tent, a magical battle began, encircled by the demons.
“[Kneel!]”
“[Wither away!]”
“[Die mad!]”
Curses rained down like a storm.
“[Great protection!]”
When a hero raised his shield and shouted, silvery light cloaked them all.
“[The evil curses shall pass us by!]”
The elf mage desperately continued casting protection spells.
They advanced as one, but the hesitant demons kept their distance, creating a stalemate. The Sword Saint was poised to attack at any moment, but if he pushed too far forward, the protection would diminish, trapping him in enemy magic, leading to inaction.
“What’s going on!? Is this the infamous demon kind?”
“What a bunch of cowards, right, bro?!”
— Then, the notorious duo of Sword Saints exaggeratedly shrugged and shouted.
“We came all this way to say hi, you know?”
“To find such pathetic weaklings is just disappointing!”
A classic look of disdain.
“Hey, you guys, are those spears just for show?”
“Why not hold a staff instead!”
“That way, you can feel safe even as you grow old!”
“They’re practically like that already, right?! Just mumbling nonsense!”
They roared with boisterous laughter.
“Wahh! Mommy, the Sword Saints are scary!”
“Oh, there, there, poor kid. Let me teach you a good spell!”
In a high-pitched child’s weep, he mimicked a mother with a creepy voice.
“[Mazoku Dajaku Naru Yari ga Tsueninaru]”
“Oh! Everyone, Mother taught us a spell!”
“Now, everyone, please join in! Show us your fancy magic!”
“Once you chant it, you won’t be scared of the Sword Saints anymore!”
They laughed uncontrollably…
The command tent fell into horrifying silence.
The demon men stood almost expressionless, frozen in place.
No, their facial muscles were so tense that their expressions had vanished instead.
Gradually— their faces, their necks, darkened to a deep blue—
“Kill them—!!”
With bloodshot eyes, the half-naked demons, especially the younger ones, forgot their reason in rage and charged forward.
The elder warriors shouted, “Stop it, you fools!” “Don’t fall for their provocation!” but they were completely ignored—
The laughing duo of Sword Saints stood up, shield raised before them—
And behind it, a ferocious grin appeared.
But they quickly repainted their expressions to one of levity as they assumed their fighting stances.
The two stood in a perfectly synchronized position, uniquely similar to each other. Unlike other Sword Saints, they lacked individual characteristics.
And no wonder.
Both were Sword Saints who had emerged from the ranks of soldiers.
As soldiers, they had perfected the generic human swordsmanship to the utmost, transcending the limits of the ordinary.
And the essence of a soldier’s blade is—
In teamwork.
“We’ll coordinate.”
“Understood.”
The formation of just two clashed with the raging swarm of demons.
The onslaught of magical spears was effortlessly deflected by an unremarkable shield.
No, it shattered.
And they pressed in.
With surety, minimal movement, and precision.
They gouged out demon hearts, sliced throats; the dozen who rushed at them quickly formed a mountain of corpses.
“Ah, ahh…!”
“Those… foolish fools!”
“Don’t let them live!! Torture them and kill them!!!”
At last enraged, still retaining their judgment, the demons unleashed magic all at once.
“Guh! …[Spirits, protect us, purify the evil words!]”
“[Great protection!]”
The sweating mage struggled desperately to deflect the spells while the heroes supported him—
“Kill that one!!”
“Die, herbivore!”
At that moment, the night elves that had arrived began gleefully shooting arrows toward the elf mage.
But surrounding the elf mage, there were the Fist Saints, led by Dogajin, at the ready.
“My, oh my, quite the popular one.”
Thelightheartedly laughing Dogajin danced in the fray.
And sadly, the night elves quickly fell silent. The elf mage wore a refreshing smile, as if forgetting his fatigue, and began chanting once more—
“[Tear asunder]”
— A voice whispered in his ear.
With a whoosh, the elf mage’s face was shredded.
“Gah—!?”
The wound was shallow. But the elf mage was in disbelief.
The curse had slipped past the protection of the wind spirits he had encircled around him.
Even though he had only allies surrounding him.
As if someone beside him had just chanted a spell—
Suddenly, he sensed a particularly powerful presence approaching from behind the demons.
“…That was quite a beating.”
A fully armed warrior with green hair appeared, sighing at the corpses of his comrades.
— Though he hadn’t directly met him before.
The heroes understood.
That was their target.
The Fourth Demon Prince, Emelgias.
