---

“1 squad, ready!”

At the command of the commander, the Elves drew their bows. Among them was an archer fixed to the ground with a large bow, but they weren’t holding any arrows.

Then, the hands of the Elves pulling the bowstring glowed green. It took a full minute to form an arrow from the gathered wind. Considering that this was during a raid, that was quite a long time to charge.

However, the power was certainly impressive. The enormous arrow on the bowstring could have easily been mistaken for a large ballista.

“1 squad, fire!”

As soon as the command was given, the Elves let go simultaneously.

– Puaaan─!

The sound of a piercing shot was so immense that it was hard to imagine it was coming from a bow. The arrow, freed from the Elves’ hands, shot straight with not an ounce of wobble, unlike the usual bows affected by gravity.

In the blink of an eye, the arrow reached its target, striking the legs of the Volcano Dragon without fail. The arrow’s intrinsic quality of penetrating objects had long since vanished. It could only be described as a small storm of explosive winds raging through the Volcano Dragon’s legs.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the Volcano Dragon roared and drew back the attacked limb. Even with such a strong assault, it wouldn’t bow down easily.

“Wow… amazing…”

“This is what Elves are capable of…”

Tia and Stella, beside Arthur, were in awe. The firepower was significant, and it wasn’t just a scale of battling a single monster; the situation felt far grander. However, there was no time to be impressed now.

“We need to do our part.”

Currently, the task assigned to Arthur’s party was to prepare against the Demon, who could launch a surprise attack at any moment. To fulfill that, Arthur and the heroines stood back-to-back, keeping their eyes peeled.

But what they were overlooking was that the most dangerous entity here was not the Demon or Luke, but the Volcano Dragon right in front of them.

– Thud!

The Volcano Dragon took a step forward, creating a massive footprint that shook the ground and stirred up clouds of dust. The colossal body of the Volcano Dragon was a disaster in itself, and it didn’t stop there. From the volcano it carried on its back, dark smoke began to billow forth, engulfing the bright sky in darkness.

– Kwaaaang!!

Immediately after, with a booming explosion, the volcano erupted. Ash mixed with the air blurred their vision to the point they couldn’t tell if it was morning or evening, and countless volcanic rocks began to rain down, arcing through the air.

“What the hell…!”

Arthur stared in shock. Naturally, the trajectory of the volcanic rocks was aimed directly at where Arthur and the Elves stood. He had braced himself to some extent, but seeing the size of the flaming projectiles, reminiscent of small suns, left him no choice but to curse.

The flying volcanic rocks were not fluid. The shell of the Volcano Dragon sharpened into a lethal shape, ablaze.

“Support squad! Fire!”

At that moment, with the commander’s voice, several arrows struck directly at a volcanic rock. Kwahwang! The exploded volcanic rock turned to dust. They had successfully blocked one, but unfortunately, there was more than one attack.

Before the second volcanic rock arrived, the still-loading Elves were unable to react. Arthur’s party was in the same predicament.

‘What do we do?’

Just as this concern crossed his mind, a man with long black hair passed by Arthur’s side. By the time Arthur realized it, the volcanic rock had already vanished into dust.

“The attacks are more extravagant than I expected.”

The man spoke those words, revealing his name: Gideon. It was the moment when humanity’s greatest swordsman stepped forward. Arthur wanted to thank him, but alas, there was no time for that now.

“As long as I’m here, the Demon won’t show up, so I’ll advance. You do what you need to do.”

“Understood.”

With that, Gideon leaped towards the Volcano Dragon, slashing through the falling volcanic rocks. As Gideon joined the frontlines, the tide of battle shifted. All the falling volcanic rocks disappeared before hitting the ground, and with a swift swing of his weapon, the Elves succeeded in making the Volcano Dragon kneel.

Gideon, as a Weapon Master, showcased various weapon attacks. Initially, he wielded a blunt weapon, then threw a spear targeting the Volcano Dragon’s eyes.

The raid was progressing steadily, but the current situation had numerous problems. The S-Rank Adventurer was absent, and the Elves could not shift their gaze from the Volcano Dragon for even a moment. Thanks to the smoke rising from the volcano, the forest had grown dark, creating the perfect conditions for a Demon to appear.

“Kekekeke—.”

An unsettling sound came from behind Arthur’s group. It seemed too bold to be the noise of something that had been hiding so far.

What entered their field of vision was a man with purple skin, red pupils, and sharp teeth. He was clearly not human, and he was licking the blade of Klaw with his tongue.

“Arthur!”

“Mr. Arthur!”

“Yeah.”

Arthur and the heroines immediately readied for battle. The Demon watched them with a gleeful expression, ready to pounce.

“Kahaha!!!”

– Clang!

The clash of their blades produced a screech as Arthur’s sword dug into the gaps between Klaw’s blade. The Demon was extraordinarily fast. Even with all the opportunities Arthur had consumed, he could barely manage to parry.

“Ugh…!”

The force wasn’t too overwhelming, but the speed of the incoming attacks packed a considerable weight.

At that moment, the Demon brought his hand down, producing a sound like kagagaga as Klaw slid down along the blade to the cross guard.

With Klaw in that position, the Demon held onto his sword, making it difficult for Arthur to maneuver his own blade.

“What the…?!”

Next, the Demon launched an attack with his free hand. Faced with a situation where he was holding onto his sword with both hands, Arthur had two choices. He could either push back with all his strength or abandon his sword and retreat. Attempting to dodge while still gripping his sword would get him pierced through by Klaw.

But Arthur chose to keep one hand on the sword and attempt to dodge. The Demon grinned wider as if he were about to do something impossible solo, but with a party member to back him up, anything was possible.

An ice spear and a rock spike flew in, striking the Demon’s side. The Demon was violently knocked back, allowing Arthur to slip his sword free from Klaw.

“Kahak…!”

As he saw the injured Demon licking the blood that dripped from his mouth, Arthur thought, ‘This is easier than I expected…?’

Of course, “easy” was a relative term. Considering all the events that had transpired, the fact that he could be in a standoff with just three people felt like an easy feat.

Thinking he could keep pressing the attack, Arthur was stopped when—

“Kik, kihihik! This is fun! Let’s make it more interesting before I kill you!”

Whether the Demon couldn’t comprehend the situation or was simply a battle maniac, he kept grinning wider, thoroughly enjoying himself.

And once again, the Demon leaped towards Arthur. He raised his sword in response, but—

‘Has it gotten faster?!’

Was it just his imagination? It felt like a trick of the mind, but for sure, the speed had increased. Just moments ago, he was barely able to track it with his eyes, and now it had sped up even more, making it difficult to react beyond instinct. If it were to get any faster, he wouldn’t even be able to react before getting killed.

This time, the Demon targeted not Arthur, but Tia and Stella, who were positioned behind him. It’s a classic tactical move to eliminate supporters and mages before engaging in combat. Arthur dashed forward to intercede between the Demon and the heroines.

“Ugh…?!”

The weight of the attacks that were faster than before was significant. Klaw’s blade passed dangerously close to Arthur’s eyesight. Due to that, a blind spot formed, and the Demon seized that opportunity to launch a rapid attack. However, a rocky wall sprang up beside him to shield Arthur’s side. Following that, as before, an ice spear struck the Demon’s side. But it wasn’t just Arthur who was unable to repeat the same action; the Demon also made a large leap to avoid the incoming assault.

In the blink of an eye, many lives had been exchanged. It was a drain on Arthur’s mental fortitude. Just as he tried to focus and catch his breath, the Demon suddenly began to cackle with a nasty laugh.

– Puuuk!

“……!”

He slashed at his own body with Klaw. And the problem was, it was not just once. The Demon kept injuring himself, stabbing and slicing at his own flesh.

What the hell is he doing? At that moment’s thought from Arthur.

“Kihihih, kehheh!”

A dark aura flared around the Demon’s body, before suddenly stopping all movement. It was a creature in the original story that had never appeared before, and Arthur had no idea what kind of ability it possessed.

The odds already favored them three to one, but there was no time to leisurely decipher the Demon’s newfound abilities.

The best way to navigate this situation was to kill the Demon before he unleashed his powers. Believing he could do it, blessed by the World Tree, Arthur asked Tia and Stella for support.

“Tia, Stella. I think we need to wrap this up quickly. Please support me.”

“Leave it to us!”

“Yes!”

This time, Arthur took the initiative. The Demon was still not moving. Though that peculiar stillness was chilling, he intended to seize the moment to eliminate him. Just as he reached within inches of the Demon and swung his sword with a battle cry.

“Ugh…!”

Before he realized it, the Demon was behind him, and in that brief moment, searing marks were engraved all over Arthur’s body. Although the Demon could have easily killed him, he intentionally refrained. Instead, he continued to carve those marks over Arthur’s body while chuckling madly.

*

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest.

“Phew— seems like I’m not too late.”

“…You are late.”

Luke had arrived at the battlefield.

 

---