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The aftermath of defeating the mid-level demon was far from trivial.

The head, skewered and hung in plain view, boosted the morale of our allies. The stories of Ainel and my victory over the demon generated a flicker of hope among the people.

The effect was not limited to those within the castle walls.

Outside the fortifications, the foul monsters also seemed to shudder as the dominance of the mid-level demon faded. Thanks to that, I could feel that tonight would be easier for everyone than yesterday.

“I’ll go up to the walls as well.”

That’s why Sion wanted to join the other clergy on the battlements.

One of the paladins accompanying him waved his hands in protest. “You can’t go up there! That’s absolutely out of the question.”

“But the enemy’s forces have been significantly diminished… and aren’t there other priests already up there bestowing blessings on the injured?”

Sion looked down at the patients beneath the castle walls.

Most had severe wounds and were on the brink of death due to not receiving immediate treatment. The number of priests above was limited, and those not chosen would have to come down to be treated.

Endless bleeding. Gaping wounds. The worst agony and excessive blood loss clouding consciousness.

“Even the paladin knows this. Once they come down from the walls, it’s too late.”

Divine power might heal their wounds, but their lost consciousness rarely returned to their bodies.

“I must treat the soldiers on the walls.”

“But—”

“I’m a priest of the Shianella name. My entire family is struggling up there. I can’t afford to waste divine power here in safety.”

I even heard that my younger sister, Shione, was accomplishing quite a bit.

Her arrows were accurately piercing the heads of our enemies, contributing significantly to thinning their numbers. I could hear the archers praising her shooting skill during the day.

Sion glanced at the battlements and then back at the paladin.

The paladin’s expression was stiff and rigid. He clearly disliked the notion of Sion going up to the walls.

However, upon seeing the conviction in Sion’s eyes, he instinctively realized that he couldn’t dissuade him.

“I’ll bring back more reliable escorts. Could you please wait a moment?”

“Alright.”

With those words, Sion turned back to face the walls.

Before long, an unusual event occurred.

A figure dressed in black descended from the towering heights. Dark magic surged from the unidentified individual like a wild tide. She plunged her magic-infused sword into the walls, abruptly halting her fall.

As her feet touched the ground, she exchanged a glance with Sion.

Sion caught a glimpse of her eyes shining out from under her hood.

“…A demon!”

Along with the tumultuous magic, it was a gaze belonging not to a hideous creature but to a person.

She was clearly a demon.

“Your name is Shianella.”

The demon unleashed a wave of dark energy, instinctively drawing in the intent to kill as soon as she locked eyes on Sion.

Just at that moment, Sion noticed a man descending rapidly behind her.

Unlike the demon in black, he was an individual she recognized.

Ron, Shione’s attendant. Yet still, it was curious how he managed to obliterate a low-level demon in an instant with his magic.

“An attempted suicide…?”

Ray was falling right above the demon’s head.

*

The battlefield was not faring too poorly.

Tonight’s fortifications felt more relaxed than any other night.

“Thanks to your mother slaying the demon, the monsters seem properly cowed.”

“If it continues like this, we should be able to hold out until the royal army arrives.”

“Indeed, that would be good… huff!”

Shione hit a monster climbing the walls with a sliding release.

The one whose head was pierced tumbled down, lifeless.

“Your archery has improved quite a bit.”

“…I shoot my bow until I feel like I could die every night, so if I don’t improve, that’d be even more frustrating. But I’m still not as good as my master.”

I nodded at Shione’s little grievance trailing behind me.

That much was obvious.

She had seen my magic-infused strike that killed a demon, and since then, her dedication to archery had intensified. Apparently, Shione felt a strong inspiration from my attack. As a result, her skills had enhanced so significantly that I felt she might not even require my protection today.

We were in the midst of an unusually easy battle.

Suddenly, uninvited guests appeared on the walls, which had only been overrun by monsters.

Dozens of women draped in black emerged simultaneously, bustling about.

“We must break through the walls! Awaken the final arrangements left by the fallen!”

Following a woman’s throaty voice, a wretched energy erupted.

“Ray, those must be demons. They look lighter than the previous ones.”

“…They certainly do.”

My face twisted at the thought of unwanted troubles approaching.

They planned to break down the gates. The wicked demons were determined to invade, so it wouldn’t just be a simple attempt.

Was it time for me to return the favor and shatter their heads instead?

Hearing their proclamation to break down the gates, the knights, led by Siabel, began to move rapidly.

I turned to Shione, who was aiming an arrow at one of the demons.

“Can you shoot? They’re only human, after all.”

“…Aren’t they demons?”

The arrowhead in Shione’s bow glowed with energy.

With that, she let her arrow fly straight, piercing the heart of the demon.

“I’m so tired of these pathetic demons.”

In the past, Shione had nervously trembled when she killed a cultist during her coming-of-age ceremony.

Now, after everything she had experienced, she maintained her cool composure even after cleanly dispatching one demon.

The battle continued.

The knights’ swift reactions and the priests’ pressures kept the demons’ magic in check.

If it continued like this, the situation would be adequately suppressed, but, of course, there were exceptions.

One demon suddenly erupted with magic and attempted to break through erratically.

Then, that madman threw themselves down inside the territory, right below the walls.

“Is it crazy…?”

How could anyone commit suicide in such a flamboyant manner?

For a moment, I separated from Shione and pressed against the wall to see the outcome, but I couldn’t find her body.

She had actively used her magic to stab the wall, employing audacity during her fall.

“Just as expected from a demon.”

It was a stunning feat to carelessly engage in such reckless abandon.

Even if she went down alone, she’d likely be hunted down right away by the knights or paladins down there.

While I contemplated this, I noticed a familiar figure among the priests. It couldn’t be anyone else.

“…Sion Shianella?”

In this place, there wasn’t another silver-haired priest aside from Sion Shianella.

What on earth had he done with his escort? He stood there staring intently at the demon.

Moreover, the demon was poised to charge straight at Sion, weapon drawn.

“Ah, crap. Seriously.”

Overwhelmed by the unforeseen situation, fluent Korean slipped out of my mouth.

Sion must not die.

The quest interlinked with him was offering a seed of power as a reward.

Regardless of how well our relationship fared, since we were blood, Shione would probably end up moping around in her room again if something happened to him.

Moreover, that demon wouldn’t have recklessly leaped down from the walls without reason.

That dude’s magic exuded an even more chilling atmosphere than the other demons up above.

If left unaddressed, he would undoubtedly cause a significant ruckus.

He was someone I needed to eliminate as quickly as possible.

Thus, I began checking my mana.

“With this, I could try something reckless like that demon.”

I promptly dove down beneath the castle walls.

Gravity pulled me down with increasing force. I struggled to keep my center as I directed my mana.

A strong airflow rushed around me.

Woosh!

The powerful wind aided my descent.

With the assistance of the wind, I regained my balance and slowed my fall.

A sensation of buoyancy enveloped my entire being.

Instead of falling, only the grace of flight and a beautiful landing remained, allowing me to abruptly position myself behind the demon.

“Huff!”

I exhaled sharply and drew my sword from my waist.

The moonlit blade gleamed as it ignited. The sword pierced the sky, tracing a line as it descended.

“……!”

The demon’s eyes widened as it narrowly evaded my attack.

However, even with that slim margin, its hood was sliced clean off.

And both Sion and I could see.

“A Half-Demon?”

It possessed a human form, yet two cute horns sprouted from its head.

This being was a half-breed—neither fully human nor fully demon, shunned by both realms.

Yet, irrespective of that fact, we were currently in a combat scenario.

I promptly drew an arrow, adjusting my stance to suit distance.

As I activated sliding release, I infused my magic into the shot.

Boosting speed with the wind and fueling it with a small spark to obliterate the foe.

I loosed the arrow. It went wide. The demon was faster than I had anticipated.

“So, you’re the rumored spellcaster.”

“You mentioned you want to break the wall, but just how do you plan to single-handedly shatter such a fortress?”

“Hmph, like I’d spill my secrets.”

The demon gathered herself, slicking her disheveled form back into order.

Her sharpened intent wasn’t aimed at Sion but at me.

Her murderous intent surging with the magic made me feel quite burdened.

“Did you think I would simply reveal my answers that easily?”

After that, the fierce battle commenced.

Perhaps due to her half-demon lineage, she was remarkably resilient.

Unlike the others, this one had a clear grasp of the flow of battle, and her magic was an added troubling factor.

That being said, that state of affairs couldn’t last for long.

I had told Siabel this.

Not only arrows but also the capacity to infuse magic was entirely possible with a sword.

Eventually, she succumbed to the fervent strike, coughing up blood as she fell.

“I mustn’t die like this…!”

The face of the demon twisted grotesquely.

As if screaming for her life, torrents of the last remaining magic erupted from her.

At the gates of the castle.

As the magic undulated towards the large gate’s iron structure, a colossal magic circle began to materialize.

“That’s…”

A great and intricate magic formation.

It seemed powerful enough that dozens of wizards had been chewed up by it, proving it wasn’t hastily created.

All this time, numerous sorcerers had been circulating, attempting to erase markings on the ramparts. Who knew there’d be such a significant magic formation concealed at the gate?

Even the magicians from the Alenarr Marquis Family often passed by, but they hadn’t sensed anything amiss.

Instinctively, I understood. While the castle walls might hold, the gates would certainly crumble if this magic hit.

The magic must not touch anything.

With that thought—

Rustle!

“Gah!”

Even after severing the neck of that damned half-demon, her magic surged forth, continuing towards the gate.

“Please, no!”

Regardless of how relaxed things felt tonight, so many monsters thronged at the gate. If it broke through, chaos would surely ensue.

With my expression grave, I began to pace anxiously.

Sion began pouring divine energy into the magic.

Not only that.

Clerics who had gathered during my fight with the demon started to press down on that uncontrollable magic.

The masterless magic had no choice but to dissipate and soon succumbed to the divine pressure.

Only then did I catch my breath.

“Phew…”

I had almost seen the gates broken before the arrival of the royal army, which would have left the territory in disarray.

With a sense of relief that I had avoided the worst situation, I finally relaxed and looked around, only to feel the fervent gazes of many watching me from above the walls.

I slowly surveyed my surroundings.

Ravi Crunel rushed to the glowing magic formation at the gate. Shione Shianella was staring at me with an expression almost akin to horror. Looking up to the walls, both Shione and Ainel’s gazes were fixated on me.

In that moment, I marked my existence deeply in their minds.

Those who had arrived late to the scene were now focused entirely on me, standing before the corpse of a demon.

“Seriously, it’s like a monkey in a zoo.”

Is it their first time seeing a man cast magic?

*

A few days passed.

Numerous priests and wizards began the investigation into the half-demon I had slain. If it were a demon, that would be one matter, but a human mixed with demonic blood was rare.

The fights of the night continued to be intense. Particularly, Shione’s feats were being praised ever more highly among the soldiers.

Honestly, who wouldn’t sing praises for someone who shot down hundreds of monsters in a day?

Shione had become a skilled archer in no time.

But that wasn’t all.

Rumors regarding me had spread far and wide across the territory.

Naturally, since I only used magic high atop the walls, those in dangerous frontline positions hadn’t laid eyes on my abilities directly.

Yet after I had casually shown some magic down by the western walls, I was suddenly thrust into the spotlight and the people started to chatter about my feats.

Whether it was a trickle-down effect from Shione’s reputation, or mine, we had evidently become common topics of conversation together.

And in that process, I had gathered quite the interesting epithets…

But that wasn’t what I needed to focus on. Any titles I’ve earned are essentially just “Knight of Shianella” and “Mage Knight,” and not much else.

What really mattered was that royal support and Adelhaite’s personal backing had finally arrived in the territory.

It was time to light the beacon for a counterattack, and Ainel wasted no time.

Under the midday respite of the monsters, they commenced the assault.

“Wizards, commence bombardment!”

“Yes!”

Royal wizards, alongside those from the Alenarr Marquis Family, unleashed a torrential rain of magic onto the battlefield.

Countless monsters were obliterated without a trace.

“Open the gates!”

“Open up!”

At the woman’s command, soldiers pulled open the castle’s main gates.

“Cavalry, charge out!”

“Ha!”

The first to charge ahead were the cavalry from Count Beleiya’s estate.

A mid-level demon had fallen, and numerous demons had perished. As a result, while they had numerical advantage, they lost the gravitational center that had united them.

The cavalry surged through the chaotic sea of monsters, scattering them as they thundered into the territory through the northern gate.

The monsters were swept away.

The soldiers’ morale soared.

The numbers of monsters had noticeably diminished, leaving nothing but a struggle left for the soldiers and knights.

The painful grip of holding on atop the castle had finally paid off. Though the battlefield’s soil had turned crimson, the Count had firmly set his sights on victory.

At last, the end of this agonizing war was in sight.

 

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