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As soon as Shione finished her words, a powerful wind swept in. The tent flapped, and as the wind brushed against my skin, I realized that this gust was not ordinary. Something immense was looming over the territory, emanating from that deafening sound.

‘Is this why Shione was so flustered?’

The wind hitting my face stirred not a refreshing feeling, but rather a primal discomfort and anxiety. Its intensity was reminiscent of what I had experienced in the Great Forest. I understood why Shione wore such a stiff expression.

Everything happening now could be attributed to just one individual.

“It seems to be Allen’s doing. He’s allied with the Demon of Illusions and Deceit.”

“…The energy is most concentrated where that explosion occurred. Moreover, that’s the location Allen had informed the expedition team about.”

Allen Kalia.

It seemed he had encountered Siabel and used the hidden tricks he had kept to survive.

I instinctively felt that the area ahead was no longer one where any life could exist. Even from this distance, the strange terror made my heart race, alongside Shione’s.

“Elder sister might be in danger.”

“We may need reinforcements. We should immediately deploy the remaining priests and knights for a rescue—”

“No.”

That cold voice held no hint of the affectionate bond expected between sisters.

“All our remaining troops must be ordered to protect the lord’s castle.”

It was indeed unthinkable that Shione would simply abandon Siabel without reason.

“The enemy will soon be swarming here. First, let’s focus on our survival.”

Regardless of Siabel’s life or death. The priority was for us to survive and continue the fight. Shione’s expression suggested she already deemed it natural for her to single-handedly face a breach at the lord’s castle. It seemed she was contemplating the strategy for survival thereafter.

“All forces, defend the lord’s castle!”

“Quickly, take your positions!”

The soldiers moved with impeccable coordination.

Among them, Shione caught one member of the Elite Guard stationed inside the lord’s castle and spoke.

“Please inform Lady Eunice Kalia that combat may soon commence. I have a bad feeling about this. I doubt the barricade will hold for long.”

“I will relay the message as quickly as possible.”

In this urgent situation, news arrived swiftly.

Large monsters had broken through the castle walls and were collapsing the barricades in real-time, invading inside. The first line of defense was easily breached, and soon the next barricades began to crumble at an alarming rate. Despite the allied soldiers struggling to stop further incursions, the enemy’s march showed no signs of slowing.

What in the world was happening? Those strategies were not supposed to be breached so easily. As doubts surfaced in my mind, Shione seemed to sense my distress.

“It seems strangely like they’ve gathered all their forces and are heading this way.”

“They intend to wipe out everything in one fell swoop.”

“That’s probably the case. They’ll attack even more fiercely, so you mustn’t leave my side.”

With each drop of blood, the territory was consumed by illusions, only growing more rapidly.

As the screams and roars grew louder, I felt my heart racing when Shione asked me a question.

“Ray, do you have any percussion arrows?”

Percussion arrows.

They are arrows fitted with a hollow structure at the tip that produces sound in the direction they fly. These arrows were created to quickly and accurately signal the enemy’s position to the troops. It seemed Shione sensed where the enemy was likely to breach.

I hadn’t explicitly taught her about percussion arrows. It seemed she had just taken note of them being used by other archers during battles.

‘If it’s percussion arrows, I must have some in that quiver over there.’

Our human detector, Shione. I had set aside percussion arrows, anticipating this moment.

I pulled out about five and handed them to Shione.

“I kept these aside in case they might come in handy.”

“Thank you. And… when I shoot the arrow, tell everyone to focus their attacks in that direction.”

“I will follow your orders.”

Shione nocked a percussion arrow onto her bow.

Rather than attaching the structure behind the arrowhead, she had made it so the arrowhead itself had a large sound hole, allowing it to produce an even louder sound.

Though this slight alteration could make it a bit inconvenient to shoot due to the change in weight distribution, it was nothing that could hinder Shione now.

“Haah…”

The bowstring was pulled taut.

Her right hand, the back of which touched her jaw, was accurately aiming at the target.

As Shione maintained her Dead Release state and steadied her breath, a gentle breeze tickled her bangs, and as her hair moved aside, she shot the arrow as if she had been waiting for that moment.

Whoosh─!

The percussion arrow ripped through the air, unleashing a terrifying roar.

The sharp howl resonated like the drumbeat of war, causing the hearts of all to beat even faster.

Everyone’s gaze followed the trajectory of the percussion arrow, which struck the brow of the monster that was rushing out from between the buildings.

“Focus your defenses around where the percussion arrow was fired!”

I shouted out using mana, and the troops began to reposition.

Without hesitation, Shione notched the next percussion arrow and directed her forces more intuitively.

‘Her synergy with percussion arrows is outstanding.’

The pairing of Shione and these arrows, sometimes referred to as legendary arrows, was nothing short of remarkable.

When a greater threat loomed, she immediately shot an arrow in that direction.

Not only did the knights engaging multiple enemies benefit, but the soldiers whose focus had narrowed in the heat of battle could also instantly receive new information through sound.

Thanks to her, the heated atmosphere was controlled, minimizing troop losses and ensuring adequate troop allocation.

“Sound of the arrow! Move toward that direction!”

“That’s an illusion! Conserve mana and only suppress that monster over there!”

“Lady Shione has shot two arrows in the same location! Any knights with remaining energy, move there immediately!”

As the soldiers adapted to her chosen sounds and moved more skillfully, I came running with a quiver fully stocked with percussion arrows, prompting her to quickly grab five arrows.

“Ray, prepare to shoot at that direction right away. Use the strongest ones.”

“Is it Allen?”

“…That’s my gut feeling.”

“I’ll prepare immediately.”

The percussion arrows left Shione’s hands.

One after the other, five arrows flew, indicating the most crucial point in the battle. It was no surprise that all the combat forces focused their gazes on where the arrows had traveled.

“Elvis, Tania. Let’s prepare a big hit.”

I called upon the spirits.

I couldn’t let Allen Kalia, who had somehow made it this far, slip away. Trusting in the abilities of my spirits and the amplification power gifted by the fairies, I prepared to shoot.

In a long time, I pulled back the string as if sending forth a significant blow from the Count’s castle walls.

“Dad, something huge is charging at us!”

Elvis soared into the sky, and his voice trailed off as he spotted a peculiar creature.

As per Elvis’s words, not long after, Shione felt the ground shake from the direction she had pointed out.

Some colossal creature was barreling toward us, disregarding everything in its path. Soon, the building that had been standing in its way crumbled, revealing the monster.

‘Let’s increase the tension even further.’

With greater draw weight, the arrow shot forth, packed with even more power.

Beyond the dust cloud, a bear-shaped monster emerged, clad in tough armor despite being a living being.

‘It’d be best to pierce it in one shot with a sitting pull stance.’

I infused mana into the bow and string. My aim was to ensure it wouldn’t snap easily, gracefully strong to endure the tension of being drawn further back.

In the sitting stance, I knelt, securing my lower body and engaging in a stalemate with the drawstring.

‘It’s running on all fours, so let’s aim for its head.’

The arrow, imbued with my spirits’ magic, wouldn’t merely stick to the head but slash through the creature’s body.

“Zuh.”

I inhaled and held my breath.

And in the moment of released breath, the hand that was steady trembled.

The well-aimed arrow was released.

“Everyone, get away from that monster! It could be dangerous!”

“Back! Fall back!”

Thanks to Shione and her knights’ quick judgment, the troops had already retreated behind.

Bang─!

The bowstring cheerfully propelled the arrow forward.

The arrowhead contained a swirling mass of flames, encased in a tempest of wind.

Before long, the arrow pierced the monster’s head and detonated within.

Kwauang─!

The tremendous explosion caused the immense creature to topple. It fell without a chance to scream, turned into a hideous mass. It skidded along the ground before finally ceasing to move.

Such a spectacular attack. However, the mana consumed was more significant than I expected; if not for not shooting it with a sitting stance, I would have been reeling.

In this age where swords and spears took precedence over bows, a world indifferent to the idea of magic-infused arrows could only find my showcasing bewildering. I briefly leaned against Shione, feeling the weight of everyone’s gaze.

“Ray, how much mana did you use?”

“I still have some left. I just used a bit too much all at once, so I’m experiencing a brief fatigue. Oh, and—”

I reached out without hesitation toward the half-full mana potion dangling from Shione’s sword belt.

“I’ll just take a sip from this remaining mana potion.”

Shione whispered softly, almost inaudibly.

“…What are you touching?”

“What am I touching? I just lightly grabbed the potion.”

“That counts as indirect kissing.”

“At this point, worrying about indirect kisses is quite ironic, given what you—”

You did heinous things to my tongue, after all.

Before I could utter that, Shione pinched my side.

“The way you’re joking around and replying makes it look like you’re really fine.”

Before long, the perpetrator of the entire ordeal appeared over the defeated creature.

As everyone donned their armor, wrapping themselves tightly to prevent the sharp teeth of monsters from sinking in, a man dressed rather scantily appeared, almost overdressed for this occasion. He wore a revealing outfit that was very out of place. On his head, a small single horn perched, suggesting he bore the appearance of a demon.

Despite the transformation and the loss of his right arm, Shione and I recognized him immediately.

‘Oh, please, not the outfit…’

That repulsive sight.

Our target, now transformed into something akin to an incubus, was now before us.

 

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