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The pursuit squad and the remaining soldiers cleared the path.

Their attacks were executed without a hint of hesitation, and especially the knights of the Kalia Marquis Family seemed to have gone berserk, unleashing their martial prowess as if the mansion’s breach had ignited their fury.

A long corridor unfolded amidst the numerous foes around them.

“Shione, get inside the mansion right now!”

At Siabel’s shout, Shione stamped her feet, and I followed her closely. There was no way I would allow her to get caught by a blind sword strike. Siabel looked somewhat relieved as more knights joined us.

Thanks to the efforts of the pursuit squad, we finally ascended the low stone stairs and entered the mansion. We could see that the mansion had become Allen’s domain.

“…This mansion is twisted like a maze.”

“It feels that way too. Since it looks that way to my eyes, it seems this is more a force that alters space rather than mere illusions.”

The changes visible to Shione proved that this was not just a sensory disruption or an illusion. The interior of the mansion had expanded far beyond its original size, with elongated corridors and countless doors disrupting its structure.

“Ray, just how strong is this demon?”

“It was the second most difficult to deal with.”

“……This is the second? Then what was the first?”

“Back then, I couldn’t hold on and died once, so now I’m here with Princess Shione.”

“…Don’t worry. That won’t happen again.”

Shione’s quiet resolve.

Then yet another anomaly approached.

“Head of the Family Contest”

“If you want to lift the curse that has struck the Marquis Family, help Allen Kalia kill the Marquis and aid in his succession.”

“Reward: Chance to become a Demon Apostle.”

Such absurd words appeared in the Status Window, overlaying my vision. After hinting at the opportunity to be the demon’s apostle as a reward, this suddenly activated Status Window rabidly urged me to kill Ileyana Kalia.

‘It seems demons can interfere here after all.’

This was information I acquired from the Great Forest.

My Status Window wasn’t the one I originally had back on Earth, but rather something the world crafted anew as it poured its energy into me. In fact, the World Tree occasionally interfered with my Status Window to deliver broken phrases without attempting to communicate.

Since I had stepped into a place brimming with the demon’s power that manipulates dreams, I thought the strength it could wield was augmenting to deceive me in this way.

‘Perhaps Allen being enthralled by the demon is related to this.’

In a world where gods exist and miracles happen, this Status Window is indeed the perfect tool to captivate people. By utilizing it to induce actions and providing suitable rewards, it could easily trick someone into believing they were receiving divine revelation.

Of course, he must have received many suspicious powers as rewards, yet it seems Allen boldly moved forward. After all, he didn’t strike me as someone with profound thoughts.

However, this wasn’t something that worked on me. The Status Window I possessed seemed to be repelling it, as the words continued to shatter and reappear. We merely needed to focus on killing Allen.

“Since this is Allen’s domain, he must see through everything here. We need to stick to the Elite Guard as quickly as possible. How about using magic to break the illusions?”

“…No, I think we can find our way without magic. The energy here is too thick, so even using magic, I doubt we can purify the entire mansion yet.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s just that my proficiency is inadequate. I can’t help but feel this magic has a limit well beyond this. Let’s discuss that later… For now, let’s break through here.”

Knights began to appear along the lengthy corridor.

Though they exhibited a grotesque distortion in their bodies, casting doubt on whether they could fight properly, they soon unleashed a vicious magical energy, showcasing their strength.

“Ray, buy me some time!”

“Eh? Aren’t we fighting together?”

“Huh? I need to find the way.”

“Even as they drool all over themselves?”

“…Just hold out for a moment.”

“…”

I entrusted the pathfinding to the detector and drew my sword.

I’d have to face many foes for a while. Judging that it would be unreasonable to summon upper-level spirits that weren’t yet generating energy, I quickly summoned the Cotton Puff Orna to assist with movements.

“Orna, please assist me.”

“Meow!”

The wind stirred.

The corridor was narrower than expected, and the enemies approached with remarkable speed. I grabbed an arrow from my quiver, but pulling it back while stringing it seemed challenging.

“Ha─!”

With a short shout, I lodged an arrow into the knight’s neck.

Naturally, I unsheathed my sword and slashed upward at an angle toward the sky.

With the gleam of the cut, I wasn’t comfortable with just this, so I drew the sword raised toward the ceiling and brought it down in that trajectory to ensure the enemy was dealt with.

“I’ll pierce two of them at once.”

I spoke to Orna while pulling my arrow from the fallen enemy.

Without delay, I nocked it, aiming at a still distant adversary on a trajectory to pierce them simultaneously, executing a sliding release.

The arrows sailed through the air in a lively rhythm, piercing both enemies’ heads at once.

“Ray, that door!”

I quickly hurled myself where Shione gestured.

Beyond the door lay another corridor filled with numerous entrances, but they wouldn’t be an obstacle for us.

Alongside Shione, we repelled the appearing foes and swiftly moved toward the center of the mansion.

“How do you manage to find the way so well?”

“It’s just instinct. Like how I can tell from far away when you bring freshly baked cookies to my room.”

“Ah.”

“It’s that way this time!”

It was slightly unfortunate that the analogy was again about cookies, but her searching capability was undeniable.

Having broken through several doors, we finally arrived at the banquet hall inside the mansion, no longer enduring the tedious corridor.

The interior of the banquet hall had several doors, but that wasn’t the important part. What mattered was the chilling sight of numerous corpses sprawled across the room, and at its center stood a knight engaged in combat.

“Lady Eunice!”

As Shione called out, Eunice Kalia was wielding her sword and dispatching enemies alongside another knight in the center of the banquet hall.

Eunice’s swordsmanship was a perfect switch between attack and defense, flowing seamlessly rather than the tenacity seen with Siabel.

‘That’s the swordsmanship of the Kalia Marquis Family.’

The Count had developed his swordsmanship to confront demons and the large monsters that adapted to the harsh northern environment. The Marquis family, guarding the borderland, had honed their skills to face human foes.

Eunice had already become renowned for her exceptional swordsmanship within the kingdom. The monsters that had taken on knightly forms, infused with vile magical energy, found themselves outmatched.

‘She’s completely dominating them.’

As the knight sprung to bring down his sword, Eunice extended her small shield mounted on her left hand. It scraped against the sword, disrupting the force of the strike, while her sword in the right aimed swiftly at the enemy’s neck.

Boom─!

The clash of swords infused with magic and mana produced a powerful shock. The battle was one of strength and finesse, where swords clashed and immense pressure resonated through her arms.

However, Eunice retreated, refusing to exchange strikes, boldly entering deep into the enemy’s reach, swinging her shield. The shield served as both a means of defense and an offensive weapon.

Surrounding her shield in mana, she repelled the enemy’s sword strike through a clash of energies, crossed her wrist, and thrust her sword alongside her shield, cleaving through the enemy’s throat.

“…So this is the swordsmanship of the Marquis Family.”

Shione gasped softly.

She had admired the Count’s swordsmanship and had even shown interest in it. It seemed that she caught a glimpse of Eunice’s exceptional pairing of skills.

Personally, I found myself agreeing with Shione’s admiration. She could be called a specialist in battles against foes, as unlike her blood-soaked armor, there was no visible injury on her.

After Eunice dispatched the last enemy, she flicked the blood off her sword and approached us quickly.

“Lady Eunice, we’ve come to support the Elite Guard.”

Eunice nodded to Shione’s words and spoke urgently.

“This is the perfect timing, Your Highness. Your power is desperately needed right now.”

Glancing at the knights accompanying Eunice, she sensed their condition.

“…There were numerous illusions attacking the room where my mother was, and we had to cross the door to escape.”

Upon confirming that the knights still appeared able to fight, Eunice fixed her sharp gaze on Shione.

“For some reason, it seems only my mother has been moved elsewhere.”

Due to Allen’s treachery, even the Elite Guard did not know the whereabouts of the head of the family.

This was a situation akin to a dire crisis, forcing the Elite Guard to endure and search madly through rooms filled with numerous enemies at lightning speed during their brief window.

“Along the way, I had a confrontation with Allen. He successfully escaped, flaunting it, so we must find and protect my mother faster than him.”

Eunice added further.

The room Allen stepped into was entirely different, unfolding a layer of dark magic nonexistent in the other rooms. To have a proper fight with Allen in that space, Shione would need to condense the magic she unleashed on the castle walls within that one room.

That was something difficult to overcome, even with the Elite Guard’s exceptional skills, as they pushed forward by defeating hundreds of enemies. Thus, Shione’s powers were essential to stop Allen.

“Lady Eunice.”

Shione sharpened her senses and spoke.

“Let’s move immediately.”

It was Shione who laid the stage for the battle, while Eunice would be the decisive sword that would strike down Allen.

The Elite Guard had finally completed their preparations, ready to follow the milestones toward the conclusion.

 

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