Chapter 116: Encounter (16)

Mephiros, who appeared as expected, looked at me with empty eyes.

Unlike the relatively ordinary Akasha, his eyes were like those of an insect, with no whites at all.

“I see now.”

As he stared at me, he suddenly nodded as if he had realized something and said something unexpected.

“You are Seventh Lord of Calderic.”

…Did he figure it out?

He seemed convinced that I was the Seventh Lord of Calderic.

Actually, it wasn’t strange for my true identity to be revealed. My appearance and abilities were already somewhat known to the world.

Even the arrogant demons who believed themselves to be superior would not have failed to investigate the new Lord of Calderic.

“What? The Seventh Lord of Calderic? That human?”

Akasha turned her head with a slightly surprised expression.

Well, it didn’t matter that much now that my identity was revealed here.

I glanced in the direction where Jerel and the others were.

“Seventh Lords…?”

Including him, Erica and Heron looked stunned.

Nevertheless, they seemed to have heard it clearly enough to react.

Mephiros, who had been staring at me carefully, spoke up as if observing my reaction.

“Yes, it matches in terms of race, appearance, abilities, information, everything.”

“Hmm… but isn’t it strange? What is the Seventh Lord of Calderic doing here? And now it seems like he’s siding with these bugs?”

Akasha said with an expression that she didn’t understand.

Mephiros didn’t respond as if he didn’t know, but he seemed to be convinced of my identity.

“Well, I guess you’re not wrong. That’s probably why I find human beings quite annoying.”

Akasha laughed and looked at me.

I was more wary of Mephiros than that woman.

Just like Akasha, Mephiros also had an annoying ability.

Mephiros opened his mouth again, “I don’t know how the Overlord noticed this matter, but she was careless. If she wanted to retrieve the demon’s seed, she should have moved herself.”

…He seemed to think that I had come here because of the Overlord’s instructions.

I didn’t reply because there was no need to correct him.

Anyway, even though he knew my identity, he didn’t seem to intend to retreat easily.

Akasha and Mephiros were also strong enough to rival a Lord.

If it was a simple encounter, they could have avoided unnecessary fighting, but this was a situation where the demon’s seed was at stake.

What should I do now?

I shook my head.

Two archdemons.

If the battle continued, I would obviously be at a disadvantage.

I had put the option of escape off in my head since earlier.

The most important thing to them was the demon’s seed, so if I fled, they might not bother to chase me.

No… They probably won’t chase me.

They knew who I was.

They must have realized from our brief skirmish just now that it wasn’t going to be easy to overpower me.

I doubted one of them would track me, because neither would definitely not leave this spot with Erica here.

Besides, they probably didn’t care that I knew of the existence of the demon’s seed, as they likely assumed I had come here on the orders of the Overlord.

So it was possible to just abandon the three of them and flee.

It was the rational choice.

Of course, the demon’s seed was an important element related to the resurrection of the Demon King.

But it merely accelerated the timing of his return; even if one of the demon’s seed fell into their hands, it wouldn’t necessarily result in the immediate resurrection of the Demon King.

It wasn’t worth risking my life to prevent that from happening right now.

“…”

I turned my head to where the three of them were.

I was not noble enough to risk my life for others.

But I couldn’t easily choose the option to flee.

If I abandoned them, Jerel and Heron would undoubtedly die, and Erica would be taken by the archdemons and offered as a sacrifice.

Maybe if these people were complete strangers to me and weren’t in front of my eyes right now, I wouldn’t have thought too much about it and chose the option that wouldn’t have me killed.

But it wasn’t an easy thing to calmly abandon them in this situation.

I let out a deep sigh inside.

If it really seems impossible, then at that time…

For now, let’s just fight.

If I thought that the situation was really dangerous, then I would do it then.

One concern was that they might try to take the three as hostage, but it didn’t seem like something to worry about for now.

They probably wouldn’t think that I was willing to protect the three, being a Lord of Calderic.

And maybe from their perspective, they’re worried that I could take Erica, who was the demon’s seed, as a hostage.

Preparing for battle, I said nonchalantly to Mephiros.

“Don’t worry. The Overlord will soon arrive, as you say.”

I tried bluffing once.

Of course, there was no chance that the Overlord would come here even if I died, but I could still make them believe this lie.

Mephiros’ eyes twisted.

He seemed to be trying to gauge whether my words were true or false, but soon, he smiled wryly.

“Then we should hurry up and deal with you and retrieve the demon’s seed.”

…There’s no way they would back off.

Still, they couldn’t completely ignore my words. If the Overlord really came, there was no way they could handle her.

If that could distract them even a little, it would be to my advantage…

Pwoong!

It was then that I felt a sudden jolt in my abdomen.

I lowered my head in surprise.

Without even being able to react, a red beam pierced through my abdomen.

“…?!”

Feeling the ominous magic spreading inside my body, I fell to my knees. The origin of the beam that had shot out was from Mephiros’s spatial transfer ability.

I didn’t let my guard down, even with the two archdemons in front of me. I had heightened my senses to the maximum since earlier in preparation for a surprise attack.

Despite this, I was still too late to react to the blow just now.

What the hell…

This wasn’t Mephiros’ ability.

The space that had split apart grew larger, and another demon emerged from it.

“Have you arrived?”

Mephiros, who looked at me and sneered, politely greeted the new demon.

Akasha also showed no sign of being surprised and showed respect without any hesitation.

The demons were a race that operated solely on the principle of power. They would never bow or submit to anyone they didn’t consider stronger than themselves.

Especially the archdemons at the pinnacle of the demon race. Their pride was beyond words.

【Level 97】

The new demon, with a level high enough to understand their attitude, was level 97, higher than anyone I had ever met except for the Overlord and the ancient mage from the underground ruins.

It was a demon with armor that looked as if it were burning like fiery flames. In one hand, he held a massive greatsword that was several meters long.

I couldn’t believe it and stared blankly at the demon.

Level 97 and that distinctive appearance made me realize his identity immediately.

…Kargos.

The archdemon ranked 3rd in the demon hierarchy.

So, you’re telling me that he was there too, not just Akasha and Mephiros?

Only then did I realize that I had made a serious mistake.

To the demons, the demon’s seed was an essential ingredient for advancing their king’s resurrection. It was more important than anything else.

It was not something that only two archdemons of appropriate rank could handle.

“The demon’s seed is the girl.”

Kargos’ voice echoed through the forest.

It felt as if the space was trembling with just that one word.

I endured the pain and stared at him.

He seemed to have no interest in me and kept his gaze fixed on the three.

Heron was trembling so much from the pressure emitted by the three archdemons that he seemed to have lost his mind.

Jerel looked completely hopeless and despairing, and Erica was no different.

“We’ll retrieve the demon’s seed and go back.”

Kargos said that and stretched out his hand towards me, as if trying to finish me off.

I bit down on my lips tightly.

If things continued like this, I would really die. Even if I used the floating veil or space leap, all I could do was buy time.

“Wait… just a minute.”

At that moment, Erica spoke with a trembling voice.

Kargos stopped his actions for a moment and turned his gaze to her.

“You, you’re after me, aren’t you? Right?”

Erica seemed to realize that she herself was the target of the demons.

It was a remarkable mental strength to be able to say such words in this situation.

“Very well aware, aren’t you? You will be sacrificed for the resurrection of the Demon King. Remember it as glory. Your insignificant life is being used for a noble and honorable cause.”

Akasha answered with a chuckle.

Erica swallowed her saliva and said, “I’ll do as you say quietly. So please spare the others.”

But it was a useless effort. There was no way they would grant her request.

Kargos continued what he was about to do with a sneer. Crimson flames rose in his hands.

“Stop it! Or else…”

Erica screamed desperately and picked up Jerel’s sword that had fallen to the ground and brought it to her neck.

Her action was immediately stopped. As Akasha reached out her hand, Erica lost consciousness and collapsed.

“Oh, really. I can’t even tear apart that arrogant brat.”

Mephiros clapped his hands, and Erica’s body floated in mid-air.

Jerel and Heron were too surprised to catch her.

Her floating body moved next to Mephiros.

Damn it.

It was over. I suffered a fatal blow before I could even attempt anything in a battle where I had no chance of winning, even in my best condition. I couldn’t even escape now.

Should I have run away earlier? Or maybe I shouldn’t have been so arrogant in the first place.

It was meaningless to regret it now.

Still, I wouldn’t die obediently.

I stared at the three archdemons and prepared for a final struggle.

It was at that moment…

Jeobuk.

The sound of footsteps echoed.

I turned my head in the direction of the sound.

A person was walking towards this place, piercing through the darkness of the forest.

What was surprising was that I didn’t notice any signs before hearing the sound or seeing their appearance.

The same was true for the archdemons, including Kargos, who turned their gaze with a surprised expression like me.

The one who revealed herself was a woman.

【Lv. 99】

I stared blankly at the level floating above her head.

Kargos muttered with disbelief and suspicion.

“…Hero.”