Grand Duke Heathfenrir struck a few poses for the awed onlookers, then quickly snapped out of it and gave orders to his knights behind him.
"My attacks are regional but limited to a straight path, so you all handle the demons that manage to evade them."
"Yes, Your Grace!"
The grand duke clenched his fists the moment he heard their reply, then began punching the air in front of him like it was a sandbag.
"Eeek!"
"Gahhh!"
Even the demons outside of the fifty-meter limit melted away, for the aura-loaded blows of the grand duke reached the central plaza and wiped out the demons that had just emerged from the gate. Frankly, it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that Grand Duke Heathfenrir was single-handedly defeating over half of the demon soldiers. The members of the knight division looked on in wonder.
We should attack the demons that escape? But... none of them are escaping? They almost felt a little bored because they had nothing to do. All in all, the north street was completely secure thanks to Grand Duke Heathfenrir.
The east street, on the other hand, was being defended by Elthea.
"How dare these filthy demons make their way into our world."
The pink-haired dame, with a long spear in one hand and a short spear in the other, was single-handedly destroying demons as they approached. Using her incomparably smooth and flexible mobility skills, she drove into the enemy line as she drew circles with her two spears and severed the demons in her path using her blinding aura.
The knights of the duchy who witnessed Elthea's overpowering battle skills exclaimed in awe at her abilities.
"Lady Elthea is incredible!"
"The future of Heathfenrir is secure!"
"She's incredible!"
"Kill more demons if you have time to talk!" Elthea shouted in response.
"Yes, my lady!" the knights replied.
That was when another Grim Reaper Lord, the S-class boss, emerged from the gate again. It attempted to make its way past the knight division's defense line without engaging in battle.
"L-Lady Elthea!"
"Got it! Step back!"
Elthea instantly reacted to the knights' cry for help by adjusting her grip on her two weapons, then darted toward the enemy.
Boom!
Two crossed spears slammed into the reaper's gigantic scythe blade. Elthea was determined to not let the creature a single step beyond where she stood. Her reason?
"Don't you dare go near my husband! Understood?!"
The east street she was protecting was also the path to the Golden Ivory Tower, and the front yard of the tower was being used as a temporary medical center for patients who had been infected by the poisonous fumes. As alchemists were also medical personnel who had graduated in pharmaceutical studies, their roles were extremely critical in this current situation. Especially Leonard Rodeline.
"So this is the plague that Allie warned us about," murmured Leonard under a piece of cloth that was covering his nose and mouth. He had been working on a treatment for this illness using Elephantipes with his beloved daughter for quite some time, and the plan was to develop dozens of prototypes in advance, then select the most effective ones to administer when needed.
They would've had enough time to react if a dungeon drain occurred as a precautionary omen to the Walpurgis Night before the dungeon burst took place a week later, as per the original story, but the crisis had come far earlier than expected. This gave them no time to prepare.
I've discovered that the forty-seventh drug trial has been the most effective treatment, but... The Elephantipes herb that was used as the core ingredient was in Gilette, which meant they could only use the potions that already existed in the duchy to replace the treatments since teleportation stones weren't functional right now.
Glancing over at Hilde who was treating a child, Leonard asked, "Is your divine power effective, Hilde?"
Hilde retained Tier 7 Divine Power, equivalent to that of a cardinal, yet she looked like she was about to burst into tears as she replied, "It's not working. I can't do anything."
"I can't believe even Tier 7 Divine Power is powerless to this attack."
"I-I'm sorry," the white wizard said sadly. "I'm useless."
"Don't cry, Hilde. You're doing an excellent job. Don't be sad, all right? We can do this. Got it?"
"Lord Leonard..."
Leonard's kind encouragement and consolation only worsened Hilde's sobs. He was about to gently wrap his arms around Hilde's shoulder, when a menacing sound of splitting air pierced his ears.
Whoosh!
A demonic flying creature penetrated the east street's defense line and shouted, "Human male! You're old but just my type! Now, give me your blood!"
"Ah!"
The bat flew toward Leonard with its mouth agape, ready to sink its glistening fangs into Leonard's neck.
Thwack!
Hilde punched the bat with her fist, which was infused with divine power. The bat was flung quite a distance away and bounced across a roof four times before it disappeared from sight.
"Are you all right, my lord?"
"Um, y-yes... Thank you, Hilde."
"No problem."
"That was incredible. How did you do it?"
"I infused divine power into the martial arts skills His Grace taught me."
"Unbelievable. I'm genuinely impressed."
Hilde gave a timid smile. She then stood and replied, "I think the battle is quite fierce at the frontline. Would you mind if I join Dame Elthea and the knights for a short while? I'd also like to heal them."
"S-Sure. Be safe, Hilde."
"I will!"
Leonard waved toward Hilde as she departed, and his thoughts turned grim.
I'm the only one who cannot fight. He didn't like the feeling of being excluded. The remaining two streets were to the west and the south, defended by Prinz and Raewyn, and the Silver Citadel knight division, respectively.
Side by side, the two men in royal knight division uniforms hacked and slashed against the waves of demons emerging from the dungeon.
Prinz stared at the endless flow of creatures and shouted over the din of battle, "Raewyn! Leave Feronsa through the west gate! Return to the kingdom!"
"Do not speak of such a thing, Prinz," Raewyn called back. "How can I leave when Feronsa is experiencing a crisis like this?!"
"Hilde told me earlier that Allie prophesized about this event before she left on her trip. She foretold that all nations would be in danger when it happened."
"What? Then..." Raewyn looked to be in shock as he mindlessly destroyed a skeleton with the hilt of his sword.
Prinz blocked an incoming attack and added, "That's right. Vilhelon might be in a similar situation. I think you should go and find out." Prinz was the grand duke's grandson and Bianca was in Feronsa, which meant Prinz had to remain behind and protect it. But Raewyn did not.
"All right, Prinz. I'll take a look, then return here at once."
His friend reluctantly agreed before turning away and quickly disappearing into the crowd.
"Whew."
Prinz didn't have long to feel the relief of his friend departing, facing forward as soon as Raewyn was out of sight and taking a steadying breath.
"Come!" he shouted as his sword engulfed by aura drew a line in the air, continuing the fierce battle of the west street.
Lastly, the south street where Ephael, Hestio, and Ash were defending was relatively less chaotic.
"It feels like the demons aren't really coming in this direction. Is that just me?"
"My senses are telling me the same thing, Brother Ephael."
"I suppose it would be wise to trust the senses of an assassin."
"Oh, Brother Hestio... I will take that as a compliment."
Even as they casually exchanged conversation, Ephael and Ash didn't stop stabbing, slashing, jabbing, and kicking their opponents, while Hestio busily cast weakening skills in all directions.
"I guess it's a good thing for us that there are fewer of them coming in this direction, but what do you think is going on?"
"I'm not sure, Ash. Do you think it's because we're behind the gate?"
"The numbers are too small, even if we take that into consideration, Brother Hestio."
Although Ash and Hestio couldn't come up with a logical explanation as to the demonic creatures' odd behavior, Ephael, who was casually swinging his sword around, offered one instead.
"Could be because there's a church behind us."
"Oh?"
"Oh!"
It was true that around one hundred meters behind where the three men were fighting stood the Church of Saint Agnes. Ephael's prediction was very close to the truth. As the Church of Saint Agnes was the first church of Voiceism, it was as sacred as the Vatican was to the religion of Order and Goodness, serving as a blessed sanctuary of The Voice that Shapes the World without the need for the Sacred Place Establishment artifact.
Moreover, Church Agnes was stacked with holy relics given by the gods of the Transmigration Bureau during the opening ceremony, including the Pure Gold Holy Communion Set, the Bowl of Everlasting Holy Anointing Oil, the Automatic Cash-Recharge Offering Box, and the Handmade Lily Wreath. Each of these holy relics that were placed in various locations around the church and emanated divine energy. The Handmade Lily Wreath that decorated the cross on the church's roof was particularly effective in deterring demons because it served to repel evil things.
This was why the south street was relatively free of demonic monsters, but that didn't mean they could be completely relieved.
"They won't stop coming no matter how many we kill."
"You're right. It's quite tiring."
"When will this end? Our divine power is going to dry up at this rate."
This was a nerve-wracking situation for humans with limited stamina since they were engaged in a battle of attrition. That was when a sudden noise startled the young men.
"Caw!"
A deafening shriek engulfed the whole of Feronsa. The ominous feeling overcame the fighters, prompting them to look back to the central plaza. At that moment, the air shifted.
Flap!
Pitch black shadows exploded out of the gate and soared into the air, forming unnerving silhouettes like terrible shadow puppets against the sky.
"Caw!"
The dark silhouettes soared about and screamed across the city eerily. A total of thirteen flew through the air, twirling joyously in the sky before they began vomiting flames onto the land.
Whoosh.
As no one was prepared for incoming fire from above, the central plaza instantly turned into a burning pit of hell.
"Ahhh! It burns!"
"F-Flames are everywhere!"
The dark sparks followed the path of the streets and engulfed some of the knights on the frontline while their defense forces were pushed back all the way to where the flames couldn't reach. Some of the knights attempted to shoot their aura and attack the shadows in the sky, but expert advanced level wasn't enough to reach the distance or produce the necessary force.
To make matters worse, the shadows were swift, moving like wild animals. After minutes of relentless attacks, everyone could tell that the shadow creatures were preparing themselves to unleash another round of fire onto the crowd.
"No!"
"T-This can't be!"
The fighters could do nothing but turn pale, for most in Feronsa were aura users who were deemed ineffective when battling airborne enemies.
Thankfully, there was an exception.
"Hmph!"
Grand Duke Heathfenrir instantly reacted. It was time for the aura master to demonstrate what he was made of.