The arrival of the Twelve Nobles sent a shockwave of chaos through our ranks. 

There were only two of them, yet the pressure they radiated was a physical weight, a suffocating force that crushed the air from our lungs. They had just ripped a hole through the very fabric of my master’s created dimension, after all.

They were forces of nature to the terrified knights, more terrifying even than the Divine Archer who had brought us here.

“M-monsters…!” a knight stammered, his voice choked with terror.

Just as I’d expected.

The knights began to fall back, their discipline dissolving. A primal instinct flooded their minds, drowning out all thoughts but one: Flee.

“Solamio, you idiot. Look at them scatter,” the bat-winged Demonkin spat, his voice a venomous rasp.

He gestured with a clawed finger at the hulking ogre beside him, an unspoken declaration of his authority.

“Uh… No scatter,” the ogre rumbled, his words slurred as his gaze locked onto a fleeing knight.

With a motion too fast to follow, he snatched a rock from the cracked earth and flung it.

A sickening crunch echoed in the sudden, horrified silence.

Only a spray of crimson remained where the knight had stood, painting the gray ground. The brutal, instantaneous violence stunned every soul in the Demonic Realm into stillness.

I was no exception.

I couldn’t see it.

I had never failed to track an attack, no matter how monstrous my opponent.

Since gaining Clairvoyance, I could clearly perceive the swiftest assaults, even from foes as powerful as Ram and Pepia. When I was helpless against Pepia, I could at least see how I was being overwhelmed.

But not this time.

It was just a simple rock throw. A common, brutish motion.

And my eyes had lost it completely.

What was the difference?

Is it the environment? The Demonic Realm?

Of course. This was their home ground, the boundary of the demonic itself.

Here, they weren’t pale imitations summoned through a medium into the human world; they were in their true forms. The name of Demonkin said it all.

And as members of the Twelve Nobles—their most powerful warriors—their strength here would be amplified beyond all measure.

“Tsk. Can’t you even finish them cleanly?” the bat-winged noble muttered, flexing his wings in irritation.

As I’d suspected, the ogre was his subordinate, and a disappointing one at that. 

“Honestly, you’re a disgrace.”

“S-sorry.”

“Just keep the others busy. The strong-looking one is mine. Don’t touch him.”

“Got it. Me catch human.”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The ogre Demonkin charged, his colossal weight cracking the very ground with each thunderous step.

“Human, catch!” he roared.

He slammed his fist into the ground with a deafening crash, sending fissures racing through the earth.

The knights screamed, scrambling away in a panic.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Run for your lives!”

“Don’ run! Me no wanna get yelled at 'gain!” the ogre bellowed, his voice thick with fury.

Just as he raised his fist to strike once more, a calm voice cut through the chaos.

“You there. Come and play.”

My master materialized before the ogre Demonkin. He formed an arrow of pure Aura in the air and flicked his fingers with a faint, knowing smile.

A soft rush filled the air as phantom white petals rained down, carrying the rich scent of camellias. They fluttered past the ogre’s confused face, impossibly delicate.

“Huh…?” the ogre mumbled, blinking.

In that instant, my master released his invisible shot.

The petals became razors.

They swarmed the ogre, shredding through his thick hide and spraying a torrent of crimson blood.

“Gyaaaaaaaargh!”

The ogre Demonkin let out a gargled scream and collapsed to his knees.

A single attack. One elegant, effortless strike had brought Solamio, the Viscount of Sloth, to his knees.

A smirk touched my master’s lips.

“Now then,” he said, turning his gaze to the other Demonkin. “Will you try your luck?”

* * *

Jin, the Count of Wrath, narrowed his eyes.

Solamio, on his knees? From a single blow dealt by a mere human? If word of this got out, the other nobles would laugh themselves sick.

Ugh, and I told him not to be careless.

Jin clicked his tongue and ran a hand through his hair.

Solamio’s oafishness was one thing, but the old man who had stopped him was another matter entirely. The sheer volume of Aura pouring from him was unbelievable for a human.

Can a mortal truly possess such power?

Aura was the power wielded by common knights, the miraculous force they used to measure their strength. This old man was likely a Grand Master, the pinnacle of their martial achievement.

He would be strong, of course; it would be absurd for one of the few beings of his rank to be weak.

But what Jin couldn’t understand was that the energy radiating from the old man wasn’t simple Aura.

This power is fundamentally different from the others’.

His gaze swept over the nearby knights. Their power was a pathetic flicker in comparison. It wasn’t a matter of magnitude; the very nature of the power was different.

The old man possessed something that felt closer to divine power, the energy said to be gifted by the gods.

But it’s not that, either.

He was certain of it. He had a perfect specimen for comparison right there: the blonde woman. The unpleasant energy rolling off her as she glared at him from a distance was Divinity.

Which meant the old man’s power was neither Aura nor divine power…

Is there a third power that can neutralize demonic energy?

Jin frowned. If so, things could become troublesome. They might have to guard against threats beyond the Holy Kingdom, which could delay their grand plan once more.

The only silver lining is that he seems to be the only one with this power… but I can’t be sure he’ll remain alone.

Jin clicked his tongue and roused his demonic energy. The old man’s power gave him pause, but he couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

First, he had to get that idiot Solamio back on his feet.

“Aaaaaaaargh!”

The moron was still screaming his head off. For a creature built like a mountain, he was pathetically dramatic.

“Get up, you pig.”

“It hurt! Me hurt!”

“Ugh! You’ve already healed, so get up!”

“Huh...? Me have...? Now ya say it... don’ hurt no more!” Solamio blinked, looking down at his own body.

He nodded and shot back to his feet. “Me not hurt!”

“I know. Now go deal with that old man again. I’ll handle the others.”

“Okay!” Solamio shouted, turning to face the Divine Archer. “Old human! You make me hurt! Me kill you!”

“Hmm. Your regenerative ability is quite remarkable. A troublesome foe, indeed.”

“Don’ use big words! Me not fallin’ for it!”

“Seems like we have here an idiot.”

“Me not idiot!”

The ground cracked with a boom as Solamio charged again. Now that he knew he could regenerate instantly, he wouldn’t go down so easily.

Jin watched them for a moment before turning his attention elsewhere.

He gave the old man’s power a name, at least in his mind—exorcic power. It didn’t purify demonic energy like divine power. It erased it.

Anyone without Solamio’s Aspect of Regeneration would be in real danger. Even he could be badly wounded.

The old man is an anomaly… but the others are fodder. I’ll finish this quickly and go help Solamio.

Jin nodded, his eyes glinting with a cold light.

His mission was to investigate the barrier and kill whoever was responsible. In other words, getting rid of the mortals here would solve the problem. As long as the old man was occupied, it would be over in an instant.

There were, of course, a couple of others who stood out…

But they don’t wield that strange power. They don’t matter.

A cruel smile spread across Jin’s face as he looked toward a group of knights.

Behind the terrified soldiers stood a man and a woman, glaring at him with defiance. They were likely the strongest here, aside from the old man.

“Shall we begin?” Jin’s lips twisted into a sneer.

Jin against Grand Duke Praha and Lea.

A battle for the ages was about to commence.

* * *

A series of thunderous booms echoed through the realm.

On one side, a clash of titans.

The ogre Demonkin fought with brute force, his roars shaking the realm. “Die, old human!”

The Divine Archer moved with breathtaking grace, his replies as sharp as his arrows. “Your breath is foul. Do close your mouth.”

Energy crackled through the air.

On the other side, a dance of deadly speed.

The bat-winged Demonkin noble, Jin, laughed with psychotic glee. “You humans are always such wonderful toys!”

“Lea, spread the chill around us.”

“Yes, Father.”

A wave of frost spread from her, coating the ground in a layer of glittering ice.

Both conflicts unfolded as if in another world entirely. They paid no mind to me or any of the other knights.

They don’t even know I exist.

I let out a dry, bitter laugh.

The Demonkin dismissed the terrified knights as non-combatants, but ignored me too. Was it because of the demonic energy I carried? Or could they not sense me at all?

We were likely operating on such different scales of power that, to them, the gap between an Aura Expert and a Master was meaningless. That they saw Lea as a worthy opponent suggested their threshold for notice began at the highest echelons of Master-rank or beyond.

It felt a little sad. I blamed myself for not reaching that peak yet.

In any case...

Where should I lend my aid?

I knew one thing for certain: this battle could not drag on.

We were in their world, an environment that amplified their strength and drained our own. The longer this fight continued, the more certain our defeat became.

Therefore, I had to choose. I had to find the one opening, the one perfect moment to shatter the balance.

And that moment—while they still saw me as nothing more than scenery—was now. 

Once I revealed my ability, they would surely move to neutralize me.

This was my chance. I had to turn the tide with a single feat of archery.

I looked from one Demonkin to the other, weighing the threats, searching for the weak point.

That’s where I need to aim.

My choice made, I drew back my bowstring.

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