I briefly listened to what had happened to Artina after she finished her meal.
The one who had summoned the Demonkind was the Third Prince.
Having been sidelined from the succession, the Third Prince made a contract with the Demon King and summoned him to this world in order to seize the throne.
Consequently, most of the land except for the capital had fallen into the hands of the Demonkind.
She said they were currently preparing a counterattack alongside the gathered Resistance Army.
“What brings you to the capital?”
“We intended to draw attention by thinning out the numbers of the Demonkind, then kill the Third Prince.”
“The Third Prince?”
“Yes. The Third Prince is working hand in hand with the Demon King. So we planned to kill him and reclaim the capital.”
I raised my head and looked at the sky. It was slowly getting dark.
Looking at Artina, I asked, “Is the plan about to be executed? But is it okay for it to proceed even without you?”
“Yeah. The plan will be executed today.”
“How do you intend to kill the Third Prince after making such a scene?”
“There is a secret passage leading to the King’s room where the Third Prince resides.”
“And after you kill him?”
“…”
When Artina cast a slightly wary gaze, Ropenheim looked at her with a serious expression.
“He is a person worthy of trust. He is the one I follow, so do not worry.”
“…We planned to secure the Goddess’s Cloud hidden within the royal palace to purify the Demonic Power.”
“The Goddess’s Cloud? Is it something like a Sacred Relic?”
Ropenheim answered my question.
“It is a Sacred Relic that was used by Saintess Lorenna, who suppressed the Demon King alongside me. It was bestowed upon her directly by the Goddess.”
“Kill the Third Prince, secure the Sacred Relic, fully occupy the capital, and then reorganize the ranks to resist the Demonkind?”
Artina nodded. “That’s right.”
“And the time of the operation?”
“It will start… very soon.”
“What are the chances of success?”
“It must succeed, no matter what. If we fail, there is no future.”
‘So it’s their last resort.’
“Then shall we get moving as well?”
“You’re going to help?”
“Why else would I have come here? Take this.”
I tossed an extra potion to Artina and tidied up the spot where we had been.
“If we draw attention at the castle gate, the plan will be easier, right?”
“It’s dangerous. High-ranking Demonkind will swarm you.”
“Do you know how strong Master Ropenheim is? Right?”
“I suppose I should recall some old memories after all this time.”
Since there was no longer a need to hide our identities, I threw off my cloak and prepared my Teleportation Magic.
“We’ll draw their attention from the front quite spectacularly. Make sure the operation succeeds.”
“How…?”
Looking at the curious Artina, I cast the Teleportation Magic.
Flash!
I moved Ropenheim and Artina to the front of the shattered castle gate.
The area around the gate was filled with the Demonic Power emitted by the warlocks and Demonkind.
As we appeared, the gazes of the nearby Demonkind shifted toward us.
“HOLY BUSTER!”
I converted my mana into Divine Power to trigger a powerful explosion. A brilliant white light flashed across the darkening night sky.
KABOOM!
The blast swept around the gate, wiping out the Demonkind.
They vanished without leaving a trace. I simply knocked out the soldiers who possessed no Demonic Power.
Afterward, I used fire magic to cause a massive explosion to draw more attention.
ROAR!
Bright red flames danced around the gate.
“Now, we’ll take care of this place, so get going.”
“…Thank you.”
Artina pulled her hood down tight and moved inside the walls.
“Now, will you give me a chance to loosen my limbs a bit?”
“Of course.”
Ropenheim drew his sword. In the distance, I could feel the presence of the Demonkind and knights rushing over to catch us.
The Demonkind, who flew through the sky using their wings, launched magic fueled by Demonic Power.
Boom!
Crash!
They focused their attacks on the spot where Ropenheim and I stood. I blocked the attacks from the Demonkind using Barrier Magic.
In the meantime, Ropenheim dashed forward. He kicked off the ground, leaped, and swung his sword.
It was a swordsmanship Ropenheim had created himself.
A swordsmanship perfected while facing the Demonkind.
That swordsmanship once again revealed itself to the world as it sliced through the Demonkind.
“Aaargh!”
“Odenberk has returned! Everyone below high-ranking Demonkind, retreat! Call for a superior Demonkind!”
There were Demonkind who recognized Ropenheim.
Slash!
Ropenheim did not target the fleeing Demonkind.
He only dealt with those who remained, waiting for them to call a superior Demonkind.
High-ranking Demonkind collapsed helplessly.
Since I had applied holy potions to Ropenheim’s sword, there was no chance for the Demonkind to regenerate.
‘The restrictions are being lifted even without me exerting influence.’
Watching Ropenheim coolly kill the Demonkind who had invaded his homeland, I let him fight on autopilot.
Occasionally, I cleared out the bastards who came aiming for me.
Then, the superior Demonkind and several knights arrived.
There were an immense number of them. As if everyone guarding the palace had swarmed out, a sinister murderous intent poured from all directions.
“Should we get rid of the small fry first?”
I used Dragon Fear to knock out the majority of the soldiers and knights.
“Gah!”
“Urgh!”
Numerous individuals collapsed, foaming at the mouth. The only ones still standing were the superior Demonkind and high-level knights. Even then… there were still a lot of them.
“It seems everyone except the Demon King has shown up.”
“Shall we fight together now?”
“Didn’t you use to wipe them all out by yourself in the old days?”
“Perhaps I am getting old, as I find myself a bit tired.”
“Then I should help you.”
Since he was under restrictions, it seemed difficult for him to show his full strength.
“Still, if we wipe all of them out, those restrictions should lift quite a bit.”
“Is that so?”
KABOOM!
This time, an explosion occurred not here, but toward the royal palace. It was the signal that the Resistance Army had moved. However, the bastards in front of us didn’t even care about that side.
“…I have a bad feeling about this.”
“I feel the same. Let’s finish this quickly and move.”
“Yes.”
I lunged toward the enemies alongside Ropenheim.
Since my mana had decreased quite a bit from using magic consecutively, I picked up a knight’s sword from the ground.
I channeled Divine Power into the sword and split a Demonkind in half.
Splatter!
It was the swordsmanship I had learned from Ropenheim.
With the Talent of the Martial God and high Understanding of swordsmanship, I could handle the technique almost perfectly.
It was the strongest swordsmanship when it came to dealing with the Demonkind.
“Those of you who want to die first, come at me.”
Artina headed quickly toward the royal palace. In the distance, she could see the knights and Demonkind moving toward the walls.
‘They definitely drew their attention.’
She was now able to target the Third Prince much more easily than planned. With this, she could see a chance of victory.
She sprinted through the alleys and arrived at the operation area. She chose one house among the long rows of buildings. It was a door that looked no different from any other. She raised her fist and knocked lightly. After a knock with a specific rhythm, the door opened.
“Who is it?”
“Eyes of Dawn.”
As she entered through the wide-open door, people wearing white cloaks appeared and pointed their swords at her. Artina lowered her hood to show her face.
Even then, the people in white cloaks did not lower their weapons.
“The color of the eyes?”
“Purple.”
Only after she gave the second password did they lower their swords.
“What happened? You suddenly disappeared and gave us a scare.”
“I met Master Odenberk.”
“Odenberk the Hero King?”
“He’s currently drawing the attention of the Demonkind at the walls. Let’s proceed with the operation immediately. Now that their attention is drawn, it’s the best time.”
Everyone wearing white cloaks nodded.
“Let’s go. Today, we write a new history.”
Artina stepped outside with her comrades.
After moving along a previously identified path, they used the eastern path among the two routes leading to the palace. There were soldiers guarding the gate, but their skills were not outstanding.
Thud!
Crack!
They suppressed them with their scabbards and entered the palace.
“Let’s see each other alive.”
“Yeah. Artina, make sure you kill him.”
The White Cloaks split into five groups and scattered.
While four groups moved around the palace to draw the attention of the remaining knights and Demonkind, the remaining one group would kill the Third Prince.
Artina, who was tasked with the mission of killing the prince, moved with her comrades.
‘The place where the Third Prince stays is the King’s bedroom.’
The secret passage to the bedroom was in the study.
“Intruders! Block them!”
“Aaaaah!”
She accelerated with all her might while dealing with the knights on the way to the study.
Creak!
She flung open the door to the study, went inside, and stood before a bookshelf deep within the room.
Fifth book on the first row of the first bookshelf.
Second book on the fifth row of the third bookshelf.
First book on the last row of the sixth bookshelf.
As she touched the books that activated the secret passage, the tightly blocked bookshelves moved and created a small tunnel.
“Let’s go.”
It was a size that one person could easily move through. Light stones were embedded in the ceiling, making the path clear.
Artina led the way.
After climbing up the stairs for a long time, a translucent wall appeared. Beyond it, she could see the Third Prince lying in the King’s bedroom.
‘The Royal Guards must be hiding.’
She looked at the comrades behind her, clenched her fist, and made them wait. It was an assassination operation they had practiced dozens of times.
Taking a deep breath to maintain just the right amount of tension, she opened her palm to signal them to move forward.
Dash!
She kicked off the ground and ran forward. Since the translucent wall was illusion magic, there was no physical resistance. She passed through the wall and aimed her sword at the Third Prince lying on the bed.
The moment the hidden guards appeared to block Artina, the comrades who had been waiting behind her appeared and held them back.
In that fleeting moment that seemed to flow slowly, Artina stabbed the Third Prince in the heart with her sword.
Stab!
Dark red blood spurted out, and the sleeping Third Prince’s eyes snapped open.
“Gah!”
“It’s over now.”
Artina twisted her sword to finish him off for sure.
Watching the blood spurt even more, she pulled out the sword. She struck away the sword of a guard aiming for her and deployed an Aura Blade in return.
Slash!
She cut off the guard’s arm and suppressed the enemies alongside her comrades.
“It’s all over now. Surrender.”
“We know you were guarding the Third Prince against your will.”
“That’s enough.”
At the words of her comrades, the guards lowered their weapons and raised their hands. Although they had surrendered, they couldn’t be left as they were. After securing them with handcuffs to make sure they were neutralized, she looked at her comrades.
“Now, let’s go find the Sacred Relic.”
“Yeah.”
Just as Artina was about to open the door to the King’s bedroom, a chilling sensation poured out from behind. A massive fear that made her entire body shiver emerged.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
It was a voice that did not belong to a human. It was goosebump-inducing, like the sound of scratching glass. Artina’s gaze shifted backward. There, the dead Third Prince was standing perfectly fine with a twisted smile on his face, emitting a very thick Demonic Power.
‘The prince is dead.’
That was a Demonkind wearing the prince’s body.
“Who are you?”
“I am the Demon King’s Third Kin, Ba Hala Igra. I am also the reaper who will execute you.”
Crack!
Snap!
The Third Prince’s body grotesquely transformed, and a massive monster appeared.
It was an existence emitting overwhelming Demonic Power, on a completely different level from a superior Demonkind. It was a Demon Kin.
Artina gripped her sword tightly while looking at Ba Hala Igra. To catch that monster, she absolutely needed the Sacred Relic.
“I’ll try to hold him off somehow. Hurry and secure the Sacred Relic first!”