Observing the foes that were heading straight towards them, the Knight mentioned how easy their job would be, earning in the process a warning from the prudent Joachim. Nonetheless, there were no signs of worry at all behind those words; rather, it seemed like the Expert had said that warning to himself.

  Slowly and without standing out, the Armored Jeep began climbing the hill to their right in order to reach the backup point. While gazing at the back of the vehicle with cold eyes, Mira grumbled, “Now he knows how to drive safely,” and both Joachim and Reynard simply nodded in agreement.

  “Okay, have you memorized our strategy?”

  Changing his focus, the Knight called out to the young girl.

  “Of course.”

  Also returning her attention to the herd, Mira answered while rubbing her chin with a finger, a signature pose that had been mastered by her. If it were during her time as Dunbalf, that appearance would look perfectly appropriate, but now, with the figure of a little girl, she didn’t look reliable at all.

  “Hmm, fine then… but I heard that a Lesser Demon is capable of using some unusual kinds of summons. Will you still be okay with it?”

  “Remember what I told you before? Even if we get the worst case, I will not have any problems.”

  “Come to think of it, you really said that. Well, if anything happens, I’ll provide my support.”

  As soon as he mentioned it, the Knight put on a show of readying the shield that was in his hand. Although it seemed like he would be the kind of person to turn against her, Reynard was a righteous Knight, someone who would never let his personal feelings interfere with his work.

  “Nothing will happen, so you can just attract the herd without any worries.”

  Besides the glimpse of his nature that the girl had caught through their conversation, there was a main reason for why she recognized that man as a true Knight. Simply put, it was the fact that Solomon had chosen him as his loyal retainer.

  “Now then, I leave the tanking job to you.”

  Reynard snorted in amusement at her remark and began walking towards the monsters, an air of composure around him. A few moments later, Joachim followed after him. With that, Mira also decided to move, turning to the left and going further away from the two in order to reach the flank of the herd.

  The strategy they had decided to use began with Reynard and Joachim’s role. Just the two of them would go against the majority of the herd and, for that to work, they would make themselves stand out by facing the monsters head-on.

  In the distance, like dark-colored ripples on the grasslands, the group of enemies continued their rush, gradually revealing its whole aspect in detail. First, dashing as the herd’s vanguard, were four-legged monsters, the Dirty Hounds. Following them and assembled in platoons were the Arch Goblins, a subspecies of the Goblin. Finally, making itself secure at the heart of those platoons, was the Lesser Demon, as spotted by Mira.

  (No surprise here, it is heavily guarded.)

  Even though Mira’s role in the strategy was to take care of the Lesser Demon, it also included another related duty. In order to accomplish it, she separated from the other two and, while concealing herself to not attract any attention, advanced downwind.

  Eventually, Reynard’s group squared off against the monsters. At that moment, in the middle of the grass-covered plain, the distance between them seemed to be about twenty meters. And every time the wind blew through, as far as the eye could see, ripples appeared on the green vegetation in quick succession. The ones that currently perturbed those waves were the nearly two hundred monsters gathered there, along with a person whose mere threatening aura—directed at his enemies—disturbed the surrounding atmosphere: the Knight Reynard.

  When that man drew his sword, he moved forward to block the advancing foes, causing them to interrupt their movements. It was a group of two hundred against only two individuals, but following their instincts, the monsters had stopped their legs. The Dirty Hounds let out a low growl as they glared at the two men, in an intimidation attempt. However, disregarding that display of hostility, the Knight continued his march, step by step.

  Before long, in the center of the herd, the Lesser Demon released his strident voice. Immediately, as if receiving their orders, ten-odd hounds from the vanguard cried out in a mad howl while simultaneously rushing towards Reynard. Without losing a second to act, when the Knight took a big step forward and planted his foot there, the air at that spot began to tremble, propagating that same effect to the surroundings. After seeing that overwhelming vigor, even Mira thought it was a considerable display of skill and experience.

  And yet, the Dirty Hounds did not stop. With their instincts dampened, the monsters looked like puppets as they lunged at the enemy in front of them. A moment later, those hounds were engulfed by the quivering atmosphere and, in an instant, when Reynard took another daunting step, he screamed out fiercely while flashing his sword.

  Without touching anything at all, the Knight’s weapon made a full swing, suddenly stopping with its tip pointed towards the sky. At the same time, all sounds ceased; even the wind seemed to become quiet as the entire place was engulfed in silence. Then, abruptly, the vegetation was torn to shreds, its small pieces scattering in the air. Following that, the Dirty Hounds that had attacked Reynard were instantaneously bisected, their split open bodies simply and quietly falling down as the blood oozed out of them, finally painting the grasslands in a dark red tone.

  (Superb.)

  Mira, who had been watching the situation from afar, said a word of admiration in her mind and returned her attention to the heart of the enemy group. The Lesser Demon was flailing both of its hands overhead while shouting wildly, glaring at Reynard with vengeful eyes. As an immediate response, the entire herd of monsters concentrated its gaze in a single point. Recognizing that man as a true threat, they had decided to use all their strength to eliminate him.

  On the demon’s orders, the group began changing its formation and, without doing anything, both Reynard and Joachim patiently waited for them to finish that action. With their caution entirely directed at those two individuals, the monsters completed their battle formation by perfectly surrounding the Knight and the Expert, having absolutely no intention of letting those two run away from them.

  “This is within our expectations. It seems our strategy will be able to continue as planned.”

  After glancing at the area around them, Joachim whispered to Reynard.

  “Let’s continue, then.”

  As if making a display of it, the Knight raised his sword high, receiving in return an intimidating war cry from his enemies, a roar that seemingly indicated the two were going to be devoured whole. Then, a loud uproar started all around the grasslands, enough to drown out a certain sound of footsteps that rapidly approached the herd. Because of the sweet scent of a young girl that came wafting directly behind it, the demon managed to pick out that specific noise within the cacophony of sounds in the area.

  Since the monsters had changed their battle formation to surround Joachim and Reynard, those two were now at the very center of the group. Then, in order to evaluate the flow of battle with ease, the Lesser Demon had taken took position in a place that was farthest away from its enemies. When that same demon turned around to look behind it, Mira was standing right there. She had been waiting for the moment when the Lesser Demon would be left completely alone.

  (A black crystal… yeah, it is the Demon’s Crystal. Just as expected, that one is of a summoner kind.)

  In the exact instant it noticed the two Dark Knights standing by the girl’s side, the demon panicked and raised toward the heavens the Demon’s Crystal he had been holding.

  “Well then, I wonder what it will pull out from its hat. Will it be a lion? Or a dragon15?”

  The actions done by the Lesser Demon were a rite required to perform a summon. Nonetheless, differently from the summoning techniques used by Mira, the one conducted by a Demon’s Crystal would call out to a demon beast, completely at random. If she were lucky, it would only result in another Dirty Hound being added to the herd, but it was a kind of dangerous summoning spell that would, in the worst case, bring out a large demonic beast.

  However, without even trying to interfere with the summoning process, the girl simply observed the magic circle that had appeared and expanded in the sky. When fighting against an enemy summoner, defeating it before it performed the summon would be much easier to accomplish—but that theory didn’t apply when going against the cunning Lesser Demon.

  Immediately before its death, that demon would release from its body a black mist, entirely shaped by malice. Although it was something that would, after several seconds, completely disperse in the air as the Lesser Demon’s last and vain struggle, if an object or body containing some kind of special magical power were nearby, the mist would place a curse on it. Then, whether it was in the middle of a summoning or not, a cursed Demon’s Crystal would always bring forth a high-level beast. Obviously, it was still possible for a clean crystal to summon a high-level monster, and it was precisely because Solomon considered those possibilities that he chose to send Mira to that place.

  Mira’s duty in their plan of action, other than taking care of the Lesser Demon, also included the defeat of the summoned demon beast. She did not feel the slightest hint of apprehension over what kind of enemy would come out and simply waited for it. Meanwhile, when the crystal began emitting an ominous radiance, the moment finally arrived. The magic circle that had been floating in the sky suddenly expanded and, a second later, with the appearance of old trees, two thick and warped legs hit the ground, the massive force of their impact causing a tremor around them.

  “Humpf, worst case it is.”

  While gazing at that scene, Mira muttered those words with a sigh. No matter how she looked at it, those familiar legs protruding from the circle belonged to a high-class demonic beast. As the summoning continued, the next thing that appeared was a tail, sliding around as it extended itself and struck the ground with a heavy, dull sound. That limb was even thicker than the legs and had scales covering its entire surface, just like a dragon’s tail.

  Then, at long last, the whole body of the beast was revealed. With a large build that was enough to allow it the privilege of calmly overlooking all the trees in the forest, the monster turned its neck around, scanning the surroundings. Subsequently, since the summoning process was over, the magic circle vanished; at that moment, looking as if it was convinced of its own victory, the Lesser Demon released its extremely annoying laugh.

  But right after that, a sky-tearing roar engulfed the entire place, easily overpowering that laughing voice and any other sounds in the area. Grimacing from the sheer volume of that bellow, Reynard and Joachim shifted their attention to the culprit. Standing at the outer part of the wriggling herd of monsters was the figure of a beast, its upper body similar to a rooster’s and the lower body resembling that of a lizard. Those caught by its eyes would never again see the break of dawn, forced to gaze upon a stone-imbued dream for all of eternity. “Cockatrice” was the name of that demon beast, a full-fledged high-level monster, holder of several troublesome abilities.

  “That one is simply too dangerous! We need to back her up immediately, Joachim!”

  Having enough knowledge about the Cockatrice, unsurprisingly, the Knight felt that Mira was in a disadvantageous position and tried to go for her aid. However, as the monsters surrounded both of them, not only were they unable to escape the encirclement, but the two weren’t allowed to even leave their current position.

  “Damn it! Get out of my way, you pieces of shit!”

  Without hiding his irritation, Reynard was already clicking his tongue when the Expert clasped his shoulder.

  “Please calm down. And then watch well what is happening. Even though Mira-sama is standing in front of that demonic beast, she isn’t displaying any signs of discomposure. Try to remember her expression when Mira-sama said that, even if she gets the worst case, it would still be within her expectations.”

  Following Joachim’s words, the Knight recalled the lovely and jovial smile she had, an air of composure around her. Then, as if on cue, differently from the boastful roar from before, a shriek full of pain swept over the grass-covered plain. After seeing and hearing that scene, Reynard could perfectly feel his head suddenly cooling down.

  “Yeah, that’s right. I guess she won’t need our help there.”

  His voice now calm, he murmured in agreement before cutting up the Dirty Hounds that swooped to attack, subsequently returning his sight from the Cockatrice to the monsters in front of him.

  The scream heard by the Knight came from none other than the demonic beast itself. After being successfully summoned and landing on the ground, in a probable display of might, it released a loud cry while spreading its huge wings, closely following those actions by shaking and loosening its own body. Then, with slow movements, the monster gazed at the girl before its eyes; originally, the Cockatrice’s eyes would be capable of even stopping a strong warrior on their tracks, stunning them with the sense of intimidation coming out of those organs. In the next moment, however, all of a sudden, the beast lost half of those threatening weapons.

  Blood started flowing abundantly from one side of the Cockatrice’s face before it screeched in pain, so when Reynard witnessed that instant, he understood how futile were his worries. Among the two Dark Knights standing by her side, the one to the girl’s left had its sword covered in fresh blood, an endless flow of red droplets trickling down that weapon.

  Without even waiting a few seconds after the completion of the summon, the Dark Knight had slashed one of the monster’s eyes. Hidden within those organs was a magical power endowed with the special ability of Petrification; and yet, that power could only be activated if both eyes were used together. Having fought against that monster on countless occasions, Mira knew about that fact and immediately took proper action to block that special ability. However, after losing its strongest technique, the Cockatrice still filled itself with the will to fight, releasing a roar while showing an expression full of anger.

  On the other hand, the Lesser Demon was different. Evidently, it had been shaken when the beast was wounded, so the demon glared with frightened eyes at the Dark Knights lined up in front of it.

  Nevertheless, starting now, it was going to be a full-blown fight between enemies. When the girl deployed her summons to the forward area, the Cockatrice responded by lowering its stance, preparing itself for the combat. And then, as the two parties were about to crash against each other, the Lesser Demon screamed. In the next instant, without a clear reason, the monster’s once enraged eye—that had been glaring at its enemy during that time—suddenly lost its vividness, growing dull in color. Afterwards, the demon started running and, just like that, jumped on top of the Cockatrice.

  “What… the… hell…?”

  Leaping high in the sky and skipping over both foes and allies alike, the beast broke out in a run towards the exact direction of the flower garden. Mira, who had been eager for a direct fight, was overcome with surprise, watching the receding figure of the Cockatrice with a dumbfounded expression. Every time it jumped in the air, the demonic beast would start flapping its wings to slow down its falling speed. Looking at that figure, rather than actually flying, the Cockatrice was simply doing long jumps while parachuting itself.

  “HEEY!! STOP RIGHT THEEERE!!”

  Being dazed by that somewhat comical appearance, Mira finally came to her senses and began, with all her might, chasing after the demonic beast that was thrusting itself into the woods. With a bitter smile on their faces, Reynard and Joachim observed the running girl as she disappeared in the forest.

  Chapter 19

  A flower garden with a white, soaring pillar right at its center. That place was currently serving as the background for the confrontation between Mira and the demonic beast Cockatrice, with the latter being accompanied by its summoner, the Lesser Demon.

  “You crafty little piece of...”

  Just when she had thought they were about to fight, both of her enemies simply ran away, forcing her to rush after the two. Then, a few moments later, with the figure of the garden in the background, the girl finally managed to catch up with them; that being said, the Cockatrice wasn’t a monster that could easily be caught simply by running. She only succeeded in doing so mainly because of her equipment and the terrain. There were many articles worn by Mira that held within them special effects and, of course, the ability to amplify her running power was one of those. Additionally, she was fortunate enough that because of its large build, the demon beast had a hard time running through the forest, so it had simply resorted to jumping.

  Now, after regaining the considerable distance that had been put between her and the monster, the girl summoned an extra three Black Knights and had them surround the Cockatrice. As such, including the two standing in wait by her side, there was a total of five conjured knights in that place. Apparently vexed, the Lesser Demon kept glaring at their ghastly figures, an overwhelming sense of intimidation being emitted by them even as they stood there, motionless.

  If it was against a Dark Knight, the demonic beast had the confidence that it could shake free from its opponent. And without a doubt, the fact was that the knight’s pace would never reach that of the Cockatrice. However, the number of Dark Knights there had further increased and, consequently, the Lesser Demon now felt regret over its decision to merely judge Mira by her appearance.

  Yet, it did not give up.

  Shouting with a bawling voice, the Lesser Demon pointed at the young girl. Immediately, with its eye seething in madness, the Cockatrice released a strange sound and broke into a run towards Mira. While advancing, every time its feet hit the ground the earth would be gouged out, throwing in the air the thick vegetation that was once there. Naturally, the beast possessed an enormous mass that was directly proportional to its large body, and just that monster’s movements could be enough to blow away most things in the middle of its path.