Still, it's not all bad.

This beast is powerful, but it's alone, and above all, shadow magic works against it.

"Refrea! This one is vulnerable to darkness! We can use our usual tactics! Please!"

"Yes!"

The demon king's ears twitch nervously, searching for the source of the voice.

Its crimson eyes gleam fiercely, as if able to see through darkness itself, yet even hidden in shadows, the instinctive fear it evokes cannot be erased.

Still, if it's come to this, there's nothing left to do but fight.

"Target the moment it dispels my magic!"

Since I want to buy as much time as possible, there's no need to recklessly cancel the Darkness Fog or launch an attack first.

"Grrrllluu..."

The Demon King lets out a roar and spews flames, but we're spreading Darkness Fog to the maximum. At this range, his random attacks won't land.

Besides, the light from the flames won't dispel the darkness of the Darkness Fog.

The Demon King charges blindly, trying to break free from the darkness.

If he emerges from the shadows, Reflair, who's alone, could become a target.

"Shadow Bind!"

"Phantom Warrior!"

"Summon Knight Bug!"

Chanting spells in rapid succession.

Even attacks as weak as Knight Bug's can disrupt the enemy within the darkness.

And with the Phantom Warrior constantly making noise, the risk of our position being revealed by sound is further reduced.

The back-and-forth battle between the demon lord, eager to attack from the shadows, and me, who wanted to stall time without letting him step out, continued.

'Dispel'

— the demon lord finally chanted the spell.

Judging by the fact that he didn’t use it immediately, perhaps he wasn’t particularly skilled at magic.

The darkness, the phantom warrior, and the shadow tendrils were all reduced to spirit energy and vanished.

And this was exactly as expected.

In the next instant —

"Light!"

A blinding light sphere materialized before the demon lord’s eyes, and almost simultaneously, Refrea’s greatsword, rushing in, descended with such force it nearly severed his head.

With a thunderous *thud*, crimson blood splattered into the air.

"Gah! Hard!"

"Gurraaa!"

It was a full-force blow delivered with his entire body weight, but it failed to cleave the Demon King in two due to his thick fur and tough skin.

Still, the fact remained that the attack had landed.

As expected, the dark and light combo was simply powerful and effective, even against the Demon King.

"Shadow Bind!"

Dark tendrils wrapped around the Demon King’s limbs, restricting his movements.

Seizing the moment, Reflair launched a merciless flurry of strikes.

"Haaaaa!"

Like a dancer, like a blade in motion, the rapid succession of white blades struck the Demon King with unerring precision, carving deep wounds.

Yet, it seemed as though something invisible—like a wall—was blocking the attacks, or perhaps the Demon King was simply evading the killing blows with uncanny skill, for even the most devastating strikes that would have felled ordinary monsters were proving ineffective.

(Does her base defense really this high...!? She's taking the full brunt of Reflair's attack...!)

I used the precious time Reflair had bought me to exchange 30 crystals for 1 point, then used that point to trade for a barrier stone.

I judged this situation required an evacuation measure as a last resort.

Right now, the Demon King is flinching from Light's attacks and the follow-up combo, but he'll soon recover his stance.

"Reflair! You're overdoing it—step back for a moment! Frontal attacks won't do much!"

"No! I can still keep going!"

Reflair ignores my command and continues attacking.

No matter how skilled she is with her sword, frontal assaults inevitably become monotonous.

The Demon King surpasses us in strength, speed, and reaction time.

He'll counterattack—inevitably.

If we don’t fight head-on, this is the opponent who could have defeated the Lizardman Undead in just seconds.

And probably the Lizardman and Reflair are about equally strong.

"Reflair! Get back!"

"Not yet! Just like this!"

"You're reckless! Damn it!"

With all his might, Reflair swung his blade in a thunderous slash.

It did strike the target's back, but even so, it barely scratched the surface, barely breaking through the demon lord’s thick, hard body hair. As expected, we must target the core of the spirit power. If only Reflair had the battle axe of the commander of the Crimson Vial, one strike might have been fatal—but he hasn’t reached that level yet.

Reflair and the demon lord continue their clash, rapidly shifting positions at high speed. At this rate, using Darkness Fog will be difficult.

Perhaps Reflair saw the situation—where she was able to attack unilaterally—as an opportunity, but the Demon King had already regained his sight and recognized Reflair as an immediate threat... that’s how it seemed.

Against that Demon King, there’s little difference between me and Reflair. It’s obvious at a glance that he’s not someone who can be defeated in a straightforward one-on-one fight.

　

Originally, I planned to use Dark Fog after every strike, buying time while steadily dealing damage.

In fact, that’s how I’ve always fought. Over countless battles with Reflair, we’ve coordinated timing countless times, felling dozens of monsters.

I simply don’t understand why Reflair would suddenly act so recklessly.

Is she simply overwhelmed by the pressure of facing the Demon King?

Or perhaps she has something on her mind, confronting him head-on like this?

Then at least follow me.

"Phantom Warrior!"

The phantom warrior approaching from the opposite side managed to divert the Demon King's attention somewhat, though it didn't seem to have much effect.

I wanted to use Shadow Bind, but the previous binding effect hadn't fully worn off yet. I couldn't cast another spell until the prior effect completely faded.

"I'm the one who has to defeat him! I have to do it—I can't let anyone else!"

Amidst the relentless clash of blades, Refleia screamed.

I couldn't understand why Refleia was saying such things.

I just needed to buy time until help arrived.

That's right—I had made sure to make it clear—

"Gwoooaaauu!"

Marcossias dodged Refleia's sword strike with a backstep.

It instantly converted the weight on its hind legs into explosive power, charging at Refirea with a speed unimaginable from such a massive body.

A lunge resembling a body blow.

Swinging its long, sharp claws like blades, it clashed with Refirea at high speed.

"Kyaah—!"

"Refirea!"

Twisting its body, it barely avoided a direct hit, but still couldn't absorb the impact and was sent flying, crashing into a hedge.

"Huh, I'm okay! But the Demon King—!"

"Leave it to me! Darkness Fog!"

It expanded the Darkness Fog, enveloping Refirea and blinding the Demon King.

Pitch-black darkness spread, dominating the area, giving them a little more time.

"Phantom Warrior!"

"Shadow Bind!"

"Summon, Night Bug!"

I managed to temporarily seal the Demon King's movements and rushed to Refrea's side.

"Are you alright!? Any injuries!? Why did you do something so reckless!?"

"I'm fine, just a scratch! But we need to keep attacking—this was going so well! I'm the one who's going to defeat him... I have to..."

Refrea's eyes blazed with intensity, staring unwaveringly into the darkness, fixed on where the Demon King stood.

As if that were her duty.

As if that were the very reason she existed.

"I'll stand up again. He'll cast dispel soon, so once he does—then—"

Refrea tried to rise from the darkness, but collapsed straight down—thud—like she'd lost all support, falling face-first onto the ground.

Reflia herself looked utterly bewildered, as if she didn't understand what had just happened—

"Huh, wait—"

At that moment, I finally realized.

Blood, bright red and gushing, was spurting from Reflia's thigh, which had been brutally sliced open, her left leg severed more than halfway.

She hadn't managed to dodge the demon lord's attack after all.

The blood silently stained the ground a dark crimson.