Kakaka—the “demon” wearing Bibi’s face cackled.
It wasn’t the voice of a living being, but a cackling sound like bones filled with marrow striking against each other, sending a shiver of dread through Clara and her attendants.
Demons are the natural enemies of the living. Unlike the undead, who resent the living and attack out of envy for life itself, demons devour the negative emotions of the living and souls stained by negativity.
Thus, the living fear demons. It isn’t merely a matter of life or death. Their very souls tremble with an instinctive terror of having their dignity utterly debased.
“Everyone, get back! [Fire Arrow]—!”
While everyone else froze in terror, only Clara, possessing a soul from another world, was able to act.
It wasn’t a simple reincarnation; a soul that had come from another world without losing its memories faced drawbacks, such as an inability to kill people due to that knowledge, but a soul that had experienced two different lives possessed a corresponding degree of flexibility.
Fwoom!
—Kaka—
The demon, struck by Clara’s [Fire Arrow], twisted Bibi’s face and cackled.
Demons, like spirits, are inhabitants of the astral plane. However, unlike spirits, which use their elemental affinities such as water or earth as vessels, demons use human flesh and blood. Thus, they are said to be more susceptible to physical attacks than spirits.
Even so, attacks lacking magical power have little effect. Clara’s decision to use Fire Magic, which boasts high physical and magical destructive power, was not mistaken. However, with magical power only at around Rank 2, she couldn’t even injure the demon.
But, even so—
“—This damn bastard…!”
Doris, who had initially been blown away along with the window, roared as if to galvanize her own cowering soul.
As if in response, Hilda and Heidi also rose to their feet, shielding Clara. Clara’s action had rekindled the will to resist the terror of the demon within their hearts.
“Heidi!”
Nodding at Hilda’s call, Heidi began to chant a spell.
However, against a demon whose very actions possess magical properties, the act of ‘chanting’ itself was a fatal risk. Moreover, when even Clara’s Fire Magic—backed by her high magical power across three attributes—had proven ineffective, what could they possibly achieve?
—Kakaka—
The demon spread its body of black Miasma, mocking Heidi and the others’ actions as if to say there was no escape. Heidi’s chant was not yet complete, but the demon couldn’t entirely ignore the magic. Just as it turned Bibi’s distorted face towards Heidi—
“—[Cleanse]—!”
Clara’s Light Magic, which she had been constructing behind Hilda, was unleashed upon the demon.
The Light Magic [Cleanse] purifies Miasma, which is corrupted Magical Element. The demon, which drew its power from Miasma, seemed to flinch for an instant, but immediately shaped its black Miasma into a giant’s arm and struck, intending to tear apart the light’s magical power itself.
“As if I’d let you!”
Doris leaped back, shielding Clara in her arms, as the giant arm lunged for Clara. The demon’s attack pulverized the table, shattering the flagstones beneath it.
CRASH!!
Light and Miasma clashed. When the dust from the impact settled, Clara and the others were gone from before the demon; only the shattered door swayed in the aftermath.
“…”
Seeing this, the demon grotesquely twisted Bibi’s face. It transformed its black Miasma into a giant’s arm once more, pulverized the broken door and wall, and burst outside.
＊
“—Kuh!”
“—[Cleanse]—”
Clara washed Doris’s arm, which had been struck by the demon’s attack, with Water Magic, then immediately purified the wound with [Cleanse].
“…How terrible.”
Doris’s arm was festering and burned, merely grazed by the demon’s attack. It was likely the Miasma’s influence; a single [Cleanse] couldn’t purify it completely, and in that state, healing magic would also have diminished effect.
To have faced a demon that inflicted damage with mere contact and escaped with only that much injury was solely because each of them had thoroughly fulfilled their role.
Heidi hadn’t been chanting to attack the demon; her purpose from the outset was to destroy the door and secure an escape route. Clara, understanding this through her Foresight, used [Cleanse] on the distracted demon, and in that opening, they retreated through the door Heidi had destroyed with [Stone Shot].
“Dandole-sama!”
“What is the matter!?”
The women of the Fifth Order of Knights, having heard the commotion, rushed over. Part of the reason for making such a loud noise was to alert them.
“A demon has appeared! Contact the Royal Guard Knights at once! It will be here soon!”
Although she was not yet the mistress of this Crown Princess Palace, the words of Clara, the primary fiancée, and the sight of her attendant Doris’s injury made the female knights draw a sharp breath.
The Fifth Order of Knights was a historic order, existing since the kingdom’s founding. Though called an order, then as now, it comprised fewer than a hundred knights. This was because all its members were female knights, primarily tasked with guarding important figures.
However, this was not some sinecure for the daughters of knightly houses, as base nobles might imagine. They were the face of the kingdom, tasked with protecting the Queen and Princesses and guarding honored guests, a division comprised of women selected from across the land, an aspiration for all fighting women.
Chosen for their skill, their collective combat strength was said to rival that of the Royal Guard Knights. Alongside the Royal Guard and the Shadow Unit, they were considered one of the kingdom’s most prized assets.
“””Yes, ma’am!”””
The female knights responded to Clara’s command. As protectors of the Crown Princess Palace, they had been informed that Monsters were the reason for Clara’s pre-marital stay, but fearing information leaks, the higher-ups had not disclosed that it was a ‘demon’.
Yet, even upon learning this, the women of the Fifth Order of Knights, though their faces paled, resolved to stake their lives to protect their future queen.
“Here it comes!”
At someone’s shout, several female knights who appeared to be captains stepped forward, aligning themselves with Doris, who held a dagger in one arm. One of them spoke, positioning herself to shield Doris.
“You! Report this to our commander and the Royal Guard Knights! Tell them to equip tower shields and spears, and to summon all Light Magicians!”
“I can still—”
“Doris, with that injury, you’ll only be a hindrance! We will also retreat while protecting Clara-sama, so you go and inform the knight orders!”
“Kuh… Understood!”
At Hilda’s words, Doris, understanding the tactical priorities, dashed off in the opposite direction. Simultaneously, from the far end of the passage, the black Miasma, plastered with Bibi’s face and seeming to fill the entire corridor, surged towards them.
“Fire!”
“—[Splash]—!”
“—[Fire Arrow]—!”
“—[Wind Cutter]—!”
Attack magic was unleashed by Clara and the knights towards the black Miasma. The successively fired spells struck the demon. Its movements halted for an instant, as if it flinched, and its face transformed from Bibi’s visage into a cracked stone mask.
“It’s working!”
“Wait!”
Ignoring Clara’s attempt to stop her, a young knight drew her sword and charged forward. But—
“Commander!?”
The demon’s mask reverted to a human face. The female knight who cried out in shock upon seeing it was slammed against the wall and crushed by the demon’s powerful arm.
—Kaka—
It was likely the face of the Fifth Order of Knights’ commander. As that face twisted into a clay-like, distorted smile, a torrent of blood gushed from the crevices in the crushed wall.
“—Nectar—”
“We’re falling back! Hurry!”
Clara shouted the order to the knights, who were frozen stiff at the sight of that “meal.”
“B-but, that demon—”
“It won’t pursue us immediately! Quickly!”
“…Yes, ma’am! All units, retreat while protecting Dandole-sama!”
While glaring at the demon that had killed their comrade, the female knight who appeared to be a captain—the one who had stepped forward earlier—issued orders to the other knights.
If they didn’t stall it, they would be overtaken. —She had even considered that one of the knights might have to sacrifice herself for that purpose, but when they actually began to retreat, the demon did not give immediate chase.
“Dandole-sama…”
As they retreated, the captain asked for the reason. Clara, pressing a hand to one eye from which tears of blood streamed, murmured,
“That demon… is ‘playing’ with us. To feast on human terror…”
Demons feed on human negative emotions. A demon summoned by a legitimate practitioner would be bound by ‘constraints’ and prioritize its given task, unable to act so freely. However, if, as Clara’s Foresight suggested, it had merely been granted power to be wielded as a [Divine Protection], then it would be almost entirely uncontrolled, save for its ultimate objective.
“To the Crown Princess Palace’s courtyard! We’ll deal with it there until reinforcements arrive!”
“But, if it’s not pursuing us, shouldn’t we head to the knights’ barracks as is?”
The Royal Guard knights are there too. Even if it’s not perfect, they should have started preparations to deal with demons.
But Clara-san shook her head slightly at the captain’s words.
“That’s probably its limit. If we move any further away, it will likely attack us with its full strength.”
Clara-san, by calculating multiple futures with her Foresight, had been able to deduce the demon’s movements and even its behavioral principles.
It was only an answer with a high probability, but if that demon was able to invade the Crown Princess Palace by being ‘invited,’ then assuming that was a simple ‘contract,’ the demon should only be able to wield its full power within the grounds of the Crown Princess Palace.
That’s why, as long as Clara-san remained in the Crown Princess Palace, the demon wouldn’t get serious. Until Clara-san’s soul was stained with despair, the demon should only engage in attacks like a tiger toying with a rabbit.
For Clara-san to survive the demon, that was her only hope.
“It’s here!”
When Clara-san and the others reached the courtyard, perhaps because Doris-san had called out to them on the way, knights who had been napping in plain clothes but armed with greatshields and long spears also rushed over.
As their spirits slightly lifted, the demon that had been pursuing Clara-san and the others descended from the dark night into the courtyard, illuminated only by the faint light of magical glows.
A face, so distorted it was no longer recognizable as the Knight Commander, sneered. The plants in the garden touched by the demon rotted from the Miasma, emitting a foul odor, and in that instant, the demon snatched one of the knights who flinched with its giant arm.
“Hih—”
The demon then crushed the knight, wringing him out like a wet rag.
“Don’t look away from the demon!”
Clara-san called out to the young knights who instinctively averted their eyes.
To fight a demon, one must not fear. But that was impossible for an ordinary person. Nevertheless, Clara-san raised her voice to ‘buy time’… and to encourage herself.
“That’s a Doppelganger! Its strength is inferior to a normal demon’s!”
Doppelganger. A demon that imitates the form of ‘someone,’ also called a dual presence or a double. It’s a demon that incites unease and suspicion in people, but Clara-san’s Foresight had judged that entity to be one.
A Doppelganger’s combat ability depends on whom it mimics. That’s precisely why that demon made a simple contract to create a situation where it could wield its full power.
However, even if a Doppelganger isn’t strong, that’s only in comparison to other demons; its actual power is so far beyond that of ordinary humans that they wouldn’t even stand a chance.
Clara-san could use Simple Appraisal, but she couldn’t see the demon’s power. This was because her lack of combat experience prevented her from gauging the demon’s strength.
But it was probably a Greater Demon… Its combat power would be at least 2000, and if it were a demon released after obtaining a vessel, it would exceed 4000.
“Anyway, buy time—”
As Clara-san tried to give further instructions, she pressed her eyes and fell to her knees, and Hilda-san, who was beside her, rushed over in a panic.
“Clara-sama! Please stop using Foresight any further!”
Clara-san, while shedding tears of blood not just from one eye but from both, tightly gripped Hilda-san’s arm.
“Not… yet. Just a little longer, just a little more.”
Clara-san’s Divine Protection, Future Foresight, placed an extraordinary burden on her brain.
Originally, this ability was suited for a military strategist to perceive the state of battle, and in this situation, she had to keep using it. However, the former second prince, who was supposed to be the king’s younger brother, died young due to obtaining a very similar ability. If he hadn’t gone that far, he wouldn’t have been able to unify the country, which was in turmoil between the royalist faction and the noble faction, to a certain extent.
“B-but Clara-sama, for reinforcing knights to arrive so easily…”
Everyone inwardly agreed with Hilda-san’s words. Even if Doris-san, the former assassin, ran at full speed, how much time would it take for her to reach the royal castle in a few minutes, for the order of knights to hear the news, understand it, prepare their equipment, and arrive?
No matter how much they hurried, it would take a quarter of an hour for the main force to arrive… Even if Doris-san brought only members of the Fifth Order of Knights ahead for now, it would still take some time for them to get here.
“Hic—”
Another knight was killed. No, Clara-san and the others could only watch as a knight, caught by the demon, died screaming inaudibly in its arms.
How much longer could they hold out like this? Including the captain, only five knights remained.
“…Endure… Just a little longer…”
Still, Clara-san told them to endure. What had she seen in her Foresight?
One of the two possibilities was not here.
But—
BOOOM!!
Suddenly, an immense amount of magical power filled the area, and an explosion of flames enveloped the demon along with the knight’s corpse.
Illuminated by those flames, a young lady in a white dress, her jet-black hair fluttering, descended from the night sky where she had been floating, letting out a joyful voice while scattering an immense Killing Intent.
“—Oh my, what are you ‘playing’ at in my garden?”
She’s finally here. That person and the demon are going to fight.
Next time, Shadow of the Demon, Part 2!