Three-Way Alliance

Hallam watched Pernok’s back departing alone to the mountain range.

“No matter what, leaving you to go alone isn’t right.”

Rio came from somewhere holding a pile of documents.

“Hallam, you’re going too?”

“If you permit, I’ll prepare immediately.”

Rio said indifferently while sorting documents.

“Stay still. That helps Lord Pernok.”

“But…”

“Demon Knight inhabits above altitude 5500 meters. Its special power commands even demon beasts at that altitude as subordinates. Besides Hallam in our guild, is there anyone who can use magic there?”

“It’s possible if we put guards forward!”

“Will Clarity and Hunting Net just watch with both eyes open?”

Hallam tried voicing his frustrated feelings but only moved his mouth without words coming out.

“Don’t mistake Lord Pernok’s power for yours. Only he can speak of possibilities.”

“Mmm… I know that but…”

“Look, don’t be intimidated after a few words. Even if guild power backed him, Lord Pernok would have gone alone anyway.”

Hallam tilted his head.

“Why is that?”

“Guilds fighting flashily in terrain favorable to demon beasts—increasing numbers only complicates situations. Going alone lets him ravage enemy lines as he pleases.”

Rio pulled out one document and handed it to Hallam.

“Don’t worry and prepare for what comes after.”

“What’s this?”

“A list of clients you must persuade.”

“…?”

“Didn’t Clarity and Hunting Net both empty their positions? Meanwhile our guild members are firmly gathered here. Let’s fill all their empty spots with our people.”

When Rio grinned, Hallam felt inexplicable chills.

* * *

Information came in that a demon beast presumed to be Demon Knight established position on the eastern mountain slope.

Pernok prepared only one belt to carry Demon Knight’s sword and immediately jumped into the mountain range.

Altitude 5500 meters.

He climbed east along the outskirts while minimizing collisions with demon beasts.

Harsh terrain with many cliffs and thick thornbushes continued.

Usually demon beasts live in such places, but even traces were hard to find.

‘Playing lord or something.’

Mana thicker and more ominous than Jake’s dominated and controlled demon beasts.

Demon Knight.

The lord dominating this area’s demon beasts.

Seemed difficult for Pernok alone to handle the bastard possessing even cunning intelligence.

If he were alone, that is.

‘Shall I start with light greetings?’

Feeling human presence hidden in thick mana concentration, Pernok raised Mana Reinforcement to maximum.

When he trampled thornbushes and shot forward, Demon Knight’s ominous mana settled thinly like fog.

The moment touching this unpleasant fog, location is detected.

Ambush was impossible from the start.

Pernok knew this fact well too.

He rather exposed himself to the fog while drawing enemies’ attention.

So all enemies hidden here would burst out and mingle together.

“Kieeek!”

Demon beasts seeming to require level 4 mages to face.

Such bastards burst out endlessly from thick fog.

Demon Knight knows low-level mages’ weaknesses.

Immediately executing without giving time to gather mana for principle bestowal.

The resolute will to stamp down with quantity even if guards existed was glimpsed in dozens of demon beasts that swarmed in an instant.

Appropriate tactics and demon beast control.

Perfect bastard to harmonize together.

Pernok struck down demon beasts with one punch and jumped into thick fog.

He actively utilized magic stolen from Flang’s affiliated guilds.

Magic Siren drew out transcendent senses beyond the five senses.

Even without seeing, he could feel what threatened him.

Roaming fog like home while causing maximum commotion, the moment he gathered massive demon beasts.

Wooong!

A roar like an earthquake split the fog in half.

Sallio was pressing Demon Knight, the skull sword’s owner spewing pitch-black flames between bone armor.

‘As expected, he was waiting.’

While Pernok gathered all demon beasts, Sallio penetrated Demon Knight’s left with guild members.

No anxiety felt in the appearance trying to finish at once by pushing with quantity.

As if expecting Pernok would appear, he scattered guild members and condensed Wave while retreating.

This was precisely the moment Siren urgently sent signals.

Whoosh!

Ducking his head to dodge assassination flying at his nape, he only turned his hand back to burst a small flash.

But the assassin just showed a slightly torn collar while grinning.

“What kind of enhancement must I learn to block even ambushes?”

Enri infused poison into her dagger.

Sallio walked toward Pernok with condensed mana loaded in his hammer.

Demon Knight was being blocked by Hunting Net and Clarity’s guild members cooperating.

With even demon beasts behind rushing in, Pernok was perfectly surrounded.

Everything accomplished as predicted.

And the two seemed to judge Pernok would have anticipated this request’s trap.

“Did you gather nicely to catch one demon beast?”

The two’s expressions didn’t change at all.

“You knew everything.”

“Stop pretending. Your leisurely smiling pisses me off.”

The time had ripened.

If they couldn’t settle here, they couldn’t stop Pernok.

After directly clashing, the two’s thoughts became even firmer.

“You get stronger every time I see you. Just how much are you hiding?”

Enri tried not yielding distance while wielding her dagger.

“Aren’t you swayed by me because you can’t properly handle even one ability?”

“If I obtain you, seems I won’t need to refine my abilities?”

“Hunting Net isn’t a vessel worthy of having me.”

Enri raised veins on her smiling face.

“I was thinking to moderately lay you down for 3 months, but I’ll make you unable to budge for at least 5 months. You impudent bastard!”

The moment poison spread was the signal.

Sallio struck down the blue wave he’d gathered while clashing with Demon Knight from the air, and Enri tenaciously stuck from the front so Pernok couldn’t flee.

If he retreated, demon beasts with jaws wide open waited.

“Good.”

Pernok burst combat exhilaration heating up after a while without reserve.

BANG!

Blue wave clashed with Pernok’s mana spreading aurora-like ripples.

Demon beasts were torn apart, but Enri sharply penetrated the ripples’ gaps.

Whoong!

But Pernok isn’t there.

Hiding his body with Sallio’s ripples, he used acceleration magic to deceive their eyes in one moment.

“Don’t let your guard down, Enri! The bastard skillfully conceals presence like an assassin!”

“His enhancement has something special dodging ambushes! Only frontal breakthrough!”

The two’s eyes chased Pernok.

By then, terrible flames had already swept between Demon Knight and guild members.

“It’s Pernok!”

“Make a barrier!”

Seems they anticipated Pernok would strike guild members first.

Each deputy guild leaders quickly adjusted deployment. But having eyes stolen by Pernok, they couldn’t mind Demon Knight.

Demon Knight escaped the loosened encirclement while wrapping flames on the skull sword.

“He’s summoning demon beasts!”

Each guild’s executives stepped forward to restrain, but Pernok’s magic blocked them.

‘I can utilize demon beasts like my allies according to situations.’

He’d anticipated numerical inferiority from the start.

Pernok thought to fill insufficient power with Demon Knight.

Demon beasts recognize humans as enemies, so from their position they judge Pernok and others all as identical enemies.

Kuoooooo!

This moment when demon beasts like ant swarms follow Demon Knight’s instructions from surroundings, guilds lose leisure to mind Pernok.

Before long, demon beasts and guild members mixed into chaos.

“Now it’s finally worth watching.”

He mixed formations.

Demon beasts and guild members.

Demon Knight and them.

No leisure to distinguish friend from foe exists here anymore.

“I won’t kill by rules. Instead, you should all be prepared to recuperate.”

When Sallio and Enri struck in from both sides, Demon Knight joined this side.

Sallio and Enri suddenly changed direction and retreated.

Seems they’re thinking to pass Demon Knight to Pernok, but it’s a naive tactic.

Clang!

“…!”

Demon Knight’s sword struck down Sallio’s hammer.

“Who first faced Demon Knight?”

“Tch!”

Demon Knight has the habit of eliminating enemies faced first.

Thanks to that, a one-on-one structure formed with Enri.

‘The trickiest among these is Enri.’

That dagger is threatening.

Mana Reinforcement’s resistance can’t completely shake off poison either.

‘Can’t yield distance. To squeeze into gaps the poison might graze, I must first sever those wrists and ankles.’

Pernok narrowed distance at once while persistently aiming at Enri’s wrists and ankles.

Grasping movements in advance with Observation Eye, Enri’s dagger only narrowly grazed Pernok’s hair.

Enri seemed flustered, apparently seeing for the first time a mage-type pursuing close combat with body techniques rather than fleeing after seeing poison.

“Get lost!”

Enri drew a new dagger from behind. Similarly infusing poison, but something was strange.

Because her mana stretched long.

“Kueeeeek!”

Surprisingly, mana flowing along the ground transformed into a sword holding poison.

The poison sword penetrated Demon Knight’s sole.

Sallio struck Demon Knight’s tilted ribs with his hammer.

An attempt to topple Demon Knight and grasp the structure in desired form again.

“Better than Jake.”

“Not time for leisure!”

Thorn-like poison also burst up beneath Pernok’s feet. Simultaneously Enri wielded her dagger like a storm from the front.

Sense handling mana, body techniques, and magic simultaneously lacked nothing to be called silver rank.

“Now! Everyone burst it!”

Sallio’s Wave is slow to gather as much as its power is strong.

But completely gathered Wave’s might tears even same-rank magic.

Enri succeeded in tactics to pull Sallio to optimal condition until the end while facing Pernok.

‘Demon Knight is still down.’

If Enri binds ankles and Sallio bursts Wave, this terrible game will end.

So they thought.

“No meaning if you’re actually exhausted.”

“Bluffing…!”

As much as deploying wide-area magic, Enri’s breathing also grew rough.

Pernok didn’t miss that gap where legs slightly tilted.

Grabbing Enri’s collar, he threw her straight at Demon Knight.

‘Then the battlefield again turns advantageous to Pernok…’

Enri ground her teeth while flipping in the air.

Where she barely landed, Demon Knight was rising.

Pernok rushed that way, and Sallio also changed direction.

When Enri raised her dagger, Demon Knight flashed ominous eyes while cloaking the sword in fire.

This moment when friend and foe become ambiguous is precisely the storm’s core Pernok had waited for.

“Sallio! Burst it!”

All mana concentrated in one place. And Pernok’s mana extinguished like a candle.

What blooms in that place is spiritual power.

Synchronization Rate – 20%

The moment spiritual power absorbed until now exceeded a certain value.

Pernok became able to use one Spiritual Law offensive technique.

Spiritual Law – Divine Punishment.

Pitch-black flames Demon Knight wrapped on his sword.

Poison sword Enri gathered at one point.

Sallio’s condensed blue wave.

In the tsunami of overflowing mana, Pernok spread both hands.

Crackle.

Spiritual power that would never be visible to ordinary people’s eyes gathered at palm centers and began burning brightly, and.

“What the…!”

The moment spiritual power wrapped around mana sucked into the center.

“New magic…!?”

Swallowing even surrounding sounds, the swollen spiral airflow roared like thunder.

Kwaaaaa-!

It was intense flash covering all directions like a natural disaster where an enraged god punishes humans.