â...UmmmmâŠâ
Iliya looked around with a pained expression, as if she had a headache.
She understood the concept of Second Ordeal well.
To put it simply, it was a battle royale where one had to survive in harsh terrain.
It was obvious that they would be thrown into an area swarmed with Demonic Creatures with only a simple bundle of survival tools.
In that regard, the current situation was definitely something she couldnât grasp, even if she mustered all the common sense she possessed.
â...Where on earth did you get all those?â
When Iliya asked that in a troubled voice, one of the men surrounding her spun the longsword in his hand without answering.
â...â
âNo, seriously!â
âI thought this is a test of survival where weâre supposed to go barehanded?â
âBut those guys are fully armed! They clearly want to kill us!â
âNo matter how I look at it, these people didnât barge their way into the Hero Selection âfairlyâ at all!â
âIs this the thing that Lana was so smug about?â
â...â
After looking at the sunlight that was reflected off their longswords and armors, Iliya looked down at her own attire.
Cloth boots, pants and top.
Compared to the oppositionâs gear, which wouldnât look out of place even on a real battlefield, hers looked more like a farmerâs attire.
If someone had the power to get these kinds of people into the Hero Selection, that meant they were incredibly powerful. That also meant their minions wouldnât be ordinary folks.
Even for her, facing such skilled individuals with just this kind of equipment, sheâd need to risk her life to even begin.
âExcuse me, could you at least tell me why you are doing this?â
âIliya Krisanax, you are not our target.â
â...Huh?â
âYou can still walk away. We shall spare you if you do.â
The man who said this then pointed his sword at Dowd, who looked as if he had lost his soul.
âOur target is that man. Keep quiet and step back. We can at least spare your life then. Killing a Hero Candidate would cause quite the aftermath, so weâd rather not do it if we have the choice.â
â...â
âTheir target is Teach, huh?â
Iliya nodded solemnly.
âAlright, now that I know their objective, itâs easier to guess their affiliation.â
âSince they are going for Teach, then I can make an educated guess from a list of potential suspectsâŠâ
â...â
After a moment of thought, Iliya asked in an even more solemn manner.
â...Where are you fromâŠ?â
â...â
âYou see, thereâs more than just one or two people who want him dead, so if you could at least give me a hint about whoââ
â...This is your last warning. Step back now and hand over that man.â
âAh, theyâre from the Holy Land.â
From their words and the battle-oriented Graces imbued in their equipment, Iliya managed to deduce as such.
Which meant, they were people who had come in under Archbishop Luminolâs influence.
After figuring out this far, everything suddenly made sense for her. Considering what Dowd did to his daughter, it would be strange if they didnât pull out something like this.
â...Sigh.â
Iliya sighed before pulling out a short dagger from among her bundle of tools.
âIts edge is bluntedâŠâ
The dagger was clearly not meant for combat. At least it could be used for skinning or cutting meat. In other words, it was no different from junk.
â...What do you think youâre doing?â
Someone questioned why she was pulling that out, butâŠ
At the very next momentâŠ
-!
That same person shot up vertically.
Because Iliya had swiftly approached him and thrusted the dagger in her hand upwards.
If his equipment had been any worse than this, it wouldnât be weird for him to be knocked out right then and there. That was how much force she put behind that strike.
The man who was flung into the air then fell onto the ground. At this sight, his comrade furrowed their brows before opening up his mouth.
â...What are you playing at?â
Instead of answering, Iliya glanced back briefly.
She carefully observed Dowdâs reaction.
Usually, he was someone whose eyes always sparkled with intelligence when he was thrown into a combat situation, but now, only bewilderment enveloped his expression.
â...â
There wasnât the slightest hint of him âreturningâ yet.
Which meant, without her, he was as good as dead.
â...Have you lost your mind?â
As she did so, such a comment came out from the front.
âEven if youâre a Hero Candidate, itâs impossible for you to take on all of us with such poor equipment. Do you wish to die that badly?â
âOf course I donât.â
Iliya spun the dagger in her hand before letting out a smirk.
âBut, you see, if itâs for Teach, itâs worth risking my life at least once.â
â...â
The group of men drew their swords with a sigh before activating the Graces on their equipment.
â...This is your choice.â
At worst, he was a high rank Battle Priest, but either way his combat capabilities were beyond Iliyaâs.
And that wasnât even considering his subordinates. Fighting them here was pretty much a suicidal move, as her odds of victory was just flat out zero.
âThen die here, Iliya Krisanax.â
â...Sigh.â
HoweverâŠ
This time, instead of running awayâŠ
Iliya merely let out a sigh and scratched her head.
âWhat a hassle.â
âSeriously, your luck when it comes to people is the worst, Teach!â
âButâŠâ
âGuess Iâm also to blame for falling for him first.â
Following that, Iliya and the armed men clashed fiercely.
â...Eleanor?â
Someone suddenly appeared from the black space, of course Iâd be dumbfounded like this.
[...You.]
I wasnât the only one who reacted as such. After seeing Eleanor emanating grey aura from all over her body, even the White Devilâs eyes shook.
After that, she gritted her teeth.
[In me and my mateâs nestâŠthat damn punkâs Vessel daâ]
Hearing those words, my expression immediately became twisted.
â...Nest?â
But, she hadnât told me such a thing.
Her choice of words sounded extremely ominous.
â...â
Ah, I see.
I understood.
â...She had no intention of letting me out from the very start.â
As soon as I thought that, a bitter smile formed on my lips.
The reason why she imposed such cumbersome restrictions like roles or whatever was to seize the âinitiativeâ.
Getting me to follow the role meant sheâd pull some trick to trap me in this world with her forever.
And if I were to break my role, just like what I did, sheâd just yap about how I broke the restrictions or whatnot to extort the ownership of my soul.
Both paths would end in me facing a hellish dilemma of being bound by this punk.
MoreoverâŠ
I wasnât the only one who realized this. Eleanor, who had been silent until now, spoke up about it.
â...Nest?â
Her red eyes shone even more intensely.
Was she angry? No, she was already way past that.
âFrom the very startâŠyouâŠâ
And then, in the following sentenceâŠ
Her voice was torn apart.
[You were planning on ĂșâČ?ĂĄ?, monopolizing?°? that man, weren't you?]
â...â
â...â
Wait.
As soon as I heard the static come out of her voice, I instinctively knew.
Eleanor wasnât the one who spoke.
But another entity using her âbodyâ to speak.
[GreyâŠ!]
And as Yuriaâs expression changed, rage surged in the White Devilâs eyes.
[How dare you show your shameless, brazen faceâŠ! In my spaceâŠ!]
Of course, it wasnât like she was amicable prior to thisâŠ
But now, she made an expression as if she had encountered her mortal enemy.
Following that, white aura flickered throughout the space.
The pitch black space instantly turned white, proof that the White Devil was trying to exert her full power.
[I WILL KILL YOUâ!!]
While the Demonic Aura of Devils was always threatening, the intensity of the White Devilâs Aura within this Image World was on another level. It even surpassed the time when Grey Devil managed to exert her aura in the Material Realm.
â...â
Anyway, there should be some kind of backstory between these two.
I mean, there was no way they came to hate each other so much for no reason at all.
As I was thinking this, White Demonic Aura surged towards Eleanor all at once.
HoweverâŠ
-!!
-!
-...
The Demonic Aura stopped suddenly.
As if âtimeâ itself had been frozen solid, the White Demonic Aura that touched its grey counterpart completely froze.
[...!]
At that sight, the White Devilâs expression twisted slightly.
[...]
And then, at the same timeâŠ
Time itself froze.
The color of the surrounding space was slowly âerodedâ from pitch-black darkness to grey.
Which meant the White Devil was losing initiative.
â...Does this even make sense?â
Even I was taken aback when witnessing this.
All Devils, regardless of the dimension, held a supreme status, capable of exerting their power within anotherâs Image World.
However, at least when it came to any âmental-relatedâ domain, the White Devil was ahead of them all.
But to think the Grey Devil could display this level of ability within a world where that kind of existence held absolute dominion. How could this be?
-...
-...!
Due to the creeping Grey Aura, the space that was already desolate to look at began to halt completely, making it looked even more bland.
It affected everyone, whether it was Eleanor, who was being used by the Grey Devil, me, or even the White Devil.
The latter seemed to be able to move somewhat though, perhaps because she belonged in the same hierarchy as Grey. Meanwhile Eleanor, the Vessel and I, who possessed the Fallenâs Seal, were both frozen.
[...HaaaaâŠ]
Then, something descended from the sky.
Following a sigh and a SwishâŠ
A being landed gently on the ground.
On top of their head, a âcrownâ reminiscent of a halo rested.
This was the Grey Devil.
A Ruler of Pandemonium.
The strongest one among them all.
[Because of you⊠Because of you, my mate⊠Because of you-!]
As soon as she saw the Grey Devil, the White Devil let out a cry of perhaps despair.
[I know.]
That response immediately returned.
[I am sure you ĂșâČ? hate me. And I also know ĂșâČ? you think that manâs death later is my fault.]
â...â
Words that I couldnât just let pass over my head were heard.
âIâm going to die?â
âLater?â
â...â
âHey, Grey Devil? What is that supposed to mean?â
While I was thinking thisâŠ
[But still.]
The pupils of the Grey Devil opened up horizontally.
When compared to the innocent and naive appearance she usually showed me, the difference was chilling.
There was malice.
One that was concentrated with a pitch-black emotion held for the one across from her.
While wearing such an expression, the Grey Devil reached right in front of the White Devil in an instant.
â...!â
For the first time since I had seen this being, she was wearing such an intense amount of malice that made me think that it was fitting of her to be called a âDevilâ.
In a moment, as a suffocating sensation simultaneously enveloped me, the Grey Devil stretched out both hands towards the White Devil.
[That ??°? manâŠ]
And then, as soon as they made contactâŠ
The White Devil was âtornâ to shreds.
It happened in an instant, as if she had been thrown into a shredder.
The entire figure of the White Devil blurred and flickered, like a video that had been disrupted by signal interference.
Her mouth opened. Though it was probably to scream out in agonyâŠ
But, before she could even do that, the Grey Devil grabbed the only intact part of the shredded White Devil - the head.
[He is ?âČ?C mine.]
Following that, the punk slammed that head onto the ground.
With a full swing, as if clearly intending to âsmashâ it.
Again, the figure of the White Devil flickered. Her expression twisted in terrible pain.
[He is ???? mine.]
Without paying any attention to such a phenomenon, the red glow in the Grey Devilâs eyes intensified with ferocity. She lifted the White Devilâs head againâŠ
And slammed it down onto the ground.
Again.
And again.
Repeatedly.
As if she was dead set on completely annihilating the being in front of her.
With a Crack, the ground broke apart. White fragments scattered in all directions.
The area shook as if struck by an earthquake. Yet even so, the hostility emanating from the Grey Devil showed no signs of abating.
As if laying down punishment for daring to lay hands on what belonged to her.
[Do not ?C?? lay your hands on him.]
Along with a Craaaaack⊠freeÏebnovÄl.cà«Šm
The space shattered into pieces. Along with the remnants of the White Devilâs body, the Demonic Aura that had risen in the area dispersed like shattered glass.
â...â
âDude.â
âSure, I get that youâre strong, but both or you are Devils.â
âWhat the fuck is this overwhelming difference in power?â
The Grey Devil displayed strength that was far beyond it should have been capable of.
Almost as ifâŠ
She had gone beyond the hierarchy among Devils, being the sole one to exert a power almost akin to a transcendent.
â...But how?â
Though I didnât know what had happened for this punk to be that powerfulâŠ
For nowâŠ
â...â
âGrey Devil scawyâŠâ
I thought that with all my /genesisforsaken