Ss led the group forward, cutting through the creeping mist with ease. Though the writhing fog seemed as if it would swallow them whole, it posed no real threat to him.
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With each swing of his sword, the mist burst into mes and retreated. The mist that had been closing in on the group also pulled back in fear, as if the fire from Ss''s sword could ignite it like a chain reaction.
"Oooh!"
"It''s truly the holy sword!"
The group followed behind Ss in awe. However, as they progressed, a voice like nails scraping metal echoed from beyond the mist.
—How amusing, a child prancing about with a sword as if it could save you all, sneered the demon who had mimicked the guards earlier. Its voice dripped with mockery as it addressed the group.
—How long do you think that sword''s power willst? Ten minutes? Twenty? Or maybe it will fail you this very moment. Are you pushing yourself just to keep yourpanions safe?
"…!" The group collectively flinched. There was no such thing as infinite power. Once the mes of Ss''s sword were extinguished, their lives would be in grave danger.
"Ss, how long can you keep this up?" Ulrich asked, his voice tense.
"Don''t worry. I can keep this up for at least an hour," Ss replied confidently. Judging by the sword''s previous performance, an hour was more than manageable.
The demon let out a menacing, joylessugh.
—An hour, is it? That''s not much time. You''ll need to escape the city within that hour, but there''s only one exit, and it''s already closed.
"We''re not leaving," Ss said inly.
—…What? The demon sounded genuinely confused.
"We''re not leaving. Why would we run? We came to kill you," Ss dered boldly.
The demon, as well as the rest of the group, were taken aback. While it was true that they hade to deal with the demon, the situation was far from ideal for fighting. Was Ss being reckless, or was he just that confident?
"My lord, do you have some sort of n?" one of the knights asked, his voiceced with uncertainty.
"I do, but first, we need to find a safe ce. Everyone''s exhausted from traveling for days without rest," Ss responded calmly.
—Ha! A safe ce? In my city? There''s nowhere to hide. This entire ce is under my control! the demon cackled, filling the group with a sense of dread. If the demon''s im was true, they were effectively trapped inside the demon''sir.
But Ss remained unfazed.
"Don''t push yourselves too hard. I can create a temporary safe zone with the mes from the sword. We''ll rest there for now," Ss said, his voice calm andposed.
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"How can you remain so calm in a situation like this?" Ulrich asked, almost in disbelief.
"Is there a problem with staying calm?" Ss replied.
"No, but…" Ulrich trailed off. While Ss was technically right, his level ofposure in such a dire situation was unnerving.
Ss smirked at Ulrich''s bewilderment.
"Don''t take the demon''s words too seriously. Do you really think it only tells the truth?" Ss asked.
"What do you mean?" Ulrich responded, confused.
"Demons are inherently deceptive. They thrive on negative emotions like fear, doubt, and despair. To feed on those emotions, they''ll say anything, even lies," Ss exined casually. "For example, if a demon feeds on jealousy, it''ll say something like ''Your neighbor is prettier than you.'' If it feeds on suspicion, it might say, ''Your spouse is cheating on you,'' even if the demon doesn''t know anything about your life."
"Is that really how it works?" Ulrich asked, surprised.
"That''s exactly how it works. So don''t take anything it says at face value," Ss said confidently.
—You…! The demon seethed, ring at Ss. The calmness of Ss''s voice was spreading among the group, lessening their fear. The demon was losing control of the situation.
"For now, let''s focus on finding a safe ce. The saintess might have already arrived, so we should find her first," Ss said.
—The saintess? The demon''s voice turned cold. After a moment, a mangled body of a woman emerged from the mist, her clothes bearing the symbol of the church''s sun, a sign of her status as a saintess.
—She gave me quite the trouble with her holy powers. But as you can see, this is what''s left of her. The demonughed wickedly.
"No…!"
"The saintess… she''s dead?" Despair spread through the group like wildfire. Even Ss''s previously calm demeanor shifted as he stared at the body with wide eyes.
"This can''t be! That''s a fake!" Ss shouted.
—Oh? And why do you think that? the demon taunted.
"The saintess is always apanied by holy knights. How could you have killed her while they were protecting her?" Ss demanded.
—Ha! You mean those scarecrows? The demonughed again, and soon after, ten more mutted bodies appeared from the mist—men dressed in the armor of the holy knights. Their bodies were torn apart, with their insides spilling out in gruesome detail.
—Those so-called knights wereughably weak. Watching them die while calling out for their god was almost amusing.
"No, that can''t be right! There had to have been more knights! You couldn''t have killed them all!" Ss''s voice wavered as if in disbelief.
—Oh, you think so? If there were more, perhaps things would''ve been different. But as it stands, this is all of them. Their mistake was underestimating me, the demon sneered.
"No way… They wouldn''t have sent so few knights to protect the saintess…" Ss muttered, his voice trembling as if he were losing hope.
—Stop denying reality. You''ll only embarrass yourself further. The demon mocked him, enjoying the group''s descent into despair. Even Ss seemed unable to maintain his earlier confidence.
"Are they all dead? Was that really all the protection she had?" Ss asked, seemingly distraught.
—How many times must I tell you? This is all there is. Sadly, I have no more corpses to show you, the demon said, sounding almost disappointed.
"Oh, I see. So there were only about ten knights. Well, that exins it," Ss suddenly said in a matter-of-fact tone.
—…What?