!　SS rank demon!

　Suddenly, an unexpected person appears behind me and Luna and introduces himself, and we stop moving.
　It's the same for Lily, who attacks Tsurugi, and Felid, who rushes towards us.

"Why an SS-ranked demon?

　Lily stops slightly in surprise.
　However, as if to take advantage of the gap, Tsurugi's counterattack snatches Lily's cheek.

You can't be sure of that.　Mr. Lily. Then I will go on the offensive right away.

"Huh?

　Lily grits her back teeth at the challenge from Tsurugi and continues the onslaught again.

　Sheesh!　Is this the real aim?
　Tsurugi himself will be the decoy, stalling Ferrido and Lily, while this collaborator, who calls himself Aziz Dahaka, will kill Luna.
　Meanwhile, this collaborator, who calls himself Aji Dahaka, kills Luna.

　I've lost.
　We've lost completely.
　With that in mind, I still manage to hold her tightly to protect Luna against the attack from the man in front of me.

...... Keogh

　On the other hand, I wonder if Luna, who is still in my arms, understands the situation or if she has just calmed down.
　She doesn't seem to be in a hurry, but instead smiles as if she has calmed down or resigned herself to the situation.

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. I'm sorry.

Luna ......!

　Then he spits out the line as if it were a deathbed.

　Hey, stop it!　Don't say that flag-like line!　Not a good omen!
　I can handle it!　I mean, don't give up until the end!
　The man who calls himself Azizi Dahaka reaches out to Luna in front of her, despite her attempts to deliver such lines.

　...... No. This is as far as you can go.

　No, at least let me take your place while you manage to ......
　With that in mind, I kept Luna in my arms and put pressure on both of my legs, reversing the positions of me and Luna.
　If this can help shield you, even if it's just a little: ......
　So I close my eyes to the deadly blade of Azizi Dahaka, which is coming from behind.

"..................?

　Strangely enough, the pain didn't come on for any length of time.
　Instead, the feeling that ran through my head was the sensation of a plop of a hand.
　I opened my eyes fearfully and moved my head and there it was, just like before. No, there was Azizi Dahaka's face with an even creepier smile on it.

Ha ha ha! Don't look so scared. I'm not trying to kill you. No, in fact, my aim from the beginning has been - 'you', Mr. Keough."

"Huh?

　As soon as I was stunned, Aji Dahaka grabbed my hand.
　At that moment, a strange magic circle appears on the ground with me and Aji Dahaka in the center, and the bodies of me, Luna, Locke and Aji Dahaka begin to glow.

This is ......!

!　Dahaka!　What the hell do you think you're doing?

　When I saw Tsurugi, who had been blocking Lily's attack a moment ago, changed his hue of blood and rushed towards me.
　But the light from the magic circle acts as a barrier, playing at Tsurugi-san as if it were an intruder from the outside.

Oh, I'm sorry. Tsurugi-sama. I said I would help you, but that was just 'my plan'. We don't want to kill Luna, and more importantly, it's a great opportunity to take Kyou-san. We have no choice but to take advantage of it.

You ......!

　Turugi's face, clearly filled with murderous intent, appeared under the hood, and I felt a chill run down my spine at the spirit of the man, while Azizi Dahaka continued as if in mockery.

"Don't look at me like that. I told you, I'm Aji Dahaka. A snake. It would be strange to trust such a thing.

"Wait!　Azi Dahaka!　What are you going to do with Luna, or rather Kyou!

　However, Aji Dahaka did not answer him, and as soon as the magician's brilliance reached its peak, our vision turned completely white, and then - me, Luna, and Locke's figure disappeared from this place.

◇ ◇ ◇

This is ...... in one piece. ......

"Everyone disappeared ......?

　felid, lily. Just as the two men rushed to Tsurugi and were about to cut into the magic circle, there was a blinding flash, and at the same time, Kyou, Luna, Locke, and Azi Dahaka all disappeared inside.
　As soon as the situation dawned on him, Tsurugi himself was the first to slam his fist into the ground.

...... I'm dead. Even though he is an SS-ranked demon, it was my mistake to believe the words of such an unknowing demon and ask for his cooperation. ......!　It's not so much that I was in a hurry to get there as it is that I was in a hurry to get there ...... It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.



　The first thing to do is to take a deep breath, and at the same time, regain your composure and stand up quietly.

............

　Soon after, Turugi took one look at the stunned Ferrido and Lily, who were standing right beside him, and then he just walked past them.
　The unexpected sequence of events has stunned Lily, but Turugi's behavior may have piqued her mind, and she immediately holds his shoulder as he passes by.

I'm not going to wait!　Where do you think you're going?

　Forcing her to swing back toward him.
　But Tsurugi's demeanor had returned to the same calm demeanor as when he first appeared on the scene.

It's obvious. I'm going after the missing Aji Dahaka. He has my target, Mr. Luna, with him. Of course.

　I'm not sure what to say, but I'm not sure what to say.

You're not the only one. The reason for this is that you were the one who attacked us in the first place with that guy!

"............

Why do you want to target Luna in the first place? No, if it was just Luna, this time Kyou was also targeted and taken away!　This is definitely partly your fault!　And you're still going after that guy to kill Luna, and you're still saying that?

"............

　In response to the shouting from Lily, Tsurugi turned away slightly.
　His expression was obscured by the hood, but his lips were trembling slightly, and there was an obvious sense of remorse.
　Ferrido noticed this and called out to calm the agitated Lily down.

"Calm down, lily. That was the sole discretion of an SS-rank named Azi Dahaka. If she had known that, she wouldn't have encouraged you to cooperate. You don't really want to hurt Kyou, do you?

"...... Yeah.

　Turugi answers Felid's question without effort.
　Seeing that, Lily has also regained her composure slightly and drops her hand.

I'm sure that Tsurugi was responsible for this, too. You're also responsible for this. So what do you think?　Shall we call a truce until we get you guys back?

"What does ...... mean?

We're going to work together to get Kyou, Luna, Locke and the others back from the hands of Aji Dahaka. Until then, I don't want us to attack each other and I want you to put aside killing Luna for now. After this is all over, when they return, you can have another go at it. How about that?

"............

　Turugi looked down at FERRID's suggestion, but after a moment of silence, he nodded, "I understand, .......

Good. So now the three of us are going to be partners. So now we're going to be working together. Especially Lily.

"I know, I know. How could I be named?

　Ferry turns a sullen face at the name calling from Ferryd.
　I'm going to be able to make a plan to change the atmosphere of the place with a bitter smile.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out where that Aji Dahaka disappeared to, Tsurugi. You have some clue--

　The moment you are about to ask Tsurugi that question, an unexpected sound echoes across the place.

The moment I was about to ask Tsurugi that question, an unexpected sound resounded in its place.

　It was the sound of something cracking.
　Felid and the others turned around to look in the direction of the sound.
　The egg was cut off from a branch of the killer plant and fell to the ground.
　Numerous cracks appeared here and there on the egg, as if something inside was flailing around trying to get out.

"--!

"Hey, wait a minute, Felid. Oh, that's ......!　

　As soon as Lily pointed, a large gash runs outside of the egg, and at the same time, what was inside cracks the egg open to spread the gash.
　As soon as he saw what came out of it, Ferrid's composure was gone, and he immediately rushed to the thing that appeared from the broken egg.