Mr. Clay!

　Me and Solstice made our way to the front of the second carriage.

　A trail of blood spread across the ground, where an unconscious Mr. Clay lay.
　An old man in a robe seemed to be desperately trying to stop the bleeding on the wound on his right shoulder, pressing a green lighted staff against it.

(Ugh ... terrible.)

　Looking at the wound properly, I turned blue.

　White bones peeked out of the blood-filled flesh. I wonder if it's a nerve, a blood vessel, or a stringy, thread-like thing hanging there as well, which is horrible to look at.
　It looked like it was even more severely damaged because it had been forcefully torn off.

　But in contrast to me, Solstice was calm.

　I got a good, close look at the wound and

It's still good. --Move. Let me do the recovery spell.
I'm sorry.

　The old man was feeling a bit dizzy, perhaps exhausted from using his magic continuously.

　He was replaced by Solstice, who pressed her large, green-glowing wand against Clay's shoulder.
　As it was, he commanded me, "Merle.

"Merle," he said. "Merle, can you bring me his arm?
What?
I'll hook it up. --It'll be faster than having it play.
Can you connect them?

　I was surprised.
　Even my grandfather, the same wizard, looked surprised.
　Solstice snickered, 'Hmph.

'Isn't it obvious?　Who do you think I am?　--See, hurry up!
Okay, okay.

　He panicked and looked around at the ground.
　A short distance away, Clay's right arm had fallen off.
　I run towards it.

　The arm I saw up close is wet with blood, and the bite marks and the wound at the junction with his shoulder are still intact, which is a bit scary.

　It's the first time I've ever seen or touched a 'shredded arm', including in my previous life.

　Preparing myself, I lift it up.

(Oh, heavy........)

　It's heavier than I imagined.
　With it slipping in blood, I hurry back to Solstice's place.

　When I look around us, I see Clay's friends struggling against the wild thieves.

''We won't let them get anywhere near the carriage or Clay!

　He wields his weapon with such a determined look on his face.
　Shakra-san, the elf, also has a desperate look on her face.

Hang in there. I'll make you better, Clay-san.

　I call out with my mind and run frantically.

'I've got it!'
Good. Okay, Marle, pour your 'healing spirit water' over your shoulder and arm. That way, you'll have less chance of aftereffects and you'll heal better.
Yes.

　I remove the water bottle bag from my waistband and do as I'm told.

　Ba-Sha-Sha.

　As soon as I poured the glowing water on it, a sizzling white smoke rose up.
　The wound began to regenerate.

'Good. --Grandpa, hold your arms and shoulders tightly together for support.
Mm-hmm.

　Grandpa lifts Clay's white smoking arm and presses it against his shoulder.

'Good. Then I'll switch your recovery magic to a higher level. Once the magic wears off, but don't worry about it.
Okay.
Please, little girl.

　As soon as the great glowing cane left, blood began to pour out of the wound.

(Whoa!)

　In contrast to my surprise, Solstice took a deep breath once. The green light of the magic stone became stronger, and she pressed her shining great staff against Clay's chest - around her heart.

　Then she chanted as if she were singing.

'Brave, heal the wounds of this weak one.' --La heliom.

　The green light of the magic stone was sucked into Clay's body.
　Its glow flooded out of the wound on his shoulder.

　Upon closer inspection, it was like a thin tentacle of light.
　It connected the damaged area, and in the missing area, the light itself transformed into flesh and bone.

　--The magic unfolded for roughly five seconds.

　The light disappeared and the great wand left.
　Solstice exhaled heavily with her sweat-covered beauty, ''Whew.

'Ok. It's over.

　With uncanny ease, Mr. Clay's arms were connected.

　Grandfather, fearfully, let go of his hand.
　But Mr. Clay's arms were firmly connected to his torso.
　He looks surprised.

It really is healing..... I didn't expect to be able to use such a high-level recovery magic at your age.......
'Hmm. You can respect me, Grandpa?

　Solstice is good at this.

Thank God...!

　Mr. Clay, my arm is healed.
　Elated, I hugged Solstice.

"Thank you, Solstice!　That's great!　Great, great, I still admire you!
Wait, ma'am...?

　He wobbled and shook.
　Solstice had a panicked look on her face for some reason.

　Gakin, Zsa Zsa Zsa.

(!)

　One of the wild thieves blew up beside us.
　He was holding a broken sword in his hand, his eyes were white and he was foaming at the mouth - apparently, he seemed to have fainted.

'-The man's arm seems to have been healed.

　We were surprised to hear a cool voice in our ears.

　We turned around and saw a beautiful silver-marked demon hunter with a white winged spear.

''Illtimina-san!''

　with a pop

　Reflexively, I threw down Solstice and ran to her.

'Oh, Merle,'

　Seeing this, Illtimina-san smiled happily.
　From the rear, she says, "Wha........rag! I heard someone sound angry, but it didn't matter. We hugged each other once, then pulled away and hurriedly checked Illtimina-san's entire body.

(No ... injuries ... no!)

　Good.
　I exhale in relief and laugh.

　Then I remembered.

'Oh ... where are the pilgrims' dragon car?'
Don't worry. We've killed every burglar over there.

　If you look, there is not a single moving human figure near the dragon car at the back.
　On the ground around it, there are countless human corpses...or even wreckage that doesn't hold the shape of a person lying on the ground.

　The devastation of the situation makes me gulp in spite of myself.

　The fearsome silver seal demon hunter who created them turned his crimson eyes to my back.

''This one too, it seems to be settled.
What?

　Shakra and the others were still fighting.
　But as she quietly announced, her gaze was not on Shakra-san and the others, but on the battlefield behind them.

　Gein, Gein, Bathyin.

　There was a terrifying fierce battle between a demon hunter with fluttering silver hair and wielding a great sword of lightning and an ogre that was attacking at tremendous speed.
　Each time they collided, the blue light of lightning scattered.

''Kirt-san........''
She's about to get serious.

　Ms. Illtimina said poutingly.
　Huh?



　In front of my stunned face, her crimson eyes were looking at their leader with a faint feeling of awe.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Kirt's great sword catches both arms that the leaping ogre swings down.

　Gagiiiiin.

　A blue bolt of lightning ran in the air from the blade's barrel that made contact with both fists of the rock-like ogre. With the impact, the ground beneath Kilt's feet cracks and a tremendous wind pressure spreads out in a circle.

　The ogre laughs, twisting his ugly monkey-like mouth.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's not even a hit. You're really strong, huh?
Hmm.

　At the ogre's praise, but Mr. Kilt snorts boringly.
　Tilting the great sword, the ogre's balance is thrown off, and he aims a sideways pike at its abdomen. The ogre dodges it, leaping backwards with a haze of thumping speed.

　It lands about five meters away.

Ororo?

　Fresh purple blood was flowing from its abdomen.
　To the astonished looking ogre, Mr. Kilt said with a sigh.

'That's enough. I've learned a lot about you.
...Huh?
His strength, his speed, his speed, yes, he is indeed very good. But that's not enough. There are too many wasted moves. You are nothing more than a nagging ogre, aren't you?
..........

　The ogre's expression, which seemed to be enjoying himself, grows stronger.
　The beautiful golden-marked demon hunter carried the great sword on his shoulder, his golden eyes narrowed, and told him like iron.

''--You cannot defeat a straw man with you.

　vikey
　The nails on the ogre's arms grew longer.

I'm not going to be the only one who can do it.　That's a pretty interesting thing to say!

　bang

　The earth caves in and the ogre's figure is drowned out.

　The fastest assault I've ever seen.
　The claw of his right arm, unleashed from it, was sure to hit Kirt-san, who was still carrying the great sword.

　--but it was not.

　Huo.

Huh?

(...what?)

　The attack slipped through Kilt's body.
　The ogre popped and I, watching from afar, was stunned. Illtimina-san muttered shortly, "As expected," with a hint of fear.

　No, it wasn't.
　It didn't slip through. Kilt-san's feet are off to the side by about ten centimeters.

(Dodged!)

　The black giant bowl evaded the smallest of the white beauty's cheeks to touch it.
　Those red lips told.

''--This time, we'll go this way.
!　

　Reflexively, the ogre was terrified and tried to run backwards.
　But not in time.
　By a divine foresight, the distance between the two of them was far too close.

''d*mn!''

　The big sword swung down, the ogre lifted both arms to protect only the head, - at the moment, the trajectory of the sword changed from vertical to horizontal.

　Zashhhh.

What?

　The gut was slashed open.

　Thud!

　The moment the black arm dropped to hold the spilled guts, the stab of the unleashed great sword gouged out the left eye of the defenseless ogre.

　Buchih.

　As soon as he held his face and rolled over on his back, the Achilles tendons of both legs supporting the ogre's massive body were severed.

　Beshan.

　As it was, the weight of the great sword that was swung down crushed the left hand of the black behemoth that fell on its back.

　Zobu.

　A great sword held in a backhanded hand stabbed into his back as he rolled over in pain.

　Zugan, rumble, rumble.

　The flat part of the great sword blasted the screaming side. The black hulking body rolled over the ground with a cloud of dust.　

(Ugh, ah....)

　I couldn't find my voice.

　That horrible ogre had been hit, one way or another.
　At the end, the ogre's body belatedly jumped into the place where the sword was headed, and it was as if it was going to hit him.

　Surely, Kirt could see the entire future of the battle. And she controlled all of the ogre's movements.

''As expected of Kirt, Onihime Kirt.......''

　Mr. Illtimina praised in an awe-stricken voice.
　I, too, gulped and spit.

(This is Kilt-san ... Kilt Amandes' real life!)

　However, the ogre has not given up.
　With the one remaining right arm safely, he leaps up his huge body and glares at the fearsome demon hunter with his blood-like right eye.

''Guhaha........................Still more!

　duh.

　Surprisingly, he leapt with only one right arm.
　But compared to what he had done before, his movements were too slow.

　Kirt-san, who was at the drop, slowly took a stance with his great sword at the lower level and swung it into the sky.

　Beking.

(!)

　Suddenly, a twisted horn about a meter long grew on the ogre's forehead.
　The tip of that horn emitted a disastrous purple light from within, which swirled around and enveloped the ogre's entire body.

''It's not true!　That's not an aura of darkness!

　Solstice's astonished cry echoed.

　In front of us, who were astonished, an ogre that seemed to be covered in purple flames laughed tremendously. While accelerating, the figure falling towards Kirt-san was like a black meteorite wrapped in purple flames.

(Hot!)

　Our skin is chattering and burning from being so far apart.

'Mr. Quilt!'
"Quilts.
Quilt?

　Yuck!
　The high heat emitted by that dark aura's violet flames could be endured by the ogre's body, but Kirt-san's body could not withstand it. The moment she was touched even slightly, her body would burst into flames.

''Kuhaha, hahahahah!

　The ogre smiles high and proud, confident of his victory.

　As the ogre is enveloped in the purple flames of darkness, the depressed Kirt-san exhales heavily - and mutters to himself.

''--Ogre Sword, Thunderbolt Slash.

　beating around the bush

　The blue lightning that was inside the blade erupted outward.
　The beautiful golden mark demon hunter released the great sword wrapped in blue brilliance into the ogre as a flash of divine speed.

　Bachiiiiiiiiiiiin.

　A tremendous light of two colors, blue and purple, bounced off the ground.
　In the next moment, the purple flames were blown out by the blue lightning, and the giant body of the ogre within it was flung away.

　Dogo-Oh!

　A huge black body crashed headfirst into a large rock that was nearby.

　Cracks appeared on the surface of the rock like a spider's web, and the ogre's blood was sticking to the surface. The front of the ogre's body, which collapsed from there and fell on its back, was burned red and black.

　With the movement of Kirt, who swung the great sword out, the beautiful silver hair danced in the air like an arc, flowing down to his back and falling.

(Su, great........)

　I couldn't stop trembling.
　The blow that killed the Red Fang Dragon Gad crushed even the all-consuming ogre's inner hand called the Purple Flame of Darkness.

　BOOM!

　With a single swing of her great sword, Ms. Kilt dispels the purple blood on her blade. She then leisurely approaches the ogre, who has fallen in front of a large rock.

　With her right eye, which had lost water and was cloudy white, Ogre looked up at the Akaneirou sky in a daze.　

''This much........what is the power of the 《Magic Blood》?''

　He grunted in dismay as he spat out blood.

　Then, in his dying vision, he saw the image of that beautiful Golden Mark Demon Hunter.

　The ogre laughed, his mouth twisted into a smile.

''Kuhaha..................That's the Devil's Son. You have me at a bit of a loss.''
Okay.

　Ms. Kilt's beauty remains expressionless.
　Towards her, the ogre weakly extends his black right hand towards her.

''Hey?　I have one last favor to ask...'
What is it?
"Will you give me ... just one ... bite of your flesh before you die?

　Kilt-san gave a small smile.
　Then, silently, he raised the great sword of lightning high in the sky.

　Looking up at it, the ogre looked somewhat like a child and let out a disappointed breath, ''I see,'' he said.

　The golden eyes look down at it, and the red lips silently speak.

'Your life, Kirto Amandes here, will take it. --Farewell, ogre!

　Batchy Yin.

　The great sword was swung down and the Akane world was once again dyed blue by the outpouring of lightning.

''.........''
..........
..........

　The three of us are silent as we watch it all play out.

　--Kilt Amandes, the Golden Mark demon hunter who single-handedly hunted and killed the horrible man-eating demon (Ogre).

　Her golden eyes were lightly downcast, and she was alone beside her burnt carcass, her beautiful silver hair fluttering long in the breeze that had crossed the sky--.