The audience ceremony came to an end as it was due to an unexpectedly rapid announcement.

　The seven of us return to the waiting room.

　General Dardios is absent from the room, but he is the only one present to confirm the information. We are waiting for his return.

　The air in the anteroom was heavy.

We need the right information first. We'll wait to talk to him when he gets back.

　No one spoke, partly because of Mr. Kilt's suggestion.

　Eventually, for an hour or so.

I kept you waiting.

　The general returned with a grave look on his face.

(What on earth happened?)

　I think that thought was written on the faces of all of us.

　The general stood in front of us and slowly looked around at all of us.

I will now explain the situation in detail. Listen up, everyone.

　thump

　Seven nods.

　Then the general began to explain.

　The first report began with the Cocudo District, about seven hundred kilometers northwest of the Divine Emperor Capital Astilio, one of the ten watchtowers erected there, the Seventh Watchtower found a large amount of dust in the distance and confirmed a large army of demons there.

　The number of demons was estimated at 30,000.

　That huge number of demons were advancing straight to the direction of the watchtower.

(...................30,000, that's amazing.

　I thought even 500 people on the way to the Great Maze would be awesome.

　I honestly can't imagine 30,000, I can't imagine it.

　As a matter of fact, I've heard that there are no towns or villages or other inhabited areas in the Cocudo area.

　But there was a good reason for them to build ten watchtowers to keep watch.

This is where the ancient demon has been sealed.

　We gasped.

　It is said that 400 years ago, nine demons were sealed on earth during the Shenmueiyanagi War.

　One of them.

　It is said that the place where the nine demons were sealed is the Cocudo District of the Arun Godland.

(There, the demon!)

　At that moment, the arcane emotions inside me swelled and hostility almost exploded.

　I desperately suppress it.

　When I looked at them, I saw that Rapt and Recto Alice, who were also 'God's Attendants', had an unseen cold expression on their faces as well. If you bypassed them, you could feel a chilling and terrifying feeling if you touched them.

　The people in the watchtower also confirmed that there was a 'human' figure among the crowd of demons.

''I heard it was the Divine Blood Cult Nakes.

　The general's pained voice.

　I can't help but look at Illtimina-san and I look at each other.

　Cock.

　She nodded.

(After all, the Divine Blood Sect Nakes can control demons.)

　It's just like what I saw in the spirit world.

　The people at the watchtower immediately ran a message to the divine imperial capital Astilio.

　At that time, they were attacked by some of the large number of demons, and it seems that the people at the messenger station were injured.

(...........They were badly injured.

　It reminds me of the amount of blood that was spilled during the audience.

　That's how desperately the people of the transmission order fulfilled their mission.

　By the way, those people have received a healing spell and are now sleeping like they've passed out.
　Yes, please take a good rest.

"According to the report from the watchtower, the swarm of demons will reach the 'sealed land' in two weeks at the earliest. At the latest, it will be 20 days.

　Two weeks to 20 days?

　Mr. Kilt asks.

"What do they want?
I don't know. But it's best to assume the worst.

　The worst of it.

　Namely, the destruction of the seal.
　And.

The Devil's Liberation.

　My muttering echoed louder than I thought it would in the waiting room.

　The silence is heavy.

　Solstice's lips twitched and Frederica-san clenched her fists with a stiff expression.

　Iltimina-san opened her mouth.

''So, as Arun, how do you plan to move on?''
Of course I'll be there.

　The general's voice was full of resolute determination as he answered immediately.

　In addition to the watchtower, a defensive fort has been built in the Cocudo area. I heard that 3,000 Arun soldiers have been deployed there.

　They will also be preceded by 2,000 people from the divine imperial capital of Astilio, and an airship.

　Later on, twenty thousand soldiers will be mobilized from the ground.

''We'll gather ten thousand men from the surrounding cities as well. We will be able to move quickly, and the most we can do in time is this.

　A total of 35,000 Arun soldiers.

(That's an impressive size.)

　But there are enough of us to intercept them,

　General Dardios looked us all in the eye and said.

"I'd like you guys to join the airship with the rest of the advance team.
Of course.

　I nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. Of course the stragglers will be there.
Yes, sir.
Well, of course you do.

　Kilt-san and Illtimina-san agreed emphatically, and Solstice had a 'oh dear' look on her face, but she didn't say 'stay'. Yeah, he's a good boy, after all.

''Can you draw the 'Divine Family' in front of a demon?''
I'm going to punish you, God.

　The two 'Divine Fangirls' also nodded reliably.

　Frederica-san, the Arun Knight, narrowed her eyes happily and looked at us.

　The general bowed his head.

''I'm sorry.''
What are you saying? This is not Arun's problem alone.

　The hand of the 'Golden Mark Demon Hunter' tapped his large shoulder.

　''That's right.

(This is already a battle for the fate of the world.)

　The eight of us looked into each other's eyes and nodded to each other.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　We'll send a messenger to House Dardios and have our gear delivered to the castle of the Emperor.

Don't look at me, okay?
I'm not looking.

　Since we were short on time, we all changed inside the waiting room.

　I heard that the general has his own room in the castle, so he went to his room, so there were only two men, me and Rapt, and the other five were women.

　The other five are women.

(.........it's a narrow shoulders.......)

　As Solstice had warned me, me and Rapt were in the corner of the room, sneaking around and changing as we turned our backs to everyone else.

　Pasa Shruli.....

　The sound of clothing rubbing from my back side makes me nervous.

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

　I couldn't help but look at Rapt and chuckle at each other.

　Before changing clothes, Kilt-san and Illtimina-san looked like they were the same as usual, but Frederica-san was blushing and looked a bit embarrassed.

　I'm sorry.
　But that face of hers, which was always dignified, was a bit cute.

　Just like that, we finished changing.

(Yoshitto)

　As I returned from the audience's formal clothes to my usual adventurer's outfit, I felt somewhat comfortable and familiar.

　Everyone else finished changing as well.

　Yes, Iltimina-san and the other three adventurers' outfits look great after all.

　By the way, Kilt-san, whose armor was damaged in the Great Labyrinth, was dressed in the new black full body armor (full plate) that was provided by Arun's army.

''It's nice to be in formal wear, but the current Marle looks more like Marle.
Yeah?

　Iltimina-san also laughed like that.

　Eventually, General Dardios also changed into actual battle armor instead of ceremonial armor and returned to the waiting room.

''Alright, everyone, let's go.''

　We left the anteroom at Kirt's command.

　We headed to the airship landing field built in the castle.

　There, two large airships were waiting for us, ready and waiting to depart.

　Both airships were equipped with huge cargo.

　Crunch, crunch, crunch.

　There, the Arun Knights in black armor were riding in an orderly line, a thousand people in one car, and it looked pretty small inside.

''The journey to the Cocudo district will take roughly five days.

　Frederica, the Black Knight, tells me.

　The 30,000 ground troops that are delayed will take about 15 days.

(That's a pretty tight schedule.)

　Hopefully we'll make it to the battle.

　As I was watching the soldiers ride in, I was suddenly called out to them.

''It's been a long time, Jingu-dono.
Oh, Mr. Harold.

　It was Harold Norman, the captain of an airship I had worked on before.

　Nice middle man, about fifties.

　We exchanged a firm handshake.

"Good luck again.
I'm on it.

　He laughed.

Your Majesty will be traveling with us on this trip. I can assure you that you will be safe and sound.

　I said in all seriousness.

(What?　(Is His Majesty with you?)

　I cringe.

　No, I don't think Mr. Kilt and the others didn't know, and they had the same look on their faces as I did.

　Zawa.

　Suddenly, the surroundings buzzed.

　I looked and saw the Emperor and Empress embracing each other near the doorway that connected the castle to the depot, surrounded by a large entourage of people.

''I'm going, Anatolya,''
I hope you have a safe journey.

　His Majesty was dressed in golden armor.

　Huh?
　You're really going to be in the war!

　Next to my stunned face, General Dardios said with a troubled expression.

It's a battle that could determine the fate of the world. I was told that I would be sent to the battlefield to raise the soldiers' morale.
..........

　Is that okay?

　Kirt-san's expression is also complicated.

'....Father!
'It's all right, Padia. Just be a good girl and wait for me.

　Her Majesty is also stroking the head of her anxious beloved daughter, Padia-chan.

　And that's when the Empress noticed our presence.

　She comes over here.

''Divine Dog-sama, Divine Fangura-sama, please protect Azanad-sama. Thank you for your cooperation.

　He shook his light blue hair and bowed his head deeply.

　Ugh?
　The empress of the most powerful country in the world has bowed to me.

(............)

　That person's swollen belly has a new life in it.

Yes, I'm sure.

　I nodded.

"I'll take care of it.
Yes, that's okay.

　The two of them smiled and nodded, too.

　The Empress also smiled fleetingly.

　From behind her, her daughter, Padia, ran up to her and hugged her mother from her back side.

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

　He stayed hidden and stared at us.

　Cute.

　The little girl, about 5 or 6 years old, remembered our previous encounter and stared at me as if she was staring at me.

''........Father will you protect me?''　
Yes.

　I squatted down in front of the boy and looked at him.

'I'll protect you, guys,'

　I tell her.

　The little girl is silent for a moment, then holds out her pinky-fingered hand to me.

"...I promise.
Yes.

　I laughed and cut my finger off.

　The Empress and her entourage, Illtimina and Kilt, and that Emperor, smiled at us.

(Yeah, let's go for it!)

　Everyone's morale is boosted.

　And so we too board the airship.

　We are ushered towards the staterooms instead of the cargo, just like the Emperor. I feel grateful, but I also feel sorry for the other soldiers.

''Realize that you are a 'divine dog.'''

　Mr. Kilt chuckles.

　Eventually, about an hour after we got in.

　Gogon.

　The chains for the mooring were removed and the two airships slowly floated up into the blue sky above the divine Imperial City of Astilio.

　Below us, many people cheered and waved their hands.

　The Empress also looked up at us in unison, and Padia-chan was also waving her little hands hard.

　The propellers on the wings spin.

　Gish, Mississippi.

　With the hull creaking, the airship started to move towards the Cocudo area in a single direction.

(--Come on, decisive battle.)

　I stared out the window and let a quiet resolve dwell in my heart.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　The red and white double moons floated in the sky, and the nightfall came.

　The airship was flying in the night sky.

(....The starry sky is beautiful.

　From the window of the guest room that was addressed to me, I could see a sky full of twinkling stars that I hadn't seen in the previous world.

　But on the contrary, that's because the ground is pitch black.

　As usual, this world is still a wilderness, and there aren't many humans in it.

　At least now, in the scenery that could be seen on the ground, there was no light that people were living in, just darkness.

(Darkness........)

Do you mind, Merle?

　Hmm?
　I turned around and before I knew it, Illtimina was standing next to me.

　She looked at me.

The God-blooded Order of the Nakes.
Yes.

　I guess Illtimina can see right through me, can't she?

　I'm kind of happy about that, but it's not a topic I can laugh at, so I nod and look out the window once more at the dark world outside.　

'I wonder if that flying dragon (wyvern) woman is there, after all?'
It's very possible, isn't it?

　I saw him in that spirit world, the head of the God-blood cult of Nakes.

　His true identity is the tattooed woman.

　In other words, the 'Demon Attendant'.

　I defeated her in the spirit world, so in the real world, she should still be alive.

(Will I win again this time?)

　The denomination is much larger than it was seven years ago.

　And my main concern is.

"--maybe that 'dark child' is there, too.

　He muttered quietly.

　Illtimina-san silently nodded her head.　

It is presumed that the purpose of the 'Child of Darkness' is to destroy the seal and 'liberate the demons'. It's not strange at all if that terrifying child is among the army led by the 'Demon Guru'.

　''Geez.

　Subconsciously, I clench my fist.

　And then, as if to wrap my fist in it, a white hand touched it.

"We still have a few more days before the fight, okay?
Oh.

　A soft smile.

　There was a heart that gently told her, 'There's no need to rush.

　As it is, she hugs me from my back side. The feel of her soft flesh and the sweet smell of her body envelops me and puts my mind at ease.

'It's okay, Marle,'
Yes.

　I let out a long breath as he stroked my hair.

(Yeah, I know.)

　There's no point in getting uptight now.

　Besides, there's everyone else.

　There are people who weren't in the Kera Desert, and there are also two of the same 'Divine Families', the 'Divine Fanglars'.

(I'm sure they'll be fine.)

　I touched her hand as she embraced this body.

'Thank you, Miss Illtimina,'　　
No.

　A calm voice responds.

(What a blessing...)

　I forget that I'm on my way to the battlefield.

　When you get comfortable like that.

Hey, Merle, Irna. Can't you see the lights are about to go out?
Uh-huh.

　Mr. Kilt calls out to me.

　The airship also had a set time to turn off the lights to conserve the magnesium for fuel.

　We let go of our bodies with regret.

　There were two bunk beds in the cabin.

　Mr. Kilt sat on the lower bunk of one of them.
　On the top bunk was Solstice.

　On the lower bunk of the other bed, Ms. Illtimina laid herself down. Then she invites you to 'come on, come on,' as she lifts the blanket.

(Would you like a cuddle pillow again?)

　I couldn't help but chuckle.

　I lay down in her arms, as my beautiful sister had requested.

　Mr. Kilt chuckled and Solstice was dumbfounded.

'Here, let's turn it off,'

　The lights go out and the room goes dark.

　Goooooo.....

　They could hear the sound of the airship's propeller drive and the sound of the wind breaking.
　Occasionally the hull creaked and swayed.

　We stared at each other in the darkness.

Good night, Merle.
Good night, Miss Illtimina.

　And so they slowly fell asleep, feeling each other's warmth.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　The air travel continues.

　On the way, Dardios and his generals told me many stories.

The number of men we can mobilize in all of Arun is about one million.

　........................

(A million soldiers.........)

　It's a bit hard to imagine.

　However, this is all over the country.

　There are approximately 30,000 soldiers stationed in the divine imperial capital Astilio, and in the surrounding cities combined, there are 100,000 soldiers in the central part of Arun.

(Other than that, 900,000........huh.)

　I thought again that the Arun Divine Kingdom is really the country with the largest land mass in the world.

''By the way, how many troops does the Shumurian Kingdom have?''
Aren't they supposed to be around 200,000?

　And that's what Mr. Kilt said.

　The erudite Solstice cowered her shoulders and

But there are a lot of 'demon blood people' among the soldiers in Shumuria. Their individual abilities must be higher than ours.
'No, I don't want you to lick the skill of the Arun knights.

　Frederica interrupts, defeated.
　The two of them stare at each other for some reason.

(Haha....)

　I wavered on the topic, and it was all I could do to laugh deceptively.

　The other thing I learned was the number of 'sealed lands' in each country in the world.

　In the Kingdom of Shumuria, two.

　In the Arun Divine Kingdom, five.

　And in the continent of Dol, which is across the sea from our continent of Albac - the seven countries where there are many beastmen - there's one.

　And finally, presumably, one in the uncivilized Dark Continent.

　That's nine in all.

　I couldn't tell you the exact location because of the secrecy of the state, but there are nine demons sealed in such a distribution.

　Two of them gave part of their bodies to the world in exchange for their lives.

　It seems that those 'devil fragments' were born from the seals of the Arun Divine Kingdom and the Shumuria Kingdom, respectively.

''Well, three hundred years ago, it wasn't Arun's territory yet.

　is the general's commentary.

　At that time, many countries other than Arun still existed, he said.

　But it seems that the Seed of Disaster - the first Child of Darkness - sprouted 300 years ago from the Land of the Seals, which is now Arun's territory.

　And the current threat.

　The Child of Darkness that we know has emerged from the Land of Seals in the Kingdom of Shumuria.

(.........the remaining seven seals?)

　Worst case scenario, there could be seven 'Children of Darkness' appearing in the future.

　Even if there's just one of them, this is a mess.......

　And if we can't thwart even one of the 'Children of Darkness''s plans, a more powerful 'demon' will resurrect and our world will be ruined.

''........Our world was really a peace that was built on a dangerous balance....

　Solstice muttered.

　His voice was filled with emotions like, 'I didn't want to know.......'

(Totally.)

　But now that I know, I have to do my best.

(-- because)

　I look around at everyone's faces and then finally at the face of that person I love so much.

(Because I ... want to protect this world, where I can laugh with everyone and Illtimina-san!

　I think I can fight for the people I care about, even if I'm scared.

　This is how our five days in the air continued.

　Finally, the airship that the eight of us are on arrives in the Cocudo area, a large scale battlefield.