To the west of Hiiragi no Miyako, a fierce battle raged between the demons that rushed the crumbling walls of the city, and the Seirin banners that intercepted them.

　The power of the demons on the demon island, strengthened by the magical power leaking from the demon gate, cannot be compared to the species that live on the continent. The demons have become a swarm of clouds and haze, and it is certain that even Ad Astera's regular army will be kicked out if they collide properly.

　This fury was met head-on by the Eighth Flag, which held the largest number of recruits of the Eight Blue Lined Banner.

　The banner general of the eighth flag, which held the largest number of recruits, was a cautious man. In ordinary times, he would have chosen to reduce the number of monsters by flying magic and power techniques from the top of the city walls, and then he would have chosen to push his heart-armor to the front to defeat the enemy in a hand-to-hand combat. If they left it to the new recruits, they would be able to minimize the damage.

　However, now that the city walls had been largely demolished, if the demons were allowed to approach, there was a great danger of them infiltrating the city. In the Hiiragi City guarded by the Qinglin Eight Banner, the people must never be harmed by demons.

　Therefore, instead of relying on the castle walls, the Eighth Banner set up a line of defense outside the castle to intercept the horde of demons.

　Of course, they put the top heart-armored soldiers in the front row to reduce the burden on the new recruits as much as possible, but the enemy is a horde. Moreover, they would spring up from above the sky and below the ground. It didn't take long for the inexperienced recruits to be swallowed up in the vortex of fierce battle.





''The heart armor is excited--Hang the dead woman!


　There was a gurgling sound, and his jugular was broken.

　One of the hatters wearing a blue flag coat of the Blue Lined Eight Hata, fell to the ground with blood foaming from his mouth. He was a young man who would not yet reach the age of 20.

　The one who stepped on his back with a muddy shoe was a skinny demon with horns on his forehead. His name was Kifu. Like Isagi, he was a warrior who had been named in Kazan's sixteenth spear.

　In Kif's hand he held a black cord that had just crushed the jugular bone of a flag-bearer (Kishi), giving it a wet glow.


'This is ten men. A mere quarter of an hour (thirty minutes) is all it takes to fight this war, kuhu, it's warm and wet. Most of the men on our side do not know how to wear their suits at this rate. You can wring your hands as much as you like.


　Having said that, Kiff laughed in a whisper, he began to move to hide behind the demons that leapt around him.

　It's not that the demons are judging Kif as an ally. They just can't perceive him.

　The Hanged Dead Woman, also known as the 縊鬼 (縊鬼). The demon's ability to induce others to commit suicide makes Kif unable to perceive the demon's true nature.

　The Wrestling Demon not only instigates suicide, but also strangles its target with its own hands. The black cord in Kif's hand was the heart of an assassin's weapon - an anvil.

　Kiff swims through a sea of demons, creeping behind the fighting fighters and strangling them one by one.

　The way he fights is not that of a warrior but of an assassin, a method of warfare despised by the demon race, which prizes imposing warfare. Not only the enemy but also their allies look at them with blank stares, and no matter how well they perform, they are not admired or recognized. On the contrary, the dastardly way of fighting is often accused of dishonoring the pride of the demon race and disgracing the mind suit, the guardian of the demon gods.

　It was only Kazan Wang Gui Yan who recognized this attitude.


All of us demons are connected to the demon gods. And isn't the great Chi You the god of warriors who has developed all kinds of armor? Thus, your mind outfit also shows the side of the god of war. So walk with your heart on your sleeve!


　Guillen stopped Kifu, who had been walking round in Kazan's palace in the past, and after half-heartedly asking him what was troubling him, he gave his men a shout of encouragement.


'Soldiers are a sophistry. Let those who make a noise about cowardice and meanness say what they want to say!　It is only the envy of those who are not inferior to thee in military merit. But I have wronged myself in giving those who are so cynical a kicking. I must apologize to thee. I must apologize to thee for the tendency of the people to try to recover their military fortunes with their mouths.


　Guillen said this, and on the same day, he took Kif to one of the sixteen spears and reminded all the troops that the righteous path is not a tool to put others to shame.　　

　For Kif, it is a precious memory that he will never forget. He fought and fought and fought to make the indebted Guillen the champion of the Five Mountains - but in the end, he failed to do so.

　When he learned that the future he had hoped for was gone forever with the death of his lord, Kif immediately thought of martyrdom. He decided against it because he wanted to take Cagali, who had defeated his lord without two, with him.

　However, he changed his mind after hearing about Guillen's deathbed from Isagi, a peer of the Sixteen Spears. Guillen entrusted his successor to Nakayama, including Cagali. Guillen would not be pleased if he took Cagali with him on his deathbed. Thinking so, Kifu, who was about to become a martyr this time, was stopped by Isagi.

　I'm not going to die until I've repaid the traitors. I'm not even hoping to get back alive at the outset. The fact that we are being treated as pawns in the woods doesn't bother me. He wants to kill as many as possible and make an offering for the Guillen of the Underworld. That's all Kiff wanted.


But I never thought the humans would be so fragile. 'But I never thought the humans would be so fragile.


　Kiff looked around the enemy camp while laughing. It's not just demons that Kif can guide your thoughts. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　That's why Kif approached the eighth flag's camp with the demons.

　Needless to say, it would be more beneficial to kill the enemy general directly, rather than going around crushing miscellaneous soldiers one by one. Kif wandered his gaze in search of his next target.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.


　--Our eyes met.


　The eyes met with a human being standing high on the wall, looking down arrogantly at the man and the demon fighting below.

　A face as white and beautiful as a doll's. Long, black hair like a woman's. The figure could be described as weak if only by appearance, but for some reason it stood on its own.

　The gaze that accurately grasps Kif, which moves under the cover of the demon, is as sharp as a needle, and the pressure it exerts is as if an elephant were placed on its shoulders. The distance between them should be far, but Kif felt as if he was being held by a blade to his throat, and it made him shudder.

　This was not good, Kif had a hunch. It was not good, he thought, and he rushed out, throwing away his last moments of composure.

　That wasn't good. That guy is not good. He didn't want to come back alive.

　I don't want to come back alive, he thought, and I'm not afraid of death. I'm not afraid to die in battle. I'd rather die defeated by a powerful enemy.

　But we are not afraid of being overrun. I didn't want to be crushed like a bug. If you fight her, you will be lumped in with the demon and killed. That's what he is.

　Kif's instincts were correct. Kif's reactions were swift.

　But they didn't have any effect on the outcome. Even if Kif had noticed the man's presence earlier and acted sooner, it would have made no difference to the outcome.

　The moment the man entered the battlefield, all elements lost their meaning and only the result of massacre was confirmed.

　The man - Diarte Berch was such a force.


'Mind-armored excitation--spinning, Araginu.


　The cut end of the pure white sword, the mind outfit that manifested in Diarte's hand, is untied. It's a long, thin thread that comes undone. It was as if the heartwear itself was a piece of fabric.

　The ultra-fine thread, as beautiful as silk and as strong as spider silk, spread out in the air and split off into countless branches, covering the skies of the battlefield.

　It took a blink of an eye or two for the threads to cover the entire battlefield.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of it.


　--I'm not going to be the only one.


　All the demons in Dialt's vision were cut in two vertically. They were divided up and down. It was cut off diagonally.

　In the blink of an eye, the body that had been torn into eight pieces was further torn to pieces. Sheared. Cut to pieces. No scales as hard as steel, no thick muscle could block Dialt's thread. Flesh and blood, skin and bone, are cut without regard. It will be carved up. What was once a part of his body will be transformed into a mere lump of flesh.

　Even that lump of flesh was torn into multiple layers, and in no time at all it was decreasing in volume. One moment it was the size of a fist, the next moment it was the size of a fingertip. It was no longer at the level of being torn to pieces. Nervously and thoroughly, Diarte sliced the demons to pieces.

　Was it to make him pay for the crime of attacking Hiiragiuto, or was it to give retribution for the irreverence with which he had bared his fangs to the swordsman?

　Either way, Diarte showed no mercy to the enemy below him.

　Of course, this is also true of the demons who are the source of the problem.


It's not a good idea.


　Kif tried to escape from Diarto by using 10,000 demons as shields. However, there is no way to escape from Diarto's eyes now that all the demons that were supposed to be used as shields have been cut off.

　I'm sure you're not the only one who's noticed the invisible thin thread around your neck, and you'll be able to shield your neck with the black cord of your heart. The mind-dress that embodies the toughness of a woman's hair can be snapped even by other sixteen spears of the same rank. Toughness is unmatched" is the word of the late King Guillen.

　So no matter how sharp the enemy's armor is, it will prevent them. Kif believed it.

　As he believed it, he was beheaded with his mind gear and all.

　Kifu's face, which had flown through the air, cracked vertically. Horizontal split. It splits diagonally. In the blink of an eye, he was being chopped into pieces. The body that had lost its head was likewise crushed into tiny pieces of dust and scattered on the ground.

　In such a situation, the only thing that remained was the demon's horn. Diarto used a thread to pull Kif's horn to his hand and looked at it sullenly. And.


''It's.......rubbish.''


　He squeezed it in his hand boringly. He tossed the shattered pieces of the horn under the city wall and wiped his hands repeatedly with the hand towel he took out of his pocket to wipe off the dirt.

　The hordes of demons that rushed the western ramparts on this day were worn down to less than ten percent by the flag generals of the first banner, and the remaining demons were swept away by the eighth banner.

　The number of demons that penetrated the Hiiragi City beyond the wall that had been perforated was zero.

　Although there was some damage to the personnel of the 8th Banner, it could be said that the goal of defending Hiiragi City was perfectly accomplished.

　It was not only in the west. At the same time, exactly the same battle results had been achieved in the north and east as well.


◆ ◆


"Psychic Excitation-- Come forth, Queen of Shadows.


　Kokumon Shukuya, vice-admiral of the first flag of the Seirin, wears a spear as his heart attire. The spear, the handle, and the stone pike are all black, as if dyed in black ink.

　Needless to say, its high performance as a spear, combined with Shukuya's superior spear skills, would make it unapproachable even for a flag officer of the Kishou class.

　Also, if you pierce an opponent's shadow with the drawn-out skully, the spot you pierce will be a wound to the opponent. If you pierce the shadow's chest, your real heart will be pierced.

　Opponents who fight against Shukuya are at a disadvantage, not only in terms of their own bodies, but also in that they must be concerned about their shadows.

　In addition, the attacks of the Queen of Shadows (Scally) are poisonous and can dissolve wounds in the blink of an eye, preventing them from healing. It is also extremely poisonous, and if the body is infiltrated with it, the poison is so powerful that it can't save you from 9 out of 10 if your arm is pierced, or your leg if your leg is pierced, unless you are cut off immediately.

　Because of this heinous ability, Shukuya rarely used her mind suit. For this reason, many of the banners and warriors speculate that Shukuya's ability would surpass Diarto's in one-on-one, all-out combat.

　This theory both highly valued and underestimated Shukuya's ability.

　The reason for the "one-on-one" requirement is that Shukuya's ability is only as good as her opponent, and not as good as Diarte's when it comes to fighting an army.

　For those of us who saw the twin peaks of power between Diarto and Shukuya, who specialized in opposing forces and Shukuya, the latest attack was an opportunity to reexamine our own insights.

　The reason being that 90% of the crowd of demons that had rushed to the north wall had been wiped out by just one man, KUMON Shukuya.


''If you don't let them run rampant once in a while, the Queen of Shadows (Sukari) will whisper bitter words to you every night,''


　Shukuya, who had pierced the heart of an uncounted demon with just one throw, said with a cool face.

　At her feet, a demon with horns sprouting from his forehead, his face was tinged with astonishment and he was doomed to death.


'A few days ago, Your Highness said that there were signs of disorder at the demon gate. It was clear that the attack was the devil's plan, but he didn't think that the Hiiragito would fall because of this level of attack. There was also no sign of the user of the jade that brought down the castle walls. Now, is the demon's aim in Nahen? I'm also curious about the means of getting through the demon gate.


　Shukuya spoke out one question after another, but she had no intention of clearing up the questions by herself.

　To be precise, she had the intention to do so, but her lord had stopped her.


'You only need to look at the demons outside. ''You need only look at the outside demons, not the inside.''


　The instructions given by the lord prior to the battle were orders to Diarto, Shukuya, and Goz. It was a strict order that no matter what happened inside the Hiiragito, you are not to mess with them.

　As long as that was the case, Shukuya would only solemnly follow his lord's orders.

　Diarte, who cut down the demons in the west, and Goz, who kicked out a horde of demons in the east, both thought the same thing as Shukuya.

　It was then that a high-pitched roar shook the ears of the three of them. The roar that roared from within the Hiiragito was like a dragon's roar (dragonlore), and it violently shook the hearts of those who heard it.

　Unexpectedly, three people's gazes turned to Hiiragito at the same time.

　The swelling demonic air rose high into the sky, becoming a spire that impaled the heavens. The ground was shaking noisily as if it couldn't bear the tremendous pressure.

　The three of them knew this pressure, as if the world was trembling.

　It wasn't just the three of them. All of the higher-ranking banners with experience in combat inside the demon gate knew of this presence. And they were sure of it.

　Now, at this moment, an illusory seed had descended on Hiiragi no Sato.