Ooohhhh........


　Even after the eight degree roar was over, the reverberations that had been burned into his ears didn't easily disappear.

　From beyond the reverberations, one could feel the confusion in Ishka city.

　The confused human minds would regain their composure with time, but problems would continue to pile up afterwards.

　The emergence of the illusory species, the collapse of the defensive lines and the activation of the Stampede, the contamination of the Kale River and the corruption of Titis due to the deadly poison.

　It was clear that from now on, the city of Ishka would be hit by difficulties that were impossible to describe.

　With that understanding - I pointed the tip of my heart-suit at Goz.



　I heard someone gasping for breath, but I didn't even look back that way.

　The fact that the three men of Onigashima are my enemies, whether Hydra appears or not, doesn't change the fact that they are my enemies.

　In fact, I had to kill them here in order to get serious about fighting Hydra in the future. If the sparrows were to attack me while I was fighting Hydra, there was nothing I could do about it.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time in the city. However, the voice from the cow's face did not contain the will to fight that was present until the other day.


''Wait, Sora-dono. You have fought the dragon at the demon's gate, that I have, but this is definitely the dragon's roar. If we were to cross swords here, we would only be doing our illusions a disservice.

What about it?　To me, it's just three more enemies and one more. Defeating each one would be the basis of our tactics.


　Or are you saying that we should join hands and fight now?

　When asked mockingly, Goz nodded widely.


'How true. It is the reason for the existence of the illusionary species, that it is. The existence of illusionary species is a threat to the Sora-dono who live in this land. If our interests are aligned, then I hope you will use good judgment.

What's your problem? Don't be an idiot.


　I kicked off Goz's words as I spat them out.

　It's true that if you simply look at the strength side of things, Goz and his team are hard to get. If we join forces, we might even be able to overpower Hydra and Stampede in two.

　But that's on the premise that they are trustworthy.

　The possibility of the three of them betraying me in the middle of a fight is undeniable.

　That's not all. Let's say we worked together to defeat Hydra and conquer the Stampede. What happens then? We'll be at odds with each other again over the sparrows.

　A rematch with Goz and his friends, who have recovered not only their physical injuries, but also their souls that were eaten by soul eaters (soul eaters). Since Klimt and the others have probably changed their perceptions of me, they wouldn't be able to get through to me in a surprise attack like this one.

　I'm not so vain as to think that I can win against three people in such a situation.

　If you want to use discernment, it's my prudence to settle this matter here.



''You want to bare the illusory seeds and start over, but is that going to happen?

No, sir. After we have defeated the illusionary species, we will return to the island to report. It is true that the presence of the demon is a cause for concern, that it is, but now that I know that Sora-dono has mastered the art of mind-dressing, I am not worried about leaving him in charge.


　I faintly scowled when I heard that. The sound of Goz's voice was serious.

　It is true that the demons are a race that once fought against humanity, but they have long since lost their power as a species. When it came to the sparrow, she was really a normal girl - or maybe not normal in that sense, since her magical talent was astonishing even to Miroslav, but at least she wasn't in danger of being seized without her mind gear.

　And yet, Goz seemed to regard the sparrow as a danger from the bottom of his heart.

　I've always thought that the reason why Goz and his friends are hostile to the demons is because they are dogmatically following the teachings of the Plating and Sealing God - but by the looks of it, there may be some secrets about the demons that I don't know.


　I would have liked to confirm that if I could, but it would probably be in vain.

　If it's a secret that can be revealed here, Goz has revealed it long ago. He's going to give them away and use them to try to convince me.

　He didn't do so because he was forbidden to speak out on his own. You can't think of anyone other than the head of the family who can force the senior vassals of the Gokens to be silent.

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


"Whatever you say with your mouth--

Oh, wait!


　Just as I was about to slam more words into Goz, a voice interrupts me, sounding terribly out of place.

　If I frowned and looked at the direction the voice came from, the receptionist (Riddell) who was lending her shoulder to Lunamaria was looking at me with a blue face.


''.....................From the guild, please. Now is not the time for humans to fight with each other. Please, please put your sword away.


　You can find Parfait sitting flat on the ground, as if he had been sitting down, beyond Lidel, who speaks as if to reprimand him.

　The question of why the guild's people are here - that question has been cleared up by Liddell's subsequent words.

　It was here that I finally learned how Goz and the others had come to attack my house.

　I also learned that Goz and the others had held off the stampede.

　As soon as I heard that, an idea flashed through my mind.


　It was neither clever nor grandiose; it was, to put it bluntly, just an idea.

　But it was superior to all other ideas in terms of its ability to quickly remedy the situation - at least that's what it seemed to me.

　I look again at Goz and open my mouth. As for Liddell, he didn't even acknowledge the need to be in sight.


'Goz, I don't believe a word you say. Even if you meant what you said, you could easily flip out at the word of your master. If you were ordered to avenge the sparrow, you would run back to Ishka in a flash.

Mm.

''But, well, you have a point when you say that this is not the time for humans to fight each other. So, if you really want to help us defeat the illusory species, show us with your actions, not your words.

Well, what do you want me to do?

Now-- okay, right now. The three of you get back to the defense line and stop the stampede.


　The line of defense is closer to Titis than to the city of Ishka. That's why the influence of the dragon's roar must be significant. If we don't do anything at this point, we will be devoured by the demons without a second thought.

　Normally, Ishqa's garrison should have sent reinforcements, but I don't think the current garrison has the time to do so.

　That's where Goz and his team come in. There were three one-horse, blue-ringed banners (kishi). Two of them were injured, but with their desire to protect the country, a few injuries should not be a problem.

　While Goz and the others are stalling for time, I'm going to get my men out of Ishqa. The village of Melte would be in danger if the poisonous contamination of the Kale River spread. It would be better to go further afield here and take refuge in the Holy Kingdom to the south.


　-- This was the dimension that I could head to defeat Hydra in peace.



◆◆◆



　As soon as the appearance of the Hydra was confirmed, I was determined to take down this ravenous dragon.

　I don't care about Ishka's confusion or the collapse of the defense line.

　All I can do is to eat it. That's what I learned from the battle with Goz just now.


　Besides, putting aside my personal feelings, looking at it objectively, defeating Hydra should be my top priority right now.

　It's a good thing that we're able to do that because even if we contain the chaos in the city and stop the collapse of the defensive line, if Hydra roars again, the same thing will happen again.

　We don't have time to prepare for this. We must strike the culprit as quickly as possible. There was no other way to resolve this situation.


　In addition, I also have my own personal desires.

　My current level is '12' - from '9' to '10' after slaying Klimt, and from '10' to '12' after slaying Goz. As I thought when I slayed Jirinbo in the royal capital, the total amount of soul and density of the Seirin bannerman is far superior to that of a king-level demon.

　And one could expect the illusory species to be even more devouring than such a Seirin Banshi. How could they be ignored?

　In addition, the thought of getting the title of Dragon Destroyer (Dragon Slayer) would motivate me to do it, no matter what.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you're ready to die for Ishqa - such a tragic decision is not something you want to make into a drug.