Al-san used his transition magic and we moved to the front of the forest area at once.

''Here?''

　There is no man's hand in it, and there are no roads to follow.
　At best, it is a beastly path.

　The vegetation is dense and dense, blocking out the sunlight from above.
　Visibility is quite poor, it's still day, but it feels like night.
　There are vines growing all over the place, so we will have to be careful about our footing.

The place looks like a hassle........the plants and trees look annoying. It would have been better if...
Burn it down?

　Rifa uttered such a boisterous thing, as if she was interrupting Tania's dialogue.

''Nya.......not only Tania, but also Rifa saying such a boisterous thing......''
"Did you have the brain-muscle virus?　Mmmm, we need the right treatment.
You'll remember this later...?

　Tania glared at her, and Kanade and Luna both whistled in the direction of the day after tomorrow.

'You're not going to burn it down?'
''No, that's not it. If you do that, it will be difficult to proceed in the opposite direction, and to begin with, it's not just demons that are in this forest. There are also ordinary animals. I don't want to take away their homes or kill them in any way.
I see. Rain is kind.

　For some reason, Rifa made me a good boy.
　Was it a compliment?

'Then how do we proceed?　Shall Sora get the lights ready for you, just as she did when she came to Krios?
We'll do some spotting and stuff.
I can... if something happens, I can just pop into subspace... right?
Hmm.

　We'll listen to everyone's opinions and come up with a solid plan of action.

　From here on out, it's the enemy camp.
　There's also information that the demon tribe has been struck back, so the enemy probably isn't taking a relaxed stance.
　They should have fortified their defenses in their own way.

　You have to advance through a place where visibility is poor and movement is difficult, while being even more wary of the enemy.
　It's quite challenging.
　The demon tribe that said they had been struck by a return attack may have lost their strength here.......and that may be the reason for their defeat.

　As much as possible, I don't want to use the extra strength here.
　Capturing this forest isn't our main goal.
　The primary goal is to defeat the enemy that seems to be the demon tribe hiding in the deepest ancient castle.

In that case.........shall we go with that?
""Huh?"



----------



　His name is Agni.
　It is a weapon made with old time technology and its type of name is called a golem.
　His rank is A, but his power is said to be comparable to some S's.

　Such is the case with Agni, who, although a demon, was given a name by the Lord who used him.
　Agni was proud of that.
　He worked hard every day to ensure that his loyalty to the Lord was unquestionable.

　His main duty is to guard the Lord.
　Currently, the Lord is in an old castle deep in the forest.
　Agni has scattered his men all over the forest and even set up traps.
　As a precaution, he has also developed wards to reduce the power of enemies who invade the forest.
　Finally, he himself becomes the castle's gate guard.

　With this, the forest had become a complete fortress.
　An ordinary person would not be able to reach the back.

　The strongest species and so on are indeed a different story........
　Even so, it couldn't be unscathed, and a lot of energy would be lost.
　The strongest species that were depleted were not the Lord's enemies.
　Alternatively, you can take them down yourself.

　The defense here is ironclad.
　Agni thought to himself.

'Lord Agni, we have an intruder!

　One day, such a report was brought to me by a subordinate.

　Could it be those guys from Krios?
　Maybe they are still resisting in vain.

　Mocking in his mind, Agni asks his men.

'How many enemies do you have?'
Eight no, maybe seven.
That's a vague answer.
I'm sorry, sir. There's a puppet in the mix and it's hard to tell because I've heard reports that it's been moved.
Well, if that's the way it is, it's the way it should be.
And the enemy is the most powerful species.
"Law.

　Hearing that it is the strongest species, Agni spilled out a joyful voice.
　Due to the fact that the golem is a contraptional golem, its expression does not change, but its emotions are properly inhabited.

　There was a tinge of amusement in the voice that spilled out of Agni's mouth.
　He was a loyal vassal of the Lord, but he was also a warrior.
　There was something about fighting a strong enemy that he enjoyed.

''They are the cat spirit race, the dragon race, the spirit race, the god race, and the demon race. There are two spirit races and one other. And one human. The puppets are one.

I'm afraid so. What can I do for you?
We will do what we must. As always, exhaust the enemy and destroy each one. If they are difficult to defeat, make it your goal to wear them down. In the end I'll be out, or the Lord will take care of it.
Ha!

　My men bow and leave.

'Multiple strongest species......maybe I need to leave this time.

　Agni was made only to fight.
　The only reason for his existence is to show his strength in battle.
　It would be a great honor to fight the strong and take their heads off.

　Agni remembered that his heart was in a state of excitement.
　Some time ago he had been attacked by the demon tribe...
　At that time, the Lord stood in front of him and he had no opportunity to show his power.

　But this time was different.
　The Lord has something to do and is holed up in the old castle in the back.
　So you have to fight him.
　That's exactly what I'm hoping for.

　And the opponent is the strongest species.
　It's going to be more fun to fight than the small fry coming in.
　There is no shortage of enemies.
　Rather, it's the best opponent you could ever have.

'Come on, come on. You're going to make my day.



----------



　About two hours have passed since the report of the enemy's discovery.
　There's still no progress.

　There has been no report of annihilation of the enemy, or even that the enemy was returned...nothing.
　As expected, Agni was dubious and called his men to him.

''What happened to the enemy that was reported?''
What, that's...
What's going on?
"...I'm sorry!　We've lost them.
What did you say?

　Agni couldn't help but strengthen his speech.
　As if pushed by the power of the words, his subordinate shuddered and trembled.

''How did you lose them?　How could you be so careless?　Or did you underestimate them?
Oh, no!　There's no destruction phase. It could be a human, but the opponents are several of the most powerful species. We had the utmost vigilance and were challenging them.
"Hmm.

　That's true, Agni calmed his anger slightly.
　His own subordinates are all soldiers of a hundred battles.

　If they were human, they might have a little playfulness, but....
　He would never do such a foolish thing against the strongest species.
　And yet, the fact that he lost sight of them meant that they were better than him.

　What kind of opponent would take his own subordinates for a cue?
　Agni became curious about the enemy and his abilities.

'Tell me what happened then,'
''Yes. First of all, I refrained from attacking them at first, luring them deeper into the forest so that they couldn't escape easily. On the way, the enemy stopped and I decided to see what happened. After that, the enemy used what looked like a smoke screen. Judging that they have seen our intentions, they attacked us all at once on the spot. The enemy retreated towards the backcountry. It was a coincidence, but we were able to lead them to a place where there was no escape. We surrounded the enemy with all our might and tried to annihilate them, but then the enemy disappeared.
Gone?　How did you say it disappeared?
'Suddenly the contours of my body collapsed... it was like water popping. In retrospect, it could have been fake.
I see.

　Agni decided that his men were probably right in their guess.
　The enemy had made a fake of himself and used it as bait.
　There was no doubt in that answer.

　However, two questions remain unanswered.

　He had heard that the five most powerful species were the cat spirit race, the dragon race, the spirit race, the god race and the demon race, but did any of them have the ability to create elaborate illusions?
　If it's just an illusion, it could be created by magic, but if it's magic enough to trick your subordinates for a long time, it should be tough even for the spirit race.
　It might be possible if it was a special ability possessed by the divine race, but I've never heard of anyone with such an ability, even Agni who has lived for a long time.

　Another question is, where did the enemy disappear to?
　The scene should have been completely surrounded by his men.
　There was no way they could fly away, let alone on the ground.
　And yet, where did they go...?

　The enemy's actions were unpredictable, and Agni was just as troubled as his men.

　It was then.
　With a bang, there was a strange sound from the ground nearby... followed by a large hole.

Well it looks like it's going to work.

　What came out of it was ... a human.