"......"
"......"
Two majin and two guardians.
The clash between those four monsters, each moving for the birth of a Demon Lord and the balance of order, came to an unexpectedly swift end.
Though behind that outcome lay one demon's hidden intent.
"Hehe. I shall pass judgment for disrupting the forest's order."
The first of the four to signal the start of battle was Treyni.
"[Spirit Summoner], Sylph."
As a [Dryad], a race closely akin to the [Pixie], she was a high-ranking [Dryad] capable of handling [Spirits] as well—a race naturally compatible with her own—and not just any spirit, but a [High Elf]-class spirit equal to Ifrit.
Fwoooosh...!
A feminine figure appeared within a green vortex.
The [High Elf], Sylph, manifested and spread two pairs of beautifully shining wings.
"The time of judgment has come. [Aerial Blade]!"
Wooooo...!!
At her contractor's command, the whirlwinds circling Sylph transformed into invisible blades of wind and swept toward the two majin.
"Ghk...?! Starting with a [High Elf] right off the bat? That's way too reckless—"
Unlike Gelmud, who failed to react to Treyni's sudden assault, Laplace—with his long combat experience—pretended to panic while calmly preparing to flee, but by then it was already too late.
"You should watch your back too."
At some point, Adelio had already drawn [Black Star of Domination] and sent a sword strike flying at Laplace.
"...!!"
The attack was a little weaker than the one he had used against Footman before.
But in exchange, it was much faster.
Claaang!
"Bweh?!"
The slash of black light shot skyward once more, carving a deep gash into the clown's mask, and at the same time the wind blades crashed down on Gelmud and shredded him mercilessly.
"Kgh...!!"
"......"
Maybe rotten fish was still fish after all—true to being majin, Laplace and Gelmud possessed enough vitality to barely endure the two attacks, but that was all.
'...This is way too stacked against us... It was already a pain dealing with a [Dryad], and now I'm supposed to fight a monster even stronger than that [Dryad] at the same time...?'
A meaningless battle. No matter how he looked at it, there was no path to victory.
If he revealed his full strength now, his chances of escaping would certainly improve—but the boss's orders had been clear: under no circumstances were they to expose as much of their power as possible. To Laplace, this fight offered nothing but losses.
'......If it's come to this... then I don't have a choice...!'
Fwhiish!
And then, just as Adelio's second sword strike was about to fly toward Laplace—
"W-wait just a second! Even if we are majin, surely you can at least hear us out, right?!"
—Laplace abruptly dropped all his magic and threw himself into a full prostration before Adelio.
"I-it's true we used the [Orc], but we haven't directly harmed either of you yet...!!"
"......"
It was a frantic excuse—fitting, in a way, for a clown.
Revealing his full strength had never really been an option to begin with, so this was the only move Laplace had left.
Watching him in silence, Adelio thought that this was very like Laplace—yet at the same time, he swallowed a question.
'...Did Footman not explain my situation to them?'
After his fight with Footman, Adelio had set a condition.
If they refrained from touching him and those under his protection, then he in turn would not interfere with the majin's activities.
'I thought it was strange that he was treating me like a complete stranger... so he really didn't know.'
Adelio brushed back his hair, having briefly forgotten that one side effect of Footman's resurrection as a Deathman was an intelligence level not far from that of a child.
'Then again, maybe this is for the best. Gelmud is going to become a sacrifice for the [Orc Lord] anyway, and as for Laplace... I think I should watch him a little longer.'
Adelio, who had never truly intended to kill the two from the start, lowered [Black Star of Domination] and spoke to Laplace, who was still sprawled on the ground before him.
"Well, there's no need to make excuses. I wasn't planning to interfere in the [Orc]'s war any further anyway."
"......Huh...?..."
"If you want to help the [Orc], do as you please. Of course, you'll be the ones bearing the consequences."
His tone was gentle, but the meaning behind his words was edged like a blade.
"Go ahead and choose freely. You can quietly disappear as you are now, or keep going and fight us again—"
"—Obviously! We'll quietly leave just like this!"
Perhaps in that short exchange Laplace had already realized that Adelio was the sort who preferred battle, because before Adelio could even finish, he grabbed the collapsed Gelmud at his side and pulled out a smoke bomb he had hidden in his clothes.
"We may have met like this today... but next time, I sincerely hope we meet as customer and contractor!!"
Boooom!
Right after that, with smoke that shone needlessly bright, the distinctive blue magic of [Spatial Movement] surged up from beneath their feet, and the two figures vanished completely.
"......"
"...Is it really all right to let them go like that?"
After confirming that the majin's magic had completely disappeared into the forest, Treyni asked Adelio.
Since he was, by title, a Hero, she had not tried to interfere with his decision to spare them—but she still had her doubts.
"Perhaps not from your perspective, but to others, those two would be a considerable disaster."
The true limits of the majin's power were still unknown.
As the forest's caretaker, and one whose duty was to deal with calamities like them, it was only natural for Treyni to wonder.
To her, Adelio gave a simple answer.
"You don't need to worry that much. Those two won't be able to interfere with the great forest anymore. At least, not this time."
Then, swallowing the words because—
he finished the thought inwardly.
'Before tonight is over, one of them will definitely die.'
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