The sound of battle cries grew closer.
As she ventured deeper into the forest, a bloody scent that even the cold rain could not wash away gradually spread.
She couldn’t help but slow her pace—she was very familiar with this scent.
Because on the day her father was attacked, the forest that turned into hell had the same smell.
‘…Is this really still within the illusion realm?’
The rain falling on her shoulders and the bone-chilling cold were so real… so real that Senia began to doubt.
She advanced cautiously, then saw the scene unfolding in the forest ahead.
A temporary camp had been set up in this artificially cleared open space… and this temporary camp was the source of all the bloody scent.
“Aaaarrgghh!”
“Don’t be afraid! Hold the line!”
The camp was under attack by a demon army.
She saw that the soldiers fighting fiercely against the demon army and magical beasts wore Yilansiya military uniforms.
They appeared to be just a scouting party… so there was a despairing numerical difference between them and the demon army that kept pouring out of the pine forest, surrounding them from all sides.
“Don’t let your guard down. The target is inside.”
The high demon serving as the commander of this demon army was a beast demon covered in pitch-black iron armor.
He walked past Senia with heavy steps, completely unaware of her existence.
‘…So this is still a memory.’
Seeing that she still could not be noticed by the characters appearing in the scene, just like when she had previously watched the memory of the White Sea Imperial City, Senia’s tension eased slightly.
Under his command, the demon army soldiers formed a formation and completely surrounded the camp.
This was a demon army primarily composed of beast demons.
Within the Demon King’s forces, they possessed extremely strong recovery and physical strength, usually serving as the vanguard and main melee combat corps.
But that didn’t mean there were no archers or mages among them for ranged attacks.
Senia saw that at the outermost edge of the encirclement formation, well-equipped archers were already poised, and beside them, war mages protected by light armor were weaving their spells.
Not all demons, like the high demons, could unleash powerful magic without incantation.
The ordinary soldiers and common officers who formed the backbone of the demon army were mostly clan members with thinner bloodlines among the Seven Great Races of the Demon Realm.
The spellcasting process these clan members followed was a system almost identical to the spells the Sage taught humans.
But thanks to the demons’ innate advantage in magical adaptability, the total amount of their magic power and the power of their spells surpassed that of human mages of the same rank.
Senia quickly identified the spells these mages were preparing.
They were not preparing spells individually, but instead pouring their magic power into a single powerful magic.
The fluctuation of magic power she felt at this moment was in no way inferior to the siege magic cannonade that had nearly destroyed the Crown Giant Tree Barrier back then.
A unit capable of organizing such magic could already be considered the main force of the demon army in a region.
Yet they were going to use such siege magic to attack such a small temporary camp?
This was clearly a carefully planned ambush—an ambush aimed at some important person.
A sudden ominous premonition surged in Senia’s heart.
She rushed into the camp and saw the Yilansiya soldiers continuously falling under the demon army’s blades, while the remaining dozen or so survivors shielded someone and kept retreating.
“Protect the Hero!”
The soldiers roared and swung their weapons. But the boy they were protecting was trembling uncontrollably.
“We… we should run, right? There are so many enemies… there’s no way we can win!”
He also held a sword… but that sword was spotless and new.
Meanwhile, the weapons of the soldiers guarding him were all stained with enemy blood.
“We’re already surrounded, Lord Hero. If you still have strength to spare, please do your utmost to escape.”
An officer stood beside him, the one who had been directing the remaining resistance.
After giving orders to his subordinates, he lowered his voice and said to the boy.
“D-don’t joke around… how could I run away and leave you all behind…”
“Lord Hero, you cannot fight now. But you are our hope… we can’t just watch you die here.”
The officer spoke to the boy trembling with fear.
And as he said this, a soldier behind him was cut down by the surrounding demon army.
He turned, picked up the fallen comrade’s weapon, and thrust it into the enemy’s heart.
“Go! Take the Hero and go!”
The last line had collapsed… Facing the closing blades of death, the officer roared and issued an order to the last soldier guarding the boy—a soldier carrying a long halberd and wearing a visored helmet.
“H-how… how did this happen? How could this happen… This must be a nightmare…”
“…”
The lives fading before his eyes terrified the boy.
He stood frozen in shock, unable to move… until that soldier dropped his halberd and forcibly grabbed his hand, pulling him back.
That soldier’s build was somewhat small… Looking at that vaguely familiar figure, a chill ran up Senia’s spine.
No, it can’t be. This was far too cruel for him.
The two had nowhere to run… because the demon army had already surrounded the entire camp.
In the end, the only humans alive in the camp were the boy and that soldier.
They were forced to stop under the encirclement of the demon army soldiers standing ready.
Seeing the net tighten… the boy’s face turned deathly pale.
“No… no…”
The cold rain continued unabated. The demon army’s formation parted, and the beast demon commander stepped out.
“Are you the Hero?”
He spoke in a low, hoarse voice… He seemed to belong to the bear demon clan among the beast demons.
On his ferocious face, his orange-yellow vicious eyes overflowed with killing intent.
“I… I…”
The boy tried to answer, but that killing intent already had him frozen in place.
If the soldier beside him hadn’t been holding his hand, he probably couldn’t even have forced out those two words.
“Powerful magic power… but why is there no blood on your sword? Are you defiling this battlefield?”
He approached slowly, his steel-clad boots splashing water with each step.
The pressure he emitted made even Senia find it hard to breathe—
“I am Mars Kusset, commander of the Demon Army’s Eastern Front in Yilansiya under His Majesty the King. By the glorious bloodline of the beast demon clan… I hereby issue a life-and-death duel to you.”
“Hero… you have no right to refuse.”
The surrounding demon army soldiers seemed not to interfere.
They opened a circle to create space for the duel, then focused entirely on their commander in the arena, shouting war cries in the beast demon language.
Those war cries were like thunder, terrifying the boy’s heart.
Instinctively wanting to throw away his weapon and flee, he only managed to keep his composure because of the soldier gripping his hand tightly.
“I’ll… I’ll count to three… you hold on to me. I’ll carry you and run…”
He whispered this to the soldier. But anyone could see that his legs were shaking uncontrollably.
That soldier lightly raised his head.
The moment their eyes met, the boy suddenly realized that the gaze looking back at him from within the helmet’s gap was so familiar—
“Don’t be afraid, big brother.”
The voice that had once reassured him now brought only profound despair.