Senia quickly understood… the scene she was witnessing was this boy’s funeral.
It was the source of that deepest grief in the eyes of the Lord Hero who had met her that day.
“No… no…!”
She chanted an incantation, trying to use her own Spell to knock down that fearsome Demon Army General.
But the Magic Power in this Illusion Realm and memory did not respond to her prayer.
From beginning to end, she could only watch helplessly as a bystander, just as before.
“Diana…?”
The boy could no longer hold his sword. He stared blankly at the girl before him, and then an unprecedented fear and panic appeared in his eyes.
“W-we have to run—!”
“To lower your weapon right in front of the enemy!”
The boy grabbed her hand and turned to run… but how could that Demon Army General let such an opportunity pass?
In an instant, his arm, melded with his armor, transformed into a blade and shot out under some mechanism.
This Demon Army General had previously announced his title, representing that he was the commander of all Demon Army invading Yilansiya.
To hold this position in the Demon Army, which respects strength above all, proved that his personal martial power was already enough to match an entire army.
Although this man’s power was far inferior to the Demon Army Marshals of the four east-west-south-north battlefronts and, above them, the Seven Demon Dukes who commanded the entire Demon Race, and the Demon King himself, Senia knew that the boy could not dodge this strike—
The Magic Power the boy erupted in his panic had already taken his physical abilities and movements beyond human limits.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the edge of the encirclement… then he tightly pulled the girl’s hand, preparing to jump high with her.
He only thought about jumping higher and farther to leap over the Demon Army surrounding them, completely forgetting that his back was undefended as he gathered strength.
And this was the moment that the Demon Army General named Ma Er Si aimed for.
The blade formed from his arm flew straight toward the boy’s back like a black arc.
But at that moment, the girl he was pulling suddenly let go of their clasped hands.
She raised her arm and used her own body to block the incoming deadly blade—
“Diana…?”
When the boy noticed, everything had already happened.
He saw the blade cut through the girl’s armor and the uniform beneath, and gorgeous blood splattered.
He stopped all his movements and caught the girl’s falling body.
“No, no, no…”
The girl’s helmet cracked. As it split in two and fell to the ground, her beautiful and gentle face was revealed before the boy.
“I’m fine… Big Brother.”
On her cheek was a terrifying bloodstain… and that bloodstain extended down along her neck, turning into a huge wound that tore her body apart.
If not for the armor protecting her, she would likely have been cut in two on the spot.
“No, don’t die… Diana. Don’t you die… I’ll find a way to save you… I, my Magic Power is light, the Healing Magic that Sephy taught me…”
He knelt on the ground and chanted the incantation for Healing Magic, and a glowing green light representing healing power began to flicker.
The Healing Magic released by his strong Magic Power was far from comparable to that of ordinary mages… but the wound still would not heal.
It was a fatal wound. It was destined to take the girl’s life.
“Big Brother… run…”
“Don’t talk… I will definitely save you…! Damn it… why isn’t it working?”
The boy’s face quickly turned pale due to the rapid output of Magic Power.
After realizing that all his efforts were futile, he cried out in despair:
“Help… help…! Someone save us…! Please… Sephy… Linxi… Vera…!”
“How pathetic. Let me give you a quick end.”
Demon Army General Ma Er Si swung his arm, which had returned to its original form and become a blade, as he approached.
He brought down the butcher’s knife mercilessly toward the two, but it was deflected by a Sword Qi that tore through the formation from afar.
That Sword Qi was sharp and unparalleled, cutting a gap in the Demon Army’s encirclement.
All the Demon Army soldiers in its path were sliced in two.
From that gap, a blue figure rushed in. In an instant, the figure charged in front of Ma Er Si.
Facing the dizzying sword shadows, he hastily raised both arms, transforming them into shields to block the incoming slashes.
“…!”
This freely changing armor, integrated with his body, was a symbol of his great strength.
Ordinary blades, halberds, and spears could hardly damage it even when imbued with Magic Power… but while blocking these slashes, he actually felt them being forcibly stripped away and cut off.
In shock, he stepped back repeatedly, but the one unleashing those slashes had no intention of letting him go.
That person concentrated one slash after another on the already damaged area of his shield-arm, inflicting immense pain—
“Don’t get cocky!”
He let out a roar mixed with battle rage and pain, spontaneously canceled the shield form, and spread his arms to push back the enemy before him.
“Princess of Yilansiya…!”
Now he finally saw who that blue figure was. Ai Ji Weila Yi Lan Xi Ya — this sword-wielding girl had always been a major headache for the Yilansiya Demon Army.
Since she appeared on the battlefield with her troops and the Lord Hero, the Demon Army’s originally unstoppable advance had been hindered… and now it had been forced to halt, falling into a complete stalemate with the humans whose morale had been bolstered and who resisted tenaciously.
How could she be here? The feint I prepared should have drawn her and her troops’ attention away—
“I will tear you limb from limb… along with all the scum here today.”
Vera did not give him time to think further. After making this declaration, she rushed forward with reddened eyes.
“Fire! Fire! Protect the general! Mages, aim your spells at that human woman!”
Ma Er Si retreated under Vera’s frenzied pursuit… Since all this happened in a flash, his subordinate soldiers only belatedly aimed their ranged weapons and siege spells at Vera.
“But the general is still there…”
“The general’s magic resistance can hold! Just fire!”
Magic Power gathered… a powerful bombardment capable of blowing up a castle was ready to be unleashed.
The mage commander leading the spell was about to give the order, but before he could open his mouth, his throat was pierced by an arrow.
“It’s the human army!”
The one who shot him down was Vera’s Royal Second Guard.
These warriors clad in silver-white coats emerged from the Pine Forest and charged into the Demon Army’s encirclement.
“Protect Her Highness the Princess, prioritize taking out the mages! Be careful not to harm the Lord Hero!”
With these words, sharp arrows shot down the Demon Army’s war mages one after another.
Due to the massive loss of Magic Power supply, the huge solid light orbs and magic circles symbolizing the siege magic technique began to slowly dissipate—
“Stop those humans! Archers, counterattack! Infantry, advance and protect the mages!”
Amid the shouts of the Demon Army officers, a rain of arrows and spells flew.
After a volley, the melee troops of both sides clashed in bloody close combat.
“Diana… Diana… I’ll save you, I will definitely save you…”
And amidst this chaotic army, no one could hear the lament of the boy who kept fleeing while holding the dying girl.