“These people… they came prepared.”
In the twilight, a piercing red glow flickered incessantly.
It was the light emitted by the Demon Detector upon detecting demonkind.
“Surrender. Give yourselves up.”
A stern-faced female elf emerged from the crowd blockading the alley entrance.
As she drew the longsword at her waist, an immense pressure swept over the two demon girls.
And as she revealed her weapon, the sound of crossbows being cocked rang out in unison from the surrounding eaves and rooftops.
In an instant, over a dozen sharp bolts were aimed at Luc and Selene.
“…”
Shadow’s Soul Color spread around Selene, enveloping Luc beside her while also coating both of them in a layer of Mana Barrier.
Luc also drew a dagger she had been hiding in her clothes all along.
They both understood that these people were fundamentally different from the Ranger Corps patrolling the city.
They had been lying in wait here in advance, and their objective was to capture the two of them.
So from the very beginning, they held no illusions of talking their way out with Imitation or smooth words.
Seeing that they had no intention of surrendering, the elf with the longsword charged forward first.
She crossed a distance of over ten steps in what seemed like the blink of an eye, rushing from the alley entrance to right in front of them.
She brought her longsword down toward Selene… and Luc darted in, meeting it with her dagger.
As a pure Mage, Selene was not skilled at close-quarters combat, so Luc had to block approaching enemies for her and buy her time to gather Magic Power.
This was the combat method the two always employed when facing powerful enemies capable of threatening High Demonkind.
“Ngh…”
Though she blocked the strike, Luc’s wrist was numbed by the shock, and the dagger nearly flew from her hand.
The elf did not let this opportunity slip, and her next strike came in an instant.
BOOM!
Just as her blade was about to sever Luc’s wrist holding the dagger, several small fireballs shot out from a magic circle that appeared beside Selene.
She was forced to turn her blade to intercept, and a series of explosions rang out.
“What’s going on with you? That woman isn’t even using Magic Power.”
Through the reopened Mental Sense, Selene communicated with Luc.
“Her Swordsmanship is a notch above mine… and my weapon is at a disadvantage.”
Luc glanced at the dagger in her hand. Fighting that elf’s longsword with such a tiny thing was hardly wise.
“Honestly… take this!”
Selene tossed a mass of Magic Power, and Luc caught it, activating it the same way she used Imitation.
A pitch-black longsword appeared in her hand.
“This thing is…”
“Your sword. It’s not the real one, of course… the real one is still sitting in the academy’s vault… Just make do with it.”
“…Are you all right?”
Hearing Selene’s voice in her mind flicker in and out, Luc asked with concern.
She had consumed too much Magic Power earlier using Shadow Shift to carry herself around the sentries, and when covering her just now she had deliberately adjusted the power of her Fireball Technique so it wouldn’t hurt her ally… and now she had even created an Imitation of her weapon.
“Don’t… ramble on… Here it comes again!”
The elf’s blade light tore through the smoke of the fireball explosions.
She brandished her longsword, launching fierce attacks at Luc’s wrist, legs, and other non-lethal areas.
Her purpose was obvious. She wanted to capture these two demon suspects alive.
But to her surprise, the demon girl before her, who had nearly had her weapon knocked away moments ago, was now parrying every one of her attacks.
This girl switched the dagger to her left hand and held the pitch-black longsword in her right.
Whether slashing or thrusting, heavy cuts or upward strikes… the two weapons of differing lengths and weights in her hands deflected her swordplay entirely with exquisite coordination.
Moreover, the weight of that black longsword was astonishingly heavy. After one clash, the elf was forced back several steps by Luc.
“Captain!”
Two elves leaped down from the wall, wanting to come support her.
“No need.” The elf called Captain steadied herself and raised a hand to decline her subordinates’ assistance. “Loose arrows. They are not to be trifled with.”
After she gave the order, a rainstorm of rapid-fire crossbow bolts assailed the two in the center of the alley.
“Tch…!”
Selene summoned several ice shields around herself, blocking most of the bolts, but a few still slipped through the gaps between the shields, striking her Mana Barrier directly.
Her barrier cracked in an instant… one bolt even passed through a fissure and pierced her shoulder.
This was pure physical impact, the worst possible match-up for a Mana Barrier focused on resisting magic.
Moreover, Selene had already consumed much of her Magic Power before the battle began, making her Mana Barrier’s resistance even more fragile.
“Selene…!”
“…I’m fine! Focus!”
Since most of the arrows were directed at the more threatening Mage, Selene, Luc was able to knock down all the few bolts coming her way with her dual swords.
But seeing Selene wounded caused her stance to waver for just an instant.
The Captain instantly closed in, bringing her blade down on Luc.
In her haste, Luc’s guard showed an opening, and the Captain kicked straight through her exposed center.
The kick was reinforced with Magic Power, and the barrier over Luc’s abdomen shattered instantly, sending her body flying toward the other end of the alley.
“Kuh…!”
The intense pain made Luc cough up blood… She endured it and tried to rise from the ground, but was immediately pinned down by people who had leaped from the wall on the other side.
One of them mercilessly stomped on her wrist holding the dagger, and with a sickening crack of wrist bones, Luc was forced to release the dagger.
Just as another person restraining her arm was about to force her to let go of the longsword in a similar manner, sharp ice spikes came cutting through the air.
“Let her go! You damned bastards!”
Selene broke apart her ice shields, turning them into arrows and bullets that shot toward the enemies pinning Luc.
Under this covering fire, where a single hit meant death or crippling, those enemies had no choice but to abandon their hold on Luc and retreat quickly.
“Stand up, Lantoluke Salshius! Are you going to die in a place like this, for no reason at all!”
As Selene roared, the cyan magic circle beside her released a gale that swept up the fallen crossbow bolts from the ground, and under the direction of her arm, sent them flying with the wind toward the enemies on the wall reloading their next volley.
Several enemies cried out dully as they were struck and tumbled from the wall, but more of them paused their reloading and jumped down from the wall to dodge this round of fire.
Luc gritted her teeth and rose from the ground… and then saw a scene that filled her with utter terror.
“Selene!”
Selene was facing her… but the elf Captain’s longsword had already stabbed in from behind, running Selene through the chest.
“You idiot… You’re completely useless.”
The longsword’s blade was wreathed in cyan wind.
It gouged a hollow cavity through Selene’s entire chest.
There, Shadow’s Magic Power was ceaselessly flowing out… just like blood pouring from a wound.