Chapter 47: The Sage Learns the Power of the Saint.

“Who are you? This town is supposed to be sealed off with a barrier, but you got in?”

The girl voiced her suspicions.

I could sense a clear disdain from her tone.

The other members of the Holy Sceptre Kingdom were on alert, ready to unleash their magic at any time.

“……”

On one hand, I secretly used my perception magic to find out the situation of the entire city.

On the other hand, I decided to reply to the conversation to buy time.

“…And who the hell are you?”

“Me? I am Makia Lynn Meditortia. You could say I'm the Saint. It's my job to kill filthy undead like you.”

The Saint, Makia said with a confident tone.

Her words must be the truth.

The holy energy overflowing from her dainty body boasted an unusual concentration.

Just looking directly at its radiance made me feel uncomfortable, and if I had eyes, I would have been burned.

Ghouls and skeletons would be purified without question just by approaching Makia.

It seemed that she was the cause of the purification power that had unfolded all over this city.

Not large-scale ritual magic, and not even holy magic.

Looking at her carefree appearance, it was Makia herself naturally emitting that much holy energy.

She didn't seem to be drained of her magic.

She was no ordinary human.

She was cloaked in the most powerful holy energy I've ever seen.

It's almost like a mythical being.

The Saint, Makia Lynn Meditortia. I know that name.

She was the symbolic figure of the Holy Sceptre Kingdom of this era.

According to prior information, she was a political puppet and had little real power.

Although she was a user of holy magic, her abilities were supposed to be ordinary.

The current Makia had undergone some kind of transformation.

“Answer my question first. Who are you?”

The question from Makia brought me back to my senses.

I answered boldly.

“I am the Demon Lord.”

“Oh, really? You look seedier than I thought you would. Wouldn't the undead sleeping beside you be a more suitable candidate? He was fighting with amazing bloodlust. Thanks to that, my men all ran away.”

Makia spoke condescendingly.

Was she trying to provoke me into losing my cool?

Or maybe she just had a bad personality.

Whatever the case, it would be a bad idea to react to her words.

I expanded the range of my perception magic during this time.

With that, I discovered Henry and the rest of the intercepting army.

They were hiding inside the city.

They were some distance away from here.

Their numbers were considerably reduced, and signs of their presence were strangely weak.

It seemed that the elves accompanying them were using concealment magic to hide their whereabouts.

It was probably to avoid being discovered by the Holy Sceptre Kingdom.

It was a good decision, considering the current situation.

“Well, I don't care. Can you die for now? I need to take a break like, now.”

Sighing, Makia lightly waved her hand.

Immediately after, her feet lit up and a dozen or so chains rose from them.

The chains slithered with the swiftness of a beast and aimed at me in a straight line.

I didn't budge an inch as I cut the chains one after another as they closed in on me.

No matter how fast I was, it was not so fast that her swordsmanship could not keep up.

In the blink of an eye, all the chains were destroyed.

Makia, who had been watching the series of events, clapped her hands.

“Amazing! As expected of the Demon King, you’re unharmed by my attack!”

“Saint Makia. What is the source of your power?”

“Oh, you mean my sacred magic? About ten days ago, I suddenly mastered it. Thanks to that, my status went up a whole lot. I didn't have any chance, so maybe it's a gift to me as a devout person.”

Makia confided frankly.

She called it sacred magic, not holy magic.

Indeed, her power was too powerful to be called holy magic.

It seems like a separate category from existing magic.

If I were to believe the story told by Makia, she acquired sacred magic through a sudden awakening.

She herself did not seem to know the cause of it.

It was a very strange story.

Normally, one would believe it to be a lie.

However, I knew of a phenomenon similar to this.

That is, the hero of this generation.

The young man suddenly acquired the power of the holy sword with the help of the will of this world.

He went from being a mere soldier to slaughtering an army of undead single-handedly.

It was like something out of a fairy tale.

The saint Makia was chosen to be the savior of the world.

If you think that she was arranged to destroy the immortal Demon Lord, the inexplicable aspects of the story made sense.

It made sense that she suddenly gained great power and that her abilities are so immature.

The other side had to have the advantage, because they were there to defeat me.

“Anyhow, just die quick. If I kill the Demon Lord, won’t my status go up even more right?”

“If you can do it, be my guest. I will kill you all.”

I pointed the tip of my sword at Makia.

Makia chortled in laughter and her feet began to glow all at once.

Soon, countless chains started to extend from them.

“Aah, to say such a thing in this situation—”

Makia waved her arms.

A large number of chains shot out in response.

The uncountable number of chains advanced like a muddy stream.

…Killing the Saint is secondary.

If we fight here, we will not be able to save those who can be saved.

I broke the restraints on the chain that held Grom in place and moved him to another place.

The destination was a corner of the city, far away from the Holy Sceptre Army.

There were dead bodies scattered around.

They were unarmed people.

They were probably civilians who lived in the city.

Some of the corpses had wounds from spears or swords.

It must have no doubt been the Holy Sceptre army.

I was angry, but I didn't even have time to think about it right now.

“Grom, are you okay?”

I tapped Grom on the shoulder as I called out to him.

There was no response from the cracked ox-head.

As I tried to speak to him again, a small flame lit up in one of his eyes.

I could feel his gaze from there.

“De… mon, Lo…rd, …I truly …apo…lo…gize.”

When Grom understood the situation, the first thing he did was apologize.

Although he had no strength left, he felt deeply remorseful.

I shook my head.

“It was the other side’s fault. You’re not to blame. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner too.”

If I had made a quicker decision, the situation would not have turned out so bad.

It was entirely my fault.

“I'll take care of the rest. Just concentrate on your recovery.”

That's all I said and transferred Grom to the Demon Kingdom’s capital.

Luciana would take care of the rest.

Grom was on the verge of being purified, but it was not too late.

As long as he can get out of this purfication space, he will slowly begin to recover.

I continued on to the intercepting army.

In a place where the buildings had collapsed into rubble, Henry appeared through the scrap wood.

“Oh, Boss… you came.”

Henry had injured one of his legs and was dragging it as he walked.

There were no other obvious injuries.

“Can you move?”

“I'll be damned. I got hit when I was defending a subordinate. I've been burned.”

Henry tapped one of his legs and chuckled.

There was no small amount of self-mockery mixed in.

He was shocked with his own actions.

But he soon finished laughing and turned serious.

He pointed to the surrounding rubble area.

According to my perception magic, I could sense numerous lives under it.

“The undead have been almost completely wiped out, but the demons and elves still remain. They are hiding in the vicinity, but I'm sure Boss will recognize them. We should be able to treat the wounded in time.”

“Well done. You are an excellent commander.”

“Hahaha, thanks for the compliment. Let’s have a drink together when we get back.”

Henry laughed and raised his hand.

When I tilted my head at his mysterious gesture, he asked me to imitate him.

When I raised my hand in doubt, Henry clapped his own hand together with mine.

It didn't make a good sound because I was all bone.

Is this some kind of signal?

I don't remember deciding on this kind of code.

I wasn't sure.

“Well, nevermind. That’s expected of Boss.”

Henry shrugged, perhaps because of my lackluster response.

Unfortunately, I didn't seem to live up to his expectations.

Despite feeling apologetic, I transferred along with the interceptors.

I'll have them concentrate on healing in the capital as well.

I'll ask Henry to explain the hand-clapping motion when I get back.

But first, let's finish what I have to do.

Having made up my mind, I used transfer magic to return to Saint Makia and the Holy Sceptre Army.