Chapter 1066

The day after we delivered the refugees from Dars to Rokkars, we left the town at sunrise.

Our destination was Metelmam, a village that the guild had lost contact with.

『They said it’s at the end of that mountain path. Should be there in about an hour with Urushi.』

「Nn.」

When the guildmaster proposed the reconnaissance mission yesterday, Fran decided to accept after some consideration.

Metelmam was a village located near the border with the neighboring country of Phyllius, so losing Metelmam would mean also losing contact with Phyllius. That was one reason for her decision.

But the main reason was Charlotte’s safety. She was about to be sacrificed in some sort of ritual, and one that was supposed to take place in Metelmam. We might be able to learn more if we head there.

That’s why we decided to accept the request.

Urushi flew through the sky at such an altitude that his shadow was no longer visible, and we spotted something up ahead.

「Woof!」

『Huh? There’s something flying over there…』

There was a black entity hovering in the air ahead of us, though not quite as high as us. It had bat-like wings, so maybe it was a demon or some similar monster…?

Metelmam was faintly visible in the distance, right below the flying entity.

Just like when we scouted out Dars, our appearance had been masked with illusion magic and light magic. They had yet to notice us.

But what now? Attacking out of the blue seems like a bad idea. While it’s incredibly likely the flying entity is related to Raydoss, we can’t say for sure.

On the other hand, giving up the element of surprise in front of a potential enemy is just idiotic.

Launch a surprise attack? Reveal ourselves? Something else entirely?

However, we immediately lost the ability to choose. Upon getting closer, the entity quickly displayed signs of noticing us.

It began scanning the surroundings before pointing its face directly at us. While maintaining a piercing stare, it rose up to the same altitude as Urushi. I guess this entity had perceptive abilities exceeding our expectations.

（It found us?）

『I think so.』

（What now? Attack?）

『No, hold on. Since it’s come down to this, we’d better find out who we’re dealing with first.』

（Okay.）

（Woof.）

「I know someone’s hiding there from the disturbance in the air currents! Show yourself!」

Oh, that makes sense. So he had an ability for detecting changes in the air and wind. If you see the air currents curving around in the completely open sky, it’s pretty obvious that there’s something hidden there.

We had no choice but to disable our concealment.

「A child? Identify yourself.」

「…An adventurer from Kranzel.」

「!」

As soon as Fran replied, the man’s face distorted into a violent scowl. Well, it was a bit hard to recognize his facial expressions due to the pitch-black skin.

Despite speaking with the voice of an adult man, his appearance was far from human. Honestly speaking, he was the splitting image of a demon.

Just look at his jet-black skin, bat wings, and slim but muscular figure. His armor was also jet-black, with a very sophisticated design. This was clearly the equipment of a knight or someone of a similar occupation.

Though his appearance was that of a demon equipped with black armor, his race was still somehow “Human”. Maybe it has something to do with his Demon Possession skill. This knight had somehow fused himself with a demon.

「…Leave at once. You are not allowed here.」

「I only want to check on Metelmam. I’ll leave as soon as I’m done.」

「…!」

The moment Fran mentioned Metelmam, the man unleashed a deadly fury. Then, he suddenly slashed at us out of nowhere.

「Shah!」

「Mrgh!」

Fran easily jumped back to avoid the slash, one clearly aimed to kill.

「You managed to dodge me?」

「Are you from Raydoss?」

「…Raydoss? You ask if I’m from Raydoss?!」

「Someone cowardly enough to attack without naming themselves must be from Raydoss.」

「O-Of course not!」

「Okay, then tell me your name and affiliation.」

「…Die!」

It seems provoking him wasn’t sufficient to draw any info out. Despite seemingly not working for Raydoss, the man wanted to stop us from reaching Metelmam.

The Kingdom of Phyllius comes to mind since he’s using the power of demons, but then I’d have to ask what he’s even doing here?

My first guess would be that Phyllius was attempting to take advantage of the war by occupying Metelmam. However, I’ve heard Phyllius wasn’t interested in expanding its territory, right?

Worst case scenario, maybe Phyllius has already been taken over by Raydoss, like Seedran, and is now invading Kranzel alongside them.

（Master, let’s capture this guy.）

『Roger.』

Thus began a fierce aerial clash between the two.

Our opponent seemed experienced in aerial combat due to his wings, but such wasn’t enough to overcome the vast difference in abilities. Fran parried all of the demon knight’s strikes and severed a limb with each counterattack.

It’s only been a few minutes since the start, and the guy’s limb regeneration was the only thing keeping him in the fight.

「W-What’s with this kid…?! I’m one of the best swordsmen in my troop…」

The man’s Holy Sword Mastery was at level 3, which explains his confidence. Moreover, he expected to have the advantage in an aerial clash. Getting pushed back so easily must have been astonishing to him.

If we only wanted to take him down, doing so wouldn’t be so hard. After all, Urushi had yet to join the fray. However, capturing an opponent with such potent regeneration is a different story.

That said, it seems our enemy also has yet to get serious.

「You leave me no choice… I offer my mana as your sustenance and my body as your vessel…! Manifest now, Wind Demon!」

Immediately afterward, the knight’s entire body was enveloped by a huge eruption of mana.