Chapter 126
"That... what in the world is that?"
While Mikhail and the red-haired demon fought, I had, at some point, joined up with the Knight of the Lighthouse.
Kelvin ran up beside me.
"That... what in the world is that?" Kelvin asked.
Before I could answer, a man who seemed to be with the Lighthouse Knights, and whom I hadn't met before, spoke up.
"A demon with a True Name."
"Given the red hair and an appearance beautiful even to human eyes... it seems to be Gremory, said to be the only female among the 72 demons."
"Are all demons like that?" Kelvin asked the man.
The Lighthouse Knights standing beside me were uninterested in the man's explanation and were all captivated by Gremory's appearance.
"The only female form, you see..."
"Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Karl Reitz Meyer."
"I am Emilio Gavira, a mage."
"Karl, a Free Knight," I replied simply.
At my brief introduction, Emilio showed an interested expression.
"Indeed, Sir Karl, your self-introduction is concise."
"Do you know more about that demon called Gremory?" I asked, cutting to the chase.
At my abrupt question, which cut in before the conversation could continue further, Emilio looked a bit sheepish and lightly rubbed the back of his head.
"Ahem, Gremory is known as one of the few among the 72 demons capable of communicating with humans."
"According to texts, a few words used to describe her are truth, loyalty, love, and sorrow."
"There's also talk that she cannot tell lies."
"Is that really a demon?" I asked.
"...It is said to be a demon."
Emilio, looking sheepish again, cleared his throat.
‘In this world, weren't demons and gods just two sides of the same coin anyway?’
Gullveig was one, and weren't various gods who existed in this land now defined as demons by the Essus Order?
Perhaps that so-called demon was something similar.
Just as I was talking with Emilio, her gaze, after sending Mikhail flying far away, met mine.
Then, seeing Gremory's gaze fixed only on me, Mikhail, perhaps feeling ignored, charged at Gremory as if having a seizure.
"Why is he acting like that again?" Kelvin asked.
"He probably wants attention," I remarked.
"He has a childish side, doesn't he," Kelvin commented.
The elf's ears were as sensitive as they were large.
Mikhail, who was charging towards Gremory, somehow seemed to have heard Kelvin's remark.
***
Even after the failure of his first strike, Mikhail did not stop his offensive.
In his hands were two curved daggers, shorter than shortswords but longer than typical daggers, a peculiar shape.
With the elven race's characteristic swift steps, he instantly approached the red-haired demon and crossed his daggers in an X-shape.
Kwaaaang!
With a simple-looking gesture from Gremory, the daggers flew far away, and Mikhail, along with his daggers, tumbled several times in the opposite direction.
And in the next moment, Gremory's body flew towards where I was.
"Where do you think you're going! How dare you! How dare you!"
Mikhail, who had been sent flying, quickly regained his balance and chased after Gremory, letting out a furious roar.
And there I stood before them, my sword lowered, calmly watching the scene.
"Who are you?" Gremory asked me.
"Karl, a Free Knight."
"Ah, nice to meet you, Sir Karl."
Unlike the smiling red-haired demon, I remained expressionless.
Regardless of her appearance or her current attitude, Mikhail had opened a hell in this city just to bring this one demon woman into the world.
Moreover, I could clearly feel that I was no match for her at this moment.
‘She's terrifyingly strong...’
It was a kind of feeling I had never experienced since coming to this world.
True fear.
A kind of pressure that was difficult to dare resist.
"Why did you come here?" I asked her.
"Is there something you desire?"
"Are you trying to develop a conversation with a demon from another world?" she responded.
"It seems you're much easier to talk to than that elf from our world," I retorted.
Perhaps not expecting my answer, this time she also laughed out loud.
"You're amusing."
"Well, that's a new assessment," I said.
At my blunt words, Gremory was still smiling.
And then, from behind Gremory, Mikhail suddenly rushed in.
"Indeed, he's a troublesome elf."
"You said your name was Karl, right?"
"Let's meet again soon."
"Today is my first day back in this world, so for now...!" Gremory said, her voice full of excitement.
As she spoke with an excited expression, a massive golden aura suddenly unfurled before her and then came crashing down on her head.
[Karl Meyer Style. Fourth Form. Variation Heavy Pressure, Barrage.]
The Mercenary King's Seven-Strike Barrage, which I had practiced after falling off the cliff that day, became a single, colossal aura and descended upon Gremory.
Kwaaaaaang!
The enormous aura that soared into the sky exploded in front of Gremory, suffused with a brilliant light.
My sudden strike wiped the composure from her face.
"Is this all it amounts to..." I muttered.
I let out a dejected sigh, watching my all-out strike disappear with a single wave of her hand.
Of course, my attack was by no means weak.
As if to prove that, Mikhail, who was rushing in from behind Gremory, was violently thrown back and tumbled across the ground, even though he hadn't been directly hit by the earlier strike.
"You made it seem like you wanted to develop a conversation, and then you attack out of the blue?" Gremory asked.
With one corner of her lips slightly raised and a deeper smile than before, she stared at me for a moment before speaking.
"A bug was approaching from behind, so I was just trying to catch it for you," I said shamelessly.
At my brazen attitude, speaking so casually after a surprise attack, Gremory let out a smirk.
"You seem to be in a hurry, so be on your way."
"I think I need to send that foolish elf back."
"...You're just letting me go?" I asked, surprised.
"Hurry along now."
"I have no intention of holding you back."
"...."
She was taken aback by this absurd situation.
"Huh. This is quite..." Gremory trailed off.
Gremory found my shameless attitude, even to the very end, absurd, yet she couldn't help but burst into laughter again.
"I have a feeling I'll be seeing you again."
"I hope not."
"I don't particularly want to associate with demons often, being, for what it's worth, a Saint acclaimed by the Essus Order."
Whipping her red hair around, Gremory chuckled and guffawed.
"Alright, for what it's worth, Mr. Saint."
"Then, let's meet again next time."
"It seems it's time for me to leave today."
The demon Gremory, giving a peculiar smile, vanished abruptly after those words.
And in that place, only a large number of knights and a group of elves remained.
The moment Gremory was resurrected, the demons in the area had crumbled away as if they were sacrifices.
There were no longer any moving demons in this city.
"Things have turned out strangely, indeed," I muttered.
I drew aura from the sword in my hand.
Along with me, the knights around me who had drawn their swords also raised their energy in unison.
The Holy Knights, who had suffered at the hands of the elves, had a particularly sharp aura, and among them, Godfrey's expression, unlike his usual self, was filled with a rage so intense he almost looked like a god of misfortune.
"Everyone, mount up! Sweep them away!" I commanded.
I charged towards them without hesitation.
Following me, the knights mounted their respective horses, briefly formed ranks, and then began to charge in unison.
A fierce aura filled the space, and the knights' swords flew towards the elves.
Mikhail, seeing me suddenly charge, took his kin and flew into the air.
"Retreat!"
They took out green emerald-like gems from their bosoms and threw them straight at the knights.
"Did you think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"
I already had the experience from dealing with the elf named Ainar.
The moment they threw the green gems, I immediately unleashed a wind made of aura towards them.
[Karl Meyer Style. First Form. Vortex]
My Vortex was imbued with the power of the wind spirit, creating an even fiercer gust.
Thanks to that, many of the green gems the elves possessed exploded in mid-air.
Kwaaaaaang!
Some seemed to have escaped in time using spells, but about half of the group of elves trying to flee into the air crashed to the ground along with the explosion of the green gems.
"You bastard...!" Mikhail shrieked.
Mikhail screamed fiercely as he watched his kin fall.
And towards him, who had not fled, I was already soaring into the sky.
[Karl Meyer Style. Movement Technique: Soar]
The wind spirit pushed my body, and as I soared high into the sky, a golden aura once again erupted from my sword.
[Karl Meyer Style. 6th Form. Ascension]
The feast of golden aura scattering beautifully into the sky like particles was beautiful to behold, but its result was by no means beautiful.
Mikhail and a few elves who remained to protect him were caught in the aura particles, their bodies riddled and torn as they fell.
"Kaaarl...! Meyeerrr...!"
"My lord, you must go! We are at a disadvantage now!" one of the elves cried.
A few elves grabbed Mikhail and teleported with him, and even then, a few more elves who couldn't escape in time were swept away by my aura and crashed to the ground.
I spoke calmly towards the fleeing elves.
"I haven't even started yet."
As Mikhail and the elves disappeared, they heard my voice so clearly that they unknowingly trembled.
That calm and indifferent gaze seemed to give them even more chills.
***
"There are surviving elves."
"What should we do, Commander?" a knight asked.
"Keep them alive as much as possible."
"We need to find out everything about them, down to their bones," I replied.
That indifferent voice, devoid of highs and lows, sometimes frightened even fellow members of the Knight of the Lighthouse.
The members who had once seen me interrogate a subject unknowingly shivered.
"We need to contact the Pope."
"Kelvin, take five knights with you and deliver the message that the demon Gremory has been resurrected."
"Should I really leave at a time like this?" Kelvin asked.
"It seems there won't be much happening for a while."
"Those elf bastards won't be able to move recklessly either."
"It looks like the damage they suffered this time is considerable."
"Besides, now that the resurrection of the demon they wanted has proceeded differently from their plan, there won't be any major threats."
"Understood."
"Then I will go and return as quickly as possible."
After giving orders to Kelvin, my gaze turned to Sancho.
"Why are you looking at me like that again?"
"Now that the work here is done, we're strangers, aren't we?" Sancho grumbled.
"Not yet."
"The work here isn't finished."
"...."
Dissatisfaction bloomed on Sancho's face, but I completely ignored him.
"The guy who originally ran the slave market here, he probably found out somehow before things blew up and skipped town."
"There must be many who were unjustly enslaved because he was in cahoots with Mikhail, Massimo, and Ricardo."
"Find them all."
"...I think you'll have to pay extra for this."
"Tell Anne to give it to you."
"...."
Sancho, despite his disgruntled face, let out a deep sigh and then nodded.
"If you find them, don't even think about moving alone."
"Contact me immediately."
"I'll wipe them all out."
"I'll keep that in mind."
After Sancho said his farewells and disappeared, my gaze turned to Karim.
"How about moving the Holy Knights' headquarters here?"
"...Are you saying we should move the headquarters to a place that's become like this?"
"You probably don't have good memories there anyway, and since it has collapsed like this, I mean it in the sense of starting anew at this opportunity."
"If you help restore this place, you might be able to regain some of the Holy Knights' reputation that was tarnished by this incident."
"Since this incident will become known anyway, it would also be good in terms of managing the fallout."
Karim closed his eyes at my words.
He couldn't just cover up the numerous wrongdoings that had occurred so far.
The world wasn't that lenient.
If so, as I suggested, it would be better to openly reveal this fact to the world and take responsibility for the mistakes.
"Here."
After finishing my talk with Karim, I tossed an item towards Godfrey this time.
"...Why this?" Godfrey asked.
"Because, in my eyes, you seem to be the only one who should have it."
"I am not worthy of this ring."
"No, I see you as someone more than capable of handling it."
"If you don't want the responsibility, Sir, then give it to someone else."
The ring that left my hand was the Ring of the First Holy Knight Commander.
Leaving behind a gift that was rather meaningless to me, but perhaps could become the most meaningful item for the Holy Knights, I turned towards where the Knight of the Lighthouse were.
"What are you planning to do now?" Karim asked me.
"For the time being, I plan to help restore this place."
"After that, I have to go back home."
"Did you say home?"
"That's right, home."
Karim smiled, pleased by the word 'home' uttered by his old friend, whom he thought would wander forever without belonging anywhere.
"When can I come visit?"
"Come."
"Anytime."
"You, of all people, should know how dangerous those words are, right?"
"Even so, it's fine, so come anytime."
"Hahahaha, alright, I'll visit my friend's home soon."
Watching Karim laugh heartily, I also showed a faint smile.
[Quest: To the Hell of the Mortal World Completed.]
[A Mage's Elixir is given as a reward.]
Thus, after about a month, I and the Knight of the Lighthouse returned to the County of Collo.
Thwack!
"Ow, why did you hit me! I did my part this time, didn't I!"
"What did you do besides whining!"
Beside them, as they returned, were two lumps—no, a noisy mage-priest duo—tagging along.