Just after my first successful bidding, while we were laughing merrily at the astonished expressions of the public, I suddenly felt a terrible thing as my heartbeat quickened harshly.
It was a terrible feeling... as well as a sinister one.
I remembered feeling something like this. This bad, evil, stomach-crunching feeling.
And the heart that stayed calm in even the firecrest situations was beating wildly, so I knew the first thought that came to my mind was absolutely correct.
It was a sign of a demonic presence. And though it was coming from afar, I knew this was the strongest one I had ever encountered.
Even Lucy confirmed that I was right... a demon did actually appear somewhere near these lands.
And I wasn't the only one that felt this strange thing that was coming from probably outside the city.
Grandpa also looked in the other direction just as me and then back at me, astonished that I could feel something from so far away.
Well, maybe this was possible because of my [Dynamic heart] but there is definitely something sinister going on outside the capital.
Rein and others also noticed that something was wrong with us, but then grandpa shrugged the feeling and looked at me as if there was nothing to worry about.
It was strange how he was so calm even after knowing that there was a powerful demon around the city.
It might come to the city and destroy things. Bloodbaths and crimson massacres would also be inevitable.
I wanted to just ask him about the reason, but then, as my heart calmed down, my thoughts also became straight.
'There is no need to panic.'
Today was the first day of the winter festival and there were many strong people here, some of the strongest in the nation and continent, too.
The city already had many strong people, so the chances were low that the intelligent demon would actually come here.
It would be different if there were more than one, but maybe his king-rank knight senses were enough to analyze the numbers and strengths of the demons, something I couldn't do yet.
That would explain his calm demeanor.
Still, I was worried and Rein couldn't tolerate this strange behavior, so she just took off my earpiece device and told operator B that both of us will be taking a break.
And it was time for the break, anyway. The preparations were also almost complete.
They gave the green light, and she also took off the device and stored them.
Words weren't needed between us, so I told her what happened and she definitely wanted to shout curses, but just when she was about to do so, the headmaster appeared in our room out of nowhere.
Everyone was surprised and Anna was happy to meet him again but the situation was somewhat important so he finished his quick greetings, asked for permission from my grandpa, and offered us a one-of-a-kind chance to help him subjugate the newly appeared demon.
Rein would never turn down such a great opportunity, and I was the same this time.
So, after convincing Anna that we would be back soon and patting my confused little brother, and giving Carla a bitter smile, we vanished with the headmaster.
And now we were here, in this devastated land, polluted with demonic energy.
We were facing a demon right now. I was facing a real demon after that terrible incident for the first time right now.
She had encountered demons in her past, but she too was facing one after more than a decade.
She couldn't stop cursing as she looked around and especially at those dead bodies of some black mages and three demonkins.
Those bastards didn't even care about their own people.
She was disgusted, and so was I.
I wanted to go down and just shower that fucking demon with my arrows, but...
"A demon viscount is still early for the two of you. Maybe it will be alright by the time you join the academy, but before that, no.
The demonkins and demonic beasts should be good enough to practice.
We have to eat lunch when we go back, right? Haha."
He was laughing while the demon was still before our faces. And it made the demon angrier than when he called him weak.
"Fuckers."
Rein continued her cussing and walked down with her [Air steps], placed a light enchantment on her scythe, and directly used her special footwork in the air.
-Chiiiiiiiiiin!
The way she moved her scythe in her fiery pink dress was astonishing and as soon as she reached the ground and unleashed her attack in the form of a net toward the demonkins standing at the very front, the three newborn demonkins were surprised and couldn't react to her attack even with their evolved limbs.
They knew little about their bodies right now and her attack could be fatal, they knew that much. Still, dodging her was impossible at that moment and they received the attacks with their bare bodies... their greatest mistake.
Her scythe was covered with light elemental powers, the poison of the demon race. And they were only as powerful as some (Blue) rank creature right now. There was nothing for her to worry about when the opponents were just some shitty-ass bastards.
She would take care of herself, and the costly dress with the three of them. And the newly born demonic beasts, the creatures who were far weaker than the demonic slime that I once fought, were manageable.
Instead of them, I was more interested in this demon. A demon viscount with a now anger-filled red face.
< "Bastard! How dare you call a noble like me...! I am Orchus of the second hell! Subordinate of count Bulaze! I will destroy...!" >
The demons are (Black) ranked creatures. Their strengths fluctuate greatly with their position in hell and the other nobles they are under.
There are a limited number of dukes, marques, and counts, but there are an undefined number of lower-rank nobles.
But even though this one wasn't as strong as a prominent demon noble, he was still the strongest I had ever encountered.
I knew I would lose even if I used all my strength against this one.
But I also knew he would be barely alive after fighting me all out.
I was strong, but still, I was just a spectator today.
I wasn't here to fight the demon but to watch the strongest archmage fight an opponent that was giving me chills.
But before that...
'Three eyes.'
[[ *Using skill [Three Eyes] on a powerful being with high mental defense.
The nature of the target is evil. Enhancing the skill effect.
Starting the understanding of the mental defense.
...
The defense is further enhanced by a strong mental barrier. Processing both as a unit.
Processing...
The skill is a special creation, and the energy used to maintain it is unique.
Understanding the energy.
...
Match complete.
Skill understanding in progress.
...
Skill understanding competes.
Mental defense understanding is in progress.
...
Defense breached successfully!
A high-grade (Demonic) mental defense has been breached successfully~.
Intelligence increased by 2.* ]]
This one took a lot of time. Even more than the time it took for me to breach the mental defense of Rein's grandpa.
It was difficult, but by the time I reached the ground and the headmaster had evaded all his strong, nature-shaking attacks, the process was complete.
And as soon as it was complete and a strange, black status window appeared before my eyes, the demon jerked his head in my direction and shouted in astonishment.
< "You puny child...! How?!" >
It somehow knew that I had just breached his mental defense and seen through his status window, and the headmaster had a smirk as he saw that shocked expression.
But that refreshing reaction wasn't much fun for me. There was the status window of a demon before me, after all.
===Status===
Name: Orchus
Age: 239
Race: Demon (Viscount)
Strength: 199
Dexterity: 189
Stamina: 181
Magic Power: 210
Intelligence: 110
Domination: 180
Demonic power: 250
[Skill: Demonic energy control, Strength enhancement, Blood coating, Demonkin creation, Territory making, Blood magic, Strength magic, Speed magic, Magic resistance, Light resistance, Blood scream, Hell plain connection, Noble mental barrier, Strength sacrifice, High regeneration, Demonic domination, Hell breathing, Nature resistance, Corruption ray, Dark energy barrier, Blood sacrifice.]
[=> Second hell authority: Demon viscount.]
[208th demon count subordinate.]
[Summoned creature.]
...
============
'A true demon noble...'
My head was spinning, and I had drained all of my mental stamina, concentration, and power just from looking at this much information.
Blood didn't flow down my eyes, but my throat was still full of blood. I wanted to throw up but hardly endured.
Just looking at this black status window was overwhelming, and I now knew why the demons were given a separate category among creatures.
They were strong. And even though this one wasn't even a prominent noble, he was freaking strong.
The number of skills they possessed was extraordinary, but the fact that he had such a diverse varsity of skills, as well as those stats, was unexpected, even for me.
Anyway... I was drained and almost on the verge of falling, so I hurriedly took out the golden recovery liquid, mind-healing tears, and dropped a few drops in my mouth.
It was an amazing experience. Definitely something that Rein will be cursing at me for. But she was dealing with three demonkins right now... and my targets were the small demonic beasts that were currently trying to run outside the pollution zone and towards the nearest place with the most lives.
They were running away with madness, so I had to put those poor things to rest.
"Alright, Celes. Let's quickly finish this."
The demon was now again focused on the headmaster, who was constantly provoking him.
The headmaster was playing with him until we finish our targets, so we should finish things quickly and go watch him finish a demon with his cooooool magic...
[[ Okay master~. The nearest one is 39 meters to the west! A big black rat~! ]]
She was cheerful even in the presence of a demonic noble. That's the amazing Celes I knew~.
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