22 – The Greatest Leader (17)
Jannu always had a smile on her face, if at all possible.
Because even in difficult situations, laughter could become a source of strength.
However,
At this moment,
Even Jannu couldn’t bring herself to put a smile on her lips.
“Ugh…”
Countless fish demons appeared before her eyes.
Just a couple of hours ago, these guys were wandering around, assessing the surroundings but now, as if under some kind of spell, they were rushing into this church like ants during a storm.
“Argh! Oh…this won’t do, there are too many of them!”
“We have to hold on somehow! If we collapse here, the civilians will be annihilated!”
The choir stood their ground, using their holy aura to fend off the demons.
As soon as the demons touched the aura’s protective barrier, their bodies melted away.
However,
Even as the demons’ limbs dissolved upon touching the aura’s barrier,
These creatures, like beasts that had lost their fear, threw themselves endlessly at the barrier, damaging it.
“Argh!”
“Cough!”
The choir members, who had been reinforcing the barrier, eventually collapsed, coughing up blood.
As each of them fell, the strength of the barrier weakened even more, and every time that happened, the ferocity of the demons intensified.
“No… I have to step forward again here…”
“Oh… No, sister! It’s really dangerous if you go out again this time!”
“But I have to go! If I stay like this, everyone will die…. Gasp! Cough! Cough!”
“Sister!”
Leone, struggling to support Jannu who is vomiting blood near her mouth.
Even in the midst of finding it difficult to maintain consciousness, Leone forcibly sat Jannu down as she tried to fight, and looked at the defense barrier of the weakened sacred chorus with a worried expression.
She had only known Jannu as someone who was simply kind and pretty, but in reality, Jannu had exceptional skills.
That was because until Geralt came in, she had been serving as the leader of Unit 3, making her skills among the top Devil Hunters.
With Jannu’s help, the meager sacred chorus had been able to hold on for over an hour against hundreds and thousands of demons,
But now, the end was in sight.
“However… something is strange, why are those guys suddenly flocking here? And so recklessly…!!”
At that moment, a sudden thought brushed through Jannu’s mind.
It was about the strange candle she had smelled when she first came here.
“Come to think of it, there were demons hidden among the clergy, that means… could this candle be a trap to lure in the demons?”
There could be other possibilities, but at the moment, this was the most likely guess,
And so,
Realizing too late that that damn demon bastard had made the situation unnecessarily complex until his death, Jannu automatically began to bite her lip.
And then…
-Bang!
“Ah!”
“Ba… Barrier…”
The shattered defense barrier of Oora, unable to withstand the onslaught of the demons.
Simultaneously, as they watched the demons approach with a terrifying momentum, Leo and the others’ faces began to show a deep light of despair.
In that moment,
-Fwoooooosh!!!
-“Kahhhhh!!!”
Suddenly, a blue flame ignited.
At the same time, the demons rushing towards this side were instantly engulfed in flames, writhing in pain.
And…
-Splat!!!
Amidst the chaotic demons, a menacing shadow swiftly moved and swung.
With a cold expression completely different from her usual carefree attitude,
She…
Nico, as she swung the axe in her hand, struck a deadly blow against the demons.
“Sorry, I’m a little late.”
“Hey… it’s not just a little, you’re really late!”
With those words, Jannu displayed a forced smile on her lips.
Gabriel responded with a light smile, then leaped into the midst of the pitch-black demons rushing towards them, swinging his sword.
With each swing of the sword engulfed in blue flames, the demons disappeared mercilessly, consumed by the fire.
The classical music from before seemed like a lie, as the demons that had crawled into the church were gradually retreating due to the efforts of the two demon hunters.
“Incredible…”
“Indeed, they’re not just experts for nothing.”
Thanks to the timely intervention of the two demon hunters, the choir and Jeanner were able to barely escape danger.
And then…
“Kuoooh!!!”
“Oh no!”
“Stop it! Stop that thing!”
A fish demon emerged, breaking through the two’s defenses.
It was larger than the other demons,
With a face reminiscent of a lamprey, it rushed towards them while swinging a giant log, still set on fire.
“It’s… dangerous!”
“Take cover!”
The members of the choir were not only unable to fend off the demon, but they were desperately trying to dodge its attacks.
Their state, depleted of divine power, was no different from that of ordinary people, so trying to defend against the attacks was no different from suicidal behavior.
Rolling and throwing themselves on the ground, the choir narrowly managed to dodge the demon’s attacks.
But…
“Sister!”
“Go quickly! If you stay here, you’ll… gah!”
“It can’t… be!”
Leone, who is unable to move due to severe injuries, and Leoné, who is always by her side.
Facing those two, the demon swung down the firewood he had been holding with great force.
“Senior!”
“Ah… I can’t…”
The two were struck without any chance to defend themselves.
A terrifying sound that struck their ears.
The two naturally began to imagine their comrade’s death in a cruel manner.
But…
“…Huh?”
“What… What is it?”
In the next moment, the demon suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Right after that,
The rigid body of the guy who was standing there…
Split into two parts exactly.
“Phew…”
“Tha-thank goodness…”
It seems that the demon was almost killed by Leone’s strike in a close call moment.
With this, the two of them felt a deep sense of relief and once again focused on hunting the demons with determination.
They were careful not to make the same mistake as before, paying the utmost attention.
And then,
-“Crackle?”
-“Crack?”
-“Huh?”
In the next moment, the demons suddenly turned their heads and stopped their movements.
The ones who had been rushing forward like crazy dogs, even though they had suffered countless damage just moments ago,
They turned back as if being pulled by a current and fled towards the west…
Toward the place where the sea was.
“What… What is it?”
“This… Can it be…?”
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Nico expressed his doubts about the sudden change in the demons’ stance.
However, regarding this matter, Gabriel automatically recalled a certain fact in his mind,
And a thick smile started to appear on his face.
“Leader… You truly are!”
*
The demon that had been torn to pieces and died right in front of them.
But at this moment,
In Janu’s face, there was not a sense of relief from having defeated the demons, but rather a sense of fear.
There was a deep sense of astonishment imbued.
“…Wha…what on earth is this?”
Unlike the thoughts of her comrades, she no longer had the strength to defeat this demon.
Her mana was depleted, her physical stamina was at its limit from wielding the sword, and not to mention, she had also been wounded.
When the demon swung its mace, she naturally thought of her own death.
However.
In that moment of trying to attack, the demon met its own death.
And,
“Uh…are you…are you okay, sis?”
“Mm…I’m fine…ah.”
Jen knew it.
“I…I’m relieved. Honestly, I was really scared of it…but now we don’t have to worry, right?”
For a moment,
She saw the figure of the girl named Leone, who effortlessly sliced through the demon with an immense surge of mana, hidden within her embrace.
“Yeah. I don’t think…there’s any need to worry.”
*
Carl, who had struck his axe into the belly of the dragon.
The surprise attack had a critical effect when its internal organs were prominently exposed.
-“aaarrrGGhhhhh!!!!”
The lad screamed as if torn apart and was engulfed in a blue flame.
As the condensed magical power throughout his body was released, the lad’s flesh was devoured in the flames of diminishing life.
With his enormous body crumbling, Dagon, who had been a part of his family, met a tragic end due to Carlo’s attack.
However,
“Co…ugh…h…hh…”
Carlo, the one who had ended the lad’s life, began to slowly crumble as if his strength had been exhausted.
The strike he had just delivered with all his might was practically the last flame, igniting his already mortally wounded body.
And in this dying moment,
Carlo looked at me and opened his mouth with a feeble voice.
“Can I… ask you for one thing?”
“Speak, Devil Hunter.”
Although transformed into a demon, Carlo, in his final moments as a human… as a Devil Hunter, fulfilled his duty.
Showing respect for his will, I replied.
In his dying voice, Carlo said to me,
“Please… protect our Leo… our remaining family…”
Expressing his concern for his one remaining family member.
In the final moment,
Seeing him once again, returning as a Devil Hunter and a father.
I expressed my mourning and quietly replied.
“…I understand. Don’t worry.”
“…”
In response to my answer, Carlo formed a peaceful smile on his faltering lips.
With that,
He disappeared gradually, receiving the brilliant sunlight that broke through the dissipating fog.
The body of Devil Hunter Carlo turned into ashes carried away by the wind.
Towards the place where his wife, who no longer exists in this world, is.
Towards the place where he can always gaze down at his beloved daughter…