Everyone present, including me, reacted immediately. It was a male voice, but the radiating hostility made it clear that he had no intention of hiding it—

“Is that the Demon Race?”

Bosuro spoke. The Demon Race shrugged in response.

He appeared among the Knights. He had black hair and was dressed in black clothes, with skin so unnaturally white it looked sickly. He was also slender, making his presence on this battlefield seem almost miraculous.

His name—was never revealed in the game because he was merely a minor character for Kanan to defeat. This means he was certainly necessary for a game event, but his role was interpreted as being that trivial.

“The final self-detonation… I had prepared for that, but to be prevented from doing so.”

Then, he turned his gaze towards me.

“It seems there is an interesting gentleman here. Is your presence here a coincidence?”

“Yeah. Too bad things didn’t go as you expected.”

I readied my sword. The opponent then gave a small smile.

“Humans who withstood such a fierce attack. You’re worth a little caution.”

“It seems you have no intention of escaping.”

Bosuro said. In response, the Demon Race looked back at the General.

“If I don’t achieve some results, things will get bad for me too.”

“Then why don’t you launch a surprise attack? To foolishly reveal yourself like this—”

“Of course, there’s a reason I’ve appeared here like this.”

It was right after those words. My Familiar detected another Demon Race near the King. And that one—looked identical to the Demon Race in front of me.

Could it be a duplication ability!?

“Well then, shall we begin?”

As he announced that, the Demon Race began to move. We entered battle formation—and in an instant, the Demon Race’s body suddenly duplicated into two.

“What…!?”

Even Bosuro was surprised by this situation—and in that moment, the two Demon Races simultaneously rushed towards us.

I was the first to move. Approaching one, I swung my sword.

“Whoa.”

The Demon Race blocked it with his arm. Despite his slender arm, it seemed to have considerable hardness, as it wasn’t severed.

If I unleashed my full power, defeating him would be easy… but with so many eyes on me, and given that unleashing my abilities would certainly reveal them to the Demon Race, I couldn’t do it.

At this stage, I seem to be evaluated as

“You’re quite strong.”

At the same time, he pushed back. I retreated with the momentum.

At that moment, the other Demon Race reached Bosuro.

“—To be underestimated like this.”

Bosuro said. In an instant, a powerful spear strike was aimed at the Demon Race.

“Of course, I’m not underestimating you.”

The Demon Race blocked my Sword Strike with their arm, just like they did with the spear.

“In the first place, you’re an opponent I couldn’t defeat even with my best work. I don’t expect it to be easy.”

—Without a doubt, the Demon Race here must be a diversion. Kanan is protected by the Royal Guard, so even if they were to break through, it would take time. If Bosuro and I were to reach Kanan under those circumstances, we wouldn’t be able to defeat him. That’s why they stopped us here first.

“Then what are you going to do?”

Immediately after Bosuro asked back—a sudden explosion erupted from within the Town.

It wasn’t the Demon Race’s Magic, but the sound of the allied Royal Guard casting Magic to signal that enemies were inside the City Walls.

“—A diversion!”

Sylvie cried out and turned her gaze backward. At the same time, I considered what I should do.

Currently, the Royal Guard has begun intercepting the Demon Race’s attack. And there is only one Demon Race near the King, with no signs of duplicating. Did they think that would be better for breaking through the Royal Guard?

Suddenly, I remembered the scene from the game. This Demon Race didn’t use a Doppelganger Ability, but they reached the Throne Room. There must have been Royal Guards in between… meaning, if they attacked alone without dispersing their strength, they possessed the power to easily break through the Royal Guard.

However, this time is different. With Bosuro and the others surviving, it became necessary to create a diversion. As a result, although they are engaging the Royal Guard, breaking through is taking time. This is probably because their strength was dispersed by deploying a duplicate for the diversion.

In that case, should I take care of these two while the Royal Guard holds them back…? Also, an event remains for Kanan. It’s a battle outside the Castle Interior, not inside, but the situation of fighting the Demon Race remains unchanged. In that case, shouldn’t an awakening event occur too?

“Hmph!”

Bosuro’s spear blew the Demon Race away. The opponent let their body be carried by the momentum, retreated, and then spoke.

“Oh, that’s right, I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

The Demon Race began to speak calmly.

“My name is Baren. I was entrusted with being the Commander-in-Chief of this war… no, given that the Army has collapsed, perhaps it’s better to say I was entrusted with it.”

While the Demon Race spoke, Bosuro swung his spear again. It was almost an enraged strike, one that would crush most Monsters if they took it head-on.

The Demon Race did not block it with their arm either. Instead, they retreated, putting distance between them. Then, the duplicate facing me began to move—

“Eat this!”

Kuuza reacted to that. A “Holy Shot,” a Lower-tier Magic, was fired and hit Baren, who was facing me.

However, he didn’t seem to take much damage—perhaps wary of Kuuza and the others behind me, Baren’s duplicate stopped and licked his lips, wondering how to deal with us.

“—Ruon.”

Then Sylvie suddenly appeared beside me.

“Leave it to me. Ruon, go to the King.”

I looked at Baren and questioned the instruction.

“Leave it to you, you say…”

“If it’s a diversion, then the King is in danger. This is a duplicate, so the True Self is naturally with the King, right? Then you should hurry there.”

“That’s correct.”

Baren agreed readily. Against him, Sylvie continued to speak to me.

“Don’t worry. I can somewhat infer how strong this duplicate is. I won’t do anything reckless.”

“I’ll provide support too.”

Kuuza also stood beside Sylvie—I wonder if they’ve developed some coordination fighting together in this war.

Furthermore, Atire and Shelk were approaching, leading Knights—however, any move carries a risk. If I leave this place, there’s a non-zero chance that the Demon Race will defeat Bosuro and the others.

But I can’t leave Kanan alone. Although it took a different form, given that the Demon Race attacked, it’s possible the story will proceed as per the scenario. However, if not—

“Lord Ruon, leave it to me.”

Then, Bosuro spoke.

“We have no intention of dying either… It pains me to ask this of you here, but…”

He must be asking, considering my abilities.

At this point, a report came from Familiar. The Royal Guards protecting the King were starting to be pushed back. If left unchecked, the Demon Race’s fangs would eventually reach Kanan—

“Lord Ruon”

Next, I heard Garuku’s voice.

“I’ve captured a certain amount of Magic Power regarding the Demon Race duplicate in front of you. It is certainly strong, but Lord Ruon’s companions and the person named Bosuro should be able to handle it.”

“……Are you sure?”

I asked in a small voice. Garuku replied with a ‘Yes,’ and continued.

“Furthermore, the Demon Race’s Magic Power is gradually decreasing. While their abilities are high, maintaining that strength seems to consume a considerable amount of Magic Power. If you can draw this into a war of attrition, winning won’t be difficult. It’s a diversion, but it probably means the Demon Race isn’t planning to stall for too long either.”

“Understood.”

I replied and opened my mouth to Bosuro.

“General, I’m counting on you here… I will definitely protect the King—”

“I understand. The battle is nearing its end. We should avoid getting too deeply involved and dying here.”

Bosuro responded as if to say he understood what I wanted to convey.

“—Lord Ruon.”

And this time, it was Sofia’s voice.

“Please, take me with you too.”

This must be the conclusion she reached after thinking… While Kanan was also a concern, I silently nodded and began the Magic Incantation. At that moment, the Demon Race duplicate tried to move, but Sylvie and Bosuro responded, acting to prevent them from attacking us.

Sofia also began her Incantation—just before it was completed, Bosuro raised his voice.

“I entrust Her Majesty to you.”

Immediately after those words—Sofia and I used Movement Magic and entered the Town.