Rushing through the Town, Sofia and I reached the King without any obstacles. It was the Town Central Plaza, a place usually bustling with people. But now, it had become a battlefield.

“—I thought the General would be coming.”

The Demon, Baren, stopped his fierce attack on the Royal Guard and spoke.

The Demon is on the path opposite to the Kings. The Royal Guard is fighting to stop the Demon, keeping the King behind them, but… seeing how many have already fallen, even with the duplicated demonic power, it’s still immense.

When I check with my Familiar, the battle at the North Gate appears to be a Leader-tier fight. The duplicates don’t use magic; they primarily engage in direct attacks. Bosuro, being technically superior, can handle them easily, and Sylvie and her group also seem to have enough energy to respond to their opponents. The fight against the duplicates seems to be going well.

So, how should we move? Baren is an enemy who was easily defeated by Kanan’s Sacred Sword in the game, so I don’t know how strong he actually is. Considering his ability to hold back Bosuro and the others, even if he’s a duplicate, he must be high-ranking among the Demons.

Also, if Sofia and I were to fight him directly, Kanan’s Awakening Event would be ruined… but since a battle not in the scenario has begun, perhaps that progression has already been nullified?

My questions are endless, but for now, I move closer to Kanan.

“King, are you alright?”

“Yes.”

The young King nodded and glanced at Sofia once.

“Is she your attendant?”

“Yes.”

He doesn’t seem to have noticed Sofia. Well, Bosuro’s perception must have been unusually sharp… While thinking this, I turn my gaze to Baren.

Like the duplicates, he doesn’t use magic; he primarily fights by channeling magic power into his fists. At that moment, the Royal Guard attacked, and the Demon moved to counter them.

Effortlessly deflecting the incoming sword, Baren launched a counter-attack. The speed of his punch was considerable, striking a Royal Guard’s body through their armor. As a result, the Royal Guard’s body was sent flying—and in that instant, Baren focused on Kanan and swung his right arm.

“Ugh!”

Several Royal Guards took a stance, forming a barrier to protect the King and us. It was a multi-layered magic, with multiple people simultaneously creating a barrier.

Immediately after, a light bullet, created by Baren’s refined magic power from his fist, was fired. It directly hit the barrier… and the force was considerable, as the barrier groaned loudly.

“With that many of you, it seems you’ve reached your limit.”

Baren mutters, taking a step closer. Is his intention to reduce the number of Royal Guards before the King, so they can’t form a multi-layered barrier?

“A new guest has arrived, so it’s about time to settle this.”

Baren spoke, further intensifying the magic power in both his arms. Seeing this, Sofia stepped in front of Kanan, confronting the Demon to protect him.

I also step in front of Kanan. Then Baren smiled.

“Let me tell you, don’t think you can defeat me.”

I inwardly scoff, thinking, “What are you talking about, you who were just a minor enemy in the game?”… but the situation is very bad.

Can Kanan achieve awakening? —That’s the main problem. If he can’t, then problems will arise beyond just defeating the Demon in front of us.

However—this situation is also my responsibility.

“…King.”

I call out to Kanan.

“The Demon seems quite strong… We will protect you along with the Royal Guard.”

“…I…”

At that moment, the King raised his voice. I saw him gripping the Sacred Sword, seemingly contemplating whether to fight the Demon.

If I give him a push, maybe… While I was thinking, Baren moved. The Royal Guard formed a barrier. But,

“It’s over.”

It must have been a full-power strike. The right straight Baren unleashed contained a considerable amount of magic power, finally shattering the barrier.

With their numbers reduced, the Royal Guard couldn’t withstand it any longer—they immediately moved to intercept, but they were struck by the Demon’s attack and sent flying. He didn’t kill them. Rather, was his intention to buy time to target the King’s neck?

Before I knew it, the other Royal Guards had also moved away from the King, leaving only Sofia and me to protect him.

Baren approached. In response, I moved. The opponent swung his right fist. Just as I had received the sword in the Kobold battle, I sensed the Demon’s magic power from instinct and experience—and achieved Magic Convergence.

I haven’t reached the level to fully reveal my inherent abilities yet. But if he takes this, he’ll become even more cautious.

Fist and sword clashed. As a result of strengthening with magic power… I withstood Baren’s punch.

“Well, well, to think the biggest obstacle would be a mercenary.”

His voice seemed to mock the Royal Guard—and at the same time, to be wary of me. Then Baren retreated once.

“Next, will be the decisive blow.”

I further strengthen my magic power. It’s enough to shake the surrounding humans, and amidst it, I silently watch the converging magic power.

It seems quite difficult to withstand that… no, wait, is there a way? I begin the magic incantation.

“Are you going to fight back?”

Baren asks. I don’t respond, instead I retreat while keeping my gaze on the Demon Race, and call out to the King.

It’s a bit forceful, but… I have no choice.

“King, I would like to borrow the power of your Sacred Sword.”

“…Mine?”

“A sword with Exorcism Power should be a decisive blow against the Demon Race in front of us. I will stop its movement. In that moment—”

To defeat a Demon Race that produces this much output, I would have to reveal my true power, but that’s a bad idea. So what do I do? I’ll draw out Kanan’s power here. In the game, he single-handedly defeated Baren, who didn’t use his Doppelganger Ability. So, if he goes all out, he can defeat it.

However, Kanan seems to be hesitating at my words. Perhaps in the game, there were no more humans left to protect, and he had no choice but to defeat the Demon Race—in other words, he had accepted his fate. But now it’s different. That’s why he’s hesitating, and also flinching at the sight of the Demonic Power.

But that’s the only way… just as I thought that,

“—Kanan.”

Sofia’s voice reached me, at a volume only I could hear. It was undoubtedly—

“…Huh?”

He seemed to remember the voice—he understood who it was.

Sofia revealed herself to Kanan, who was hesitating. What that would mean—before I could think, Baren started to move.

“First, it’s you!”

Baren charges furiously with his shout. The Royal Guard also moves to interfere, but he closes the distance to me even faster.

To counter, I imbue my sword with magic power. If I were to take it head-on, there’s a chance I’d be overpowered and blown away.

As a counter-strategy—I activate magic.

“O light, destroy my enemy!”

Light attribute Intermediate Magic, “Secret Area”—originally, this magic creates a magic circle at the enemy’s feet, and light engulfs the enemy. Its power is lower compared to other light attribute Intermediate Magic.

Moreover, now that it’s the real world, there’s a slight time lag from when the magic circle appears at the feet until the light is produced, so it’s not very practical due to the possibility of it being dodged.

However, I’m going to apply this—the magic circle appeared in the air directly in front of me, as if to intercept Baren.

“What—?”

The moment Baren cried out, light erupted from the magic circle. It didn’t scatter but coalesced into a single, sharp spear—but even seeing that, the opponent threw a punch without hesitation.

“I’ll just punch right through this!”

The light was fired. Its target was the punch Baren threw. The aim was precise, and the light converged towards Baren’s right fist.

They clashed, and the light and fist struggled for a moment, but eventually Baren pushed through… the balance broke, and Baren finally broke through.

But the magic power in his right fist also diminished—I activated more magic to suppress Baren’s attack.