Before the Battle with Redras, I thought things over again. We’d encountered Monsters, but taken no damage, and had plenty of Magic Power. However, since Sofia and the others couldn’t use Intermediate Techniques or Magic yet, there was a non-zero chance of insufficient firepower… I had my worries, but we had to do this.

“It’s finally happening,”

Alto muttered before the door. It seemed he sensed that Redras, our target, was beyond this point.

Stella and Sofia also seemed to sense it from the atmosphere… Kyarun’s expression was grim. Ignos also looked tense, perhaps from the strained atmosphere… Eventually, Alto stepped forward.

At that moment, the door began to open on its own. Everyone immediately readied their Weapons—Alto and Stella in front, Sofia and Kyarun behind them. Behind them, Ignos and I were positioned as the rear guard… One could say we were in perfect formation.

From an offensive standpoint, Alto is definitely the main force. Although, in terms of level, Sofia might be slightly higher… As I thought, I could see beyond the door. It was a large hall, spacious enough for us to maneuver without issue. There were no windows, but magical lights were everywhere, making the room quite bright.

In the center of that hall… Redras stood in the middle of a floor with complex patterns, like a mandala.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Perhaps to meet us in battle, he held a spear in his hand—a spear with a cross-shaped blade.

“I acknowledge the strength that brought you this far. But your advance ends here.”

His voice resonated heavily through the hall—his face was smooth, as if wearing a mask, and his skin was metallic, emitting a blue luster. Additionally, his devilish features were tinged with belligerence, perhaps because we were looking at him.

His physique was not quite double that of a Human, but considerably massive. His blue skin was clad in deep purple armor from head to toe. The sight of him holding a spear was truly dignified, like a warrior, and his appearance gave off a palpable sense that he genuinely desired to fight head-on without any tricks… Such an aura was clearly felt.

During the Underground Investigation, the Doll King had instructed the surrounding Dark Dolls not to interfere with his fight against me… Seeing Redras before me, I thought such a personality wouldn’t be surprising. He had no need for any underhanded tactics; having come this far, he would fight with all his might… Such an will was overflowing.

From my perspective, he’s an easy opponent to deal with… but his martial prowess, even with Magic Power flowing into the earth, is undoubtedly real. It’s certainly far from his original strength, but even so, his spear attacks are a threat… I must be careful.

“…Let’s go!”

Alto said. Stella nodded in agreement—and the two of them dashed forward simultaneously.

The battle begins. In the game, special music for the Redras battle would play here. Each of the Five Great Demons has their own dedicated theme, but in Redras’s case, I remember a fast BPM sound with explosive drums and crunchy guitars.

As I watched Redras before me, that music welled up in my head… I noticed Sofia and Kyarun starting to move.

“Can you withstand my power?”

He swung his spear. This Weapon, befitting his physique, had a much wider attack range than a Human’s, and seemed capable of cleaving ten Soldiers in half with a single swing.

Alto stepped in without hesitation. His Sword Strike was imbued with power, and he swung his sword to meet the spear. A head-on clash. In the meantime, I began my Incantation to provide support.

The next moment, Stella also attacked. The movements of their two swords synchronized, heading towards the spear. They intended to hold him back together… The moment I realized this, they clashed.

“Ugh…!”

Alto groaned. But he immediately parried the spear and counterattacked. With a charge, he thrust his sword straight forward.

Seeing that move, I determined it to be ‘Shield Crush,’ a Greatsword low-level skill. Its attack power was decent, but it was supposed to be a skill meant to destroy an opponent’s armor and lower their defense… However,

“Useless.”

Redras quickly pulled his spear back and blocked the attack. The skill failed. His movements were agile, unbefitting his massive frame.

“Your movements are quite good, but—”

While Redras muttered, Alto and Stella pressed their attack further. They moved in sync, spreading out to the left and right. This made their opponent momentarily hesitate with his spear movements.

They must have known from the beginning that a simple test of strength wouldn’t work. That’s why Alto and the others countered with coordinated attacks as siblings.

Here, I first used attack power boosting Magic on Alto. Magic Power settled within him—and he launched another sword strike. It was ‘Sky-Rending Sword,’ and Redras moved to direct his spear towards it.

Then Stella moved. She unleashed ‘Edge Smash,’ a low-level Generic Technique, a downward swing imbued with Magic Power from above.

Simultaneous attack—furthermore, Sofia and Kyarun were also heading towards Redras. How would Redras move now?

“—I see.”

The moment he muttered, Redras’s spear was aimed at Alto. It deflected the Greatsword—but Stella’s attack hit directly.

However, Redras didn’t flinch despite taking the hit. It must have affected him—at this point, Sofia and Kyarun attacked simultaneously.

First, Kyarun swept with her Dagger. Next, Sofia cried out.

“Yaaah!”

What he unleashed was a “Fire Slash” – a frontal Sword Strike that hit Redras before his defense could reach. It was a diagonal flash across his body… it should have undoubtedly dealt damage, but Redras himself remained unfazed.

“A splendid attack. It’s understandable that you’ve come this far. But -“

He moved to swing his spear. Then Alto and Sofia’s group all retreated at once to escape the range. Redras saw their movement and paused his action. Perhaps he was observing, as he merely held his spear, showing no sign of pursuing.

“You are quite the humans. The previous Knight Order couldn’t do anything against me.”

“That’s because there was a barrier, or so I heard from the humans who defeated you,”

Alto said. Then Redras let out a muffled laugh.

“I see… and understanding that your blades could reach me, you came all this way.”

“That’s right. It seems our attacks are effective… so, I’ll defeat you here!”

Alto’s declaration. With that, Redras laughed again.

“Interesting… try it!”

A confident voice – at this point, I made a guess. In the previous exchange, he might have intentionally taken Stella’s and Sofia’s Sword Strikes. If his intention was to take them head-on and confirm their skill –

Alto dashed. As if in sync, Stella also began to move, creating a similar formation as before.

What would Redras do…? Or rather, he should be able to forcefully change the tide of battle with his spear, but why wasn’t he doing so?

While inwardly guessing Redras’s intentions, I began my incantation – at the same time, Alto slashed from the right. Redras parried it with his spear, then immediately deflected Stella’s attack approaching from the left.

Sofia tried to step in again, but Redras’s reaction speed was superior, and she stopped her advance without being able to attack.

“What’s wrong?”

Redras asked. Then Alto moved to attack again – at that moment, I noticed.

Stella was still not moving. Only Alto was attacking, and their coordinated attack wasn’t working.

Redras didn’t miss that. It’s unclear if he was aiming for this, but he likely found an opening in the battle – and was definitely aiming for a counter.

He wasn’t relying on brute force, but countering with skill… perhaps Redras wanted to do that.

The spear was thrust. Its target was Alto – he reacted instantly, twisted his body, and barely avoided the spear.

Then Stella and Sofia attacked. Both succeeded in landing a hit, but they were shallow… While they attacked, Alto escaped the range, and Redras pulled his spear back.

Sofia’s group also tried to retreat immediately after attacking, but Redras was one step faster in launching another attack –