I mentally listed spells that don’t leak magic power. At this stage, most are lower-tier magic, but with my specialty magic, “Durandal,” I can use it for a moment without releasing magic power.

If I’m going to defeat the Demon Race, that’s probably the best option. However, it might be difficult to defeat him without taking any damage…?

Lord Ruon, I have a suggestion.

Suddenly, Lefin spoke.

A suggestion?

Why don’t we observe for a while?

Observe…?

Assuming you have to move without being detected, it must be difficult for you, Lord Ruon, right? Besides, I want to see how strong this spellcaster who creates monsters is.

Yes, I agree.

It seems like it has become a situation that piques the spirits’ curiosity… Well, I’m not uninterested myself, so I’ll observe for a while.

If Richard gets into trouble, I’ll help him and ask him what’s going on.

Understood.

Immediately after Lefin responded—Teres, the Demon Race, spoke.

It seems you won’t answer my questions.

…Yes, that’s right.

When Richard replied, Teres showed a ferocious smile.

“Then I’ll resort to force, and that’s fine, isn’t it?”

“…No matter how I respond, you’re going to crush me anyway, aren’t you?”

Richard spoke sarcastically and defiantly. Teres replied, “Well, yes,” and

“That’s how it is. You had bad luck… No, I suppose your execution was decided the moment you laid hands on our technology. If you had told us honestly, we could have at least given you an easy death—but it’s a shame.”

Teres moved. At the same time, the Demons also began to move… The next moment, the Ogres around Richard responded to the Demons’ movements and began to clash.

The clash between Monsters and Demons. It could be called unique even among the many Wars with Demons… Humans can artificially create and control Monsters to fight. But even that has a limit to their numbers. It is extremely difficult to single-handedly create enough Monsters to counter the Demon army led by Teres, which is why it is such a rare sight.

The Ogre swung its club, sending the Demon flying. It seems safe to assume that the abilities of both sides are evenly matched. However, the Ogre is larger, has a longer reach, and likely higher attack power. Therefore, if the numbers are similar, the Ogre might have the advantage.

But that’s only if they can maintain control. If they go berserk and the Ogres’ movements become chaotic, the battle situation will change dramatically—I look at Richard. He’s sweating on his forehead, but his expression still shows composure.

I don’t know how he acquired this, but it’s clear that he’s firmly controlling the Monsters and making their power his own.

He must have put in a considerable amount of effort to reach this point… As I watched, the battle situation changed. The Ogres gradually began to push back the Demons.

“…Sorry, but my Monsters are superior.”

Richard declared. As he spoke, the battle situation began to clarify. The Ogres’ attacks defeated the Demons one by one. Here I made a speculation—could it be that they are stronger compared to the original Ogres?

Their abilities seem higher even compared to the Ogres in that Tower. Could Richard have applied technology to successfully create stronger Monsters than usual? I thought that and observed… No, this is the result of training the Monsters.

Watching the battle between the Ogres and Demons, some individuals not only have simple attack power but also parry the Demons’ attacks. This means that their abilities are increasing in terms of combat technique rather than just inherent ability—in other words, they have been trained extensively.

Richard, who is in command, could be smiling at the advantageous situation… but despite his confident words, his expression is grim. He is convinced that Teres’s attack is not over yet.

“—I will defeat you.”

And Richard declared. The Demon race, on the other hand, smirked.

“I see, it seems it won’t be easy. But—”

In an instant, the magic power emanating from the Demon race intensified rapidly.

It seems this one is the transforming type—there are different kinds of Demons; some appear human-like and reveal their true nature in combat, while others have a human-like appearance as their true self. Neither is inherently stronger, but Executive Class Demons are usually the latter, and the Five Great Demons fall into that category.

This Demon… Judging from the amount of magic power, it hasn’t reached Executive Class. However, since it commands Demons, its abilities are considerably high. It’s probably an Executive candidate.

Teres’s appearance changed drastically. Visually, a jet-black wolf—the magic power it emitted was malevolent, a force more than sufficient to instill fear in people.

Its size was about two adults with their arms outstretched in width. Its body was proportionally large, and if Richard were hit by a charge from such a physique, he would surely die instantly.

“Now, let me dispose of you.”

The Demon spoke… Richard, on the other hand, maintained a stern expression, but his fighting spirit showed no signs of weakening.

“…I desperately thought about how to defeat a Demon like you.”

Richard spoke. An Ogre stood in front of him, preparing for Teres’s attack.

“I abandoned the Tower because I couldn’t possibly win against you there. That’s why I came here… I knew about this Fortress in the past, so I prepared to meet you.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.”

Teres, transformed into a jet-black wolf, replied.

“So you anticipated someone like me coming… Then, what do you plan to do?”

Even as he spoke, the surrounding battle was coming to an end. The Ogres, though reduced in number, successfully repelled the Demons. Only Teres remained.

“—I’m going to do this.”

The moment Richard spoke, the Ogres charged towards the Wolf. But,

“It’s useless.”

With a growl, Teres moved. Using its sharp claws on both front paws, it swiftly tore through an Ogre.

Perhaps due to their durability, the Ogres weren’t defeated in a single blow. Some even managed to land attacks, but Teres seemed largely undamaged.

Unlike the other Demons, this one seems to be in a league of its own… Richard urged the Ogres on further. But their attacks, due to the difference in abilities, were mostly unsuccessful. Rather, they were only reducing their own numbers. What is he thinking?

Is he preparing some other strategy… Just as I thought that, a change occurred.

From the roofs and watchtowers of the buildings within the Fortress—perhaps they had been hiding—Kobolds suddenly appeared, surrounding the Demon race. And all of them were armed with bows.

“……Oh?”

Teres muttered, sounding interested.

“I see, you’ve brought out your hidden forces. But with just this—”

Teres probably tried to move. But it didn’t work. Because—

“While you were fighting the Ogre, I had your feet restrained.”

True to his words, the Demon Race seemed unable to move. This surprise attack made even Teres let out a small groan.

It was probably a monster called a “Shadow Dominator.” This monster existed on the continent even before the Demon Race appeared, and despite its name, it’s not particularly strong. However, when it reaches a character’s feet, it has the ability to immobilize them using a skill called “Shadow Bind.”

While Teres was distracted by the Ogre, Richard must have set this up… And with Kobolds surrounding him, it was easy to imagine what would happen next.

The next moment, a rain of arrows poured down on the Demon Race. How powerful were they? The Kobolds’ bows looked ordinary. However, the possibility of some kind of trick was… just as that thought crossed my mind, an arrow hit. In an instant, flames suddenly erupted from the arrow.

Magic arrows… but not just flames. Some exploded with lightning strikes immediately upon impact, while others generated whirlwinds. Arrows of various attributes struck the Demon Race directly… and even the Demon Race, as expected, cried out, seemingly wounded.