Jack of All Trades, Party of None

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The capital of this country, Kyokutō, is built between the plains stretching from the sea and the towering Sacred Mountain behind it.

The water flowing from the Sacred Mountain circles the city, while the sea supports trade with foreign countries.

The Sacred Mountain, symbolizing the people's faith, and the sea, providing their livelihood.

Protected by both, the center of this country—the capital city Hanemiya—has flourished.

We teleported to the outskirts of Hanemiya, to the remains of a shrine quietly nestled in the forested mountains.

Looking up, the sky was dyed entirely black.

However, when I turned my gaze to the opposite side of Hanemiya, a clear blue sky stretched out.

It’s natural to think that this black sky is covering Hanemiya.

Strictly speaking, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s like the sky around a volcano being covered in volcanic ash when it erupts.

As we approached Hanemiya, we increasingly encountered people fleeing away from the capital.

In the midst of this, we found a second monster.

It seemed to be chasing after the fleeing people.

“I won’t let this country be ravaged any further!” Mr. Haruto shouted as he struck with a fist wrapped in qi.

The monster struck by his fist was blasted away.

As expected, attacks using qi were effective; the monster couldn’t maintain its form and turned into a liquid mana spreading across the ground.

“...Its ecology is close to that of a mana lifeform,” I muttered watching this, and Shion next to me nodded.

“Yeah. But it doesn’t seem to have intelligence like fairies or demons. It acts on instinct alone, like a beast-like mana lifeform,” Shion explained.

Mana is originally just energy.

But occasionally, a “spirit” with a seed of self-awareness appears.

This becomes a core that absorbs the surrounding mana, eventually transforming into an intelligent being.

Such beings born like this are called mana lifeforms—those friendly to humans are called ‘fairies,’ and hostile ones are called ‘demons.’

However, the monster currently appearing is a bit different.

It’s an unintelligent mana lifeform somewhere between a spirit and a mana lifeform.

“An unintelligent mana lifeform, huh. I suppose you could call it a ‘phantom demon,’” I said.

“...I see,” Shion quietly muttered.

“It has a body, but it’s uncertain. It ‘exists’ but something feels missing. Yeah, it’s like a phantom.”

“The lack of intelligence makes it tough since it’s not someone you can reason with.”

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After that, we continued running while slaying phantom demons we encountered along the way and finally reached Hanemiya.

The number of phantom demons inside Hanemiya was more than I had imagined.

People believed to be soldiers of Kyokutō were fighting desperately in various places, but they seemed to be losing ground.

And, just as the girl we saved at the start said, pure mana was continuously gushing from the mid-slope of the Sacred Mountain.

The black, clouded sky was still expanding its range.

If left as is, eventually all of Kyokutō would be consumed.

We needed to stop that eruption as soon as possible.

But we also couldn’t ignore the phantom demons rampaging through the city.

“We’ll split up. One team heads to the Sacred Mountain, the other cleans up phantom demons here,” I suggested.

Shion was the first to move faster than anyone else.

“Got it! Since I’m good at wide-area combat, I’ll join the extermination team. Telshe, I’ll stop the phantom demons’ movements, so finish them off!”

“Understood, Shion-sama,” Telshe responded as she cast a spell.

A torrent of cold air enveloped the phantom demons.

The black surface of the monsters instantly froze, stopping their movements, and at that moment, Telshe’s qi-wrapped dagger pierced through the ice.

“We’re joining in too, Luna! I’ll deliver the finishing blow, so cover me!”

“Got it!”

Oliver and Luna joined the battle line, and with well-coordinated teamwork, they took down phantom demons one after another.