Published: March 21, 2026
Most of the demonic beasts swarming Ria had been dealt with.
All that was left were Aurum and the beast he was using as a mount.
"...I'll tell you one good thing."
Even after the situation reversed and it was obvious we had the upper hand, Aurum's attitude didn't change at all.
No — he seemed even more relaxed than before.
My previously dormant Danger Sense was now blaring warnings nonstop.
"That whistle from before — even without it, we can control demons. Your right-hand there probably doesn't know, but that whistle has two functions. One is to send detailed commands to the beasts."
Aurum smiled strangely and glanced back at us.
"...The second is to relay the current situation to the Demon Clan even across long distances."
A voice I didn't recognize came from behind.
As we turned, Ria's barrier was breached by some means at the same time.
There was a sound like shattering glass and the light that had enveloped us vanished.
"I thought it was rare for you to call for backup, but what's with those wounds?"
A young man with black hair, black eyes, and a baby-faced look wore glasses. A cowlick wavered, and his pale hand pushed up his glasses.
He smiled cheerfully, but his eyes didn't smile at all.
As usual, the Demon Clan's excessive magical power overflowed from him, and even I felt a cold sweat down my back.
Ria had already fainted.
"Ah, Mahiro, you're late! This time even I was in trouble, so I called."
Despite his severe injuries, his tone hadn't changed since we first met.
An elf would have collapsed from similar wounds, but he showed no sign of it. Demons really did have weird life forces.
"I thought you were late because you were held up somewhere. Come on, let's go."
He had appeared behind us before I noticed.
"Wha—!?"
I had my nerves sharpened and was watching every movement, yet I couldn't react or even see him approaching.
There hadn't even been a trace of magic.
Without a doubt, he was stronger than Aurum.
"Mahiro... he said he's the Demon Clan's second-in-command."
Amelia said and stared at the suddenly appearing youth.
Second-in-command meant he was one step above Aurum.
The youth called Mahiro looked at Aurum's wounds, shook his head in mock pity, then looked at me.
"You and I might not get along so well. Hey, Oda Akira."
When he said my full name, my face tightened.
Hearing my name and seeing him made me realize something.
"Are you... maybe Japanese?"
In this world, names are said with family name first then given name, like foreigners. The intonation differs from Japanese, so it's hard to pronounce perfectly, but he had pronounced it exactly like Japanese.
And the name Mahiro — it sounded distinctly Japanese.
"Ah, well, I guess that's how it looks? I'm a little different from you lot, but yes, I'm Japanese. Name's Abe Mahiro. Nice to meet you—though I don't really want to."
What did he mean by 'a little different'? And why was he Demon Clan?
"Oh, no time to waste. I'll take that princess over there."
At those words, I stepped forward to shield Amelia.
Nightfall settled into battle stance.
Sorry, but a downed Ria would have to wait — their target was Amelia.
"Heh, I figured you wouldn't need the third-in-command to snatch one princess, but I didn't expect they'd drag me into it."
Mahiro muttered as if talking to no one, then pressed his hands together.
Paaan!
A clear sound echoed.
Something like letters shot out from between his open hands.
A vast number of characters arranged themselves in a circle, forming a magic circle.
I saw characters I'd never seen and symbols that weren't even letters, all kinds of glyphs aligned with no error.
They sparkled beautifully.
Mahiro completed an incredibly intricate magic circle in a matter of seconds and immediately activated it.
"'Physical Puppet'"
The magic circle glowed red as magical power was poured into it, then flew toward us.
"Dodge! Amelia!!!"
"Kya!!"
I braced, thinking I was the target, but the magic circle headed straight for Amelia.
I noticed and shouted, but it was too late.
The magic circle struck Amelia, sending her flying into the wall.