“...Ummmm…”

Iliya looked around with a pained expression, as if she had a headache.

She understood the concept of Second Ordeal well.

To put it simply, it was a battle royale where one had to survive in harsh terrain.

It was obvious that they would be thrown into an area swarmed with Demonic Creatures with only a simple bundle of survival tools.

In that regard, the current situation was definitely something she couldn’t grasp, even if she mustered all the common sense she possessed.

“...Where on earth did you get all those?”

When Iliya asked that in a troubled voice, one of the men surrounding her spun the longsword in his hand without answering.

“...”

‘No, seriously!’

‘I thought this is a test of survival where we’re supposed to go barehanded?’

‘But those guys are fully armed! They clearly want to kill us!’

‘No matter how I look at it, these people didn’t barge their way into the Hero Selection ‘fairly’ at all!’

‘Is this the thing that Lana was so smug about?’

“...”

After looking at the sunlight that was reflected off their longswords and armors, Iliya looked down at her own attire.

Cloth boots, pants and top.

Compared to the opposition’s gear, which wouldn’t look out of place even on a real battlefield, hers looked more like a farmer’s attire.

If someone had the power to get these kinds of people into the Hero Selection, that meant they were incredibly powerful. That also meant their minions wouldn’t be ordinary folks.

Even for her, facing such skilled individuals with just this kind of equipment, she’d need to risk her life to even begin.

“Excuse me, could you at least tell me why you are doing this?”

“Iliya Krisanax, you are not our target.”

“...Huh?”

“You can still walk away. We shall spare you if you do.”

The man who said this then pointed his sword at Dowd, who looked as if he had lost his soul.

“Our target is that man. Keep quiet and step back. We can at least spare your life then. Killing a Hero Candidate would cause quite the aftermath, so we’d rather not do it if we have the choice.”

“...”

‘Their target is Teach, huh?’

Iliya nodded solemnly.

‘Alright, now that I know their objective, it’s easier to guess their affiliation.’

‘Since they are going for Teach, then I can make an educated guess from a list of potential suspects…’

“...”

After a moment of thought, Iliya asked in an even more solemn manner.

“...Where are you from…?”

“...”

“You see, there’s more than just one or two people who want him dead, so if you could at least give me a hint about who—”

“...This is your last warning. Step back now and hand over that man.”

‘Ah, they’re from the Holy Land.’

From their words and the battle-oriented Graces imbued in their equipment, Iliya managed to deduce as such.

Which meant, they were people who had come in under Archbishop Luminol’s influence.

After figuring out this far, everything suddenly made sense for her. Considering what Dowd did to his daughter, it would be strange if they didn’t pull out something like this.

“...Sigh.”

Iliya sighed before pulling out a short dagger from among her bundle of tools.

‘Its edge is blunted…’

The dagger was clearly not meant for combat. At least it could be used for skinning or cutting meat. In other words, it was no different from junk.

“...What do you think you’re doing?”

Someone questioned why she was pulling that out, but…

At the very next moment…

-!

That same person shot up vertically.

Because Iliya had swiftly approached him and thrusted the dagger in her hand upwards.

If his equipment had been any worse than this, it wouldn’t be weird for him to be knocked out right then and there. That was how much force she put behind that strike.

The man who was flung into the air then fell onto the ground. At this sight, his comrade furrowed their brows before opening up his mouth.

“...What are you playing at?”

Instead of answering, Iliya glanced back briefly.

She carefully observed Dowd’s reaction.

Usually, he was someone whose eyes always sparkled with intelligence when he was thrown into a combat situation, but now, only bewilderment enveloped his expression.

“...”

There wasn’t the slightest hint of him ‘returning’ yet.

Which meant, without her, he was as good as dead.

“...Have you lost your mind?”

As she did so, such a comment came out from the front.

“Even if you’re a Hero Candidate, it’s impossible for you to take on all of us with such poor equipment. Do you wish to die that badly?”

“Of course I don’t.”

Iliya spun the dagger in her hand before letting out a smirk.

“But, you see, if it’s for Teach, it’s worth risking my life at least once.”

“...”

The group of men drew their swords with a sigh before activating the Graces on their equipment.

“...This is your choice.”

At worst, he was a high rank Battle Priest, but either way his combat capabilities were beyond Iliya’s.

And that wasn’t even considering his subordinates. Fighting them here was pretty much a suicidal move, as her odds of victory was just flat out zero.

“Then die here, Iliya Krisanax.”

“...Sigh.”

However…

This time, instead of running away…

Iliya merely let out a sigh and scratched her head.

‘What a hassle.’

‘Seriously, your luck when it comes to people is the worst, Teach!’

‘But…’

“Guess I’m also to blame for falling for him first.”

Following that, Iliya and the armed men clashed fiercely.

“...Eleanor?”

Someone suddenly appeared from the black space, of course I’d be dumbfounded like this.

[...You.]

I wasn’t the only one who reacted as such. After seeing Eleanor emanating grey aura from all over her body, even the White Devil’s eyes shook.

After that, she gritted her teeth.

[In me and my mate’s nest…that damn punk’s Vessel da—]

Hearing those words, my expression immediately became twisted.

‘...Nest?’

But, she hadn’t told me such a thing.

Her choice of words sounded extremely ominous.

“...”

Ah, I see.

I understood.

‘...She had no intention of letting me out from the very start.’

As soon as I thought that, a bitter smile formed on my lips.

The reason why she imposed such cumbersome restrictions like roles or whatever was to seize the ‘initiative’.

Getting me to follow the role meant she’d pull some trick to trap me in this world with her forever.

And if I were to break my role, just like what I did, she’d just yap about how I broke the restrictions or whatnot to extort the ownership of my soul.

Both paths would end in me facing a hellish dilemma of being bound by this punk.

Moreover…

I wasn’t the only one who realized this. Eleanor, who had been silent until now, spoke up about it.

“...Nest?”

Her red eyes shone even more intensely.

Was she angry? No, she was already way past that.

“From the very start…you…”

And then, in the following sentence…

Her voice was torn apart.

[You were planning on ú´ÂÁö, monopolizingî°¡ that man, weren't you?]

“...”

“...”

Wait.

As soon as I heard the static come out of her voice, I instinctively knew.

Eleanor wasn’t the one who spoke.

But another entity using her ‘body’ to speak.

[Grey…!]

And as Yuria’s expression changed, rage surged in the White Devil’s eyes.

[How dare you show your shameless, brazen face…! In my space…!]

Of course, it wasn’t like she was amicable prior to this…

But now, she made an expression as if she had encountered her mortal enemy.

Following that, white aura flickered throughout the space.

The pitch black space instantly turned white, proof that the White Devil was trying to exert her full power.

[I WILL KILL YOU–!!]

While the Demonic Aura of Devils was always threatening, the intensity of the White Devil’s Aura within this Image World was on another level. It even surpassed the time when Grey Devil managed to exert her aura in the Material Realm.

“...”

Anyway, there should be some kind of backstory between these two.

I mean, there was no way they came to hate each other so much for no reason at all.

As I was thinking this, White Demonic Aura surged towards Eleanor all at once.

However…

-!!

-!

-...

The Demonic Aura stopped suddenly.

As if ‘time’ itself had been frozen solid, the White Demonic Aura that touched its grey counterpart completely froze.

[...!]

At that sight, the White Devil’s expression twisted slightly.

[...]

And then, at the same time…

Time itself froze.

The color of the surrounding space was slowly ‘eroded’ from pitch-black darkness to grey.

Which meant the White Devil was losing initiative.

‘...Does this even make sense?’

 

Even I was taken aback when witnessing this.

All Devils, regardless of the dimension, held a supreme status, capable of exerting their power within another’s Image World.

However, at least when it came to any ‘mental-related’ domain, the White Devil was ahead of them all.

But to think the Grey Devil could display this level of ability within a world where that kind of existence held absolute dominion. How could this be?

-...

-...!

Due to the creeping Grey Aura, the space that was already desolate to look at began to halt completely, making it looked even more bland.

It affected everyone, whether it was Eleanor, who was being used by the Grey Devil, me, or even the White Devil.

The latter seemed to be able to move somewhat though, perhaps because she belonged in the same hierarchy as Grey. Meanwhile Eleanor, the Vessel and I, who possessed the Fallen’s Seal, were both frozen.

[...Haaaa…]

Then, something descended from the sky.

Following a sigh and a Swish…

A being landed gently on the ground.

On top of their head, a ‘crown’ reminiscent of a halo rested.

This was the Grey Devil.

A Ruler of Pandemonium.

The strongest one among them all.

[Because of you… Because of you, my mate… Because of you-!]

As soon as she saw the Grey Devil, the White Devil let out a cry of perhaps despair.

[I know.]

That response immediately returned.

[I am sure you ú´Â hate me. And I also know ú´Â you think that man’s death later is my fault.]

“...”

Words that I couldn’t just let pass over my head were heard.

‘I’m going to die?’

‘Later?’

“...”

‘Hey, Grey Devil? What is that supposed to mean?’

While I was thinking this…

[But still.]

The pupils of the Grey Devil opened up horizontally.

When compared to the innocent and naive appearance she usually showed me, the difference was chilling.

There was malice.

One that was concentrated with a pitch-black emotion held for the one across from her.

While wearing such an expression, the Grey Devil reached right in front of the White Devil in an instant.

“...!”

For the first time since I had seen this being, she was wearing such an intense amount of malice that made me think that it was fitting of her to be called a ‘Devil’.

In a moment, as a suffocating sensation simultaneously enveloped me, the Grey Devil stretched out both hands towards the White Devil.

[That ¾î°¡ man…]

And then, as soon as they made contact…

The White Devil was ‘torn’ to shreds.

It happened in an instant, as if she had been thrown into a shredder.

The entire figure of the White Devil blurred and flickered, like a video that had been disrupted by signal interference.

Her mouth opened. Though it was probably to scream out in agony…

But, before she could even do that, the Grey Devil grabbed the only intact part of the shredded White Devil - the head.

[He is ¾´öC mine.]

Following that, the punk slammed that head onto the ground.

With a full swing, as if clearly intending to ‘smash’ it.

Again, the figure of the White Devil flickered. Her expression twisted in terrible pain.

[He is ÇÏ¿¡ mine.]

Without paying any attention to such a phenomenon, the red glow in the Grey Devil’s eyes intensified with ferocity. She lifted the White Devil’s head again…

And slammed it down onto the ground.

Again.

And again.

Repeatedly.

As if she was dead set on completely annihilating the being in front of her.

With a Crack, the ground broke apart. White fragments scattered in all directions.

The area shook as if struck by an earthquake. Yet even so, the hostility emanating from the Grey Devil showed no signs of abating.

As if laying down punishment for daring to lay hands on what belonged to her.

[Do not öCÏ¿ lay your hands on him.]

Along with a Craaaaack…

The space shattered into pieces. Along with the remnants of the White Devil’s body, the Demonic Aura that had risen in the area dispersed like shattered glass.

“...”

‘Dude.’

 

‘Sure, I get that you’re strong, but both or you are Devils.’

‘What the fuck is this overwhelming difference in power?’

The Grey Devil displayed strength that was far beyond it should have been capable of.

Almost as if…

She had gone beyond the hierarchy among Devils, being the sole one to exert a power almost akin to a transcendent.

‘...But how?’

 

Though I didn’t know what had happened for this punk to be that powerful…

For now…

“...”

‘Grey Devil scawy…’

I thought that with all my heart.