Ludin's eyes widened. His sword had been blocked by a man whose entire body was covered in leaves and a beast's hide. A white hood obscured his face, and the tail-end of his robe fluttered from under his strange attire. Ignoring his appearance, Ludin's attention was wholly focused on something else. This man had deflected his blade with his bare hands, with the strength comparable to that Ogre they called an Apostle!
"… This bastard?!"
Even though he was struck with astonishment, Ludin rotated his body in the air and swung his blade at this new enemy. However, the stranger delivered a swift kick to his abdomen before his attack could connect. Ludin's muscles screamed in pain as the heavy blow struck his stomach and, with the sound of twisting viscera, Ludin was launched dozens of meters back before falling and rolling across the ground.
"Kuh… Ack…!"
Ludin was hunched over in agony, clutching his abdomen. Aris ran over to him in horror. The Orcs and Ogres, even the Holy Knights, paused before slowly separating themselves from one another, no longer interested in fighting.
"W-who?!" Ellin shouted in surprise.
Kuman turned to stare at Tom in shock, while Karakul stood in stunned silence.
'… Master?!'
Lily stared at Tom dumbfoundedly, confusion written across her face. Tom had avoided meeting the Demon Lord, but now, he had personally stepped in to protect her. Karakul gritted his teeth at his own incompetence and clenched his fist. He had forced his master to intervene due to a moment of carelessness.
"…Uh. Uh?"
Lily's heart raced uncontrollably. A fearsome amount of Holy Power had been racing toward her within the silvery steel of the Hero's blade just moments ago. Her mind had blanked and the word 'death' had flashed in her mind. She had wanted to scream. However, just as she was at death's door, someone had saved her. Lily looked at the back of her savior. It was familiar: a strange, nostalgic feeling stirred within her. She knew this back.
'… I saw it back at the City of Twilight. Was it the Ain who had been drinking on the bar's balcony?'
Meanwhile, Tom remained stock still, facing away from Lily.
'This makes things complicated.'
Tom felt helpless. If only Karakul had been present, him stepping in wouldn't have mattered, but now here he was with the Demon Lord. The desires he had been holding back for so long were becoming unbearable.
He smiled faintly; he had finally met her, just like he wanted. But now wasn't the right time. With trembling hands he pulled his hood further down, before turning to Ludin
In truth, he wanted to back out of this. Tom was Ludin's senior when it came to being a Hero, but that didn't mean Ludin was weak. Considering Ludin's prowess with the blade, Tom wouldn't be able to deal with him half-heartedly.
"Sh… it…!"
Ludin vomited blood and bile. He gasped for air while retching, as more of the stuff leaking from his nose.
"Ludin! Ludin! Are you ok? Can you stand?! Wait a moment! With healing magic…!"
Aria supported him and cast healing magic with her staff. Ludin ignored her and glared at Tom with bloodshot eyes.
"… Aren't you an Ajin?"
Others may not have noticed, but through Ludin's eyes—the eyes of a Hero—he could discern that Tom was not a Demon. His disguise had already been poorly designed to begin with, and the hand that had deflected Ludin's sword was wrapped in 'Holy Power'.
"You bastard, are you human?! Wait a moment, Holy Power as well…? Holy Knight? Are you a Holy Knight?!"
Aris was shocked by Ludin's words.
"What?! It can't be… a human? Really?"
Aris looked at Tom. With his hood, she couldn't be sure, but he certainly had a presence unlike a demon's.
"You dare protect the Demon Lord? Are you a heretic?! You bastard, you must be a heretic!"
Ludin staggered to his feet, gripping his Holy Sword. He trembled with rage.
'I was moments away from cutting the Demon Lord's neck! Why did this bastard have to come to ruin it all!'
Tom sensed Ludin's rage and narrowed his eyes. His golden eyes could discern the emotions of the soul, and Ludin's was turning dark red. He was unstable.
'He may come at me with nothing to lose.'
"Why is the Demon Lord standing around so cluelessly?" Tom muttered, still unable to look at her.
"Y-yes?"
Surprised, Lily responded in the formal tone she had adopted after so long. Tom continued speaking, ignoring her out-of-place mannerism.
"Your head… might become detached from your body if you linger here any longer. Shouldn't you be fleeing?"
"T-that might be true, but…"
Lily scanned the battlefield. She could see the fallen Orcs, Ogres, and Apostles. She would be abandoning them here if she fled. Guilt washed over her at the thought.
In her hesitation, Ludin made his move. He had heard their conversation, and knew he had to strike now while he had the chance.
"Aris! Support magic…!"
"Ah, okay!"
Aris raised her staff and began her incantation. All manner of buffs flowed into Ludin's body. As the glowing runes seeped into his body, he felt lighter, his strength returning to him. Ludin's feet pounded upon the earth as he rushed forward with a thunderous fury, his Holy Sword instilled with new strength. He was several times stronger than before.
Recognizing this change, Tom stepped back.
"… It's a bit too much for bare hands."
He quickly looked over at the weapons littered around him from fallen Orcs. He chose a worn wooden shield and a dull sword, taking a defensive stance with his them. Then, he instilled within them Holy Power, wrapping the weapons in a white light.
Ludin's sword and Tom's shield collided. Tom managed to deflect the Hero's sword and swung his own, but Ludin evaded his strike and counter-attacked. A common blade and the Holy Sword collided, sending sparks flying and creating a brilliant flash of light. The air and ground split along the path that the Holy Sword was swung, barely missing the tip of Tom's robe.
'This man… who is he?!'
Ludin was at wits' end. This man's movements were smooth, and his mastery of the sword and shield were at a different level. His overall physical ability and combat sense were unlike anything Ludin had seen before. Ludin's own strength and dexterity had been buffed by Aris's support magic, and his blade was the finest of all the equipment bestowed to him by the Holy Kingdom. However, the person before him stood strong, not giving an inch.
When their blades collided, Ludin glimpsed the face under the heretic's hood: it was a young man, the face of a man whose age wasn't all that different from his own. It wasn't anything special, other than his clear golden eyes which contrasted the deep scar along the right side of his face.
"Don't you think this is a bit unfair? To rush in all crazy like that when our equipment is so mismatched. Ah, are you trying to kill me?"
The corner of Tom's lips rose. Ludin could tell he was playing with him.
"Shut up! Heretic!"
"I said that word quite often in the past myself, but here's a piece of advice: that word is really meaningless!"
Ludin's suspicions were confirmed by Tom's words. The heretic was a 'Holy Knight'! In fact, one of great skill!
'Why is such a person in the Demon Army…?!'
Had he been seduced? Did the devils seduce this Holy Knight?! There was no other conclusion that Ludin could come to. This unnatural strength could only come from a contract with the devil! Was there any way that this man could stand against a Hero, such as himself, otherwise?
"You bastard, you must be a Holy Knight!"
"… Yes, though I'm only a probationary Holy Knight at the moment."
His joke was promptly ignored.
"Once a heretic, always a heretic!"
Ludin pushed away with his sword, making some distance between the two of them.
"How about this?!"
Ludin thrust his sword to the ground. Holy Power poured out of Ludin, coalescing and forming into swords, until hundreds of blades of light orbited him, aimed at Tom.
"Try blocking this, Heretic!"
Tom retreated a step.
"Take this!"
Ludin pulled his sword from the ground. One by one, the floating blades sliced through the air, shooting straight toward Tom.
Tom quickly jumped to his left. The swords of light fell upon the area where he had just been, completely destroying the earth in an explosion of force. The attack's frightening accuracy was a problem, but so was its destructive power.
"This is a bit dangerous…" Tom remarked.
Raising his head, he watched as more for the swords of light started racing toward him. Over the next few moments Tom repeatedly evaded the swords. He jumped back, ducked his head, and somersaulted. He rotated and maneuvered his body in all manner of ways, but even this wasn't enough to dodge hundreds of blades. He relented and switched to his sword and shield.
He raised his shield—fortified with Holy Power—to block one of blades he couldn't dodge, and it shattered. Now, using his sword, he carefully deflected the blades at a slant, as to avoid breaking his last remaining weapon. The blades ricocheted, flying in every direction. Even ss countless blades of light relentlessly pursued him, Tom kept calm and defended against the onslaught. But the sword in his hand couldn't withstand his continued abuse and shattered as well, allowing two blades to pierce his left leg and right shoulder.
Tom's eyes twitched in annoyance.
'This Holy Sword is quite the headache.'
It was like this with the Holy Knight at the Golden Fief, and with Ludin's equipment as well… Was there some magic equipment sale going on? Everyone he ran into as of late seemed to have a special weapon!
'… In my time, I couldn't afford to buy things like this even if I'd wanted to.'
"It's over!"