In an instant, countless Demon Beasts had entered the village. They looked like wolves but were much more ferocious than ordinary wild wolves.
The sudden arrival of the Demon Beasts made it very difficult for the villagers to resist. With a barrier at the edge of the forest, they had no defense whatsoever, and even if they were prepared, they would not be able to withstand the attack.
People screamed and ran around the village like headless chickens. Many had been brought down by the Demon Beasts.
"Ayanokouji-sama, Emilia-sama, please stand behind me." Rem pulled out a large meteor hammer and spoke with a serious face.
'How are you carrying such a big ball on you? Does it have some sort of spatial magic? But that's not important. This is a great opportunity to see Rem's strength.' Ayanokouji thought to himself.
This time, the Demon Beast invasion was arranged by him. He had asked Elsa to destroy the barrier at the edge of the forest first and then had Meili control the Demon Beasts to make them sleep near the village, waiting for orders.
The reason he did this was to create great chaos in the village so that Rem and the others could not protect it at all, giving him the chance to go into the depths of the forest and draw out people from the Witch Cult.
Not only that, but he could also make an appearance in this incident to gain Rem and the others' trust. At the same time, he could let Emilia drive away the Demon Beasts, improving her image in the villagers' hearts.
This village was crucial to the Mansion, but for Ayanokouji, if he wanted to increase the sense of crisis caused by this event, the village would surely suffer again. The more damage inflicted on the village, the better the effect after it was over, and Emilia could also be allowed to guide the village's reconstruction, gaining further trust from the villagers.
Many houses would be destroyed, and some villagers might even die, but he didn't care, as these people were not very useful for ensuring the event went off without a hitch. It didn't matter if some of them were sacrificed.
As long as his goals were achieved, he didn't care how many villagers were sacrificed.
Everything started according to the script he had devised.
❀❀❀
"He actually led the Demon Beasts to attack a village in his own territory! Is this man insane?"
Crusch slammed her fist on the table, her eyes filled with anger and frustration.
Though she was in an opposing camp, she was essentially honest and felt that Ayanokouji's actions were contemptible.
"Is this man willing to do anything to achieve his own goals?! He really led the Demon Beasts to attack his own village… This person is crazy."
Crusch said through clenched teeth. Initially, she thought that if Ayanokouji came to her camp, the throne would be assured.
But now, she would never allow someone like Ayanokouji to join her faction. This person was too dangerous.
"Crusch-sama, I understand your feelings, but for someone with an honest personality like you, the person named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is the most dangerous enemy because he will use any means to achieve his goals."
Beside her was an elderly man in formal attire, with a strong figure and a very polite demeanor. He was Sword Demon, Wilhelm van Astrea.
"For Emilia-sama, she has never seen Ayanokouji's true face from start to finish, and if his goal is achieved, it will only benefit Emilia's faction and not harm... The mind of this person is just like a real Demon Beast. If Ayanokouji really comes to this world in the future, we must consider him our number one enemy."
"Felix feels the same way; Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is too dangerous!"
Felix beside him immediately spoke, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"And he is the type that is the hardest for Crusch-sama to handle…"
Crusch frowned. Initially, Emilia was the weakest among the throne candidates, but with the addition of Ayanokouji, she was full of threats.
❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱
"Why are the Demon Beasts coming here? Could the barrier at the edge of the forest have been destroyed?!"
Rem was already entangled with the Demon Beasts. She swung the meteor hammer, which was completely out of proportion to her size, smashing the Demon Beasts one by one into pieces.
Such strange power was not available to ordinary people, and Emilia also used ice magic to support Rem.
But the number of Demon Beasts far exceeded their capabilities, and countless Demon Beasts passed them in an instant.
"The children!" Emilia shouted anxiously.
She didn't know if the children who were next to her had escaped, but now she couldn't be bothered at all; there were too many Demon Beasts in front of her.
"Help! Help!"
But at that moment, she heard a series of cries. Looking up, she saw that the children, including Meili, had been captured by the Demon Beasts like trophies, but the Demon Beasts did not immediately eat the children; instead, they turned and ran out of the village.
"Children!"
Emilia was extremely angry, but now she had no way to cast more magic to stop the fleeing Demon Beasts, and the same went for Rem.
"I will save the children."
Ayanokouji pulled out a dagger borrowed from Felt and immediately pursued them. "Emilia, protect me!"
"Ayanokouji, that's too dangerous!" Emilia shouted. "Without magic, you're no match for the Demon Beasts!"
"I'm armed, and I can't leave the children alone." Ayanokouji replied without hesitation. "You must protect the others here."
"But…" Emilia had no choice.
As there was a gap in the Demon Beasts' attack, she immediately released a burst of ice magic to cover Ayanokouji's pursuit.
"Ayanokouji-sama."
Rem also watched his figure disappear with some concern but had to get back into the battle in front of her.
"Rem, the number of Demon Beasts seems to be decreasing. Let's quickly get rid of these Demon Beasts and go support Ayanokouji!" Emilia shouted loudly to Rem.
"Yes!" Rem replied, swinging her ball harder.
The scene shifted. In the forest, Ayanokouji had just run, slowed down, and walked into an open area.
In the open area, Petra and the other children lay on the ground, unconscious, with bite marks from the Demon Beasts on their hands.
"I have handled them as requested by Ayanokouji-sama! The curse will last for about half a day."
Meili had waited for a long time, coming out of the forest with several Demon Beasts by her side. Those that were initially fierce now looked like docile puppies.
"Petra and the others are my good friends, but if necessary, Meili can kill them now."
Ayanokouji looked at the children lying on the ground and put his hand into his pocket. The flower Petra had given him was inside. It was just a trivial gift; no matter how sincere the child who gave it was, it would not change this.
This was what he thought in his heart.
"No need for now; they are still useful." Ayanokouji said calmly, not focusing on the children even for a moment. "Let the Demon Beasts drive away the surrounding animals and keep their attention away from us. There is someone in the mansion who has the ability to share vision with animals. Although the chances of Ram activating her ability right now are very low, we must take precautions before that happens."
"Yes!" Meili nodded and then waved her hand, causing the nearby Demon Beasts to disperse immediately.
A commotion occurred around the forest, and a slender, alluring woman emerged from the shadows – Elsa.
"Master, the location of the mad cultists' fortress has been found, and what you wanted is also ready."
As she spoke, a meaningful smile appeared on her face. She then removed her hand from her beautiful, exposed chest, reached into her black clothing, and pulled out a black book – the Gospel.
"I found a man alone, so as per Master's request, I took the book he carried. Of course, I also took his intestines. There are many Demon Beasts in this forest, and they ate the intestines. This should be a common occurrence for these cultists!"
Elsa narrowed her eyes, her face slightly red as if recalling the sensation of playing with the intestines earlier, but she quickly returned to normal.
"But Master, I cannot understand the words in this book. What does it mean?"
"It's similar to a token."
Ayanokouji took the book and put it into his clothing. Through the information obtained in the previous regression, he knew that people in the Witch Cult seemed to possess the Gospel, and he planned to pretend to be the Sin Archbishop of Pride to contact the Sin Archbishop of Sloth.
"Let's go."
Ayanokouji immediately followed Elsa to the secret fortress established by Petelgeuse in the forest.
He knew that he had a very strong 'witch smell' on him, and there was no doubt that he was a member of the Witch Cult. In the last regression, Petelgeuse mentioned that the witch's aroma on him was comparable to that of a Sin Archbishop.
Many figures wearing black cloaks emerged from the ground – all members of the Witch Cult.
"It's a ghost!" Meili was startled, but Ayanokouji held Meili's hand firmly. "Don't be afraid, don't worry."
"Yes!" Meili nodded energetically.
"Let the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse, come to see me." Ayanokouji said calmly to the members of the Witch Cult surrounding him.
The cultists bowed deeply to him almost simultaneously and then vanished again.
"So, Ayanokouji-sama is very powerful!"
Meili raised her head and looked at him with admiration, while Elsa next to her signaled Meili to stop talking.
"What an honor! I am so excited! I can't wait! So, the one who is greatly loved by the witches actually wants to take the initiative to meet me! Taking the initiative to see me, so humble as I am! I feel so exalted… My brain is quaking!"
As the very familiar and unpleasant voice sounded, it was none other than the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse!
A very thin body with skin as pale as a corpse emerged from the forest.
Meili was terrified when she saw Petelgeuse and hid right behind Ayanokouji.
"I don't know who this lord is. I have never seen you in the church before."
A frightening and lecherous smile appeared on Petelgeuse's face, and his red eyes looked at him with curiosity.
"After seeing me, you still don't know my identity? Petelgeuse, you are so foolish." Ayanokouji said calmly, facing the person who killed him in the previous regression, with no hatred or other emotions in his heart.
"I… I…" Petelgeuse carefully considered his words. His calm tone conveyed an extremely arrogant undertone.
His eyes suddenly widened in shock, and then he suddenly realized: "You possess so much goodness, so much that it makes me envious, so much that I am jealous of you, it could even be said to be above the Sin Archbishop – now the position of Pride is vacant… Could you be the Sin Archbishop of Pride?!"
Ayanokouji did not speak but looked at him indifferently, as if acknowledging the other's question.