The hundred-plus gathered Demon King Cultists surged from all directions like a black tide.
Their black robes billowed in the firelight of the surrounding burning houses, various colors of mana light gathering in their palms.
“No matter how many of you gather, you pests who only rely on disgusting tricks are still useless!”
Victoria was the first to charge forward.
Channeling her mana, three aqua-blue magic circles unfolded in front of her one after another. Immediately after, several columns of water rushed out from the circles, scattering the dozen or so cultists in the front row.
Vivian stood slightly behind her to the side. With a gentle wave of her hands, the moisture in the air instantly condensed into countless tiny ice crystals, shooting toward the enemies like a torrential downpour.
The wounds of the cultists hit by the ice crystals rapidly froze over, making their movements sluggish and stiff before they were completely swallowed by Victoria's water dragons.
Lilith held her own on the right side.
Her fire magic was explosive and fierce, each exploding fireball sending several cultists flying.
She let out a delighted hum as she fought, her red ponytail dancing in the firelight. She was like a moving blaze, burning the enemies on the right side and forcing them back step by step.
Although things looked promising for the moment, the sheer number of enemies meant that gaps in their defense quickly appeared.
While Vivian was busy dealing with a group of enemies in front, several Demon King Cultists had already crept to her side to launch an attack.
But right then, Greg raised his hand, and a high-pressure water blade whistled through the air. Wave Current LV2 drew an arc in the sky, precisely slicing through the weapon of the leading cultist and knocking him back with undiminished force.
Vivian noticed the water blade. A light flashed in her eyes, and she froze the water blade into an ice blade. The ice blade shattered in midair into countless fragments, completely wiping out the cultists trying to ambush her.
Though they didn't speak, their coordination was as seamless as if they had practiced it a thousand times.
At the same time, Greg stomped his right foot on the ground, activating Earth-Rock Blast LV3.
The ground around Victoria suddenly bulged and then exploded. A shockwave of mana mixed with gravel and dirt knocked a group of cultists who had surrounded her to the ground.
With almost no hesitation, Victoria clapped her hands together. A massive wave of water materialized out of thin air, carrying the gravel and dirt and turning into a mudslide-like force that completely submerged the fallen cultists.
She didn't even need to look back to see who had created this opportunity for her, for she knew very well in her heart.
Lilith took a moment during the battle to glance toward the masked man, catching sight of this exact scene.
A wave of intense doubt welled up in her heart.
Why did that person wearing the face cloth cooperate so perfectly with her sister and Victoria?
And they didn't even show a hint of surprise, as if they had long been accustomed to fighting alongside this person.
Just what was going on?
Though she hadn't figured it out yet, she soon experienced the feeling herself.
Lilith condensed a large fireball and hurled it at the enemies gathering ahead. However, those enemies were scattered, and the fireball could only hit three or four of them at most, which was far from ideal.
Right then, several thick stone spikes suddenly rose from the ground, forming a semi-circular enclosure that trapped the scattered cultists inside.
And there was only one opening—facing directly toward the path of Lilith's incoming fireball.
“Boom!!!”
Lilith's fireball flew unobstructed into the stone-spike cage, exploding violently within the enclosed space.
With nowhere to escape, the flames bounced back and forth off the stone walls, multiplying the explosion's power. Before the seven or eight cultists could even scream, they were reduced to charcoal by the intense heat and shockwave.
Although Greg had never actually fought alongside Lilith in reality before, as one of the heroines in the original game, he naturally understood her combat style inside and out, allowing him to pull off such flawless coordination.
Unaware of this, Lilith froze.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the masked man in disbelief.
Why was this person so familiar with her combat style too?
It was as if they had worked together countless times... but she didn't even have a single close friend!?
In that brief moment of Lilith's distraction, a dark shadow lunged like a ghost from the side.
The burly cultist wielding the greatsword engulfed in black flames slashed horizontally at Lilith's waist.
The black flames trailed a scorching path through the air, carrying lethal intent.
“Lilith, watch out!”
Vivian and Victoria cried out almost simultaneously. They wanted to save her, but they were too far away, and there simply wasn't enough time.
“Eh?”
Only then did Lilith notice the attack, but at this distance, she had no time to dodge.
The moment the black greatsword was about to strike Lilith, Greg, who had been standing several meters away, suddenly vanished from the spot like a dissipating shadow.
In the next second, he appeared right in front of Lilith. At some point, a violet-gold circular shield had appeared on his left arm, its surface covered in menacing thorn patterns.
“Clang!!!”
A heavy, metallic clash echoed through the alley.
The greatsword engulfed in black flames struck the violet-gold circular shield heavily. Forget breaking the shield—the moment the blade made contact, it was repelled by a powerful counterforce, and several distinct cracks instantly webbed across the blade.
The burly cultist's expression warped from ferocity to shock.
Lilith was also stunned. Snapping back to her senses, she whispered somewhat awkwardly, “...Thank you.”
Greg didn't reply.
Because he couldn't speak; the moment he did, his identity would be exposed.
He merely gave a slight nod, then fell into a stance to continue the fight.
Lilith understood the signal.
She snorted, though the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. Regaining her prideful demeanor, she said:
“Hmph, you're not completely useless. But don't get too cocky! I was just caught off guard. Now, I'm getting serious!”
The two then charged together at the cultist holding the cracked greatsword.
Although Greg didn't use dark-attribute magic, relying on the footwork he had trained in the dungeon and Lilith's assistance, he still managed to gain the upper hand during the exchange.
After another of the opponent's attacks missed, Greg seized the opportunity to use Freezing Ice Mist. A faint white mist drifted from his palm and quickly clung to the cultist, instantly cutting his speed by more than half.
“Damn it!”
Sensing that something was wrong, the cultist's face paled, and he tried to flee, but Greg gave him no opportunity.
Earth Pierce LV3 was activated once more, and several stone spikes erupted from beneath the cultist's feet. At the same time, Lilith had already condensed a blazing white, highly concentrated fireball.
“Go to hell and repent for what you've done!”
Lilith accurately hurled the fireball into the enclosure of stone spikes.
“Boom!”
Flames and shattered stone exploded outward together.
Once the dust settled, there was no trace of any living person left.
“W-We did it!”
Lilith stood in place, panting slightly as she looked at the crater blasted into the ground, and then at the masked man beside her.
She had to admit that those few rounds of cooperation had given her an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
That feeling where no words were needed, yet the other person always perfectly covered her openings, was exactly like fighting alongside an old partner she had known for years.
She began to feel curious about the identity of this masked man.
“Oh no, Priest Harde is dead! Run!”
With their leader dead, although the remaining cultists were still numerous, their morale completely collapsed.
Vivian and Victoria quickly joined forces to clean up the remaining grunts. After the ice and water magic flared in the alley one last time, the surroundings finally quieted down.
“This should be the end of it.”
Victoria plonked down onto the ground, while Vivian leaned against the wall, looking somewhat exhausted.
Greg glanced around. Feeling that the nearby enemies had been mostly cleared out, he prepared to take Wendy and continue running toward the outer city, refusing to believe that the third-layer Boss wouldn't be getting anxious.
“Clap, clap, clap.”
Just then, a crisp sound of clapping echoed from the depths of the alley.
A figure slowly stepped out from the shadows.
He wore a well-tailored black butler suit, his hair combed meticulously, with a warm and proper smile on his face—as if he were not walking through a battlefield littered with corpses, but strolling down a garden path.
He stopped in front of Greg and the others, bowing slightly. His gaze swept past everyone and landed on Wendy, who was protected behind Greg, as he spoke in an elegant and composed tone:
“A truly splendid performance.”
Then he stood straight and bowed elegantly in Wendy's direction.
“Though it took a bit of time, I have come to pick you up now, Your Highness.”
Rate on N.U.
