Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 121

After the fierce battle with Dercion ended, I finally had the time to assess the situation.

However, I had to do so with a heavy heart.

"We... fought for quite a while, right?"

Roan nodded at my words.

"It's been over three hours."

Before we split up to defeat each Legion Commander, we had agreed that the group who finished first would go and support the others.

But no one had come to help us yet.

This could only mean one thing.

'The battles in other areas are also dragging on.'

With that uneasy feeling, I slowly looked around.

The first place I arrived at was where Valefor and Asion Gale were fighting.

"...Holy crap."

The sight that greeted me made my jaw drop.

All the ground within the [Asion Field] was covered in blood.

The only consolation was that the blood wasn't all the same color.

Blue blood and red blood mixed together, creating a scene that looked like a work of art.

Of course, the reality was far from artistic.

"Dean!"

Roan, Kayla, Barundel, and I immediately approached the scene, leaving Thompson behind.

We couldn't enter because of the [Asion Field], but we wanted to see how the situation was unfolding.

And there, we witnessed a scene that seemed straight out of a movie.

"Wow..."

"...As expected of the Dean."

A white lion was roaring mournfully, pinning the bull's head to the ground with its forepaw.

Valefor's eyes were already glazed over.

Grrrr!

Although his mane was stained with red and blue blood, the sight was truly breathtaking.

On the other hand, Roan said nonchalantly,

"The Glorious Lion has never been seen losing. This was already expected."

It seemed that Roan, who had a longer history with Asion Gale than us, had anticipated this to some extent.

That Asion Gale would defeat the Legion Commander of Greed.

Anyway, I was relieved.

"Then all that's left is..."

The Legion Commander of Lust, Asmodeus.

"Let's go."

We immediately turned around and headed towards her location.

Perhaps they had moved a considerable distance to avoid the aftermath of the battle, as it took us quite a while to find them.

And there,

"...What's this?"

The sight that greeted us was also surprising.

In a different sense than Asion Gale's battle.

Fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries among the elders, but

"P-please stop this!"

The battlefield was quite chaotic.

The cause was the people who were originally soldiers on our side.

"Dieeee—!"

"Killlll...!"

For some reason, they were attacking the elders in a completely brainwashed state.

There were over a hundred of them.

Because of this, the elders were in a bind, unable to do anything.

Moreover,

Clang!

"...Die."

Among the brainwashed people, there was someone with considerable strength.

That one person was the reason why the elders were struggling even more.

His face looked familiar.

I muttered his name unconsciously.

"...Elbert?"

The 7th Knight Commander, Elbert Tyron.

He, who had been excluded from the battle due to his injuries, was currently fighting on Asmodeus' side.

"H-hey! Please come to your senses..."

The brainwashed Elbert was strong.

Unlike the others, he wasn't just charging recklessly; he was using his sword to attack and retreat strategically.

As if he still had some reason left.

Furthermore,@@novelbin@@

Drip, drip...

Blood was flowing from his wounds due to his violent movements, but he didn't seem to feel any pain.

That made the injured Elbert even stronger.

[Hahahaha! As expected, observing humans is truly entertaining, isn't it? Such a foolish sight. It's no wonder that He likes humans.]

Meanwhile, Asmodeus was laughing uncontrollably, seemingly enjoying the situation.

Seeing her, with her alluring appearance, standing in the middle of the battlefield without lifting a finger, somehow made anger surge within me.

"That bitch..."

Unable to watch any longer, I immediately ran towards them.

Of course, the first thing I had to do wasn't to join the fight, but to restore the brainwashed people to their senses.

Bang!

As soon as I got close, I detonated a flashbang.

The elders, Shuharn, and the others on our side had already noticed my presence and signal and crouched down.

"Uwaaagh!"

"My eyes—!"

Thanks to that, only the brainwashed people were exposed to the flashbang.

I didn't miss the opportunity and approached them one by one, channeling my mana.

Shhh!

Fizzle!

My mana quickly erased Asmodeus' mark.

I had already memorized this method to the point of boredom.

No, I had already mastered it.

Without stopping there, I immediately moved behind another person and channeled my mana.

Fizzle!

That was the second one.

Fizzle! Fizzle! Fizzle!

And the third, the fourth, the fifth...

"...Where am I?"

"What was I doing just now...?"

The number of people freed from brainwashing increased rapidly.

Of course, Asmodeus wasn't just watching this happen.

[You're really quite bothersome, aren't you?]

Just as her eyes flashed crimson,

"Not so fast!"

The cone-hatted elder threw water attribute mana to stop Asmodeus.

Shwaaaak!

"You dare try to touch our student? Absolutely not!"

[Damn human...!]

Gooooo!

Asmodeus, drenched in water, channeled her demonic energy with a furious expression.

Although it was the same demonic energy, it felt a little different from what we had seen before.

Haughty yet alluring demonic energy.

Rather than threatening, it felt as if it would captivate us at any moment.

She was someone we had to be wary of in a different sense than Dercion or Valefor.

"Buy me some time!"

I shouted to the elders, and they all nodded.

With this, we had secured some time. All I had to do now was focus on undoing the brainwashing.

Of course, there was a priority even in the process of undoing the brainwashing.

I turned my gaze to the person I wanted to free from brainwashing the most.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Elbert and Shuharn were exchanging swords with fierce momentum.

"...That's a Knight Commander!"

Of course, Shuharn seemed to be a bit overwhelmed.

No matter how talented he was, Shuharn was young, and Elbert was experienced.

Shuharn's innate talent wasn't enough to bridge the gap of decades of experience.

"Barundel! Kayla!"

"Understood!"

As soon as I signaled, they understood and immediately joined Shuharn.

It wasn't just the two of them.

The knights under Roan and Elbert, and even the royal guards.

Everyone joined forces to stop Elbert.

With the royal guards involved, there was nothing more Elbert could do.

"I was waiting because I heard there was a way to undo the brainwashing... I almost killed him."

One of the royal guards, who had pinned Elbert's face to the ground, said so.

Indeed, they were also skilled individuals, no less than the elders.

"I'm glad we're not too late."

I responded briefly to his words and immediately got to work.

Shhh.

Mana flowed into Elbert's body.

Perhaps because Elbert was a Knight Commander, I felt a darker mark of demonic energy than with ordinary soldiers.

But it only made a difference of a few seconds.

In the end, his mark also dissipated like the others.

Fizzle!

Only then,

"Ugh...!"

Elbert, who had been struggling to get up, relaxed his body as if in pain.

A pool of red blood formed on the ground beneath him.

I hurriedly said,

"It's over. We need to treat your injuries now."

"...Already?"

"Quickly!"

It seemed that Elbert's condition wasn't good.

He was already having trouble moving his body, and he had fought fiercely in that state, so it was only natural.

"Are you conscious?"

Barundel quickly laid Elbert down and checked his consciousness.

"...Where am I? Ah."

Fortunately, he was still conscious.

Elbert, with his quick judgment, seemed to have grasped the situation.

"Just hold on a little longer."

Tsssss!

Barundel ripped off the inner layer of his clothes and wrapped it around Elbert's torso.

Immediately, Elbert's blood soaked the cloth.

"It seems the wound is quite serious. We need to go back to the barracks for treatment..."

"Yes, please. Barundel."

"Understood."

Barundel nodded with a solemn expression and lifted Elbert.

Barundel was one of the main forces, but in this situation, it was understandable for him to leave.

"I'll be back soon."

Tadat!

Barundel started running at full speed.

Barundel quickly disappeared into the distance.

Seeing his speed, it seemed unlikely that Elbert's condition would worsen.

As a veteran demon hunter, Barundel would naturally know some first aid methods.

Anyway.

"We've roughly overcome the crisis."

Elbert, who had been our biggest obstacle, was freed from the brainwashing.

Now all we had to do was take care of the remaining soldiers.

In addition,

"We'll take care of that Legion Commander."

The royal guards joined the elders.

With this, the somewhat dangerous situation had become quite stable.

"Kayla, help me subdue the soldiers."

"Okay."

Of course, that didn't mean we could relax.

There were still at least 90 soldiers whose brainwashing needed to be undone.

Therefore, we had to move busily once again.

Fizzle! Fizzle!

How much time had passed?

"...It's over."

Kayla, who had been looking around, announced that the soldier just now was the last one.

And around that time,

[Aagh! Stop clinging to me!]

It seemed that the situation with Asmodeus had also been settled to some extent.

Asmodeus, who had been desperately trying to distance herself, was now staggering as if she had run out of energy.

Then suddenly,

[You... You're the problem!]

She turned her head towards me with a furious expression.

Our eyes met.

It wasn't an ordinary gaze.

Ching.

Crimson light erupted from her eyes.

Seeing that, I instinctively knew.

That was what had affected Elbert, and if I kept looking into those eyes, I would end up like him.

However.

Before the brainwashing could take effect, a royal guard who had approached her swiftly swung his sword at her neck.

Slash!

The sharpened blade, enhanced with aura, severed Asmodeus' neck.

Thud! Thud!...

Her head rolled pathetically on the ground.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]