Neither Rem nor Ragna truly intended to fight. If they had, Enkrid would have stopped them first.
"The air of a Demonic Realm and such."
Rem muttered while looking at Ragna. He had experience tearing through the western Demonic Realms even as a child. This much was nothing to him.
Especially shamanic power was well-suited to enduring such hostile environments and pressures.
All of this was like a kind of curse, after all.
Circulating and spreading shamanic power throughout his body—he just needed to keep doing that continuously. Dyeing the surroundings with his own power. A method that was simple yet difficult, difficult yet simple.
Put simply, it meant flowing shamanic power to transform the surrounding ominous air into a familiar form, but it was a trick Luagarne couldn't pull off.
With this, he could move in much the same state whether outside or inside the Demonic Realm.
Since he had to continuously flow a portion of shamanic power above a certain amount, there would be limitations on his shamanic power when using larger spells, but this much was an acceptable penalty.
"Hmm."
Though different from Rem, Ragna did something similar. The sword Sunrise in his hand was both an Imprinted Weapon and a magical weapon.
The Will that had dwelled in Sunrise for generations communicated with Ragna's Will, pushing away the surrounding ominous air.
It couldn't encompass the entire surroundings, but it meant he could move his own body perfectly fine.
But even this wasn't really necessary. Ragna was adapting in real-time by adjusting his five senses.
Of course, that was the same for Rem too.
Between those two, a massive figure passed by with a quietness unsuited to its size. The sounds of tapping the ground were light.
"If you two intend to keep fighting, this humble servant of the Lord will go first."
For Audin, who was considered the continent's greatest in handling divine power, overcoming the Demonic Realm's air was no task at all.
He stepped forward with white light flowing throughout his body. It was a simplified use of Holy Light Armor.
A monster that could be called not just a tree creature but a tree giant approached and swung its branch at the advancing Audin.
The branch flying toward him seemed to be a reflexive motion. Audin looked at the branch and extended his palm like a blade.
Just like that, white light took form from Audin's palm blade, standing upright.
The light gathered on his palm blade resembled a sword blade, and it immediately proved that it wasn't just similar in form to a sword.
Sshk!
A sound and sensation like cutting tofu rather than something hard. The living, pulsating brown branch was cut far too easily along that palm blade.
Sap sprayed in all directions from the severed branch.
A few drops even splattered onto Audin's cheek, but the white light surrounding his body burned it away with a tssk, sending up smoke.
"This drains quite a bit of mental power."
It was a Will Blade like what Ragna had shown, but implemented on a smaller scale. And even then, he could barely sharpen the blade only at the moment of striking the branch.
Though the blade was short and small in scale, it was still an amazing feat. Doing such a thing with a hand instead of a sword?
Audin smiled and withdrew his extended palm blade, making a fist.
"I prefer this approach, brothers."
Having finished speaking, he raised his fist to guard his face and lightly stepped forward, approaching the tree trunk. It was an approach marked by the same restraint and quietness as before.
Fast and agile. Lowering his body and kicking off the ground, he closed the distance to the hostile tree in a flash. Audin spread his right foot to the side while swinging his left hand horizontally. A punch curving inward from outside.
That left hand had white light gathered into a round mass like a mace.
His footwork was like a butterfly, and the fist he thrust out was like a bee's sting.
Though the power couldn't be compared to any bee's sting.
The fist imbued with condensed power struck the tree bark.
Bang!
Not just the surface but the tree trunk itself burst open. The trunk bent inward, and black sap scattered from the burst area. Sap sprayed and splattered in all directions.
Some droplets even reached Enkrid's feet.
How hard would one have to hit to make that possible?
Only Audin would know that answer.
"Father god! Behold Your servant who will tend to You!"
He shouted. With his shout, the light bursting from Audin's entire body grew thicker. Simultaneously, his movements became lighter.
Light left afterimages between the trees.
Bang! Boom!
And with each blow, the tree monsters fell, spraying black sap in a radial pattern.
Faithful missionary work, sending them to the Lord's side with a single blow. Though who knows whether the monsters understood the deep meaning contained in those punches.
Actually, if they were hit like that, they'd have to savor that meaning up there, in the heavens.
Could they even feel the pain of that moment? They'd just be transported to the heavens in a single strike.
Pyang!
Meanwhile, another arrow flew in, and both Rem and Ragna swatted it down simultaneously. Their heads had turned forward with a whoosh even before the arrow arrived. Amazing intuition. The arrow that followed had a trajectory meant to skewer the two of them together.
Just when they'd been showing killing intent toward each other, their axe and sword split the arrow from front and back.
Kwang!
With a thunderous sound, the middle of the iron arrow snapped and bounced left and right.
"We'll settle this later, you crazy directionally-challenged bastard."
"We can settle it now if you want."
The two who refused to lose even a single word scattered left and right. Immediately after, sounds like kwajik and ppudeuk could be heard in succession. It was the sound of them deliberately cutting and smashing the tree monsters.
"To think you keep such a unit as a knight company."
Luagarne marveled anew. That such self-willed individuals had gathered so well.
"They were uncontrollable from the start, so they were gathered in one unit, and I went there as squad leader."
Enkrid answered. Because that was the truth.
But if it hadn't been for him, they all would have scattered and just been doing their own things.
Most of all, they might not even be alive like they were now.
Rem would really be going around crushing noble heads, and Ragna might have gotten lost and become a knight of Aspen or the Empire.
Or he could have been hired by the South.
With his skills, anyone would covet him.
Audin might still be living with the phantoms that resented him, with his divine power still sealed.
But all of them were now here, in this place.
At the center of the experiences they'd gone through and all the changes they'd undergone was one madman.
"Let's use him."
That madman spoke while looking ahead. A madman with impressive black hair and blue eyes.
"Yes. And if arrows come flying again, you can leave them be. I'll block that much. Right?"
Pel expressed something like dissatisfaction as he trudged forward, and Lawford just bowed his head and moved in the opposite direction.
Swaaash.
Watching the two, Luagarne also drew out her whip.
"Time for me to enjoy myself too."
Though not as much as a giant, Frogs with martial prowess had fighting spirits that weren't small either.
It was just that curiosity was greater than that.
Luagarne ignited the flames on her whip after a long time.
Hadn't she said the flaming whip was something she learned from watching a fragment of Balrog fight?
Enkrid thought this while blocking Shinar's path.
"Are you alright?"
Shinar looked worse than ever before. Though she'd drawn her Leaf Blade, there was no need for her to expend stamina here.
"You can rest."
Enkrid said. Shinar exhaled several thin, shallow breaths. Then she raised her head and answered while looking beyond the tree monsters at the lush forest that still remained like a barrier.
"How kind."
"Pardon?"
"I might fall for you all over again with that kindness."
Enkrid honestly wanted to say he'd lost.
"Can't you stop with that joke now?"
The demon who'd tried to take over the Fairy city was dead. No, should he call it a thing that had become half-demon?
Therefore, the burden Shinar carried was gone. She had no obligations either.
There was no one demanding courtship, yet Shinar didn't stop the joke that had hardened into habit.
"Does it sound like a joke?"
Shinar asked back with an utterly serious face. She turned her head and spoke while looking directly at Enkrid with those green eyes.
"Let's say it's not. Anyway, just watch."
Enkrid gave up. He could just tease this elderly fairy appropriately in return, anyway.
Having said that, Enkrid stepped forward and raised the blade that had not a single scratch on it.
Pyang!
Arrows flew in occasionally. Still powerful, but no one was getting hit by them.
It was probably because of what Rem had said earlier.
"Whoever gets hit by an arrow loses!"
So they became even more desperate. The Madman Knight Company fought well while dodging the arrows that flew intermittently.
From one side, Teresa let out a battle cry while holding her shield and sword.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
It was the appearance of a half-giant's blood boiling appropriately. The number of tree monsters decreased rapidly. There was no need for Enkrid to step forward.
Thinking about it, it was natural. This side could be considered the military might of an entire nation.
A single knight was already a calamity, and there were nine people of that level of martial prowess here.
'Even excluding me, Shinar, and Jaxen.'
Six remained.
With those six, they could overturn a nation and still have power to spare.
Kwang, bang! Jjeng!
Between the varied sounds, only black sap was being splattered.
Not a single person was shedding red blood. No, there was one person.
Pel had gotten excited and leaped between three tree monsters, and while dodging an arrow that flew in between them, his forearm got scratched by a blade-like branch extended by a tree monster.
Fortunately, he wore full arm guards that covered even the forearms, so he didn't suffer a major wound. Just a bit of bad luck.
The arm guard itself didn't even get punctured. It was made with three layers of Harpy and Troll hide overlapped, with thin iron plates made from Nauril iron sandwiched between them.
However, the joint areas had to be made thin at the cost of hide strength for flexibility, and precisely that part got scratched, causing droplets of blood to spatter. Still, it was just a scrape-level wound.
"Pel, you lost."
Lawford saw that and spoke while running over, dodging tree roots that shot up like awls.
It was a reaction faster than a man-faced dog starved for three days.
And he did that while avoiding his attacking tree monster's attacks at a trick-level of skill.
Now even Lawford seemed to fit the term madman perfectly.
If a colleague from the Red Cloak Knight Company saw him, they'd wonder if that was really the same Lawford.
Taking such a risk just not to miss a chance to tease.
The safety-oriented Squire Lawford was now gone.
"This doesn't count as getting hit by an arrow, so it's void."
"Being wounded enough for medical evacuation and you say that?"
It was a scrape that didn't even bleed anymore after one droplet.
If one could squeeze it, a few more drops of blood might come out, but if that level warranted rear evacuation, then spraining an ankle would have to be considered a near-death injury.
"Did monster sap get in your eyes?"
Pel protested.
"Hoot."
Lawford answered with laughter and then distanced himself again.
"Idiot."
Rem blamed Pel for that.
"Everyone has their setbacks."
Ragna consoled him. But that felt more unpleasant.
Pel thought he needed training for absolute defense.
By the time they'd felled all the tree monster hordes like that, Jaxen, who'd disappeared as soon as the black lightning arrived, popped out from the front of the forest that had looked like a barrier.
Black sap covered the ground, and somehow even the sunlight felt grayish in the Demonic Realm's forest. Dull and murky light. But everyone was fine regardless.
Those who still found the Demonic Realm's air uncomfortable remained, but they could just adapt slowly.
Anyway, black sap had splattered on everyone. Only Jaxen came out looking pristine.
Rem was about to say something about that when Jaxen spoke first.
"I've opened a path this way. And up ahead, there's something 'interesting.'"
Both Rem and Jaxen used the same type of expression.
So there was something dangerous-looking, right? And the fact that it was interesting meant it was that dangerous.
"Let's go."
Enkrid didn't wait for everyone to adapt to the Demonic Realm's air.
That would be what the enemy wanted, and there was no need to move according to the enemy's wishes. The arrows that had been flying had also stopped for the moment.
"You can't shoot hundreds of arrows imbued with Will through transference magic."
Rem said while taking the lead. He himself knew how to use similar techniques. To shoot arrows with this much power would require its own preparations.
Following where Jaxen led, the group cleared a path by swinging swords in all directions.
They didn't need to walk far. The tree barrier was thin.
And then they saw the real barrier blocking their way ahead.
Guuuueeeeer.
It was a wall with human faces carved into it, with irregular clusters of thorns sprouting around the faces—a wall, or more precisely, a fortress wall.
It was a place called a Demonic Realm outpost, Thornwood Fortress.
"I understand about the black lightning, but what are those things?"
Rem spoke while scratching his head with his axe handle. Simultaneously raising his gaze, he could see beyond the Thornwood fortress wall, atop a sharply pointed spire-like tall tree rising even higher—a being holding a bow.
The ears were pointed, hair hung below the waist in dull gray, and skin was deep navy blue.
Distinct features and a prominent nose bridge revealed that being's race.
"A fairy?"
Lawford spoke, but it was more out of slight surprise than a question directed at anyone.
"Wrong. That is like a rotten, decayed potato sprout. Moreover, it's a Dark Fairy—rotted and decayed to the point where even its form has changed."
Shinar answered. An unprecedented killing intent appeared in her eyes.
The fairy with violet pupils stained by demonic energy blinked several times.
The fortress wall was high and the outpost even higher. Not a distance for face-to-face contact, but Enkrid's pupils contracted as he looked precisely at the opponent's eyes.
And the opponent also looked back at Enkrid.
"Not bad-looking."
The fairy muttered.
Enkrid quietly gauged the distance and drew out the rod tucked diagonally at his waist, shaking it in the air.
Tukang.
The rod extended and a spear blade popped out from the end.
Just as he drew out and shook the rod—with his right hand, he drew out and shook the rod to extract the spear blade, while stabbing Dawnforge deep into the ground ahead with his left foot to use as an axis.
Then with his left hand he grabbed the sword grip and pulled, rotating his entire body with Will while throwing the javelin in his right hand.
It was a Throwing Sword technique incorporating the Heavy Sword style's Vortex technique. Though what he threw was a javelin.
Anyway, who could predict he'd do such a thing the moment they met?
All of Enkrid's motions were accomplished in an instant too.
It was a move that shattered everyone's perception.
Pung! Kwang!
The javelin that flew tearing through the air became a beam of light and struck the tall tree outpost.
He hadn't expected much, but the fairy didn't die from that javelin.
Though it did fall over to the side in surprise.
And what deflected that javelin was a black armored mass next to the fairy.
A mass wearing plate armor with a closed visor, the visor firmly shut.
It held a morning star in its hand, and even at a glance that blunt weapon seemed to exude black soot-like substances.
Anyone could tell it was a magical weapon without being told.
The creature held a weapon in its right hand and a shield in its left, and it had blocked the spear blade with that shield.
Though it made a tremendous sound, he hadn't hit the target. The deflected spear blade that shot into the sky fell with a tung about halfway between the Thornwood Fortress and the group.
"Shame."
Enkrid said. He'd put his full body's strength into the throw, so his right foot was half-lifted. He readjusted his posture and stood straight.
Gueeeer.
The trapped souls forming the Thornwood fortress wall screamed, and somehow they seemed surprised too.
What the hell, why throw something as soon as you arrive, those guys are scary, aren't you scared?
Perhaps words like that might have been exchanged? Though he doubted those beings could even express surprise.
"It's proper etiquette to return a gift when you've received one."
Enkrid said once more in a monotone.
How many arrows had the group blocked so far?
"That's not wrong."
Ragna agreed. The others' reactions weren't much different.