Shizuku was anxious. With Kouki in this state, how could he organize everyone to put up an effective resistance? Kouki's face flushed from her reprimand, but his hands still trembled uncontrollably.
After all, at the end of the day, he was just an ordinary Japan high school student.
Kouki's expression was seen by the others, and a sense of unease gradually spread through the crowd.
"Is the Hero afraid?"
"Don't talk nonsense, that's the Hero! How could he be afraid!"
"You never know, that's an army of fifty thousand monsters. I'm terrified right now!"
Kouki was the source of courage for the townspeople. If even he showed fear, these townspeople would probably soon scatter and flee, unable to withstand the pressure.
"Kouki, Kaori, Shizuku!"
At this moment, Aiko-sensei's voice came from afar. They looked back and saw Aiko-sensei leading the students and Temple Knights, rushing over.
"Aiko-sensei!"
All three of their faces showed expressions of joy.
"I heard what happened, an army of monsters is attacking the city... Eek!"
Aiko-sensei climbed onto the city wall and saw the vast, dark mass of monsters in the distance. Her face instantly turned pale.
She had never seen so many monsters before! But under the gaze of so many students, she couldn't show any emotion. Aiko-sensei said with a trembling voice, "As long as everyone works together, these... mere monsters are nothing to be afraid of!"
Aiko-sensei's desperate encouragement instantly gave the students courage.
"That's right, the Orcus Great Labyrinth was many times stronger than these... monsters!"
Kaori cheered everyone on.
"Yes, we just need to do what we can."
Taniguchi Rei, who was a Barrier Master, said. She joined with other mages and began to cast spells.
"Grant the Child of God absolute protection, reject all hostility and malice.
This place is a Holy Sanctuary, and enemies of God shall not pass, 'Holy Severance'!!!"
A sacred barrier suddenly unfurled, protecting the entire city within it with an aura that sealed off all evil.
"Then I'll go prepare some defensive structures."
Meld, the Captain, led the Kingdom Knights down.
... The monster army advanced very quickly. In half a day, the ugly and ferocious forms of the vanguard monsters could already be vaguely seen.
But what no one expected was that the monster army stopped about five hundred miles from the town.
Then a person in a black robe left the monster army and walked towards the town alone.
"What does he want to do?"
Kouki and the others looked at each other.
Among them, a summoner with the "Farsight" skill activated his ability and looked at that small group of monsters.
"Hero Kouki! If you want to protect this town, come out and negotiate with us!"
The black-robed person came to a place not far from the city wall and shouted loudly.
The voice was hoarse, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.
"Kouki, what should we do?"
Hearing the black-robed person's words, everyone looked at Kouki in unison.
"You can't go, this must be a trap!"
Aiko-sensei said anxiously.
As a teacher, she couldn't just watch her students put themselves in danger.
"...I don't think so, this might be a rare opportunity."
At this moment, someone raised an objection.
The speaker was Yongshan Jugo, the captain of the school's judo club, and he was also the second most prominent person in the class.
"What does that mean?"
Kouki and the others cast questioning glances at him.
"This monster army is controlled by a Demon Person, right?"
"What if this black-robed person is the Demon Person controlling the monster army?"
Upon hearing this, Kouki's eyes widened instantly and he said, "You mean..."
"That's right, as long as we can kill him, the monster army will collapse without even attacking."
Yongshan Jugo and Ryutaro, the "Puncher," were the two giants of the class, but unlike Ryutaro, he was very thoughtful.
He often gave good ideas at critical moments.
"Nagayama is right, this is our only chance to defeat the monster army!"
Kouki clapped his hands together, saying excitedly.
If it was a one-on-one fight, he wasn't afraid of any Demon Person.
"But... can things be that simple?"
Shizuku pondered for a moment and raised a question.
If that black-robed person was indeed the Demon Person commanding the monster army, their strength would surely be unfathomable.
Moreover, the black-robed person proposed the negotiation themselves, so they must have been prepared.
Even if he seemed to be alone.
"That's why we need to use our trump card now."
"Kousuke, come out."
Nagayama suddenly spoke to the air.
The air rippled, and a black-haired young man suddenly appeared before everyone without any warning.
"A ghost!"
Shizuku screamed, drawing her sword in fright and slashing without even looking.
"Wait...! It's me, Kosuke Endo!"
The thin, black-haired young man was nearly cut by the blade. Thankfully, he nimbly jumped aside, hid next to Nagayama, and said to Shizuku with lingering fear.
"So it's you... En... Endo."
Shizuku said with an awkward expression.
From her look, she definitely didn't remember the person in front of her.
"So even Shizuku can get flustered..."
Kaori covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"So flustered that she directly drew her sword, it seems she was really scared."
Rei also giggled along.
"I wasn't, it's just that En... Endo appeared too suddenly and scared me, that's all...."
Shizuku said with a slight blush on her face.
"Don't blame you guys, his presence is just too weak."
Yongshan Jugo said with a wry smile.
This young man who suddenly appeared from thin air was also a member of the class, and also Nagayama's good friend.
—Kosuke Endo
Chapter 64: Demon Woman? (8/10)
Even at school, even with his long-time friends—Jugo and Kentaro—by his side.
Almost every day, conversations like, "Huh, where did Kousuke go?"
"To the restroom?"
"...I've been here the whole time."
would occur.
Before he was summoned, he already had a fairly weak presence, and since coming to this other world, his weak presence has become even more pronounced.
Moreover, his divine occupation was assigned to a very suitable one for him—Assassin.
From then on, his existence was between invisible and semi-invisible, no wonder the other classmates in the class also had an expression of "Is there such a person in our class?" when they saw him.
"Wait..., Nagayama, you said he's a 'secret weapon'?"
Kouki asked, puzzled.
"That's right, we can use Endo's divine occupation, 'Assassin,' to ambush that black-robed person while negotiating."
"As long as he's killed, the monster army will naturally collapse without attacking."
"That's a good idea!"
Shizuku quickly understood the reasoning behind it and said with a pleased expression.
Endo could even deceive Shizuku, who had the strongest perception ability, making it almost certain that he could assassinate the black-robed person.
Finally, everyone decided that Kouki, Nagayama, Shizuku, and Kaori, totaling four people, along with Kosuke Endo hidden in the shadows, making five people in total, would go out of the city to negotiate with the black-robed person.
... As they got closer, they realized that the black-robed person had a slender figure, and at first glance, did not seem like a very dangerous individual.
The black-robed person saw the group of four approaching and spoke first, their voice still hoarse, "That... one wearing shiny armor, like an idiot, that's... the Hero, right?"
"Idiot! A Demon Person has no right to call me an idiot! You're the idiot!"
Hearing the other party's overly insulting remark, Kouki's anger flared, and he couldn't help but retort.
"Idiot."
Shizuku couldn't help but cover her face in her mind.
The reason for bringing the tall Nagayama, besides... him being more familiar with Kondo, was also... to have him impersonate the Hero to confuse the enemy.
She didn't expect that with just one encounter, Kouki would expose his identity.
What else could this be but foolishness? "Hehehe..."
The black-robed person let out a joyful laugh, then threw back his black robe.
Kouki and the others instantly widened their eyes in astonishment.
Although they had never seen this species before, they had deeply understood this species through various information provided by the Kingdom and the Church.
And she was also a female.
Her eyes were the same color as her hair, fiery red like burning flames. Her attire resembled a motorcycle rider's suit, completely black, without any sheen.
Because the clothes clung tightly to her body, her good figure was clearly revealed.
This race was considered an enemy of God by the Holy Church and was also the archenemy of humanity.
That's right, it was... "...Demon Person."
Hearing the word, spoken by who knows whom, the Demon Person gave a slight cold smile.
The Demon Woman who appeared before Kouki and the others had a mocking smile on her lips, observing Kouki and the others, who were wide-eyed with surprise, as if studying them.