For the plants that had already undergone "demonification," Kasukabe Yō could still handle them with relative ease.
But for Asuka and Jin—whose physical abilities were far from outstanding—those twisted, demonized plants were more than enough to push them to the brink of disaster.
Yō, who should have been able to sweep through them without difficulty, now found herself constantly restrained, forced to hold back because she had to protect the two so-called "dead weights."
Standing on a tree branch and watching the scene unfold, Izayoi and Yūto both wanted to jump down and help. However, since they weren't official participants in the Gift Game, interfering could be considered a violation of the rules. Reluctantly, they could only observe from the sidelines.
"Asuka," Yūto called out, his voice carrying clearly through the chaos, "your Gift, Authority, works like a kind of spoken-word power—something close to kotodama, right? It shouldn't be limited to living beings.
Why not try using it on these demonized plants?"
According to Asuka's own explanation, her Gift was the ability to forcibly control others.
But after experiencing its effects firsthand, Yūto had realized it wasn't simple domination. It felt more like bestowing the power of words themselves.
When Asuka issued a command, if the target's spiritual rank was inferior to hers, they would act in accordance with her words.
Moreover, while under her control, the target's spiritual rank would momentarily ascend—elevated and refined in that instant.
Logically speaking, such a power shouldn't be restricted to living creatures. It ought to affect plants—or even inanimate objects—as well.
Hearing Yūto's reminder, Asuka—who was currently surrounded by a mass of writhing vines—froze for a split second. She had never tried using her Gift on anything other than living beings before.
But the situation left no room for hesitation. If this continued, Yō would eventually be worn down protecting the two of them.
Right now, Asuka had no choice but to try.
"Everyone—stop!"
Her voice echoed through the entire jungle.
Invisible soundwaves infused with the power of her Gift rippled outward. In the next instant, the demonized plants before them froze mid-motion, as if someone had pressed pause on the world.
Though the jungle was filled with countless demonized plants, none of them possessed a spiritual rank higher than Asuka's. Against her authority, they didn't even have the strength to resist.
Seeing her Gift take effect, Asuka let out a long breath of relief. A triumphant smile spread across her face.
That Jāld probably never expected that the plants he demonified specifically to block their path would end up becoming Asuka's subordinates instead.
With the demonized plants no longer obstructing them, the rest of their journey through the jungle was practically unhindered.
Unfortunately, even after searching the entire forest from end to end, they failed to find the so-called "special weapon."
They had combed through every corner of the jungle. Not only did they fail to discover anything worthy of being called a "special weapon"—they hadn't even seen anything that could remotely be considered a weapon at all.
If it wasn't in the forest, then the only possible location left was the territory of Fores Garo.
That was also the one place in the jungle the animals refused to approach. If anything had been overlooked, it had to be there.
Arriving in front of Fores Garo's headquarters, Asuka, Yō, and Jin chose not to charge in recklessly. Instead, Yō first borrowed the power of an eagle to observe the building's interior from a distance.
The headquarters of Fores Garo was rather luxurious—a three-story structure. However, signs of a fierce battle were evident; the building was now battered and partially destroyed.
Using her enhanced vision, Yō quickly located Jāld sitting on the ground inside.
His appearance had changed drastically from when they'd encountered him in the commercial district. His once golden pupils now glowed with a predatory red light, and his entire body emitted an aura similar to that of the demonized plants they had just faced.
Of course, Jāld himself possessed a certain level of strength. Unlike ordinary plants, he couldn't be compared to them in the slightest. After being demonified, both his physique and his aura had grown significantly stronger than before.
Beside him lay a silver knight's sword.
That had to be the "special weapon" they'd been searching for.
"Demonized plants, demonized tigers, and now a silver knight's sword…" Izayoi muttered, watching Asuka and the others enter the building. "Doesn't this Gift Game feel a bit like those European vampire stories?
So all the young lady has to do is stab that tiger through the heart with the silver weapon, and the game's won, right?
Still, I didn't expect not just beastmen, but even vampires to exist in Little Garden. What do you think, Yūto?"
He turned to chat casually, only to notice that Yūto wasn't paying attention at all. Instead, his gaze was fixed on another part of the forest.
"Fores Garo is a beastman community," Yūto said quietly. "Yet on the night before their conflict with No Name, the plants in the forest were demonified. Even Jāld himself lost his reason to demonification.
Someone's been watching No Name from the shadows… and deliberately raising the difficulty of this Gift Game."
No Name
"When we first entered the forest, I caught a scent that didn't belong to any beastman.
Now I've finally found you. Let's see who's been pulling the strings."
With that, Yūto's figure vanished from Izayoi's sight in an instant, shooting toward a distant corner of the jungle at incredible speed.
On Asuka and Yō's side, now that they had located the "special weapon," the outcome was practically decided.
Though demonified Jāld had grown stronger, he had lost his sanity. In that state, he stood no chance against these problem children.
And even if something unexpected occurred, Izayoi was there to cover them.
The moment Yūto sensed the mastermind behind the scenes, he did not hesitate.
He already knew that Fores Garo was nothing more than small fry.
He also knew that the once-powerful No Name had fallen because of an attack by a Demon Lord.
Now someone had used Fores Garo to trip up No Name. Could that someone be a Demon Lord as well?
At the thought, Yūto cast aside his earlier carelessness and steeled himself for the opponent ahead.
He had never personally encountered a Demon Lord in Little Garden.
But the former Demon Lord—Shiroyasha, the White Night Demon Lord—had given him a harsh lesson not long ago.
So when it came to so-called "Demon Lords," Yūto didn't dare show even the slightest hint of contempt.
And then he arrived.
Under the moonlight, a solitary figure stood atop a rooftop, bathed in pale silver radiance.
From the aura emanating from that silhouette, it wasn't difficult to deduce the truth.
This was the one responsible for the demonified plants.
The one who had twisted Jāld into madness.
And the magnitude of that presence—
It was on an entirely different level from someone like Jāld.