Chapter 100

Upon hearing the news of Satuki's death, Otilia collapsed.

The others, except for Hugo, were all shocked and stood frozen, not moving an inch.

From the communication device, Rody's voice echoed.

"Did you hear a loud noise? Is something wrong!?"

"I-I'm sorry, I dropped it because it was so sudden."

Otilia picked up the crystal buried in the weeds, frowned, and looked at the light reflecting on its surface.

The person who was essentially the top of the kingdom had died.

In other words, the only ones left in the capital now were Slow, who was just a figurehead, and Echidna.

"What was the cause of death?"

Henriette, who had regained a bit of her composure, asked Rody.

"He fell from the balcony of the cathedral. Also, several knights have gone missing."

"Was he killed?"

"Who would do such a thing, to break into the cathedral and harm the Pope...?"

"We don't know. There are no witnesses, and the capital is in chaos."

The chaos was easy to imagine.

Especially confused would be Slow, the king.

Until now, he only had to follow Satuki's orders, but now he was like a puppet with its strings cut.

Suddenly burdened with freedom and responsibility, he must be pale with fear.

"Hugo, do you have any idea?"

"Ah, I don't know!"

"Your father is dead, you know?"

Henriette was interrogating Hugo through the communication device.

But Hugo seemed completely uninterested in his father's death.

"I only learned he was my father after becoming a knight! Of course, I revere him as the Pope and mourn his death, but I don't feel anything as a family member!"

"Right. Hermann probably doesn't know anything either."

"...He's not good with such things."

No leads.

No, there are plenty of people who might have a motive to kill, but—

"Even if the heroes killed him, how did they get from Sereid to the capital in this situation...?"

"It's impossible. Even if they had a way to move, the distance is too far."

"But if we're talking about people who might kill, it has to be them, right? There are demons too, and I think I'm the one who's decided."

"The use of Return is sealed, so how did they...?"

Just as Henriette was about to say that, her words suddenly stopped.

"Big sister?"

Otilia called out worriedly.

Immediately after, Henriette's voice, which came from the communication device, was—

"What... Why are you here!?"

"Impossible, the Chimera's encirclement was complete! Otilia, be careful—"

The sound of the communication device being thrown to the ground.

Then, the sound of roars and sword clashes, and the sound of magical explosions began, clearly indicating the start of a battle.

"Big sister, Big sister!"

"Henriette-sama!?"

"There you go, just as I thought."

"...They're here too."

Bart, who noticed the presence of the three people first, raised his shield.

He and the control device were enveloped by a translucent barrier—a barrier against evil.

That was his only role.

The battle would be left to Otilia and Werner, and the waiting Chimeras.

Two dragon-type, five lion-type, and thirteen werewolf-type Chimeras.

It should have been more than enough force to defend the control device.

But from Henriette's state, it was clear that the enemy had also brought considerable forces.

And then, the enemy's figure was finally caught by Werner's vision.

"Should I cast a status boost on Kirill and a status reduction on Flamm, right?"

"Yep, please do."

Flamm answered with a smile.

"I'm ready whenever."

Kirill, looking at the enemy in front of her, nodded.

Cithum narrowed her eyes, focused, and first cast a spell on Kirill.

"Starlight!"

A white magic circle appeared above her head, and light poured down.

The particles of light touched Kirill's skin, melted into her body, and gave her strength.

It was a light attribute magic, "Starlight," which increased all her stats.

With a user as skilled as Cithum, the increase was considerable.

Then she cast the same spell on herself to reinforce her abilities.

After that, she turned to Flamm and activated a different spell.

Even though she understood Flamm's constitution, Cithum seemed a bit nervous about actually using it.

With a more serious expression than when she cast the spell on Kirill, she raised her palm.

"Soul Absorb"

Just like with Kirill, a black magic circle was generated above her head.

Black particles that fell from it entered Flamm's body—normally, they would reduce her stats.

However, she could feel power filling her body.

"Thanks, Cithum."

"No... Are you really okay?"

"Absolutely."

"They seem to have already started fighting, so let's finish this quickly—Brave!"

She activated her trump card without hesitation.

It seemed she intended to decide the battle in a short time.

With this, the preparations for the battle were complete.

Otilia and the others had also taken up their weapons and entered a battle stance.

But their expressions clearly showed a confusion that was not seen when they were in the castle.

"Three girls... I guess we're being underestimated... or something."

The existence of a traitor among the demons had made the identity of the Demon King known to the upper echelons of the military.

However, even seeing them in person, the surprise was undeniable.

"Heroes, the Demon King, and Flamm. This is quite a nightmare, isn't it?"

"Big sister... Big sister... Ah, Big sister...!"

Otilia, learning of Henriette's crisis, fell into a state of confusion.

"Tch, as always, she's hard to handle."

"Y-You shouldn't lose heart, Werner! We have the superior forces!"

"Can you say that after seeing their stats?"

Werner's words made Bart check the stats of the three for the first time.

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Flamm Apricot

Attribute: Inversion

Strength: 3182

Magic: 3261

Health: 2987

Agility: 3365

Senses: 2864

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Kirill Svitka

Attribute: Hero

Strength: 26493

Magic: 25186

Health: 25455

Agility: 27168

Senses: 27136

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Cithum

Attribute: Light and Dark

Strength: 4247

Magic: 23793

Health: 4159

Agility: 3916

Senses: 5270

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He was speechless.

These were the stats of the same human beings.

Indeed, if there were hundreds or even thousands of Chimeras, they could have easily suppressed them.

Or if they had intercepted them in Sereid, the battle would have been a drawn-out one, and the kingdom would have won.

However—now that they had taken them by surprise from behind, they had no absolute advantage.

"My body is dirty... Hah, the ground and air are perfect, so what about underground?"

"Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister!"

"What do you mean?"

"Big sister, Big sister, Ah, Big sister, Ah, Big sister, Ah, Big sister!"

"You're so noisy! In short, they dug through the ground to take our backs."

Normally, it would be impossible to dig tunnels tens of kilometers long in a few days.

But they were not normal.

With the combined power of the Hero, the Demon King, the Hero, and the three Demon Generals, they could turn the impossible into the possible.

"Ah, you... Flamm, you... How dare you, how dare you, how dare you, how dare you, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big sister, Big