The battle between the [Four Symbols of the Fine Weather] and the SS-rank demon [Sorcerer] begins.

The first to move was the [Four Symbols of the Fine Weather].

"Ceres and I will take the front! Tio and Monica, please provide support from the back!"

"Alright, let's do this!"

"I understand."

"Understood."

After giving instructions to everyone, Alicia quickly rushes forward, followed closely by Ceres, who is wielding a large sword.

Two swordswomen stand at the front, while the remaining two provide support is a formation that can be considered the golden formation for the [Four Symbols of the Fine Weather].

Moreover, above all, Monica is here right now.

"[Levitation Magic: Floating], [Body Enhancement: Boosted]."

The bodies of Alicia and Ceres, who received Monica's granting of magic, are enveloped in two colors of magical power, green and white.

―With this, the conditions to fight this giant have been met.

"Here we go, Ceres!"

"Bring it on!"

As long as it takes on a human form, the demon's weakness is probably either the heart or the head.

To target that, it's best to borrow Monica's [Levitation Magic] and go for a direct attack.

This is a strategy they used in the previous Sky Dragon battle, but at that time, the Sky Dragon's intelligence was a step ahead of Alicia and the others, and Monica was the first to fall.

However―

"■■■■whoosh!"

The demon's attention was directed only at the two who were approaching it.

The demon raises its massive arm on the spot in an attempt to drive Alicia and the others away, but―

"I won't let you!"

"Support."

"■■■■ooooo!?!?!?"

Tio's arrow and Monica's ice magic hit perfectly.

The momentum in its arm suddenly diminishes.

And Alicia and Ceres were not so naive as to miss that opportunity.

"Ha!"

"Take this!"

From the sword swung by Alicia, multiple magical slashes flew out, inflicting successive cuts centered around the demon's chest.

With a relentless momentum, Ceres, excessively enhanced by magical power and fighting spirit, unleashes a full-powered strike.

As a result, it struck the chest of the demon, a blow imbued with overwhelming power that produced a deafening roar, rivaling even the enemy's battle cry.

"■■■■gyaaaaa!!!"

Does it still have any sense of pain? The demon screams louder than ever before.

Seeing that, Ceres relaxed her lips into a smile.

"Well, just as Tio said, the only impressive things are its size and magical power. When it comes to crucial combat intelligence, it doesn't seem that great."

"...That's right."

While returning a nod of agreement, Alicia felt a twinge of unease in her heart.

(Indeed, as Ceres and the others said, it doesn't seem to have superior intelligence. Each of its abilities is outstanding, but compared to this, the Sky Dragon was many times more troublesome. Could this be the side effect of its rapid demonization?)

If that's the case, a vision of being able to defeat it will also come into view.

It will take time, but if they keep dealing damage like they did earlier, the demon will eventually be defeated.

It was precisely because she was so certain that Alicia frowned even more.

(...Really, can we defeat it with just that? Am I overlooking something important―)

Just as Alicia was trying to find the answer to her question, she heard a voice from below.

"Alicia! This is bad!"

That was Tio's voice.

Despite usually being calm, she seemed flustered.

It was proof that something extraordinary was happening.

Alicia responds to her while keeping her gaze on the demon.

"What on earth happened!?"

"Just now, a monster got caught by my 'Presence Detection'! It's coming this way!"

"Ugh, at a time like this...! From which direction is it coming!?"

Even dealing with just the demon is troublesome enough. They can't afford to deal with new monsters here.

If even one B-rank or higher monster shows up, the situation will deteriorate in an instant.

It was precisely because Alicia had been thinking that way that she was taken aback by Tio's subsequent words.

"―From all directions! Hundreds of monsters are advancing to surround this place! And with this feeling, there are probably even some S-rank ones mixed in!"

"What!?"

It was incredibly shocking.

If that is true, not only will defeating the demon become difficult, but even retreating will be in jeopardy.

Alicia temporarily increased the accuracy of her magic detection.

And indeed, she understood that Tio's statement was correct.

There is still some distance now, but the monsters will arrive in less than five minutes.

If that happens, defeat is inevitable.

She never imagined she would end up in such an unfortunate situation―

"No, no, that's not right."

Thereupon, Alicia shook her head and fixed her gaze once more on the demon directly in front of her.

"This is no coincidence at all. You are the one who has summoned the monsters here, aren't you?"

"■■■■oooooo."

Even if it understood the intention behind the question, the demon responded with a growl.

Seeing that reaction, Alicia clicked her tongue softly.

(This is bad, if it summons monsters in this situation, our escape route will be cut off. No, that would still be manageable...)

The demon is probably planning to absorb the monsters like before to strengthen itself.

If it were to further awaken from its SS rank, she can't even imagine how much of a monster it would become.

If that happens, not only the adventurer town of "Grandley" but the entire country will be on the brink of destruction.

They must deal with this enemy as soon as possible.

(But how? To unleash that, we need to build up tension, but I can't possibly think of a way to buy that much time. Is there any other way—)

It was at that moment.

Alicia's magical sensing detected something unbelievable.

―The demons that were closing in on us suddenly began to vanish one after another.

"―...Huh?"

In the incomprehensible situation, Alicia's mind momentarily comes to a halt.

"Huh!? What is this!?"

Down below, Tio was also raising a voice of astonishment like Alicia.

It seems that the results of the magical power detection were not mistaken.

But why does such a thing happen?

Could it be that the demon can still absorb the monsters through the magical veins even from this distance?

If that's the case, the situation would be far beyond what could be described as the worst―

"■■gyaaa!? ■■■■oooooo!!?!?"

―Should I be surprised or find it ridiculous?

The demon was shaking its head back and forth, barely able to hide its confusion, and letting out a voice that seemed to say so.

It seems that the enemy is equally shocked by this situation.

"...I don't understand it at all."

That said, the worst-case scenario was avoided.

As long as they understand that.

Then, seeing Alicia like that, Ceres had a puzzled expression on her face.

"Hey, hey, Alicia, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? You and Tio are suddenly making weird noises. Did something you ate yesterday not agree with you?"

"N-No, that's not it! More importantly, this is the perfect opportunity. Can you buy me some time while I use that?"

"Already? The enemy isn't weakened yet."

"Even so. It seems we don't have much time left."

The monsters are currently continuing to disappear, but no one knows how long this bonus time will last.

Rather than relying entirely on this miracle, Alicia thought it would be better to take action immediately, even if it was a gamble.

Alicia calls out to Tio and Monica, who are below.

"Tio, Monica! We're using that thing, get ready!"

"―A-alright! But you better make sure to follow through!"

"Okay."

Due to Alicia's instructions, each course of action has been decided.

As before, Ceres buys time as a skirmisher and delivers a powerful blow whenever an opening is found.

Tio temporarily turned off her presence detection and focused on supporting Ceres.

And then, Monica and Alicia began to pour all of their abundant magical power into the longsword that Alicia held.

Alicia felt the magic of the longsword swell as she looked at the demon once more.

(Alright, brace yourself. I'll end everything with this one strike!)

◇◆◇

―Meanwhile, a few hours earlier.

"That's right, let's go to the forest!"

After he had woken up in the inn, Yuuri was shouting like that.

Chapter 25: Good Fight [Four Symbols of the Fine Weather] Side