“Switching to fourth-layer formation complete!”

“Good! Don’t let your stamina drop! We’ll wipe them out—”

“Z-Ziel-sensei!!”

The northern part of town.

The situation had been progressing quite well.

Ziel, though unfamiliar with it, was managing the front-line command—and the response from those around him was good. They were covering for each other’s weaknesses, and finally, the countless swarm of rats had begun to dwindle.

If they could just keep pushing without letting their guard down—

That was when it happened.

A disciple came running from the center of town.

His face was pale.

Breathless in the cold rain, white puffs of air escaping his lips—so exhausted that he could barely stay on his feet, yet still, he shouted with all his might.

“A-An oni! An oni has appeared!”

“What—?”

For a moment, Ziel was at a loss.

An oni. Such an unreal creature—

But he quickly reconsidered. He had fought dragons before. He had faced beasts from the Apocrypha. He had battled demons corrupted by cursed swords. At this point, there was no reason to insist that an oni could not exist in this world.

So instead, he asked the most productive question.

“Is it strong?!”

“Saminato-sensei is holding it off! But it’s just too—”

“Where’s Chikano?!”

“Another disciple has gone to fetch her!”

Ziel barely suppressed the urge to click his tongue in frustration.

He couldn’t leave this place right now.

There was no one else here capable of using large-scale offensive magic on the front lines. Their firepower depended on him. He thought that if they could just finish clearing this up, he could go—but if he left now, the defensive line would collapse.

“—I’ll wrap this up in three minutes. After that!”

He didn’t know what kind of opponent they were dealing with.

But Saminato was one of the greatest martial artists. He shouldn’t fall so easily—at least, that’s what Ziel believed as he gave his answer to the disciple.

Seeing the disciple nod quickly, Ziel turned back to the battlefield, swinging his sword once more.

They still hadn’t figured out how the rats were phasing through obstacles—how they could slip past barriers or dodge attacks.

Ideally, Chikano would finish up first and rush to Saminato’s aid. But if they were dealing with the same conditions, that was unlikely.

Ziel hurried, pushing forward with his Sword techniques.

But thinking if only at this moment—

Would have been meaningless.

The clash of blades was heavy, each strike shaking the very air.

From the trembling eaves of houses, rainwater poured down in thick streams—

With each deep, metallic clang, the atmosphere distorted, sending visible shockwaves rippling through Klaha’s vision.

Saminato—

Was clashing against the oni as an equal.

Or, in other words—

The oni was fighting Saminato—Ziel’s master’s equal—on even footing.

It was just too much, Klaha thought.

Too strong. And it had come too suddenly.

This oni was clearly beyond even an Insto.

The difference in power between the blow it had struck against Icca and the relentless attacks it was unleashing on Saminato was overwhelming. Klaha couldn’t accurately gauge its strength—

But it might even rival a fully corrupted demon or a cursed sword in its Demonic Sword Release state.

And so soon after—

So soon after the revival of the Ruin King had been thwarted, such an opponent had appeared.

It was impossible not to feel a sense of dread.

“Hey, you! Over here!”

Her sinking thoughts were pulled back by those words.

A hand grabbed her wrist—it was the disciple who had smiled at her earlier.

“You’ll get caught in it!”

“S-Sorry!”

Before she realized it, the disciples had all taken a step back, watching Saminato and the oni from a safe distance.

They knew they couldn’t interfere. Even the clerics were keeping their distance. In a battle of this level, even attempting to support could mean getting in the way.

Klaha also found herself among those keeping their distance.

Watching Saminato’s swordplay.

“It’s fine. If it’s Saminato-sensei, then surely—”

The disciple spoke with confidence.

It was a heavy sword, Klaha thought.

Unlike Ziel’s.

His weapon of choice was a katana—a single-edged blade—but unlike the one Ziel used, there was no lack of craftsmanship in it.

Even without expertise, she could tell—it was a masterwork.

It was a good two sizes larger than a normal katana, and despite repeatedly clashing with the oni’s claws, it showed not a single crack.

Saminato’s swordsmanship was different from Ziel’s as well.

There was almost no wavering in his stance—

His footwork, his balance, everything seemed strangely precise to Klaha’s eyes.

Each step looked like a normal stride, yet suddenly, he had moved three paces away.

Even after clashing midair with the oni’s brute force, he would immediately reestablish a perfect stance.

He never faltered.

Ziel had called him strong, and now Klaha could see why.

“——Ooooohhh!”

“Too soft.”

Once again—

The oni swung its massive claws down from above—

And Saminato easily deflected them with an upward sweep from below.

Then—

Saminato thrust straight forward.

The oni recoiled, leaping far back in response—

But a single wound remained, a gash across its chest that hadn’t fully split open.

Seamlessly, Saminato transitioned into his next movement.

Slashing away all the reckless attacks the oni unleashed, he moved forward and backward, pressing the assault as if he had no hesitation whatsoever.

At this rate—

The moment Klaha thought that in her heart—

"—Gah…! Cough…!"

Startled, she turned to look—at the scene before her, Icca was surrounded by church followers receiving treatment.

It seemed he had just coughed up the blood stuck in his throat. That sound marked the moment when clear awareness returned to his eyes—Klaha could see it.

I'm glad, she thought.

If he was already this alert, then surely the injury wasn't so severe that it would leave lasting effects—just confirming that, she turned her gaze back to the battle between Saminato and the oni.

The oni was watching too.

Just now.

It had seen Icca's condition stabilizing. It had seen the people around him react to it.

And the oni too, intently—

With its eyes wide open—

Even in the middle of its fight with Saminato, it was staring directly this way.

"Ah—"

Something, Klaha thought.

It was only her intuition telling her.

Something was going to happen.

Something bad was about to unfold.

And surely—

"—What!?"

For the first time, Saminato let out a voice of alarm.

And for good reason—the oni did not evade his attack. Nor did it block it.

It simply took it.

It let Saminato’s downward strike carve deeply into its right shoulder.

Then, it forcibly leapt over Saminato’s head.

"Damn—!"

Klaha thought, I have to do something.

The oni was coming straight for them. She had to attack.

A sword wouldn't work.

Then magic—but there was nothing she could chant in time that would be effective.

If that was the case, the only option left was holy magic.

She tried to form a barrier. In terms of reaction speed, she was faster, but in terms of formation speed, the priests had the advantage. But even so, it wasn’t fast enough—by the time the barrier was complete, the oni had already closed the distance.

"Eh—?"

With a single sweep of its arm—

The oni struck at Icca.

"—Like hell I’ll let you!!"

Just a moment later, Saminato cut in between them.

There was no other way to describe it but a perfect maneuver.

The oni’s unexpected movement—Saminato had immediately grasped its intent. He understood that it was aiming for Icca. That’s why he slashed upward, knocking aside the oni’s claws.

And then, after that—

He must have known. That once he put himself in an awkward position, the oni would target him next.

So, after completing that first slash—

Saminato drew the second sword hanging at his waist.

The oni’s right leg, its claws, were about to tear into his left side—so he positioned his blade to block it.

He positioned it—where it should have been able to block.

"—Guh!"

But the complete opposite happened.

From behind, from his right side—

The oni's left leg claws tore into his flank.

For a moment, confusion ruled.

A grievous wound—certainly, that was part of it.

But even more than that—

"Gya-ha! Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"

Just now, the oni, its face twisted in laughter—

Had moved in a way that, to everyone watching, seemed as if it had vanished from Saminato’s sight and reappeared behind him.

"Ugh… Ooooooo!!"

Saminato roared.

Even as a gaping wound opened in his side, even as blood spilled from his mouth, he swung his sword.

But his speed—

Was no longer as sharp as it had been before.

The oni dodged.

Once again, in a movement that seemed more like disappearance and reappearance than evasion.

And then, it raised its claws again—

"Gi—"

In a single bound, the oni leapt backward.

A moment later, the soft thud of an arrow striking the muddy ground echoed.

The oni looked up.

Now, at the sky.

If one followed its gaze, they would surely see the same thing.

Through the rain, on a rooftop, bow in hand—

Chikano stood, taking aim at the oni.

Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. One after another, arrows flew.

"Gih!"

The oni leapt aside.

For a brief moment, its gaze flicked back to Saminato.

Then, without hesitation, it fled—not toward Chikano, nor directly toward Ziel’s position, but to the northeast.

But.

In the end, who was the one who had truly been saved?

"Sensei!"

The voice of a disciple called out.

Klaha, who had been staring after the oni even after it disappeared from sight, suddenly came back to herself.

Eventually, Chikano, who had been positioned far away, arrived at their side.

Shortly after that, Ziel, having completely stabilized the northern front, also returned.

And then—

All of them, without exception, bore witness to the same thing.

Saminato, defeated.

Blood pouring from his stomach, falling unconscious in the rain.

The sound of the rain was deafening.

Yet the footsteps of regret—were even louder.