***(Graeval's POV)***

“Since you have decided to take the path that will eventually make me angry, I will play with my cards exposed. Answer me. Are you sure you want to kill Guardian's wife? Are you sure you want me as your enemy?"

I got tired. I'm officially tired of listening to these idiots. I don't give a shit anymore if Sarity is among them or not. They attempted the life of my beloved wife... that's more than enough reason for me to wipe them out of this world.

Keep my powers a secret? About my second identity as a Guardian? Screw it! Now I will kill you... I will break you... I will bleed you out... I will despoil you... I will burn you... even if you beg my wife's forgiveness, I will not grant it until I have made sure that there is not even the ash left of you!!!

I felt something soft take my hand and the thoughts I had until a moment ago disappeared. As I had done for her before, she was now doing it for me: Lilith holds my hand to keep me calm. I inhaled and exhaled.

It seemed like hours had passed because of those strong emotions, but in reality, it had been a few seconds.

I stared at them again. I still hadn't let go of my anger but at least I could keep calm and lucid.

“Since your initial goal was to find me, I will now speak to you as Guardian…” I inhaled and exhaled again “Your holiness Sarity, you owe me your life as well as your highness Cordelia Calsay Belmont. If you leave now without arguing, I will consider the debt paid but never again dare to threaten my protégé. I won't be so nice next time."

"Hey... am I wrong or is your friend trying to be tough now?" Ishgat asked pointing at me

"...... It could be the influence of the demon brainwashing."

Sigh... as usual, I'll have to make myself understood using force...

"Hey, brat with scales!" I began pointing to Ishgat "Why don't you come here and get spanked for the good brat that you are?"

"......... Hey... are you insulting me?"

The expressions of all the others showed only one thing "ARE YOU GOING TO SUICIDE?!". Surely everyone was thinking that.

"Of course not moron... I'm complimenting the fact that a brat like you has managed to get a prestigious position ONLY thanks to her race. What good is that two-handed sword if you're a beast that doesn't even know what the difference is between a stone and a metal sphere?! The brats of today are undisciplined..."

As I hurled insults upon insults at Ishgat by targeting the twelve-year-old look and the fact that she is a dragonkin, I noticed that one after another veins were appearing on the forehead of that hot-headed idiot who is nothing else.

“… Ok. I'll kill him."

About time. When he made that statement, Ishgat charged head down with the broadsword in hand. She is fast and perhaps she will have closed the distance between us in a couple of seconds, intent on slashing from above... How slow. I took her dominant hand, snatching the broadsword from her hand, and with my left I grabbed Ishgat's head making her violently and rapidly slam her forehead against a small earthen wall that I had erected immediately before; the backlash made her back off slightly, but she didn't even have time to look straight ahead as I hit her in the stomach with the flat side of the broadsword.

"KHAA!!!" she exhaled spitting out a few drops of blood

The blow was so strong that the sound of an explosion was generated and Ishgat's armor was destroyed, causing her to take a flight that made her cover a few tens of meters. Using the centrifugal force that was created when I hit it, I threw the weapon and took control of it. When it reached the Dragonkin, I pointed to the ground and the greatsword made a circular motion from top to bottom hitting her again with the flat side and dropping it next to the group creating a cloud of dust and a series of cracks on the ground due to the impact. The greatsword came right after her and stopped a few millimeters from the Dragonkin's neck.

All this... in 7 seconds.

“Hmph! In the end, you're just a brat...” I stated coldly looking at Ishgat still lying on the ground

The Hero and his wives looked at Ishgat beside them, amazed, surprised... scared.

“*Cough! Cough!*" she coughed trying to sit up"?! GAH! Bastard!!!"

She froze, unable to control her muscles, then returned to lie down. Alarmed, Sarity ran to her side and began using a healing spell. Her eyes were already wide open with amazement, but when she began to heal the dragonkin, a little more and her eyes were popping out of their sockets.

"... Absurd......" she exhaled frightened

"What?!" Jack asked slightly alarmed

"Most likely..." I began without allowing Sarity to utter a word "I have fractured at least 5 ribs, while the internal organs have suffered heavy damage, but this is only at best."

Even without my powers, I could understand it. When I hit her with the broadsword, I had applied on myself the same power-up I used this morning against Rislia, adding another one where I made my muscle fibers denser. With the first upgrade, my strength, as well as my stamina, is doubled and by adding this other too, the two attributes are further tripled *.

* in a mathematical formula it would be (strength or resistance X2)X3. If we take into account that theoretically and normally the human body can lift 4 times its weight, when Graeval used this enhancement, at that time he was theoretically able to lift an object 24 times heavier than him. However to understand how much effective force he hit Ishgat is a calculation that I cannot do.

Ishgat has to thank her inhuman physique if she managed to get away with so little. A normal human being would no longer even have a torso to reattach the head or the legs.

"Now that I've made an example of her... can you leave?"

Deep inside I was still furious, but now I had acquired an even colder... and merciless calm. The group of wives was looking at me as if they were facing a monster. I do not care. May they even believe me a monster, may they fear me and if they still can't believe me, my fists and my powers will speak.

"You were rash, teacher."

“Kuh! Shut up." Ishgat stated making a grimace and getting up "Who could ever expect such a force from a simple cook?" then she turned to me "Hey brat, I expect a lot from you after this."

“Wait! This is not our task!"

"If facing the self-declared Guardian upfront is the only way to accomplish our sacred duty of overthrowing demons, then so be it."

"Don't try your luck with me." I began keeping the cool tone "Because I don't show mercy to anyone."

***(Sarity's POV)***

I don't know what to think anymore. The revelation about the demon, the declaration of Graeval, the clash between him and Ishgat, the damage suffered by the latter... my mind is blank.

My childhood friend is in front of us... expressionless, a cold and indifferent gaze, surrounded by this intimidating aura. There was no trace of the Graeval that I knew... I only saw the masked figure who saved me not long ago. I can't forget those feelings... or rather, I can't forget them. As if they were imprinted in my flesh. It must be the demon's fault. I don't see any other reasons.

“Please Graeval! Wake up! Don't you see what that demon did to you?!"

"...... How long do you want to bite that bone?" the question sent a shiver down my spine “I will never repeat myself. Leave now or you will face the consequences."

"It seems that talking to him will no longer be of any use." my husband said drawing his sword "We will have to defeat him to free him from her yoke."

"...... Graeval... Forgive me..."

We all got ready to attack Graeval. But he didn't move, while the demon took a few steps back, her face tinged with worry.

Jack, Emilyn, and Ishgat stepped forward as Ridel and I stood behind ready to use our spells to support the others.

We took off our cloaks to allow for better movement and Emilyn put on the helmet. The time for words was over... now we had to take action.

Ishgat and Emilyn charged first. Although it was the first time they fought together, they slashed Graeval at the same time. The blows were so rapid that if Graeval hadn't moved, he would have been slic-

CLANG!!

""?!!!""

He hadn't moved. He was still standing there. He simply moved his arms, grabbing Emilyn's sword with his hand and parrying Ishgat's blade with his left forearm, generating that metallic sound. The arm was not detached... no blood dripped... my companions were amazed... expressionless Graeval staring into space.

"*Sigh* You're slow..." he sighed in a monotone voice

"GAH!"

"KHA!!"

Moving Ishgat's sword, he charged a left punch that quickly struck Ishgat's nasal septum causing her to back off. Meanwhile, he yanked Emilyn's blade backward forcing her to advance, and then hit her with an elbow in the face making her fall on her back. Jack took advantage of it to attempt a lunge but Graeval dodged him by moving to the side and then did as when he repelled Ishgat the first time: he took his head and made his forehead hit a block of the earth but so violently that the whole face penetrated the bare ground. He grabbed him by the collar of his armor and flung him against the others.

The sound of hitting strikes sounded like thunder and I almost felt like I could feel them on my skin... to the point of making me take a step back.

Ishgat had covered her face and as she stepped back she noticed blood dripping from her nose, while Emily's helmet was now useless for how twisted it had been. When she took it off, I noticed that her nose was completely shattered and she could barely breathe with her mouth full of blood. The same could be said of Jack. With the minimum effort, did he generate such serious injuries?

"[Grand Heal]!" I said, casting a healing spell

Jack and the others were bathed in white light and the wounds healed within seconds.

I couldn't use a normal [Heal]. The wounds were pretty serious, and that basic healing spell works best on cuts or light wounds.

"What the hell...?! Are you kidding me?" Ishgat asked

"He blocked us as if nothing had happened..."

"Demon support?" Emilyn asked

"I didn't feel any kind of mana coming from her or him." Ridel stated and then stretched out her arm "[Fire Ball]!"

As she chanted that spell, a series of fireballs were thrown at Graeval. With his golden irises, Graeval watched indifferently as the magical attack came upon him. He let himself be hit...

"*Yawm* this warmth is very pleasant." he said yawning

"...I do not believe it!" Jack exclaimed

He was unharmed... or rather, his body and clothes had turned into flames as if he were a human torch. This shape lasted a few seconds and then returned to the way it was before.

"No mana... no spells..."

“Now it is certain that he is Guardian. But... how do we defeat him?" Ishgat asked, placing the broadsword on his shoulder

"Maybe we don't have to aim at him... maybe his powers come from the demon?" Ridel asked

"I don't know how he did it, but if so... Sarity could you-"

"I understand what you want to do... don't worry."

"Teacher, Emilyn, you can keep him busy with hit and run attacks."

"Sure!" "All right."

"Ridel... give them support please."

"All right honey."

We all looked into each other's eyes and nodded. We didn't need too many words to figure out what the plan was.

"Have you finished the strategic meeting?" Graeval asked yawning again

"Sure. Get ready!"

“Yes~, yes~, yes~. Ah just so as not to take all night..." he began and then raised his right hand "you have five minutes to beat me. Once finished I will close the battle quickly."

"Your arrogance is commendable."

"It's not arrogance..." he began with a sigh, "I'm tired because of the day and the controversy with you has made me even more tired. I would like to go to sleep at a decent hour if possible."

"...... I didn't make you so arrogant Graeval."

"I'm not Sarity." he stated making a provocative gesture with his hand "Now stop chatting and come forward."

As if it were a starting signal, Ishgat and Emilyn attacked him again with quick and precise attacks as they were covered by Ridel. Graeval remained impassive and limited himself to dodging or deflecting blows with his bare hands while for spells, he always did something different to not suffer them, such as dodging them, absorbing them, or deflecting them. However, Graeval seemed to be busy to the point that he didn't notice Jack had passed him. His target was the demon.

Before we implemented the new strategy, I had empowered my husband's blade with a sacred spell to make it even more lethal when used on a demon. It was shining with white light... the light that would free Graeval from the darkness.

KACRAK!

"WHAT...?!!!"

The demon hadn't moved and hadn't broken down. Not even in the face of imminent danger. She had stood still and as the blade was about to descend on her, it was blocked by what looked like a shield, sizzling with lightning that seemed to descend from above her. Only at that moment, I noticed that the clear sky had clouded over, or rather, only the moon was not covered.

Jack, despite the initial surprise, continued to slash at the demon, but that shield was always in the way. It did not allow him to land hits and never broke.

"I see that you are quite persistent with my wife..." Graeval began without looking at him "and I have lost my temper because of your obstinacy." He snapped his fingers.

On the flanks of Jack, two black wolves appeared and attacked him. Taken aback, he retreated, but almost ignoring any physical law, the two wolves attacked him, baring their fangs. Bites, paws, and even header. Those lava-red-eyed black wolves were relentlessly assaulting Jack forcing him to back off. But the strange thing is that they didn't take any kind of damage when Jack hit them with his sword or fists and his armor looked like butter in the face of their attacks. He was forced to dodge assaults if he didn't want to suffer fatal wounds.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! DIE!!"

Ishgat's scream was another signal. Her body glowed and shortly thereafter she transformed into a gorgeous red-horned dragon with mighty bat wings of the same color and piercing dark green eyes. It was huge and perhaps reached the same height as a three-story building.

Clamping her paw into a fist, she charged at Graeval... hitting him.

BOOOAAM!!!

It was so powerful that the earth shook and huge cracks formed all around the area. When Graeval was hit the black wolves also disappeared.

"Make me use my dragon form..." Ishgat began in a very deep voice "he is the only one who has bothered me enough to force me to use it."

Being a Dragonkin, Ishgat can transform into a dragon, where her true potential is fully released. From what I know, the only times she had transformed was during training when she was still living in the Principality with her sister. No one had ever set their eyes on that shape.

"To be able to see you in this state..." Emilyn began as she caught her breath "I am honored."

"I'm surprised by you, teacher." Jack said wrapped in my healing spell

“Hmph! Now is not the time to compliment me." she began looking in the direction of the demon "Let's eliminate her and le-"

"Is that the best you can do?" I heard Graeval's calm voice in my head interrupting Ishgat's speech

KATAKRAC!

"Huh?!... GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Accompanied by that scream, Ishgat's paw detached from her body at the same time as she was being pierced by lightning. Blue lightning bolts moved on the torn stump, causing smoke to rise, and there was a strong stench of burning flesh.