A war horn blared in the distance. Along with it, the Imperial Forces and the Braves that remained charged forward, entering the forest.

Arrows flew from the branches to meet them, cutting a few of their numbers down. But it seemed that their equipment was too strong to be pierced so easily.

Nazin clicked his tongue and moved near the front of the battlefield. Landing in a forest clearing near the outer edges, he drew his sword. Gathering his mana, he flooded it with Light and Order to combat the chaos mana that the Imperial troops were using.

Perhaps realizing him as the ringleader of the elven forces, the soldiers nearby ran towards him. One, a man in full platemail carrying a long broadsword, jumped into the air and flew towards Nazin, propelled by a skill.

But it was pointless.

Nazin held up his left hand, stopping the man in place with Dragon’s Grasp and then swung his sword, splitting him in half.

At that time, a pair of spearman charged at him from the sides.

Nazin stood still. Instead of slashing, he used magic, sending out beams of light to burn them where they stood.

A faint rustling from behind. An assassin, trying to backstab him.

Nazin turned around, but before he could do anything, an arrow wreathed with dark wind tore into the assassin’s neck, pinning his body to a tree. Not long after, a woman with blonde hair and a dark green tunic lightly touched down on the ground beside him.

Nazin frowned. “That wasn’t necessary.”

Aria smiled and said, “I’m not going to let you run off on your own. Not only that, but I’d be missing out on the fun, right?” Saying that, she turned back towards the approaching soldiers and raised her bow.

Nazin sighed and said, “You’re taking this too lightly.

“Better than taking it too seriously and freezing up, right?”

Nazin shook his head and turned back to face the invading forces.

It was a wave of attacks. It seemed like the enemies right now were just cannon fodder, as Nazin could see more troops in formations slowly marching forward past the trees.

He narrowed his eyes and muttered. “They’re not in a rush?”

“Why would they be?” Aria notched an arrow and sniped a swordsman in the distance. After that, she notched another one and said, “Those bastards have all the time in the world… Or so they think.”

“Right…”

It still felt off. But whatever the case, it worked out for him. If it was like this, then since the elves were capable of healing while he was nearby, a battle of attrition would-

Suddenly, a dark shadow blurred past him. A giant tremor erupted as the shadow landed on the ground ahead, and then shadows surged, wreathing the forest in darkness.

A wave of dark mana spread out, attacking indiscriminately.

Nazin’s eyes widened and he quickly ran damage control, using light to dampen the waves heading backwards and then his control over darkness to stop the rest.

Even so, a few elves were still struck by the attack. Thankfully, due to Nazin’s foresight and preparation in making equipment granted with some of his skills, they only sufferred light damage.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned towards the cause of the attack and shouted. “Oi, Demon Lord guy! The enemy is the Emperor and his troops, not the elves! Hold back a bit or I’ll have to cut you down!”

“Tch.” The Demon Lord rose up from amidst a pile of ashes that had once been Imperial troops and nodded. “I will try to remember.”

“…That guy is going to one hundred percent be a liability…” Nazin sighed, but it was better to have that guy help out than going crazy against the entire world, so… “Whatever.” He shook his head and analyzed the battlefield again.

Despite the Demon Lord’s attack, the Imperial Forces weren’t deterred. Instead, another wave of troops with better equipment stepped forward, along with a few Braves. Archers with long bows tailed behind them, launching attacks when they could.

Of course, faced with the elves, the arrows sent from the Imperial Forces might as well have been target practice since they were all shot down.

Nazin worried for a bit whether Demon Lord Krozma would stick with the plan after his initial departure, but he retreated backwards as they discussed.

Like that, he started making his way back as well, followed by the nearby elves, luring the forces deeper into the forest.

Still… “It’s odd.”

“What is?” Aria glanced over and said, “It seems normal to me.”

Nazin shook his head. “I doubt that the Emperor who was said to unite the entire North by himself would waste military power like that. And he should be aware of how the attack on Alvheim failed last time. To let them follow us in like this…”

Aria glanced back at the slowly approaching Imperial soldiers and said, “You think he has a plan?”

Nazin nodded. “He should. But the problem is what that plan-“

A flash of light in the distance. The instant after it emerged, all of the mana nearby was ripped apart, converted into a foreign energy. One that Nazin had never experienced before.

His eyes grew wide and he grabbed Aria, warping to Krozma’s side.

The Demon Lord scowled. “What are you-“

Nazin placed Aria behind him and spun around. After that, he said, “Krozma! Barrier, now!”

The Demon Lord looked irritated, but then stiffened. Without another word, he moved beside Nazin and held out his hands.

An array of magical glyphs filled the air, arcane symbols written in a language Nazin didn’t understand, and then shadows gathered.

But he could tell from the makeup that it was a barrier.

Seeing that, he added to it, lacing in darkness of his own as well as Anti-Magic protections.

And then it arrives.

A swathe of light, as if the sun itself descended. Not only that, but it wasn’t magic. Instead, it was a strange mixture that ate away at both the darkness and the Anti-Magic he used to block.

A split second. In that, Nazin quickly realized that the barrier wouldn’t hold. He didn’t look back, but he could tell right away that everyone would be wiped out if the barrier fell.

With wide eyes, he grit his teeth and then held out his left hand, trying to use Dragon’s Grasp on the attack.

It worked. The torrent of light that threatened to wash everything away was stopped for a brief moment. Not erased, but enough to take a breath.

Krozma roared and then stepped forward. “Not… like this…!” Shadows flooded from his chest and then wrapped around his body. With it, the barrier strengthened.

“Nazin! Use the light! I’ll handle the darkness!” Aria stepped up.

“Aria?!”

“Do it!”

Nazin grit his teeth and did as she said, passing control over to her and then gathering light. Carefully weaving it in between Krozma’s barrier and the other protections, he formed a beam of light to offset the one trying to wipe them all away.

How long was it? A second? A minute? An hour?

Eventually, the attack died down. Whether it was because the attacker ran out of energy or because they stopped it, Nazin didn’t know. But it ended.

Nazin shakily lowered his left hand, dripping with blood from handling the raw energy. But he ignored it and quickly glanced around to check the damage.

Smoke drifted into the air from swathes of the forest that had been reduced into ash.

It looked like the attacked planed to do a beam straight to Alvheim, clearing the path. However, because Nazin and Krozma made the barrier, the attack was deflected, split in two at an angle. As a result, there was a sort of triangular area left untouched. But beyond that for who knew how long, there was nothing but ash.

Thankfully, it seemed that everyone was out of range- No. That wasn’t true. Nazin could spot a few pieces of broken equipment that he had given out to the troops.

“N-Nazin! Look!” Aria pointed straight ahead.

Nazin frowned, about to ask what she was talking about.

And then he froze.

Despite the destructive power of the attack, the Imperial Forces were untouched. Not only that, but they were marching as if nothing had happened.

Nazin’s eyes widened. “What kind of monster are we facing…?”

To be able to perfectly control the attack that razed acres of the Ancient Forest into ash so that not even a hair on the troops were harmed…

In shock, he looked towards where the attack had come from. There, he saw a familiar man with golden-hair.

Emperor Elio.

Wearing black plate mail, he lowered a sword, motes of light still floating around it.

Seeing that, Nazin was forced to acknowledge it. “Serena was right. That guy is dangerous.”

Even he wasn’t confident in directing his attacks like that. If he was, he would have used it to wipe out the Imperial Forces from the beginning.

Nazin turned to the other major combat force present, Demon Lord Krozma, and said, “Looks like we’re going to have to take him out first.”

Krozma didn’t respond. Instead, the Demon Lord was staring at the Emperor- No, at the people standing next to the Emperor. His crimson eyes were trembling in shock and he muttered, “That’s… impossible…”

“Hm?” Nazin followed his gaze.

Was the attack that overwhelming? That was what Nazin thought Krozma was reacting to. But following the Demon Lord’s gaze, he saw that the man wasn’t staring at the Emperor, but two people standing beside him.

A young man with white hair and crimson eyes, dressed like an average adventurer with a leather tunic and a plain steel sword. An intelligent looking beauty with crimson eyes and long black hair, dressed in ornate black robes trimmed with crimson.

Krozma stepped forward, muttering, “Nero? Eve?”

Nazin reached out, grabbing Krozma’s shoulder. “Wait.”

Krozma scowled and brushed off Nazin’s hand. “Wait?! That’s my son and daughter out there!”

Nazin glanced back towards the Emperor. “I know, but…” He narrowed his eyes, staring at the last person standing in the group. “You’ll be killed if you charge in so recklessly.”

A beautiful young woman- No, a heaven-defying beauty with silky black hair and amethyst eyes that shone like stars. Her face was settled into an impassive and aloof expression that didn’t seem to match her delicate and pure features, a look that seemed to stare down on the entire world.

Nazin recognized her. She was the mysterious woman he met by chance in front of Aultry’s throne room that one time in Alvheim. The same one whose name was on the tip of his tongue, the one who he felt nostalgic staring at, but couldn’t quite place.

Lost in contemplation, Nazin didn’t notice Aria staring at the woman and narrowing her eyes.