“Who’s there!?”
At the sound of the voice, all the Maid Guards went on high alert. Even the maids responsible for treating the wounded focused their attention.
“No need to be so tense.”
Appearing along with those words was a middle-aged man. He was clothed in simple gear and a sword, and his refined, scholarly aura made him look more like an ordinary noble than a warrior.
However, his distinctive blood-red pupils clearly revealed his identity as a member of the Blood Race.
“Who are you?”
Despite him looking like an ordinary person, the stronger maids felt a sudden, intense chill the moment they saw him.
The strength of this man was absolutely not to be underestimated!
“Me? I’m just an uncle, really. Just a corporate slave uncle who’s a bit exhausted from looking after a bunch of kids who won’t listen, while also being pressured by a boss from above.”
As he spoke, the middle-aged man scratched the back of his head, looking exactly like a typical uncle helplessly complaining about life.
“…So, could you please not resist and just surrender quietly?”
“Hm? Everyone, get ready — !”
Before the sentence could even be finished, everyone felt as if something had flashed past their eyes at high speed.
In the next moment, almost every maid saw a flash of crimson fill their entire field of vision. They were unable to breathe, unable to see anything else, and were even enveloped in thick, high-pressure blood as if they had sunk into the depths of a sea of blood. They continued to sink further and further until they lost consciousness entirely.
Squelch!
Suddenly, the sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
Accompanied by intense pain, the Maid Guard who had plunged her cleaver into her own body slowly regained her normal senses.
“Phew… phew…”
After recovering, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of lingering fear. If she hadn’t reacted in time to harm herself, she likely would have been dragged into that illusion as well.
‘…No, was that really an illusion?’
Glancing behind her, she saw that the maids, the remaining knights, and the Blood Race soldiers were all, without exception, encased in blood. Their identities could only be determined by their silhouettes. There was also a significant amount of blood around her that didn’t belong to her, but it had now lost its viscosity and was dripping to the ground.
“How impressive. To think you’d rely on combat instinct to harm yourself, using your own blood to disrupt my Blood Manipulation and escape.”
Looking at the only maid who had escaped his attack, the middle-aged man offered his praise.
“Miss Sword Demon, may I ask your name?”
“…Lux, Captain of the Great Demon King’s Maid Guard. By the way, shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking for someone else’s name?”
“Oh, my sincere apologies. My name is Heath Ledger, General of the Fourth Army of the Blood Race.”
Hearing this, Lux’s heart skipped a beat.
Although she had already sensed his power from the overwhelming pressure and his previous attack, she was still surprised once his identity was confirmed.
It wasn’t just because the man’s appearance didn’t match that of a General, but more importantly, his strength had already surpassed the level of an ordinary General. He was even just a single step away from the Demon King Level.
By estimating his stats, this man had at least reached Level 75, making him much stronger than the Level 70 Lux.
One shouldn’t think it was just five levels. In reality, at this rank, a difference of even Level 1 is enough to create a massive gap, which only continues to widen as levels increase.
Between this massive chasm in strength and the fact that Lux had lost one-sixth of her health from the self-inflicted wound — along with being burdened by several debuffs — it was already impossible for her to defeat Heath Ledger.
In that case, her only option was to do everything in her power to stall for time.
“MAGIC SWORD SYMBIOSIS!”
Lux let out a loud cry.
In the next instant, the Magic Power within her body erupted outward, creating a small shockwave that blew away the surrounding dust. With her cleaver as the source, a bright red aura, distinct from the deep crimson of the Blood Race, wrapped around her like a suit of armor. Her previously tucked-away wings unfurled completely, and red Magic Power spread from her chest, flowing into her wings to form magic circuits.
While the comprehensive strength of the Sword Demon race might not match that of powerful races like the Devil Race or the Blood Race, they were a race that specialized in combat. As such, Sword Demons possessed an ability called Magic Sword Symbiosis, which varied from individual to individual.
The effect of Lux’s Magic Sword Symbiosis significantly boosted her attack, sustain, and self-healing for its duration. As long as she dealt damage to or killed an enemy, her Magic Power and stamina recovery would be further enhanced. Additionally, it passively applied a fear debuff to any nearby enemies.
Even so, Lux didn’t feel that she could win against Heath Ledger.
“Sigh, it’s not good for a maid to be so violent.”
“I am a member of the Maid Guard as well as a maid!”
With that, Lux, whose personality had become somewhat more aggressive, slammed her foot into the ground while flapping her wings. The resulting thrust sent her charging forward at high speed, raising her cleaver to strike him over the head.
Heath Ledger was not to be outdone. He drew his sword and held it before him to block the cleaver, causing sparks to fly in all directions.
Seeing her attack blocked, Lux increased the strength in her arms, even using her Magic Power to add more momentum. However, Heath Ledger’s sword did not budge a single inch.
‘I can’t cut through it…’
Realizing she couldn’t even break his sword, Lux chose to pull back and create some distance.
What she needed to do now was stall, not defeat him. Therefore, wasting stamina and Magic Power pointlessly was unwise.
“…I’ve heard that the power and life of the Sword Demon race are closely linked to their innate magic swords, and that their swordsmanship is so superb they can even cut things that do not exist.”
At that moment, Heath Ledger suddenly spoke.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I haven’t reached the point yet. What I want to say is that Sword Demons are a group of proud warriors. As a race that reveres combat, surely you wouldn’t lie to a fight?”
“…”
Clearly, Heath Ledger was taunting her. Because Lux, a combat-loving Sword Demon, was not fighting with her full strength in order to stall for time, he used this tactic to force her to stop holding back.
Lux could see through his intentions easily.
…However, he was right.
“You really are quite sinister.”
As soon as she spoke, Lux’s aura was released completely without reservation.
“Hehe, are you finally getting serious?”
“Nonsense. I have always been serious.”
As the Captain of the Maid Guard, Lux had always taken every task seriously, all to serve her beloved Great Demon King.
And now was no different.
If she fought with everything she had, she couldn’t stall for long. If she held back to buy time, she couldn’t fight with her full strength. One meant failing her duty as a member of the Maid Guard, while the other went against her nature as a Sword Demon.
The answer was already obvious.
“Now, let me show you… what it means to fight with everything while buying time!”