As Kars’s resounding declaration, “It was Mr. Gray who killed the Great Demon of the Third Labyrinth,” fell, the entire Valhalla Gate was plunged into a silence even more eerie than before.
Everyone’s expression looked like they had just been forced to swallow a fly.
They wanted to argue that this was an insult to everyone’s intelligence, but were hindered by the ironclad fact that the Third Labyrinth had immediately entered a deadlock state after the Black Crow Squad successfully escaped, leaving them unable to speak.
“Cough, Miss Kars.”
In the end, it was the steady Ingram who broke the silence.
The tall man, hailed as the “Pale Paladin,” bent down slightly, his eyes hidden behind the slits of his helmet fixed seriously on the blonde girl.
“A Labyrinth Deadlock is a very serious matter, Kars. While I trust Gray’s character, and I trust you, whom he is willing to put his faith in, that was the Third Calamity Pillar, a terrifying existence standing atop the Nightbright World Summit. The two of you could hardly have defeated it head-on.”
He paused, his tone growing heavier.
“This concerns how the Church will classify the labyrinth’s mutation. Please be mindful of the weight of your testimony.”
Faced with a Saint Knight’s pressure that could scare a little demon to tears, Kars did not back down in the slightest.
Instead, like an innocent person being framed, she widened her sapphire eyes, clenched her fists in front of her chest, and waved them vigorously.
“But I really saw it! After Mr. Gray was almost pushed to the brink by that Calamity Pillar thing, he erupted with super-strong power! He chopped it up like cutting melons and vegetables with two swords!”
Under the Saint Knight’s scrutinizing gaze, Kars’s expression was incredibly serious.
She then brought out what she thought was an absolutely irrefutable argument.
“Mr. Ingram, you have to understand, physiques vary from person to person.”
“People can do a lot of incredible things when they’re extremely angry! For Mr. Gray to protect me at that moment, all the potential inside him exploded!”
Having said that, she turned her head matter-of-factly toward Gray, who was at a loss, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
“Mr. Gray must have felt his body full of power at that time, right?!”
Gray: “Huh? I…”
He wanted to say no.
At that time, he just felt like a spectator casually watching a god before the projection of that captain after the grueling successive battles.
But then he remembered that after the Dawn Blade was broken, the Association had ordered the remaining members to keep silent about the captain’s disappearance.
Now, the onlookers surrounding them came from all over the Kala Continent.
If any word got out, the whole continent would probably know about the captain by the next day.
So, the youth could only steel himself and nod.
“Uh… probably, yeah?”
“See, I told you! Mr. Gray remembers too!”
Kars immediately puffed out her pitiful chest.
Ingram, seeing Gray’s lack of confidence, instantly guessed that the truth wasn’t as simple as the girl had claimed.
Just as he was about to press for more details, Eve, who had been loafing around since casting her healing spell, cut in.
“Alright, alright, big guy, don’t frown like an Inquisitor.”
She tapped on Ingram’s pauldron, her eyes sweeping over the group with a hint of laziness and slyness.
“This place is crowded and full of prying eyes, not a good place to chat. Besides, look, our big hero and his cute little priestess are so tired they can barely stand.”
The Saint snapped her fingers, and an invisible barrier isolated the noisy sounds around them.
“Let’s go back to Guikesi City first. Whatever needs to be said, we can talk after everyone’s had a hot bath.”
***
Knox City, the Pioneer Covenant Association.
When the group of four returned to the Association lobby, they found that the news of the “Third Labyrinth Deadlock” had spread faster than a plague.
The entire hall was packed with adventurers of all expressions.
The originally spacious space now had no room even to set foot.
Lily, the receptionist behind the counter, was busy to the point of being frazzled.
Her eyes were nearly spinning like mosquito coils.
She wished she could grow eight hands to handle all the inquiries.
“Excuse us, excuse us.”
Amidst the congested crowd, Ingram was like a moving fortress, using his heavy plate armor and unapproachable aura to forcefully carve a path through the sea of people.
On his broad shoulder pauldron sat Eve, who had transformed into her White Cat form.
On the other shoulder sat Kars, wrapped in Eve’s sacred robe.
“Mmph, so many people staring…”
Kars shrank her shoulders, her small hands tightly gripping the decorative feathers on Ingram’s helmet.
A faint blush spread across her face, but inside she was furiously venting.
‘Humanity is hopeless! This Seat just doesn’t have shoes or socks on! Why are so many perverts staring? Never seen a beautiful girl before?!’
As for Gray, following behind Ingram, he was only wearing shorts and a vest.
But his muscular physique, combined with the spreading rumor that he had conquered the Third Labyrinth, earned him quite a few looks of respect instead.
“Hey, little Kars.”
Just then, the White Cat lying on the other shoulder turned its head and gently brushed its fluffy tail against Kars’s chin.
“I used a magic to soundproof our voices~ While those two men can’t hear, how about we have some girl talk?”
Kars felt a tickle from the tail and instinctively shrank back.
“S-Saint, what does the Saint wish to talk about?”
“About that, of course, that!”
The red slit pupils of the White Cat sparkled with gossipy light as it lowered its voice.
“Back at the labyrinth entrance, the way you were looking at Gray was practically pulling strings, right? So? Seeing him show off in the labyrinth, did you feel your heart race?”
Kars felt an invisible arrow pierce her heart.
‘Me? My heart racing from seeing Gray?
‘What kind of joke is that? Well, it’s true, but This Seat’s heart races from the thrill of watching a nemesis get tricked! It’s the satisfaction of a Calamity Pillar playing a lovesick Hero around my finger! Not the kind of romantic feeling that cat-eared Saint who likes cooing in the Saint Knight’s arms is talking about!’
But to maintain her persona, she lowered her head slightly, her two fingers fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.
“Mr. Gray is indeed very handsome. After going through several consecutive battles, when that Great Demon appeared, I was ready to give up, but he still stood in front of me without any hesitation.”
“At that moment, I realized Mr. Gray’s back really gives a sense of security… It even feels like, as long as he’s around, the Black Crow Squad can overcome any difficulty.”
Though she spouted textbook-like lines on the surface, inside she was thinking something else entirely.
‘Heh, at most, he’s a convenient meat shield.’
“Wow, what a formulaic answer.”
Eve pouted in disappointment.
She had hoped to see a more bashful reaction from Kars, but the girl’s response was watertight.
So, the Saint shifted the topic.
“By the way, little Kars, where exactly are you from? Even though you’re an E-level Priest, the way you talk and the stance you show when conquering labyrinths don’t seem like someone from a small backwater place.”
Kars chuckled coldly in her heart.
‘Tsk, of course, it’s the good cop, bad cop routine with Ingram, huh?’
“I grew up in a small village in the mountains.”
The girl immediately put on a desolate expression, her eyelids drooping.
“Then one day, I went out hunting and accidentally got lost in the mountains. I ended up wandering near Knox City. A kind Mrs. Farley took me in.”
This was a story she had made up long ago.
The Demon Lord had even left some traces to hide the truth, so even if the Church investigated, they wouldn’t find any holes.
“Is that so?”
Eve squinted her eyes, about to press further.
But in that instant, the White Cat, which had been lying lazily, suddenly arched its back, its fur all standing on end.
“Hah—!”
At the same time, Ingram and Gray below also stopped abruptly.
The former let out a deep, low shout: “Watch out! Above!”
Kars looked up and sensed a massive, undisguised magical fluctuation filled with brutality and chaos.
“Look! What’s that above us!?”
“A meteor?!”
“It’s a Demon! Run! Everyone take shelter!”
The crowd around fell into chaos following Ingram’s shout.
Kars squinted at the pink light sphere that was falling like a meteor from the sky, heading straight for the center of Knox City.
“This nauseating aura…”
It was her own kin, and its strength was comparable to hers.
The same Calamity Pillar-level mana fluctuation.
“Gray! Catch!”
Ingram swung his large hand, throwing Kars off his shoulder like a sandbag toward Gray behind him.
“Whoa!?”
Gray instinctively opened his arms and caught the flying girl solidly.
A familiar body warmth crashed into his chest.
Kars was buried entirely in Gray’s solid embrace, which inexplicably softened her body, which had been tense with alertness.
“Hold on tight!”
Gray had no time to care about any romantic atmosphere.
One hand held the girl in his arms protectively, while the other, though weaponless, still crackled with defensive electric light.
BOOM!!!
The massive pink-purple light sphere in the sky slammed violently into Knox City’s protective barrier, emitting an earth-shattering roar.
“[Holy Light Magic: Divine Protection]”
Eve, who had already returned to human form, raised her staff high.
A translucent golden light curtain instantly spread through the air, protecting the civilians below.
“[Holy Light Magic: Shield Wall]”
Ingram also acted simultaneously.
The large shield he swapped from his back to his hand erupted with a dazzling light as he forcefully held against the immense force of the light sphere trying to crush the barrier.
‘Tch… Holy Light. Truly a magic that can’t make a Demon feel any goodwill.’
Hidden in Gray’s arms, Kars peeked out, clicking her tongue inwardly as she watched the two well-coordinated backs.
Though a bit inferior to her prime, these two Church folks were indeed quite skilled.
“I’m fine, Mr. Gray. Let’s go help evacuate the civilians.”
Gray looked at the well-behaved girl in his arms, nodded, and set her down while grabbing a pair of short boots from a nearby stall.
“Speaking of which, why is it that when female adventurers trigger the Sizhuan Crystal, their shoes and socks always disappear too?”
“I don’t know.”
Just as the two Church members were locked in a stalemate with the light sphere in the air, several beams of light filled with destructive aura suddenly shot out from a tall tower on the east side of the city!
Both Kars and Gray were familiar with this magic: Lobelia’s [Ultimate Flash].
However, she had sacrificed some power for quantity and speed.
Each beam struck the sphere in the sky precisely, forcefully pushing it back dozens of meters.
“Hmph, daring to cause trouble at a time like this. You reckless fool!”
A female voice full of anger echoed in the air.
Lobelia, wearing a deep red slit dress, descended midair.
Her pink eyes burned with the fury of someone interrupted during something good.
‘Oh ho, even that bad woman is here.’
Kars let out a silent whistle.
Now, four former Dawn Blade members were here.
With her understanding of the average strength of this monster squad, that kin of hers up there probably wouldn’t be getting off easy.
But…
The girl’s gaze bypassed the temporary Holy Light defense line, fixated on the ball of light slowly dissipating in the air.
In Noctiluca’s understanding, no Calamity Pillar would dare to openly tear up the Peace Treaty and directly attack a human city.
That would be the same as slapping the Demon Lord right in the face.
Which newcomer Calamity Pillar had the guts to do this?
Were they trying to start a second Human-Demon Great War?
As the dust cleared, the figure inside the light sphere was finally revealed to everyone.
The instant Kars saw her true form, her brow furrowed deeply, even feeling the urge to fly up there and kill this one on the spot.
The Demon girl hovering in the air had flowing pink hair tied into exaggerated twin tails.
A pair of large, twisted black horns grew from her head.
Her demon tail, with a heart-shaped tip, was flicking restlessly behind her.
But that wasn’t the main point.
The main point was that this kin of hers, who also clearly had a loli face and probably wasn’t even taller than Kars herself, was wearing a black leather restraint outfit up top that clearly didn’t cover much.
Underneath were two masses of fat that defied the laws of physics and biology!
As she swayed slightly in the air, those two hefty lumps also wobbled in a breathtaking way, as if mocking a certain flat-chested priestess on the ground.
“Gray, that thing is wobbling!”
“Ah? Huh?”
The pink-haired Demon girl didn’t attack right away.
Instead, she looked down at the crowd from on high.
Finally, her gaze bypassed Ingram and Eve, locking directly onto Gray, who had been thrown off by Kars’s comment.
“Oh my? And who’s this interesting little guy?”
She revealed a sickly, sensual smile full of desire.
“So it was you who killed that Mammon, stinking of money? I’m surprised. You look quite a bit weaker than him, little human.”
At these words, even the steady Ingram couldn’t help but turn his head and look at Gray in astonishment.
Compared to an E-level Priestess, the words from a Demon’s mouth carried much more credibility.
Since this powerful Demon had identified Gray as the one who killed the Great Demon of the Third Labyrinth, it was pointless to keep doubting Kars.
“But still, you do look quite delicious. It makes me want to take a bite and taste you.”
The girl’s pink tongue slid across her lips.
Her gaze at Gray was unashamed of its desire to devour him whole.
A bright red “卍” mark instantly popped up on Kars’s forehead next to her.
‘Where does this rude junior come from? Doesn’t she know that Gray here is prey this senior had her eyes on first!’
‘And why does it have to be these damn huge oppai again! All your nutrients go to those two useless lumps of fat, your brains must be filled with lard too, dammit!!’
At that moment, Kars deeply realized how right the words she had blurted out a few minutes ago were.
Physiques truly varied from person to person.
The same went for Demons and Demons.