From William's perspective, things were turning ugly fast.

How could they not?

The town was supposed to sit safely behind a tight military defense line. Not just any unit either, but the force stationed along the border. Veterans. Watchdogs are trained to monitor every twitch of a foreign nation's movements.

Their numbers alone should have been overwhelming. Their skill, unquestionable.

And yet, leaks were everywhere.

Devils kept pouring toward the town, wave after wave. Worse, they weren't even coming from a single direction. The northern route was no longer the only threat.

Brutus wasn't the only one fighting for his life. Bardy and Emma were just as busy, holding their own fronts.

"Gaaaha!"

To the west, the short-haired man brought his fortified arms crashing down on an incoming monster. His limbs had swollen far beyond human limits, thicker than even the largest man's arms. They had twisted into something bestial, built purely for violence.

Grey scales coated his flesh, spreading down to claws that replaced his fingers. Each talon was sharp enough to punch straight through the hardened hides of the devils charging him.

Thunk THUNK THUNK

A mutant elephant thundered toward him, its hide pitch-dark as nyx coiled around its massive frame like a raging storm.

Bardy didn't hesitate. He charged straight in.

The elephant lifted its trunk to intercept, but Bardy caught it mid-motion. With a brutal pull, he wrenched the trunk over his shoulder.

"GHRUEENK!"

The beast screeched in agony. A monster weighing over a thousand kilograms was being dragged around by a human.

It was absurd by every measure, yet undeniably real.

Still gripping the trunk, Bardy stepped in and drove his fist straight into the devil's skull.

CRACK

The elephant staggered back before collapsing onto its side, its head striking the ground at an unnatural angle. Its skull was likely fractured.

'Strong and direct,' William noted. People like Bardy solved most problems with violence. And when that wasn't enough, they blamed themselves for not using more of it.

On the other side, Brutus hovered a massive sphere of sand before his face. Trapped within it were all the demonic rabbits that had rushed him earlier, their forms crushed and immobilized.

This time, the boy showed no panic. No strain. Containing such danger came to him as naturally as breathing.

Just then, another devil charged in.

A spearhead impala.

Its head was lowered, its sharp, pointed antlers aimed straight at Brutus's chest.

The violet-haired boy lifted a hand. Instantly, a sand platform erupted from the ground, shattering the devil's momentum in mid-charge.

From the earth, several sand-forged fingers rose and wrapped tightly around the impala. Before it could even let out a sound—

SQUELCH

Its body collapsed into meat paste, reduced to nothing more than mangled flesh.

Another quiet testament to the kind of brutality Brutus usually relied on.

Heaving a sigh, William turned toward his beloved.

She was facing a three-headed hound, a beast at least as strong as the wolf Brutus had phased earlier, if not slightly stronger.

Judging a monster purely by the density of its nyx could give a rough rank, but that was never the full picture. Fighting spirit, battle intelligence, and versatility mattered just as much. Those factors painted a far clearer image.

And right now, Emma was the one measuring them.

'Come on, love. You've got this.'

From the rear of the battlefield, Emma took a deep breath and raised her hand. A barrier flared into existence just in time to block an incoming volley of flames.

Klink

CRACK

Each time a barrier shattered into fragments, another instantly replaced it. One after another, seamless and unbroken.

It was another application of Spiral Ward, a technique that allowed her to summon multiple barriers in rapid succession, within mere microseconds. To an onlooker, it appeared as if the shields were regenerating endlessly.

Her lips moved in a quiet chant, aether blooming around her like a silent warning the devil chose to ignore.

A massive magic circle flared beneath the mutt. From it, dark chains burst forth, coiling around the beast's limbs and torso.

The flames weakened as the hound thrashed violently. Inch by inch, it tore through the bindings. The chains strained, then snapped, unable to keep it restrained.

'So much for a second-circle spell,' Emma scoffed, her lips already moving into another chant.

She didn't get the chance to finish.

The monster leapt high, predatory eyes locked onto her.

The silver-haired woman never stopped chanting. She slid to the side in one smooth motion, drawing her steel batons as she settled into a fighting stance.

DOOOOM

The hound slammed into the ground, jaws snapping shut where her head had been a moment earlier. Emma had been tracking its movements from the start. She dipped under the attack with ease and, instead of retreating, surged forward.

Her right baton spun in her grip before she drove it up beneath the creature's throat.

The impact sent the beast staggering back, a deep growl rumbling from its chests.

'Woah… she's strong,' William whistled, watching the mutt skid back a few steps before charging once more.

Emma was ready.

Her chant concluded. Multiple spell circles bloomed across the lane.

"Titan's Grip."

The monster was slammed into the ground with a crushing force, the pavement beneath it exploding into fragments.

But then,

"No…" Emma's eyes widened in realization.

The range of her spell.

The lane was narrow.

And there were houses on both sides.

She understood it a moment too late. The outcome was already decided.

DOOOOOOM

Four houses on either side collapsed at once.

Her eyes stayed wide, her heart hammering violently as she took a step forward—only for her legs to turn weak beneath her.

Did… she just kill civilians because she failed to control her spell?

Then, something suddenly burst out from the shattered debris.

Emma flinched as she saw it.

People.

Several of them, launched out of the ruined houses, alive and unharmed.

They flew past her in controlled arcs and were gently deposited near the church.

It took Emma a few seconds to grasp what had just happened.

Slowly, she turned toward the tallest spire of the church.

He was standing there.

Her guardian angel.

The heart that had been on the verge of bursting through her chest finally eased, relief washing over her as she realized everyone was safe.

William let out a slow breath and reached out to his beloved through telepathy.

[Are you fine?]

The instant he sensed Emma preparing to cast Titan's Grip, he had already acted. Every living presence in the area had been mapped in his mind, his telekinetic arms spreading out to shield them like an unseen cocoon.

Because of that, they survived an impact that even his nyx-reinforced arms had barely managed to endure.

Emma stayed silent for a few seconds, long enough for concern to creep into William's chest. Then her voice finally reached him.

[I… I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have used that spell. I just wanted to end things quickly.]

William hummed softly in response.

[It's okay to make a mistake, Emma,] he reassured her. [What matters is remembering what you learned from it.]

Emma lowered her gaze.

'Right. I don't need to rush things.'

William nodded in assent. 'That's right. You can take your time, since those devils are only aiming for you.'

Emma didn't argue. She listened carefully.

At times, her obsession with efficiency made her forget that there was another objective beyond victory. Protecting the civilians around her mattered just as much.

William let out a sigh before adding, 'Now, please don't make that face, or I'll start feeling guilty.'

Emma chuckled softly. [I'll recover in no time. Thanks again for the help.]

William grinned. 'Don't worry. I'll claim my reward later. For now, focus on the maggots coming your way.'

Without another word, Emma settled into her stance, already sensing several presences advancing toward her.

William sat back down, his attention still fixed on Emma. Even so, part of his mind remained on the soldiers holding the frontlines.

'They're leaking more and more devils now.'

What had begun as a few stragglers every few minutes had turned into something far worse. The attacks were coming in segments, almost like a staggered stampede. There was no time to rest, no room to relax, only the constant need to stay ready for the next wave.

"You know you can stop this, right?" Came a voice from behind.

William frowned, "Lamb..." He muttered without even looking, "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't pretend you didn't understand what happened last time. That ranked devil appeared because of a reason."

William's brows drew closer.

So...could he be a bait to close the Sinks at once?

"Can they handle several Ranked devils at once?" he wondered.

But again, if this was delayed any longer, the forces would continue to trim out until there would be no one to fight against them except for a few.

William must have to make a decision now.

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