Fran and her party continued to move forward through the antidemons without slowing down.
They were almost at the knight-type, the commander of the horde. Since it was almost twice as tall as a swordsman-type, we could easily see it even from this far away.
And the aura it unleashed was different too. It of course had plenty of mana, but I also felt evil energy radiating from it. The Abyss Eater was created from the fragments of the Evil God, so it would obviously emit evil energy.
From the moment we stepped into the barrier of this continent, I could always feel a minuscule amount of evil energy in the air.
The antidemons produced by the Abyss Eater naturally retain that evil energy. This knight-type antidemon was clothed in an evil energy comparable to that of minotaurs and high-ranking orcs.
「Almost at the commander.」
「Yeah!」
At this rate, it’s doubtful that Fran’s party will be able to defeat it. It’s not a matter of strength, I’m sure Fran could erase it in the blink of an eye.
The problem was Hilt’s party closing in from the other side.
They seemed to be aware of us as well, and I could tell they were slightly increasing the speed of their push towards the knight-type.
『At this rate, Hilt is gonna get there before us. What did you want to do? Should one of us just take it down from here?』
I already searched the surrounding area for mana traces, but there was no one left alive. Although it was pretty obvious, Bashar’s troops had been completely wiped out.
『Those guys from Bashar are long gone.』
（I see……）
Despite Fran’s sadness, I felt a strong sense of relief. I doubt anything good would happen if we met them here.
But with them out of the picture, we would be allowed to perform wide range attacks. For example, I could use my Kanna Kamui to destroy the knight-type without needing to get any closer.
But Fran did not take that choice. She wanted to win with her squad.
「Diggins!」
「Yeah!」
「I’ll open the way, so you take the knight-type.」
「Got it! Leave it to me!」
Diggins immediately nodded his head, even though Fran had just told him to take the enemy boss alone.
I could see that he wasn’t just accepting orders from a superior without thinking. Fran had earned his trust in such a short period of time.
「Guys, let’s make the path!」
「「「Yes!」」」
「Sword Sonic!」
『Gale Hazard!』
The shockwave released by Fran sent the 30 or so antidemons in our way flying.
Next, I unleashed a wind spell that blew the antidemons away, further widening the gap that Fran had opened.
Finally, the adventurers’ long-range attacks hit, creating a narrow path of about 30 meters to the knight-type.
Diggins saw this and roared.
「Uruaaaah! Awakening!」
He played his trump card.
Diggins’ race had changed from Yellow Bear to Yellow Jade Bear.
The biggest change in appearance was the color of his fur. Originally, it was a gaudy yellow, but now it has a tough radiance to it.
As the name of the race implied, he had a beautiful topaz-like fur.
The size of his body hardly changed at all. His muscles were probably just a little pumped up.
However, he had definitely increased his strength.
「Guraaaaah!」
Using his enhanced muscular strength as propulsive force, Diggins pushed forward at a tremendous speed. He was already closing in on the knight-type.
The antidemons that stood in his way were crushed by a metal club swung with blinding speed.
The strength enhancement on his arms must have been fairly large. For every swing of the club, several antidemons were blown away.
What was even more surprising was his defenses. He received blows from the antidemons’ weapons many times, but they didn’t even leave a scratch.
I guess that fur is harder than it looks.
The knight-type was almost right in front of him.
However, I could see Phobos-kun approaching from right behind the knight.
It seems Hilt also had no intention of doing everything herself. She must have wanted to give her disciples a chance to shine.
Phobos-kun was leaning forward as he weaved between the antidemons to make his way here, with movements as smooth as a snake darting along on the ground. I would expect as much from the Dimitris style’s rising star whose talents were widely regarded.
Diggins noticed Phobos-kun’s presence too. They both had about 10 meters to go, so it was a toss up as to which of them would reach the target first.
After Diggins realized that, he raised his left hand in the air with a look of determination.
「Gooaaahhhh!」
Diggins’ roar echoed as his left arm swung down toward the earth.
Boom!
His claws pierced the ground, and the impact sent the soil flying.
Of course, that wasn’t the only thing that happened. At first glance, it appeared to be just a pointless strike at the ground.
But those who can sense magic would understand. A powerful wave of magic ran beneath the earth.
The point where Diggins’ fist hit the earth was only the starting point, and a dense mana had been released towards the knight-type.
Then, the ground beneath the knight collapsed.
「Ryiioo?」
A cacophony of sound was emitted from the knight-type, as if a distorted bell had been bashed. Is that how they scream? It was a mysterious voice, completely different from the cries of living creatures.
The screaming(?) knight-type was swallowed up by the hole, with only the upper torso remaining above ground.
It quickly thrust out its hand to stop the fall, but Diggins’ assault continued.
The walls on two sides of the hole flared up, crushing the knight-type between them.
And these were not just dirt walls, they had been infused with a large amount of Diggins’ mana. Soon after, the knight-type’s shell gave way.
Like a bear trap clamping into its prey, the earth itself smashed the knight-type.
Crack!
The walls slammed together with tremendous force, shattering the knight-type with a high-pitched sound similar to a metallic clash.
Fragments of the knight-type scattered about before melting into the air.
「Aw yeah! We got ’em, Black Lightning Princess-san!」
「Ahhhh! You beat me to it! Hilt-sama is going to be so mad at me!」
