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It was clear that the object didn’t seem quite right. Although it gave off a different kind of unease than what I felt from above the castle, the ominous aura emanating from the black jewel was certainly no less concerning.

So while I was aware that I needed to prevent any suspicious actions, I could only helplessly watch as it was placed inside and swallowed. After all, no matter how quick I was, it was too late to intervene.

I shouldn’t have let it come this far. My careful actions ended up becoming a liability.

Whoosh!

As Keltus swallowed the pitch-black gem, a fierce wind erupted around him, striking my face.

In a fully blocked laboratory with no windows, wind shouldn’t be able to flow. It was not a natural wind; it was an artificial current created by the sheer surge of mana pushing the air away.

“Ugh… Everyone, be careful!”

I shouted to my friends and immediately dashed toward Keltus. Even with the strong wind squinting my eyes, I never took my gaze off Keltus.

No matter how powerful Keltus was, being a top-tier demon among the demonic race, he couldn’t possibly handle that kind of energy without any side effects.

That’s why Keltus had created the black jewel early and waited until we arrived before swallowing it.

As I got close, I swung my Holy Sword, aiming to behead Keltus.

Clang!

But, as expected, things didn’t go smoothly. Before my blade could even touch his neck, a round barrier formed around Keltus, deflecting my sword.

Using the force of the rebound, I jumped back, but before I could land, spears made of black mana came flying toward me from various trajectories. While I could dodge a few, with my feet still in the air, I could only brace myself against all of them.

But that didn’t mean I was going to take it lying down.

It was just that I wasn’t alone in this fight.

Clang!

Selian, who knew me better than anyone, accurately anticipated the spears I wouldn’t be able to block and struck them down.

If she hadn’t trusted me, she would have gotten in the way and tangled our weapons together, and if she had overestimated me, a spear might have skewered me.

“Haah!”

As Keltus momentarily hesitated to attack me, Anne seized the opportunity and lunged forward. Her mighty shout echoed throughout the vast room, as her great sword carried immense force.

Anne, with her tiny frame, swung the enormous great sword down powerfully.

Boom!

It produced a heavy, thunderous sound different from when my sword clashed. In terms of destructiveness, Anne’s strike was practically equivalent to a siege weapon meant to tear down a castle. Calling her a walking battering ram wouldn’t be far off.

The bloodline of House Klain was indeed remarkable in facing the demonic race.

As Anne’s blow hit the floor, it slightly buckled, and Keltus sank a bit. Normally, with that kind of power, it wouldn’t be surprising for the floor to collapse all the way down to the first level, but perhaps due to the magic of the Demon King’s Castle, it only dented slightly.

By the way, if Anne’s attack only caused such a slight dent, how powerful must Frecia’s magic have been to completely reduce the castle to rubble? It made me grateful, once again, that Frecia was on our side.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

While I landed and took a moment to compose myself, Anne was tirelessly continuing her assault. She had no intention of letting go of the chance she had fought to gain.

After raising her great sword, she slammed it down again. Once, twice, three times…

Normally, one would wield their sword according to the flow of power. After all, forcing it wouldn’t yield proper strength and would only strain the muscles.

But such logic had no place for Anne. Her muscles, flowing with Klain’s blood, were harder than steel, and their flexibility exceeded the limits of a human.

Defying the physical rules, Anne relentlessly brought the sword down with ridiculous might.

Crack.

Keltus’s shield, which was under Anne’s attack, finally showed a crack. But Keltus merely furrowed his brows and slowly reached out a hand toward Anne.

Boom!

With a sound akin to air exploding, Anne was flung away, tumbling several times across the floor before finally stopping. Luckily, it seemed Keltus’s magic didn’t have much power behind it, so Anne, though she rolled and kicked up dust, quickly got back on her feet.

As Keltus created some distance by deflecting Anne, black spears were already floating around him.

With a small gesture of his fingers, the rain of spears was directed toward us.

“Protect your companions!”

Just when it seemed we would be helpless against the onslaught, a voice called from behind. At the same time, the Light Barrier enveloped us.

While I, Selian, and Anne were busy wielding our swords, Mariel was not idly standing by. As soon as she saw us in danger, she immediately activated her holy magic.

The hemispherical barrier covered all of us, blocking the rain of spears. Despite the relentless downpour of spears that threatened to break the barrier at any moment, Mariel was not just any ordinary priestess.

Though she sometimes showed a more greedy side not befitting a saint, she was a true saint nonetheless.

No matter how powerful Keltus’s magic was, it couldn’t easily penetrate her divine magic.

As we took a brief breath within the barrier, we saw Keltus preparing another spell.

Knowing that the kind of magic a wizard like Keltus took a long time to prepare would not bode well for us once completed was instinctual.

While I knew I needed to stop it, both Selian and Anne specialized in close combat. Typically, a warrior’s fight against a wizard was about keeping distance. If the distance was maintained, I was confident in our combat abilities, but if we ever lost it, closing the gap would become quite difficult.

As one could see, we were currently trapped outside the barrier due to Keltus’s magic.

At least Selian was somewhat skilled with magic, but in facing a formidable opponent like Keltus, it was not enough.

Mariel was overwhelmed just maintaining the barrier. I found myself missing Frecia and Yuli more than ever. If they were here, the battle would surely be much easier.

Regretfully, I had no choice but to use the power I had been saving up.

“Clarice.”

As I called her name, droplets began to form in mid-air, quickly taking the shape of a person.

“Yeah! Elysia!”

Clarice appeared at my call.

Her appearance had changed significantly since the first time I summoned her.

At that time, my affinity with spirits was so low that I had only managed to summon a mid-tier spirit, resulting in her child-like form. However, thanks to the tears she had continuously provided, my affinity had risen to the level where I could summon top-tier spirits, now resembling her true form seen in the Spirit Realm.

Of course, while Lindy could skillfully utilize top-tier spirits, I was barely capable of managing it at a minimum level, so the time I could borrow her power was quite short.

Thus, I had been saving her for a truly vital moment, and now was the time to invoke Clarice’s strength.

There was no need for me to explain; Clarice instantly recognized her role and swiftly crafted a sharp arrow.

An arrow made of water.

I spotted Keltus, still preparing his magic in the distance. Although he had used several spells almost without prior preparation, generally, a wizard needed at least a brief moment to chant or draw a magic circle.

Especially when the spell they intended to use was powerful and complex, the preparation time would inevitably be longer.

Herein lies the difference between regular magic and spirit magic.

While spirit magic is termed magic, it’s essentially borrowing the power of spirits, requiring no extensive preparatory incantation.

Though there’s a minor drawback in the variety of powers available to each spirit as compared to regular magic, the trade-offs balanced out, and now was the right time to utilize that advantage.

Pow!

Without needing to signal, the arrow was shot straight toward Keltus.

Though that single shot was all I could manage with my spirit affinity, its power was in no way insignificant, even against Keltus.

“Guh…”

Of course, it didn’t result in an ideal scenario of piercing Keltus with the water arrow. But it was enough to disrupt his spell preparation, making his focused magic ineffective, and the rain of spears momentarily halted.

“Now!”

Despite my shout losing its meaning, Selian and Anne instinctively dashed out of the barrier at the same time, knowing this was their chance.

The first to reach Keltus, Selian swung her sword. Despite being a wizard, Keltus managed to dodge Selian’s strike.

However, Selian was not the only one swinging a weapon. Following her, Anne arrived, delivering another massive swing of her great sword.

Boom!

Already staggering from dodging Selian’s sword, Keltus found himself unable to evade Anne’s strike. Instead, Keltus’s shield spell absorbed the blow.

However, the shield, already cracked from Anne’s attack, couldn’t hold up against Anne’s sword in the exact spot and began to shatter, ending with a sound like glass breaking.

And lastly, I reached him and swung my sword.

Swish.