The Final Confrontation

"Men, remember why you are here!"

With the summer rays illuminating the stage of battle, Charles rides up and down the rows of orderly knights. Just a few minutes walk ahead is a forest where the demons are known to be stationed.

"We will rid our lands of these fiends once and for all!"

""YEAH!""

Our soldiers range from kids just old enough to serve all the way to men older than myself. Some of these men have scars across their faces, giving a reason for their keenness. In another future, I may have been standing among them.

"Rado."

At the end of his rousing speech, Charles rides to meet the party of heroes and myself. We're standing a little ways away from the army and the mission has not changed.

"Please guide our heroes. You all are the only ones capable of facing the Demon Lord."

"You have my word, Commander."

I feel a slight tinge of guilt when he pats my shoulder with emotion. Now that I know who our target is, there is no way that I would bring the fight to her. Navigating this battlefield to keep both Ailith and these children safe will be a challenge. I'm not even sure where to start.

Unfortunately, time is not on my side.

"Alright, men! Be at arms, and let the hunt begin!"

At his command, Charles leads the army into the forest. The lines naturally break up, but each soldier is ready to begin a fight to the death. I'm sure many are aware that most of these men will likely not return home.

"Demons! Straight ahead!"

"Rado, stay at my side!"

With the knights beginning their charge, Bernard keeps me close. We don't join the fighting immediately and remain behind to watch. My job is to identify the Demon Lord, and I certainly intend to do so. We drop from our horses at the treeline and begin approaching.

"Ailith…"

I'm searching intently for the small demon, likely once again clad in her dark apparel and monstrous features. It isn't until we see the first line of demons where I catch a trace of her presence. With casualties already beginning to count up, it's difficult to detect a single individual presence.

"Where are you…Ah!"

Behind the horde is a girl obviously out of place. She stands atop a large stone with a view over the entire field of battle. Her eyes glow a bright red, fully visible only because she has yet to don the mask fragment. For a moment, it feels as if our eyes connect, but the heat of battle takes over our attention.

"Magic incoming!"

"Shields up!"

Shouts from several knights warn of a falling barrage of dark energy. This level of firepower isn't that of a normal demon. She really must be doing whatever it takes to wipe out her enemies.

"Rado!"

Leon pulls me backwards, an arrow soon flying though the point my head had been.

"Have you found the Demon Lord?"

"N-Not yet!"

"Tch! This is bad!"

Humans outnumbered the demons ten to one, and the death count is just as uneven. I can count the number of fallen demons on my fingers. The final number is zero.

"It's that one!"

On my other side, a purple hat appears next to my face. Katherine has her staff pointed directly at Ailith.

"She's the one providing magic support!"

"Take it out!"

"W-Wait—!"

Our wizard responds to her leader's command before my pleas could reach. A large blast of energy is released from the crystal appended onto her metal rod. The sheer strength of the beam blows leaves clean off the branches it passes.

"Ailith!"

My voice is shut out by the screams of opposing warriors. However, my warning was never necessary.

"W-What!? How!?"

Katherine is in awe at what happens when her attack clears the distance. The leading demon holds up a small hand and meets the deadly strike. Our wizard's magic is completely stopped in place, energy flying in all directions as it tries to break through. When it clears, Ailith doesn't even have a scratch.

"This girl is crazy…"

Even without the Demon Lord's power, she is far too powerful for any human to handle.

"Argh! There's no point waiting!"

Leon draws his weapon, eyes locked onto the girl atop the rock.

"More men will die if we don't stop the sorcerer! We'll handle the Demon Lord when it shows itself!"

"Rado, make sure to stay safe until then."

All three of our heroes walk past me and prepare an assault on the Demon Lord they've been looking for. Blood floods to my brain in panic, trying to find some way to keep this exact situation from occurring. No matter who wins the fight, I will lose somebody.

"What do I do…"

In the time I spent thinking, Leon has already cleared much of the gap and is seconds away from reaching Ailith with his flaming blade.

"Hm?"

She sees the young hero aiming directly towards her, confusion showing in those vicious eyes. It isn't the boy himself that has her on edge, but the weapon he carries. For someone with as much of a history as her, Ailith likely knows what this is.

"ARGH!"

The small demon fires a series of wicked blasts aimed at Leon. Each one is aimed at a different part of his body, and each one is placed to either cripple or kill. He manages to narrowly block each one, but is stopped in his tracks. Bernard and Katherine try to follow, but are similarly held back by overwhelming force.

"Curse you, Demon! In that case—!"

My heart sinks when Leon's blade begins collecting light. This is the power that slayed a true Demon Lord at his most powerful. As much faith as I have in Ailith's longevity, this alone may be her weakness.

"AILITH!"

One foot steps in front of the other and I'm in motion. Through the battle field, I duck under swinging blades and jump over fallen bodies all to reach the rock before Leon speaks his words of power. An arrow scrapes a part of my hip, a dying knight nearly trips me in his struggle for survival, and stray blasts from the one I'm trying to save nearly end my charge.

"By my authority! Begone!"

Leon collects light in his blade and unleashes a sphere of pure demon-slaying magic. It's a race for me to hop up a series of rocks before the light touches Ailith. My muscles tear themselves to provide more speed, and my heart bursts to send them more power. In my single-sighted pursuit, I'm spotted at the base of her stone.

"R-Rado!?"

"Get down!"

I leap one stone at a time to eventually reach her level. She's too stunned to stop me as I tackle her off the rock. The ball of light rings past my ears as we fall, burning a few ends at the back of my head.

"AHH!"

Holding the small girl in my arms, we crash to the ground on the opposite side of battle.