Arpeus took Euryale and Stheno with him, descending once more into the chaotic battlefield with the thought of stabilizing the situation as much as they could. Slowly but surely, the situation was turning in Mystveil's favor, and they had to delay it as long as they could—at least until Scarlett returns.
Their trio was a cheat force in itself anyway. Once again, a silent death followed in their wake. Soldiers started dying before they even understood what was happening. All it took was one glance. All they could see were the chilling, vertical pupils of either Euryale and stheno before they met their doom.
At the same time, Rin, Reiza's brother, moved through the battlefield, trying to find a group he could join and work with to destroy as many machines as he could. But Rin had no battlefield experience. Amidst all the chaos, he was like a blind man running around without any fixed destination in mind.
Thankfully, his unique skill was a natural nemesis to those advanced robots, so fighting them wasn't particularly difficult. Not to forget, he was still an oni; his strength and speed far exceeded even that of ogres. But having no fighting experience and a dislike for killing, fighting against Mystveil soldiers along the way was quite a hassle. He couldn't utilize his oni powers like his sister Reiza.
"Damn hippopotamus, just die!" a soldier shouted at the top of his lungs, directly slashing his sword at Rin's shoulder.
CLANG!...
Instead of penetrating Rin's skin, the soldier's sword itself crumbled apart into multiple pieces.
Rin casually gave a slap at the man's face, immediately knocking him out, although he wasn't sure if the soldier was just passed out or dead.
"Mr. Rin, is that you?" a voice called out from behind.
As Rin turned, he saw Ingrassia, Chiyoko, and Richard, their armors looking rough from dust and blood.
"Mr. Rin, you're an important person, don't just go around alone on the battlefield," Chiyoko added.
Everyone clearly knew that Rin's unique skill made shields and weapons crafted by him invincible as long as he was around. He was a valuable asset.
But Rin only smiled. "Thank the lady, you're here at the right time," he said, immediately rushing towards them.
He didn't waste a single moment and told them everything about the other specialty of his unique skill. Hearing this, their eyes couldn't help but light up.
"That's great news," Richard said. "Leave the defense to us. Just focus on destroying as many of those clankers as you can," he said, looking at Ingrassia and Chiyoko.
Both of them nodded in agreement, their expressions firm.
With that settled, they started pinpointing robots instead of Mystveil soldiers. With their goal set, Rin directly rushed at one of the machines.
It was over fifteen meters tall, its main body shaped like an egg. Two spring-like moving iron arms were attached to it instead of limbs, with three metal plates that could close and open but no flexible movement of a proper human hand. And it had two similar, but tougher, legs to sustain its weight.
"Demon! Eliminate!" the mechanical voice emanated from it.
The spring-like arm moved, pointing its hand. The three metal plates opened, and intense energy began to form at the center with a low, vibrating hum.
But before it could release its attack, Ingrassia stood in front of Rin.
"I'll defend it," she said.
But just as the robot's vision landed on her, the vibrating sound stopped. The heat evaporated from its hand.
"Huh?" Everyone was confused by what just happened.
"Did it malfunction?" Ingrassia muttered.
But then, instead of an energy attack, it shot its spring-like limbs towards Rin. Its limbs moved like tentacles, ignoring Ingrassia and attacking Rin, who was standing behind her.
But before they could reach him, Rin immediately moved away, dodging the lashing arms.
Just as there was a sufficient distance between them, the vibrating sound started coming from the robot once more.
"Demon! Eliminate!" it droned. Retracting its limbs, it once again pointed at Rin, and intense energy began to form in its hand again.
"Tch!" Ingrassia grits her teeth. She rushes towards Rin, positioning herself in front of him once again.
But just like last time, the moment she moved at front, the low, vibrating hum from the robot vanished. The intense energy disappearing again.
"Again?" Chiyoko whispered to himself, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Suddenly, a spark of realization lit up Ingrassia's face. A slow, triumphant smile spread across her lips as the pieces clicked into place.
"Everyone, come here and surround Mr. Rin," she commanded, her voice clear and urgent.
Richard and Chiyoko exchanged a confused glance, but their trust in her was absolute. They rushed to her side, standing shoulder to shoulder, creating a human wall. Understanding their intent, Rin crouched down, completely hiding his large frame behind theirs.
And just as Ingrassia had predicted, the robot's head swiveled back and forth, its optical sensors flickering as if processing a contradiction. Then, with a whir of gears, it turned and stomped away, leaving the area entirely.
"What the—? How?" Richard stammered, his mind struggling to catch up.
But Chiyoko's expression had also shifted to one of dawning comprehension. "I was just wondering... how do those robots tell the difference between friend and foe?" he said, his voice filled with awe.
"They're not," Ingrassia stated, her smile widening. "They only attack demons, not humans."
Richard's eyes went wide as the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. "Ohh! Why would humans fight for demons? That's actually logical. They must have given those metal golems a simple command: eliminate demons only," he realized.
"Umm... is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Rin asked awkwardly from behind their protective wall, scratching the back of his head.
"Good? Not just good, we just found a literal cheat code!" all three of them shouted in unison, their eyes burning with fire.
They didn't waste a single second. Their simple but devastatingly effective strategy was put into motion, and they began to systematically dismantle the robotic army, one machine after another.
Whenever a robot locked onto Rin and prepared to fire, one of them—Ingrassia, Chiyoko, or Richard—would instantly step into its line of sight, causing it to halt its attack.
Of course, the machines were likely permitted to harm humans if they killed someone accidentally or they were caught as collateral damage during a large area-of-effect attack on multiple demons. But they were powerless against a small group of humans standing directly in front of their single target.
Taking full advantage of this, Rin would launch his attack. His hammer would swing in a deadly arc, destroying the distracted robot in one or two thunderous strikes.
Because of their perfectly coordinated group, one robot after another continued to fall before them. And with the combined efforts of Rin's group and the silent, deadly work of Arpeus's trio, the situation on the battlefield seemed to stabilize a little more—at least for now.
*****
In the territory of the fourth demon king, Nirvana.
Inside her dark, imposing castle, Nirvana sat within a secluded, heavily warded section of her vast chambers.
Before her lay the decaying corpse of Noir, the fifth demon king, his flesh slightly rotted from the passage of time.
The floor beneath her was a canvas of ancient, intricate markings, surrounded by various ritualistic artifacts and countless glass tubes filled with blood of strange, unnatural colors. The entire room felt thick with a palpable sense of dread, as if the whole room was filled with treacherous and bloodthirsty ghosts.
Nirvana continued to chant in a low, guttural, ancient tongue, her brow furrowed in deep concentration, her entire being focused on the impossible task before her.
Meanwhile, Catherine, dressed in her usual, gothic nun outfit, stood behind her, her arms crossed and her face etched with a profound sense of disappointment.
"My lady, it has been so many days already," Catherine said, her voice soft but firm. "It is not going to work. His soul has long since passed through the door of rebirth and reincarnation. We should focus our energy on tracing the power we felt that day instead," she suggests with a heavy sigh.
Nirvana's chanting stopped abruptly. She gritted her teeth, turning her head slowly to fix Catherine with a glare filled with raw anger and frustration.
"And can you tell me how?" Nirvana hisses. "If tracing my mother were that simple, I would have found her long ago. You cannot even begin to imagine the sheer scale of my mother's powers!" she shouted.
"Still, it is a more productive path than hoping this corpse will suddenly speak," Catherine replied, her tone unnervingly calm in the face of Nirvana's rage.
"Besides, there is other news," Catherine continued, changing the subject. "A fierce war is raging between Mystveil and a newly emerged kingdom called Dreadhaven."
"DreadHaven?" Nirvana repeated, her interest momentarily caught.
"Yes. Apparently, it is a kingdom built by monsters and demons, but somehow, they established friendly relations with humans and even managed to be recognized as a friendly kingdom. But demons are demons, after all; such a fragile peace was bound to break. Although I am not certain which side struck the first blow," Catherine explained in a single, fluid breath before pausing for a moment.
"Also," she added, her eyes narrowing, "those Mystveil bastards are conducting a ritual of their own. It appears to be a summoning circle." She looked directly at Nirvana, as if awaiting a command.
But Nirvana only gave her a dismissive, unbothered glance and said, "So?"
"Umm... I was thinking... perhaps we should offer them our aid," Catherine pressed on carefully. "Our relationships with the other demon kings are... strained, at best. A succubus who came from their lands reported that they possess remarkable facilities, several food options, and many of the daily conveniences that those humans enjoy."
"Furthermore," Catherine added, her voice dropping to a more persuasive tone, "this generation's succubus queen, Lunatic, actually serves under the leader of Dreadhaven, a woman named Scarlett Nova. To command the a succubus queen, she has already proven herself worthy of an audience with you."
With that, Catherine gracefully knelt on the cold stone floor, her head bowed in submission.
"If you give the command, I will go and assist them. Their enemies are merely those puny Holy Knights, after all. It will not take long. In return, I will offer a friendly and stable alliance with us," Catherine asks.