Under a blue sky with the sun shining brilliantly, a single massive motorcycle raced across the vast land.
A young man with short black hair fluttering in the wind, azure eyes that conveyed a sharp and strong will fixed on the road ahead, and a well-trained, toned body visible even through his combat attire—a blend of Eastern and Western styles—rode the motorcycle. His name was Kurosaki Renya.
Renya was heading toward a certain location for a job.
It was an investigation and crackdown on a rogue mage's research facility—in short, its destruction.
"Alright, this is as far as the bike goes."
Renya stopped the motorcycle at the foot of the mountain and looked up ahead.
The towering mountain, its peak shrouded in clouds, appeared dim and hazy.
The ominous atmosphere might have been due to the presence he could feel even from here.
'Whether it's the mountain's spiritual power or the rogue mage's magical energy, either way, it's a powerful aura.'
Without feeling daunted, Renya stored the motorcycle in his personal dimensional space.
After checking his equipment and confirming there were no issues, he began to step into the mountain cautiously but without hesitation—when...
The moment he sensed a presence, Renya had already created a demonic spear and readied it.
"Who?! Wait... could it be... Ren-kun!?"
The one who emerged from the nearby thicket was a beautiful girl with long, gorgeous silver hair and clear blue eyes.
She looked surprised upon seeing Renya, but called his name familiarly and lowered her exorcist gun.
"Riselia."
Renya, familiar with her, lowered his demonic spear as he called her name.
"Yes! It's been so long, Ren-kun! Have you been well?"
"Yeah, same as always here. Good to see you're doing well too."
Renya smiled back at Riselia's beaming face.
She—Riselia—her full name was Riselia Ray Crystalia.
Riselia was a warrior of the Church—from a family that had produced many Holy Sword wielders for generations—and an active exorcist.
There was a reason why Riselia, a Church warrior, was on friendly terms with Renya, who was Half-Devil.
About two years ago, when they first encountered each other on a job like today, they had clashed as usual.
However, the rogue mage they were hunting escaped in the chaos. They called a temporary truce and gave chase separately, but the rogue mage fled into an orphanage.
That orphanage was the one Riselia looked after. With the children taken hostage, she couldn't make a move.
Riselia was being toyed with helplessly while the children were held hostage. Renya, who had initially thought of abandoning her because she was from the Church, ended up intervening because her situation reminded him of his own mother.
Even though it was a Church facility—an orphanage—the barrier repelled the half-Devil Renya, wounding him. But he pushed through regardless, and in the moment the rogue mage froze in shock, Renya shielded the children with a barrier and crushed the rogue mage.
Riselia asked Renya—who had helped her despite being wounded as a half-Devil—why he had gone so far to save her.
Renya simply replied that it would have left a bad taste in his mouth. For Riselia, that was surprising, yet she could believe it.
Because Renya had protected not only the children's bodies, but also their hearts.
Renya hadn't just erected a barrier when saving the children—he had also refrained from killing the rogue mage in front of them.
Even as his body was wounded by the barrier, he had saved the hearts and bodies of children who were not only unrelated but even from an enemy faction. Riselia had no reason left to distrust him.
After that, they hadn't kept in contact to avoid inconvenient situations, but by some twist of fate, they were reunited in a similar situation years later.
"So, Riselia, are you also investigating the rogue mage?"
"Yeah. Though, I'm no longer a Church warrior..."
"What do you mean?"
Now that she mentioned it, she wasn't wearing the form-fitting combat suit that female Church warriors wore.
Renya looked puzzled, and Riselia smiled wryly.
"Um, you see? After that incident, I was accused of having, well... invited a Devil into a Church facility, and I was excommunicated. So now I'm a freelance bounty hunter."
Riselia spoke with a guilty look.
Apparently, because Renya had entered a Church-run orphanage, later Church officials had deemed Riselia's tolerance of heresy a problem. The fact that she hadn't attacked the wounded Renya and had protected him even when she herself was branded a heretic had fueled the suspicion.
Fearing that the children would also be suspected if she stayed, Riselia had quietly left the Church.
"You're a clumsy one, aren't you?" Renya sighed.
He was grateful for her gratitude, but she could have simply lied and said it was a one-time thing. No—he had saved her for personal reasons, so considering their positions, even gratitude was unnecessary.
"But you saved me. I couldn't bring myself to speak ill of you, even with a lie, when they said such awful things about you."
Riselia said quietly, yet firmly.
"You're surprisingly stubborn."
"I-I'm not stubborn! A-and besides, I can't use a Holy Sword even though I come from a Holy Sword wielder family, so I would have been reassigned sooner or later anyway."
She blushed and denied it, adding self-deprecatingly.
Riselia had the talent to be a Holy Sword wielder, but she didn't resonate with any Holy Sword held by the Church, famous or not.
Because of that, she had been subjected to gossip, and some powerful figures had wanted her as an excellent breeding stock due to her appearance and lineage.
Since the Church had never been a comfortable place, and her parents had already passed away, she had spent most of her time at the orphanage.
Leaving the Church had presented no obstacles.
"I can't visit the children as freely anymore, but I donate part of my earnings, and my current life isn't bad. So, don't worry about it, Ren-kun." Riselia smiled.
There was no regret at all for having protected Renya.
Since she insisted, Renya decided not to worry about it either.
"Ah, got it."
Renya nodded, and Riselia nodded back happily.
"So, what now?"
"Let's cooperate this time. Unlike before, there are no positional restrictions between us now, are there?"
When Renya asked again, Riselia smiled and proposed.
Renya had no objections, so the two decided to work together…
"Riselia!"
"Eh? Kyaa!? R-Ren-kun?!"
Just as Renya was about to enter the research facility with Riselia, he noticed something and pulled her close.
Suddenly pulled tightly against his strong arms, her face buried in his broad chest, Riselia's face turned bright red.
Ignoring her reaction, Renya deployed a spherical barrier.
The moment the barrier covered them, the research facility exploded from within with a deafening roar.
"Kyaaah!? Wh-what happened?!"
As Riselia screamed, shockwaves, debris, and dust slammed against them, but Renya's barrier didn't even tremble.
Holding Riselia close, Renya narrowed his eyes to assess the situation.
'Hoh?'
A chill ran down his spine, and he understood that the entire vast mountain had become someone's territory.
While clearly feeling that pressure, Renya brushed it aside and kept his gaze fixed ahead.
As the aftermath of the explosion subsided, an intense presence emanated from where the research facility once stood.
There, a massive beast with a purple body, powerfully muscled quadrupedal form, magnificent horns jutting forward, spiky mane and tail, and a physique that towered over any ordinary monster, stood like a king among beasts.
Its size easily exceeded thirty meters by estimate.
Even for Renya, who had faced countless supernatural beings over the years, it was a monster of a size he had rarely seen.
"Wh-what is that?"
Riselia stared at the colossal beast, her voice trembling.
"It resembles Behemoth in appearance."
Renya replied calmly.
That was the King of Land Beasts.
But that was impossible.
Currently, Behemoth was supposed to be the Servant of one of the Four Great Maou, Serafall Leviathan…
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