The magic that Sharamon unleashed to bury the Pope turned a part of Titis Forest into scorched earth with its aftermath.

Such destruction was scattered, and the anomaly naturally reached beyond the forest.

The roaring sound, the rising dust, the shaking ground. The fourth barrier, which encountered a natural disaster that suggested the return of the mythical creatures, was in turmoil, coupled with the previous attack of the Alghoul.

Sora stepped into the forest with that confusion behind him. He left behind not only Ciel and Suzume, but also the blue-winged beast Clau Soras.

Normally, it would be a very difficult task to find a group of less than ten people in Titis Forest, which is so huge that it could swallow up a country.

But at this time, Sora reached Miroslav and the others without any hesitation. The aftermath of Sharamon’s magic made it possible.

Therefore, Sora said to his enemies. Idiots.

And then――

The black sword imbued with Kei split Sharamon in two, and somehow, Sharamon’s deep purple robe was scattered into tiny pieces.

What emerged from beneath the robe was a skeleton. Its appearance was not much different from a common skeleton.

The severed skeletal body slowly split from the top of the head down to the crotch. At the same time, the torrent of magical power that had been trying to shatter the Sacred Spirit barrier also vanished.

Having confirmed all this, Sora turned his back on Sharamon and tried to call out to Miroslav and the others.

“Master!”

Miroslav and Lunamaria cried out in unison. Their voices were not filled with joy from being saved from a desperate situation, but rather, they urged caution from behind.

In their line of sight, the skeletal body, which had been split left and right, returned to its original state as if time had been rewound.

“The fool is you, jester.”

With a sneer, Sharamon’s hand blade was thrust out like a flash of lightning. It could have pierced the heart or even sent magical power directly into the enemy’s body to cause an explosion – a deadly weapon.

However, the sharp, knife-like bone fingers were unable to grasp Sora’s body.

“Nuh”

Suddenly, Sora’s figure blurred in Sharamon’s field of vision – the next moment, Sharamon was facing Sora. He was facing the person who had just turned his back on him.

He quickly turned around.

That’s all Sora did, in words. But it was impossible to surpass Sharamon’s reaction speed, the king of the undead, with a simple body movement.

What Sora used was a footwork called Swift Turn in the Phantom Blade Style. It was a technique that used Kei to quickly turn around. It was handy when you were caught behind in a battle, but it could also be used in a different way.

For example, when you deliberately show your back and lure your enemy in.

“Phantom Blade Style – River Flame”

The flame Kei technique that was unleashed with full force became a torrent and attacked Sharamon.

It was a moment. The flames swallowed up the king of the undead who was right in front of his eyes in an instant, and ran along the ground with a howling sound. If Sharamon’s magic had not burned down the surrounding forest, it would have undoubtedly caused a large-scale fire.

After the Kei technique was over, all that remained in the place were scorched earth and air that had been heated to an extreme degree. In the scorching heat that would burn your lungs if you breathed carelessly, Sora stood firmly in place as if to protect Miroslav and the others.

And, without breaking his stance, he muttered softly from his mouth as he stared at the direction where Sharamon had disappeared.

“It should work on ghosts, but… I messed up.”

As he said that, Sora looked down at his weapon.

What Sora was holding now was not his soul equipment, but his usual black sword. If it were his soul equipment, he would have been able to tell some things – at least whether his attack worked or not – by the amount of souls that flowed in from the enemy he cut, but he couldn’t do that with this black sword.

To begin with, if he had drawn his soul equipment beforehand, the game would have been decided with the first slash. That’s why Sora said he messed up.

There were two reasons why Sora didn’t draw his soul equipment.

When he was attacked by the Alghoul at the fourth barrier, he didn’t draw it because he thought about the disadvantage of showing his soul equipment in front of many guards. He also thought that there was no need to use his trump card for something like the Alghoul.

Sora’s current level is “30”. And it’s not just a normal “30”, as I’ve repeated before. Even without drawing his soul equipment, he can kill most of the undead with one blow by just infusing Kei into his weapon.

In fact, he easily repelled the Alghoul that attacked the fourth barrier.

The reason why he didn’t draw his soul equipment when he stepped into Titis Forest was simply because he was in a hurry. He should have prepared himself for something other than a mere necromancer when he heard the unusual sound of destruction, but he didn’t.

Why did he get so flustered? As he asked himself, Sora glanced back. A group of about ten people protected by a shining cylindrical wall. He saw two familiar faces among them and let out a small sigh from his mouth.

And then.

“Soul equipment activation – devour, Soul Eater.”

This time, he finally unleashed his trump card.

“As the ancients say, not to correct one’s mistakes is to make mistakes. In other words, the first time can’t be helped, yeah.”

As he justified his blunder, Sora casually swung his sword. From a distance, it would have looked like he was just cutting through empty space for fun.

But the tip of his soul equipment was accurately catching the light bullets that were fired from afar. The king of the undead’s magic, which had the destructive power to blow up the entire area, melted away in the air.

After that, Sharamon appeared again in front of Sora, who had cut through dozens of light bullets. His appearance was still that of a skull, but the pressure emanating from his body was incomparable to before.

His eyeless gaze was sharp as a needle, staring at Sora’s eyes.

“Clown. Who are you? I thought you were a holy knight… but that power, that magic, is not that of a cleric.”

“I’m the master of those guys you just tried to kill. You don’t need to know anything more than that, you idiot.”

The dragon slayer responded with mockery to the undead king’s interrogation.

It took less than a second for them to clash.