“Devour it all, Soul Eater.”

As soon as I drew my sword, a darkness that could envelop the night covered the streets of Berka.

The demonic beast head, which had been scattering disturbing laughter until now, stopped suddenly. Its glowing red eyes stared intently at me.

As soon as I was struck by its sharp gaze, a slight chill ran down my spine. It might be using some kind of magic through its gaze – possibly the so-called evil eye. As a being that has left its name in legends, it would easily accomplish such feats.

With a light swing of my soul equipment, I swept away the clinging magical power and stared back at the demon god.

The face of the demon, reminiscent of a lion, was now exposed, with almost no remnants of the elf’s visage left. The overflowing magical power was boiling like lava, and the raging soul was blowing about like a tornado, utterly unthinkable as something of this world.

If I hadn’t witnessed a series of these mutations, I would undoubtedly have judged it as a mythical creature.

However, this demon god is trying to manifest itself by stealing the body of an elf. That bothered me.

Mythical creatures manifest themselves by feeding on the enormous magical power, or mana, spewed out by dragon holes. At least, that was the case with the Hydra I previously fought.

Compared to the infinite magical power of a dragon hole, the magical power possessed by humans or elves is minuscule. There’s no need for mythical creatures to go out of their way to possess an elf and steal their power. This leads me to believe that the true nature of this demon god is not a mythical creature…

“Is it an Anima?”

I mutter softly. The spectacle in front of me seemed to be a rampaging Anima trying to manifest itself by consuming its host.

The Soul Eater, which is my Anima, has never tried to eat me, its host. Far from eating, it has always helped me when I am in a tight spot.

However, not all Anima would cooperate with their hosts like Soul Eater. Anima are as diverse as the individuals they inhabit. Throughout the history of the Mitsurugi family, countless people have damaged their minds and bodies unable to control their Anima, and some have even had their bodies taken over by them.

That elf likely fits this description.

The question is why someone harboring a Anima, would be in a place as far from deamon island as Berka, but I won’t know unless I ask them directly.

–Hmph, I exhale through my nose.

It would be less trouble if I just killed it here and now. While that’s certain, the demon god in front of me isn’t just a monster or a mythical creature, but a Anima. It seems a waste to simply kill it.

If things go well, I can secure a supply role who harbors a Anima, and might be able to get closer to the secrets of the Anima that the Mitsurugi family has. Even if I fail, I can still devour a rampaging Anima, so there’s no loss for me.

Moreover, I had a desire to test whether or not I could restore a soul that has been so eroded by a Anima.

I recall the conversation I had with Suzume before coming to Berka. Suzume, being an kijin, is connected to her Anima–the demon god–through her horns. Signs of this had already appeared in the form of dreams.

It can’t be ruled out that Suzume may be overtaken by the deamon god in the future, so having a method to deal with such a situation would be very significant.

With such thoughts in mind, I took a step toward the demon god.

“Die!!!”

I imbue both my feet with concentrated energy and forcefully kick off the cobblestones. Propelled forward with explosive momentum, I immediately close the distance with the demon god.

I have it. With that conviction, I swing my blade down.

At that moment, the demon god’s body is enveloped in a green light.

It’s a shield woven from dense magical power. The demon god’s armor that would likely repel not only iron but even weapons enchanted with magical power. As long as it exists, hurting the demon god would undoubtedly be a daunting task.

As if to affirm that guess, the demon god didn’t show any signs of dodging my attack. It almost feels as if I can hear the inner voice saying that there’s no way a mere human could hurt it.

–But the blade of the Soul Eater easily breaks through the daunting defense.

“Giiiiii!?”

A roar mixed with astonishment and pain gushes from the mouth of the demon god, who was struck hard.

At the same time, an exceptionally shrill scream arises from the surroundings. Looking around, people are writhing on the ground, holding their ears just like earlier.

Probably, that roar was nothing more than an action to vent frustration for the demon god. However, even such a casual act involves the magic of Roar, which shaves off the spirit.

For the demon god, magic isn’t something to be chanted, it seems to reside naturally in each of its actions. That means the evil eye I saw earlier was also the effect of magic accompanying the action of seeing.

Should I say that it’s indeed worthy of being a legend? To me, it’s nothing more than an annoying noise, but if we keep fighting here, collateral damage will only increase. Although I have no obligation to help, I’m less inclined to deliberately involve them.

If the demon god is a legendary existence as it’s said, it might be able to cause fever, locust plague, or sandstorm. I can’t let it do such things right in the middle of Berka.

I have to drive it out of Berka.

Having made that decision, I closely follow the demon god, which tries to keep its distance, wary of my soul eater.

“Grrrrr!”

Perhaps disliking my approach, two tails extending from the demon god’s lower half thrust towards me with sharp tips. The wet shine is undoubtedly some kind of venom.

Dodging the attack resembling a poison spear, and then the claw attack that came next, I plunge straight into the opponent’s reach.

And then,

“Ha!”

I gather all my energy in the left fist and thrust a full-powered punch. The punch I thrust out pierces through the demon god’s defense shield that was deployed again and precisely catches its body.

With a deafening sound like crushing iron, the demon god’s body is blown away like a ball.

The demon god flies horizontally through the air, demonstrating the power of the punch. Following it, I kick off the ground once again.

However, faster than I can maneuver, the demon god’s body abruptly changes direction and ascends into the sky.

Looking up, four wings protruding from its back are flapping violently. Apparently, it used them to escape my pursuit. The demon god may have reasoned that if it takes to the sky, a human like me can’t follow.

The demon god, spreading its raptor-like wings, was clearly enraged now, evident to anyone’s eyes. Both of its eyes, looking down from the sky, are filled with dripping hatred.

“Grrrrrrr!!”

From the mouth of the demon god, whose eyes shine brightly, a formidable roar erupts for who knows how many times now.

The four wings on its back are enveloped in a frantic red light. A clear sign of an incoming attack. Shortly after, countless red lights seem to spring from the demon god’s wings, raining down towards the ground like a downpour.

An area attack substituting arrows by channeling magical power through its wings. Probably, each of these raining red lights is a deadly weapon that could penetrate even plate mail armor.

However, even though it’s an area attack, it’s not of a scale to cover the entire city. Avoiding it is not a problem.

But if I evade, naturally, there will be damage to the surroundings, and more than that, there is no need to avoid an attack of that level.

Aiming the tip of my soul eater sideways, I unleash a slashing attack that scoops up towards the approaching wings of the demon god.

“Phantom Burial Style: Whirlwind!”

It was a new special move developed in reference to the “Cross-Cut” that Claira excels in. A technique that releases multiple blades of wind created using inner strength simultaneously.

The special move that soared into the sky with a thunderous sound collides with the raining wings of the demon god in the air.

Suddenly, a harsh discordant sound violently shakes my eardrums. My magic power and that of the demon god clash, causing the space between us to creak.

The sound disappeared a second or maybe two seconds later.

After a brief but intense offense and defense, the whirlwind that blew away the demon god’s attack now rushes towards the demon god in the air.

“Rwoooooo!?”

Receiving a direct hit from the gust of wind like a tornado, the demon god covers its face with both hands and roars–no, screams. The four wings reminiscent of an eagle are torn apart by the wind, and the scattered feathers dance in the night sky like petals.

Not missing this opportunity, I kick off the ground for the third time. After training with Claira, I have become capable of moderate aerial combat.

In that sense, it was fortunate that the demon god fled into the sky. Now I can use my special moves without worrying about streets or buildings.

The demon god, who seemed to have noticed my approach as I ascended an invisible staircase, opened its red eyes wide as if they were going to burst.

I kicked such a demon god with all my might, aiming for outside the castle walls.

That night, the city of Berka was hit by an unexpected disturbance.

Tremors and rumblings reminiscent of an earthquake. Thunderous sounds and shocks like lightning strikes. The roar of something neither human nor beast echoed around, and the raging wind violently shook the houses.

Many people were jolted awake from their sleep. Many were alarmed, thinking it was a monster attack. Among the soldiers and adventurers with extensive combat experience against monsters, some might have felt the astonishment embedded in the roar.

However, no one was able to accurately grasp the situation.

That’s understandable. Who could predict that a dragon slayer and a demon god are currently engaged in battle?

The exception was those who knew of the existence of the dragon slayer, but even they only knew half of the situation. They didn’t understand why the continuous sounds of battle were gradually moving east – in the opposite direction of the desert.