His body felt light. Light as a feather.
The sensation of kicking off the ground had vanished, and before he knew it, his body was soaring skyward.
It seemed he had naturally mastered the technique of Flight Leap, a skill only a handful of the upper echelon of beast-type monsters could wield.
But that was trivial. All he felt was pure joy at the surge of unleashed power.
His body was powerful, its pulse throbbing with the fullness of an immense quantity of Magicules.
Golden lightning crackled across his four limbs, clad in jet-black fur. The Demon Aura leaking from his body was discharging as arcs of electricity.
On his forehead jutted a massive golden horn, and on either side, jet-black horns persisted in their eerie, unchanged form.
The golden horn protruding from the center radiated a brilliance as though pure energy had been crystallized.
It was the very image of a king's magnificence.
His jet-black fur, wreathed in lightning, gleamed with a darkness deeper than the night itself, swaying gracefully in the wind.
Yet despite that tranquil appearance, his speed through the sky already surpassed the speed of sound by a wide margin.
Only the space immediately around Ranga remained calm and undisturbed.
It was proof that he unconsciously enveloped himself in a spatial barrier.
Ranga ascended powerfully into the sky and locked onto the group of Holy Knights below.
Through his Thought Communication, he had already confirmed that no one else was heading their way.
Without even slowing his diving momentum, he charged straight toward the Holy Knights.
Holy Knight
As it had always been, Hinata's judgment was never wrong.
As long as you followed her without doubt, there was nothing to worry about.
This time was no different. He thought it might be excessive caution, but there was nothing wrong with being too careful.
They were merely a group of monsters. They called themselves a nation, but they were nothing of significance.
That was Fritz's thinking, though it wasn't worth bringing up to Hinata.
For Fritz, who worshipped Hinata, obeying her directives was simply natural.
So preparations were complete, and the moment they exchanged the signal with the other barrier teams, they would be ready to activate the barriers at any time— When calamity descended from the heavens.
They had absolutely not let their guard down.
Fritz felt this operation was overkill, but he was loyal to Hinata's orders.
That was precisely why he could say with certainty that neither he nor his comrades had grown careless or complacent.
And yet, the black mass that plummeted from the sky sent one Holy Knight flying.
There had been no carelessness.
To prove that very point, the sent flying was still alive.
He was alive—that was all, but alive he was.
The first thing Fritz had ordered, the first thing he had put into practice: Constructing an anti-magic barrier effective in all directions, including underground, to secure safety.
Preventing surprise attacks was fundamental—sensing magical power and blocking magical attacks fueled by Magicules.
Beyond that, they erected spirit barriers and layered multiple composite barriers against temperature changes, poison, and atmospheric shifts.
Following Hinata's teachings to the letter, they remained faithful to the basics and had even deployed a detection barrier on the outermost perimeter so they could counterattack immediately.
But this enemy's assault had been far too fast.
By the time the barriers sensed the monster's approach and issued a warning, the first man had already been blown away.
The distance from the outer perimeter to this point was roughly two kilometers.
Detection barriers were fundamentally spread over a wide area to counter attacks from relatively long range.
Naturally, overlapping with allied barriers produced no reaction—they only responded to unrecognized barrier patterns, or to monsters specifically.
The proof that the monster hadn't simply passed through these high-performance barriers was that the instant it made contact, not just the outer perimeter barrier but every single defensive barrier was destroyed.
The barrier's durability could not withstand the output of Magicules that exceeded anything they had anticipated.
But it was precisely because those barriers were in place that the first man had kept his life.
It could truly be said that the barriers were not in vain.
Yet—the idea of an impact that could smash through multiple barriers, and one so powerful that spirit armament was rendered meaningless, was beyond anything they could have imagined.
The monster that had suddenly appeared began to stroll casually, walking toward the Holy Knight it had sent flying.
Fritz's eyes went wide as he stared at the creature before him.
He was watching for an opening, desperately looking for a chance to rescue his comrade.
But the enormous black wolf emanating a terrifying level of Intimidation showed not a single opening whatsoever.
A monster that could cross nearly two kilometers in an instant.
Its limbs crackled with golden lightning, and it bore magnificent horns the likes of which they had never seen.
The ability to strike down Holy Knights who had deployed multiple barriers and had already activated Spirit Armament through spiritual release with a single blow— For Fritz, it was an event he wished he could deny, but he could definitively conclude that the monster before him was "Calamity-class."
Now was not the time to worry about his fallen comrade.
If they responded incorrectly, their complete annihilation was entirely possible.
"All personnel, combat formation! Abandon the barriers too! We hit this thing with everything we've got!"
Hinata's prediction had been correct.
Realizing that, even in the midst of this crisis, joy welled up inside him.
(As expected of Lady Hinata—she had already anticipated this kind of scenario.)
Fritz allowed himself a smile, and without neglecting his vigilance toward the monster before him, he began issuing formation instructions.
They were subtle—flicks of the eye, minute gestures.
The seasoned Holy Knights read every tiny signal without fail and swiftly assembled into their anti-monster annihilation formation.
The team members regained their composure under the aid of thought-acceleration magic.
They observed the target monster.
And then, to all of them— "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and heal this broken one already."
The magic wolf before them had flicked the knight it had blown away forward with its front paw, casually tossing him their way.
For an instant, Fritz's mind went blank.
The enemy monster had thrown back the comrade they had given up on saving. He couldn't process the meaning of it.
"Hey… if you don't hurry, he's gonna die!"
For some reason, the magic wolf wreathed in golden lightning spoke words of urgency.
In a deep, gut-rumbling voice that was nothing short of terrifying.
"Vice-Captain Lema, take charge of treatment! The rest of you, follow me!"
Snapped back to reality by those words, Fritz issued his command and kicked off the ground simultaneously.
He didn't understand this dreadful monster's intentions, but at least now they could fight without hesitation. That thought allowed him to shift his mindset.
He poured power into the
The blade began to glow faintly as atmospheric spirits enveloped the steel.
"I don't know what you're playing at, but don't underestimate us, monster! Take this—Flying Slash Sword!!"
"I offer my prayer—by your power, seize the enemy! Great Gravity Prison!!"
"Flames of the Hellfire Prison—burn the enemy to ash! Hellfire Ball!!"
"Ice and snow—wrap yourselves in blizzard and freeze the enemy! Ice Blizzard!!"
"Wind that tears through the sky—become my blade! Wind Cutter!!"
The other Vice-Captain, Garud, watched the combined assault of Fritz and the others with bated breath.
It was his duty to protect the comrades who were recovering. With a gaze burning with the resolve to not let anything interfere, he watched the magic wolf.
And then, he was struck with astonishment.
The magic wolf before them—wagging its tail happily—had taken every single attack head-on.
Fritz's Flying Slash Sword, capable of cutting through anything— A forbidden sword technique that blended the blessings of four elemental spirits with aura and released them as a single blade.
A killing technique designed for long-range combat.
Though not on par with Arnaud's, it was a skill that only Fritz, beloved by the four elemental spirits, could use.
Its structure was simple, which made it all the harder to predict the fluid, seamless motion of its release.
Even if you thought you had dodged, the slash ignored distance itself, chasing down and cleaving the enemy.
That this attack was simply deflected and nullified by the black fur of a monster standing completely still was something Fritz had never imagined.
To support Fritz's ultimate technique, a gravity field had been formed using earth-attribute Elemental Magic.
It was meant to seal the monster's movements, but it was apparently entirely pointless against a creature that simply chose not to move.
The Hellfire Ball, which was supposed to incinerate the severed部位 and, even if the enemy had regeneration, burn it from the inside out— Similarly, it couldn't even scorch a mark on that fur.
The Ice Blizzard, meant to halt a fleeing enemy's movement, and the Wind Cutter, intended to pursue and deliver the finishing blow—every last one was blocked by the fur and rendered useless.
It was a sight that could only be described as a nightmare.
Even if it were an upper-rank A-class monster, there should have been barely a handful of creatures capable of remaining unscathed by that barrage of attacks…
"Wha…"
"A… monster…?"
It was understandable that the Holy Knight squad members had involuntarily voiced those words.
Even Vice-Captain Garud shared the same thought.
The magic wolf stood there completely unperturbed, all attacks dismissed without a care, as though nothing had happened.
"You… who are you?! There are no special individuals of such overwhelming power in the upper ranks of the Fang Wolf tribe!"
Fritz shouted, unable to contain himself.
As the captain leading a squad of Holy Knights, Fritz had extensive combat experience against all manner of monsters.
In his younger years, he had even fought upper-rank individuals of the Fang Wolf tribe.
But the magic wolf before him was beyond absurd. Its abilities were clearly on par with a Demon Lord.
A creature of this caliber would normally either be enshrined as a guardian deity of some region or be known far and wide as a magical beast king that spread calamity wherever it went.
The fact that even they—Holy Knights tasked with protecting the world—knew nothing of it was simply unacceptable.
"Hmph. Humans. My name is Ranga.
A noble name bestowed upon me by the great Lord Rimuru.
I shall permit even the likes of you to speak it.
My tribe is the Star Wolf tribe. But I am a special individual.
I am Ranga.
The Starfall Demon Wolf King, Ranga!
I am he who bites through and annihilates all who stand as enemies against Lord Rimuru!"
He declared this to Fritz and the others in a deep, gut-rumbling voice that was nothing short of terrifying.
It was a clear act of intimidation.
If they opposed him, death would follow.
Fritz couldn't even wipe the cold sweat beading on his forehead, frozen in place.
Thinking through the situation冷静ly, the only way to destroy this monster was to seal it within a Holy Purification Barrier and whittle down its power.
But deploying barriers around a monster that boasted this level of overwhelming speed was simply not feasible.
More critically, if each person deployed individually, they would be killed one by one from the very start. They were already in a checkmate position from the opening move.
He desperately cycled through his thoughts, searching for any means of turning the tide.
Using the accelerated cognition from his support magic, he frantically searched for any effective measure against the enemy.
But— A flash of light blinding enough to sear the eyes shot past, followed immediately by a thunderous roar behind him.
Vice-Captain Garud had attempted the slightest of movements. The response was instantaneous—a discharged bolt of electricity.
It struck with pinpoint accuracy at Garud's feet, freezing him in place.
After all, the temperature required to achieve this was unknown, but part of the ground beneath Garud's feet had been melted into slag by the extreme heat.
Between the heat rising from below and the overwhelming tension, Garud could no longer afford even a single careless movement.
Even for Holy Knights of their caliber, they were now all unequivocally convinced: this was a monster unlike anything they had ever faced.
There was nothing they could do.
Despair descended upon Fritz and every last one of them.
Even with the protection of Spirit Armament, they could never withstand an electrical discharge hot enough to melt the ground.
Moreover, evading lightning-speed attacks was impossible, no matter how masterful a Holy Knight might be.
Their only option was to trust the defensive barriers they had already deployed and their Spirit Armament, and endure through sheer willpower.
Even if it meant their destruction, they could not bow to a monster here.
"You guys really drew the short straw. It looks like the most troublesome one of all showed up here…"
At Fritz's words, tinged with resignation— "Captain, next time it's our turn to get the good treatment!"
"Yeah, yeah. It's not like we draw the losing ticket every single time, right?"
"Don't worry, it'll work out somehow, just like always!"
The squad members bantered with light jokes, one after another.
They all understood. Surviving this was likely impossible.
And yet, this monster in particular—no, for the sake of their pride as Holy Knights, they had to take it down.
"All right, you lot! When we make it back alive, I'm buying you all the drinks you can handle!
That's an order—nobody dies! Let's go!!"
Fritz roared those words and broke into a run, ready to throw his life away.
The first knight who had been struck down had also been revived through Healing, and all eight moved out as one.
With their finest formation—no, one that exceeded even their training— Executing complex, irregular movements without getting in each other's way…
The Holy Knights launched a coordinated assault on Ranga.
………
……
…
Fritz faintly felt his consciousness returning.
Groaning as pain coursed through his entire body, he opened his eyes.
In this state of agony, even passing out was difficult.
But— (Wait… if I'm conscious, does that mean I survived? Did we take it down?)
His awareness snapped fully awake, and Fritz looked around.
And there— Winds howled as though a tornado had spawned on the spot, gouging the earth and leaving spiral scars across the ground.
…He marveled that he was still alive, then searched for his comrades.
Hoping that he wasn't the only one who had survived.
In his field of vision, he saw his comrades lying scattered on the ground.
They had likely been blown away by the raging wind, strewn this way and that.
He tried to stand, but his body wouldn't respond. Crawling as best he could, he made his way to the nearest person.
It was Vice-Captain Lema. Fortunately, she was alive.
Overwhelmed with joy, Fritz forgot even the pain wracking his body.
After checking on each person one by one and confirming they were all alive, a voice delivered the final blow of despair.
"Human, if you're awake, then let's continue. I've only just revived myself, and I haven't had nearly enough fun yet.
Look—I even brought Complete Recovery Potions for you. That should be enough, right?
Now, hurry up and recover, and let's enjoy the rest of this!"
Wagging its tail happily.
The magic wolf tossed those demonic words—or rather, the words of a demon itself—at them.
Hearing those words, Fritz's consciousness faded, swallowed by despair.
(Ah… if only I could pass out right now, that would be a blessing…)
Lost in his dimming thoughts, Fritz contemplated this—though of course, such merciful luck would not be granted.