The moment the demon acknowledged its existence, two ominous horns appeared above its head.
Green and Blue took a deep breath and stepped back.
It was the result of an unconscious move as they were unsure of the appropriate distance to approach the demon, but from another perspective, it could also be said that they were pushed by the demon's force.
The swaying demon was still the same as when it first appeared, smaller than anyone else there, but its mass suddenly changed, giving it the feeling of pressure as if it had become something completely different.
It was as if an invisible power began to overflow from the demon.
Demon's black hair should have only reached its shoulder, but before she knew it, it had grown all the way down to his waist.
Most of her yellow clothes were stained black, probably because she was exposed to the demon's black body fluids.
"Pipipipipi, pi, pi, pi, pi, pi......"
In front of the three, who were engulfed in a strange atmosphere and became silent, the demon began to laugh in a strange voice.
Laughing, the demon raised one hand and wiped her cheek, which was stained with black blood, and two crests appeared from beneath it.
Each of these crests is shaped like a bird's wing, and when two of them are lined up, they were reminiscent of a single bird.
"Pipipi, pip, pip, pip, pip, pip, pip, pip, pip…"
Green, Blue, and Curtis grabbed their weapons and turned to face the demon in full battle stance.
The feeling of being in front of an overwhelmingly strong person flooded their entire body, and their fingertips became numb from the tension.
Even though it was the first time Green and Blue faced a demon, they understood it intuitively.
――If they made one wrong move, they would die right here.
Because the demon's eyes that looked at them didn't reflect any emotion at all.
Just like her facial expressions when she disguised himself as a human, this demon had no trace of human emotions at all.
She was just picking out those facial expressions and imitating them.
Demons probably didn't have the same emotions as humans, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
Therefore, they were unable to understand emotions and could only imitate them.
As a result, the demon was not bound by emotions, and could easily reap the life of a human without any hesitation or attachment.
In addition to their high fighting ability, they had a steely spirit that never wavers.
——This was the reason why demons were feared as the strongest race.
The demon stopped laughing and stared at the three of them with eyes that barely had the whites of their eyes.
All three of them, with jet black eyes that had a characteristic that made them think they were being stared at.
"Ah, I'm done being human. Because I was killed by brother. But if that happens, what will I become here? Pipipi, have I been reborn as something scary? Pipipipipi, you killed me, so it's your own fault."
The demon took a step forward, not seeming to be cautious at all.
One more step.
"Hey, what do you think I am? I have hair blacker than the darkness of the night, black eyes that signify utter despair? I have a horn on my head that proves I am the chosen one, and... besides, what about me who has two crests obtained by killing two demons?"
After saying that, the demon swept back her black hair that had fallen in front of her face.
"Hey, why don't you call me by my two names again, which haven't been called in a long time? I'll response, okay?"
"Bird imitator of two crests" (Curtis)
As provoked, Curtis called out the demon's name.
"Ah, it's been a long time since I've been called that name!...Yeah, what is it?"
"I'm going to put you to sleep now." (Curtis)
"...Oh?"
The bird imitator narrowed her eyes cautiously.
"Rather than kill me, put me to sleep? …Hmm."
Her words sounded like a question, but when she saw that Curtis didn't seem to answer, she stuck out his finger.
"By the way, for posterity's sake, I'd like you to tell me why you thought I was a demon. I'm not boasting, but for the past 100 years or so, no one suspected me."
"…………"
Curtis pursed his lips together as if he wasn't going to answer, and the bird imitator saw this and let out a sigh.
"You're smart. I don't know what words will give you a clue, so I don't say anything at all. I'm sure you have a lot of things to say to me. ...But there's a saying that the eyes say as much as the mouth. Those eyes hate me to a surprising degree. Those who had their immediate family killed by demons looked at me like that, but no demon has openly fought with them in the last 300 years. So where does that feeling come from?"
"…………"
Seeing that Curtis still didn't reply, the bird imitator waved one hand as if to praise him.
"Pipipi, you still don't open your mouth. You have amazing mental strength. If you can suppress your emotions that much, it's amazing."
However, the real Curtis didn't seem as calm as the bird imitators praised him for.
As if to prove this, Curtis took a slow breath.
Then, without saying a word, he raised his sword.
"...Huh, it's coming towards me. The only option is to run away, right? Look, I told you earlier. If you stab me in the body, I'll just tighten my muscles a little, and you won't be able to pull it out even if you're like a weak older brother. What? You'll lose your weapon, right?"
Although Curtis still didn't speak, the bird imitator spread her arms wide open.
"Having said all this, if you still want to try it, please go ahead...Ah, my body is different from the fragile one I was talking about earlier."
No matter how you looked at it, it was just a cheap provocation imitating a bird, but Curtis silently ran up to the demon and thrust out his arm holding the sword with all his might.
The sword was aimed precisely at the bird's heart, but when the bird twisted her body slightly, it pierced her shoulder.
"Curtis!" (Green, Blue)
Apparently not expecting Curtis to take advantage of the provocation, Green and Blue let out a surprised cry and spread out on either side of him.
While watching the three of them, she burst into laughter as if imitating the birds was hilarious.
"Pipipipipi, you're so serious, or rather, you're so stupid! You're the truly stupid type! How dare you lose your weapon in exchange for giving me a scratch."
The bird imitator was laughing in a mocking manner, but Curtis didn't seem to care and just stared at the sword that was still stuck in the bird imitator.
"[Physical Strengthening] 2x attack power!" (Curtis)
"……huh?"
Ignoring the bird's wide-eyed look, Curtis tightened his grip on the sword and pulled it free.
Then, he readied his sword again.
Bird imitator's mocking smile disappeared in an instant, and she took a step back from herself for the first time.
"...Huh, what's that? I heard that something like that disappeared a long time ago along with the red-haired saint lady? Really... what's that?"
"You don't need to know." (Curtis)
The moment Curtis said this with quiet passion, the sky cracked.
Suddenly, a line like a sword cut diagonally appears in the blue sky, and then a different space opened up and down from that line, and a blue sky appeared.
Then, from within, a black dragon appeared with its large wings spread out.
The scales of the black dragon descending from the sky reflect the sunlight and sparkled.
The person on the back of the slowly descending black dragon was the person the three of them wanted the most to not be here.
"Lady Fi!" (Curtis)
"'Fia!'" (Green, Blue)
Therefore, in the expressions on their faces as they looked at the red-haired girl who was jumping off the black dragon, and in the voices that called her name—All three of them had a bitter tone in their voices.