——Amidst the tension of facing the demon, I was saddened by the difference from my previous life.
In my previous life, spirits always lent me their strength when fighting demons, but that child was no longer here.
Or maybe if I called their name like in the past, they would appear in front of me again.
Even though I knew there was no way I could summon spirits, so the Demon King's Right-Hand man wouldn't notice the saint's presence, I thought about something innocent.
Then, in lieu of a spell, I put my raised hand to my lips and murmured in my mind the name of the spirit that I always spoke during battles with demons.
...[Se...], please lend me your strength.
Then, I felt a warm feeling in my heart.
I understood that this warmth was due to the many memories the spirit gave me in my previous life, and I thanked the spirit in my heart.
Then, as if to change my mind, the bird imitator, Curtis, Green, and Blue looked at me.
Thanks to Curtis' guidance, a formation was formed that seemed to surround the bird imitator, and the three of them worked together to block the attack.
Like Curtis, Green and Blue were also flipping the demon's hair back, and when I looked at them in amazement, I realized that the items they were holding in their hands were of such high quality that they were rarely seen, and that they were enchanted with magic.
...Well, that's amazing. Even royalty and aristocrats wouldn't be able to obtain weapons of that magnitude, but both of them possess wonderful weapons.
Surprised, I turned my attention to the bird imitator.
Then, the demon appeared relaxed and blocked all attacks from three directions.
Instead, the bird imitator attacked in between defenses, injuring Curtis' arm, Green's forehead, and Blue's legs.
Red blood splattered all over my field of vision, and I almost instantly activated recovery magic, but I bit my lip and held back.
...Not yet.
The bird imitators were not aware that there was a saint, so if I revealed that I were a saint at this moment, she would change the way she fought, and the battle would only last longer.
And since my role was to end the battle with the least amount of casualties, it would be premature to move here.
Curtis, who knew about my final moments in my previous life, declared that he would defeat the bird imitator without any help in order to prevent me from fighting the demon, but his opponent was a crested demon.
It's almost impossible to corner and contain an opponent without healing magic, and even if they were able to do it, Curtis would be seriously injured.
Even though he understood this, he still cared for me.
The best thing I could do for such a loyal Curtis was to hunt down the demon without making any mistakes.
When I told myself that, I started to stare at the demon to gauge the opponent's strength.
"...The life force of the bird imitator is 12,200, and the remaining life force is 100%. ...She's strong." (Fia)
I clasped my hands together tightly and muttered the numbers I had come up with in my head.
Generally, A-rank monsters, which were said to be strong, had a life force of around 1,000.
There were S-rank monsters above A-rank, but the ones on the same level were crestless demons.
Then, although "S-rank monsters" and "crestless demons" had a strength that set them apart from lower-rank monsters—it was up to this level that I could roughly measure the opponent's strength by rank.
This was because, above S-rank, there was a bottomless existence of "SS-rank monsters" and "crested demons."
They were in the category of "substandard," and there was only a lower limit to that category.
Therefore, there were many monsters.
Or perhaps I should say that only monsters existed.
Curtis was strong.
Green and Blue were also definitely strong.
Even so, differences in cunning and combat skills acquired due to differences in the physical bodies of the species and differences in the length of lifespans couldn't be easily bridged.
——The crested demons were on a completely different level as a creature.
This was because they were outstanding physically and in terms of ability, and had special structures and mechanisms, making it difficult to defeat them without knowledge.
Furthermore, each crested demon had a different structure, so it was first necessary to calmly assess the characteristics of the other person.
The reason the bird imitator looked down on Curtis and the three others was probably because she was aware of her superiority.
And in fact, it looked like Curtis and the others were having a hard time due to the exceptional strength of the demon's body.
All three of them had good footing, the power they put on their weapons was transferred smoothly, and even though they were converting everything they had into attack power, they still couldn't hurt the bird imitator.
Although Curtis had increased his strength by strengthening his body, and Green and Blue had increased their strength by using magical weapons, the bird imitator's defenses were still superior to them.
And on the contrary, the bird imitator's attack, which did not step forward and barely moved from the spot, was causing damage to the three people.
Green made a sound of annoyance at this fact.
"Ha! You're surprisingly strong! It's scary that even if we put all your strength into it, you won't get a single scratch." (Green)
True to Green's words, the slash he sent down with all his might was blocked by her hair before it could even touch the bird imitator's body.
Curtis calmly returned to Green while fending off a bird imitator's attack.
"It's a big deal because it didn't break my weapon or get my whole body blown away." (Curtis)
"No, that's not a compliment. I'm sure you know what I'm saying, but it's all thanks to the weapon. Now that I've finally been able to bring it out, I've got a gem of the 'Super Golden Age'! Thanks for bringing it from the treasure room! That's why!" (Blue)
Blue, who was constantly being hit by bird imitator's slashes, distorted his face and screamed.
I clasped both hands tightly as I looked at the three of them.
...As Curtis said, Green and Blue were a big deal.
Curtis had experience fighting demons and had a reason to fight.
However, Green and Blue's encounter with the demon was a coincidence, and even though they had no reason to fight, they took a step toward it without fear, understanding that it was a far superior, unknown opponent.
...No, I remembered. These two had been like this ever since we met.
The monster they defeated when we first met was far superior, but it was defeated by the three brothers, including Red.
As I was thinking about how courageous the brothers were, I suddenly heard a bird imitator's laugh.
"Pipipipipi, that's not a bad move for a human. But it seems like it can't hurt me, so this seems to be the limit. I was surprised that the attack was blocked, but well, it's been 300 years. I'm convinced that there are at least three people who are a little stronger."
Then, the bird imitator stopped the movement of his hair and turned to face Curtis.
"It's getting tiresome to think about all sorts of things. The guy over there seems to know a bit about demons, but even if I ask you why you know something, you don't seem to be able to answer. No, no. If you can answer, I'll have to verify what you said, so it'll be even more troublesome... Pipipipipipi, then let's get this over with—Okay?"
The bird imitator said as she bent her upper body.
Then, her back part bulges out, and the clothes around its shoulder blades were torn, and at the same time, two large wings appeared.
The bird imitator glanced up, looked at the three with a proud expression, and tried to spread her wings wide.
At that moment, the bird-like attack stopped, albeit for a short time.
——Now!
I casted a spell on Curtis, Green, and Blue, who were heading toward the bird imitation without hesitation.
"[Body strengthening] 2x attack! 2x speed!"
Then, Curtis quickly stepped forward, and the moment his strength was doubled, he swung his sword down and cut off one of the wings that grew on the bird imitator's back.
"Huh?"
Unaware of what had happened, Green moved to the other side of the bird's imitation and cut off the remaining wing from its base.
"……huh?"
It was the bird imitator that was still unable to grasp what had happened in an unexpected situation, but as if unconsciously trying to defend itself, the tips of her hair lifted up again and stretched horizontally as if threatening.
Then, after a moment's delay, the bird imitator seemed to grasp the situation and let out a cry of surprise.
"My…wings... aaarrggh!!?"
A black liquid dripped from the base of the severed wing and pooled at the bird imitator's feet.
With my eyes fixed on the demon, I raised my voice to the three of them.
"All three of you! The demon's vital point is the base of the wings that was cut off!" (Fia)
This was known information to Curtis, but demons with crests had multiple hearts, unlike the crestless demons.
And the number of demon's hearts with crests was the same as the number of crests.
The location of the heart differs depending on the demon, but most of them were embedded in the place where power was needed the most.
In other words, since many demons underwent metamorphosis, their hearts were located near the part of the demon that transformed, and in the case of a winged bird imitator, the heart should be at the base of it.
However, since this was a secret that was more important than anything else to each demon, it was kept secret with utmost care so that it would never be leaked.
Therefore, the moment the bird imitator heard my words, a murderous intent filled his entire body.
"You! How did you know that!!"
Then, the bird imitator's hair spread out and covered her entire back, as if to protect her vital points.
In the meantime, I activated recovery magic and completely healed the injuries of the three people without a trace.
"...Fia, you're seriously amazing every time. How do you heal all of our injuries in an instant? And how do you increase my strength? I don't understand how it works at all!" (Green)
Looking at the area where the scar had disappeared, Green murmured in admiration as he swung the ax that had cut off the bird's wing.
"Brother, it's disrespectful to think that you can understand because she's a goddess!" (Blue)
Blue looked excited and was replying to his brother with incomprehensible words.
Curtis, who was standing between the two, calmly raised his sword.
"Lady Fi, thank you for your help." (Curtis)