"A Sacred Artifact?"

Holland paid no mind to his arm that had turned to ash. He merely raised his already non-existent eyebrows, his voice thick with confusion.

"I knew you looked familiar... You’re a follower of Lodestar too, kid?"

As he spoke, he quickly glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing the last trace of dark red on the Array completely fade, he muttered cheerfully.

’Ellis, even though I couldn’t complete the task you gave me, I did fight until the very end, right? I imagine... you won’t blame me for it, will you?’

However, before his muttering could fade, the Longsword, cloaked in a faint golden glow, struck again.

Following close behind it were a sharp Foil, a heavy Giant Axe, and...

a few Arrows wreathed in dark green Energy.

"Alright, alright, little ones. I surrender, I surrender, okay?"

Holland deftly dodged the attacks while raising his still-intact left arm in a gesture of surrender.

Unfortunately...

Roland and the others’ assault didn’t falter in the slightest at his gesture.

"Tch! A bunch of brats who don’t know how to respect their elders..."

With a helpless complaint, the Priest’s body twisted unnaturally in mid-air.

Then, from an angle a human could never achieve, he viciously lashed out with a whip-like kick.

In an instant, Beastman Freddy, who was swinging his Giant Axe, was sent flying backward like a catapult-launched cannonball, crashing heavily into a pile of rubble and kicking up a cloud of dust.

And the resurrected Priest didn’t even touch the ground.

Using the reactive force, he kicked off a broken stone pillar to the side, his figure flashing like a phantom before vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

"Don’t chase him, Avril!"

Roland stopped the Elf Maiden just in time, quickly issuing commands.

"Teresa, you and Avril are on watch. And Galvis..."

He turned to look at the Minstrel, whose eyes were shut tight, his fingertips dancing across the strings, still lost in his own stirring melody.

"Stop that damn music!"

"Fine..."

The Minstrel let out a mournful sigh and reluctantly stopped playing.

Running past Vanessa, who was squatting on the ground carefully studying the ashes of Holland’s arm, Roland rushed toward the rubble and grabbed the Beastman’s thick arm.

"Freddy! Freddy!"

He brushed the grit from the Beastman’s face and firmly patted his ferocious-looking cheek.

"Are you okay?"

"Mr... Mr. Roland? What... what happened to me?"

Freddy opened his eyes in a daze, and it took a moment for the clarity to return to his gaze.

With Roland’s help, he slowly climbed to his feet and scratched the back of his head.

"I’m fine, Mr. Roland, it’s just..."

He shook his slightly sore arm and broke into a simple, honest smile.

"That guy just now was incredibly strong! I’ve only ever felt that kind of power from my father..."

Roland ignored the big lug’s slightly nonsensical words. Instead, he looked him up and down carefully, only letting out a slow breath of relief after confirming he was unharmed.

Although he hadn’t known the Beastman for long, his straightforward personality and respect for him had long since made Roland consider him a reliable partner.

Seeing that he had only sustained minor injuries, Roland’s anxious heart finally settled.

Perhaps because the large number of Magical Guide Structures in the Demon City had their attention drawn away by Reggie’s army, the area where the group was now located was eerily quiet.

Roland carefully scanned their surroundings. After confirming there was nothing out of the ordinary, he told everyone to rest for a bit where they were.

He then strolled back to the center of the recent battlefield.

"What did you find, Miss Vanessa?"

He asked, looking at the Witch squatting on the ground.

"Is there anything worth studying in this pile of ashes?"

"No."

The Purple-haired Witch, Vanessa, shook her head gently and sighed with regret.

"I only detected a faint residual trace of Necromancy, but such a weak aura... it has absolutely no research value."

Hearing this, Roland simply nodded.

To this day, he still couldn’t understand what this Witch was thinking.

Before rushing to this stone house, he had wanted her to stay with Mason and Reggie, where she could safely wait for the battle to end.

But Vanessa had stubbornly insisted on coming along.

Yet even after tagging along, she had shown no intention of helping during the fight, merely observing quietly from a distance.

Her seemingly pointless actions truly baffled Roland.

Shaking his head slightly, he decided not to dwell on it and simply bent down to pick up the Shield lying next to the ashes.

The moment he touched it, Roland identified its material.

Mithril.

But beyond that, he also felt a familiar fluctuation from the Shield...

Roland’s brow twitched, and his hand unconsciously came to rest on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

’This Shield... it seems to have some strange connection to my Mithril Longsword.’

He closed his eyes, and under the effect of his [Material Synesthesia] ability, he focused on the feeling for another moment before confirming his deduction.

’But this feeling... it’s more like the Mithril Longsword before the Fairy Queen removed its Curse. In other words...’

Roland’s gaze refocused on the Shield in his hands.

It was moderately sized for one-handed use, its surface polished smooth as a mirror, and it shimmered with a cold, silver light in the dim surroundings.

The Shield’s edge was slightly raised, and at its center was a masterfully forged, convex boss.

Its most striking feature was a complex and exquisite pattern of thorny vines etched across its face, the silver-lined engravings appearing and disappearing in the light.

’Perhaps this Shield, like the Mithril Longsword, is also some kind of Treasure Tool?’

Roland temporarily buried this speculation in the back of his mind and turned to face his partners.

"Everyone, this Shield..."

"Roland, while your noble character is certainly admirable..."

The voice of Galvis the Minstrel cut Roland off.

He walked over to Roland’s side, curiously eyeing the Silver Shield with a hint of exasperation in his tone.

"But... do you really think anyone among us can actually wield that thing in a fight?"

"Alright, Galvis..."

Roland’s gaze swept over the others. Seeing no objections or desire on their faces, he shrugged slightly and skillfully strapped the Shield to his left arm.

His previous clash with Holland had already left him with a deep impression of the Shield’s sturdiness.

Neither his own Mithril Longsword, Teresa’s swift Foil, nor Freddy’s powerful Giant Axe had managed to leave the slightest scratch on its smooth surface.

Even if it wasn’t a Treasure Tool like the Mithril Longsword, its indestructible quality alone was enough to raise Roland’s power to the next level.

Just as Roland’s fingers were unconsciously tracing the Shield’s cool, ornate thorn pattern, the perpetually silent Vanessa rose gracefully from the ground.

"Mr. Roland..."

The Purple-haired Witch’s voice, as always, carried a low, almost natural rhythm of Charm.

The sound made both Avril and Teresa, who were standing nearby, frown in unison.

Even though they had heard it many times before, that instinctual sense of discomfort remained.

"What is your plan now? To rush to another place where Magic Power is converging?"