"!"

After Mika threw one of the A-rank demons to the ground, he quickly turned around and dodged to the side.

He glared at Gerard who was not himself and attacked him with a sword-resembling weapon that extended itself, trying to pierce Mika.

"Hey, Sowa! When will you get serious?!" a mature and female comrade of the demon asked annoyedly.

"No need to be so stiff, Laila." a middle-aged male demon sighed tiredly.

"Serok is right. If the five- No, the nine of us gang up on him, even he shouldn’t stand a chance." a young male demon chuckled.

"Let’s get this over with quickly. And don’t put so much hope into those mere humans, Xervian." an old demon stated sternly.

"Hm, why not, Altra? Now that they have relics, even they could prove to be helpful." Xervian wondered naively.

At that moment, the three humans who rode on their horses descended and walked toward them.

They made their relics appear and pointed them at the demons.

"Have they lost it now...?" Laila remarked disgustedly.

Those three people were certain individuals affiliated with the academy of Loogam.

"...?"

Once he took a closer look at them, Mika recognized them.

Wearing a black earring, which had some small diamonds engraved in it, was Cindy Werensten, a former teacher at the academy. And standing beside her were Bakil Melar and Vasilya Lyravil, two second-year and white-class students. Whereas Bakil wielded a black sword, Vasilya held a black staff in her hands.

"M-Mika! We’ve come to aid you!" Cindy shouted, albeit nervously.

But compared to her, her two students trembled even more from the tension in the atmosphere.

"..."

Mika looked dumbfoundedly at them at first.

"Heh, do you really have the guts to betray us?" Sowa asked, cracking his neck a few times.

Cindy, Bakil and Vasilya glared at him despite being scared.

"There’s no betrayal if we didn’t pledge our loyalty to you or Lucio in the first place...!" Cindy replied, gritting her teeth.

"Y-you have killed everyone else from our group!" Vasilya shouted.

Sowa sighed.

"I just took care of possible hindrances." he explained.

Hearing that, Bakil clenched his sword tighter.

In the beginning, their whole group consisted of roughly 50 demons and 100 mages from Loogam, however, before they even set foot in Rostanta, the demons decided to slaughter every human aside from the relic wielders.

"We only kept you alive because we thought that you could be useful during battle but it seems like I was wrong." Sowa huffed disappointedly.

"Tch, that’s why I was against cooperating with humans!" Laila complained.

"It was Sir Lucio’s order after all." Serok added calmly.

"I’m serving our liege and not Lucio!" Laila shouted.

In the meantime, Mika observed their conversation, concluding that there was internal strife as the demons killed the humans whom Lucio suggested they should cooperate with.

And while the present five demons were talking among themselves, Mika approached Cindy’s group.

"I’m glad that you’re fine." Mika said, sounding faintly relieved.

He glanced at Bakil and Vasilya who were still wary of Mika due to the incident during the graduation ceremony.

Mika previously fought the two of them and knocked them out temporarily which probably led to them being late for the escape.

It was only when he saw them again now that he felt a faint sense of guilt toward them as they had to stay back in Loogam because of him.

But they were still alive and that was the only thing that mattered to Mika now.

"What happened to Gerard...?" Mika asked sternly and frustratedly.

He kept his eyes glued on Gerard who did not move for a while and only stared blankly back at Mika.

"..."

Cindy cast her gaze to the ground as she tried to explain to Mika.

"The day after you all escaped, the remaining people were called out by Lucio and underwent certain tests which apparently showed how compatible we were with the relics that Lucio and his people stored."

"Among those who passed and received a relic were us three and Gerard..." she added.

Mika glanced at the weird sword Gerard was holding. Unlike typical swords, his sword was not hardened. Instead, the blade wobbled and moved like some kind of snake. Still, Mika doubted that the possession of that relic could have affected Gerard so much that he lost his self and that his body got mutated.

"At first, everything seemed normal, however..."

Cindy’s voice trembled.

"That brat caused a scene. That’s what happened." Laila interfered in an arrogant tone as she crossed her arms.

Mika shifted his sharp gaze to her.

"That boy thought that could face us all and suddenly attacked us. In the end, he may have managed to take one of us down, however, you can surely imagine what the result would be if he were to fight against every one of us at once, right?"

Laila flashed a menacing grin.

"Even though we beat him up so badly that a normal person wouldn’t be able to stand up again, he got up and showed us his will." Altra said calmly.

"His body had already passed its limit long ago but he still insisted on fighting us." he added, looking at Gerard.

"Trust me, we were all baffled when he suddenly began to scream loudly. It looked like he was suffering from some kind of headache." Xervian elaborated excitedly.

"His body and demeanor started to change. Just thinking about that again gives me the shivers..." he said playfully.

"What...?"

Mika could not understand it yet and frowned.

"We call this phenomenon ’demonization’." Sowa declared with a smirk.

"I don’t possess the full information but based on what I saw and knew this phenomenon kicks in whenever a relic wielder turns desperate."

"Desperate?" Mika muttered, glancing at Cindy and the other two who were shocked to hear that it could happen to them, too.

"Yes. In his case, I think that he was desperate for more power as he faced dozens of demons while being on the brink of death."

"..."

Mika’s eyes widened once more.

Excalibur vanished from his hand.

He remembered two certain individuals he met two years ago.

Shira, who was called the king of the Great Jungle, and the mummy-like monster in the Unnatural Dungeon. These two were also labeled semi-transcendental beings and shared one thing: They were former humans.

Mika realized that when Excalibur got into contact with each one of them, revealing their human form for a short time period.

Shira, who was able to talk despite looking like a monster, experienced something similar to Gerard as he also faced a large number of enemies before he turned into a monster. And he, too, wielded a relic.

Those facts could not be confirmed with the mummy in the Unnatural Dungeon but Mika was certain that the same things applied after listening to Sowa and his people.

"If that’s the truth..."

It would mean that those semi-transcendental beings also suffered from demonization.

Mika looked at Gerard once more.

Compared to Shira and that mummy, he still resembled a human or rather a demon.

"Is the process still incomplete or will he soon change into the appearance of a monster as well...?" Mika whispered while being deeply in thought.

"The appearance depends on the type of relic the person wielded. I’ve heard some cases about some turning into monsters while others turned into full-fledged demons. But most of them couldn’t say an actual word." Sowa said, adding a small chuckle in the end.

"I see."

Mika twisted his neck slightly to Bakil and Vasilya.

"You two. Can you head toward the north? A friend of mine is currently dealing with demons there. If you’re up to the task, can you help him?"

The two hesitated for a moment.

"Nobody will hold it against you if you were to seek safety and run away from her-"

"W-we will do it!" the two shouted simultaneously despite still feeling anxious.

"Thanks." Mika said indifferently before turning to Cindy.

"This may sound strange coming from me but I need your help."

"What can I do for you?" Cindy asked firmly.

Bakil and Vasilya ran in the direction of the area Belian was covering.

"It’s enough if you support me from afar. I will deal with the demons from close-quarter."

"W-what?!"

However, Mika already disappeared before Cindy and teleported himself behind Gerard.

"Sorry, but I have to neutralize you first, Gerard." Mika muttered bitterly.

Out of all the demons there, Gerard was potentially the most dangerous individual. He was not on the same level as Shira or that mummy yet but Mika could not focus on the other demons as long as Gerard, who did not think normally, would be aiming for Mika’s neck.

Thus, he summoned Excalibur in his hand again.

"Tch...!"

Mika closed his eyes forcefully, wanting to spare himself from the sight of injuring his friend.

"?!"

Gerard turned around to Mika before Excalibur stabbed his right thigh.

At that moment, Gerard slowly turned back to his usual self.

"M-Mika...?"