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“They might be tough, but…!”

The legs of the mite-like bugs that were sharpened like blades made Crim’s black scythe bounce off with a loud clink. There was only a faint scratch left on the bug’s carapace, showing how resilient they were even against Crim’s Shadow Heavy-Weapon.

“Still…there has to be another way!”

She moved the edge of her scythe to go around the leg’s joint, which was moving around making a chattering noise, and she swung.

Usually the weakness of tough exoskeletons were the joints, as they were only designed to move in very specific angles, and a strike from a different direction would make them break, and that effect was only heightened in enlarged specimens like those in front of them. Even if Crim’s blade was repelled by the carapace, she could still destroy the joints.

Her blade encountered a lot of resistance, but successfully tore off the bug’s leg, after which she swung a follow up attack against the back of the bug.

The mite-like bugs had a comparatively soft top and underside, so it burst open from the strike and stopped moving, while Crim searched for her next target.

…It had taken her all of five seconds to dispatch the first bug, and as she learned how to optimize it, the next ones would take her even less.

At first, she had been confused by their non-human movements, but soon realized their attack patterns were easy to read.

It was the same for the other members of Lua Cheia, as Hinagiku’s flaming blade burned and tore off the carapaces, and Lycoris’ magic bullets pierced through them while she defended Frey, allowing him to chant in peace… Overall, they were having just as much success as Crim at defeating the bugs.

But even that was just them buying time, as their real objective had just been completed.

“Crim, everyone, I need a line of sight! Eruption!!”

Frey held out his hand and enormous fireballs began shooting out one after another, like they were being fired from a gatling gun. They all flew straight at the black bugs, charring their bodies…and soon the ten or so bugs that were left were all burned away.

Eventually…the forest fell silent with the bugs eliminated.

“…Alright, that takes care of the first wave.”
“Be careful, sister. It feels like someone similar to *her* is nearby again.”

As Crim looked around at the results of their work, Rouge warned her from her pocket. So far, she had always been right when sensing Belial in the past, so there was a high likelihood that something similar was happening again.

“I see… Well, let’s see what move our opponent makes next…”

Crim muttered that, preparing herself for whatever would come…

“You got rid of fifty bugs within only three minutes. That’s quite impressive, I have to admit. I can feel like we’ll have a lot of fun together.”
“…?!”

A voice that seemed like it came from a really young girl reached them. They all quickly readied their weapons as they turned in the direction that voice came from, seeing a distortion in space, and emerging from it…

“…A girl…almost like us?”

Hinagiku muttered what everyone was thinking, seeing that girl who was around as tall as her.

And just as she said, the girl that showed up… at least her appearance, was that of a young and cute silver haired girl with red eyes, wearing a gothic lolita outfit, and an aloof look on her face.

But…

“Why…why is a girl here…”
“Stop…be careful everyone. From what I can see, this girl is more dangerous than anyone we’ve met so far.”

Kasumi was bewildered at first, but just as Crim warned them, they all felt it too.

There was an immense pressure coming from the girl, which was maybe even stronger than what they felt from Belial in R’lyeh, almost like a physical burst of electricity all around them.

The girl just glanced at them with a deadpan face, before slowly opening her mouth.

“…My name is Ba‘al Zəbûl Aery. I understand that might be a rather complicated name, so I guess Beelzebub would sound better in your tongue?”
“Beelzebub…!”
“Qliph2i, the second Qliphoth after Belial!”

Beelzebub…a god of harvest in Ugaritic myths, who fell out of divinity after a religious war, and now is one of the most famous demons, second in power to Satan. Hearing that name, Crim and Frey glared at her intently.

“Oh…you’re more studious than I anticipated. Very well then, usually I wouldn’t allow others to utter my name with so little reverence, but I’ll give you special permission after the impressive way you fought earlier.”

While Crim and the rest were still shocked at the unexpected entrance of someone like that, the girl nodded with what looked like approval, even though her deadpan face remained.

“…Well, it worked out perfectly this time, right?”

Then she seemed to get distracted all of a sudden, looking to the side and talking to a gigantic fly next to her. The way she looked at the fly made her look like a puppy wanting to be praised, but…

“…What? I really have to tell all of that here? Ah…”

The girl in gothic lolita attire looked stunned for a second, before looking down like she had just messed up. Those actions completely destroyed her image as a powerful foe, and even Crim and her friends were starting to look at each other awkwardly, not sure of what to do.

“…Ugh, whatever. So usually I’d just keep away since all of this is such a pain, but I’ve taken a liking to you lot, so I’ll give you passing marks.”

For the first time, her deadpan changed into a grin, and around her…things started to change.

The first change was that all their surroundings suddenly became darker. At first, they thought that it had simply gotten cloudy, but then they stared in horror at what was above them.

“The sky is turning…black…”

The sky above them was starting to be taken over by various types of black bugs, almost like they were spawning there out of nowhere.

Only one of them had said something, but all of them were thinking the same seeing that above them…

“Yes, passing marks. You seem like a fun bunch…and that’s why I’ve decided to give you time to prepare first.”
“…I appreciate thy generosity.”
“Yes, I’m truly generous. I mean, simply overpowering you with numbers like this would be…far too boring.”

She was speaking with a tinge of arrogance, but Crim and the rest had nothing to say back.

*It’s seven parts black, three parts sky.*

That expression was not an exaggeration in this situation. That was really what the sky above the forest looked like.

The bugs were so numerous that it did not matter how strong Crim and her group were, they would be overwhelmed and swallowed by the swarm in an instant. It was probably going to be a tall order even if all of the Lua Cheia United Kingdoms worked together.

“I’ve always been a really, reallllly good girl, even better than Belial…you know?”

With that black swarm behind her, a pair of black fallen angel wings spread from the girl’s back and she flew up, talking as she looked down at Crim’s group. This time, the little girl’s face had been taken over by a sadistic grin, like she had just found a new toy to play with.

“And that’s why…I’ll wait for all of you to get ready. You have to come here with plenty of strong people, otherwise…I might just kill you.”

With that final warning…the girl vanished together with all the bugs…

«The large-scale Legion Raid “Defense of Weisswald” has been reached. This quest will remain locked until the starting conditions are met.»