Chapter 358

“Mmm… It’s so hot…”

Standing in the middle of the raging inferno, Darkness wore an expression of utter bliss as she savored the flames engulfing her body.

Although her armor had been badly damaged and her clothes were torn in several places, the fire still failed to inflict any actual injuries. Instead, the intense heat only made her more excited.

“DAMMIT!”

Host stared at her in complete despair.

His greatest strength was physical combat, but Darkness was practically as tough as a diamond. No matter how hard he hit her, he could barely accomplish anything.

Now it turned out that his magic was equally ineffective against her.

For the first time, Host genuinely had no idea what to do with an opponent.

His gaze instinctively drifted toward the nearby carriage.

When his eyes met Haruto’s perfectly calm expression, Host let out another helpless sigh.

Although Haruto and his two companions appeared harmless enough, Host could clearly sense the tremendous threat they represented.

He was already struggling to handle Darkness, Chris, and Cecily.

If those other three decided to join the fight, he had absolutely no doubt that he would die here today.

Admittedly, being killed in this world would not mean permanent death for a demon like him.

But Host had no intention of casually throwing away one of his lives.

Having reached that conclusion, he decided there was no point in continuing the battle. He certainly wasn’t the kind of demon who would stubbornly fight to the death.

He spread his wings and immediately took to the sky, heading straight toward Axel.

“Demon! Don’t you dare run away!”

Darkness charged out of the flames and shouted furiously at his retreating figure.

She immediately tried to pursue him, only for Chris to grab her arm.

“We’ll never catch him like this. We need another way.”

As she spoke, Chris turned her attention toward Haruto’s carriage.

Pulling Darkness along, she hurried over with Cecily following close behind.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Chris bowed slightly, her expression earnest.

“That demon is flying toward Axel. If he manages to enter the town, the consequences could be disastrous. Would you mind giving us a ride?”

Cecily also looked up at Haruto pleadingly.

“Of course. Get in.”

Haruto nodded without hesitation.

Chris quickly climbed aboard with Darkness, and Cecily followed.

Once all three were inside, Haruto turned toward Rapidash.

“Rapidash, full speed!”

“NEIIIGH!”

Responding to Haruto’s command, Rapidash released a powerful neigh as blazing crimson flames erupted around its four hooves.

The carriage jolted sharply before accelerating toward Axel at astonishing speed.

At the same time, Kagura waved her wind fan.

A powerful current of air enveloped the carriage and lifted it directly off the ground, reducing the strain on Rapidash while allowing the carriage to travel even faster and more smoothly.

“Whoa! We’re going so fast!”

Cecily shouted excitedly.

“Haruto-san! Kagura! You two are incredible!”

Meanwhile, Host grew angrier the more he thought about his encounter with those infuriating adventurers.

He beat his wings even harder.

As Axel appeared ahead of him, he recalled how Darkness and Chris had repeatedly accused him of intending to attack the town.

‘Fine! If you’re so convinced I’m going to attack your precious town, then I’ll actually attack it!’

With that decision made, Host accelerated toward Axel.

At that moment, several laborers were busy repairing a section of the town’s outer wall that had previously been damaged by monsters.

Host glanced at them but paid them little attention.

After all, he was only planning to attack the town itself. He had no particular interest in killing anyone.

However, just as he prepared to fly over the wall, a clear female voice suddenly rang out.

“Oh? A demon! Sacred Exorcism!”

A brilliant golden pillar of light erupted from the top of the wall and struck Host with perfect accuracy.

The divine energy contained within the spell was extraordinarily pure.

To Host, it felt as though someone had thrown his entire body into a cauldron of boiling oil. Every inch of his skin burned violently, and even his soul seemed to be on the verge of melting.

“AAAAAAAH!”

Host released an agonized scream and plummeted from the sky like a kite with its string cut.

Fortunately, he recovered quickly enough to beat his wings just before hitting the ground, barely stabilizing himself.

He immediately looked toward the source of the attack.

Standing proudly atop the town wall was a young woman with long, aqua-blue hair, dressed in ordinary construction clothes.

She had her hands planted firmly on her hips and was looking down at him with an extraordinarily smug expression.

An unbelievably pure divine aura radiated from her body.

‘Dammit! Who the hell is this woman?! Why does Axel have such a ridiculously powerful Arch Priest?!’

Host was beginning to feel that his luck had reached an all-time low.

First, he had encountered a Crusader whose body was absurdly tough.

Now he had run into an Arch Priest who apparently worked construction.

Even worse, he could already see Haruto’s carriage rapidly approaching in the distance.

If he didn’t leave immediately, there was a very real possibility that he wouldn’t be leaving at all.

Host wasted no more time.

He spread his wings and fled in the opposite direction, putting as much distance between himself and Axel as possible.

…

“Aqua, what was that just now?”

Satou Kazuma looked up from the bricks he was laying and curiously addressed the girl beside him, who was busy spreading mortar.

That golden flash had been so bright that it had nearly blinded him.

“Just some demon.”

Aqua answered casually.

She continued spreading mortar while humming a smug little tune.

“I chased it away with a single spell. Honestly, demons these days are getting weaker and weaker.”

“Oh, a demon.”

Kazuma nodded before lowering his head and returning to his brickwork.

“Whatever. Let’s get back to work before we lose today’s wages.”

As far as Kazuma was concerned, a demon that Aqua had already driven away was nowhere near as important as laying a few more bricks and earning some extra eris.

In this godforsaken world, money was what really mattered.

…

At almost the same time, Haruto’s carriage raced toward Axel before coming to a sudden stop near the town.

Darkness was the first to jump down, followed closely by Chris and Cecily.

The three watched helplessly as Host’s silhouette gradually disappeared into the distant sky.

They had completely lost their chance to catch him.

“Dammit! We still didn’t make it in time!”

Darkness looked particularly frustrated.

Host’s attacks had been incredibly powerful, and now she wouldn’t get to enjoy them anymore.

Chris sheathed her daggers, brushed the dust from her clothes, and shook her head helplessly.

“Forget it, Darkness. That demon flies far too quickly. There’s no way we could catch him.”

“Besides, now that he’s been driven away, he probably won’t attempt another attack on Axel anytime soon.”

Haruto climbed down from the carriage and turned toward Chris and Darkness.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves.”

“My name is Haruto. I’m a Super Chef and a Gourmet Hunter.”

He gestured toward his two companions.

“These are Kagura and Kanna.”

Then he glanced at Cecily.

“And this is our employer, Cecily, a priestess of the Axis Cult.”

“Would you two like to join the Axis Cult?!”

Cecily immediately produced two membership applications and enthusiastically thrust them toward Chris and Darkness.

Both women stared at the papers with expressions of profound helplessness.

After a brief hesitation, Chris introduced herself and her companion.

“My name is Chris. I’m a thief, and this is Darkness, a Crusader.”

“Also, we’re both followers of the Eris Church…”

The moment Cecily heard that they belonged to the Eris Church, she promptly took two steps backward.

Her expression changed to one of undisguised disgust.

“Tch… So you’re Eris followers.”

Darkness’s cheeks immediately flushed under Cecily’s contemptuous gaze.

Chris, meanwhile, awkwardly scratched the scar on her cheek.

“Um, since the demon has already escaped, I think we’ll be going now.”

Without another word, she grabbed Darkness and hurried toward the town gate.

Haruto merely shrugged.

There was nothing he could say about it. The Axis Cult’s hostility toward the Eris Church was hardly something he could change.

“Let’s head into town too.”

As the carriage approached Axel’s gates, Haruto glanced toward the busy construction site atop the city wall.

Numerous laborers were carrying bricks, mixing mortar, and working diligently to repair the damage left behind by the previous monster attack.

His gaze swept across the construction site before settling on two particularly conspicuous figures.

One was a young man dressed in gray work clothes. His forehead was covered in sweat as he skillfully laid bricks, clearly accustomed to the work by now.

Beside him stood a girl with long aqua-blue hair, holding a plastering trowel and humming a badly off-key tune as she spread mortar across the wall.

Naturally, they were Satou Kazuma and Aqua, the Goddess of Water.

Haruto watched them briefly before withdrawing his gaze.

He did intend to make contact with Aqua eventually, but now wasn’t the right time.

Just then, Kazuma, who had been busy laying bricks, seemed to notice something.

He instinctively looked down toward the base of the wall.

His attention immediately settled on Rapidash, and his eyes lit up.

“Whoa! That horse looks awesome!”

Kazuma stopped working and pointed toward the Pokémon in amazement.

“Look at its mane! It’s practically made of fire! That’s so freaking cool!”

He tilted his head.

“But why does it look so familiar? I swear I’ve seen something like it somewhere before…”

“What? What? Where’s this awesome horse? Let me see!”

Hearing Kazuma’s excitement, Aqua immediately leaned forward and curiously peered down from the wall.

The moment she spotted Rapidash, her eyes brightened.

“Oh! It actually does look pretty cool.”

But her interest lasted only a moment.

Aqua turned away and resumed spreading mortar.

“Still, no matter how cool it looks, it’s just a horse. Hurry up and get back to work, or they’re going to dock our wages again!”

Kazuma nodded and reluctantly returned to laying bricks.