The Author's POV

"Whooooo!"

The Abyssal Mammoth raised its tusk into the air and let out a ferocious cry, much like the way a trumpet would sound. Simultaneously, its body raised up on its two legs―exposing its fluffy underbelly in the process—with its legs smashing down against the ground when coming down.

Rumble! Rumble!

The cave began to shake as a result of the mammoth's violent movements, and the color of the mammoth's eyes shifted to an ominous crimson hue.

"Not good; it's agitated!"

"The cave will collapse at this rate!"

Confronted with an unexpected circumstance, the demons began to panic a little. However, the panic didn't last too long. After all, they were all seasoned veterans.

It didn't take long before the order was restored, and immediately after, every demon began forming formations and barking orders at each other.

"Aim for the underbelly! That's its weak point!"

"Make sure you don't kill it!"

"Coming!"

Boom―!

The cave began to shake once more, and the combatants on both sides—the mammoth and the demons—engaged in a struggle with one another.

'This is worse than I anticipated..."

As I turned my head to look at Amanda, I heaved a sigh of exasperation and gazed at her with a frown.

It wasn't just her; everybody else was affected by it as well. They were getting to the point where they were a real pain to deal with.

...but I couldn't really blame them, to be honest. It was my choice to bring them along, and I was aware from the very beginning that the more mana, or demonic energy, they used, the more their minds became corrupted by the demonic energy.

It was also the reason why I avoided using my powers as much as possible.

Really...

If there was anyone to blame, it was me.

Xiu―! Xiuuuu―!

"Whoooooo!"

Amanda's arrows tore through the air as she continued to shoot in the direction of the mammoth. They rode through the air like silver bullets, arriving at the beast in a matter of seconds.

Ca―! Clank!

Unfortunately, when they collided with the mammoth's hide this time, unlike her first attempt, the arrows were deflected away and sent careening aimlessly toward the ground.

I wasn't surprised by this.

After all, there was a significant gap in the level of strength that existed between the Mammoth and Amanda. The simple fact that she had been successful in obtaining a hit in the first place was mind-boggling in itself.

Of course, it would have never occurred if it had not been caught off guard. But that was the whole point.

"Are you not going to make a move?"

observing the battlefield from

will take quite a while for them to get rid of the beast. If you were

"I guess..."

agreeing with

my position and continued to observe from the back.

could make the same argument for the Duchess. If she were to make a move, things would

she's as strong as

omit

***

Clank―!

"Whooooo!"

of the mammoth, which further enraged it and caused it to trash around with more

violently, and the stalactites that hung above the ceiling of the cave

formations—which, given the dense nature of the rock that was used to construct the cave, held an incredible amount of weight—came hurtling down toward a series of demons, impaling their bodies

"Argh!"

"Watch out!"

was not a pretty one as dark blood spattered all over the

luck, some managed to survive due to the fact that their cores were not damaged, but

put, the sheer size of the stalactites made sure that no demon survived, smashing their cores alongside

demons have

battlefield from a safe corner

the mammoth as her

about ten Marquis ranked demons,

prepared

"Ten already?"

features as her

more than she

the losses is due to none

"Enough!"

the same. The same couldn't be said for her voice as a

our objective. We're not here to coddle them into defeating the beast. We're here to test them. If it were up to me, I'd

for her to be wary of. Sure, if she were alone, it'd prove to be an annoying foe for her...but she

to appease her uncle for a

he once

"Yes, I know, but—"

"Did the shot miss?"

uncle again; this time, her gaze focused on the hooded

a point to keep a close eye on the individual ever since they engaged the

out of spite or annoyance. It was more out of

cowards. The

it didn't mean she liked reckless ones. Had the individual missed, it would've been a whole

they did nothing wrong. For those who died...they

had to adapt to

they had gained a good advantage. It was now up to them to exploit that advantage and seal the

At

coming from the distance that once again caught Priscilla's attention

'Another hooded figure?'

person who had yelled was donning a black hood, the same kind of hood as the one

based on how clear it was, and the instructions that she was giving seemed to be

fuckwit! That's

were

the beast, walked up to it, and then made its way underneath

perhaps both, but much to her surprise,

SHAAA!