Only three of the Zodiacs remained in Bartello's chamber, and all the rest went out.

The number of demons pouring out from outside the palace was an extraordinary sight. More than anything, right after they appeared, the rune set up in the Frondier chamber suddenly expanded.

The Zodiacs sensed it. The demons were targeting Frondier!

"No! Frondier! I'll save you, just hold on a little longer!"

The first one to rush out was Lily. Lily acted as if she had known Frondier for a long time.

The expressions of the people around became subtle at her behavior, but they all acted together nonetheless.

As Frondier said, targeting the emperor seemed to have been a simple fake. If the three Zodiacs were here, there was no big worry. Above all, Ludovic was among the three.

"......There's a hell of a lot."

The Zodiacs frowned as soon as they stepped outside the palace. At first, they wondered why a flock of bats was flying around.

Upon closer inspection, they were demons in the distance. The black wings that filled the sky flew around making a noisy sound.

"We'll be attacked if we try to approach Frondier like this."

Monty said with a stern face. He had a strong desire to protect Frondier as much as Lily.

However, neither Monty nor Lily could think of a way to reach Frondier in one breath. It's not a difficult task to deal with these many demons, but it's not something that can be done in a short time.

At that time.

"Do you want to go to Frondier?"

A dialect from an unknown source could be heard.

Crack! Crackling!

A sharp lightning bolt spewed blue light and raced across the sky. The lightning struck the clustered bats, extending to all the nearby bats, connecting them with its blue stem.

The chain reaction continued endlessly, illuminating the sky for a long time.

"Ludwig!"

Lily, who immediately recognized the nature of the magic, shouted.

"Thank you! The title of Archmage is not for nothing!"

"I'm not a Archmage, what are you talking about."

"You're a Archmage if you're Ludwig, what's with you!"

"...If you say that to another mage, you could really be in big trouble."

The Grand Mage is not such a title.

Like the Zodiac, the strongest 12 on the continent, it's not a title that can be achieved by ranking.

Magic is armed with theory and order, and theory evolves and changes over time, moving towards a new path.

A Archmage is a title only given to those who have brought about a reform in the concept of such magic, or added a new concept.

"Of course, Lily knows that. She said with a bright smile.

"It will be soon. Archmage."

"......Anyway, if you want to go to Frondier, move quickly. I'll take care of things here."

"Yes! I'll go save Frondier quickly and come back!"

With that said, a red aura swirled around Lily's entire body. Monty's aura next to her also flared up.

Until a while ago, if they had headed to Frondier as they were, they would have been surrounded by demons and wasted more time, but now, a large gap had opened in the direction towards Frondier due to Ludwig's magic.

"But wait a minute."

That's when Ludwig spoke.

"You guys, are you going to save Frondier?"

"Yes. Of course! If we don't save him as soon as possible, he's in danger! It seems like all the demons here are targeting Frondier."

At that, Ludwig scratched his head.

"......I see. Well, do as you please."

"......? Well, anyway, we're going!"

Lily and Monty set off like that.

Daisy, who had been watching, spoke.

"I can't stand it. I should go too..."

"You can't."

"What! You seem to underestimate me because you don't know my power yet,"

"It's not that I can't see your power and underestimate the Zodiac. That's not it."

"Then, what is it?"

To Daisy, who tilted her head, Ludwig spoke with cold eyes.

"It's called overinvestment."

"......Over......investment?"

"Overinvestment, I mean. It means to invest excessively. Investment is, you know, using certain goods first to get what you want......"

"I know that!"

"I'm glad you know. The remaining Zodiacs just need to stay here and defeat the demons. Then we should be able to handle this sudden situation without much trouble."

Daisy tilted her head a little at Ludwig's words, but she thought he had a point.

The demons visible in the sky now are countless. It would be urgent to deal with them right away. The Frondier side is headed by two Zodiacs, so it should be okay.

However, if the Frondier has already been captured by the demons, the demons can take the Frondier as a hostage. In that case, it might be a bit difficult for the two Zodiacs. Wouldn't it be okay to have one more person who can take away the sight?

There was such a vague sense of unease, but Daisy decided to follow Ludwig's words for now, as his expression was too gloomy.

"Then let's each take a zone and defeat the demons! I'll head northwest!"

With that, Daisy ran off.

* * *

Well, do as you please.

Lily and Monty didn't take long to understand why Ludwig had said that, why he had made such a face while saying it.

"What's that."

Lily muttered blankly.

She headed straight for where she suspected Frondier was.

She felt the mana of Frondier and arrived exactly there.

But exactly where Frondier should be located.

"Hmm. Not all blades are effective. There are a few blunt weapons that are useful. They have lethal power even if they don't aim for the vital points, and even if they don't die, the surrounding enemies are swept away."

There was a devil. [T/N: Lmao]

A devil wrapped in black mist instead of wings, was quietly looking in, holding the demon's neck in his right hand.

"Except for the bat wings, it's almost identical to a human from head to toe. The blood is red too. It's just that it gives off an unpleasant feeling."

"Ugh...! Stop talking nonsense and kill me!"

"Wait a minute. I'm still thinking."

Thwack! Thwack!

The devil shrouded in fog hit the demon in its grasp several more times as it babbled on. The thing in its hand looked like a hammer, but the head was quite thick compared to the short handle.

"Does it hurt less if you hit it gently with a divine weapon?"

"......"

There was no answer this time. The demon seemed to have completely fainted. Confirming this, the devil of the black mist lost interest and threw it away. Like throwing trash on the street.

"......F, Frondier?"

Lily said in a tense voice. Hearing that, the devil turned its head.

It wasn't a devil. It was Frondier.

She flew in the direction where Frondier should be and called out Frondier's name to something that should be Frondier. Then, the thing that looked back looked exactly like Frondier. Of course, it was Frondier.

According to this inevitable development, the man in front of her eyes had to be Frondier, and he was indeed Frondier. For some reason, she couldn't accept it right away.

Thud, thump!

While she was blankly watching Frondier, something else fell from the sky. When she turned her gaze, there were demons. Things with holes in their heads or bodies, things that were separated from top to bottom, each fell and rolled around like stuffed dolls.

""

""

Lily and Monty looked up at the sky blankly. The demons were being played with and injured by weapons of unknown origin before they died and fell.

Trying to respond to the weapons that flew back even after being thrown, they failed to read the situation and got their backs pierced, or simply lost their limbs due to being outnumbered, and fell again screaming.

"You're here."

Frondier said with a grin, in between the falling corpses of the demons.

"I almost got caught. Thanks to you, I survived."