“I’m here!”
“Well, if it isn’t the little brother! You got here fast!”
Tier greeted him cheerfully.
This time, his companions were once again Kuite, Michael, and Tier. The week before, Ethel had been paired with Caesar, Muzhen, and Nightcandle instead. Judging from that, each squad within the First Division rotated duty roughly once a week.
“Everyone’s here. Get in the vehicle.”
Seifer poked his head out from the driver's seat, urging them on.
Half an hour later, they had reached the outskirts beyond the city walls.
“You worked pretty well with the other three last week, didn't you?”
“Uh... I guess so...”
The reason for his hesitant answer went back to the previous week's missions.
The first target had been a gigantic humanoid demon whose entire body was covered with countless eyes.
From a distance, Ethel activated his Concept and immediately noticed that every eye's field of vision was marked by crimson lines.
Since the demon had not attacked yet, there was no way to determine its Concept.
That problem was quickly solved.
Seifer guided one of his light spheres forward as a probe. The instant the sphere entered the demon's field of vision, it slipped completely out of Seifer's control and froze motionless in midair.
“Confirmed. Concept: Imprisonment.”
The moment the Concept was identified, the other five were ordered to withdraw while Tia fought alone.
Although Tia had acknowledged the usefulness of Ethel's Concept in certain situations, she still insisted on handling the most dangerous part of every hunt herself. She refused to allow anyone else to share the risk.
All they could do was remain at a distance and support her.
“We thought things would improve a little after you joined,” Caesar had sighed. “Turns out they only improved a tiny bit.”
He had used his sniper rifle to shoot out one of the demon's eyes from afar, creating an opening for Tia to continue her assault.
The demon's eyes apparently had to consciously detect a target before they could activate their Concept.
Because of that, Tia adopted a speed-based strategy, transforming into a ray of light and overwhelming the demon before it could react. After every eye had been destroyed, she finally finished it off.
The second mission had been much the same.
The demon resembled an enormous clam, its massive shell tightly shut.
“Concept: Closure.”
This time, Seifer did not even get the chance to test it.
Tia immediately took over once again.
The rest could only watch as she shattered the shell piece by piece before striking the creature hidden inside.
The third mission had been no different.
The demon was a glowing spherical creature that floated silently in the air.
Its Concept was active at all times, requiring no testing whatsoever.
“Concept: Radiance.”
Once again, Tia took command of the battle while the other five watched from the sidelines like spectators rather than members of a demon extermination squad.
The only difference this time was that she encountered a bit more resistance.
Perhaps because their Concepts were similar, her light-based attacks proved far less effective than usual.
In the end, she borrowed Muzhen's weapon—a staff crowned with the carving of an eagle's head—and physically smashed a hole through the demon's body before burning it from the inside.
In short, Ethel had contributed almost nothing during those three missions.
Not just him—the entire First Division, aside from Tia, had barely played any role.
Back in the present, the other three had also heard about those battles.
They had hoped Ethel's arrival would finally reduce Tia's burden.
Instead, nothing had really changed.
“That little lady is stubborn beyond belief!”
Tier couldn't help grumbling.
Even Kuite, who rarely complained, finally spoke up.
“Tia takes everything far too seriously. Having ideals is admirable, but taking them this far isn't.”
A few moments later, the vehicle came to a stop.
They were close.
As usual, Ethel remained at the rear.
Ever since his first mission, he had always stayed well behind the others. Soth had never accompanied them again.
"If that brat can beat that lunatic Ginbing, then he can damn well run back on his own while crying his eyes out."
That had been Soth's exact response when asked to escort Ethel again.
So today, there were only six of them.
After walking a short distance, they spotted their target.
Unlike the southern desert, where enormous rocks provided cover, the western plains were almost completely exposed, with nothing but rolling hills stretching into the distance.
The demon stood atop one of those hills, slowly advancing toward Sunblaze City.
As for its appearance...
Even the battle-hardened members of the First Division frowned in visible disgust.
It resembled an enormous mass of flesh, its bloated body supported by four grotesquely elongated human arms.
That, however, was not the most disturbing part.
Much like the demon bearing Concept: Imprisonment they had faced days earlier, its body was covered by a single repeating organ.
Mouths.
Countless mouths lined with razor-sharp teeth opened and closed incessantly.
At what appeared to be the front of its body, a gigantic maw split open, resembling a bottomless abyss capable of swallowing everything before it.
“Ethel, do you see anything?”
Without taking her eyes off the demon, Tia asked.
“No. Unlike the Imprisonment demon, its mouths aren't showing any signs of attacking.”
“Then I'll take over as usual.”
Seifer guided one of his light spheres forward.
The instant it crossed a certain distance, the demon reacted.
One of its arms shot forward, stretching several times its original length with horrifying flexibility.
Its palm bore yet another enormous mouth, which lunged directly toward the sphere.
Naturally, Seifer had no intention of missing such an opportunity.
The moment the distance was right, he detonated the sphere.
But the explosion never came.
The blast was completely swallowed by the giant mouth.
“Everyone, scatter!”
Having already seen the danger, Ethel shouted the warning.
All six immediately split apart.
Boom!
A deafening explosion tore through the place where they had been standing moments earlier, blasting a massive crater into the earth.
Had any of them taken the attack head-on, not even their remains would have survived.
“Concept: Devour.”
Seifer glanced at his scanner.
By coincidence, the group had split into two teams of three.
Standing beside Ethel now were Seifer and Tia.
“Understood. I'll handle this.”
As always, Tia activated her Concept and transformed into a ray of light, shooting toward the demon.
This time, however, Seifer caught her by the wrist.
“Captain... please allow us to fight alongside you.”
“Request denied.”
“You saw it yourself. That demon can devour energy—including the light sphere you fully charged.”
Seifer always carried three light spheres into battle.
Each one was an enormous bomb created by compressing the light and heat that Tia had converted from her own force through her Concept.
Normally, they were powerful enough to inflict tremendous damage on demons.
Yet this demon had effortlessly devoured one of them and hurled the energy right back.
A demon with the Concept: Devour was the natural counter to Tia's Concept: Sun.
“Request denied again.”
“I have a plan.”
Without another word, Tia ascended once more, leaving Seifer behind before he could continue arguing.
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