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The only thing to be thankful for was that their ardor cooled somewhat when we actually sighted our target. The reason was obvious.

The city we were set to invade didn’t look like much.

’City’ was a generous term. Even from a distance, it seemed more like a large town than a small city. It did, however, have a decent wall surrounding it. Not nearly as impressive as the wall defending Fortress City 12, but it was tall, sturdy, and big enough for groups of defenders to patrol its top.

The problem was, even by the most optimistic estimates, the ’city’ housed a maximum of two thousand souls. There was just no getting around the fact that it was small, almost tiny.

Grumbling was already breaking out among the demons, even though they did keep it down. No one was stupid enough to complain to our psychotic commander.

The commander herself didn’t care.

She darted here and there at the head of the procession, heedless of her troops’ discontent, her fists opening and closing like she was trying to squeeze the life out of the city. Even from my place near the back, I could feel the vibrations of her mounting bloodlust. She was clearly about to lose all pretense of calm.

Sergeant Wilhelmina didn’t disappoint.

"Charge! I don’t care what you do, but I want every single one of the humans killed! If even one of them escapes, I’ll have your hides!"

The demoness then surged ahead of us all, her mad cackling laugh ringing through the air.

The demons didn’t need to be told twice. Their lazy loping pace switched instantly to a full-out sprint. I could only watch in shock as they ate up the distance to the wall at a ridiculous pace.

I tried to push myself. I knew I couldn’t catch up, but I wanted to try to at least stick to the tail end of their procession and earn a few more souls for my troubles.

I failed.

The Body Strengthening technique I had integrated into my soul made me one of the fastest mortals in the legion. I was out in front, way ahead of the other non-demon troops, but I still lagged far behind even the slowest demons.

Worse, my efforts didn’t go unnoticed.

There were three of us who managed to put on a satisfactory performance. A woman who looked more cat than human, a man with a body so large and muscle-packed I was half convinced he was a demon already, and little old me. I knew that none of us were necessarily combat geniuses or even the most deadly mortals in the demonic army, but our speed and endurance alone made us valuable.

As in valuable targets.

I could feel hungry eyes boring into my back as I ran. The other demonic soldiers behind us were definitely taking notice. And thanks to Hayden’s mana training, I was keenly, supernaturally aware of just how many people now wanted to kill me.

Yay, mana.

But I didn’t have much time to focus on that. My whole attention was consumed with running the Body Strengthening technique.

It was a risky move. Trying to manage the Dual Style skill mid-combat had nearly gotten me killed. Still, I had absorbed the Body Strengthening technique at the basic rank. That came with mana pathways already charted and certain instincts ingrained. More importantly, it came with memories of training to build up the technique.

As such, I knew what I needed to do to improve.

I struggled to maintain the technique as I ran, using the reckless rush to test out the flow of mana and even introduce small variations. I almost took a nosedive once or twice, but it wasn’t too long before I could take over the process manually and boost the technique’s effectiveness. It drained me more, but it let me eke out just a bit more speed.

This extra speed enabled me to pull ahead of the other two humans. I hit the wall just as the demons finished with it.

Honestly, their assault was a thing of glory.

As the demonic troops approached, the defenders managed to produce a smattering of arrow volleys and even a couple vicious explosion spells. The demons didn’t care. They tanked it all, arrows and spells be damned. Not a single projectile managed to leave a mark on a demon’s skin.

I thought the wall would slow them down, at least briefly. I was wrong.

Most demons just climbed right up.

When they jumped, their feet left gouges in the stone while their claws created handholds out of nothing, digging into the hard rock like it was wet clay.

Other demons opted to stay on the ground and unleash spells. Fire balls, fire breaths, and other incendiary missiles rose up like a reverse rain, mercilessly wiping out any locals crazy enough to stick around on the wall.

In one particularly impressive final move, a massive demon ran up to the wall, dug his hands into the stone, and wrenched the stone barrier apart.

There must have been some magic involved. The wall was rent asunder, rocks shoved aside and bunched up around the gaping hole. The rest of the demonic wave flooded through the wall, which now looked like a violently opened can of tuna.

That was when the other two front-runners and I caught up with the assault.

Amazingly, we weren’t as far behind as I had feared. Even with their prodigious speed, the demons still had to find victims for their violent impulses. That meant wrenching aside doors, demolishing more walls, and turning hundreds of homes into death traps, one by one.

My two companions joined in the rush eagerly. They couldn’t break doors down as fast as the demons, but those troops were surprisingly cavalier about passing up opportunities. If another demonic soldier was already working on a door, the demons just moved on to another property. The other two mortal front-runners copied this strategy, marking their presence and moving house to house in search of souls to reap.

Following their example didn’t appeal to me.

The amount of individual souls I could get that way was miniscule. More, this was time to prioritize quality over quantity.

I still wanted my mage soul.

I rushed deeper into the city, scanning desperately for knights or other elite locals. We had caught them with their proverbial pants down. They would either be scrambling to sally forth or trying to get out of the city.

Finally, as I reached the wealthier districts near the city center, I spotted potential quarry. A grim-faced older knight emerged from a majestic building, leading a small group of fighters towards the chaos of battle. More importantly, trailing behind the group were two figures in robes. One clutched a tall staff while the other hugged a book to their chest.

I didn’t rush in immediately. That would result only in my swift and painful death. Instead, I slipped behind the nearest building and began stalking them. It was only a matter of time before a demon picked a fight with a group that large, and when that happened, I would be there to ’assist’ from the back.

I expected to get caught, really. Mages might not be scouts or rogues, but my extensive video game and reading experience made me assume they would have some way of scanning their surroundings. Sort of a magic sonar, maybe?

No such power appeared. If anything, the two magic users seemed dazed as they stumbled through the streets. As for the knights, they were far too preoccupied by the destruction raining down on their city to look behind them.

I took full advantage of this, moving close to assess my two potential targets.

The staff-wielder was a rather old man. He stooped as he walked, face hidden by the hood of his cloak. If it weren’t for the long, silvery beard that fell down to his chest, I wouldn’t have been able to identify anything about him.

The other mage was much younger, and a woman. A girl, really. Her hood was somewhat pulled back, so I caught a few clear glimpses of her face as she looked around in a panic.

Ideally, I would take down both of them. But that wasn’t realistic. As soon as an attacking demon was aware of my presence, it would probably snatch up any remaining souls in a show of strength. Or just demolish me for interfering. Infighting and backstabbing really didn’t seem above the demons.

I needed to pick, and at first glance, that should have been easy. The older the mage, the better. Right?

Except the girl wasn’t acting subservient, the way an apprentice or student might. If anything, the man deferred to her, walking a couple steps behind and taking care to reassure her whenever she glanced back. He was behaving more like a bodyguard than a mentor or friend.

It was a tough decision. Should I go for the older mage, who was more likely to be experienced in mana accumulation? Or would it be better to kill the girl, who probably had a higher social standing and, therefore, access to better techniques?

Before I could choose, the moment arrived.

Just up ahead of the advancing group, a demon rounded the corner. Flames licked up his arms, making his purple skin glisten. His bare chest was covered in traces of blood. The crimson droplets sizzled and bubbled, slowly forming patterns that made my head hurt.

The demon didn’t bother to speak. He simply laughed, the horrible sound ringing through the streets. Then he raised his arms and sent an overwhelming surge of flames towards the humans.

The older mage stepped forward, putting himself between the girl and danger, and picked up a chant. Instantly, a golden shield sprang up, halting the advance of the flames mere inches away from the knight leading their group.

I didn’t hesitate.

I was just a few yards behind them, only a short sprint separated me from my victim. There was no reason to hold back resources at that point, and I pumped whatever mana I could get into my Body Strengthening technique and shot off towards the female mage, keeping my footsteps as quiet as I could.

It wasn’t my footsteps that alerted them. The second I was out in the open with my mana was boiling inside me, both mages stiffened and whirled in my direction.

The man was slower, distracted by the fire still clashing with his barrier spell, but the girl spotted me at once. Terror played across her features. She fumbled with her book, struggling to open it and instead dropping it in her haste.

I didn’t relax.

Three yards, then two, then one. I drew inexorably closer, sword already poised to skewer the girl right through her face. She was conveniently on her knees, having collapsed to fetch her object of power.

Such was my elation that I failed to notice the struggle on the other mage’s face. The man hesitated, but then his barrier fell, reforming instantly as a bubble around himself and the girl.

As soon as the shield was gone, the flames leapt forward, blazing through the group of knights. None of them could do a thing to stop their deaths. Their screams as the fire consumed them were so terrible that I almost faltered in my self-assigned mission.

I pressed on.

Despite the barrier spell in my way, despite the flames drawing ever closer, I was desperate to succeed. The key to improving my future was right in front of me, finally within my reach. I put all my ambition and desire into the sword as I brought it down on the golden glow surrounding the two mages.

And the barrier faltered.

I’m not sure whose shock was greater as my sword smoothly cut through the spell, popping it out of existence. Regardless, the consequences were lethal. The man gasped and clutched at his chest, his face pale and stricken, while the girl got a solid foot of steel through her face.

I immediately felt something pass through the blade, through my arms, and squirm through my chest before it slipped into the bag at my hip, making the bag just a fraction heavier.

Unfortunately, with the barrier eliminated, there was nothing left between me and the oncoming wave of infernal flames.

Oh. I didn’t really think about that. But I’ll take it as punishment for what I just did.

That was my last bitter thought before my world became agony.