The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

"Stop!"

When the tent that held Jillian had appeared in their sight, Shien, who was at the very front, suddenly yelled out.

"…!?"

Everyone who had been running along with Shien felt a tremor in their hearts and, under the influence of Shien's shout, each and every one of them stopped.

It was at that moment…

"Boom!"

Right in front of them, the tent that held Jillian exploded without any apparent reason.

The flames roared into the sky and burned furiously.

The people with Shien couldn't hold back their shouts of surprise. Some even screamed in terror.

Shien alone was staring into the center of the explosion with a sneer on his face.

At the same time, people had started gathering here from all directions.

"This…!?"

Balon seemed to have managed to get away from the Old Demon Faction members who had been attacking him. He brought along a contingent of knights with him as he rushed over and witnessed the scene before him.

The rest of the knights and adventurers who had also rushed here were also staring at the blazing tent with uncertain expressions.

This scene held for some time.

Then, everyone saw it.

At the center of the flames, one figure after another appeared.

Each and every one of them were demons in black cloaks.

They slowly walked out, completely ignoring the scorching flames all around them. They appeared before everyone here with a certain person among them.

That person was Jillian.

Jillian had been successfully rescued by the Old Demon Faction.

"…!"

Balon could not simply sit still at that, and so he took a step forward as if wanting to take some kind of action.

However, Balon failed.

That was because before he could, a terrifying pressure descended here in this place.

"Rescued?"

A dark and elderly voice appeared along with the aforementioned terrifying pressure.

Only then did everyone discover that an old man had at some point appeared before the flames. He was standing about lazily as if he was just taking a walk.

At the sight of the old man, everyone, including Balon, had started shaking uncontrollably.

"How terrifying…"

"Ugh…"

Lumia and Melika couldn't stop shaking. They even forgot their previous guard against Shien and willfully move to his side and grabbed at his clothes.

Shien was looking at that old man too.

"Is that him?"

The person in question was indeed the one Shien had sensed before who had an even stronger magic power than Jillian.

The person's identity was revealed.

"Baydr…"

Balon, over at the side, spoke out that name in an out of sorts manner.

However, the old man of the Old Demon Faction acted as if he didn't hear at all. Rather, it was like he didn't even notice any of the mortals there. He only looked at this own subordinate while completely ignoring Shien's group.

"Lord Baydr."

The Old Demon Faction subordinate hurried to Baydr's side to report.

"We have successfully rescued Lord Jillian."

As he heard that, Baydr shifted his gaze to Jillian.

At that moment, Jillian was still in a bruised and battered state. His was completely unresponsive, not reacting even after seeing Baydr appear before him.

Baydr frowned at that.

"What happened?"

Baydr asked his subordinate uncertainly.

"Unknown." The subordinate shook his head and spoke quietly, "By the time we found Lord Jillian, he was already this way."

"Is that so?" Baydr's frown deepened and he spoke to himself, "Was his mind disrupted by mental magic? Or was he tortured to the point where he lost his mind?"

"It should be the latter." The subordinate spoke, "There were a number of injuries on Lord Jillian's person. It's likely that it really was due to torture."

"Hoh." Baydr laughed, "To actually have managed to torture that Jillian to such a state. I'm rather curious as to what kind of methods those humans actually used."

As he spoke those words, the pressure emitted from Baydr only got stronger though.

It wasn't just Baydr. It was happening with some of the other Old Demon Faction members too.

Obviously, they were angered.

It wasn't that they were angry at the fact that Jillian was tortured. Rather, it was at the fact that mere humans had dared to torture a member of the Old Demon Faction.

"Mere humans. For you to have dared to do such a thing to a brethren of us, the Old Demon Faction."

Baydr muttered to himself.

"Even though you're just a pile of disgusting trash, why can't you just be obediently killed. Yet, you had to anger us and force us to spend time and effort into dealing with you?"

Baydr finally shifted his gaze.

That cruel and emotionless gaze brought terror to everyone there.

"Ah… Aaahhhh…"

Certain individuals of lesser courage had already started screaming incoherently.

"Thud…"

Some had fainted and fallen onto the ground.

As for the rest, some had their teeth chatter in fear. Some were scared stiff, unable to move a muscle. It was like they were being stared down by some kind of terrifying beast, and they were only a step away from fleeing in terror.

Of all the people there, only Shien was able to act normally and deal with Baydr's glare.

That was because just then, a mysterious magic power entered Shien's mind and attempted to influence his mind and will. However, it was completely blocked by Shien's [Abnormal Status Resistance] skill.

Shien instantly understood what was going on.

Doubtlessly, Baydr used the just mentioned mental magic to try to destroy the wills of everyone there.

In that case…

"Since he's come all this way, I should at least show him a good welcome."

Shien's eyes flashed.

A terrifying aura blasted out from his body like a formless shockwave and spread out across the surroundings.

"Eh…!?"

Baydr's expression instantly changed.

"Wh…!?"

Those members of the Old Demon Faction all reacted in shock.

In that moment, Shien had fully activated the [Intimidation] skill that he had learned back at Leisha's Flowersong Mansion. With it, the entire area shook as if an enormous pressure had crashed down upon it.

Thus, following a rain of "thuds", the various members of the Old Demon Faction who were crushed by Shien's aura unprepared all dropped to their knees.

And Baydr's own mental magic was crushed under the aura and was completely canceled out.

Baydr's expression turned unbelievably ugly at that. At the same time, surprised warred in his eyes.

On the other hand, the people on Shien's side felt their bodies lighten and their mind clear up. They finally stopped shaking in terror.

Only then did Shien withdraw his aura and cancel the effect of the [Intimidation] skill.

"————"

The entire area fell silent.

Neither Balon and company nor the Old Demon Faction seemed to know just what what going on. Every single person there showed a shocked expression.

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