Burning Everything

"What's going on?! These guys smell exactly like Subaru?!"

Rem smashed a Witch Cultist's weapon with her ice war hammer, shouting in confusion as she blocked another attack.

"What?!"

"These people smell like Subaru too! It's just much fainter than Subaru's own scent!"

Rem added, her voice indignant at the offense. These guys carried the scent she cherished.

The information was astonishingly important, but there was no time to think it over.

"Over there! More and more of them are coming!"

Subaru caught the curved blade swinging at him with his short sword. Steel clashed against steel with a piercing screech. With Antares continuously absorbing mana to strengthen his body, he had grown accustomed to carrying the seventy-jin short sword and could now swing it steadily to block and counterattack.

Then the sensation of the blade piercing flesh traveled up the hilt, and crimson bloomed before him. Subaru's stomach lurched.

No matter how many times it happened, he could never get used to it.

As soon as Rem finished speaking, the entire forest erupted into noise.

Antares relayed a sensation that made Subaru's hair stand on end: malice. An uncountable amount of malice was surging in from every direction.

Black-robed figures poured out of the depths of the forest, charging at the two of them with a variety of weapons.

But at the same time, a thunderous roar rose behind Subaru and Rem. Reinforcements from the Oni village had arrived.

Pairs of white horns instantly grew from their foreheads, and their bodies, strengthened by absorbing mana, crashed into the enemy ranks like chariots.

Two-horned Oni-this was the true battle form of the Oni.

Flashes of blades and magic intertwined among the dense trees. Witch Cultists were cut down beneath the trees one after another, but black-robed figures kept pouring out in an endless stream. There was no killing them all.

Subaru had just begun to breathe a sigh of relief at the reinforcements when Antares suddenly relayed a message that froze the blood in his veins.

The air over there-the mana was starting to become strange.

Through the shared senses that connected the Lesser Spirit and his master in body and mind, Subaru saw it. Behind the Witch Cult was a figure who looked no different from any of the other black-robed figures.

But it was that man. A black scent constantly emanated from him, and the invisible mana in the air was becoming twisted and rotten at a speed visible to the naked eye.

If Subaru shouted a warning to everyone, that guy would surely take advantage of the chaos to escape or speed up the contamination. He had to act immediately!

"Shamac!"

A path of ice formed out of thin air beneath Subaru's feet. At the same time, something cold suddenly wrapped around his waist, but there was no time to think about it.

Taking advantage of the ice path's extremely low friction, Subaru shot forward and broke through to the Witch Cult's rear. As Subaru suddenly charged deep into the enemy ranks, the Witch Cultists around him immediately reacted.

"This kid! He's a spirit arts user!"

"Shit, don't let him succeed!"

A gigantic fireball suddenly appeared in the sky and hurtled down toward Subaru, trailing thick smoke.

"Whoosh!"

A razor-sharp blade of wind came howling in and split the fireball in two in midair.

"I hope Ram isn't wasting her effort."

A small, pink-haired figure appeared beside Subaru as he charged toward the enemy ranks, streams of green wind visible to the naked eye swirling around both her hands.

"Yeah! You're a huge help, sister!"

"'Sister' is what only Rem gets to call me!"

Without looking back, Ram sent out blades of wind, cutting the Witch Cultists trying to pursue Subaru to pieces one after another.

Subaru finally reached the Witch Cultist who was contaminating the mana.

"Clang!"

His short sword knocked the weapon from the man's hand. Immediately afterward, the muzzle of his magic pistol pressed firmly against the man's forehead.

"Bang!"

The Witch Cultist fell onto his back, completely lifeless. The source of the contamination was gone. Subaru panted heavily, sweat sliding down his temple.

"Sergei got taken out?"

"Who the hell is this human brat? Why is he getting in our way? Isn't he one of us?"

"Kill him!"

After a moment of shock, the Witch Cultists furiously closed in on Subaru, the cold glint of their blades converging from every direction. At that critical moment!

A tremendous force came from Subaru's waist, yanking him backward and lifting him off the ground.

The forest canopy spun in his view. Somewhat dazed, he watched himself fly through the air, then begin to fall.

"Got you!"

Small arms caught him securely. Rem's hands were still trembling slightly from that explosive pull, but her face was full of relief.

"Subaru, that was too sudden! Rem didn't have any time to charge in with Subaru! But luckily, Rem suddenly thought of this idea."

Subaru looked down at his waist. An ice chain was wrapped tightly around him, its other end still in Rem's hand.

"...Rem, you're really strong."

"Yes! Rem is so glad she could pull Subaru back to her side."

Subaru got down from Rem's princess carry, her face still full of relief. The moment his feet were firmly on the ground, his gaze turned toward the place where the source of the mana contamination had been.

The guy giving off the black scent was dead. The source of the contamination was gone.

That meant he had won!

Subaru was just about to clench his fist in celebration when he realized the Witch Cultists' reaction was completely different from what he had expected. There was no panic, no rout, and no one gave Sergei's corpse a second glance.

"Sergei got taken out before his ability even took effect."

"Nothing we can do. Let's use that."

"Everyone, activate the miasma magic stones in your bodies."

The next instant, every Witch Cultist began giving off the exact same black scent as before.

Every one of them had become a source of mana contamination.

Through the senses shared by the Lesser Spirit, the entire sky was dyed black in an instant.

"Everyone! Put your horns away, quick-!!"

"Boom!!!"

Before Subaru's scream had faded, flames suddenly erupted from the bodies of some of the Oni fighters. Just like that night, they were burning entirely, from within their bodies.