Hello everyone, Astaroth here.

When you think of a 'god', it's usually an almighty, omnipotent being, isn't it? A being so powerful they could destroy the world on a whim, or somesuch. Well, actual gods aren't that powerful- but they can get pretty close, sometimes. To exert their powers, gods need to use up a resource they possess called 'divine power'. It's similar to the mana of a mage- it returns in time. Unlike a mage, a god can accelerate their recovery time, however- the more believers a god has, and the more devoted they are, the faster their divine power returns. Theoretically, a god could use divine power to do anything, but each god has a 'talent', something which would consume less divine power- for example, for Lady Luciel, this refers to light-based actions, whereas for Lady Entropy, acts centered around darkness are easier. One of the most iconic acts a god can perform is to grant their divine power physical form, which will end up turning it into a living being- for example, an Azalyth is made of pure divine power. Also made out of pure divine power is Claiomh Solais, the god-sword- which is why it's so powerful, and capable of harming a god's essence itself. That also means Claiomh Solais is what you would call an 'intelligent weapon'- a weapon capable of independent thought and, occasionally, action.

"Master, there seems to be a... situation", Charlotte said to me, her face distorted in a delicate expression as she hesitated, seeming to be choosing her words.

"What is it? Speak", I said, gesturing for her to continue with my right hand as I placed my left behind my back.

"Well, it would appear that the wielder of the god-sword, Claiomh Solais, is travelling together with not only the Saint, but also the Barrier Hero. They are also accompanied by an unidentified but quite powerful mage."

"And what is this group of four doing?"

"They appear to be headed towards a specific location. A number of Vampires are tailing them, so I can track their location."

"A specific location...? ... Give me a moment."

I turned away from Charlotte and looked up at the night sky, activating the skill [Telepathy].

"Lilith?"

"Uwah! Ya surprised me... What's up, Master?"

"Did you get spotted by a Hero, Lilith?", I asked in a somewhat stern tone.

"Wha- uh... I, uh... might've, maybe, gotten found a little bit?", she answered, stammering as her tone became meek. Even without seeing her, I could imagine her having stopped in mid-air, slightly quivering as she attempted to face me.

"So you did get spotted, then", I concluded. "Well, due to that, the enemy's most important pieces have gathered into a single location, so truthfully, it's actually somewhat convenient, but even so, I do hope you won't let this happen again. Un. Der. Stood?" The pressure I was putting into my voice by the end was such that, from the corner of my eye, I saw even Charlotte, who wasn't on the receiving end, shudder, so I could only imagine the look on Lilith's face, as the direct recipient of this pressure.

"Y, yes, Master! I'll, uh, I'll be more careful in the future, you can count on that!", she shouted over the telepathic connection, no longer slurring words or dropping the end of a 'yes' out of laziness.

"Good", I said, before cutting the telepathic connection and turning back to Charlotte.

"Then, where are the Heroes headed, Charlotte?", I asked, gesturing towards the map.

"That would be right here, Master", she answered, pointing to a location a fair distance north of the village. Presumably, this was where Lilith had been spotted.

In response, I nodded and once again activated the skill [Telepathy], this time targeting all five Demon Generals. "Generals", I said, "We have a mission to perform."

In the forest clearing, towering over the treetops, there stood a dragon. Its majestic red scales reflected the moonlight and its eyes as rubies observed the area around it with a vigilant gaze, like that of an apex predator searching for its prey. Its sharp claws dug deep into the soil, and its mouth was filled with rows of glimmering white teeth, sharp enough to rend even the legendary metal Orichalcum to shreds. Even though it was still a juvenile, it stood at over 10 metres tall, and it would only grow bigger with time. This dragon's name was Davna.

At its feet stood an assembly of five Demons, although they were not all visible. A Witch Queen with hair green like a forest and a Vampire Princess with eyes red as blood had hidden themselves in the shadows they ruled. Spread around were globs of goo, which, together, formed a single Grand Slime. Finally, out in the open stood, side-by-side, the half-human Demon Master with his eyes of gold and ebony and an Arch-Devil with hair as pink as can be. Each of these, individually, was powerful enough to be called a 'final boss'-class monster, and currently gathered were six.

"Well, this is where she was spotted, but-", began Yxon, stopping halfway in a sentence, much to the surprise of his 'party members'.

"Is something wrong, my child?", asked Guriel, her never-changing smile still present as ever.

"Ah... well, that is. It seems we'll have to fight three raid bosses at once, not just two", he said before pointing over the treetops at the dragon's scales, drawing his party members' attention to them.

"Wha- A Red Dragon?! Even if I have the god-sword, I can't kill something if I can't pierce its skin!", shouted Reynald in a volume far higher than necessary.

"Maybe I could soften its scales?", Ebstrea offered as she tilted her head.

"Well, either way, we have no choice but to get closer", Yxon said, "so with that said, let's go fight some bosses!" The moment he finished his sentence, he charged forward, forcing the others to come with him.

From the moment I heard him approach, I had started paying attention to every word he and his companions said, in an attempt to figure out their degree of coordination, their roles in the party and their location. I rather easily reached the conclusion the Barrier Hero was acting as an impromptu leader, and that even the Saint herself was following his commands. The moment the four of them became visible, I took on a mocking smile as I narrowed my eyes, and addressed them.

"Why hello there, Heroes", I said, lacing my voice with mana- an action which seemingly caused the mage to shudder.

"Careful, you three", the Barrier Hero said. "Somehow, I doubt anyone in this party but me could take a hit from him." His conclusion wasn't wrong.

"Relax, I've got the god-sword", the wielder of Claiomh Solais said. "I could easily block an attack or two!" This conclusion, too, was not wrong.

Feeling an aura of mana from my side, I looked over to see Lilith, in an uncharacteristic display of strong emotion, was grinding her teeth together and clenching her fists at her side as she shot a strong glare at the Barrier Hero and the Saint standing behind him. As I had expected, it was the Saint of Holy Blessings.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation earlier", I said, "and I must say, I'm intrigued. If you're treating us as raid bosses, wouldn't it be standard practice to come at us with the entire raid, rather than just one party?"

"As if I'd let the sweet, sweet loot from a hidden boss get snatched away from me", the Barrier Hero said. "Besides, this is the sidequest I started all that time ago- that means the reward, too, is mine. Capiche?"

"Ooh, aren't we greedy", I said, "but really now, 'capiche'? What are you, a gang from the '40s?"

"Wai- Wha... How do you even...?"

"Well, anyway", I said, and I snapped my fingers, causing the shadows behind the Heroes to pull away at their Princess's command, revealing said Vampire Princess and the Witch Queen standing next to her- of course, Charlotte and Tempest.

"Wha- there's more?!", the Barrier Hero exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh my, oh my", the Saint said, raising a hand to her cheek, although her smile did not fade.

"Shit! There're so many of them!", the wielder of Claiomh Solais cursed.

"This could be bad...", the mage muttered.

"Calm down, I'm not unreasonable", I said, a vile smile playing across my face. "Lilith here has a bit of a grudge with two of you, and I want to play with-" I cleared my throat. "I mean, I want to test Claiomh Solais's power. We all know that if both sides went into this no-holds-barred, we'd both suffer heavy losses, but we would win. That's why, why don't we-"

I wasn't even able to finish my sentence as the Barrier Hero drove a sword into my gut so deep it came out of my back, soiling my black uniform with my blood. "That's what you get for monologuing!", he exclaimed.

"Given, it's the thought that counts", I said, "and I appreciate the sentiment, believe me, but does this gift come with a receipt?" I felt my eye twitch in slight anger as I grabbed his right hand, tore it off the hilt of the sword, strengthened my grip before I felt the sensation of breaking bones and tossed him backwards before extracting the sword from my abdomen and nonchalantly tossing it behind my back. "I mean, really now. I'm trying to cut you a deal, one which might give you a chance for victory, and instead you provide me with laundry work? Even if I'm not the one doing this laundry, someone will have to repair this, too, you know?" The Barrier Hero's eyes were shaking as he fell on his behind, and he slowly started crawling backwards as he looked between the already-healed wound on my abdomen, the sword lying uselessly on the ground behind me and his now broken right hand.

The Saint rushed to his side and kneeled down, extending her hands to his and casting [Greater Heal], a rather high-level healing spell. "Are you alright, my child?", she asked him, still smiling even now.

"Wha... What a monster... I wasn't even able to use my barrier in time..."

Looking to my side, I saw Lilith's anger had slightly faded, but still she glared at the Barrier Hero.

"Yxon, you leave that guy to me!", the wielder of Claiomh Solais shouted. "You deal with the Arch-Devil!"

Broadcasting to my Demon Generals the message "Lilith, as you are right now, you can handle Yxon. You can't kill the Saint, but she's not a threat on her own. The rest of you, stand by for now.", I confidently took a step forwards before jumping to the side and making an inviting gesture towards Claiomh Solais's wielder. "You'll deal with me, you say? Very well, I shall test your power, wielder of the god-sword!", I said, before once again activating [True Demon Form] on my entire body.

"That... wasn't your full strength?", he asked, drawing back slightly, but soon, he stepped forward again, eyes blazing as he rushed forwards, holding the sword in both hands and taking a slash at me.

I jumped back and took on a low posture, my right claw flat on the ground and my left suspended slightly above the ground.

As he came at me again, I dodged to the side and took a slash at his left leg, which he blocked with a forced movement of his upper body.

"Oh, not bad", I acknowledged, "but is that all you've got?"

Ignoring the rebound of his block, with a swift movement I moved around his back to his now undefended right side and again took a slash at his leg, which he just barely managed to block with another equally forced movement.

"A body can't take that much stress, you know?"

By repeating this simple set of two movements, I was slowly cornering the Hero, who had to make increasingly forced movements just to keep blocking.

"What's the matter, god-sword?", I asked, addressing someone else. "Surely you can't let your wielder be killed just like this?"

"Hmm... Certainly, losing the user in such a place would be troublesome", a deep voice acknowledged. It wasn't one I'd heard before, and yet I immediately placed it.

"Finally, you've decided to speak, Claiomh Solais", I said. "So, what will you do?"

"User!", the sword said to its wielder, who was staring at it with a disbelieving expression. "I'm going to take control of your body, I can't just let you die here."

"You... You can talk?", he responded.

"Soul erosion... ten percent. Oh, not bad- you have a strong soul, user."

"Soul... Soul erosion?", he asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Taking forcible control of remaining soul... Complete. Estimated time remaining until control will erode soul... Ten minutes. Damn, I can't beat this guy in ten minutes."

"You couldn't beat me in an hour", I said, "but really, Lady Luciel's only taken ten percent of him?"

"I'm surprised too, opponent", Claiomh Solais responded. "You seem honourable, so certainly, you will give me five minutes to take control over the user's body, yes?"

"Heh. Well, I wonder?", I responded, before looking over to see how Lilith was doing- and finding her eyes had gone entirely red as she fired spell after spell at the Barrier Hero, without regard for spell synergies or her opponent's actions. Additionally, I saw that the Saint and the mage weren't actually doing much- the Saint just had that same never-changing smile on her face while the mage looked between me and Lilith, seemingly indecisive on who to attack.

As a negative possibility appeared in the back of my head, I borrowed the [Appraisal] skill from one of my Monsters and used it on Lilith, and the words that appeared exactly fulfilled my expectations.

[Name: Lilith.
Sex: Female.
Race: Arch-Devil (physical)*
Skills: [Hell Magic] [Devil Magic] [Darkness Magic] [Devil Shamanism] [Seduction]
[Hell Magic]: Magic exclusive to high-ranking devils dealing with the fundamentals of magic itself, such as mana and arcane attacks.
[Devil Magic]: Magic exclusive to devils dealing with the mental state of the opponent.
[Darkness Magic]: Magic dealing with darkness.
[Devil Shamanism]: Magic exclusive to devils dealing with rituals and elaborate spells.
[Seduction]: Automatically acquired by sexually attractive beings.

*Due to mental state, 'Lilith' has regressed mentally and spiritually to being a Berserker Devil.]

"Hmph", I snorted, "Lilith, I'm disappointed in you. Did you not want revenge?! Is this the extent of your resolve?!"

However, no response came from her as her red eyes continued to glare at the Barrier Hero before her.

"Leave Lilith to me, Master. You just focus on the god-sword", Charlotte told me telepathically, causing me to snap my head in my opponent's direction and see a sword approaching me at a rapid pace-

"[Protect]", I chanted reflexively, but the sword cut through the barrier like a hot knife through butter and made direct contact with my arm, knocking me down to the ground-

I grasped my left arm, the pain of a deep cut running through my entire body as I cursed with a voice that wouldn't come out.

In a dark place, there was a young, purple girl.

She looked around and looked around, but saw nothing.

"Daddy...? Mommy...?"

There was no response.

Frantically, she started running, but there was nowhere to run and no one to run to.

She knew she was supposed to be strong, as the shaman, but she could not help but feel terribly weak.

In that dark place, she cried and cried until there were no more tears left.