11 Save Log 9: Here We Are In A Battle With No Strategy

Part 1

Everyone has gathered around the fireplace just like yesterday. Except today we have two new members, Joro-Draken and Dermin. Joro is surrounded by his maids while Dermin is holding him on his hands. Furara and Lina are sitting on the couch.

" Looks like everyone is here."

" Hanjiro, you don't look so good. There are black marks under your eyes.", said Joro.

" Of course there will be. I haven't been able to sleep for three days."

That's right. Just like the night before finding Joro, I couldn't sleep last night either. I wonder if I will get any sleep for a while.

" Want to go have some sleep then?", said Furara.

" No thanks. I am used to this. Also, no one can sleep when you know that you might get attacked at any time."

" Well I couldn't sleep either….", said Lina.

" Anyway, let's continue with the plan. About this demon Celestia. Any weakness or some sort?"

" Sadly, Draken doesn't know her weakness."

"......What the heck?! Didn't he said he knew eve…! I mean, he did say he knew the weakness of the demon generals.

" Yes I do know the other generals weakness. But, I hate this woman for some personal reasons."

" Well, what about you Furara? Your father once battled him, right?", asked Joro.

" He did?"

" Wow that's awesome Furara."

" Sorry, I don't know anything else about Celestia except she is a material artist."

" She is a material artist….alright that can help."

" She also has psychic power and also has the ability to control other living beings. That's what Draken said."

" Sca-scary…", said Lina.

" Is there any range of his mind controlling?"

" There is, she can control someone upto one kilometer. She can also control 200 things at once.", said Draken.

" 200!?"

" That's a lot of numbers. We might get controlled by her.", said Furara.

" She can only control which are below 22 level."

" Oh thank god. I'm level 32."

" I'm 26 level now. But…."

" I'm still level 16…."

I've not leveled up that much since I only do mushroom collecting quests.

" Don't worry Hanji, if you get hypnotized, we will beat you until you regain your conscience."

" Are you planning to kill me?!"

" May I suggest that we should inform the guild about this situation?", said Milona.

" They still don't know anything about this. It will be great if we let them know.", said Aneca.

" You are right Milona. We need to tell them that this town will be under attack at any time before it's too late."

" She won't be alone next time.", said Draken.

" We should go to the guild then. Everyone get ready."

" Alright."

Part 2

We quickly got ready and went to the guild. Joro didn't come with us because we don't want anyone to know that we have a demon general hanging out with us.

" There will be an attack?", said Siyol.

" Yes, a demon general appeared last night and told us that she will attack the town after the sun rises."

" A demon general? Do you know who it is?"

" She said it's Celestia. She was wearing this dress like Gangerbang but red and she got a staff.", said Lina.

" Celestia, the spirit demon.. You are not pranking us are you?"

" Why would I want to prank you for no reason? I might get kicked out because of that."

" Alright, I'll warn the whole town and prepare the adventurers."

" Thank you very much."

Siyol went inside the back of her counter.

" Attention the citizens of Midlofhin. This is an important broadcast! I repeat this ia an important broadcast!"

Some magical devices around the guild building which looked like those old cone shaped loudspeakers, were spreading the announcement through the town out loudly. They call it ' The Howler Box'.

" We have been reported that there will be an attack on this town by a demon general. Please don't leave the town and secure yourself until we tell you it's safe. I repeat, we have been reported…."

" A demon general? Are you kidding me?"

" I thought they didn't reach this kingdom yet."

All the adventurers here in this guild started gossiping about the matter. The whole guild was humming because of that.

" Fear not, if we work together, not even the demon general stands a chance.", said Dandold standing tall and fierce. He is the strongest person in this guild after the guildmaster after all.

But, even after that dramatic speech, no one was showing a hint of hope. All of them were scared and terrified. I can't blame them for that. Even I have no idea if we will win or not.

" Alright Hanjiro, I guess we have a big fight coming soon.", said Joro as he patted my shoulder.

" Yeah...I guess."

" Hope you and your party fight well."

" Hanji, Do you mind if I left your party for a while.", whispered Lina.

" Oh sure, I'll be more happy if you decide to never come back again."

" I suck at combat ok? I won't stand a chance!"

" Don't worry Lina-san. We will find a way to defeat Celestia."

" Furara, even if we do, I won't be any help."

" No that's wrong. You have a skill that can help us with this.", I said.

" I do?"

" Are you dense? Your steal skill! The only skill you have mastered to a next level. How can you forget about that?"

" Oh, I forgot. But, how can that help us defeat Celestia?"

" Are you serious? Look, if she has some kind of weapon, you can use your skill to steal that weapon and make it easier for us. How dumb can you be if you don't get it!?", I said and pulled her tail.

" Kyaah! Why are you always so mean to me? I'm older than you, you know."

" Well, Lina-san. Hanjiro is right. We are all useful in some way. If we stick together we may be able to defeat Celestia."

" I don't think you will be that much of useful."

" Wha-?"

" You get amnesia when you cast a few magics. How the heck can you continue to use magic just like in that.....tunnel...."

" I-I will be just fine."

A wild thought hit me hard. During that quest, wasn't Furara.....

" Hey Furara."

" What?"

" Weren't you using too much magic back in the tunnel? I mean, you said yourself that you get amnesia after two or three spells. You used upto six spells that time.", I asked.

Furara's pairs of glowing blue eyes in the hood got larger. She looked away quickly.

" What's wrong Furara?"

" No-nothing. It's just there is something in my eyes."

" Oi, oi. Just answer me. How could you use that much magic?"

" Aa..well...you see..."

" Alright everyone, we are going to defend the town from the attack. Let's all march toward the entrance.", said Dandold.

" Oh, they are telling us to go to the entrance. Let's go to Hanji."

Since I had no other choice, we joined the others to the entrance of the town. Furara got away from me. But, I'll ask her again next time.

Part 3

The sky was clear and blue while the sun was shining brightly among it. The clouds were having a boring slow race which I now find enjoyable after standing in front of the entrance and doing nothing for three hours.

We went out of the guild once Dan announced that we were going to defend the town. But, it's been three hours but Celestia didn't appear.

" It's been a long time and the demon general didn't appear. Was that a false announcement?", said a Swordsman.

" No. Siyol-sama would never do such a thing except when it's fools day."

Wait, there is April Fools Day in this world?

" I think the demon general won't attack today?", said a female mage.

" We can't lower our guard down. The demon might attack when we'll lower our guard. Being cautious is now what we can do for now.", said Dandold.

" Standing for too long is boring. Now, I really want Celestia to attack us.", said Lina.

" Don't say it like that Lina-san. We might get defeated because of that."

" But standing here doing nothing is getting boring."

" Look at those clouds if you are feeling bored. You too Furara."

" Looking at clouds? Are you sure Hanji?"

" Alright, I'll do that.", Furara replied and looked up.

All of us gazed at the sky above us where the cloud racing grand prix is held. We continued to look at them as the time passed.

The sun marathoned all the way to the finish line. I mean, the sun is almost setting. We are still watching the race of the clouds.

" GO! Reach the finish line cloud number nine!", yelled Lina.

" You can do it number two, go pass number nine! Which one is my cloud again?", cheered Furara.

" Keep moving number six. Ehh? Number six?", I said.

We were playing the game like those betting horse races except none of us agreed to bet anything. The starting point was a tree far away from us on the left and the finish line was the tip of a warrior's spear on our right. We completely lost our mind.

" Why isn't my cloud moving!!?"

" Hehe, looks we are finally going to beat Hanji Furara."

" Yeah, but I won't lose to you either."

" Oh crap, your cloud is going to pass by me. You can do it number nine!"

Both of them cheered on their own clouds as they were reaching the finish line while mine got stuck in mid-way. Finally, Furara's cloud reached the shining blade of the spear.

" Yaay!! I win. Now this is the power of red mage."

" Man, I lost at the end."

" ......Heh, you win huh? Nice."

" Don't be so gloomy Hanji. You won three times already. Now…...stop mocking us like that fake reaction of yours.", Lina's voice suddenly turned deep and serious.

“ I-I swear I wasn’t mocking you two.”

" What are you guys even doing?", said Glider.

" Oh Gli, come join us. We are watching the cloud race."

" Hanjiro is pretty good at picking the best one."

" Well thank you Furara."

" You guys are out of this world. Well, the sun is setting and the demon general isn't here yet?"

" What the hell? The sun is setting already? How long have we been here for?", said Lina.

" The time flies by quickly when we enjoy something."

" I agree with that too. So what do we do now?", I said.

" Now I really starting to feel like it was a fake announcement.", said a female mage.

" The sun is going to set very soon and there is no single monster that attacked our town."

" Can't believe we have been waiting here for so long for nothing."

Everyone started to get mad about the situation. Crap! If they find out I made the announcement, they won't let me stay alive.

" Alright the one who told Siyol to announce this, raise your hand quietly."

Shit! It already started. What the heck am I going to do?!

" We announced the news.", said Furara.

" What the heck are you doing Furara?!"

" So you bunch did this.....do you feel happy after you make a fool of so many people?"

" We were not lying! There was a general who came here in this town. she told us that she will attack the town today."

" Heh, who will believe a thief?", said a guy who just joined the guild.

" Hey, hey don't talk to her like that.", a swordsman whispered to that guy. What was that for?

" She is not lying. We all witnessed Celestia coming in front of our house. She said she will attack after the sunrise."

" Don't get all hyped up everyone. I'm sure they are telling the truth. The demon Celestia said that she will attack after today's morning sunrises. That doesn't mean she will attack right after the sun has risen. She might attack us at night."

.......thank you Dandold, for being on our side.

" We have to stay here until night? What the heck?"

" This is all getting messed up."

The adventurers were still mad about this. Thankfully, I avoided a disaster thanks to Dandold. I hope Celestia arrives before it gets worse.

Part 3

The sun had set for a while now. Most of the group was sent back to the guild for a break. We were also with them.

We are sitting on the wooden benches inside the guild. Many of the adventurers were having their meal just like us.

People were talking about if what we said is actually true or not. Sometimes gazing at our direction with rage filled in their eyes. No one couldn't do a single quest today. Those who needed to do quests for money became upset. We had enough money for a week but I know how they feel. I can't blame them for being mad toward me.

" Hanji, most of the adventurers here made us their enemy."

" Yes, I can tell."

" If Celestia doesn't appear the next day as well, then I think they will report us.", said Furara while chomping down a pork piece.

" What can we do about that? Don't tell me that all of that was a stupid nightmare for not having enough sleep."

" No, why would that be? Then that means we all saw the same dream at the same time."

I said nightmare though.

" Yeah, with Joro, Dermin and the 'chew' 'chew' other maids."

" Alright. We are going back to the entrance. Those who think need to rest for a while long may stay. Except you three.", said the short warrior dude from Dandold's party looking at us. He was shorter than Furara. He has electrifying yellow eyes with a short scar underneath the left eye. He always wears light iron armor and a headband attached under his bushy light brown hair. A shield along with a spear always attached on his back. Even though he is short he can beat almost everyone in the guild in a hand to hand combat.

" Ehh?! Why?", I said.

" We need some rest too."

" That's not fair."

" Be quiet. It was decided by all the members of the guild. Since you all said that there will be an attack, so you should take responsibility as well. Now, finish eating and get back to work.", the warrior dude replied and went toward the receptionists.

" That damn demon…."

" Just because of her we are in this situation.", said Lina.

" We can't blame anyone 'chew' for this. Let's just hurry up and 'chew' 'chew' do what they say."

" We will hurry up alright. You just finish your damn food."

Furara quickly ate her food. We also finished ours then paid the bill. Then we joined the warrior guy who will take us to the entrance. Only a few adventurers went back with him.

We went to our previous position, where we enjoyed that cloud racing grand prix. The sky was dark with no sign of clouds. I guess the race has ended. The night sky was illuminated by the stars which were looking down at us. The moon was also smiling along with them with it's crescent face. A fire torch was placed beside to give us light. It's flame dances as the wind slowly flows.

" Do you think Celestia will attack us at night?", said Lina.

" I don't know. Maybe she is preparing for the battle. I heard she likes to exercise before any war or battle."

" Then she is taking too long to warm up and exercise.", I said.

" I think she won't appear for few days……….I-it's just a guess. Not like this would rea-really happen right? Please don't look at me like that.", Lina said while looking at our anxious face.

If she is correct, we are in big trouble. The adventures are already mad at us.

" Hope that's not what will happen."

I gave a low nod as a reply. Hope that doesn't happen.

" Maybe it will. Maybe it won't.", said the voice in my head…..thank you Rajahan-sama. Thank you again for the motivation.

The moon went back to its slumber as the sun again raised its head to shine the morning. Yet, Celestia didn't appear. Furara and Lina are still sleeping. I got a chance to sleep too but it was ruined by their nonsense talks. -Flashback-

" Alright, I'm gonna rest now while you two guard."

" Alright. Have some nice sleep. You have been looking horrible the past few days Hanji."

" We will wake you up if there is any danger.", said Furara.

" Yeah, yeah. Alright, goodnight.", I made my rucksack a pillow with Furara's cloak over it. I laid my head on the 'pillow' and went to sleep. Finally, I can rest my eyes.

….

………..

…………..

.

" Furara want to play Jan ken pon (A/N: rock, paper scissors in jap I guess) to kill some time?"

" Jan ken pon? Alright, let's do that."

" Get ready then…"

I was going to dive in deep sleep but got disturbed by the chit-chat of those two and hit the half-awake zone.

Why the heck are they playing so loudly?!

" Jan, ken", both of them saying loudly.

"PON!"

" Wha- I lost?"

" Yes. I won! Red mage power."

" You are not using mind reading stuff are you Furara? You will have a penalty then."

" Nope, didn't even think about doing that. Let's go again shall we?"

" Alright, this time I'll win for sure. Get ready to lose Furara!"

JAN

KEN

PON!

They are still at their loudest voice tone and I was still half-awake. Please! Notice there is a person sleeping behind you two!!

" It's a draw?"

" Tsk, let's do it again."

DAN

KEN

"You know what?! I DON'T NEED SLEEP. I WILL JUST STAY AWAKE!", I got up from my sleep. There is no way I can sleep with these two around.

-Present Time-

These two are now sleeping on their own. Damn them, making me stay awake all night. I will ruin their sweet slumber.

" Oh look! The sun is up! Wake you damn sleeping princesses!"

" Umm….morning already?"

" Yes, it's morning. Now get up and ready to work again."

Both of them woke up from their sleep, rubbing their eyes and all. Lina gaved a big yawn and stretched like a cat as her tail wiggled. I guess she is a cat.

" I wanted to sleep a bit more.", said Furara.

" There is no time for that. There is a danger to this town so we need to be prepared all the time."

" Celestia hasn't appeared yet?", asked Lina.

" No, she hasn't. Or else you two wouldn't be able to sleep like that."

" There is a high chance of Celestia attacking today. But, before that happens, I think we should get more info on Celestia to come up with a strategy."

" Ooh, nice idea Furara. We will ask Joro if he knows anything else about Celestia."

" I guess our shift is over. We can go back to the mansion now."

" You three."

" Oh, just in time. We want to have some break. Can we go back to our place now?"

" Absolutely no way. I was here to tell you that now."

" Why the heck?! We have been for the whole night."

" We deserve some rest."

" Let us leave. Let us leave.", Lina protested against the warrior dude.

" Be quiet. You three will go to the guild now. No where else. Go have some rest in the inn. Get some breakfast too."

" Can at least one of us go to our place?", asked Furara.

" Hmm….you two can go.", the guy said, directing to Furara and Lina.

" Yay, let's go to the mansion together after we have breakfast."

" Yes, I am pretty hungry. I won't be able to go to the mansion like this.", said Furara as she caressed her stomach.

" Oi, oi oi. Why not me?! What did I do?! I am their leader so I deserve better."

" You are the one who announced the news. Also you are the leader of them huh? Be like our leader. He sacrificed everything for us. Well then, I'll be going now.", he turned around and left us.

Heh, ' He sacrificed everything' my ass. He is no less than Joro.

" Don't worry Hanji. We will get some info on Celestia and let you know."

" You look horrible. You should sleep for sometime.", said Furara with her hood off.

Who's fault do you think that I couldn't sleep? ……….she is actually pretty cute.

" Whatever, let's just get going."

We went to the guild and had our breakfast. The people who were guarding the entrance with us, came to the guild as well. The breakfast we are having is….

" Bread and jam?", said Furara with disbelief in her face.

" Yes, bread and jam.", I replied while putting jams on the bread one by one.

" How can someone stay alive after eating only bread at breakfast?!"

" We 'have' enough money to survive the week. This is the way of it. If we keep buying food as you like, we will be in debt after two days. Here take this and dig in.", I offered Furara bread and jam. Lina was eating sardines.

" Why is there only sardines on my plate?"

" You are a nekogin (Cat demi-human) right? Then fish is your favourite food."

" Hmph. Cats have taste in other things you know, not just fish and all.", she said and chomped down on a sardine. Furara was eating the bread and jam depressingly.

" Alright, a reminder. You can't leave this guild. We want you to be close to us since you know about the demon general. The two girls can leave if they want.", saying that, the warrior dude again went away.

" I guess you can't come with us. It can't be helped. You stay here while we go to the mansion."

" yeah, go have fun at the mansion you damn thief.", I muttered.

" Do you say something?"

" Nothing. Nevermind that."

" No need to feel sad Hanjiro. If you want I can stay here with you…."

" Nope, I'm alright. You two go ahead and have fun (while I am sure I will suffer here by the adventurers by verbal attacks)."

" Alright then. We will leave now. We will be back before evening.", said Lina.

" That long!?"

" If you need us just give a message with the fon.", said Furara.

After that they left the guild. I paid for the food then had a mashiki drink. Then, I decided to go to the inn for some rest. I can at least get some sleep now.

Part 4

" Aa..excuse me."

" Hmm?", said the grumpy man on the counter of the inn.

" I need a ro…"

" Can I have room until evening?", said a female fighter. The man's grumpy face suddenly changed to a nice happy face.

" Aa! Welcome back Soki. Yes, you can have room. Here I'll take you there."

" Thank you Felin."

" Alright, follow me if you will.", the inn owner took a key from the key holder behind his counter and went away with the female fighter. I waited until he returned. He came back with the same grumpy face as I first saw him.

" What do you need again?", he said with a cold voice.

" I….need a room?"

" Take this key and go to room 219.", he threw a key at me. I catched it.

" Aren't you gonna show me my room just like that female…"

" If you don't want one then I can't do anything ab…"

" Alright I'm going."

I went away from the counter and walked along the corridor. That guy is a freaking asshole.

I found my room and went inside. The bed looked at least sleepable. I put down my weaponry and the inventory bag then threw myself to the bed.

" It's been some rough days recently. I wonder if this suffering will end."

" Don't worry. This will end…..soon enough. There will be no pain or suffering for you…", said Razahan.

....will I die again?

“ Not to worry. You won’t.”

...it doesn't matter, I'm just gonna sleep and wait for the other two to return. Hope I can at least sleep for a bit

I didn't have to close my eyes. They shut themselves and before I knew it I was deep asleep.

...

'Thud' 'Thud' 'Thud'

I could hear someone banging the door. What time is it now?

I got up from the bed and gave out a long yawn. There was no window in this room. Only a bed, a dresser and a chest.

'Thud' 'Thud'

" Hanji! You in there?"

" Yes, yes. I'm up. Won't you let me sleep or not?"

" How long are you planning to sleep?"

"It's almost evening right. The sun is setting.", said Furara.

What?! Evening? I just closed my eyes and it is evening. I looked at the clock just to be sure. She is right. It's almost 5:32 now.

" Just open the door already? We have been standing here for a while."

I opened the door for them. They entered the room and sat down on the bed.

" You got anything good?"

" Oh yeah. About that, we asked Joro if Draken knew anything else about Celestia. He said that she was his sub-general when he was a demon general.

" Sub-general? Then he might know how she works."

" Yeah. Then we asked if she takes time for a battle or something else."

" And you know what Drake said? He said that she never attacks the place she plans to attack right away. She gives them some time and before the fight, she sends a message containing the news that she will attack tomorrow."

" Seriously? She does that?"

" Yes, also Lina was. Celestia does flex and exercises for a few days and trains her army as well."

" That is.....totally not what a demon general would do. But, if she doesn't send the message today, everyone will get mad at us for announcing fake news."

" Hope she does send one."

" How will she send a letter? Do you have any idea?"

" Hmm. A minion of hers will carry a white flag just in case no one kills him off. It will then leave a message on the ground and leave. Oh yeah, her minions differ from place to place."

" Draken said she finds monsters around the town. Captures them then trains them to become a martial artist. I think she has captured some monster from Albanian Forest and now is training em."

" What the heck?!"

" I'm not sure if he is telling the truth but that's all we got. I am not trusting this info fully myself.", said Furara.

" .....pretty bizzare facts. So, we have to wait for a monster which is from the albania?"

" I guess that's it.

" Furara still didn't attack right?"

" Nope, she didn't.", said Furara.

" I think we need to go before that crazy dude comes yell at us to get back to guarding."

" Oh yeah, we already had our lunch. You can go eat your bread and jam alone if you like."

" No, I'm not gonna have that for lunch thank you. It was only for breakfast."

" Really?! I thought you would force us to eat bread again so I told Lina to eat early."

" You fff...I will get you back later. Oh yeah, about that magic in abandoned mine."

Furara flinched. She looked around.

" You alright Furara?", asked Lina.

" I-I alright. I think we need to treat Hanjiro some food this time. We have been eating from him this whole time."

" Oi, don't think that you can buy me with food.", I said looking at her menacingly.

" Aaa..what about a mashiki drink?"

....crap! That's the only thing that can buy me. What the heck shall I do now?!

" Why the heck do you want to buy him with mashiki drink?", said Lina.

" I ac-.."

" Alright, I'll tell you then."

……Phew. Thank god she gave up. I was about to say I accept the kind offer.

" What is it Furara? You got any secret you don't want to tell?"

" Well, it's not a secret. But, you see, equipping staff raises the user's mp. Also, the staff gathers magic from surrounding to make the user lose less mana. And….that's the reason I could cast many spells back there."

…...I don't know what heck I should say to her now.

" Oh, so you can use more skill if you equip your staff?", asked Lina.

" Yes, if I equip my staff, I can cast more magic than free hand casting."

" Then why the HECK don't you use staff?"

" I-I kn-knew you are gonna say that. But, I answered that already. I love free hand casting. I would never abandon free hand casting."

" I don't give a damn what you like. All this time I had to suffer just because you don't want to use your staff."

" Oi oi calm down a bit Hanji.", said Lina.

" No matter what you say, I won't turn away from free-hand casting."

" You are just making it worse for all of us."

" Stop your fighting and get back to work. Your time is up for guarding.", said the warrior guy from the other side of the room.

" Oh look, we need to go. Let's stop fighting now. Yo, Hanji, be a good boy and listen to your older sister."

" Stop acting like my older sister already."

We went downstairs. I didn't have lunch yet so we sat on the benches and ordered the cheapest meal. Fried kuckler with rice. I find this kuckler meat amusing. More than ham.

" Once we get back, we need to look for a monster carrying a white flag, right?"

" Ye-yes. That's what we should do now I guess.", said Furara.

" I never ever thought a demon general would do something like this."

" Me neither.", I chewed down the kuckler meat and gulped it down with the water.

" An urgent message!"

All of us turned to the shouting soldier with surprise. He was carrying a letter or something. He quickly went to Siyol's counter.

" What is it Seliden?" asked Siyol.

" A-a monster from Albanian forest left t-this message on the ground carrying white flag. We tried to slay it but we stopped seeing it waving its white flag."

What the heck?! So it was all true?

" Hey, it must be the letter from Celestia."

Siyol read the letter and her face turned to black and gloomy. She went inside of the back of her counter. Looks like she is again going to use the loudspeake..I mean Howler box.

" Attention everyone! This is an emergency broadcast! The demon that wanted to attack our town has sent a message saying she will attack the town tomorrow. All residents please move to safety and all adventurers to gather in the guild immediately! I repeat, the demon that…."

" So it is true? That crazy mushroom collecting addict ranger guy with his crazy party wasn't lying."

" Or maybe it's another of their lies."

" We are not lying about anything. We didn't even say anything this time.", said Lina.

" Yeah! We are busy eating right now. There is no way we can just tell a fake announcement instead of eating. 'chew' 'chew' "

" …..why do you always eat food from my plate?"

" Oh sorry. I'll pay for this."

" Stop fooling around! Looks like Hanjiro and his party was right after all. Let's prepare for the battle for tomorrow. Dandold will come here at once to make a plan for the fight. Let's wait until then.", said the warrior dude.

So the third round is finally here. Hope this is the last round of our fighting and battle. I am tired of fighting for so long.

Part 4

All the adventurers got their fear back to them, just how they were when they heard the announcement of the attack the first day. Some of them still didn't believe the fact that the demon general Celestia sent a minion with a warning letter.

If it were me, I wouldn't believe it myself. But, I had to believe it after what Furara and Lina said.

" Everyone is starting to feel scared again."

" Well, not everyone.", said Furara.

" Alright, gather around now. We will discuss the battle plan. You two, go guard the entrance."

" Roger that!", the warrior siblings of Dandold's party went out of the guild.

All the adventurers were circling around Dandold. We joined them as well.

" Glad that many people have joined. Now, let's talk about the current situation.", said Dandold.

" We received a letter left by a Lurking wolf from Albanian forest. The letter contained the message of attacking the town tomorrow. All the soldiers in the town are searching the whole town for anyone suspicious. The commanding officer also said that, they felt a presence of a demon the day before Hanjiro and his party reported about the demon general Celestia.", said the monk cat-girl, Gangerbang, of Dandold's party.

She looks more beautiful and mature than Lina. She has those intimidating sky-blue eyes with bangs covering her eyebrows and the gap between the eyes. Her hair was red as rose with two cat ears peeking out and shoulder length. She wears some blue judo gi (Judo dress name I guess) with an orange belt. Her red tail was poking out from the back, always wagging around just like Lina does. Her hands were wrapped with white cloth. Her intimidating aura fierces eyes can let anyone know how powerful she is. She is less scarier than Furorem though.

" See? We were telling the truth. You guys kept saying..aha!", I stopped her wild babbling by pulling her tail.

" I was supposed to say that. Don't steal my line."

" I guess they were true."

" I am not feeling good about this.", muttered a priest.

" I think they are working for the demon and trying to make us feel uncomfortable.",

" Yeah, that might be true."

Most of the adventurers were glaring at us suspiciously. They are still doubting us.

" Of course not. We are not working for Celestia. This is all a misunderstanding again.", I said.

" So this is what's going on.", said the miny Joro from Lina's shoulder.

" Joroken?!", all of us were shocked.

" Everyone be quiet. We are here about the strategy to defeat the demon general. Also, I think Hanjiro is innocent about this. I believe he would ever do such an act to us."

...Thank you again Dandold. I owe you a lot. Tear-drops started to rain down from my eyes on the cheeks.

" It's alright. We will be fine. Your big sister is here. Everyone is being too mean huh.", said Lina.

" They do not believe in you all huh. That's pretty messed up. "

" Yeah, but how did you get here Joro?", asked Furara.

" I was hiding in Lina's hair."

" My hair? So, that's why it was itching so much."

" ....anyone aware of anything about Celestia the demon of spirits?", said Dandold.

No one could say anything. All of them kept quiet and whistled away.

" No one?"

" We do know something.", said Furara.

Everyone again looked at us with doubtness and disbelief. I will make them regret that.

" What do you know, Hanjiro's party?"

" Well, Furara's father once fought with Celestia. I learned that Celestia always makes an army by capturing monsters around the place where she is going to attack. I think, this time she will attack the town with monsters from Albanian Forest. That explains why a Lurking wolf came and left a letter."

" Hmm, you are correct about that.", said Draken.

" Why would a demon general do that?"

" That sounds so fake to me."

" So you are saying that Celsetia will attack us with an army of monsters from Albanian Forest."

" Yes, that's what we think might happen according to our….source."

" She also has the ability to do mind control. Anyone under level twenty will be under the mind control.", said Lina.

" What the heck? Level twenty? But I just turned nineteen today."

" Thank god I'm safe. I am twenty-one now."

" Thank you for the information Hanjiro's party. Now lets..."

" Hanjiro, if you don't mind, I have a plan to wipe the whole army without doing anything.", said Furara. The pairs of blue glowing eyes showed how serious she was with what she said.

" What the heck are you talking about Furara."

" Trust her.", said the voice in my head.....alright. I'll do that then.

" Woah! Furara is being serious. This is a rare sight."

" What is it, Furara? Better be something good."

" Well, you see...."

..

....

.

The night passed as we discussed a way to defeat Celestia. But we don't know any weakness and ended the meeting without any strategy. Dan was pretty upset but still encouraging people that we can do it.

The wind is blowing and the sky is clear, painted with blue and the golden plate sun is shining among it.

" If she doesn't come today, we are in big trouble."

" No need to worry. I can assure you that Celestia will appear today. Draken told me so. Isn't that right Draken?", said Joro.

" Yes. She had worked under me for a long time. I know how she works."

" I wonder if your plan will work or not.", said Lina.

" Trust me. It will work. I have done research while I was in the mansion."

" So, this is the reason why you went to the library. I'm impressed.", said Joro.

" Anyway, hope your research pays off."

" Celestia is here!", yelled the warrior guy. We turned our attention to the field. We saw some small figures approaching us. They looked like, no doubt, fleaders, lurking wolves, forest golems and some crawling wasps. A woman was behind them holding a wooden staff that those martial artists use. She was wearing the same outfit as the night we met her.

" Everyone, in your position."

All the adventurers drew their weapons and became cautious. We also drew our weapon except Furara with her empty hand.

" Get your staff now."

" No. I don't want to."

" Just do it! You can fight well with that."

“ No! I don’t want to abandon my freehand magic to staff just because of this.”

Forget it. It’s useless to make her use the staff. I don’t know when she will realize that we are suffering because of her free hand addiction. (A\N: If you know JoJo then you will think of one dude, Yoshi and the rest you know. (0u<) )

“ My apologies for keeping you humans waiting. I hope you trained with your heartiest contest during that time.”, said Celestia level 41.

“ We tried our best to keep the town safe. We didn’t have time to train ourselves.”

This guy is freaking honest.

“ I see. It’s your loss then. I’ve been capturing monsters from the forest and trained them for three days. It was freaking tiring. Well, you could train your army during that time too.”

“ What kind of demon general do that?”

“ Is this woman crazy?”

The adventurer was talking about the insane demon general of the demon lord. I am too confused about that woman’s behavior.

“ We couldn’t take advantage of that because we didn’t know.”, sad Dan with a bit of disappointment.

" Well, enough talking then. Let's begin the battle."

Finally, it's starting. I thought they would keep talking about nothing.

I gazed at Furara, she gave me a thumbs up. It's all up to her now I guess.

" March!", yelled Celestia and Dan. All the monsters and adventurers marched to each other but something interrupted the scene.

" Guoooooooooooooooh!!", it's the sound of the same horn that was used for the bull incident.

After that horn blow came out of nowhere, the face of the monsters of Celestia's army were filled with terror just like how the bulls reacted and just like them, the monsters started to run away to save their lives from an invisible threat.

" Wh-what the hell? Are you all running away? Come back. Mind-remote!"

She casted a magic but it didn't do very well. They just kept running and running toward the Albanian forest.

" Are you f***ing kidding me? It took me about 3 days to get them all in shape. And now all my efforts went to vain? Who thought that a beginner town like this had a horn of terror?", said Celestia.

" Horn of terror. It's a magical item that works like a monster repel. It will scare away any monster that has lower level than the user. Only the capital and cities have these items.", said Joro.

" Nice work Furara. I never thought that, that carriage guy had something powerful like this.", said Lina.

Where the heck did that guy get it in the first place?

" What the hell just happened?"

" All the monsters suddenly started to run away. Is this woman really the demon general?"

" Well, she does look like her. Especially those bust."

" And what about that sound that came now?"

"I think I heard it before somewhere."

All the adventurers started questioning Celestia and talking about the horn blow.

" I'm not sure what just happened but, I guess you need more training. Hahahah!"

" I don't think that's a good idea to insult her.", said Furara.

" You have put a shame on the Demon generals.", I said.

" Furara alone can fight her off.", Lina also joined the insult.

" Now, now. It's pretty rude to insult a woman.", said Joro.

" I feel ashamed to feel scared to fight the likes of you."

" Even a fleiders would be more threatening than this."

Everyone started to insult Celestia one by one.

" How rude. Insulting the current third strongest general of the lord's army. You humans need to be punished.", her aura suddenly changed to blazing red. There was an intense feeling in the air.

" You are going to take us by yourself."

" You humans left me no choice. I wanted to be nice with you all by letting you fight the low level monster in your forest. I think I have to tell you what happens if you make the demon general mad."

The aura became more powerful and the air was becoming more intense. This is bad, she is getting serious.

" See, I told you it was a bad idea to insult her."

" Don't worry. Once we learn the weakness of her it will be all easy."

" But you said Draken forgot about the weakness.", I said.

" Well, that's true."

" What are we gonna do now?", said Lina.

I can't think of any other plan. Furara said she will make the entire army wiped out without doing anything and it worked. But now, we have another problem to face.

" I guess we have to keep fighting and find out ourselves.", I said.

Part 5

" I won't go easy on you humans."

Wait, I heard that line before. Where was it again?

" Alright everyone, let's go fight off this demon....", I turned around and found out that everyone was taking shelter behind the entrance of the town.

" Why the heck are you guys running away! Not you too Lina."

" Shit! How do he spot me.", said Lina from the crowd. What a dumbass woman. If she isn't with me then of course she ran away.

' Klank!' ' Bam'

I turned around. The elites of the guild are fighting Celestia alone. They are doing well but not great. There is a high chance of their failure.

" They might lose the fight."

" Damn it. We should help her. Furara, go get Lina from the crowd. I'll go with Joro and Draken and see if we can do anything."

" Alright.", saying that she ran toward the entrance. I equipped my bow again and went toward the fighting place.

" Even the shrimps from the beginner town are strong enough. Hihhihhii.", said the spirit demon with her fiery gaze.

" Don't undermaste us even if we are from a beginner town."

" I can tell."

" Let's fight fair and square now. I think you are holding back.", said Dandold.

" You think so?"

They are again with their conversation. Great, this my chance to check for weakness.

" Hmm, Draken is still not sure about the weakness yet."

" For real? Damn it, you want me to go closer?”

“ Yes, that might help.”

I have to go even closer? Then she will notice and might attack me instead of fighting Dan and his team. I got no choice then.

I went a bit closer to the fight. There was only a few meters distance between us.

' Wham' "Klank!' ' Thud'

The swords and the wooden staffs were clashing with each other furiously. I noticed a necklace around Celestia's neck. It had a glowing blue crystal. It's like there is something in there.

" What on earth are you doing Hanjiro? Get back!", said the monk girl Gangerbang. She was using only her fists to fight. Incredible! Forget about that. We are here for the weakness.

" Any luck yet?"

" Who are you talking to?", said the monk girl.

" No, but he said he started to remember something."

" Really? That's great news the...."

" Look out! She is about to use her sleep buff magic.", said Draken.

" Sleeping babies!", said Celestia with a mother-like tone. Out of nowhere, the warrior siblings started to feel drowsy and feel asleep in the end. After that, one by one, everyone was falling asleep. Dandold was trying his best to keep awake.

" Heh! You are actually pretty impressive. I will give you the credit for that.", said Celestia.

" I won't....fall down.....by the likes of.....you!"

" Is that so? Well, let's see if you can stay the you want to...", our eyes finally made a contact. I kept quiet for a while.

" Yo.", why the heck did I do that?

" Han...hanjiro. what are you….doing?"

" Oh, it's you. Then, Draken must be around here somewhere too!"

" Kid, when I say, you will start to...", Draken couldn't finish his words.

" I'm running the heck out of here!"

" Wait! Where do you think you are running away with my Draken.", she was running at me with those crazy eyes. She will definitely kill me if she gets a hold of me!

" What the heck am I supposed to do now?", I finally noticed my 'loyal' comrades are keeping their distance from me. I think it's time to tell them thank you.

I turned to them and started to run with Celestia behind my back.

" You! Give me back Draken!"

" Don't! Don't ever think about that. That's what Draken said. She is a fine woman you know?"

" Aren't you gonna help me or not?!"

" I'll use the magic then. Mind remote!", she stopped running and casted the magic spell.

Crap! It must be the mind controlling magic.

A red colored thread-like thing wrapped around me. I fell down and rolled since I couldn't keep my balance since I was wrapped up.

" Work under me now my minion."

.......it didn't work. I still have my conscious.

I slowly got up. Removed the dust from the clothes and picked up Joro and Draken. Then, I started to run again!

" Why didn't it work on him?"

" Why the heck didn't it work on me?"

" Draken has cut the magic down."

" Oi, Furara. Why is Hanjiro running toward us now?"

" I-I don't know."

" He is not turning around!"

I was still running with my life on the line and heading toward those traitors who left me behind.

" Let's make a run for it Furara!"

" Welcome back you traitors.", I said to them as I grabbed them so that they can't run away.

" Finally, you stopped. Now, let's settle this.", Celestia pointed the wooden staff toward me.

" What the hell are we supposed to do?", said Lina.

" Just do whatever to keep us alive. I'll think of a plan."

Lina took out her dagger and Furara raised her hands in a casting position......just equip that staff of yours already!

" Soul crasher!"

" Anti-magic barrier."

A dark shield blocked the furious staff swipe from Celestia. The shield couldn't handle that power and broke.

" I will take care of the defence. You humans attack."

" Draken...thank you."

" Why are you helping those humans? You are supposed to terrorize them just like our lord said."

" I have my reasons."

" Look, those mushroom collector addicts are fighting even though they know they might lose."

" Lina doesn't even know how to fight."

" Alright, I think we should go help them out.", said Glider.

" Or, maybe not. They might take care themselves."

" Let's cheer for them."

" You can do it Furara!", said Maruka.

" Go team Hanji!", Glider cheered along.

The whole crowd there was cheering us on. I swear, if I beat Celestia, I won't share a bit of my reward with them!

" Why are they just cheering? Can't they just help instead?"

" Forget them let's see what we can do."

" Soul thrust!"

" Anti magic barrier."

The stab from the staff was blocked again by Draken's shield.

" Why aren't you guys doing anything?", said Joro.

" Blazing fireball."

" Deflect magic."

Celestia deflected the fireball with her wooden staff with ease. The fireball flew away and burst.

" Woah! A wooden staff deflecting fire?"

Wasn't the staff supposed to burn down by that?

" Steal!"

Lina used the skill she mastered in her entire life. But didn't get anything.

" What the..."

" You expected to steal from an opponent with a higher level than you. Really, you are a fool."

" I can stole from higher levels three times.( 'And got caught I guess.', I said.) But I wanted to steal that beautiful necklace of yours that didn't appear for some reason."

" Why? Are you seriously doing this now Lina?!"

" Shit!", Celestia looked a bit worried. Could it be...

" Wait....that's it. The necklace.", said Draken.

" You are saying that the necklace is her weakness, Draken?"

" If I remember correctly then yes. The necklace holds her physical form. If it gets hit or damaged, it's a critical hit."

I knew it. The necklace is the weakness all along.

" Weldone Lina. You figured it out.", said Furara.

" I did? Haha. Thanks. I have no idea what you are saying though."

" Well well well. Looks like you do remember about it. You really are my...."

" Snipe shot."

I launched the arrow while she was distracted. But she deflected it with ease.

" I was in a middle of something.", she glared at me with her fiery red eyes.

" Crap! Run for it!", Furara and Lina were already running.

" You damn traitors!" I followed them along.

" Well, we found the weakness. What do we do now?"

" You can't hit that necklace if she has that staff said Draken. We need to get rid of that staff first.", said Joro while holding my hair.

" So, what now Hanji?

" Head to the entrance where everyone is. I got a plan and get off from my hair. It hurts!"

" Why are you all keep running away?"

We headed toward the entrance. Everyone looked at us with shock.

" Why are they coming this way?"

" Do they want us to die?"

" Everyone, I have one request to all of you. Throw anything you got at Celestia and mages, use any projectile magic. Please."

" Alright....."

" You got it bro.", said Glider.

" Take that you bitch."

" Have taste of the Midlofhin ground's rocks!"

" Spray of water!"

" Fire ball!"

" Wind blade!"

Everyone was throwing random things they found and mages using magic skills at Celestia.

" What the hell? Hey! Stop it. Stop throwing at me.", Celestia stopped running and trying her best to dodge everything that was coming at her way.

" Alright! Furara increase Lina's luck to the fullest. It's ok if you lose your memory."

" Alright. 'Razahan-sama's Blessing!'"

Lina was surrounded by blue star shape effects and it vanished away.

" Now Lina!"

" Steal!"

Lina used all her might on this one. The yellow magic effect surrounding her hand was glowing more powerful than before....it vanished into thin air leaving a wooden staff on her hand.

" Damn it.", said looking at Celestia, looking at her empty hand.

" Where am I?"

" Yes, it worked! Alright Stay here with Furara Lina. I'll take care of the rest. Joro-sama."

" You got it. And don't call me sama."

We were teleported to a watch tower. It was not that high. Celestia can see me, but this is what we have for now. It's now or never.

I equipped my bow and aimed at Celestia's necklace. She was still dancing and dancing.

" Wait, Hanjiro."

" Huh?"

Joro got out from my shoulder and went to the tip of the arrow.

" Alright. Do it now."

" You want to go with the arrow?"

" Don't worry. If I go, this will definitely hit the target."

I recovered all the focus and again aimed at the shining blue stone. That has to be the weakness.

" Power shot.", said the voice in my head.

" Power shot!"

There was a huge impact, I was blown off backward after the arrow went away with huge force. It flew straight to the blue crystal. Celestia noticed and tried to stop the high speed arrow which was coming at her way.........

........

There was a mysterious smile on her face.

' Booomm!'

There was an explosion sound from the place where Celestia was standing.

" Did we win….."

" Yes! Celestia has fallen!", said Glider.

Everyone cheered at the top of their lungs. So we defeated her. Finally, no more fighting.

'Achievement unlocked: Tutorial Completed'

What the heck is this achievement? All this fighting was a freaking tutorial?

" I'll be meeting you soon, Hanjiro.", said Razahan. What does he mean by that?

After that, I went down and looked for others.

" Oi, Hanji. We are here!"

I saw Lina waving at me in the cheering crowd.

" We finally did it huh? By the way, is Furara ok yet?", I said to her as I was approaching.

" I'm fine. No need to worry."

" Look everyone. It's Hanjiro and it's party. The one who defeated the demon general."

" You were awesome Hanji! I never thought that you could do something like this."

" Haha, no need to praise me. You guys and Lina and Furara helped me out too."

" Weldone Hanjiro's party. I didn't expect something like this from a party like you. You deserve the praise."

" Ahaha. Thank you. You did a pretty good job fighting Celestia alone."

" Everyone, we should celebrate our grand victory with a toast."

" Alright!", everyone including us cheered for the grand event. We do need to celebrate this. I had to go through a lot of suffering for this.

" Finally, I can call myself an adventurer.", muttered Furara.

" You are an adventurer Furara. Well, I'm feeling proud too. To be a part of this party."

I guess this party isn't that bad after all. We will do just fine. Wait, where is Draken and Joro.

" Oh, Joro appeared on your shoulders all of sudden.", said Furara.

" I'm back."

" Since you are here too, let's go to the guild then."

" Ok!", said Fuara and Lina.

We followed the adventurers who were going to the guild for the celebration of our victory.

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