A deafening roar shook the air, and the lightning struck the far side of the property.

  Mina had been absolutely certain that she or Arc was the target, so this caught her completely off guard.

  "What just happened? Was that a feint?"

  Mina's mind raced. If that attack had been a feint, she was in serious danger.

  "Did they hear my adorable little scream?!"

  She glanced at Arc and found him glaring in her direction. He was no doubt furious that she'd screamed.

  Mina replied with her expression alone: Okay, okay. Sorry...

  But when she looked at the angels more carefully, none of them seemed to have noticed her.

  The thunderous explosion had probably drowned out her scream entirely.

  Batanel shouted.

  "Come out! You filthy demon scum!"

  "Eep!"

  Mina flinched and clapped both hands over her mouth.

  So they had been found out after all!

  What should she do? He was telling them to come out. Sweat poured down Mina's forehead like a waterfall.

  Trembling, she began to rise with her hands in the air, ready to surrender—but Arc was shaking his head furiously from his hiding spot, his face grim. Mina stopped herself just in time.

  "Oops—did I overdo it and kill them?"

  ...Come to think of it, the one called Batanel—he'd struck the lightning in a completely random spot. Didn't that mean he had no idea where Mina actually was?

  "That was close..."

  She'd nearly walked out and handed herself over!

  Just as Mina breathed a sigh of relief, something black came bursting out from where the lightning had struck.

  And it wasn't just one or two.

  They kept coming and coming, pouring out in droves.

  Fifteen of them, at least?

  Among them were demons that stood over two meters tall—cyclops-like creatures with single eyes and pig-like snouts.

  "Where on earth were they hiding?"

  Mina swallowed hard. Then Batanel stepped forward. Now that she got a good look at him, he wore white silk robes like something out of a mythology textbook. His hair was short, blond, and tightly curled.

  He had an impressive build, muscles bulging everywhere. His eyebrows were thick, his eyes wide and piercing, and his chin was cleft down the middle. He called out in a voice as deep as a beating drum.

  "Well, well! A demon lord with a pack of Devil Hounds... What business do you have in a place like this?"

  The largest of the pig-faced demons bellowed back.

  "Well, cat's out of the bag now! We came hopin' to snag some of Lady Lilia's treasure if any was lyin' around—but who'd have thought we'd find angels diggin' through the garbage too! We're all thieves here, so let's be friends!!"

  The demons erupted in raucous laughter.

  Batanel's face turned scarlet.

  "Silence, you filthy swine! We are here in the name of justice!"

  The pig demon leader spat on the ground.

  "You angels and your pretty words—always the same!"

  A chorus of "Yeah! That's right!" rose from behind him.

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  "There's five of us and ten hounds against your measly three! How about we rattle those back teeth of yours!"

  Batanel calmly raised one hand. Then, with the sweep of a conductor's baton, he swung his arm toward the pig-snouted demon.

  A single bolt of lightning plummeted from the sky and struck the demon squarely on the head.

  With a tremendous crack, the demon was left standing—charred black from head to toe. The other demons fell silent. Batanel gazed at the demon's dumbstruck form with a satisfied smile.

  "Four and fifteen now, isn't it?"

  Seraphim let out a sigh.

  "Batanel... enough. Just finish them off."

  With that, Seraphim leveled his staff at the demons.

  "Kill them all!"

  "Yes, my lord!"

  Batanel launched himself forward and sent demons flying with his fists.

  The panicked demons charged toward Seraphim, who appeared to be the leader.

  "Take out the old man first!"

  Half the demons rushed at Seraphim.

  Mina watched the scene unfold, her face pale.

  "These angels are nothing like what I imagined!"

  It was a shock to her system.

  Still, from what Mina could see, no matter how strong these angels were, she didn't think they could win against those fearsome demons. The demons were all over two meters tall. The two angels guarding Seraphim were well-built themselves, but the difference in sheer size was overwhelming.

  Mina covered her face with both hands and peeked through the gaps between her fingers.

  Then the angel who had been watching from the sidelines—Canconel—stepped forward.

  "Lord Seraphim... allow me."

  Canconel had an androgynous, strikingly handsome face. His pale blue hair swayed as he glided forward as if performing a dance. Mina gave a little snort.

  "Kind of pretentious, isn't he..."

  Ten Devil Hounds lunged at Canconel. But he spun like a dancer, evading every one of their attacks with fluid grace.

  "What is that? Some kind of kung fu??"

  The pig-snouted demons, outmaneuvered by Canconel's movements, seemed to take it as mockery. Their faces flushed crimson with rage.

  "You little— Stop darting around! Everyone, attack at once!"

  "Yeah!"

  The one-eyed pig demons threw themselves at Canconel from every direction.

  But in that moment, Canconel's eyes flashed. As the demons closed in, he began to spin—faster and faster.

  Mina watched with bated breath. Then, to her astonishment, a tornado erupted around Canconel.

  "Whoa—!"

  The pig-snouted demons were swept into the vortex. And the instant they touched it, their bodies were sliced to ribbons.

  In the blink of an eye, they'd been reduced to ingredients for a pot-au-feu.

  Mina gasped at the sight.

  Chunks of flesh and gore that had been flung high into the air came raining down around her feet with wet, heavy thuds. Among them was a pig's snout.

  "Gyaaah!"

  Mina recoiled in horror.

  "That is so gross..."

  She heard yelping behind her and turned to see the Devil Hounds fleeing, their masters gone. Mina bit her lip. Those massive, terrifying demons had been annihilated in an instant.

  "Looks really can be deceiving..."

  Mina watched the aftermath, her face still drained of color. Then she saw Seraphim walking toward Canconel with a smile.

  "Well done, Canconel."

  Canconel returned a brief smile, but quickly fell into a thoughtful expression. Seraphim raised an eyebrow.

  "Canconel... is something the matter?"

  "Well... these demons... they were surprisingly easy to dispatch. Perhaps the powerful magical signature we detected earlier belonged to someone else entirely."

  Seraphim let out a low hum.

  "That may well be."

  Canconel rested his chin on his hand in thought.

  "It's possible... that it was Lilia's daughter."

  Seraphim's eyebrow shot up as he turned to Canconel.

  "That human girl?"

  Canconel nodded.

  "Not her personal magical power, of course—I mean the man serving as her bodyguard. According to Isarfe, who has been monitoring her, this man may be one of Lilia's familiars. If that powerful energy came from Lilia's familiar, it would explain everything."

  Seraphim pondered this.

  "I thought that if we let the girl roam free, she might lead us to clues about the treasure... but perhaps it would be wiser to keep her close and under direct surveillance."

  Canconel stepped forward.

  "In that case, Lord Seraphim... allow me to find the girl and bring her before you."

  Hearing this, Mina broke into a cold sweat.

  "I'm right here, you know..."

  She whispered the words even as she pressed both hands to her mouth.

  Seraphim gave a small nod.

  "Very well. Canconel, take Isarfe with you and find the girl."

  "Leave it to me. With his tracking abilities, we'll locate her in no time."

  Seraphim nodded.

  "Good... I'm counting on you both."

  He then turned to issue orders to Batanel.

  "You—head to the ruins. Continue working on deciphering the door. If you manage to crack it, we'll have no further use for the girl."

  "Understood, Lord Seraphim."

  Batanel bowed his head.

  "Now then—I'm counting on you both!"

  "Yes, my lord! Leave it to us!"

  The two angels bowed to Seraphim, then shot into the sky like streaking meteors.

  Mina watched them go and let out a quiet breath.

  "Are they gone...? They're really gone?"

  She allowed herself a small sigh of relief.

  "Seriously though—what exactly do these angels think I am? That's pretty harsh, isn't it?"

  In the end, they had no intention of helping her. Not even a shred of it.

  A wave of sadness washed over Mina, and she let out a soft sigh. Then, at that very moment, Seraphim spoke up.

  "Is someone there?"

  Mina panicked and slapped both hands over her mouth—but Seraphim was already swinging his arm, bringing it down toward where Mina crouched.

  A blinding flash of lightning tore through the air with a deafening crack. Mina's eyes were squeezed shut, but the bolt had struck the ground mere inches from where she crouched.

  "Ngh—!"

  Mina was frozen stiff, unable to even breathe—but this time, that paralysis saved her.

  "Hmm... must have been my imagination."

  With that, Seraphim raised his staff high toward the sky.

  "Well then... time to go."

  In that instant, Mina dared to steal a peek at him.

  And what she saw stopped her cold.

  Seraphim was the old man—the very one who had fastened the cursed collar around her neck.

  "You were an angel this whole time?!"

  An angel—you?!... Mina glared, her eyes wide with fury, as Seraphim dissolved into light and soared away into the sky above.