The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"This is…"
Iris tried to break free from the restraints, but she couldn’t shake off the misty hands.
The strength was greater than she had expected.
Even so, her raw power was still superior…
But no matter how forcefully she scattered them, the mist simply regenerated and bound her again.
"This is quite troublesome."
"You’re pretty calm, missy…"
"And aren’t you calm as well?"
"Well, I’ve been through my fair share of life-or-death battles."
In other words, Gray also had some way to deal with this situation.
If that was the case, Iris thought, then there would be no problem even if she didn’t lend a hand right away.
Thinking that, she turned her attention to observing her surroundings.
They had been restrained.
Logically, the mastermind should be appearing soon…
"Kukuku…"
A low chuckle echoed from nowhere.
The mist split apart to the sides, and from it stepped a small-built man.
He looked to be around thirty.
A wide, sneering grin was plastered on his face.
With his hunched back, he gave off a distorted impression.
A demon.
That was Iris’s conclusion.
He looked human enough, but the evil aura surrounding him could not be hidden.
She knew it well, for long ago she had fought such beings almost every single day.
"And who might you be?"
Though she wasn’t afraid in the slightest, Iris deliberately trembled as she asked.
Seeing her like that, the demon’s grin deepened, convinced he had the upper hand.
It was a sadistic smile, the kind that would make most people recoil in disgust.
"Instead of worrying about who I am, shouldn’t you be worrying about yourself?"
"What did you say…?"
"Kukuku… Strong ones like you are welcome. You’ll make fine breeding stock—and good labor."
"Breeding stock…? What exactly do you mean by that?"
"No need for me to explain."
"Hey, you bastard! Get away from the young lady!"
Sensing Iris’s intent to draw out more information by letting the enemy boast, Gray also joined in on the act.
The ploy worked.
The demon looked even more amused as his gaze shifted to Gray.
"Ho… you just called her ‘young lady,’ didn’t you? Does that mean she holds some status?"
"Tch…"
Gray pulled a bitter face, as though realizing he had slipped up.
Of course, it was an act.
"Well? Answer me. What rank does this woman hold? A noble? Or perhaps… royalty?"
"As if I’d tell you."
"Hmph… Seems you don’t understand your position. We only need women to serve as breeding stock. The men? We’re free to kill them. Do you grasp what that means?"
"…"
"Silent? Then I’ll wring it out of your body instead. I am no lowly half-blood demon. I am a high-ranking demon. I am well-versed in the arts of interrogation—don’t think you’ll withstand them."
"…Pfft."
As the demon went on bragging about himself, Gray suddenly burst out laughing, unable to contain it.
And as if it spread to her, Iris too couldn’t help but laugh.
"What’s so funny, you two!? What’s so damn funny!?"
"Forgive us. You’re so convinced you’re superior, yet you’ve gone and revealed all sorts of things you shouldn’t to the very people you’re threatening… It’s so absurd, I simply couldn’t hold back."
"What was that!?"
"Fufu… You really are an idiot♪"
Iris laughed.
She had sworn never again to take a life needlessly…
But if there was meaning behind it, she wouldn’t hesitate to fight with everything she had.
She violently shook off the misty hands restraining her and manifested eight wings.
"Wha—!? Those wings… No, it can’t be—"
"Oh? Judging by your reaction, you do know who we are. But… it’s already too late. Come forth, flames of the otherworld!"
Countless flames were summoned, blasting away the mist that filled the surroundings in an instant.
Though they had been engulfed and smothered as if by a massive tidal wave of mist…
The overwhelming flames erased it all.
"I–Impossible!? My barrier, destroyed in a single strike…!?"
The demon panicked, but the result was only natural.
He had underestimated Iris and Gray as mere humans, and thus the power he had poured into his barrier was meager.
To the Celestials—the strongest of the strong—such a thing was nothing more than child’s play.
With even a bit of effort, a complete reversal was trivial.
"Y-You… you’re one of the strongest races!? You tricked me!?"
"You were the one who jumped to conclusions, were you not? I know nothing of it."
"Fine then. In that case, I’ll show you my true pow—"
He was about to finish his words—yet it was already too late.
Before his eyes, a massive greatsword closed in.
A thunderous crash.
The flat of the blade slammed into him, and with a sickening crack, he heard his own nose shatter.
Spraying blood, he was hurled backward, bouncing across the ground again and again.
The pain was sharp, but he remained conscious.
Humans, of all things, dared to humiliate him.
An arrogant Celestial, drunk on their strength, was mocking him.
Fury ignited, the demon prepared to unleash his true power—
"That’s far enough."
"What!?"
But before he could act, something coiled tightly around his body.
Thin yet sturdy wires.
He struggled to tear free, but only managed to writhe uselessly.
"As expected of Lord Rain. To strike at just the right moment… fufu, you truly are reliable."
"Do you even know who you’re dealing with—"
"Why, an idiot, of course."
Iris laughed, and struck the demon flying once more.
He crashed to the ground, the wires tangling tighter and tighter around him.
Caught off guard again and again, he couldn’t endure it.
At last, the demon fell unconscious, completely silenced.
"So pitiful."
"No… I think the abnormal one here is you, missy—being able to beat down a demon with your bare hands…"
Ignoring Gray’s retort, Iris turned her gaze to the side.
There stood the one she cherished most in all the world.
"Fufu… Lord Rain, that was a perfect assist."
"Iris, that was some flawless acting."
Smiling at one another, Rain and Iris lightly bumped their fists together with a kon.
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