"Take them down, I don't care about the money,, so let's take them down!"

"Oh,? !"

A large number of thugs are coming toward us, as per Marein's order.

The clothes are a mixture of other countries, Renalute, and the empire.

They are armed with swords, spears, sickles, clubs, and various other weapons.

They are all men with tough looking faces and are quite powerful.

Ellen, who was intimidated by these men, was still crying behind me.

"They're here??They coming towards us "

"Ellen, calm down a little. ......"

As I was calming Ellen down, Asuna turned to me and said,

"Tia ,? pull back with Princess "I'm going to defeat them on behalf of the princess.'"

"Yeah, I'll protect Fara. , so she'll be fine. Be careful, Asuna. And don't kill him."

"Hmph, you want me to show them living hell, don't you? Yes, sure."

No, that's not what I meant.

Fara, who was looking at Asuna with worry, also called out to her.

'Asuna, please be careful."

'There is nothing to worry about. Princess."

Asuna responded to Fara with a smile that gave her plenty of room to breathe, and then turned back to the men.

Asuna looked at the men with the sword she had drawn in the opposite direction and put it in the "Mine Strike" position.

She then looked at the men and said, "......, I'm coming for you '.

She said a few words and charged at the men.

It was the same style of attack that she showed in the match with me.

The moment she jumped into the enemy, a lot of men screamed and were blown away.

When I saw that Asuna had dived, Deanna spoke to me.

'Well then, Lady Tia, in that case that leaves me too.'

"....Asuna, don't overdo it, ."

".....Yes, I understand."

Deanna smiled wryly at my words, looked at the men, and said as if to spit out

"....I give judgment to those who oppose my Lord............"

Deanna activated her body enhancement and stepped forward within the men.

The men faltered for a moment at her quick movements, but they quickly brought their weapons down on Deanna.

"Take this!"

".... you' ...... are too slow."

Deanna dives into the bosom while avoiding the men's attacks and precisely applies fists and kicks only to the vital points, such as the solar plexus, the golden target, the center of the face, the temple, and the chin.

As a result, the men were screaming in agony one after another, !

At that moment, the screams of the men were heard from a different direction from Asuna and Deanna.

"Agh !!! Stop it ! "

The monster, Shadow Cougar, had attacked the men before they knew what was happening.

He seems to be deliberately targeting the crotch of the men.

He is probably trying to cut them open with his sharp fangs and claws.

Apparently, he doesn't take their lives because I told him not to, but , he intends to kill them.

At that moment, there was a big man heading toward the shadow cougar.

"You monster, what color is your blood?"

The man swung his axe down on Shadow Cougar.

However, the Shadow cougar avoided the man's attack with a slight movement, and jumped into his bosom. ......

"Gyaaaaaahhhh?""

The big man's shrill cry echoed through the mansion.

Where did the original momentum go? The inside of the mansion was no longer filled with the men's screams.

Watching from the second floor, Marein was startled, and cried out in a trembling voice, "

"What the hell are those men doing here?"

A few men who heard Marein's instructions ignored Asuna and Deanna and came toward us.

Ellen noticed the movement and cried out again.

'Ohhhh, Tia-sama, they're coming this way, what are you going to do about the men?

"So, Ellen, calm down ......."

I moved a little away from Ellen, smiled at Fara and said softly,

"I'm going to protect you, don't worry"

"Right "

I? took a? step forward and held out my hand to? use magic

The men, realizing this action, shouted angrily, "You brats!

"Don't you dare to take advantage of us, you brats!

But Asuna is not the type to be caught by his swordsmanship.

She avoided his slash as she muttered to herself, then regained her stance and immediately counterattacked with a counter slash.

"...... is hard."

Asuna quietly looked at her own sword.

At that moment, something unusual happened to the sword in her hand.

The blade broke from the middle with a crack.

We were shocked to see that.

Seeing the broken sword, Fara shouted in concern for Asuna,

'Asuna, are you okay ?"

The moment he heard those words, the Iron Mask seemed to realize something and started to laugh loudly.

"......Hahaha , I see, you are Asuna, I never thought I would run into you again in a place like this, you, do you remember my voice, my swordsmanship?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't remember a bad-taste iron mask like yours."

The man who heard Asuna's response was breathing heavily and seemed to be trembling with anger.

', you're the one who made me drink muddy water, and you don't remember me ......??You've got to be kidding me!"

The Iron Mask shouted angrily, glaring at Marein, who was on the second floor.

"Hey, Marein, I don't want your money, but when I'm done with these guys, I'll take this woman and leave her to my own devices."

". Do as you please."

The iron mask stared at Marein, who shuddered and quickly responded.

"Kukukuku, if I defeat you guys with this, you'll finally be mine. Asuna, I have not forgotten you even for a moment. ......?""

"You are a creepy guy. I told you I don't know anyone with such poor taste as you. ......"

The two swords were broken and Asuna held them up against the Iron Mask.

"...... Asuna-dono, I will deal with the Iron Mask.'"

"What do you mean, Deanna?　What do you think I'm going to do?'

"I don't think you will lose, but it will take a long time with those two broken swords. Above all, it will cause unnecessary worry to my lord. Please pull back here."

Asuna huffed at Deanna's words and looked at Fara, noticing that she had very worried eyes.

Asuna replied apologetically to Deanna.

'I'm sorry, ....... I'll let you take care of this."

"I'll leave it to you, then."

"I understand."

I looked at them and chanted in my mind.

(Fire Spear).

The moment I cast the spell in my mind, a spear of fire with a sharp tip was literally created from my outstretched hand.

It was then unleashed toward the men and struck them.

The men stopped and cried out in horror.

"The brat is using magic!"

Immediately after that, a heavy explosion sounded from the spot where the men were standing.

When the sound ceased, they were charred black and lying on the ground.

I smiled wryly and said to them,

'Well, if you want to be charred, you're welcome to do so anytime you like. ......'

"Tia-sama, that's what I'm talking about. ...... ."

"I will follow Tia-sama for the rest of my life!'

Fara and Ellen were relieved and excited when they saw my spell.

The men were a bit put off by my magic, and seemed to be on tenterhooks.

However, there was no way the two of us and one of them could miss those men in the middle of a brawl.

A shrill cry roared through the mansion.

Marein, whose pawns were being knocked down one after another, turned pale and cried out,

, "Damn it, call the 'Iron Mask' !

"Did you summon ......?""

Marein huffed and turned around.

There stood a tall man in an iron mask and full armor.

The sound of his breathing was heard every time he took a breath, perhaps because he was in an iron mask.

His figure was very strange and eerie.

'Yes, that's right, Iron Mask, you take down that woman and child and the monster downstairs, and I'll give you the money for it."

"..... all right."

The man called Iron Mask jumped down from the second floor.

When he landed on the floor below, there was a violent crash, and the ragamuffin men shuddered and began to back away from Asuna and Diana and the rest of the group.

The Iron Mask looked at Asuna and Deanna and pulled out a large sword from his waist.

Then he pointed a finger at Asuna and said,

"You ...... have sword stripes just like the one I hate ......."

He spat out an insinuation and swung at Asuna.

Asuna smiled wryly at Deanna and stepped back to let her deal with the Iron Mask.

But the Iron Mask was angered by this.

"You???, what are you doing making these decisions on your own?"

However, the Iron Mask was unfazed and swung his great sword as he said with a smile.

'You fool, this armor is specially made.　It won't be shaken off by the slightest bit of attack or magic."

He is probably the last of the force on Marein's side.

I looked at him as well, thinking that a decision between the two of them would bring an end to this battle.