"Another reincarnator?" Urten mumbled.

"I thought we had located all of the ones in the Imperial Capital already...."

Even Darius was shocked by this, as Haru's barrier seemed to remain strong. It was taking damage for sure, it was nothing but a delay tactic to the Demon Lords. But, it didn't break in a single hit.

That said, the two could see Haru chugging mana potions back there. It seemed that the fox boy was pushing well past his limits, and the barrier would not last forever. But, for every second they remained within the barrier, the music that came from Elaine's violin and music were healing and restoring all the Reincarnators and the others inside. Several of them were already at peak strength.

And meanwhile, a holy field was being created by the twins. Every Demon, including the Demon Lords, were taking continuous damage and were now incapable of healing. The Holy Field had engulfed a good section of the castle, so even as they tried to chip away at the barrier, it was not doing much. Unfortunately, the Holy Field was also causing pain to Rikuo, but the supply of royal blood he was given was mitigating the effects, in addition to power of his Divine Shard clothes.

Of course, as Demon Lords, the Holy Field was nothing more then something akin to a pinch every second or so. But they had lived long enough to know that every little bit helped or hurt. And the vampire boy was continuously making it so the terrain was bad for them, and only them.

It wasn't just ice, he clearly had spacial magic as there were areas that lost friction all together.

They had the raw power and ability of Demon Lords, and one of them had been alive for over two thousand years. They were superior to their opponents in every way, and their demon army gave them numbers.

So as the barrier started to crack, it was only a matter of time until they all died. The foxkin boy, Haru, was still chugging potions, but those were unable to keep up with the speed and power exterted by the Demon Lords. They were far too young and inexperienced.

Meanwhile, within the barrier, everyone was quite chatty.

"And my name is Haru. Now all introductions are done, how are we going to get out of this?"

Yes, that was the main issue at hand. Urten and Darius were about to break through the barrier. They had all recovered their energy, with the crown princess even giving Rikuo more blood.

"I only have two revives left today, and I would rather not waste them..."

"I would rather you not use them at all!" Lutessa retorted.

"Well, its fine. If we can buy just a bit more time, we should be able to get out of this situation".

Hearing that, Rayheart was confused.

"Wait, how did you know we gave the second prince the magic stones needed to restore the magical defenses?"

"Wait, the second prince is doing what now?"

Raevin was the one to question that now.

"Yeah, he is".

"I wish you had told us that sooner. So, we just needed to buy time...wait, what are you buying time for, Rikuo?"

"The people inside that room. Of, by the way, I thought I was only able to summon four, but I summoned an extra".

Then everyone looked at Rikuo as if he also should have told them sooner.

"Exactly...what do you mean by extra?"

That was when Ruuruu flew by.

"Master, we just need another minute or so..."

Rikuo nodded, as the barrier began to break. Realizing this, everyone prepared for combat once more. With their stamina healed, excluding Rikuo who was still suffering, it seemed like they might have some sort of chance.

And then with a loud sound as if a massive glass object was broken, the barrier shattered, with even continuous mana being poured into it unable to let it withstand the Demon Lords. Urten immediately aimed for Haru, but Rayheart got in the way.

"Heroic Boost, Heroic Charge, Heroic Defender!"

Utilizing a sudden new set of skills, Rayheart seemed to be able to block Urten this time, intercepting his blade. Darius meanwhile went after Rikuo, who was the weakest of the group right then.

"Remote Barrier!"

A trasparent obstacle blocked Darius, appearing to be another type of barrier but it was focused, and therefore stronger. It still could not hold up to a Demon Lord continuously, and Darius also easily moved around this one. Ruuruu attempted to block, but was knocked aside by Darius easily as he went for Rikuo. Magic attacks formed around Rikuo and attacked, but Darius easily dodged all of them as he got closer to Rikuo.

"Revive wont save you forev...."

Those words of hate spewed from his mouth, but were interrupted when a massive ice spike pierced both Rikuo and Darius, having appeared behind Rikuo.

This was an attack sufficient for killing Rikuo, and pierced Darius rather harshly, but he avoided a lethal wound as he backed off. The ice faded as Rikuo seemed to die for a moment, but then he came back alive again through his revival skill.

That bastard...did he use his own body as a blind spot to strike at me?!

It meant a revive was used up, but...it was pretty much an insane play. It didn't stop Darius from coming after him again though, his wounds already regenerating at a rapid rate. Darius had to dodge though as Fang appeared in his blindspot, and arrows rained down upon him. Herra also appeared behind him and attempted to take his head off, but he swung his sword around intending to slice them all or at least make them back off if they could dodge.

Rikuo backed up too, but then he saw Urten's blade coming for his neck from his blindspot. He adjusted the friction of the floor while dodging, and Raevin moved in to strike from an angle, causing the attack trajectory to change and miss Rikuo.

I am marked. They seem to have realized that with Haru in the very back, targeting the weakest one first has become their plan. Well, its strategy 101.

As a gamer, he knew all too well. When possible, get the weaker units, the support and healer units, and the like out of the way first.

However...he saw this as a chance.

"Demon Lord Urten huh? Are you really a Demon Lord? I mean, I know that guy there is weak, but you seem to just be a feeble old man with a fast sword. Can you even beat another Demon Lord?"

Those words didn't seem to provoke him.

"Did you really think I didn't notice you setting that magic trap? Such an obvious provokation would never work".

"Well, I figured I might as well vent a little. I mean, you must be a fossile compared to the others. Probably couldn't even defeat a young measely slime, let alone another Demon Lord".

At that point, Urten twitched a little.

"Erm, Rikuo..." Esmerelda mentioned. "I heard Otherworlders often make this mistake, but while certainly not the strongest, slimes are considered rather nasty to fight. Since they are resistant to physical attacks, corrode weapons, armor, equipment, clothing, the like when they touch or attack something, they are not considered that weak".

"Ah...thats good to know. Well, its still something that a Demon Lord should be able to fight, right?"

"Well, yeah of course. If a Demon Lord cant defeat a simple slime, they shouldn't be a Demon Lord".

"Especially a small and young newborn slime".

Urten seemed to be annoyed, but he didn't step forward. Darius however, seemed to notice something, but was quickly interrupted.

"Wait, Urten..."

"Like I said, I wont be lured in. Especially when I know you set a trap there that once I step forward, a hundred ice spikes will form from all directions to pierce me. But let me make one thing clear. I am far better and superior to some shota slime who is so vain about his age, he introduces himself as only over a thousand and cant admit he is an old man around twenty thousand year old, despite acting like a brat".

Urten released a powerful bloodlust there, one that put fear even into Rikuo. It seems that he was not going to step into Rikuo's trap, but they definently pissed him off. That said...

An even more menacing bloodlust came over the room. Everyone felt it, a pure feeling of rage and anger that was strong enough to make everyone in the room feel fear. A bloodlust that could not simply be contained. Darius and Urten especially seemed to be shocked as they recognized it.

Everyone's gazes felt naturally drawn to the source, which was the open door to the summoning room. Standing there, in a black short sleeve jacket that was open, a white shirt, black shorts, and sturdy black boots, was a boy with steel colored hair and steel colored eyes. And although there was a smile on his face, it was one that invoked terror and fear into everyone.

Demon Lord Aruu was absolutely pissed.

"Oh little bitty Urten~" Aruu said, staring right at him. "What the fuck was that you just said?"

Before any answer could be given, Aruu moved faster then the eye could see, appearing in front of Urten. The Demon Lord barely had time to block, as Aruu delivered a powerhouse kick right into him and sent him flying through the castle walls. Several of them. This also killed every demon that had been in the way or Urten or near the attack itself.

"Hey now, you can all resume whatever it is you are doing. I will be talking to you about the summons later, but first, I need to educate someone on manners, and how rude it is to talk about a boy's age. So, if you will excuse me, this over a thousand years old Demon Slime is going to have a serious chat now".

And like that, Aruu ran off to "educate" Urten.

"Well, that was a shame" Rikuo mentioned. "I was so hoping I could get you both to fall for it, but at least this is a massive improvement".

Yes, Rikuo's plan had been to make the Demon Lord antagonize Aruu by mentioning his age. With this, they now only had to worry about a single Demon Lord. This increased their odds by a significant degree.

"I can't believe that actually worked....that seems so dumb..."

Well, in all actuality, I think Aruu would have helped us anyways, I just needed to provide him with an "excuse".

"Ah".

Either way, everyone looked at Darius, as he signaled the Demon Army that had been waiting to not get in the way of the two Demon Lords. Now that there was only one, it was actually possible for them to attack without getting in the way.

"Frozen Ceremony!"

[The level of Ice Magic has increased!]

Having finished another spell while thinking, Rikuo utilized Frozen Ceremony again to make the terrain difficult for the army, causing them to fall into each other and collapse a bit, though there were various demons that still made it through. Darius also went for them directly, but Rayheart blocked Darius with her holy sword.

"You are much easier to follow and block then that other guy!"

"Spirit Archery: Nimbus Arrows!"

Dozens of spirit arrows rained down upon Darius, but he seemed to dodge or intercept them.

"Homing Projectiles!"

Haru however assisted and made all the arrows track and pursue Darius, which made it harder for him as Rayheart clashed swords with him, her Holy Sword negating a black aura that creeped out of his full plate armor.

"Thunder Gale!"

[The level of Storm Magic has increased!]

About damn time!

Rikuo was finally getting levels for his magic. He was rather concerned, after releasing a single Death Magic spell he got a level, granted it was an absurd one that he couldn't have cast if it wasn't for Esmerelda transfering mana to him.

As Rikuo started to cast another Thundering Gale, he noticed the effect of Storm Magic having leveled up immediately. He could feel less of a mana draw, and a bit more power. Furthermore, it felt like he didn't need to chant as much.

In other words, the more levels you got in a magic skill, magic of that attribute became more efficient, stronger, and required less chanting. That said, a single level, while making some difference, was not as much as Rikuo had hoped. But it was significant enough to improve their odds.

"Thundering Gale!"

And as Rikuo's spell tore through the battlefield, heading for Darius, he attempted to dodge to the side and lure the arrows into hitting Rayheart.

"Flame Spout! Noble Slash!"

But Raevin was right there, intercepting his dodge location. The four of them now had a perfect battle formation. Rayheart would face him head on and surpress his movements. Rikuo would attack with magic from afar, and throw off his footing. His magic would keep Darius off tempo. Lutessa would use her arrows for direct attacks and to keep him occupied with protecting vital points, which she could target better then Rayheart or Rikuo. And Raevin would block his escape vectors, and prevent him from adapting or throwing them out of formation.

The four faction leaders had now teamed up against the Demon Lord.

And meanwhile, the others were responsible for the Demon Army.

"Applying buffs...Fang, Herra, you are good to go! Twins, please provide a personal sanctuary spell on them both. Ruuruu, I need you to support the right flank, Aer please take the left. Applying health restoration and barriers, monitoring the field".

And Haru was leading that group. With what appeared to be holographic screens in front of him, he was remotely applying buffs and barriers. One screen showed a map of the battlefield they were in, red dots were allies, blue dots were enemies, and the yellow dot was himself.

The fact that red was allies and blue was enemies was a bit confusing, but war planning rooms in this world used that same color association, so it seemed to be based on this world and not the previous one.

Either way, Fang and Herra lept into the main Demon army. One assassin tried to move behind her, but Haru blocked him with a barrier and left him wide open to a counter attack. Aer summoned up Dragonfyre style Fire Magic, and along with his sword burned through several Demons.

"Yulari, you see the big guy in back? He cant be allowed to reach anyone else, he is way too dangerous. So I need you to go fight solo surrounded by enemies and defeat him".

"Sounds just fine to me!" she replied, and charged towards the enemy with dual swords.

"Applying barriers, using Keen Edge on Yulari's blades...haste and regeneration as well".

Haru's job was essentially keeping watch on everyone, and applying various buff skills.

I dont have any offensive ability, so this is the most of what I can do right now.

Meanwhile, the demons on the right started to gain some ground. Ruuruu was fighting them off well, but as he did the walls broke and more demons were coming in all at once.

"Ardet! Arlit!"

"Holy Rays!"

Rays of holy magic emit from their hands, and pierced and shined upon the demons they went on. A few human assassins mixed in were fine though, and made it past Ruuruu.

"Shield bash!"

"Deadly Slash!"

But, the reincarnators were not the only ones there.

"Never fear. We will help protect you, everyone!"

The Royal guard were also there. That, and...

"Zero Slash!"

Suddenly, a boy with a sword ran through the battlefield, and cut down an enemy. Following him was a girl with a sword, a brown haired boy with a staff, and a red haired boy who appeared to have daggers and a bow.

"Practice swings are done! We are ready to help!"

Their equipment looked like normal clothes to a degree, but anyone with a keen eye could tell they were a ridiculously high quality made for combat.

Yes, the summoned heroes were all there and ready to help in some degree.

"Are you guys really ready?" Ruuruu asked while in his spear form.

"...if you all lose, wont we die as well?"

"Fair".

With these reinforcements, Ruuruu was able to slash through a few more Demons while the flank was held. Meanwhile, one particularly strong Demon came for Aer from the side, but he ducked and dodged it, going low and then slashing at her arm. She deployed a barrier to stop it, and then slashed at him with claws that she had while a fireball was released from the other hand.

But that was then eaten by Saphri, who came to help him as she used her tail to knock her away. Aer meanwhile unleashed Dragonfyre magic on her, only to then be attacked by two assassins from the back.

But he slightly hopped back, and swung his sword around. The assassins were skilled enough to avoid the blow completely, but the twins then hit them with a flash spell to blind them. This let Saphri use her breath attack to incinerate them, but one got under the attack through feel and came at Aer, making him dodge for real.

This guy...its way more dangerous then normal!

Aer found an unexpectedly tough opponent. He looked to ask the others for help, but then saw Fang cut down several blood blades.

"Was there more vampires we...missed?" Herra asked, when she saw Teleka. "Hold on, I heard you died!"

"That brat's magic is not that high level yet! But that hurt, you pieces of shit!"

As it happened, Rikuo's spell was not as effective due to his inexperience with Death Magic. So Teleka had lived, although she looked rather pissed and worn out.

However, even though the battle was starting to look up for them, everything began to change as a force was felt resonating across the castle.

Everyone could feel it. That something was coming. This battle was not over yet.