I am Grucius, a D-rank adventurer in the Ritzburg Kingdom. People in the capital carefreely live their lives.

They greeted their friends as they opened their stalls. A merchant adjusted his attire as they began welcoming their guests.

It was a perfectly normal day in the Capital. Although, the soldiers are making a ruckus as they move to and fro.

Apparently, the First Prince of the Ritzburg Kingdom has been kidnapped by a maid. They were searching for their whereabouts.

It's been three months since the Prince was abducted by an unknown person. The search is still hot. It was even posted in the Guild with good rewards.

Many low-rank adventurers such as myself took the request and started searching. Besides that, the Kingdom didn't have an unnatural event except for that great Earthquake three months ago.

It was a disaster! Many people fell on their knees, I feel like I was shaking back then so I called that event an Earthquake.

Luckily, It was only for a moment but still, the people were stricken by fear. Three months later, the fear still lingers but everyone carries on their usual life.

While searching for the prince, we've encountered numerous monsters from the forest. It was as if they were fleeing from something stronger than them.

My party, of course, can't block such hordes that's why we suspended the search and fell back to the city to report it in the Guild.

I'm a scout, a ranger in the party. I use a bow as my weapon and responsible for the lookout. While retreating, I scanned the surroundings with my mono scope as per my routine.

On the other side of the lens, I saw a humanoid figure with a horn and tail. As if sensing someone looking at him, he stared at my direction with his split snake-like eyes and met his gaze with mine.

My face turned pale as I yelled to my comrades.

"Demons!"

"What!?..."

Alerted by my warning, my party which is composed of a swordsman, beginner fire mage, and a Guardian with a large shield stood up abruptly.

Suddenly, the Demon appeared before them like a ghost. The Guardian leaped on the front as he readied his large shield. The others also took out their weapons prepared to engage in combat.

Usually, an E-rank party that is composed of 4 D-rank adventurers can't put up a fight with a single humanoid Demons.

Their priority should be to escape but with the speed of the Demon in front of them, a retreat is not an option.

"Humans again!? There's a lot of you in the Forest lately! Did the information leak? Did our plans get busted? That's Impossible!..."

The demon spoke with a chilly voice. Just his voice alone can incite fear to others.

"Coming from your mouth, I believe you must've met other humans here in the forest. What happened to them?..."

"Hmm? Them? I killed them. They're in our way."

The one who spoke is the swordsman in my party. Hearing the question from the human, the Demon let out a sinister smile as he licked his lips in satisfaction.

Rage clouded the eyes of the swordsman while the knees of the female mage went soft. The Demon laughed wildly seeing their rage and despair.

Taking a deep breath, the Swordsman clasped my shoulders and whispered to me in a low voice.

"Grucius, take Elaine with you and retreat… Tell the Guild that the Demons are on the move… We will hold him back here and give you time as much as possible… go… Hurry!"

The Swordsman suddenly dashed forward and brought down his sword on the Demon's neck. Of course, the Demon saw it coming and evaded it easily.

The Demon counter-attacked as he clawed the Swordsman. However, the Guardian moved in front with his large shield as he blocked the attack but It was too strong that the shield was left with claw marked holes.

The Guardian's shield couldn't hold and splintered as the arms holding it dangled with just ligaments holding it. He groaned as he held his arms in pain.

"Kahahaha! You can't block me, puny HUMANS!"

"Go!!!"

Parrying the claw attacks with his swords as he bellows to Grucius to hasten him in his retreat seeing that he is standing in place.

Snapping out of his daze, Grucius grabbed the female mage and made a run. Looking back at Grucius' figure, the swordsman wished that he can make it back to the Capital.

"Hoh? Still has the nerve to get distracted in a battle for your life, eh?"

The Demon appeared before the Swordsman and gouged his heart with his hands. Blood spurted from his mouth as he fell down on the ground.

Seeing his companion get killed, the Guardian roared as he picked up the broken shield intending to smash it onto the Demon.

However, his plan failed as his throat got stabbed by the Demon's claw instead. The Guardian stared at the Demon with fiery hatred as his body was raised in the air before flinging it like a broken doll.

"Hmmph! Well now, I wonder where the two ants are now?... Hmm!?"

Before making a step forward, the Demon's feet were grabbed by the swordsman who should be dead right now. He was powered just by his will power alone although his eyes lost focus long ago.

The Demon kicked the hands that were grabbing his feet as he began cursing.

"Damn it! Let go, you dead human! I still need to go after the two humans who escaped!"

The Demon kicked the Swordsman's head turning it into mush as he ripped its arms forcefully to get away.

"Damn it! I can't sense their presence anymore! Goddamn it! I let them get away! This is bad! I will get chewed on by Rakquim-sama!"

In desperation, the Demon turned every rock and made a mess out of the forest whilst cursing. After a while, he went away.

After not hearing any more rampages in the forest, Grucius, who is in a caved tree, let out a sigh of relief.

"I need to thank my [Erase Presence] skill… Haa.."

After checking that the enemy is not there, Grucius held on to the Female mage, Elaine, as they went to the Capital.

When they were near the entrance of the city, Grucius collapsed when the guards brought them inside to heal them.

After recuperating, Grucius told the Guild that the Demon army is on the move. The Guild notified the Kingdom and the Kingdom mobilized its best elites and prepared for war.