We Are Allies

The watcher possessed a sharp sense of counter-reconnaissance and was incredibly cunning.

Realizing he had been exposed, he immediately ducked into the noisy, crowded market, hoping to use the environment to shake off Ansu and Celia.

Fortunately, the town's market was not large, and under Celia’s near-omniscient perception, the chase became as simple as a cat catching a mouse.

Ten minutes later, in a narrow alley far from the town market.

Ansu and Celia stood at either end, unhurriedly blocking the alley and completely cutting off all paths of retreat.

Ansu observed the cornered watcher; his clothes were no different from those of an ordinary merchant, but his gaze was fierce and determined.

A dangerous aura of shadow flickered around him, clearly indicating he intended to fight to the death.

"Who exactly are you?" Ansu asked with a frown, feigning ignorance.

"Why are you following us? Who is your master?"

The watcher, of course, did not answer.

He glared gloomily at Ansu, and as his mana surged, a Shadow Blade radiating a thick aura of death coalesced in his hand.

He lunged toward Ansu’s position, moving as fast as a bolt of lightning.

Celia’s expression shifted to one of surprise when she saw the magic he used, especially the faint black patterns appearing on his skin.

"A demon?"

As the demon intended to attack Ansu, Celia sneered, and a massive surge of mana erupted instantly.

In the next second, he was swatted against the wall like a fly.

The terrifying force caused the sound of cracking bones to echo from his body, and he immediately let out a wretched scream of pain.

Ansu approached him unhurriedly, an invisible 【Mage's Hand】 gripping his neck and lifting the blood-covered demon off the ground.

Terror filled the demon's eyes because that single strike had just jolted him into reality.

He realized the disparity in strength between him and these two was so vast that he was completely powerless to resist...

However, the expected death did not come.

Ansu held the demon up, studying him carefully for a long time before revealing a surprised and apologetic expression.

"You're actually a demon... Why didn't you say so earlier? Are you under Mr. Barcas?"

The demon was completely stunned, staring at the person before him in confusion. "You...?"

Ansu immediately withdrew his mana and set the demon down.

Upon hitting the ground, the demon grimaced in pain, but the look in his eyes became even more bewildered.

Ansu and Celia exchanged a glance, and he walked over to whisper in her ear for a moment.

Then, he explained to the demon with a smile full of apology:

"Don't you recognize the two of us? Fine, let me introduce myself. I am the deacon general of the Echoes of Truth, the Hermit..."

After hearing the introduction, the demon endured the pain and looked up in shock.

"The Echoes of Truth!?"

"That's right." Ansu nodded with a smile, projecting a friendly attitude. "We are allies."

The demon felt a surge of excitement as if he had been brought back from the dead.

He quickly braced himself against the ground, trying to stand up. "You’re actually cult members? Why didn't you say so sooner! I saw you mixed in with that church team and was wondering about it..."

Ansu stepped forward kindly to help him up, but the demon's injuries were too severe, so he could only lean against the wall.

He looked at the two with a wry smile. "What bad luck, to be accidentally injured by allies... If the Hermit hadn't asked in time, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back alive from this mission..."

"A bit of a rough introduction, isn't it?" Ansu chuckled.

The demon was speechless, thinking about how they had almost killed him just now. How could this be called a rough introduction?

But at the same time, many doubts surfaced. "Why would the Echoes of Truth suddenly appear here? Why... why are you following that church team?"

The entire wasteland territory was to be in the palm of Lord Barcas's hand, and Limestone Town had been infiltrated by demons long ago, so they were very wary of this church team that had suddenly appeared in town.

"Well..." Ansu hesitated slightly. "I'm sorry, but this is an important mission assigned by the higher-ups. This matter is of great importance. Even if you are a demon ally, I cannot disclose it."

"Oh?" The demon furrowed his brow suspiciously, but seeing the other party's persistent 'no comment' expression, he finally nodded.

"Alright then, I can understand..."

After sending off the battered demon spy, Celia leaned in curiously.

"So... you want to lure the remnants of the demon army over and have the cult's pursuers restrain each other?"

Ansu didn't answer, merely letting out a sinister smile.

Celia looked at Ansu's dark expression and couldn't help but smile. "Deliberately leaking this information so they'll tear each other apart? Ansu, you're so wicked!"

Ansu continued to smile without a word.

The Miss Witch only saw the first layer, but inciting a conflict between the two sides wasn't his real goal.

He was only thinking about the number of 'sacrifices' he could get.

On the premise of not letting Celia enter her blackened state, the more sacrifices he had to clear the ancient ruins, the better.

...

Shortly after Ansu and Celia left, the demon spy returned to the base in a sorry state and immediately reported the incident to his superior.

The demon superior’s eyes showed surprise, and he fell into deep thought.

"The Hermit? I know of him. A rising star in the cult whom Samantha has been heavily promoting. I didn't expect him to suddenly appear here..."

"If your description is correct... then the young woman beside him is likely Samantha’s right-hand woman, that powerful and mysterious Ash Witch..."

The demon superior was silent for a long time, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

"Why would that old woman send her most trusted confidant here? What is she trying to do? Isn't she currently trapped in the Royal Capital? How does she have the mind to send people to our territory?"

The demon spy suddenly said, "My lord, it should be related to that church squad. These two have been lurking within the church team. We should find out the purpose of the church's trip as soon as possible!"

The demon superior nodded. "I've already sent someone to check."

The atmosphere remained quiet for a long time while the demons pondered what kind of plot their 'allies' were brewing.

Suddenly, another spy who had been sent out rushed back to the base.

"My lord! I've figured it out!" the spy reported hurriedly. "That church team belongs to the Royal Capital; they are an Inquisition expedition squad! Their goal is to find ancient ruins!"

"Ancient ruins?" The demon superior's expression shifted in shock. "Which ancient ruins?"

"It's the underground temple of the Ancient Enus Empire!"

"Damn it!" the demon superior cursed. "Those people want to find our demon army's treasure! Quick! Report the news to Lord Barcas immediately! This Inquisition expedition squad has people from the Echoes of Truth with them. They must have already locked onto the treasure's location!"

The demon superior grew angrier the more he thought about it.

Their so-called 'allies' were actually coveting the demon army's treasure that belonged to them!

Fortunately, he had figured out the other party's goal in advance, otherwise, it would have been too late!