The two adamantite-ranked parties—Azure Rose and War Oni—were summoned together to the royal palace, an exceedingly rare occasion in which the king personally received mere adventurers.
But given the current state of the capital, neither the royal family nor the nobility could afford to maintain their former air of lofty superiority.
The warning about a powerful demon set to attack the capital had originally come from Climb, who had heard it from Ren Kuroda.
At the time, most of the court had dismissed it outright.
And yet now that the crisis had truly arrived, they were forced to confront a grim reality—the situation had already spiraled far beyond their expectations.
The demon Ren had warned about had not even shown itself yet.
And still, its summoned minions alone had already plunged the entire capital into chaos.
The kingdom possessed a large military force, yes—but this was the capital. A full-scale war could not be waged here without devastating the city itself and utterly destroying the kingdom's prestige across the continent.
Worse still, the demons appearing throughout the capital were not only numerous, but individually formidable.
Take the "Soul Devourers," for instance—each one was estimated to be around Level 25, far beyond what ordinary humans could hope to defeat. And there were dozens of them roaming the city.
But even more troublesome, according to seasoned warriors like the Warrior-Captain, were the lizardmen.
Unlike the demons—mindless creatures that simply followed basic orders—the lizardmen fought with intelligence. They coordinated with one another, used martial techniques, and even cast magic.
More alarmingly, after several encounters, it became clear that they were… growing stronger.
And unlike the demons, who rampaged purely to sow destruction, the lizardmen acted with clear intent.
They targeted noble estates.
Every time they struck, they would capture entire households, loot everything of value, and then set the place ablaze before vanishing without a trace.
By the time the Warrior-Captain and his troops arrived, the attackers were always long gone.
—
The reason Ren had been summoned was simple.
He was the only one present who had encountered the so-called "powerful demon" firsthand.
The kingdom wanted more detailed intelligence—its goals, its abilities, and most importantly, whether the two adamantite-ranked teams—Azure Rose and War Oni—had any chance of carrying out a decapitation strike.
After all, the chaos engulfing the capital was merely the result of the demon's summoned minions.
If the demon itself could be defeated, everything would resolve itself.
Naturally, the campaign against the underworld organization Eight Fingers had been suspended.
Compared to the current crisis, that underground syndicate was a minor concern.
However, before Azure Rose could even voice their stance, Ren spoke first—and his answer was blunt.
He refused.
The declaration immediately drew furious glares from the nobles surrounding the king.
"A mere adventurer dares to defy His Majesty's command?!"
Right now, the most panicked people in the capital weren't the common citizens.
It was the nobles.
No one knew why the demons had chosen to target them specifically, but the reality was undeniable—nearly half of the noble houses had already been captured.
And the wealthier and more powerful one was, the more one feared death.
That was why the nobles flocked to the palace day after day. Partly to pressure the king into resolving the crisis—but also because the palace was safer than their own homes.
Some had considered fleeing the capital altogether.
But a few days ago, an invisible barrier had formed around the city.
No one could leave.
—
"My apologies," Ren said calmly, completely unfazed. "First of all, I'm not a citizen of this kingdom. As an adventurer, I have the right to choose whether or not to accept a request."
He paused, then added bluntly:
"And secondly—even His Majesty cannot force someone to go die, can he? I'm not a sworn knight like your esteemed Warrior-Captain."
Before the king could respond, the princess beside him—Princess Rena—spoke up in surprise.
"Are you saying… that even you, Ren Kuroda, the 'Peerless War Oni,' don't have confidence in defeating this demon?"
Unlike the others, she knew.
Through her connections with Lakyus and Climb, she understood that Ren's strength far surpassed that of the kingdom's strongest warrior.
And yet—even he was saying he had no chance.
Ren let out a faint breath.
"A guaranteed victory? I don't even know where that thing is right now. But even if I did…" He shrugged. "If I fought it head-on, I'd most likely die."
His gaze swept across the room.
"I warned you about this before, didn't I? But none of you took it seriously. And now that things have escalated this far, you're scrambling to fix it."
He gave a slight, almost mocking smile.
"Too late."
Silence fell over the chamber.
"So," Ren continued, turning away, "I'm declining the decapitation mission. I'll stick to my original plan and continue dealing with Eight Fingers."
Then, as if remembering something, he added over his shoulder:
"If you're serious about hunting that demon, you might want to contact E-Rantel. There's a fourth adamantite-ranked team there—the Black Duo. Their leader, an adventurer named Hiiro… is probably stronger than I am."
And with that, he walked out—Yuri following quietly behind him.
Not a single noble dared to stop him.
—
Elsewhere, after finishing a round of sword training, Climb, Brian, and the Warrior-Captain sat together, discussing the matter.
"So let me get this straight," Brian muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Even Ren thinks he'd be risking his life against this demon?"
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Just how absurdly strong is this thing? Seriously… what the hell is going on lately? Monsters we've never even seen before are popping up one after another."
Thanks to his connection with Climb—and the dangerous situation in the capital—Brian had also taken up a role as one of the princess's guards.
He'd already fought several demons himself and had a decent grasp of the current situation.
But what truly shocked him…
Was Ren's statement.
In Brian's eyes, Ren was already a monster among monsters—a man who had driven back Shaltear and reduced him to unconsciousness with nothing but killing intent.
And yet—
Even someone like that had admitted defeat.
"…If that's the case," Brian muttered, a bitter smile forming on his lips, "then this demon… isn't just a monster."
He looked up, eyes sharpening.
"It's a monster among monsters."