OVERLORD- 46. Demon

"It's an investigation mission. The scope involves a section of the outer forest. We need to investigate the situation surrounding the gold-level adventurer team 'Broken Sword' that mysteriously disappeared yesterday." Monica said, her voice momentarily faltering.

"Investigate their condition... or the cause of death," Aya added.

Starting from the west gate of Kelmais City, there are roughly two routes to their destination, heading towards the Dark Moon Forest on the border.

One way is to go around the edge of the forest and then reenter at the closest point. The other way is to go straight into the forest, taking a nearly direct path.

The latter is definitely much shorter than the former, and it is the path chosen by the Moon Shadow team and Aya this time.

There is already a risk of being attacked by monsters at the outskirts of the forest, and entering the forest directly is definitely more dangerous. From a safety perspective, it is not the most suitable option.

Even so, they chose this path for efficiency and the chance to kill monsters along the way.

The monsters outside the forest are mostly goblins and ogres. High-strength monsters such as giants and petrified lizards also appear, but they pose no threat to Mithril-level adventurers.

What's more, they have experts like "Levi" and "Carly" joining them. After leaving the city, Aya showed them her third-level magic—[Lightning Strike], [Arcane Shock], and [Ice Arrow]—proving her strength.

Because of her race, "Elf Queen," also known as the "Queen of Magic," Aya can learn some additional low-level mage spells, specifically those at level seven and below. This special ability is better than nothing in the gaming era, as magic below level seven has very limited firepower, and Aya's magic damage attribute isn't particularly high.

"The two magicians in our team also have the ability to use third-level magic." Monica said as they walked toward the forest, "But the only third-level magic I can use is [Fireball] and [Frost Arrow], and Jasmine can also use two third-level magics: [Cure Severe Injury] and [Body Strengthening]."

"So Levi is really amazing. He's mastered three third-level magic spells!"

The amount of magic mastered is an important criterion for judging strength, at least that's what people in this world believe.

Aya focused her attention on Jasmine, who could use two third-level spells.

Can she really use two third-level magic spells? Why would this taciturn elf girl lie?

That's right, Aya had recognized her race at first sight due to the High Elves' [Same Race Sense]. At that time, she had been very glad that she had turned off the Elf Queen's [King's Majesty], an aura skill that could suppress enemy elves and strengthen her own side.

If she had used that skill, Jasmine would definitely have noticed.

Only after learning the other person's race did Aya realize why she had to wear a hood. After all, this was a human country, and while people of other races might not be discriminated against to a great extent, there would still be some inconvenience.

Aya now wondered why the other party was lying—and not just to outsiders, but it seemed her teammates didn't know the truth either.

Don't rush to expose it; just be more cautious next time. Aya marked Jasmine with a "pay attention" label in her heart.

"Jasmine is a famous priest in the city." Monica said, noticing Aya's gaze.

"And she's a well-known superpower user." Darlena added. It wasn't a secret, and considering that they had to act together, it was better to explain it first.

"Oh? Superpowers?"

This was the second time Aya had heard this term. The last time was in the village of Ester, when the girl named Maria had the ability to move objects with her mind—telekinesis. However, her ability was very weak, and she could only move a stone with all her strength.

Aya was curious to see a new example.

"No, it's nothing special." Jasmine spoke up, her voice unusually soft and a bit shy.

"Levi and Carly both came from far away, right? If they are adventurers in the city, they all know Jasmine's special ability. When she casts healing and strengthening magic, there's a certain probability—about 30%—that she will add a random buff to the target."

Monica continued the explanation.

"For example, defense might increase, or attack, agility, etc. These are very useful in battle."

'Is this the ability?' Aya, who was also part of the belief system, found herself somewhat intrigued by this power.

"If there's a chance today, I hope you can show me." Aya added.

"This is probabilistic. If you're unlucky, it may not trigger at all!" Jasmine whispered, clearly shy about the attention.

"Levi, Carly, we are almost at the outskirts of the forest. We might encounter monsters at any time here, so we need to stay alert." Monica reminded them.

"Let Carly be the vanguard. I see you don't have a shield, so you should be a two-handed warrior. Please act as the defender. Peter and the others will take the front. As for Levi, since you're a ranger, you should be on the left wing of the team, with Darena handling the right wing."

It was a very standard formation: warriors in the front and back, rangers on the left and right wings, and priests and mages guarding the middle.

Originally, Monica had wanted to use Levi as a mage, but today Levi even carried a bow, so she couldn't doubt her ranger profession anymore.

'So, when can we encounter monsters?' Aya thought to herself, just as a voice sounded in her mind.

"Mother." It was Pelia's voice.

"I investigated the scene as you instructed."

Aya had previously ordered Pelia, a mage skilled in reconnaissance magic, to survey the area where the adventurers had gone today.

"The result was that there was nothing at the scene but a pool of blood."

"No bodies?"

"No, nothing." Pelia said, "So I used [Retrograde Reconnaissance] and [Backtracking Observation] here."

"What results did you find?"

At that moment, a scene appeared in Aya's left eye. It was Pelia standing on a wasteland covered in blood.

"Here." Pelia walked to a position and waved her hand to cast illusion magic.

A goblin leaped up and slashed with its sword. A warrior blocked the blow with his weapon, but both his sword and his head were chopped off.

Then another man thrust a spear into the goblin's stomach.

"Based on the depressions on the ground and the type and direction of the bloodstains, this is probably what happened." Pelia explained.

"There was a battle between goblins and humans. The goblin's sudden attack killed one person and seriously injured another, but it was quickly surrounded by humans and suffered fatal injuries."

"And then what?" If that were the case, the human team shouldn't have been completely wiped out.

"Then a 'demon' appeared, attacking the remaining humans and dying goblins, taking their bodies."

"A demon?" Aya asked.

"Based on the residual magical properties and the bit of blue blood left at the scene, I think the attacker was a low-level demon."

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