Ch. 85 Heroine – Chapter 85

    Chapter 85

    R̃​éäd̈ ̀õǹ ́​K̀át́R̀èád̈ĩ​ñg̀​Ĉáf́ë

    In the distance, a sturdy cherry blossom tree shattered as if it were made of dry twigs.

    A utility pole exploded, silencing the speaker that had been blaring the siren.

    Boom! 

    An ear-splitting roar reverberated as a cloud of dust rose into the air.

    The cherry blossom trees, which had stood sentinel for years, fell one after another like dominoes, their pink petals scattering wildly.

    When the branches swayed in the wind, those petals had looked so beautiful. But now, they were nothing but a pitiful sight.

    Citizens fled in a panic, trampling over those who had fallen or shoving each other aside.

    Everything was in chaos.

    “Keek, Keeeeeck!!”

    Small green dwarves pursued the people. They wielded rusty daggers and bloodstained clubs. Barely over a meter tall with small, wiry frames, they didn’t look particularly strong. But even these weak monsters were a threat to ordinary people. Forget about the effects of ‘mental corruption’—two or three of them working together could easily bring down a sturdy adult male.

    And now they were armed, not barehanded.

    The citizens, their judgment clouded by mental corruption, panicked further as the swarm of green dwarves bore down on them.

    “Frey!”

    “I know, I know!”

    A small-framed girl used my shoulder as a springboard to leap high into the air.

    Frey soared through the air above the fleeing citizens and landed gracefully, her crimson eyes flashing with a sharp light.

    Without a sound, a heat ray scorched through the air.

    In an instant, a red line pierced through the green dwarves.

    The over 20 small, green monsters melted as their skin disintegrated, their muscles and flesh burning away in the intense heat.

    Fwoooosh!

    Soon, even their bones evaporated.

    The heat ray, carving a deep trench into the ground, left nothing in its path.

    With a scoff, Frey turned her blazing red eyes, still shimmering with heat, toward me.

    “Piece of cake. What are you doing? Hurry up, let’s go!”

    I nodded in agreement but turned first to address the dazed citizens.

    “The Celestial Corps heroes are on their way. Until they arrive, we’ll protect you, so please stay calm and evacuate!”

    And for goodness’ sake, stop trampling over the people who fell. It wouldn’t kill you to help someone up, would you? Wait, maybe it would…

    Argh! Still, look at that sight—how many times was that person stepped on to be covered in bruises like that? 

    Surely everyone’s done evacuation drills back in school? Stay calm, assess your surroundings, and move to the shelters. That should be basic knowledge in this world!

    Still, I couldn’t blame them.

    The mental corruption caused by monsters.

    Even low rank monsters could inflict excruciating mental pain on ordinary people, as though their heads were splitting apart.

    Losing judgment and composure was the best-case scenario.

    I approached a fallen young man, held out my hand, and helped him up. I dusted off his clothes, which bore the marks of footsteps, and smiled reassuringly.

    “Are you alright? Are you hurt badly?”

    “N-no, I’m fine, it’s just…”

    “That’s a relief. You can move, right? Try not to fall again, okay? If you do, you’ll have to get right back up.”

    Otherwise, you might end up as a pancake. Not because of the monsters but because of the people trampling over you. That’d be a miserable and unjust way to go, wouldn’t it?

    Swallowing those unspoken words, I patted the young man’s back. His pale, terrified face turned slightly red. Leaving him and the other citizens behind, I turned away. I had to keep moving. Staying in one place for too long wouldn’t do.

    The rift had opened at the center of the park.

    Normally, monsters would emerge directly from the rift’s location, but this time, a minimum-level 5 rift had opened.

    A massive dimensional tear loomed in the sky, scattering monsters at random.

    With Frey using her heat rays to strike from afar, I rarely needed to step in. Occasionally, a clever monster would hide and ambush us, and I would fend it off with my knife. These low rank monsters weren’t difficult to deal with. With precision honed from past struggles, I dispatched them cleanly with a slice to the neck.

    “Ugh, the smell of blood…”

    Frey clicked her tongue. A familiar metallic scent mingled with the smoky air. Blood will be an everyday sight for us, so I instantly recognized the sticky, clinging smell. 

    Shaking my head to dispel it, I quickened my pace.

    Fighting monsters and evacuating civilians inevitably meant encountering moments where we were too late.

    Not everything could be accomplished through effort alone.

    I had witnessed countless lifeless corpses, growing cold before my eyes.

    ‘…I’m sorry.’

    A brief apology escaped my lips as I moved on, pretending not to notice.

    I felt regret and guilt.

    But I had no intention of wallowing in it.

    After all, I had done my best.

    If I had stopped Murmur, everyone would have been safe. The day would have remained a happy, peaceful one, and no one would have to experience the terror of fleeing from monsters or losing their lives.

    It was a bitter reality, and guilt weighed on my chest.

    But that didn’t mean I was to blame.

    How could I, a mere student who hadn’t even fully awakened, have dealt with a devil—a foe that required multiple top-tier heroes working together just to stand a chance?

    Simply holding out against her was a miracle in itself.

    Ultimately, Murmur was the one responsible for their deaths, not me.

    Feeling guilty over something I couldn’t control would be absurd.

    So I knew what I had to do.

    Instead of crying over guilt, I needed to prevent things from getting worse.

    At least Eugene is here.

    I looked up at the sky, where crimson flames burned like a second sun.

    As expected of the protagonist, Eugene was performing extraordinarily. 

    A fiery vortex spiraled downward, leaving trails of light in its wake. The sight was reminiscent of falling raindrops, volcanic eruptions, and shooting stars streaking across the night sky. 

    The damage was surprisingly contained, thanks to Eugene. He precisely targeted the monsters, incinerating them instantly and buying the citizens precious time to escape.

    A true hero in the making.
    He stood out even from the beginning.

    ‘But if he keeps burning through his strength like that, he’ll wear out soon.’

    Eugene was pushing himself far too hard. It was clear at a glance that his powerful technique—likely a variant of the Sun Sword—was incredibly taxing. This ultimate move of his was undoubtedly potent, but it drained both physical stamina and mental energy rapidly. At this rate, recklessly exhausting himself could lead to collapse.

    Thankfully, the Celestial Corps was well-versed in handling sudden crises like this.
    They would have already finished preparing and would soon take action.
    We just needed to hold out for a little while longer.

    The problem was that even this “little while” was extremely perilous.

    We were in the middle of a city park.
    Even a brief delay could lead to catastrophic consequences.

    And though reinforcements from the Corps would soon arrive, there was still Astaroth. She might be standing idly by now, but there was no telling when she might strike. If only we had at least one captain-level hero here, we might be able to hold out longer.

    A captain wouldn’t be able to defeat Astaroth, but they could at least buy us time until her ‘active time’ expired.

    The issue was that captains rarely appeared on the scene promptly… unless—

    …Wait a second.

    Now that I thought about it, a spatial rift of this magnitude had opened in an urban area.
    This was District 4—not far from the capital, District 1.

    This was the kind of large-scale disaster that would demand a captain’s direct involvement.
    It would be stranger if no one showed up.

    As my thoughts reached this hopeful conclusion, a plan began to form.

    With a potential countermeasure for dealing with Astaroth in sight, I resolved to focus on what I could do right now.

    Shaking off my worries, I turned to Frey and spoke.

    “Frey, I hear something strange over there. It might be a monster—”

    The sound of guttural growls, followed by sharp explosions, echoed in succession.
    It was likely something dangerous. I was about to suggest that we check it out together when—

    “…!”

    I froze mid-sentence.

    To my right, perched on a branch of a towering cherry blossom tree, was a single green goblin.
    Its bow was drawn tight, an arrow with a corroded, rusty tip glinting ominously in the sunlight.

    It wasn’t aiming at me. Its target was Frey, who had been obliterating monsters left and right with her heat rays.

    Now, it was true that someone with Frey’s powers wouldn’t be harmed by such a crude attack. Even bullets weren’t enough to take her down. A low-level monster’s arrow? No chance.

    …Or was there?

    That goblin seemed unusually intelligent. It had hidden itself to ambush us and had carefully chosen its moment to strike.
    Would it really take such a reckless shot without some kind of plan?

    The odds seemed slim. That arrow had to have something special about it—something lethal, like poison.

    …Poison.

    It was just a hunch, but I couldn’t ignore it. At the academy, we’d been taught to beware of crafty monsters like these. They could feign weakness, play dead, or lace their weapons with deadly toxins.

    ‘Never let your guard down.’
    That was one of Angelica’s golden rules.

    As the pieces fell into place in my mind, my body moved on instinct.
    Frey was strong, no doubt about it. But even the strongest can fall victim to unforeseen dangers.

    “Frey!” I shouted.

    “Huh?”

    I lunged, shoving Frey out of the way just as the bowstring twanged. She fell backward with an annoyed look, which quickly turned to alarm as she spotted the goblin.

    But the arrow was already in flight, its path unyielding.

    Heart pounding, I faced the incoming projectile.
    I leaned forward slightly, making sure my chest was exposed. If it hit, it would strike my heart or neck, ensuring the most efficient way to protect Frey.

    Whiiiiiiiz!

    A gust of wind howled as a blurred shadow intercepted the arrow mid-air.
    With a resounding thud, the ground beneath the figure caved slightly, revealing a tall, imposing boy.

    He moved again in a blur, spinning and hurling the arrow back like a dagger. It flew straight and true, embedding itself in the goblin’s throat.

    “Kiieeeekk?!”

    The goblin trembled violently, coughing up dark blood as its body convulsed.
    The discoloration of the blood confirmed my suspicion—the arrow had indeed been coated in poison.

    “…Leo?”

    Why was he here?

    “Close one. You should thank me!” he said with a smirk.

    I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, unable to find any words. Instead, I just gave him a small nod.

    My arrow…

     

    Author Note

    A/N (Author’s note):
    Lucia is a sincere child.

    However, she tries to satisfy her own desires along the way.

    Translator Note

    T/N (Translator’s note):
    No taking random space cancer yet it seems, heh.

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