episode_0094

“The hero… is dead?”

I swallowed hard as I looked at something that used to be the fallen hero, Bloodstain.

Could it be because I swung my sword and accidentally destroyed the hero’s holy sword?

But if I hadn’t done that, Milaia would have been stabbed in the back by the hero.

“Yunoa, what happened? How are you still alive?”

In the midst of this, Milaia wiped my face and spoke.

No, I never died in the first place…

Well, I fell into a hole, saw the Demon Lord’s castle, so even if I had died, there’s no point in thinking about it.

“Let’s talk about it later. Milaia, I’m here to rescue you. Let’s first think of a way to get out of here.”

“Alright.”

Milaia listened to my words, gripped her longsword, and stood in front of me, facing the monsters.

“Seeing Yunoa, Milaia couldn’t see anything else.

She felt something warm filling the emptiness in her heart.

She firmly resolved not to lose the one she had relied on in her heart.

After hearing the narration, I suddenly felt sorry for Milaia.

Was I really that important to her?

I hadn’t realized it at all.

If she had thought of me as important, I wish she had been the first to know when I returned from the demon realm.

If she had known, maybe she wouldn’t have come here to do something reckless and foolish for no reason.

“Hey, you guys! What are you doing there! Are you really going to fight those things?”

At that moment, Mariel, who was behind us, pointed at Milaia with her sword and shouted.

Honestly, I didn’t want to fight for my life here.

But what kind of terrain is this…?

Milaia said she had made a decision herself.

She had found a place to die fighting the monsters.

She must have chosen this treacherous terrain, where the way forward was blocked.

Moreover, the monsters that Bloodstain brought were much stronger than the ones we had seen in the Horn Canyon before.

Most daunting of all was Bloodstain himself.

As long as that demon with the skull head stood at the forefront, it seemed impossible to ignore them and break through head-on to create a path.

I had no intention of jumping into such a dangerous situation.

And now that the hero was gone.

Wait, what happens now?

Without the hero, there is no way to oppose the Demon Lord.

It was believed that the Demon Lord could never be killed without a hero.

Could it be that humanity is now doomed?

If that’s the case, it seems like I led humanity to its destruction.

Did the sword strike I sent to save Milaia trigger the butterfly effect and lead to the destruction of humanity in this world?

No way…

Let’s think about that later and first figure out how to get out of this situation.

“Mariel! Can’t you fight as a mage?”

“You! Didn’t I tell you we were looking for Mia! I didn’t expect to get caught up in such a dangerous fight!”

“There’s no way out, so what can we do!”

“Ugh… You! This is a separate matter! I’ll recharge another magic storage device later!”

Mariel raised her staff and began to chant a spell.

Still, with Mariel’s skills, wouldn’t she be much more helpful than an amateur mage adventurer?

“Sylphy! Go as far back as you can and support us!”

“Oh, okay!”

Following my instructions, Sylphy leaped back as far as possible.

She allows the enemy to approach, so her ability to handle magic is diminished.

If there’s someone aiming to attack us directly, it’s best to prioritize dealing with them first.

“Well then…”

Bloodstain glared at us, exhaling through his nose.

He really looks like someone you wouldn’t want to fight.

Seeing Milaeya effortlessly fighting against such monsters, I couldn’t help but feel impressed.

“I’ll take care of Bloodstain. Yunoa, don’t push yourself too hard.”

Milaeya took a step forward and said to me.

Her long, flowing black hair looked beautiful from behind.

Isn’t she the most reliable woman in the world when she’s on our side?

Following her words, I left Bloodstain to Milaeya and prepared to face the rest of the monsters.

Although they didn’t seem like monsters that a regular Silver-ranked adventurer could handle, I wasn’t the same as before.

I filled my Dragoonite sword with magic and envisioned various scenarios of the monsters attacking in my mind.

Swish!

In the next moment, Milaeya dashed towards Bloodstain like the wind, starting the fight once again.

Crash!

Milaeya and Bloodstain clashed weapons, creating shockwaves around them.

It was a familiar sight, one that I had seen before.

Back then, I couldn’t see what happened after the ground collapsed and we fell into a hole, but this time was different.

I wondered how effective my accumulated magic would be against these powerful monsters.

As a few skeletal knights tried to approach Milaeya, I quickly jumped in and slashed them with my sword.

The Dragoonite sword easily shattered the knights’ bones.

After dealing with them, I released the magic stored in my sword, causing the surrounding monsters to be engulfed in the energy.

While I was facing a few skeletal knights, a giant Behemoth swung its massive arm towards me.

But before the Behemoth could get close to me, it screamed in pain and covered its face with its hands.

It was hit by a long-range magical arrow launched by Silphy, piercing its eye accurately.

“Careful!”

At that moment, Marie shouted from behind.

Turning around, I saw Marie gesturing frantically, trying to convey something to me.

“Huh…?”

I was puzzled, but suddenly the ground I was standing on started to sink.

Feeling a sense of danger, I quickly moved away, and flames and lava erupted from the bulging ground, turning the area into a fiery mess.

I shuddered at the thought of being engulfed if I had been a little late.

“Marie, at least differentiate between friend and foe!”

“Well, I’m not exactly an expert in fighting!”

Despite her words, Marie’s magic was incredibly effective.

The flames and lava erupting from the ground covered a wide area, engulfing the surrounding skeletal knights and Behemoth.

Although I almost got caught up in it as well, the number of monsters noticeably decreased due to her magic.

Even Bloodstain, who was fighting Milaeya, was affected by the magic.

Flames ignited on Bloodstain’s back.

Milaeya took advantage of this and fiercely attacked Bloodstain.

After deflecting his massive axe with sheer strength, Milaeya plunged into Bloodstain’s embrace and delivered a devastating blow.

Milaeya’s strike, concentrated with pure magic and optimized through overwhelming combat experience, left a deep wound on one of Bloodstain’s arms, causing blood to spurt out.

I blocked the monsters trying to approach Silphy and Marie.

Marie continued to cast powerful area magic where the monsters were gathering.

Shilphi aimed at Behemoth’s weak point with an arrow of astonishing accuracy and penetration.

The situation seemed to be turning in our favor at first glance.

With Milaia also pushing back Bloodstain, there might be a chance for us to win the fight without needing to retreat.

But just as we were pushing back the enemies with all our might.

Bloodstain swung his axe heavily towards Milaia.

Crack! Crack!

As if burning fiercely, his axe, radiating intense red magical power, shattered the protective barrier shielding Milaia in a single blow.

With a tremendous sound, Milaia’s body was thrown back.

Though she defended with her sword, it was a different brute force from before.

“Ugh….”

Milaia groaned softly, leaning on her sword stuck in the ground.

The title of the Demon Lord’s subordinate and Lord of Blood was not just for show.

“Watch out!”

I shouted, stepping back with a foreboding feeling.

Bloodstain was preparing to leap again.

Thud!

Just like when he killed the hero, Bloodstain’s figure rose to a surprisingly high altitude.

His target was… where Mariel and Shilphi were.

Everyone here, including me, realized his intentions as we watched Bloodstain floating in the air.

“Wowowow! You! Please save us! This is!”

Mariel, with a panicked expression, stumbled on her feet, not knowing what to do.

Shilphi, with a pale face, watched as Bloodstain’s shadow loomed over them.

Almost simultaneously, Milaia and I rushed towards Mariel and Shilphi.

If that crazy bastard lands over there, it’s over.

Mariel and Shilphi, lacking combat abilities, would be gruesomely killed like heroes.

Bloodstain’s body began to descend towards Mariel and Shilphi.

He even wielded the axe, emitting red magical power that had previously blown away Milaia.

Milaia arrived in front of Mariel and Shilphi before me, taking a defensive stance to block the axe.

I also arrived immediately, forming a group of four in one place, but I had a bad feeling.

This attack cannot be blocked.

In this state, the four of us might be swept away and killed, a grim premonition flashed through my mind.

“Yunoa’s intuition was correct.

This strike, containing all of Bloodstain’s power, was not something that could be blocked by human strength.”

“What….”

Damn it, the narration proved my ominous feeling to be true.

But it was already too late to dodge.

Milaia was in a solid defensive stance with both feet firmly planted on the ground.

I had no choice but to take a defensive stance like her.

Roarrrr—

A disaster approached from the sky.

Is that… a subordinate of the Demon Lord?

Did we really try to fight against such a being?

This time, we might actually die.

With that thought, I raised my Dragonyte sword in a defensive stance.

Unconsciously, I tightly closed my eyes due to the tremendous pressure.

And then, Bloodstain’s body descended towards us like a meteor–

“….”

Huh?

There was no sound at all.

Even though Bloodstain’s massive body was supposed to be descending towards us.

When I opened my eyes, the surroundings had turned into a blue space.

And right in front of me, a small dimensional rift opened with a crackling sound.