episode_0071

I grabbed Natasha’s hand, grabbed my bag, and started running toward the door.

Natasha and Scotty? I’m sorry, but it’s time to say goodbye.

“Chase that bastard!”

A shout came from behind, accompanied by a whistle-blowing sound.

It looks like they’ve roughly assessed the situation…

“Nacha, take this.”

I ran over and handed Natcha my bag. It contained the horn that summoned the ghost ship we were looking for, along with a couple more expensive-looking items.

“Take that, eek!”

Hyunho cut off his explanation and rolled to the side. Then something flew from behind him at high speed and pierced the floor where Hyunho was standing.

Thud-thud-

The woman who appeared, smashing the floor with her hands, was Scotty. She was on all fours, and stood up, pulling her hands out of the cracked floor.

Scotty’s attack was fierce, but his eyes were not. He was looking at me with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry. My boss is watching me from behind.”

Scotty doesn’t have much money like Natasha. I heard he spends everything he earns, unless he saves it. It would be difficult if he got fired from his only job.

I motioned for Natcha to go first. The important thing was Natcha and her bag, after all.

“No, do your job. Come with all your might.”

“I’m always full of energy!”

Well, that’s probably why he gambles every day. Does this kid even know the concept of preparing for retirement? A bitter smile formed on his lips.

Scotty prepared to attack with all his might, as was his nature. He kicked the ground, came straight at me, and swung his arms. That was all.

However, it cannot be ignored. If you block it halfway, it will be powerful enough to tear your flesh with the claws. I felt it when I first blocked the kick in the back alley, but it is a tremendous force. Most people would be too busy avoiding it without even thinking about fighting it.

But there’s no time right now. It’s a virtue to finish quickly even if there’s a chance of getting hurt a little.

With that in mind, I reached out to Scotty’s path.

‘It’s spilling.’

Boo-

Scotty’s arm went straight and then bent into an L shape. This happened the moment his fist touched Hyunho’s hand.

Scotty’s fist, which had been moving forward, was planted in the ground, and his body’s balance naturally shifted forward.

It’s only natural. I threw myself into it with all my might, but it’s not easy to change things in the middle.

Hyunho raised his empty hand and made a gesture, then slammed it down. It was aimed at the back of Scotty’s neck. He intended to knock him out.

“Aaak…!”

Because of her uselessly strong body, she didn’t faint. She just fell face first into the floor.

She looked at me with tearful eyes, as if she was quite sick. I looked away. I thought it would be okay…

She looked at me with resentful eyes and glanced in the direction she had come from.

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

dump-

A somewhat contrived scene. But it was great. I threw Scotty a couple of chips as a reward for her performance. She seemed satisfied, too, and quietly gave me a thumbs up.

The surrounding area is somewhat broken and shows signs of fighting, so there won’t be any talk about completing the mission later. Just in case, take the tips I gave you.

Beep beep beep!

A whistle could be heard beyond the dust. There seemed to be quite a large number of troops. The rest of the guards, excluding Scotty. There must also be some demons mixed in, trying to capture me under Helia’s orders.

Actually, fireballs, arrows, and ice chunks started flying from that side. It’s hard to win against that many people. Here… a strategic retreat would be better.

“Block the door! Don’t let him go down!”

I’m sorry, but I have no intention of running away through the door.

Hyunho ran, stepping on the tables, curling up into a ball and running straight towards the window. Emergency escape!

Clang!

“He fell!”

“No, look over there! There’s a guy flying!”

What the guards saw were white wings. As Hyunho fell, he spread his wings and began to glide.

The pedestrians who had missed the criminal right in front of their eyes looked at the broken window with a look of despair.

“Senior, how do I hold that? Should I shoot a bow?”

“There’s nothing we can do. Bring me the report. And if someone else gets hit by the arrow, will you take responsibility?”

The guards chasing Hyunho were mostly water-type monsters. The rest of the demons also had attributes that were almost biased toward succubi, so there were almost no demons related to flight that could catch Hyunho. The wings of a succubus were more for fetishistic purposes than functional purposes.

“Get out of the way.”

Except for Helia. She was much more comfortable with flying than Hyunho.

She stepped on the window sill with strength in her legs. In an air battle, the one who is higher has the advantage. She soared high enough to touch the city sky, the crystal ceiling.

It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time. It might have been the first time since the war. When I think about the reason for this experience, it wasn’t a good one. I didn’t expect to be betrayed.

‘Sometimes, instead of just staying in the room, I should try flying.’

She quickly approached Hyunho and took a moment to collect her thoughts.

Judging from the way it glides, it’s clearly a beginner. Looking at the white wings it has, it looks like an angel… but that’s not possible.

At first I thought it was a doll, but I heard from my colleague that the flying module is still unfinished. So what on earth is it?

‘I don’t know.’

The same thought that Hyunho had when he hit Helia on the head. Come to think of it, she wasn’t the type to think with her head either.

“Hooo–”

Since she has two wings, it wouldn’t matter if she only had one. She took a deep breath and exhaled it with magical power.

With a “Phuhu” sound, flames poured out of her mouth.

Screams began to be heard from below.

“Eww! Helia is crazy!”

“Everyone run away!”

The ground was in chaos. Some people were rolling around with their heads on fire, while others were frustrated because their stores were burning down.

Of course, Helia didn’t really care about that.

“Ugh, eek! Ah! ”

Hyunho showed off his acrobatics in the air, twisting his body this way and that.

If it was a sword or an arrow, you could just strike it with your hand. For a pure fireball, the only answer was to dodge it.

‘At a time like this, if only I had a sword…!’

Suddenly, I felt sorry for the sword I had left behind in the last fight. No, if only I had something in my hand that I could swing…

“Kkw-!”

I felt a burning pain on my back. The fireball that Helia had shot had hit me.

Helia didn’t miss my stumble. As soon as I lost my balance, she immediately swooped down and grabbed me by the neck.

“Sleep, crazy…!”

If we continue like this, we’ll both end up crashing to the ground. I looked at her with eyes that asked if she was crazy.

Indifferent eyes. Looking into her eyes, I understood. It was a crazy idea that she would rather fall straight down than bother fighting.

It was an action that came from the confidence that he would never get hurt.

“Let go, you-”

I swung my fist and hit Helia in the face. Her expression didn’t change, she just accelerated once more.

The fall was very quick. I thought it was definitely a long way to the ground, but it wasn’t.

Kwajik-

Then I lost consciousness with a cracking sound coming from my back.

***

When I woke up again, I was in a strange and suspicious place.

Away from the unfamiliar ceiling, the familiar ceiling, everything was white. It felt like there was no sky or floor.

No, it wasn’t that there was nothing. Two closed doors. And the sword I just said I’d like. The sword that Meihen claimed was the Holy Sword was lying on the table.

‘The body… is fine.’

There’s no way he’d be okay if he was hit from that height.

Then I thought, “Resurrection?” But that can’t be. Isn’t the respawn location the crystal that Lina has?

Click-

Just as I was thinking about where to respawn, two doors opened before my eyes.

Beyond the door on the right, a familiar sight appeared. Our castle, now our home, with the crystal I just mentioned.

And on the other side, the view was not very clear. It showed Helia’s back. She was walking, dragging someone’s ankle.

…That’s probably me. I think I was captured by Helia and dragged away. Showing that is to ask you to choose one here.

There wasn’t anything like this before, so why did it suddenly appear? I wonder if it’s meant to tell you to decide for yourself whether or not you’re incapable of fighting.

Anyway, it’s good that we have a choice.

Right now, there’s nothing you can do about Helia, but later…

‘Wait a minute, is there really nothing I can do?’

Hyunho looked at the sword on the table and became lost in thought.

It’s a fist, I’m still inexperienced, but… what about the sword? Can it pierce those scales?

***

Helia caught a human boy who was causing a ruckus in her building. At first, she thought it was a doll… but she ripped off its left arm to check. It’s not like she’d be confused since she’s eaten so many things in the past.

“A human with angel wings… What is that Demon King doing again?”

Whatever it was, it probably had nothing to do with him. The underground city was always an exception. The Four Heavenly Kings also received their status during the war. They were simply listed in name only.

I don’t like complicated things. Even if something happens and I have to deal with it, I can handle it easily. Helia has always lived like that.

Helia, who was walking happily, suddenly felt a cool feeling on the back of her neck.

A feeling that something sharp was approaching. It was purely instinctive, but it had never been wrong before.

Helia strained her neck and grabbed the object that was poking her. It felt familiar. It was a sharp sword.

Her arms swung as she realized she had been attacked from behind.

Phuong-

It was like a firecracker exploding. The hand was swung around, and there was nothing left above Hyunho’s shoulder.

The body of the boy who had lost his head was stabbing Helia while holding the sword handle with both hands.

Maybe he couldn’t dodge because his leg was caught. Or maybe he tried it because he didn’t care if he died.

Helia gently felt the scales on the neck. The part where the tip of the sword had been stuck was partially cut off.

It was a pain I hadn’t felt in a long time. It wasn’t bad. No, it was actually good. I felt the same sensation I had felt during the war, even if only for a moment.

What was really disappointing was that my body reacted on its own and crushed the boy’s head. It would have been better if I had been hit by the sword a little more.

But there’s nothing we can do about it since it’s already dead. If we stuff it and hang it on the wall, it will become a memory later.

The moment she approached him to keep it, the boy who had pointed the sword at her disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only the bunny girl costume she was wearing.

“Oh…”

Maybe he’s not dead. Helia thought so. The world of the spellcasters is strange. Since there were no corpses left, it was a possible story.

Come to think of it, weren’t both arms gone just now? I’m sure the left arm was torn off.

Helia thought that if she ever encountered it again, she would definitely catch it and keep it from dying.