272 Hope’s Warrior

272.

Why does Blade hate me?

“Why do you hate me?”

“I told you before. Because you’re my parents’ enemy.”

My parents’ enemy… I’ve heard that before. I forgot it quickly because it was so out of the blue.

Of course. I didn’t do anything like that. Killing someone? I’ve never done anything so terrible.

Sure, I caught a ton of monsters, but there’s no way an elf’s parents would be monsters.

My face, insisting on my innocence, seems to have upset Blade. Blade’s eyes had become even sharper.

“You have a face that says you don’t know anything. Hero-nim.”

“Aren’t you mistaking me for someone else? I really didn’t do anything like that.”

“Haa…”

Blade sighed briefly. His gaze turned to the distant sky for a moment before returning to me.

“You don’t remember…? Even after causing an entire village to be wiped out?”

What the hell is this now? Village annihilation? The scale of the evil deed is getting bigger?

Of course, I’ve never done anything that scary.

…Or have I?

Suddenly, I remembered what happened not long after I came to this world.

The memory of destroying a village by spamming lightning magic…

No, but even in Ropa Village, it wasn’t a total annihilation. It was self-defense in the first place. They were the ones who messed with me first.

Blade spoke, watching my eyes dart back and forth.

“If you really don’t know, I’ll tell you. It was four years ago.”

And so, Blade began to tell the story.

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“Huff, huff, huff, huff…!”

Running as if rolling through the rain-soaked mud is a young-looking elf. Desperation could be felt in her running. Even when one shoe came off and muddy water got into her scraped knees, she didn’t stop running.

The elf was desperately running while constantly looking back. A group of mixed monsters-orcs, goblins, zombies-were chasing after her.

‘J-Just a little further…!’

Just over one more mountain and there’s a human village. The elf’s attitude toward humans wasn’t usually very friendly, but now was not the time to worry about such things.

She needed help now. Really desperately.

The village in the forest where she lived was attacked by monsters. All kinds of monsters mixed together, from small goblins to giant ogres.

It was a peaceful village with hardly anyone accustomed to fighting. There was no way to win by fighting. The best thing to do was to quickly evacuate to the sacred pond inside.

Of course, there were elves who didn’t hide in time. They were, of course, caught by the monsters and…

A protective barrier that prevented monsters from approaching was spread around the sacred pond. It was fortunate that a wise elder who could activate the old barrier was still alive.

The approaching monsters turned black and disappeared. The monsters surrounded the protective barrier and just watched.

But their relief was only temporary. Soon, the monsters recklessly rushed toward the barrier, not even considering their own lives.

Normally, for a monster, no, for any living thing, there is nothing more important than its own survival. But the monsters seemed to be controlled by something that transcended that instinct for survival.

The power of the barrier is not infinite either. It couldn’t handle the monsters that kept coming.

Someone had to leave the barrier to ask for help. After a life-threatening escape, all the young elves who attempted to escape together were caught. She was the only one who could escape this far. She was carrying the fate of the village alone.

Until now, monsters occasionally appeared around the forest village, but they were not a major threat. But the monsters that invaded the village now were launching an organized offensive like an army. On top of that, they were even launching suicide attacks, disregarding their own lives.

The Demon King’s army. She couldn’t help but recall the name that had been passed down only in legends. She couldn’t help but accept the unbelievable rumor that the Demon King had been resurrected as a fact now.

Will the humans believe this story? But she had no choice but to hope that they would somehow believe it.

As she was running according to her habit, she almost collided with a huge rock that suddenly appeared in front of her. It was a rock that completely blocked the narrow path.

“Wh-Why… is there a rock like this…”

This rock wasn’t originally in this place. She had been on this road several times before. There was no such rock until recently.

‘Landslide? No, could it be… they predicted that I would escape this way…?’

Monsters were still swarming after her. Blocking the escape route in advance is not something that lower-level monsters could do with their intelligence.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was despairing. The rock in front of her began to move. It rose from its place on its own and took on the crude form of a human.

“Ggrrr… ggrrrgrrrgrrr.”

“G-Golem…!”

A monster with a body made of rock. It was a powerful monster that could not be compared to the lower-level monsters chasing after her.

The golem raised its huge arm. Behind it was a legion of monsters. There was no corner to escape to. She pulled out a crooked sword from her waist. But she knew that it was impossible with her skills.

The golem’s fist struck the wet ground. She barely managed to avoid it, but the elf lost her balance from the impact.

“Kuh…!”

The monsters chasing after her were also getting closer. The elf recalled the images of the villagers who had been caught by the monsters.

The monsters deliberately brought them to the front of the protective barrier and violated them. It was unclear whether it was to shake their hearts and weaken the barrier, or whether they were simply enjoying it.

Among them was an elf whom she trusted and followed like an older sister. She could never forget the look in her eyes as she looked towards the village, as if begging to be killed after being horribly violated all over her body.

It might be better to face her end at the hands of the golem than to suffer the same fate. As she thought that, her fallen body began to tremble uncontrollably.

‘I’m sorry, Mom, Dad… everyone in the village…’

The moment she gave up and tried to accept her end, a miracle happened. A silver flash split the golem’s body.

“Ggrrr, ggrr…!”

The flash split the golem’s rock body too easily. First the two arms, and finally the head with the red single eye.

“Are you okay? Elf agassi.”

The identity of the flash was a dazzlingly beautiful swordswoman. The sword in her hand was shining like a flash in the moonlight.

“Y-Yes… Wh-Who are you?”

The elf took the hand offered by the swordswoman and stood up. She was even more beautiful up close. She was wearing a gentle smile, perhaps to reassure the elf.

But that was only for a moment, as the monsters chasing after the elf soon rushed in.

“Keureu, keureureu!”

The swordswoman shielded the elf with her back and faced the monsters. She didn’t feel any fear even while facing so many monsters.

“Whirlwind Slash!”

The silver flash tears the monsters apart again. The way she wields her sword as if dancing even in the rainy darkness was shaking the elf’s heart.

The elf was not great, but she had some aptitude for the sword. That’s why she could tell. The swordswoman’s skill was at a level that was impossible to fathom.

The monsters that came in droves were quickly taken care of. Without losing a single breath, the swordswoman approached the elf.

“I am the Hero, Hero Elena-yo. What happened?”

“H-Hero-nim…!”

When the Demon King is resurrected, a hero is also born to defeat him. That was also an old legend. But just as the resurrection of the Demon King was treated as a rumor, so was the Hero.

It was as if a ray of light had shone into the elf’s heart, which had been struggling in despair until just now. Her godlike swordsmanship, and her dignified and beautiful appearance.

She couldn’t help but believe the words that she was the Hero, which would normally have sounded absurd. The elf felt like her heart was about to burst.

But this was not the time to be caught up in emotion. Even now, the village was in a precarious state. The elf pleaded with the Hero.

“H-Hero-nim…! Please save us, our village…! D-Due to a monster attack… sob, wahh…”

Perhaps it was because the tension suddenly broke. The elf couldn’t control the tears that were welling up. The Hero’s hand stroked the elf’s head.

“The Demon King’s army is already this far… Don’t worry. Now I, the Hero, have arrived.”

The Hero’s hand may have contained a mysterious power. When the Hero’s hand touched her, the elf really felt like all her anxiety was being washed away.

“Lead me there right now. So… Ah, what’s your name?”

“I’m Blade, Blade-yo…!”

With a voice trying to hold back her sobs, Blade revealed her name to the Hero. Hero Elena responded with a dazzling smile.

According to legend, the Hero is a being who brings the light of hope to people’s hearts.

That was definitely true. Blade could sincerely believe that.