423 Belated Regret

423.

Deciding to stay in the village might have been a bad call after all.

Reinforcements arrived way faster than I expected.

A ton of knights had the village completely surrounded. And at the front of them all was Ledo, wielding a blue sword.

“Just surrender peacefully, Hero-nim.”

The knights surrounding us were just watching as Ledo approached the villainous Hero alone. Like they didn’t think for a second that Ledo might get his ass kicked.

I’ve thought this before, but Ledo’s pretty damn confident in his skills. But even without Overdrive, I’m the Hero who took down the Demon King Epsilon himself. Can some run-of-the-mill human prince really stand up to the Hero’s power?

Taking down the head honcho would make breaking through the encirclement a whole lot easier. I gave Riel a signal with my eyes. Riel nodded and took a few steps back. If he wants a one-on-one showdown, I’m all for it.

“You seem pretty confident in your swordsmanship, Ledo. You think you can take me down all by yourself?”

“Not exactly. But if I send my subordinates in first, a lot of them are gonna die. I’m just trying to choose the path that minimizes casualties.”

“That’s not a very prince-like thing to say. If you get your ass kicked by me, your precious subordinates are gonna get a major punishment just for standing by and watching their prince get killed.”

“I intend to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

This guy, for a blonde pretty-boy prince, he’s not arrogant at all and even has a noble character. I think I even heard he was called a prodigy of swordsmanship. Is he some web novel protagonist or something?

Sorry, but I’m the protagonist of this world. I was planning on showing him the true colors of the Hero chosen by the Goddess.

I drew the Jin Abyss Sword and faced off against Ledo. His sword doesn’t look like a normal one either. It had a faint, moonlit glow to it.

Just before we got within striking distance of each other, Ledo activated a skill. It was a skill I knew all too well.

“Overdrive!”

Wings of light spread out behind the prince. The wings were as black as pitch.

I couldn’t help but be shocked.

“W-what the hell…?”

“What’s wrong, Hero-nim? I heard you use the same skill. Oh, but you said you can’t use it right now, didn’t you?”

The effects of Ledo’s Overdrive weren’t just the black wings of light. His eyes had also turned black. Black eyes with red pupils. It could look freaky, but since he’s so damn handsome, it just felt like a unique quirk.

No, no, that’s not the point. Overdrive, and black wings of light? As far as I know, that’s what happens when you borrow the power of the Black Demon King, Epsilon.

I saw it with my own two eyes. Epsilon was turned to ashes by the Goddess Eustea. So how the hell is this happening?

“Haaaat!”

But there was no time to think. A sword imbued with the power of Overdrive came crashing towards me. Ledo’s sword and the Jin Abyss Sword collided with a loud metallic clang.

‘Damn, that’s heavy!’

The basic effect of Overdrive is to enhance your stats. Yeah, it’s heavy. But it’s manageable. Even with the Overdrive boost, he doesn’t seem to be as strong as me, the Hero. I had a slight advantage in terms of strength.

Chaeng! Pachang-! Chaeaeing!

Swords clashed countless times. I bent my body in an almost acrobatic move to dodge Ledo’s sword that was aimed at my chest. In that moment, an opening appeared! But Ledo dodged my sharp counterattack by leaping into the air. The surrounding knights were watching our duel in a daze.

I was stronger, but we were evenly matched in speed, and Ledo seemed to have the edge in technique. Even though he borrowed the power of a great being with Overdrive, the fact that he’s this close to the Hero’s power is honestly surprising.

Should I have secretly gotten a buff from Riel? I thought about it for a second, but that would be cheating. Besides, I’m actually at an advantage in this situation.

Overdrive doesn’t last forever. If I can just keep this up until the duration ends, I can easily win.

But I was overlooking something. The effect of Overdrive isn’t just stat enhancement.

‘What the hell? Why do I feel like I’m… getting heavier…’

Am I tired? No, there’s no way I’d be tired from moving my body this much. I still had plenty of HP left. But I was actually getting pushed back by Ledo’s attacks.

“Kuh…!”

Ledo’s sword grazed my side. The Sacred Armor’s defense prevented a fatal wound, but blood flowed from where the sword had passed. I heard Riel’s voice, full of worry.

“Hero-nim!”

Riel had already manifested four wings of red light. If I had Riel’s buff, I could turn this situation around. But at that moment, Ledo instantly appeared in front of me. At the same time, his black wings of light completely pierced my body.

“A-ah… R-Riel… run away…”

I was careless. I shouldn’t have been doing a one-on-one duel. The moment the encirclement was formed, I should have run away with Riel with everything I had. But now it’s just a belated regret.

My consciousness was fading.

=======================================

“Calm down a bit. So, your name is… Riel, was it?”

Riel, fully manifested in his demonic form, was glaring at Ledo with a truly ferocious look. He was filled with a murderous intent that made it seem like he would tear him limb from limb at any moment.

The only reason he couldn’t was because Ledo had a sword to the Hero Elena’s neck.

“Let Hero-nim go right now, Prince-nim. If you don’t… you and your subordinates won’t be safe. Absolutely.”

The tone itself was the same as Riel’s usual tone, but it was filled with the cold-bloodedness unique to demons. He had the ability and the will to do it. Ledo felt a chill for a moment.

But he’s still inexperienced. Every time he put the sword to the Hero’s neck, the demon-like nun showed a serious agitation. It was the furthest thing from a demon’s ruthlessness.

Riel kept repeating the same thought in his mind.

‘IshouldhaveprotectedHero-nIshouldhaveprotectedHero-nIshouldhaveprotectedHero-nIshouldhaveprotectedHero-nIshouldhaveprotectedHero-nIshouldhaveprotectedHero-nIshouldhave…’

With no comrades around, it was Riel’s job to protect the Hero. Why didn’t I stop Hero-nim? Why didn’t I join in sooner? Riel had too much faith in the power of the Hero Elena, who had practically defeated even the Demon King in a 1:1 fight.

Riel was blaming himself and fearing at the same time. He might really lose Hero-nim. The thought of losing his beloved Hero-nim made him feel like the world was collapsing.

If that happens… everything alive in this country…

Seeing Riel in such a precarious mental state, Ledo deactivated Overdrive. His ominous black eyes returned to their kind blue color, and Ledo said to Riel.

“Will you come with me? If you cooperate peacefully, I guarantee the Hero-nim’s life.”

Riel stared at Ledo in silence for a while. The Hero’s life was Riel’s top priority. Even if it meant he himself was falling into a trap.

“Okay, Ledo. Keep your promise.”

Even after returning to his human form, the murderous intent hadn’t left Riel’s eyes.

=======================================

Splat-!

“Hiiiieueut!”

A sharp pain was etched into my butt. W-what the hell? I was in a duel with Ledo…

Splaat-!

A second pain. This pain that felt like it was tearing my skin was probably from a whip. I came to my senses and turned my head, and sure enough, there was a huge man holding a whip.

“What are you doing! Get out there already!”

“Uh, e-eh, wh-what…”

Splaat-!

“Get out there now!”

Driven by the pain, I hurriedly ran forward. Into a wide open space covered with white sand. Around me, a lot of people were looking down at this place from high seats. It was like, like a colosseum…

As soon as I appeared, the cheers of the people shook the sand. In my hands, I held a crude sword and shield that looked like they were made like shit.

“Gyaooooooo!”

And in front of me was a giant chimera. A monster with the heads of a lion and a goat, the wings of an eagle, and a black snake for a tail.

I don’t know what’s going on, but it looks like I have to fight to survive. I gripped the sword in my hand tightly.