Ch.17Hero Esmeralda (6)

Hero Esmeralda (7)

It was Esmeralda’s decisive counterattack through environmental and information control.

Her opponent was momentarily blinded after being unexpectedly hit by the magic Esmeralda used.

Yes, despite aiming for such a perfect timing…

“Kugh?!”

She was forced to roll on the ground, spitting blood from Eleven’s counterattack.

It had definitely worked. Not only blinding him but also the thrust.

Esmeralda must have surely pierced through Eleven’s opening.

But there was something Esmeralda had overlooked.

“Good attempt, but do you think you’re the only one who can do such things!”

It was the fact that her opponent could also sacrifice flesh and bone.

Eleven avoided Esmeralda’s sword with minimal movement and cut her down.

As a result, she had lacerations all over her body—arms, nape, thighs.

The most surprising thing was that he still had his eyes wide open.

He didn’t care that he was blind. He chose the best course of action despite ignoring the pain of his burning eyes.

Even now, bloody tears flowed from his wide-open eyes, showing that he had stepped forward without fearing injury.

‘This madman… He shows absolutely no carelessness even against a weaker opponent?’

Esmeralda trembled.

He was someone who didn’t need to do that. The skill gap was such that he could win eight or nine times out of ten by fighting normally.

What Esmeralda deployed to defeat such an opponent was the way of the weak.

That’s what gave it meaning.

But when the opponent came down to fight in the same way, only the pure difference in skill and power remained.

Yes, the opponent was a monster.

One who would literally use any means necessary for victory.

For him, injuries weren’t painful, and scars weren’t humiliating.

‘So this is a Demon Lord’s Army Commander…’

There was no element that could lead to victory.

Esmeralda gritted her teeth.

She wasn’t the only one risking her life. Esmeralda reminded herself of this obvious truth on the battlefield.

The opponent didn’t become arrogant—a lion giving its all even against a rabbit.

There was no chance of winning.

“Huff…!”

Nevertheless, she raised her sword.

She probably wouldn’t make it back alive. But at the very least, she needed to leave an indelible scar on her opponent.

That was the gift that she, as a person, could leave in this world.

“Haaaaaaap!”

Esmeralda charged again.

She no longer bothered with defense. She just tried to inflict as many wounds on her opponent as possible.

Sword clashed against sword, and sparks flew in the dark forest.

Having read Esmeralda’s thoughts, Eleven blocked her with all his might.

An unreasonable resolve.

He had noticed that Esmeralda’s purpose was to create a fatal wound at the cost of her life, so he had completely switched to defense.

The disadvantaged side attacking and the overwhelmingly advantaged side defending.

What created such a strange situation was none other than Esmeralda’s resolve.

Perhaps because of that? Esmeralda’s resolve brought about an unexpected result.

“Kuk?!”

Thud!

Another person rushed at Eleven from the dark forest and stabbed a dagger into his waist.

‘Is this Lug…?’

The movement was truly unremarkable.

Nevertheless, Eleven couldn’t hide his bewilderment at not having detected it until just before being stabbed.

‘According to the reports, he should have been a mage. The location and method of stabbing are both sloppy. That’s for sure.’

But how did he stab him?

How could he not even sense his presence until just before being stabbed?

His movements were ordinary. The surroundings were filled with leaves, mud, and knee-high grass that would make noise just by stepping on them.

Eleven felt fear at Lug’s movements that defied all logic.

There was no killing intent. Even at this moment when he had stabbed his waist, the opponent had no intention of killing him.

However, the dagger stabbed into his waist definitely had the force to kill a person.

“Where do you think—!”

“Kugh!”

But it was only momentary confusion.

Eleven pushed away Lug, who had stabbed a dagger into his waist, and then swung his sword to cut him down.

Seeing Lug rolling on the ground, spraying blood in an instant, Esmeralda bit her lip.

‘What the hell is that idiot doing?!’

She wasn’t sure if he had suddenly developed camaraderie or came to help.

If he was a mage, he should have used magic from a distance like a proper mage, not rush in to die like a dog.

Could he still be immersed in his role as a porter?

In a situation where his life was clearly at stake?

Esmeralda felt no gratitude whatsoever as she charged in.

If Lug died here, her own actions would lose meaning.

It would truly be a meaningless death.

“The more unfavorable the situation, the more careful one should be not to become impatient. This should be a basic principle.”

At that moment, with Eleven’s cold voice, the tip of his sword reached right in front of Esmeralda’s eyes.

“But that basic principle is harder than one might think.”

Forcibly twisting her body from her charging posture, Esmeralda barely managed to have the sword graze her cheek, but at the cost of greatly losing her balance.

“Farewell.”

Yes, that’s why she couldn’t avoid it.

Eleven’s sword, flowing elegantly and precisely, cut deeply across the center of Esmeralda’s body.

Esmeralda, who had somehow endured until now, couldn’t withstand that single blow and collapsed like a crumbling structure.

‘Ah, truly a dog’s death…’

She had lost too much blood.

Even with just the wounds she had suffered before, Esmeralda was practically spraying blood as she moved.

But with that last blow, she spilled so much blood at once that her vision became distant.

There was no way she could move. No, the opponent could watch Esmeralda die without even touching her.

“Kugh…! Kuuugh!”

Crack!

Esmeralda tried somehow to raise her body, grabbing anything she could reach around her.

Grass and rocks were pulled out, and trees were crushed as Esmeralda tried desperately to stand up, but her knees cruelly refused to rise from the ground.

“Ah, damn it.”

Esmeralda finally admitted it.

That this was the end for her.

“Huh?”

As she thought that and raised her head to glare at Eleven, something strange appeared at the edge of Esmeralda’s vision.

[Blue Blood Lv. 1] → [Blue Blood Lv. 2]

It was the moment when Lug’s mysterious trait, which she had been trying to uncover, rose one level.

And it was also the moment when the value of just one trait was revealed.

“Haha, everyone’s cheating, so how am I supposed to be a hero?”

[Name: Lug]

.

.

.

[Total Estimated Level: Lv. 542]

***

When I opened my eyes, I was in an unusually detached state.

When I belatedly woke up, what I saw was a sky bright with moonlight.

The cool sensation remaining on my nape and the sticky blood.

I could easily recall that someone had tried to kill me.

So who could it be?

Could it be that the hero had figured out my identity and tried to kill me?

For a moment such thoughts crossed my mind, but judging from the lingering wound, I could sense the unique sinister mana characteristic of demons.

“So, they decided to eliminate me after all?”

Just as I had initially thought.

The assumption that they would give up on rescuing me.

That became reality. No, it became more than I had imagined.

It seems the Demon Lord’s Army sent an assassin to kill me, perhaps thinking I might betray them and sell their information.

Well, there’s no reason for them to put in so much effort to save a mere lieutenant.

I didn’t feel resentful.

I just looked at myself from the perspective of an external observer watching the results.

At this moment, the standard within me tilted from the demon side to the human side.

I could feel the invisible weight on the scale moving.

“First, let’s find the hero.”

I didn’t need to go far.

The noise of intense battle could be heard even from here.

It seems the demon sent to kill me was quite strong.

It would have been better if they had used such force to rescue me, but it’s just a matter of which side would bear the burden that is me.

If the Demon Lord’s Army had tried to save me, I would have become their burden.

But if they swung their sword to kill me without warning, then conversely, I would become the hero’s burden.

Yes, I am the burden itself.

Whatever happens, if I am to survive, the hero must win.

I wouldn’t be able to defeat an opponent she couldn’t beat.

It’s better to support the hero’s side.

With such thoughts, I walked.

My mind was unusually calm. It felt like I wasn’t myself.

“Haaaaaaap!”

And finally, I found the two people.

It was the first time I had seen Esmeralda so injured.

With a sense of heaviness in one corner of my heart, I identified the being pushing the hero back.

And the moment my gaze fell on his sword.

“……”

I completely lost control of my existence.

Even though it was my body, it felt different from the sensation of me moving.

I watched myself approaching with calm steps from a detached position. Having discarded black magic somewhere, I moved with just a single dagger in hand.

“Kuk?!”

But surprisingly, my attack reached the opponent.

Despite being crude and simply approaching to stab, the opponent didn’t notice until just before being stabbed.

And right after that.

I was cut down by the opponent’s swinging sword, as if I had been waiting for it.

As consciousness began to fade at the end.

I felt something congealed on the opponent’s sword seeping into me.

***

Though the flesh is vile.

And the soul has lost its dignity.

So many killings make me recall my existence like this.

As the world is overwhelmed with greed, anger, and ignorance.

“Your sword has swallowed the karma of so many that it has called me into this world.”

Blue Blood

Six Realms Manifestation – Hell Realm

[Eight Hot Hells: Sword Wheel Hell]