Chapter 64 : Worst Warrior (3)

Hyde.

He was, truthfully, far from fitting the title of a hero.

While he didn’t feel joy in killing people, he had no hesitation when it came to taking lives.

In honesty, his personality suited an assassin or murderer more than a hero.

Despite this, the reason he stood alongside the other heroes was that he used his power for the right cause.

He handled the tasks that light could not resolve, doing it all with his own hands.

This earned him scorn from his companions, and he even came close to losing his title as a hero.

However, there was one person who always believed in him and defended him.

At the time, she had no significant power compared to the other heroes.

At most, she had some divine energy.

But she possessed an inexplicable force that allowed her to lead the strongest heroes of the time.

Even Hyde, before he knew it, began to follow her.

It wasn’t brainwashing or deception.

Initially, Hyde thought she was nothing more than a naïve idealist.

A powerless dreamer with nothing but ideals.

“Hypocrite.”

“Or maybe her head is truly in the clouds.”

Yet, as they spent time together, entangled in each other’s struggles, he found himself drawn to her foolish ideals.

Before long, he thought, “Perhaps a world like that wouldn’t be so bad.”

And the result of that sentiment was his current state.

Not quite human.

But not a zombie either.

Something caught between.

Yet, he had no regrets.

Even in this form, as a wandering spirit, even if denied peace, he vowed to endure all pain for the kingdom they built together.

However, Hyde hadn’t anticipated one thing—an unimaginable monster standing before him now.

In that final moment, his dagger had certainly reached her neck.

But as it made contact, instead of the familiar sound of flesh being cut, he heard the clang of steel repelling his blade.

Simultaneously, searing flames erupted, surrounding her as if to shield her.

Forced to retreat, Hyde was astounded.

She looked human, but her skin was tougher than that of a wyvern.

“What was that speed just now? Damn.”

But Hyde wasn’t the only one shocked.

In that fleeting moment, Wolfgang felt chills for the first time since the Winter War.

Other than her encounters with the Wendigo and the Winter King, Wolfgang had never lost in a battle of speed.

Yet now, despite her carelessness, her opponent had effortlessly taken her by surprise.

Had his attack succeeded, she might already be on a one-way ferry to the afterlife.

Realizing this, Wolfgang immediately raised her hand.

Her opponent had tried to kill her.

Moreover, he was overwhelmingly powerful.

There was no reason to hold back.

At that moment, Wolfgang tore off her eyepatch.

Her golden eyes began to emit a brilliant, sun-like radiance.

In an instant, a massive burst of flames erupted around her.

These weren’t ordinary flames.

Initially blue, the flames shifted to a violet hue before finally transforming into a golden blaze, matching the color of her eyes.

The golden flames.

As Hyde faced the flames, he felt an ominous sense of dread.

None of the countless monsters he’d fought posed as much danger as Wolfgang’s fire.

“A frontal clash would be suicide.”

The oppressive presence was something he’d only felt from the Demon King.

Though she wasn’t stronger than the Demon King, she wasn’t an opponent he could afford to face with restraint.

As Hyde resolved to fight with all his strength, he noticed something amiss.

His right arm refused to move.

No, more accurately, something felt missing.

When he turned his head instinctively, his expression froze.

The lower part of his right arm, once holding his dagger, was completely gone.

Severed?

No, that wasn’t it.

The cut surface was strange.

It was as if his skin and flesh had melted like wax, leaving no blood behind.

Taking a deep breath, Hyde muttered, “The forsaken saint has returned as a monster.”

“Has she grown stronger to exact revenge on the kingdom that abandoned her?”

While this cynical judgment wasn’t entirely wrong from an outsider’s perspective, it wasn’t true for Wolfgang.

She viewed herself and Lana Frost as two completely different people.

While she could sympathize with Lana Frost’s experiences, she didn’t see them as her own.

The reason Wolfgang came to the kingdom was simple—she sought a peaceful retirement.

And now, she thought her decision had been a stroke of genius.

“That speed alone was threatening. Even I had to unleash my seal to counter it. If my subordinates had faced him instead…”

“…They might have died.”

Moreover, Wolfgang had specifically aimed for Hyde’s right hand and the purple dagger it held.

Heroes were equipped with weapons known as “sacred swords.”

These sacred swords, created through the goddess’s blessing, were said to be the most powerful artifacts.

Having studied numerous records and legends, Wolfgang understood the heroes’ strengths.

Recognizing Hyde’s sacred sword, she had targeted his right hand first.

Wolfgang wasn’t the type to watch passively while her opponent unleashed their full power.

She preferred to kill them before that could happen.

If asked why she didn’t aim for his head instead, the answer was simple.

In her current unleashed state, Wolfgang’s power was difficult even for her to control.

“The speed is too much for me to handle. It’s only been a minute, and my fingers and toes are already starting to ache.”

Her flames grew hotter the more monsters they consumed.

Initially, she welcomed this trait, using it to kill Wendigos and burn through hordes of them.

But after killing the Winter King, the leader of the Wendigos, her power began to spiral out of control.

She thought time would resolve it, but things only worsened.

Her strength grew to a level she could barely contain.

“It’s astonishingly powerful but dangerously unstable. If he fully mastered that power, he’d have taken my head with ease.”

Hyde, realizing her instability, quickly revised his plan.

If he could prolong the fight, she might self-destruct.

Fortunately, Hyde wasn’t just fast.

He’d faced countless dire situations and clawed his way to victory each time.

And now, the hall they were in was highly advantageous to him.

This space responded to the will of the hero.

While he couldn’t create something from nothing, he could manipulate the environment to his advantage.

Hyde didn’t waste this edge.

Wolfgang noticed the shift.

The space around her rippled and transformed into a hall of mirrors.

Each mirror reflected Hyde’s image.

Unlike ordinary reflections, these mirrors were imbued with powerful magic.

[“It’s best not to touch them. These are mirrors of vengeance—destroying one will inflict damage upon you.”]

“So, if I break one, I take the damage myself?”

[“Exactly. This isn’t a heroic way to win, but… you must die here.”]

Had she been there, she would have stopped me, Hyde thought.

But Hyde saw Wolfgang as a monstrous harbinger of destruction, and for the kingdom’s sake, she had to be stopped here.

Yet, in that moment, Hyde doubted his eyes.

Despite being cornered, she smiled.

“You know nothing of the hell I’ve endured.”

[“What nonsense are you…”]

“Let me show you what true hell looks like.”

As if to prove her words, the golden flames surrounding her formed a blazing sphere.

The sphere swelled and swept through the space like a tidal wave.

“Infernal Hell.”

Muspelheim.