episode_0045

“···It’s quite heavy.”

A young man with impressive blonde hair was walking inside the dungeon.

In a space with a gloomy atmosphere due to sparse light sources, the young man decided to return.

Not enough food, potions running out, and a sword slowly losing its teeth.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t hold on any longer.

Considering the time it took to return, I had to return slowly.

What is more important than anything else is your own safety.

Rattling.

If it weren’t for the skeletons that reappeared when the young man turned his back, he would have gone right back.

“Haa… I wonder how many times this has happened. I’m starting to get sick of it.”

The young man sighed.

It’s already been ten days since I entered this dungeon.

It took a lot of effort to deal with those skeletons that would come back even if you killed them.

“It’s clear that there is something here, but… Sheesh, the supply is low.”

Skeletons are no match for me.

There is no way that a being who is praised by everyone as a hero would have trouble with skeletons.

But this is not the case with consumables.

I came in thinking it would be resolved quickly, so I brought only a cheap sword and some suitable groceries.

The client was wrong when he said that he would return in two days at most, no matter how big the dungeon was.

What is two days?

Let alone two days, it is already ten days.

I would understand if we were wandering around the same place.

Even though signs are continuously engraved at every passing place, they are not visible.

I looked back just in case, but there was a mark in the exact same place as I remembered.

…It wasn’t that we were repeating the same place, the dungeon was just so big.

That client, when I return, I will make you pay.

How dare you give false information to the hero.

These days, everyone doesn’t respect the warrior.

what? A new hero appears?

It’s obvious that those are fake rumors.

The same goes for the red-haired woman who confronted me, and why don’t you respect the warrior like this?

Come to think of it, that bitch.

He was wearing clothes symbolizing a warrior.

I didn’t think it was a disadvantageous situation at the time, but it was certain.

Because it was similar to the leather armor I was wearing.

…Well, it’s probably an impersonation.

It’s not every day or two that fans of warriors find similar clothes and wear them.

The young man, Gainis, gave up his thoughts.

Because now is not the time to think about the shameful people who do not respect the hero.

To prevent the charging skeleton from getting up any further, I turned my arms and legs into powder and started going back the way I came.

Clatter, rattle.

But the skeletons don’t stop.

A body that is already dead.

For them, there is no sense of reason, and the feeling of wanting to live does not exist either.

If its arms and legs are missing, it crawls on the floor like a caterpillar and tries to get its teeth stuck in its legs.

Of course, such crude attacks don’t work.

Still, it was enough to get on Guynis’ nerves.

“···Ah, I’m annoyed.”

Golden mana began to dwell in Gainis’ sword.

The reason he was called the Blonde Guy.

The golden mana surrounded by the sword resonated with his hair and began to shine even brighter.

The undead were strangely vulnerable to his mana.

I don’t know the cause, but the undead that touched his mana were never safe.

If he was even slightly affected by the mana he was scattering, that part would instantly turn to ashes.

Since the demon king that Gainis defeated was also undead, he was able to easily defeat the demon king.

“Awesome, you scum. It’s an attack that even defeated the Demon King. It’s not an attack worthy of the likes of you.”

Every time you swing a sword filled with golden mana, the mana moves forward in a long tail like a whip.

Even the skeletons in the far distance began to disappear in an instant, and soon his sword broke, unable to withstand the mana.

There were no skeletons left around him.

“···Ha, is it still coming out?”

Of course, he couldn’t even defeat the skeletons that appeared in places that weren’t around him.

He laughed as he punched his way through the skeletons that began to surround him.

“Do you think I would fall to these bastards even if I didn’t have a sword?”

A tone of voice that seems to be addressed to someone, different from the self-talk so far.

He was talking to someone invisible.

“There is no way this amount of undead can occur naturally. There must be a higher species. Where is it? Don’t bother me and come out.”

His voice echoed throughout the dungeon.

The number of skeletons clattering and running around has already decreased significantly.

I thought I decided that I couldn’t stop it at this point.

For some reason, only those shabby skeletons appeared until the end.

But Gainis is now on his way back.

If he reached the entrance area, he planned to run out of the dungeon, risking a bit of exhaustion.

I couldn’t sleep well because of the skeletons that forced me to consume everything until the end.

It must have been time to pop out.

It’s quite cunning, so it’s probably Richie.

···I waited for a while, but the higher species did not appear.

Oh, shit.

He really has an annoying personality.

As I walked away, complaining to the irritating superior species, blue flames flickered in the distance.

Are you finally appearing?

Anyway, you have to complain for it to come out.

As I waited leisurely, a knight wearing black armor and a great sword jumped out of the flames.

“···Death Knight? I thought you were a lich.”

“···.”

“Ha, be quiet. If I just kill you, I’ll be able to go home in peace.”

“···Impossible.”

“You don’t know that. I’ll bring you enough food and I’ll find out what you’ve been hiding here, Skeleton.”

There is no sword.

On the other hand, the opponent is wearing a great sword and sturdy-looking armor.

It’s a car that would tell anyone to run away immediately if they saw it.

···Of course, that is if the unarmed person is not a hero.

I closed the distance as much as possible to swing my fist.

Of course, the Death Knight did not watch it and tried to cut it down by swinging its huge great sword.

“···!”

“Haha, do you think such a slow attack will hit?”

He dodged it in an instant with his agile movements.

Even if you’ve been having fun and eating comfortably for the past few years, a warrior is a warrior.

An attack of this level is obviously not appropriate.

The Death Knight retrieves the great sword and is about to widen the distance again.

The tip of the great sword turned to ashes as the golden mana spread across the floor.

“This, this!”

“Are you quite surprised? Anyway, the great sword is an item imbued with fraud, so it is vulnerable to my mana.”

Death Knight looks around in confusion.

…Suddenly, the surroundings were shining golden light.

“You don’t think I fought by breaking my sword for no reason. It’s too easy to think I’ll come out when I’m weak.”

It was too blatant.

I will attack you when you become weak! A strategy that seems to say.

When you cut down as much as possible and cut down again until you become devastated.

This is a way to win by targeting the moment and deploying the strongest being.

So, I fought by deliberately breaking my sword.

It may be a used sword, but a useless sword like this wouldn’t last long anyway.

If the sword disappears, it will decide that it has weakened enough and come out.

Based on that judgment, he even broke the sword and scattered the mana.

If this annoying higher species appears, to crush its head.

“Ha, I finally caught it. That’s what happens because they use such shady tricks on the Death Knight theme.”

“···.”

The sound of the Death Knight muttering something was heard.

“···? What did you say? I’ll tell you, but I can’t save you, so just know that.”

“I said, ‘I thought you didn’t even know that I was in danger.’”

“what?”

Moment.

A fire broke out behind his back.

“Kaaa?!”

“That’s stupid. You only know one thing and don’t know the other.”

“Ha, wasn’t it just one person…?”

“That’s correct, hero. It’s too late for you to notice.”

A voice came from behind me.

When I looked back with anger, I saw a skeleton wearing a robe floating in the air.

···Rich.

“Where are you looking? I’m here.”

“Huh?!”

Is it because I let my guard down for a moment?

The Death Knight, who seemed angry that he had been ignored, struck down his half-melted greatsword.

It was an attack that could be avoided. If it were a normal situation.

However, now he has been attacked and suffered great damage.

He was unable to avoid it and received a large cut starting from his shoulder.

The situation changed in an instant due to a sudden surprise attack.

···If things continue like this, we lose.

To these skeletons!

“I am a hero! I can’t lose to you guys!”

“···You talk a lot. Go to sleep.”

My vision wavered.

In my hazy mind, I realized what had happened.

It’s a sleep spell.

···If it were normal, it would be an easy spell to break with just a shake of the head.

The damage from the surprise attack was so strong that I couldn’t withstand it.

“···shit.”

***

A secret room filled with gloom.

There, two undead attempted to contact the outside world.

“···Hey, can you hear me? We’ve captured the hero.”

[Warrior? Is it true?]

“Yes. That outfit. I’m sure it’s a hero.”

[i get it. I will deliver the news to the Four Heavenly Kings immediately, so please wait for them. If that’s true, there will be a reward]

“Yes. The warrior was quite strong. Most of the skeletons were wiped out.”

[You will also be billed for that cost later. ···For reference, it is an order from the Four Heavenly Kings not to treat women poorly just because they are women. Be careful.]

“Wait, woman?”

Death Knight and Lich faced each other.

It was difficult to understand each other’s emotions because their eyeballs were like empty skeletons, but I could guess that they were embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, but would you mind telling me what you look like?”

[I heard he has red eyes and hair down to his waist. I have to go to report, so please contact me again later.]

“Now, wait! Wait!”

“···It’s disconnected. It’s useless to say more.”

The two thought.

It seems like something big has happened.

“He wasn’t a hero…?”

“Damn it! Then what is that strength? It’s incredibly strong! What is that!”

“I don’t know. But it seems certain that he is not a hero.”

“Do you understand?! That guy said he was a hero! But he’s that strong and he’s not a hero?!”

“···Maybe it’s an impersonation. Damn, things are going strange.”

They didn’t know.

Currently, there are two heroes.

Of course, it was a fact that was not known because it was hidden in the form of a skeleton for decades, but it came back as a big misunderstanding.

“···Now that things have come to this, there is only one way.”

“Surely, you’re using that?”

“Yes. That’s the only way. If they find out it was a false report, we might not be able to return to the Demon World.”

“···I can’t help it.”

It doesn’t have eyes, but if it did, it would pierce through with just its gaze.

They stared at the stunned Guynis.