episode_0054

Inside the dungeon where the Holy Sword lies dormant.

Instead of forming a hero party, the hero Cain came here with only Milaia.

Cain himself didn’t even fight, mostly relying on Milaia to eliminate the guardians protecting the dungeon.

“Hehehe… so easy, too easy. The previous heroes must have all been hot-headed. A hero who goes on adventures, meets comrades, and slowly grows stronger? It’s all solved by just starting with the strongest subordinate from the beginning.”

“….”

Milaia stared at Cain expressionlessly.

To think that such a guy is a hero, she felt incredibly pitiful for being used as bait for the demons.

“But why on earth do they keep the Holy Sword in a place like this? After killing the Demon King, they should just keep it safe in the kingdom. It’s annoying to come all the way here.”

Cain grumbled while spitting on the remains of the guardians.

If one knew the old stories about heroes and Demon Kings spread throughout the continent, they would understand the reason.

Though the tales of the ancient heroes varied in retellings, the main plot remained the same.

The Demon King appears, and the demons and monsters grow stronger with the Demon King’s power.

Then, the Holy Maiden receives a prophecy from the goddess and designates a hero.

The hero realizes their power, embarks on an adventure, finds the Holy Sword with like-minded companions, and heads to the Demon King’s castle for the final battle.

After defeating the Demon King, the hero loses their power, and the Holy Sword turns into light, reappearing in its original place when the next hero emerges.

For those born and raised in the kingdom, including Milaia, this was a well-known story.

But Cain, who had no interest in hero stories coming from the back alleys, was unaware of it.

It was a clear indication of how little he cared about the heroes of this world.

“Hey, you’re more useful than I thought.”

Cain approached Milaia from behind after she had dealt with all the dungeon guardians, trying to put his hand on her shoulder.

But at that moment, Milaia turned around and glared at Cain.

“….”

“Why do you keep looking at me like that? I’m a hero. Without me, humanity is doomed to the Demon King.”

Milaia also knew.

Every hero who had appeared so far had successfully defeated the Demon King, never experiencing defeat.

But if a hero were to die, there was no guarantee that the next hero would appear.

Killing a hero meant an uncertain future.

Without a hero, defeating the Demon King was impossible.

Killing the current hero to summon a new one was a gamble on the fate of humanity.

That’s why this man could act recklessly and still be forgiven.

But Milaia didn’t want to allow this trash of a hero to touch her body.

To her, he was just a bait to lure the demons, especially Bloodstain.

She knew well that without a hero, defeating the Demon King was impossible.

Furthermore, her goal was not to defeat the Demon King like a hero.

She wanted to kill Bloodstain, who burned down her hometown and took away Yunoa.

And she wanted to kill as many demons and monsters as possible.

That was all that occupied her mind.

“….”

“Ugh, acting all high and mighty.”

Feeling a strange threat in Milaia’s cold gaze, Cain reluctantly retreated.

Having lived in the back alleys and possessing the ability to sense threats better than anyone, Cain was confident in himself.

So, Milaia’s gaze, which seemed to have let something slip, made him fear that she might expose his hero facade and more.

Cain turned his gaze away from Mileia’s scrutinizing eyes and blurted out.

“Alright, let’s go get the Holy Sword.”

* * *

It had been a few days since leaving Shari’s hometown of Ainblad.

Queen Ludmilla of Ainblad used a teleportation spell to transport me straight to the eastern border of the Demon Realm.

It was a powerful spell, but it couldn’t transport me beyond the Demon Realm, so I had to travel the rest of the way on foot.

“Yunoa felt grateful for being able to leave the Demon Realm alive thanks to Queen Ludmilla’s merciful treatment, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that she couldn’t send Kubele along with her in one go.”

I could understand the disappointment.

It had been quite some time since leaving Kubele, and I was starting to miss human society.

But now that I was out of the Demon Realm, the visible scenery had indeed changed.

It was a desolate but familiar landscape.

An untamed land untouched by both demons and humans, known for its abundance of monsters.

Passing through this land would lead me to the Horn Canyon where I had fallen into a hole.

After a long journey, I could finally set foot on familiar ground again.

Shari had still been on my mind even after leaving Ainblad.

I had carefully kept the sketchbook left by Shari’s mother, Porte, and a few books.

Among the things I had asked Queen Ludmilla for was to allow me to bring some of Porte’s belongings for Shari.

“She was scary, but surprisingly a good person.”

I recalled Queen Ludmilla’s image and spoke.

Since that day, Shari had become a bit calmer, and she was almost back to her usual self, able to smile again.

With quick steps, I had been heading east towards where Kubele was for several days now.

Finally, in the distance, the Horn Canyon came into view.

“Yunoa returned to the Horn Canyon where she had fought fiercely against demon forces and engaged in a fierce defense.

The place still bore the marks of battle, with some new monsters awakening.

These monsters didn’t have the same purpose as the demon forces that had attacked the canyon under the command of the previous demons.”

As soon as the Horn Canyon came into view, the narration provided me with the current information about the canyon.

New monsters awakening? It wasn’t surprising anymore that monsters were appearing.

As the power of the Demon King grew stronger, monsters appearing all over the land had become more common.

But I wondered what had happened in the canyon after I fell into the hole.

The last scene I saw was Mileia blocking Bloodstain’s massive axe with her sword.

The cliffs and rocks of the canyon crumbled from the impact, and both monsters and adventurers were swept away in all directions.

I fell endlessly into the underground as the ground collapsed from the wind.

“Mileia…”

Since the narration didn’t provide the outcome of the battle, I imagined it in my head.

Bloodstain, the Demon King’s subordinate, looked incredibly powerful.

A monstrous creature with a muscular body and a vicious appearance, more like a monster than a demon.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine Mileia being defeated.

Both sides looked incredibly strong, so I couldn’t predict the outcome with my imagination.

Well, I’ll find out once I reach Kubele.

For now, let’s stop by the Horn Canyon first.

“The new monsters awakening in the Horn Canyon were originally adventurers who had fought alongside Yunoa.

The bodies of the adventurers who had sacrificed themselves in battle had been resurrected as undead under the influence of the Demon King.”

The Undying, a type of demon, was a creature that could inherit and enhance its abilities from its previous life.

Though their numbers were small, they were by no means easy opponents.”

As we approached the gorge, the narration continued.

The corpses of adventurers sacrificed in the gorge had become demons.

I had seen some adventurers being attacked by demons and suffering fatal wounds with my own eyes.

Even after I fell into the hole, the battle must have continued, and the number of casualties would have increased.

“Could it be… Mila too?”

For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that Mila might have been turned into a demon by Bloodstain.

If the way the Undying inherited the abilities from their previous life was as the narration described, then they would become unimaginable demons.

No, that couldn’t be.

No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think she would easily fall victim to a demon.

As I entered the Horn Gorge, I drew my sword from my waist.

If the adventurers who had fought alongside me had turned into demons, I believed they deserved peace.

In fact, there was something I wanted to test.

When I was imprisoned in the Mausoleum of Aynblad, I wanted to know how much stronger my magic had become through a special magic conversion.

Although the magic conversion was short, it was quite successful, and I could feel that a different color of magic had accumulated in my body.

The magic accumulated in the body through magic conversion is permanent.

And it strengthens various techniques that use physical abilities and magic.

Thanks to Shari, I had returned alive from the deepest part of the demon realm.

I wondered if I had the ability to give eternal rest to the adventurers who had turned into demons.

As I entered the gorge, memories of the battle I had fought here in the past vividly resurfaced.

The collapsed cliffs and the defense structures that Mila had ordered to be built were still standing in ruins.

And among the narrow passageways of the gorge, demons in the form of adventurers were wandering around.

At first glance, they looked like living adventurers.

Their movements seemed fine, unlike zombies.

But instead of eyeballs, blue flames that gave off an eerie feeling were burning.

“Are those the Undying…?”

As the narration had mentioned, their numbers were not that many.

And indeed, there was no Undying that looked like Mila.

Still, they were like my former comrades who had fought alongside me in the past.

Let’s allow them to rest in peace.

With my sword drawn, I slowly began to approach the Undying.