CH 37

A Certain Warrior and Great Chaos

Translated by AmaLynne

Speaking of『Heavy Armor』Gardo, he was, if I may say so myself, a bit of a well-known adventurer.

Born with high defense and muscular strength, he has worked hard to raise his level and train himself up, thanking Misery-sama for giving him this talent.

Thanks to his efforts, at the age of 40, he was certified as an『S-rank adventurer』, the title of a top-notch adventurer.

I was born into a poor farm family, became an S-rank adventure, and now I’m a member of the『Hero Party』. I’ve come a long way.

However, what I have to do has not changed much. All I can do is protect my friends and exterminate the demon tribe. That’s all I can do.

When I was an adventurer, I had to defeat demons as well as『demonic beasts』, but other than that, what I do is the same.

It is a very rewarding and wonderful job.

◆◇◆◇◆

「The sun is about to set.」

I look at the sky at the voice of Maris, my magician companion, and sure enough, the sun is already setting. In a few minutes, the sun will be completely set.

Today, too, we were able to reduce the number of demons by a large margin. This is all thanks to you, Hero-sama.

The Hero. I don’t know her name. She may look like a young girl, but she is a genius in swordsmanship with terrifying power and talent.

She is beyond human knowledge and my reach.

I have never heard her voice, let alone her name, and her appearance is always in tatters. It was because of the daily training and the battles with the demons, said Asbal-sama and Thrust-sama of the《Twelve Holy Apostles》who accompany us.

「I think it is time for us to return to the capital, Asbal-sama, and Thrust-sama.」

「…Yes, it is. The Hero… I’m sure you must be tired, too. Let’s go back once. Maris, prepare for《Advanced Teleportation》.」

「Yes.」

《Advanced Teleportation》is amazing spatial magic that allows transfers over longer distances than《Teleportation》and also destroys Transference Sealing Wards.

There are probably not more than a hundred people who can use it.

However, because of its difficulty, even Maris, who is said to be a rare genius magician, requires a reasonably long chanting.

The world is a big place, I feel, because there are people in this world who can invoke this magic without chanting.

The sixth in the order of the Twelve Holy Apostles, Noin-sama of『Wail of the Devil』, is at the top of the list.

…The rest is very unpleasant, but…The『Forest General』Tiana Forrester, who is an elf and is called a『demon』by us humans, and the『General of Desolation』Feria, who is as powerful as a demon, can also easily handle this magic.

「We still have a lot of free time at this time of night. All the demons around here are either dead or in retreat.」

「I guess so. Well, that’s how it is with cowardly demons.」

「Hahaha, cowardly demons are hilarious! Well, it fits, though!」

「…Ladies and gentlemen, we must not let our guard down, okay?」

The ones who came to me like that were Kane, a martial artist, Killua, a magician, and Meily, a priest. All were former S-rank adventurers and old acquaintances of mine.

I was surprised when they were all brought together as members of the heroes’ party. At the same time, I felt a sense of alienation because I was the only old guy in the party…

「Among the demons, there are those who possess terrible power. If you want to be good for Misery-sama, you should be very careful.」

「I know that. We’ve already spread out like this and are taking precautions.」

「That’s right, that’s right! Meily is a worrier!」

「Not at all…mm?」

「…What’s up, Miley? Anything?」

「No, there’s a magical reaction nearby…」

「Hmm? Yeah, my senses are picking it up.」

Hearing these words, everyone in the party, except for Maris and the hero-sama, who were preparing for the transfer, went into a state of alert.

The reason why the hero-sama is not on guard is probably that she has confidence in her ability to respond to any means the other party may use. She is a man of honor.

「…They are approaching us.」

「Whoa? Are they going to do it?」

We were growing nervous at the sound of the voice… The moment we caught sight of the other party, our nervousness turned to confusion.

That’s because,

「……A child?」

The other person looked like a little girl from all angles.

The girl’s face, coming from the forest, appears to be human at first glance, although the long hair, dimness, and prone position make it difficult to see.

「From the forest, a child? That’s suspicious…」

「Don’t let your guard down. It might be a demon tribe in disguise.」

It was the Twelve Holy Apostles’ Thrust-sama who said so.

He is the elder brother of Asbal-sama, and as his nickname《Twin Axes》indicates, he is a super-aggressive warrior who wields two axes. He is someone I have admired for a long time.

「Child! Stop right there! We are the hero party. You must answer our questions! Answer us, and tell us why you are here!」

Hearing Thrust-sama’s words, the girl stopped and began to speak in a faltering tone.

「…Please help…me. Hold, the people, my family. My mom helped me get out.」

Does this mean that this girl is a prisoner of war held by the demon tribe?

If so, there is a high possibility that there is a base of the Demon King’s Army deep in the forest.

「Do you have any proof of that!」

「Ah… h-here… The letter that mommy told me to give to someone important.」

「…Meily, any sign of the shape-shifting magic she’s using?」

「No. She doesn’t seem to be using any illusions.」

「Maris, we’re going to have to suspend the transfer.」

It seemed that Thrust-sama was ready to listen to the girl.

「Asbal, go and get the letter.」

「Oh, okay.」

Asbal-sama received the girl’s letter, and everyone except Hero-sama paid attention to it.

He took out a piece of paper from the envelope and inside it was…

『Look at the moon.』

That’s what it said.

Not knowing what it meant, I looked at the moon, whose figure was coming into view instead of the sun, but nothing changed… Is it a full moon today?

「Hey girl, what’s this about…」

He turned in the direction of the forest to question the girl… But there was no girl there.

「…Where did she go…… eh?」

I looked around, and what I saw was.

The girl put her hand on Maris’s neck…No, she was about to crush her neck.

There was a gurgling sound and Maris collapsed on the spot.

No doubt, she died instantly.

「Maris!」

「This guy…!」

「Ah, what a pain in the ass, acting and all… Now now, is it okay if you only pay attention to me?」

I reflexively turned around at the words of the girl who suddenly became talkative, and a moment later, two shadows appeared.

I recognize those shadows…

「They are the executives of the Demon King Army.」

「《Teleportation》!」

But the shadow soon disappeared. They didn’t do anything…

…No, not that!

「They get Asbal-sama and Thrust-sama!」

「Damn it, they’ve blocked our means of transfer!」

Our second greatest strength, the two Twelve Holy Apostles, has been taken away!

The magic item for transferring was in Thrust-sama’s possession.

And now that Maris has been killed, we have no way to use transfer magic.

「Damn! This kid must be one of the demon tribes!」

「I know, right? …The operation has reached its climax. Let’s get going.」

The girl turned around after saying that…No, the demon tribe’s eyes were glowing red.

The eyes, and those double teeth. No doubt.

「The vampire tribe…!」

「I thought they were extinct!」

Three years ago, there were rumors that the vampire race was connected to the demon king’s army, claiming non-interference.

Even without those rumors, they are still an evil race that believes in the evil god Isuzu. The plan was quickly devised, and the Twelve Holy Apostles, Noin-sama and Edith-sama, were dispatched to eradicate the race.

「I’m the only one left. Now, if you hand over the hero to us, I won’t make it worse, will I?」

…So this guy wants the hero!

「Don’t be a fool! We cannot so easily hand over the hope of mankind to the demons!」

「……You have no idea what has been done to that hope.」

「What?」

「No, this one. Then negotiations are broken. Slaughter them all. I was going to kill them as painlessly as possible if you had just handed them over to me, you idiot.」

Then the vampires entered battle stance, and in response, we too prepared for battle.

……Is this vampire going to take on all six of us at the same time?

If so, she’s reckless. …….

「You’re right on the money. As good as I am in the flesh? Well, you weren’t my opponent now.」

I didn’t know for a moment what that word meant… Even more so, I didn’t know why my friends were looking at me and paled.

When I looked again in the direction of the vampire, I saw a mysterious blubbery thing in her hand.

「Oh, maybe you haven’t noticed that you’re dying yet? You’re so slow.」

「……huh?」

…..And finally, I realized that it was my heart in her hand and… Immediately after, my consciousness went dark.