Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Lilia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 09 – Confrontation of Good and Evil
There were only limited ways through which humans could fight against demons.
Unless they received specialized sword training or learned magic, they wouldn’t be able to compete against demons, whose physical strength and magic affinity were fundamentally stronger.
Inevitably, even if the opponent was a stray demon who hadn’t received any training, had no real desire to kill, and was just lashing out on instinct:
Those who were celebrated as the strongest in the village would get their heads cut off in an instant, and the village would be destroyed without difficulty.
If only there were people who were strong and brave enough to stand up against demons, things could have been different.
Erin still believed in that even now.
◇
Seeing Sharon and Kuyumi standing in front of her, Erin was dumbfounded.
After shattering the barrier as if it was nothing, the two of them stared at the demon without letting their guard down.
“Well then, Sharon-chan can support from the rear, right?”
“Leave it to me. I’ll support you when I think I can.”
“Okay okay, leaving all the work to me… But, Erin-chan, you can just watch if you want, you know♡”
“Okay. Please be careful… Well, I guess such a reminder is unnecessary. I don’t think I should worry about Kuyumi at all.”
“That’s cruel~♡”
Kuyumi stepped forward while making a lighthearted comment.
“You dare get in the way, even though you’re merely students?”
“Eh…and guess whose barrier got destroyed by one of those mere students~?”
“…Die.”
The moment the demon swung its arm, a beam of compressed magical power was fired at Kuyumi. The purple light cut through the air and seemed to travel impossibly fast.
“That’s dangerous♡”
However, Kuyumi turned her head slightly to avoid it and, at the same time, threw the dagger she was holding in her right hand.
With barely a noise, the dagger grazed the demon’s cheek and carved a shallow cut.
“Ahah♡ I guess fighting such weak and unskilled opponents has made you weak and unskilled, too～♡”
“──Die!!”
The demon roared and flared its wings out in a dramatic display.
“……Gh!!”
The person who reacted most strongly to that sight was neither Kuyumi nor Sharon, but it was Erin, who was still shaking and unable to move.
If he heads to the town, then……!
This countryside adventurer school was built in the mountains, and there were no villages in the near vicinity.
However, Erin knew that demons with the ability to fly could fly through the sky at speeds incomparable to the horse-drawn carriages used by humans.
If the demon was allowed to escape, it might attack the nearest town or village. Even if one of them ran to warn them, there was no way they could get there fast enough.
If that happened, there would definitely be people who had lost everything, and could only cry in the ruins of their village.
…No one should ever feel that way.
There was a determined fire burning in Erin’s gaze.
The demon was no longer just a terrifying being that took away everything she had.
She now recognized it as a threat that might threaten people in the future and must be eliminated.
The memories of her hometown that had been transformed into hell flashed through her mind.
The strong who oppressed the weak were cruelly mocking them for their selfish enjoyment.
Something like that, something like that should never happened again──
“──I won’t let you!”
There was the sound of the soles of leather shoes crunching on the ground.
It was the signal that Erin began sprinting at a speed that far exceeded the maximum speed that humans could reach.
“Nuu……?!”
In an instant reaction, the demon thrust out its right arm clad in magic power and blocked the slash from Erin.
The light of magic power and flash of the sword scattered sparks as the two forces tried to devour each other.
“Little brat! Are you trying to avenge your family’s death? Fine, try it! I’ll send you to the same fate!”
The demon swung its arm with heavy momentum.
Erin cleverly deflected the blow and jumped backwards to absorb the impact. She spun in the air and landed lightly, then stood back up and assumed her stance again.
“You’re wrong! It’s not for vengeance… it’s to make sure there will be no more children that end up like me!”
Dense magic power burst out like a storm from the demon’s entire body.
After witnessing a scene beyond human comprehension, Erin no longer hesitated.
The girl decided to fight.
It was truly a scene befitting a protagonist.
But technically, she wasn’t a protagonist yet.
It would take some time until she was worthy of the title.
Therefore, there were limits to what she could do alone.
“Since we’re already here, the three of us might as well do it together♡”
Another throw, and the dagger blade easily cut off the raging storm of magic power.
Kuyumi grinned.
“You bitch! Stop being so slippery……Gohah?!”
The demon tried to attack Kuyumi in anger, but was blown away by a direct blast of magic that came from behind.
The massive shot sent the demon crashing through the forest and its silhouette faded from view.
“I think that’s a good idea. It seems he had some bad blood with Erin, so normally, I’d let them figure it out… but if you can’t do it alone, you should rely on your friends.”
Sharon said, while holding her assault spear in bombardment mode with a cool expression on her face.
“Wow, you said something passionate, Sharon-chan♡”
“Despite how I look, I’m the type of person who values friendship quite a lot.”
“……Even if you don’t say it, we already know.”
“Sharon-chan is shy after all♡”
“Hah? Shut it. I’m going to charge my spear and shoot it, so that should give you enough of an opening to deal with it. Get ready.”
Sensing the situation had turned against her, Sharon forcibly changed the topic.
She then moved on to chanting to increase her spear’s bombardment power.
“‘Crushing star’ ‘golden angle’.”
With a clunking sound, the assault spear, which was probably as tall as she was, split itself open from its condensed structure. The metal shell arranged itself in a cone shaped structure around the spinning core.
The core of the spear began to spin faster and sparks of magic began to fly. A high-pitched whistle could be heard as the energy level reached the highest it could go.
“‘’Kneel before the majesty’ ‘may you crush your own eyes’.”
The demon didn’t show itself, not even to run away. In that case, it was time to flush it out of hiding, like a rabbit hiding in a bush.
After inwardly apologizing to the teacher with the excuse that it was justified this time, Sharon pulled the trigger.
“──FIRE!”
The shot fired was a torrent of light.
It burned down the trees it came into contact with, but the heat and pressure was so strong, the trees were being vaporized instead.
“Uoooohhhhhhh?!”
The demon desperately flew into the sky to escape the bombardment while letting out a pitiful scream.
In the starry night sky that was clear of obstacles, there were two black shadows blocking the view of the constellations.
“Hah.”
Seeing the grinning face of Kuyumi in front of him, the demon felt a freezing sensation.
It was something a demon could never have toward a human, an emotion called fear.
“Since it’s someone who did bad things to my friend, I won’t show any mercy♡”
The dagger is coming! The demon crossed its arms to strengthen its defense.
However, Kuyumi deployed a thick wire in a fluttering motion and wrapped the demon’s body in one fluid motion. Once the wings were bound to its back, the demon started falling back towards the ground.
“What the……?!”
“It’s a special-made anti-demon wire, specially made for trash like you♡ don’t think you can shake it off easily~♡ Just give up, do us all a favor, and die.”
As she spat those cruel words, Kuyumi thrust the two daggers she held in both hands into the demon’s shoulder and chest.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh?!”
The demon, who couldn’t escape because of the wire, fell down while screaming.
As the forest had been burned down by Sharon, there was no place for it to escape.
Waiting for it at the end was Erin, who was standing in her sword stance with her eyes closed, gathering her focus.
That’s right. I’m neither Erin who was too young to do anything nor Erin SwordX who became a blade for the great cause. I’m still nothing. However!
She had friends who would fight alongside her.
There was someone who smiled at her and told her to think of a future together.
Therefore, she had reason to fight!
“SwordX Style, improvised technique──[Vertical Flash Slash!]”
Just like a piece of bamboo cleanly split in half, the air seemed to quiver and be sliced.
The demon was slammed into the ground. Although it had avoided being split in half, it was no longer able to move.
◇
By the time I sensed the disturbance of a fight and rushed over, the vicious combo had already decided the battle outcome.
I witnessed the result of a combination attack by the three future protagonists, something that had only appeared through a rapid combination of button inputs before.
“Ah, sensei, you’re late~♡”
Kuyumi burst out laughing when she saw me rushing over and looking frantic.
Seeing the three who stood in the woods… or at least the burnt remains of it, there was a demon collapsed at their feet.
“It’s better to not kill it, right?”
“It was aiming at me for some reason. It said things like ‘if the brat with Mystic Eyes is not killed, then His Majesty will~’ or something like that?”
Sharon had a cool manner as usual, and Erin, who seemed to have improved her skill, was sheathing her sword with a big smile.
When I heard Erin’s words ── I broke into a cold sweat. It wasn’t because I came running.
What if Sharon and Kuyumi were even a little late?
What if the demon was a stronger individual?
“……Teach’? What’s wrong?”
As for Mariemaia…… I think she would be okay.
In order to avoid her dying during the normal playthrough, I had leveled- I mean, trained her a lot, and I drilled the proper mindset into her as well.
If we were in a world where Mariemaia would have died if not for my involvement, then the sequel would be a lost cause. So, she must still be doing well, and making good progress on her character story.
Even if that was the case, why did the sequel protagonists end up experiencing a full-scale battle against a demon at such drastically different timing?
It would be too optimistic if me, a foreign entity, chose to not get involved.
……No, I guess I lack the wisdom to make any proper judgment for now.
Let’s just be happy that the three of them survived and won.
“Aah, well. You did great.”
As Erin looked at me with concern, I was about to put my hand on Erin’s head, but I stopped before I could.
I almost forgot that it was no good. That was close.
“Eih.”
Just as I thought of that, Erin grabbed my arm and made me stroke her hair.
“Eh.”
“I-it’s special this time! I’ll allow it!”
As she said that while her ears turned bright red, I had no choice but to start stroking her hair gently as she clung to me.
Behind her was Sharon, who looked at us with a bit of envy, and Kuyumi, who shrugged her shoulders as if it couldn’t be helped.
“Okay, that’s it!”
Perhaps satisfied, Erin released my arm and smiled shyly.
“Sensei, you saw the battle from far away, right? How was it?”
As Kuyumi called out to me, I let out a breath.
I managed to glimpse the last part of the battle, where Kuyumi used a wire anchor to block the enemy’s movement and then slammed both daggers in both hands.
“Hm, what’s wrong sensei? You seem to be staring at Kuyumi-chan, what’s up?”
If I recall correctly, that was the movement of the active skill [Stigma of Murder], right…?
Wasn’t that supposed to be a skill only learned when she reached level 65……?
Eeh……?
“Nfufuh, perhaps you are charmed by Kuyumi-chan?”
“No, I was purely disgusted.”
“Purely disgusted?!”
Upon receiving shock, Kuyumi abandoned her ♡ verbal tic and stiffened.
Well, I guess she must have leveled a lot. Now that I realized that, things should be okay going forward.
If anything, I was concerned about something else.
“All three of you were moving much better than usual.”
“Ah, that’s what I thought too. Err, it’s not like I’m cutting corners in front of teach’, okay?!”
“I know, I know.”
It seemed she didn’t draw such power consciously.
If so, I have a guess for the cause.
Perhaps three of them were probably activating [Noble Link].
[Noble Link] was a special status that activated when all characters had reached a certain level and had a high friendship level.
Unlike an individual’s SP gauge, it could be activated when the shared [Noble Gauge] was more than half full.
The effect was tremendous; not only did it buff everyone’s basic stats such as attack power, defense, and agility, but it also shortened the cooldown between active skills, allowing players to connect entire combos that would normally be unable to be chained, so the DPS skyrocketed.
Because it was so easy to gain charge once your characters met the level requirements, it was recommended to use it as soon as it was half-full in most speedrun videos.
By the way, if the gauge was filled to full, it would become a completely overpowered awakening festival.
“Make sure not to forget that feeling.”
“Yes, got it… so, what should we do about this guy?”
Our eyes were directed back toward the demon lying on the ground.
“As far as I look, he seems to be an intermediate demon, but it’s rare for one to act independently. Have you heard of his name?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Is that okay? Was what I thought since I didn’t know if it was okay to confirm it.
I already knew about him. After all, he was one of the rare named demons that appeared in the sequel. He was the one who burned the protagonist’s village after all.
The problem was Erin.
She faced her nemesis and defeated him. That in itself was fine, but she accomplished it without even knowing the demon’s name.
Depending on the situation, I was thinking of lying and telling Erin that I had encountered that demon in a place other than her hometown.
“……I don’t think it’s worth remembering the name.”
“I see.”
She actually said that to her family’s nemesis.
You were amazing, Erin.
“……It is already defeated anyway. And I’m a SwordX now after all.”
The tone of her voice sounded like she had found her guidance.
I guess a student’s growth could happen outside the teacher’s presence.
When I nodded silently, overcome with emotion, the three muttered “What is he so moved for… that’s disgusting…” to each other and began to take some steps away from me.
It was at that moment.
“Uuh…”
The demon who was restrained by wires slightly and looked directly at me.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
“Gyaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh?!?!?! H-h-h-h-hero Haruto?! Why are you here……?!”
This was the usual reaction of denial when meeting someone for the first time.
His communication skills were too low. He had no manners.
“Why? Well, I can only say I’m here because I’m here.”
“Shut up! Y-you’re nothing but a hindrance, you bastard! You’re so annoying even though you’re not the chosen one! I don’t get how you’re so strong despite that! It’s been pissing me off that we can’t eliminate you even though we want to! Just die here and now!”
Oi, don’t reply to me so seriously.
I might cry.
“For the sake of His Majesty… both that girl with Mystic Eyes and you are a scourge to us……!”
Even though he was restrained, the demon cut into his palm with his claw.
It was an action often used when activating a summoning technique.
“……I see.”
I understood why this guy was acting alone.
It was the so-called mobile self-destruct bomb tactic. He was allowed to roam around killing humans, and when he encountered a really strong enemy and was cornered, he would activate a summoning technique to cause massive damage to the area before being killed.
I guess demons had started resorting to this method.
If that was the case, I guess the one I wanted summoned the least would end up being summoned, such was my speculation.
[“…………So he summoned me.”]
From the shadow of the demon that withered and died, another shadow began to ooze out and took shape.
It emanated great pressure. It felt like the enemy of all life.
It was the so-called shadow carved out from its main body, but the main body felt more like a shadow compared to the power of this entity.
“……You’ve done well. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Eh?”
I took a step forward.
I guess I have to do it in Hero mode this time. I opened my mouth and spoke.
“‘Crushing myth’ ‘the baby’s prayers’ ‘I am a foolish martyr’ ‘may you lament the collapse’ ── DRIVE.”
It was my personal magic, or rather, my active skill.
Upon activation, the senses of my entire body became clear, and it felt like the power to defeat evil and meter out justice flowed through my veins.
[“You are-!”]
The shadow solidified into a figure.
Although I never met him face to face, I had met and killed him many times through the screen.
It was the final boss of the first game, in other words, the Demon Lord.
Just by manifesting, the world creaked and trembled.
I heard the sounds of three people collapse on their knees behind me.
“The descendant of the hero, Haruto.”
When I briefly introduced myself, the other party narrowed his eyes.
I lightly waved the sword I had brought with me just in case.
It was a dull sword that was used for training purposes.
[“Descendant of the hero, huh. I can believe you are that woman’s descendant. Your eyes and face resemble her. In that case ── I want to kill you. Let me kill you, let me gouge your eyes out. Oh, loathsome enemy, let this be your end.”]
“Idiots only capable of talking nonsense should die.”
I swung my sword roughly.
The mysterious light that was emitted wiped out the upper half of the demon lord’s shadow.
The arc of light that hit the side of another mountain, causing a huge explosion along with its noise.
No good… I knew there weren’t people there, but were there any animals? It made me feel sorry……
[“……Eh?”]
The students behind me let out vague, choked noises of suprise.
In front of me, the Demon Lord’s shadow was slowly regenerating while making the most grotesque noises I’ve ever heard.
I already knew it, but it was still disappointing that I couldn’t completely kill him.
…I wasn’t the chosen one.
Even if I could momentarily defeat the Demon Lord, I couldn’t save the world from the Demon Lord.
I guess that was a conclusion that suited me. After all, I was a reincarnated person who didn’t have much influence on the main plot, and was just playing around as a hopeless scum hero named Haruto.
Well, since it was just a shadow, the regeneration should have a limit, so there should be no problem as long as I continued to kill him until then.
So I could be a little more useful now. That fact made my heart flutter.
I put my sword on my shoulder and turned around.
Seeing the dumbfounded sequel protagonists, I tried my best to put on a cool smile.
“A beam launched from my sword when I used a normal attack, you see.”
“……No, that’s not the problem, you see?!”
“I think you should apologize to the mountain. Are you an eco-terrorist?”
“You’re too much of small fry at power control♡ can’t differentiate big and small♡ the secret of not being popular is not having that kind of delicacy♡”
I was scolded so much that I cried.
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