Chapter 306: Rising Person

(What is this place?)

Roy couldn"t hide his surprise at the scene that unfolded in front of him. Roy had been in the forest until a moment ago. But when he followed Yuu through the mysterious s.p.a.ce, it was instantly transformed into a wilderness. It"s no wonder Roy was surprised.

(If only he had used this at that time)

The image of the dead beast children came to Roy"s mind, but he immediately denied the thought. He had only just met Yuu, but he could not believe that Yuu would so carelessly abandon innocent children.

(No, that"s not it. He couldn"t use it for some reason)

As if to shake off his doubts, Roy looked up. Behind him was Yuu and behind Yuu was the undead skeleton in a robe――Russ. However, Roy was more concerned about the barriers that were surrounding him than the presence of Russ. There are only a few reasons to use barriers. Maybe he wants to protect him or he doesn"t let him go.

"I know it sounds selfish. But......I still need some time to calm down"

"Are you still talking like that in this situation?"

Roy asks, but Yuu doesn"t fight. Russ, who stands behind him, whispers something in Yuu"s ear and bows away.

"Even if I look like this, the maritime nation has a messenger. I promise to return you to the original continent"

Slightly Yuu opened his eyes and then stared at Roy with a disappointed face.

"No way you....... You think I was summoned from another continent, right?"

This time, Roy"s eyes widened and he stared at Yuu with a surprised look.

"............Different? Well then Yuu, you――gahaa"

Roy, with a fist slammed into his face, rolls on the ground. He did not intentionally receive Yuu"s fist. Pa.s.sive skill 『Hero Body』 possessed by heroes――even with skills that increase physical ability, dynamic vision, reflexes, etc., it was a quick and heavy blow that was difficult to even react, let alone evade.

"I was forcibly summoned from a different world for your convenience. Even if I want to go back, I can never go back to the original world"

Yuu didn"t dare tell Roy that he had no intention of returning to the original world.

"Draw your sword"

Yuu holds the black dragon sword Light toward Roy.

"Gu......haa....... Wa, Wait............that, then you......you......my goodness............what a terrible thing to do. There"s no point in talking......about it. Doesn"t it mean anything?"

With blood dripping from his mouth and nose, Roy still wanted to talk it out. However, Yuu swung his sword down to Roy without any questions. In the end, Roy decided that he couldn"t dodge the attack, so he held a shield made of thunder dragon scales in his left hand to catch Yuu"s sword. Sparks fly between the black blade and the jade colored shield.

(It"s an amazingly hard sword. It"s so hard that it surpa.s.ses even Joseph-san"s)

Roy takes it with all his might, but Roy"s legs rise from the ground. As it is, Roy rolls on the ground while rolling up a dirt smoke. Still, Roy"s momentum continues to roll. Roy releases his palm and stands up as if to stretch to the ground. In Roy"s field of vision, which has finally regained his posture, Yuu is seen rushing to the ground.

"Guuu......"

Roy catches Yuu"s big sword swung sideways with the thunder sword Luo Gorenica. Black and white blades are mixed and black flames and white thunder light flutter.

"You finally pulled out your sword"

In his mind, Roy muttered, 「Different」. It"s not that he pulled out his sword. He had no choice but to pull it out.

"Listen to me!"

Roy tried to push back Yuu"s sword, but instead of pushing it back, the blade was slowly closing in on his throat. Roy"s neck, which was defeated by the squeeze with Yuu, was approached by the blade of death while slashing the air, but Roy turned away and evaded just before that. However, Yuu"s kick is struck on Roy"s unprotected flank. Roy tried to jump away and kill his power at the moment of hitting, but Yuu"s kick is a kind of thing that causes damage to the opponent"s body and Roy kneels as if he collapses on the spot.

(Wh......What a powerful kick. My armor is made from the scales of a water dragon. If its an average person, it wouldn"t be strange if the kicked leg broke――)

"Gahuu......"

Roy vomits blood. Bright red blood splatters on the ground and red stains pop up. Yuu"s kick damaged his internal organs.

"How long have you been saying sweet things? Show the power of the hero... without any ha.s.sle"

Roy looked up at Yuu, who was looking down at him. Yuu, who should be able to kill Roy at any time, fights as if he were observing Roy from earlier without doing it. Roy didn"t know what kind of speculation Yuu had.

"I"m sure we can work this out......without a fight"

"You"re the one who set me up"

"You must have noticed that I was also deceived by Jardalk"

"I doubt it. Oh, yes. The Holy Order of Jardalk, that piece of s.h.i.t, I killed them all"

Roy stares at Yuu with a stunned expression.

"............Why?"

"What do you mean by that question? What"s wrong with killing the people who surrounded me with tens of thousands of people?"

You could have gotten through this without killing them! What do you think you"re doing with......people"s lives!!"

Yuu hits Roy"s cheeks as he squeezes them. However, although Roy turned his face away, he did not blow away as before and stopped there.

"Fighting solves nothing"

His eyes were full of power. But Yuu didn"t take offense and glared at Roy.

"Did it save your village?"

Immediately, Roy"s whole body visibly loses power.

"Answer. The villagers have been killed by the Demon King in front of you, but you can"t solve anything in a quarrel. Did you tell me to talk?"

Without being able to say anything back, Roy became silent. Yuu is frustrated by the pathetic appearance of Roy.

"By the way, I didn"t want to know the truth"

Yuu"s sword is swung down at Roy"s head. Yuu"s kick was struck into Roy"s abdomen received by the shield. This time, it is in time to jump back at the moment of hitting, but Roy hurriedly uses recovery magic without being able to kill the power.

"The vast territory of the Derim Empire has been unable to be put together for many years because of its size. There are aristocrats who ignore the emperor"s voice and do as they please, state administration where bribery and fraud are rampant as a matter of course, civil servants who know about it and turn a blind eye, local families who ignore instructions from the center and small and medium-sized states that try to expand their territory by taking advantage of the gap. But there is someone who will unite the lawless Derim Empire, where there is no law and order"

Every time he receives Yuu"s wielding sword, Roy is blown off and rolled to the ground. Roy, who is famous as 『Pandora"s Hero』 and 『Thunder Hero』, is not an opponent.

"You know him well, Joseph. Joseph has corrected a huge, s.h.i.t-like country. If it"s a fairy tale, it"s just a happy ending here. But the reality isn"t that sweet. After taking control of the Derim Empire and the rebellious neighboring states, Emperor Derim plans to expand his territory even further, because the imperial army led by Joseph had the power to do so"

Roy, whose chin was kicked up by Yuu, dances in the air while rotating.

"Of course, no other country is stupid enough to miss it. In particular, Jardalk, Hameln and the Set Republic had a strong sense of urgency. The first major power to be sacrificed was the Udon Kingdom, north of the Derim Empire. However, Udon King is an a.s.shole who enjoys playing games rather than protecting his country. In fact, he only thinks that the expansion of the Derim Empire"s power has given him more players to play with. In addition to the fact that there is no hope for the Udon Kingdom, if the Derim Empire were to overtake the Udon Kingdom, it would be impossible for any country to stop its momentum. Above all, if it hits the mighty Derim empire head-on, the damage would be enormous"

He could barely stand up. Roy supports his shivering body with his sword as a cane.

"I want to stop the Derim Empire from expanding its influence. However I don"t want to take the lead in fighting them. I don"t want any country to draw such a poor lottery. There is no such convenient way to reduce the military power of the Derim Empire while not causing any damage to ourselves. Isn"t that normal? No normal person would think of it. Even if they did, they wouldn"t even think of implementing it. But when it comes to a nation, it"s a different story. There was such a convenient plan"

"Cough............. That......plan......is............"

"The Demon King"s Birth Plan-man-made the Demon King and hit the Derim Empire. Hameln provided the location, Set Republic provided the funding and Jardalk provided the technology. The place chosen was an idyllic farming village――your birthplace, Pandora"

"You......are lying! Satou, you"re lying! The government will never allow such an inhumane act!!"

Roy shouts, dragging his injured body.

"The plan worked amazingly well, didn"t it? Although Hameln suffered some damage, they succeeded in getting the military power of the Derim Empire and most importantly, Joseph, out of the Derim Empire. The Derim emperor will never think of achieving supremacy again without Joseph"

"All you"ve been saying is a lie!!"

"You think I"m a liar? If that"s the case, then why were you wandering around in search of the truth even after you defeated the Demon King? But there was also a miscalculation in this Demon King"s birth plan. It"s your existence, Roy Buom. Not only the Demon King, but even a hero showed up"

Roy repeats 「It"s a lie」 , as if in a whisper.

"You"re a fool, you"ve been aware of it for a long time, but you"ve turned away from the truth and have been used as a hero. Didn"t you ever think it was strange? Derim was slow to respond to each country even though the Demon King appeared. The nations started to cooperate with you as soon as they waited for the empire to suffer great damage. Jardalk, Hameln and the Set Republic couldn"t stop laughing, I"m sure. A mere village of less than a hundred people was able to stop the ambitions of the Derim Empire. From Hameln"s point of view, a poor farming village like Pandora is like trash. It won"t hurt or itch if they disappear from this world"

"Take it back"

Roy says in a clear voice.

"What? That I called you an idiot?"

"I don"t care what you say about me. In fact, I"m probably as stupid and foolish as you say. But I will not tolerate your mocking of my village, Pandora!"

"What if I say no?"

"You will apologize and take back what you just said"

Roy tells again. It was a strong tone, like a warning.

"I was just stating a fact"

"Take it back!"

"You"re insistent"

"I"m telling you to take it back!!"

"If you want me to do something, you"ll have to use all your strength. If you can"

Yuu refuses to say it a third time and a fourth time as well.

"It"s a shame"

Roy muttered and at the same time, a purple lightning flashed across the land.

"You can do it if you want"

Yuu mutters when he catches Roy"s sword with a black dragon scale shield. A thunder squid runs on the surface of the black dragon scale shield and scatters into the sky. Yuu swung his right sword sideways, but Roy was not there and in an instant he was standing tens of meters away from him. It was a surprisingly swift move.

"I"m disappointed in you"

Roy holds the thunder sword Luo Gorenica in a javelin throwing position. He is willing to use the active skill『Hero Sword』 possessed by the hero Roy.

"I was disappointed in you from the start, though"

Yuu activates the rank 8 black magic『Flame Wall Tsunami Frewol』. A huge wall of flames rushes to Roy like a tsunami. Roy stabs Yuu through the wall of flames. A blow like lightning approaches the torso, which is hard to evade, while penetrating the barrier that Yuu develops.

"Tsk"

Yuu clicked his tongue and couldn"t evade Roy"s sword with his sword technique LV7 『Shoryuken』. On the contrary, Yuu"s sword was repelled.

(This guy......)

Roy"s sword scoops his flank, even though he avoids it by twisting his body. A swashbuckler unfolded between the two, but unlike before, Roy"s sword wasn"t flipped, but Yuu"s sword speed was followed. Roy"s fighting power has risen so much that he doesn"t seem to be the same person as before. They exchanged high-level magic and sword techniques. Although he was far behind Yuu in magic, his sword skills and physical abilities were on par with Yuu"s. Even though Yuu is overwhelmingly superior in level, status and number of skills.

"Haahaa......"

While observing Roy breathing roughly, Yuu is convinced of the battle so far.

"I"m a little more impressed with you. I"ll tell you a story that will give you more power. I"m going to kill every human in this world"

"Do you really think I"m going to let you do that?"

In order to see the true power of a hero, Yuu provoked Roy. The effect is glaring and Roy"s power increases further. In line with that, Yuu also changes his weapon from the black dragon scale shield to the black dragon sword wet crow and fights with two swords. Russ hurriedly repairs the barrier that stretches around him every time it cracks in the aftermath or impact of the battle between the two. How many times did Roy roll to the ground? However, each time Roy stands up and heads for Yuu. After learning about Roy"s power and characteristics of the hero"s job, Yuu moves on to the next confirmation.

"Well......I can"t lose. I can"t lose to you!"

In a fierce battle with Yuu, the thunder dragon"s shield broke, the water dragon"s light armor also had fine cracks in places, and in contrast to Roy, who holds a sword with a full-blown wound, Yuu"s wounds from Roy are already pa.s.sive. It disappears with the skill 『High-speed Regeneration』 and Yuu is unharmed.

"Don"t you like me destroying the human race so much?"

"I sympathize with your situation, but that doesn"t mean I can"t let you kill innocent people!"

Roy continued his onslaught on Yuu, moving his overworked body with conviction.

"How many people have been summoned like me?"

Even though he knew he shouldn"t lend an ear to Yuu"s words, Roy couldn"t help but listen.

"It"s more than three digits with a little research"

Roy"s sword speed slowed down slightly. Yuu hits his sword without overlooking the gap. Blood spills from Roy"s right shoulder, even though he avoids fatal injuries.

"Do you know how many innocent people you say were sacrificed to summon me? It"s over 200,000 that we know of"

The number of 200,000 people was so unrealistic that Roy"s thoughts and mind could not comprehend it and his vision became distorted.

"Do you think this world is worth protecting?"

"It"s not like they"re all bad people!"

Roy wields his sword, forcibly inspiring the heart, which is the source of the hero"s power.

"What happened to those beastmen children?"

Roy can"t hide his agitation and his body reacts, even if he knows it"s a shaking word.

"Are they dead? What are you, a hero? You can"t even save a couple of kids. Or did you abandon them because they"re beastmen kids?"

His whole body is sc.r.a.ped by Yuu"s sword. Roy still couldn"t give up.

(Burn, Burn my heart!!)

Roy couldn"t admit his hometown, his family, his childhood friends, his friends, his acquaintances, the people he couldn"t save and his life as a hero who had been used as a hero. If he admits it, he"s denying Roy"s everything so far.

"Do you know? I heard that a new unit has been created in a small country"

Yuu gives a stop to Roy, who continues to be attacked without being able to fight back.

"It seems that it is a unit mainly composed of thunder dragons and other demon beasts. As a result of unreasonable crossing, it seems that it is not possible to leave offspring, but this is what the human race knew. What"s wrong? You left it in a country you can trust, but there"s a fake hero"

This is where Roy"s defeat was decided. His heart was completely broken. Yuu throws Roy, who has been broken by the thunder sword Luo Gorenica and has become so tattered that even one of his fingers cannot move, into the gate created by s.p.a.ce-time magic.

"I"m glad I got to do this with the heroes beforehand. It"s like you said, Russ. A hero with a broken faith is weak"

"Master, why don"t you kill the hero?"

Is he not convinced that Yuu didn"t kill Roy? Russ asks Yuu.

"I"ve lost interest in killing him because he"s so pathetic"

"It"s not too late. If you give me permission, I can――Master, what"s with those eyes!?"

Blood was bleeding from Yuu"s eyes.

"I"ve been trying to take the hero"s job and failed. I thought I could do it now"

"Why did you do such a reckless thing?"

"At first――"

Aside from Russ, who hurriedly flutters, Yuu begins to speak.

"At first, every time I used 『Depriving』, I got a headache. The first time I became aware of it was when I took a skill from a guy named Chi Dou. It was only when I took away the skill from Chi Dou that I became aware of the pain, the severe headache that would not go away even without using 『Depriving』. After that, I tried everything I could to keep my skills intact and just raise my level, but it didn"t help"

Although Russ knew that Yu possessed the unique skill 『Depriving』 due to his unique skill 『Pursuit of Truth』, he was surprised that Yuu had never told him about the abnormalities in his own body.

"Gajin was the owner of a unique skill that could take away skills and jobs depending on the amount of damage inflicted on the opponent, right?"

"Yes"

"Gajin was able to take away skills and jobs to the point that his entire skin turned red. The pain must have been unimaginable. Even now I sometimes gouge out my own eyes because I can"t stand the pain. Why do you think that is?"

Not knowing what Yuu is asking, Russ has a hard time answering.

"I can"t help but take it. It"s hard to resist that desire. What"s even more disgusting is that when I succeed in taking the skill, the pain goes away for a little while. Even with the power of the World Tree, which is said to completely heal the body and spirit, the pain doesn"t go away. This is because the wound is not in the body or spirit, but in the soul"

"Well then, Master is......"

"I will die early"

Russ releases his clenched cane to Yuu, who says he"s dying too easily.

"At first I thought it was a curse"

"A curse......"

Russ, who hasn"t recovered from the shock yet, picks up his cane with his quivering hands.

"I"ve sacrificed more than 200,000. That"s one or two curses. The Demon King who rampaged in the Second Holy Devil War had a short-lived curse. This is my expectation. I don"t think it"s off"

Russ knew the demon king who was powerful in a different way than Yuu. But that powerful demon king was destroyed in just a few years. He was not destroyed by someone"s hand. The cause of his death was his lifespan. Russ had seen many others who had been summoned. If they all had some sort of curse, then there were many things that made sense to Russ.

"But not mine. This is a side effect of 『Depriving』. Well, I have a rough idea what the curse is"

Yuu looked at Russ as he said this.

-----------------------------------------------------

Roy was lying on his back on the ground, not moving a muscle, watching the clouds drift across the blue sky with emotionless eyes. Unable to trust anyone, his tears had dried up and his heart was filled with despair. He doesn"t care if he die like this. He didn"t have the energy to resist or even to resist if he was attacked by a demon.

"Hey, you´re fine――I can"t see it, though it"s not very good"

Looking into Roy"s face, Olivier Duraland, the archbishop of the Holy Country Jardalk, wearing a robe with purple embroidery says so. Behind him was a woman in a maid outfit, Chinzia, who didn"t look out of place here.

"What――"

Olivier interrupted Roy"s words with his hand and thrust his sword into the ground. Then, a wraith oozes out of the ground and scatters with a screaming expression.

"Yes, we can talk slowly now. I don"t want Satou to know too much about what we"re up to"

It was Yuu who had been following Roy with the wraith.

"Does......ma............matter"

Roy had nothing to talk to Olivier. However, he hopes to die undisturbed as it is.

"You seem to be very depressed"

"I"m sure you"ve already......used me. I"m sure......I"m no longer of any use to you. What do you have to tell me now......?"

"That"s right. I can"t leave you alone, you"re so much like me. By the way, were you able to get the truth from Satou?"

Roy had no intention of telling him anything, but then, on a whim, he heard what Yuu had told him. He told Olivier what he had heard from Yuu.

"It was a miscalculation that a hero appeared, did Satou say so? Hahaa. He is still a child, even if he is intelligent. He does not know the depth of human karma. It is not a miscalculation that a hero was born. That was the plan all along. I had the heroes form a party with the saint sent from Jardalk to defeat and destroy the Demon King. As a result, the dwindling number of believers in the Irigamit religion succeeded in reviving their numbers. That was the plan all along"

Even when Olivier told him more truths, Roy"s heart did not waver even a little. He was no longer interested in what anyone, anywhere, was up to.

"I understand how you feel. I"ve told you before, right? I"m the one who understands you"

"What do you............know about me!"

Roy, who had no energy or hope to live, was angered by Olivier"s insensitive remark.

"Even if you understand, it"s the same......I"m a hero"

"You"re......the same as me......a hero?"

Knowing that there are currently no heroes in the Holy Country Jardalk, Roy repeated his words to doubt Olivier.

"I"ve already experienced the anguish and despair that you"re going through"

"You expect me to believe such a lie. I"m sick of it! Please leave me alone!"

"It"s not a lie. Olivier is an alias. My real name is Oswell. Ah, don"t get me started on the meaninglessness of pseudonyms. They say it"s better to look a little bit like someone else so they won"t recognize you"

Olivier tried to soften the situation with a joking remark, but Roy was having none of it. The name Oswell, after all――

"It should be impossible to fake the name. And the name is――Oswell, the hero of light and one of the『Beginning Heroes』 !?"

It is possible to quit the n.o.bility and erase the n.o.ble family name, as Joseph did, but it is impossible to change the name.

"I have my own unique skill, just as you have a unique skill, which is 『Courage Amplification Believe』that can multiply the effect of 『Hero Body』.Originally, the only use for this skill was to eliminate the opponent"s attacks. One girl....broke the stereotype"

When he said that, Olivier stroked Roy"s body as if tracing it. Then, the full-body wounds that had been there disappeared in a flash.

"The wounds......disappeared. This is not recovery magic"

"With this power, I could do anything. With this power, anything was possible and I don"t mean metaphorically. The language you and I are speaking now is Jardalk, but there were many languages in the past. Udon, Derim, Dwarf, Elf, Beastman, the list goes on and on. But I erased those languages and made Jardalk my official language. But it seems that my power did not completely extend to the languages of dragons and fairies"

"Are you......using that power to live for more than 1,300 years?"

"That"s right. I made a promise. I promised to bring peace to the world"

The expression on Cinzia"s face, who had been silently listening to Olivier"s story, changed to one of grief.

"It"s just that I can"t use my powers as much as I would like to now, probably because I"ve been using them for so long. But I can"t give up because of that. If I am about to run out of food to use my powers, all I have to do is to prepare a subst.i.tute"

"What do you want me to do......?"

"I need your help. I need your help to bring peace to the world and to exercise true justice"

"I can"t help you"

"No, you can. Because you are a hero. The word 『Hero』 doesn"t refer to someone who is strong. People call someone who rises up again and again a brave person. Oh, that"s not my word, though"

"I can"t......I don"t have that kind of energy left"

"I wonder what your childhood friend would say if she saw you now. It"s not your childhood friend you killed, it"s the one who gave it to you"

Olivier pointed to the half-shattered steel gauntlet. Roy remained silent and clutched the steel gauntlet that his childhood friend had given him. He wonders how much time has pa.s.sed. Eventually, Roy stood up.

"That"s what I thought. I knew you would stand up. I knew you would rise to the occasion, but your strength is not yet mature. I"ve prepared a good teacher for you. He is a tough man, but he will help you"

"Give me some time. Before I can help you, I have some things I have to do"

"Yes, of course. You"re a lot like me after all"

A few weeks later, the king of a small country and his newly formed troops are killed by a thunder beast.