—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The gate from the holy city of Heilen to the Lodreim Kingdom.
Like the gate from Basil to Sak, it was simply a series of barrier fragments placed at intervals. But even this simple setup was remarkably effective at preventing Chaos Beasts from approaching.
‘Though first-time users might find it frightening.’
It was probably similar to passing through an underwater tunnel, traversing the Chaos Realm, a place normally inaccessible.
Of course, it was far more terrifying than that, considering the transparency, which allowed you to see everything outside, and the ever-present threat of Chaos Beast attacks.
“Oh, that Chaos Beast over there looks cute.”
Elsie, however, seemed to disagree.
“It has ten heads. How is that cute?”
And Yuseora seemed disturbed by Elsie’s peculiar taste. Sitting inside the carriage, her expression was twisted, though not entirely due to Elsie’s strange preferences.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since Yuseora left the barrier.’
After the Crow Merchant Guild was destroyed by Chaos Beasts, she was rescued by a Hero and entrusted to the church’s orphanage.
There, she was selected by an Apostle and raised as a Hero candidate. During that time, she wouldn’t have had any reason to leave Heilen’s barrier.
‘So, she must be remembering the past right now.’
Though they were childhood memories, they would be vivid for her. The Crow Merchant Guild, traveling between barriers. And the guild’s end. That was her driving force.
‘Elsie is the strange one now.’
I looked at Elsie, who was still smiling brightly. We were heading to the Lodreim Kingdom. Elsie’s hometown, but also a place filled with trauma for her. Yet, she seemed to have cast it all aside, smiling.
What was she thinking? Was she forcing herself to smile?
“Do Chaos Beasts mate?”
I seemed to have worried needlessly.
“Elsie, such a vulgar question…”
Yuseora, blushing, was about to scold Elsie when the coachman, sitting on the driver’s seat, replied,
“Of course they mate. I’ve seen it a few times.”
That was news to me. ‘Hundred Braves’ hadn’t covered Chaos Beast mating. Come to think of it, Elsie’s curiosity might be valuable. I asked the coachman,
“Does that mean they reproduce?”
“I don’t know about that. But I doubt it. I’ve never seen a baby Chaos Beast.”
“That’s true…”
According to the coachman, Chaos Beasts mated indiscriminately, regardless of type. Though Chaos Beasts varied greatly in appearance even within the same family, making it difficult to distinguish species, the ones he’d seen were clearly different types.
So, it seemed their mating was for pleasure, not reproduction.
“Interesting.”
Elsie seemed intrigued. Yuseora, on the other hand, pretended not to listen, though her neck was flushed crimson.
‘As I thought, she has no resistance to this sort of thing…’
I’d have to be more careful. Suddenly, something beyond Yuseora caught my eye. I made a quick decision.
“Stop the carriage!”
A Chaos Beast was approaching at an alarming speed. Even from this distance, its size was considerable. The coachman stopped the carriage.
“What is it, Hero?”
“On the left. A Chaos Beast is approaching. We need to deal with it.”
The coachman turned his head and saw the Chaos Beast. His face paled instantly.
“Gah, what’s with that size…!”
“Elsie, Yuseora! Prepare for battle!”
Elsie and Yuseora jumped out of the carriage at my command. The coachman said urgently,
“But with that size, wouldn’t it be better to run…”
“No, it will catch up.”
The beast was clearly targeting us, and judging by its speed, outrunning it in the carriage was impossible.
‘We have to fight.’
I instructed Yuseora,
“Yuseora, prepare an Overload Strike.”
“Overload Strike” was the name I’d given to her corrected “Sky Slash.” Yuseora seemed to find it embarrassing, but I preferred it.
“Alright.”
She quickly drew a Sacred Replicant from her inventory. Twenty-four swords weren’t many, but they had to be used when necessary.
We could always get more 2-star relics if we had the achievements to show for it.
“Elsie, I’ll leave the finishing blow to you.”
Elsie simply nodded. The Chaos Beast was almost upon us. There was no time to waste.
“Sky… Overload Strike!”
It seemed she still hadn’t fully corrected it. Perhaps it would never be fully corrected. I’d have to rethink this. Regardless, her strike instantly tore through space.
The extended blade, amplified by Overload, sliced through the massive Chaos Beast like tofu. A strike comparable to a high-ranking Hero. The coachman, who had assumed we were just rookie Heroes fresh out of the academy, stared in wide-eyed shock.
“Elsie.”
“Yeah.”
Elsie charged at the bisected Chaos Beast. There was no need for me to assist. She mercilessly hacked the beast to pieces before it could even begin regenerating.
‘Her new Sacred Relic suits her well.’
The vicious-looking sword in Elsie’s hand seemed more suited for tearing and ripping than cutting. And it also seemed to slow down the Chaos Beast’s regeneration.
Elsie, however, looked like a demon. The cheerfully smiling girl from the carriage was gone, replaced by a silent butcher.
-Gnash
The coachman’s teeth were chattering. He was clearly disturbed by Elsie’s appearance. I understood.
“Is this enough?”
“Plenty.”
More than enough. No Chaos Beast, not even a Demon King, could survive being mangled like this. Elsie emerged from the beast’s remains, covered in dark, crimson blood. Although she had high resistance to Chaos, prolonged exposure to Chaos Beast blood was dangerous.
‘Authority of the Wind.’
I used the authority of the wind to cleanse Elsie of the blood. She was once again spotless.
“Now, let’s get back in the carriage.”
As Elsie and Yuseora boarded the carriage, I looked towards the distant hill. Elsie asked, puzzled,
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“I was just about to.”
“What were you looking at? Were there more Chaos Beasts?”
“No, I was just wondering if I could see Basil’s barrier from here.”
“Of course not. It’s too far.”
…I couldn’t tell her I was looking at a Demon King on that hill. The coachman was still here, and I didn’t want to frighten him any further.
‘That was definitely the same one I saw at the gate from Basil to Sak…’
I’d actually seen the Demon King Laus first, not the Chaos Beast. That’s why I’d stopped the carriage, sensing the Chaos Beast would attack us. Laus had the ability to manipulate nearby Chaos Beasts.
‘If he reports that battle…’
We might attract unwanted attention.
‘I’ll have to be more careful.’
Entering the Lodreim Kingdom wasn’t easy. The isolationist policy was in effect. However, as Heroes, backed by the church, we weren’t denied entry.
‘This is why I needed the Hero status.’
Being a Hero had many advantages, except for being bound by the Pontiff’s orders. But the Lodreim Kingdom had its own restrictions, even for Heroes.
“To enter, you must agree to this contract.”
The contract contained various clauses.
Do not cause disturbances within the kingdom.
Do not commit any crimes, including misdemeanors.
Seemingly standard clauses. But there was a hidden trap.
Do not spread false information to the citizens of the Lodreim Kingdom.
“False information” was a euphemism. It was simply a way to prevent us from informing the citizens about the outside world.
The official reason for the isolationist policy was the cold war with Sak, but that was just a pretext to divert attention from the royal family. They couldn’t risk news from Sak reaching the citizens.
Violation of any of these clauses allows the royal family to detain the Hero.
These strict clauses, along with the current anti-foreigner sentiment in the Lodreim Kingdom, were why most Heroes avoided it. But…
“Here.”
Elsie, Yuseora, and I all signed the contract. We had something we needed to do in the Lodreim Kingdom.
We finally set foot in the Lodreim Kingdom.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
101st Hero Peak