I Kidnapped the Hero Party – Chapter 34

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
As his middle finger rose, the believers rushed at me like moths to a flame.

They held daggers emanating demonic energy in their hands.

Fortunately, there were no high-ranking believers present.

Perhaps the Demon Lord thought he could handle it alone.

“Well, I should kill all these small fry first.”

Slash-

I slowly began slicing the believers’ necks.

One, two, three.

They seemed to have no fear of death as they approached me fearlessly with their daggers even as their necks were being cut.

They were like dolls that had forgotten fear.

“…No, they might actually be dolls.”

“Correct, dog of the Goddess. They are my dolls. Very desirable dolls that move exactly as I want.”

Dolls that had lost their free will and moved as controlled.

I cut all of their expressionless heads off one by one.

The floor was piled with corpses of Luna’s family along with the believers’ bodies, forming a mountain.

It was a devastating scene.

Seeing this carnage, Grid said with a smile.

“If I want something, I take it. If I want to discard something, I discard it. It’s a very simple rule. They must have felt good being controlled by me, a Demon Lord. Don’t you want to move like that too?”

“…Bullshit. More importantly, Luna’s family. Why did you kill them?”

There shouldn’t have been a reason to kill all of them like this.

The blood from the corpses hadn’t congealed yet, indicating they had been killed not long ago.

If the goal was to kill Luna, it would have been better to keep her family alive, but the Demon Lord Grid didn’t do that.

“Why on earth did you kill these innocent people?”

“Just for entertainment. While waiting for the Hero, I need to have some fun too, don’t you think, dog of the Goddess?”

“…”

“My desire is ‘eternal life’, you see. Not a life of boring existence. I want to be a being that always feels excitement. That’s why I killed those humans.”

Grid was smiling with an expression devoid of any tension.

An arrogant and detestable face.

I wanted to punch that face right now.

Demon Lords were beings that aroused the urge to kill them all.

Clang-

“Hmm? Dog of the Goddess. Why did you put down your sword?”

“…I’ll face you properly.”

Spatial storage.

I put my hand into it.

That branch should have been here.

‘Found it.’

A magic staff made from a World Tree branch, one of only three in this world.

She had made it herself.

I took out this keepsake inherited from my teacher Aina.

I thrust the staff, slightly taller than me, into the floor.

Thud-

Then I shouted,

“Vanish, space.”

And then,

“Be reborn.”

Colorless magical power leaked from the floor, enveloping the space.

The floor shook as if an earthquake was occurring.

The tremors gradually subsided, and when I opened my eyes after closing them, a space of nothingness spread out before me.

It was literally nothingness.

“Hmm, dog of the Goddess. What is this space?”

“This is the Prison of Nothingness. This prison won’t be released until one of us dies.”

A prison of nothingness.

For that guy to escape, he needed to kill me.

For me to escape, I needed to kill him.

It was a magic with no way back and it was a magic suitable for sacrifice.

“…Surely, she must have felt this way too.”

Perhaps pitying me for sacrificing myself in this way, Minerva gave me one last gift.

She was unable to be honest even at the end.

The only reason I couldn’t reach the level of Archmage despite having the knowledge was one thing.

Insufficient magical power.

That was the only reason.

However, it was different now that I’d received Minerva’s gift.

I thrust the tip of the staff into my heart.

Stab-

“…Dog of the Goddess. Stabbing your heart with the staff… Do you have no intention of surviving here…?”

Even if I die, I should take you with me.

By stabbing the staff into my heart, I supplied magical power to my entire body.

I didn’t die, and my heart still beat.

It was thanks to Minerva’s gift.

“…You. You’re quite something. Then, I’ll face you equally too. Dog of the Goddess. Consider it a blessing to see this form.”

Creep-

A huge red mouth that could swallow me whole sprouted from Grid’s back.

It licked its lips greedily, savoring the sight of me.

Just looking at it made me feel disgusted.

Seeing this, I deployed magic in both hands.

‘I leave the rest to you, Luna.’

This story has already left my hands.

You must turn the next page.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Why…

Why did this happen to me…?

“N-No… This is a dream… Ri-Right…?”

Someone tell me this is a dream.

This can’t be reality.

Right?

Please.

Please…

“Tell me it’s a dream…”

Reality was cruel.

What unfolded before Luna as she entered the house were the corpses of her family.

All the corpses were abnormal, and they had died with their eyes open, as if filled with resentment.

Luna walked across the floor splattered with blood.

Mister was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah, aah… Th-This… can’t be…”

-What can’t be, Hero?

“This can’t be reality… Su-Surely… I must have fallen asleep on the train and had a nightmare…”

-This is reality, Hero. This is your ‘burden’. Accept it.

What on earth was a Hero, and what was this burden…?

The auditory hallucination spoke with an even clearer voice.

Screams begging “Save me” were also heard, but Luna was too preoccupied with the tragedy before her to pay attention.

The voice continued to speak to Luna.

-Hero. Does this seem like a dream to you?

“It-It must be a dream… It can’t be reality…”

-Don’t be weak, Hero. This is ‘reality’. And you must take responsibility.

“Re-Responsibility… Ho-How do I take it…? Ca-Can I save them…?”

Just before her mind collapsed, Luna reached out to the last spark of hope.

-Even if you fall, I’ll raise you up again. If you want to save them. Draw me out.

“Ca-Can I… save them…? My-My family…?”

The fog that had clouded her mind cleared away.

A golden sword shining brightly blocked her view.

-Come on, draw me out.

“…”

Alright…

I’ll… draw you…

Luna, driven to the edge, reached out to the sword as if grasping at her last lifeline.

At that moment, space distorted and a person popped out of thin air.

“Mi-Mister-!! Yo-You’re alive-!!”

Before Luna could finish speaking, Jun-woo’s body fell forward.

Thud-

“Huh…?”

Luna supported Mister’s falling body.

Her hands supporting Jun-woo became soaked with blood.

Jun-woo’s condition was not good.

He was on the verge of death.

“Ah… Mi-Mister…?”

“Cough, Luna…”

“Ah, aah… No… Don’t leave me alone… Mi-Mister… From now on I’ll listen well… I’ll train hard… Please… Please don’t die…”

Drip drip-

Please don’t die…

Don’t leave me alone…

Luna cried, trying to stop the blood flowing from the hole in Jun-woo’s heart with her hands.

Even so, the blood showed no sign of stopping.

His body was growing colder.

Sensing his impending death, Jun-woo gently stroked Luna’s head.

“…Luna. Cough-”

“Do-Don’t speak-! Yo-Your condition-”

“…Luna, listen carefully. These are… my last words…”

“…”

Does it really have to be the last…?

I thought today was going to be a good day…

Why did it turn into such a painful day?

Luna’s vision blurred with tears.

Feeling Jun-woo’s warm touch for the last time, she listened to his final words.

“…Even if you open your eyes again. Don’t despair… And.”

It will be hard.

It will be painful.

But bear the ‘burden’.

You can do it.

Leaving only those words, Jun-woo slowly closed his eyes.

As if to seal the fact that he had disappeared, the voice also came back.

-Draw it, Hero. The Goddess’s apostle is dead. So draw it out.

“…”

Luna reached out her hand without saying anything.

At this point, she didn’t care what happened anymore.

In a state where even hope for improvement had disappeared, she drew out the sword that had been hidden in the mist.

Golden light burst forth, but Luna’s eyes were empty.

-Congratulations, Hero. You’ve chosen to bear the burden.

To save people.

To create a happy world.

You’ve shouldered the burden of protecting peace.

-I’ll send you back. Even if you fall, I’ll raise you up again. My name is the holy sword ‘Timeless’. I look forward to working with you.

Along with even clearer screams, the holy sword Timeless let out a chilling laugh.

And then, when she closed her eyes and opened them again,

“Ah, a nightmare…!! Hu-Huh…? Where is this? Mi-Mister…? A-Are you alive…?!”

Luna was on the train.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Mi-Mister-!! Uwaah-!!”

“…Luna, let go. You’re noisy.”

“Sniff- Mi-Mister- Sniff, I thought you were… Sniff- dead…”

…Did she seriously drink Estia’s holy water?

What’s wrong with her?

Luna was holding onto my waist, crying profusely.

She looked extremely anxious and genuinely frightened.

I couldn’t understand what was going on.

“Lu-Luna…! Mo-Move…! Yo-You’re troubling Mister…!”

“Sniff, Hare… I, I’m sniff… so scared… I-I thought it was over…”

“Ge-Get away…! Do-Don’t try to hug him…! Mi-Mister… Please get her off…”

Did Luna have a nightmare?

But her reaction seemed too intense for that.

Luna’s words sounded vivid, as if she had actually experienced it.

“…Luna, don’t get snot on my clothes. It’s dirty.”

“Sniff- Don’t, sniff… How can I not cry- All my family died… Sniff, and, and you died too, Mister…”

“…Wait, I died?”

“Yes, Mi-Mister went into the house… and, and fought with a strange person…”

“Calm down and speak slowly, Luna.”

“Sniff, okay…”

Luna explained the situation while sobbing.

Her family was all massacred, I closed the door and told her to run away, and in the end, I died with a hole in my heart, and then she drew a strange sword.

After piecing together the information, there was only one conclusion.

‘Did Luna come from the future to the past…?’

If Luna’s words were true, that would probably be the answer, and in that future, I died, and Luna remembered it.

In my opinion, that ability was closer to a curse than a blessing.

Having to remember people’s deaths and constantly experience situations that others didn’t remember.

That must be the Hero’s ‘burden’.

The burden of the Hero who must sacrifice for others and suffer in their place.

The continuous ‘cycle’ of that had begun.

At that moment, as if confirming my thoughts, a problem arrived from Minerva.

“So this is why there were more pages after my death…”

Time reversal.

Luna had reversed the timeline where her family died and I died.

Like rewinding a clock spring, time went backward.

If that was the case…

“This is no time to be lounging around.”

“…Mi-Mister, do you believe Luna’s lie…?”

“That’s right. To believe such a story, Mister must be a bug.”

It was not a lie.

Luna was telling us what actually happened.

I spoke to Hare and Saten as we arrived at the station.

“Both of you wait here with Estia. Luna and I will be back shortly.”

“Wh-Where are you going…?”

“Luna’s house.”

The corpses weren’t old.

So, if we moved quickly now.

If we arrived swiftly, we might be able to save Luna’s family.

“Luna, I’ll save your family.”

“Yes, Mister…”

Holding Luna’s determined hand, we ran towards the house.

The first time we fought, we probably died simultaneously…

‘But this time is different.’

Minerva must have recorded my fight with the Demon Lord.

She would give me the answer through a problem.

So now I should be able to turn the page that had burned black.

The recorded future didn’t lie.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

[interesting power but I feel like the sword is evil or something like its gonna be Kronos or some shit]