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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: shyan
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“Ugh…”
“Kgh…”
“Damn it…”
The three managed to raise their bodies with difficulty after the storm of tremendous magic power had passed.
Although they were barely clinging to life, they knew that the situation they were facing was literally the worst.
At this moment, their whole bodies were covered in wounds, and their stamina and magic power were literally hitting rock bottom.
Even Dagon, who had blocked the attack head-on, had broken bones in her arms and legs, and the others were so injured that it was harder to find a place that was intact.
This was partly because the enemy’s attack was tremendous, but it was also because their attack was countered in an unexpected way, so they didn’t have time to react.
Thus, the three, unable to fight any further, looked at the Black Hero in front of them.
At that moment…
“Kugh!…”
“!”
“Ah…”
The next moment, Hector was thrown right in front of them, his face a mess.
As they confirmed that their last hope had disappeared, a dark shadow of despair began to cast over the faces of the Hero party.
“Hoo… This is the end.”
“Good work. You cleaned up faster than I thought.”
“You, the Hero, are the one who took down three people by yourself. You must have had a tough time.”
Unlike the Hero party, who were trembling in fear in a life-or-death situation, Samuel and the Black Hero spoke in voices that felt relaxed and relieved.
It was at that moment when the three were in despair, realizing that there was no hope left for them.
“Kgh… Krugh!…”
“Huh?”
“You’re still able to stand?”
One figure struggled to their feet, blood dripping from their nose and mouth.
At Hector’s appearance, the Black Hero and Samuel showed expressions that seemed to contain a bit of interest.
“What is it? Don’t tell me you’re going to keep fighting in this situation? If so…”
The Black Hero spoke in a cold voice as he watched Hector force his body upright.
However, in response to this, Hector slowly shook his head and began to open his mouth with difficulty.
“I’m not going to… wage a reckless fight anymore. I’m just going to ask you to show mercy one last time.”
“Mercy?”
“That’s right… As you can see, we don’t have any more energy to fight. I will surrender willingly, and if necessary, I will offer my life as the leader of these people. Please… please guarantee the safety of my companions.”
“! He… Hector!”
“What are you saying now!”
“Don’t say that! We have to live together or die together!”
Hector spoke in a determined voice with his head bowed.
In response, the other companions shouted in urgent voices as they saw him trying to sacrifice himself for them, but Hector’s will did not change.
Someone had to take responsibility for causing this much trouble, and Hector was prepared to accept it willingly.
As the leader of the group, this was a natural duty and the last sacrifice he could make for his precious companions.
With that, Hector entrusted his fate to the two people in front of him and remained silent for a while.
Without even a shred of certainty as to whether what lay ahead was death or something else.
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Hector knelt before them, pleading for mercy.
In response, Samuel showed an indifferent attitude and said to me.
“What are you going to do, Hero? You’re the one who caught three of these guys, so I’ll follow your decision.”
“I understand, then…”
Samuel showed his intention that he didn’t care whether these guys lived or died.
In response, I hesitated for a moment and then began to ask the Hector guy in front of me some questions.
“Hector, was it? First of all, I want to ask you a few questions before deciding on your fate.”
“…Ask away.”
Hector spoke in a slightly docile tone at my words.
Knowing that his companions’ lives could be determined depending on how he answered here, he was showing a fairly cooperative attitude for the time being.
“First of all, what’s your business in this Jerusalem, you guys who belonged to the Allied Races? Moreover, why did you cause such a commotion?”
“That’s…”
Hector showed signs of hesitation for a moment at my question.
Looking at him like this, I intuitively knew that the reason he infiltrated this place was not very gentle.
However, Hector’s following words far surpassed even my expectations, which I had been prepared for to some extent.
“That’s because I am a Hero with the mission of taking the Demon King’s head.”
“…What?”
Hector brought up an unexpected story.
In response, I even started to think for a moment whether this guy, who had never even appeared in the original work, had eaten something wrong.
But soon, I realized that there was nothing else that could explain this situation so well.
‘A human Hero with an elf archer, a witch, and a beastman warrior. Certainly, the combination is correct.’
In addition, the fact that they had appeared in this place where it could be dangerous just to have their identity exposed, and had caused such a terrorist-level commotion, was a kind of evidence that they were a Hero party with the mission of assassinating the Demon King.
As I became aware of the identity and purpose of the people in front of me, I had no choice but to see them from a different perspective than before.
‘A Hero party… If that’s the case, then they’re my juniors, so to speak? Then that means they’re guys I absolutely can’t let go of quietly.’
Existences dispatched from the Allied Races with the purpose of assassinating the Demon King.
This was the task I had when I fell into this world, but for me at this point, the Hero party was a clear enemy.
Guys who had invaded, aiming for the life of the Demon King, who was in a romantic relationship with me, of all people.
Since I didn’t need to show any consideration to such guys, I momentarily began to think about blowing their heads off in this place.
However, apart from this impulse.
I had no choice but to kill my emotions, realizing that there were a few things I needed to ask if they were a Hero party.
“You’re saying you’re a Hero party? But even so, it doesn’t explain why you did this. There’s no need for you to do such a reckless thing at this point when the Allied Races have been disbanded, is there?”
Although they had lost to me just before, their skills were at a level where they could live while being recognized in their respective countries.
Looking at Hector in front of him alone, he could fight almost equally with Samuel, a commander, so he could easily take a position as a high-ranking mercenary or general in the Falcon Empire at the very least.
Nevertheless, instead of enjoying wealth and glory in their respective homelands,
They chose the Demon King’s subjugation, which was unlikely and extremely dangerous, and even if it succeeded at this point, it was ambiguous whether they would be welcomed.
Feeling a bit of doubt about that fact, I asked a question before killing the guys,
In response, the Hero Hector answered my question with an even more subdued expression.
A story related to the current situation of the divided Allied Races, not a simple reason.
Of how, in the chaos, they had been forced to part ways with their comrades and might even have to fight them in the future. The Hero’s party had chosen to resist that bleak reality.
While listening to their stories,
Listening to their story, I couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of regret.
After all, I had once been in a Hero’s party myself, only to be betrayed and forced to side with the Demon King.
Of course, apart from that, my determination to kill these guys who dared to touch my woman had not changed.
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“…I’m jealous.”
“?”
Hector, seeking final mercy, told the truth without any filtering.
Looking at him like that, the Black Hero muttered in a small voice.
A personal story that Hector could not understand from his point of view.
However,
Apart from these detailed facts, Hector had a bit of hope related to the fact that the Black Hero had said such a thing.
In any case, if the other party saw them in a slightly positive light, it meant that the chances of his companions surviving would also increase.
With that, Hector, who had said everything he had to say, waited for the Black Hero’s disposition.
In response, the Black Hero was about to say something in a calm voice.
At that moment…
“Huh?”
“Kugh…”
A scene suddenly began to appear in their eyes.
It was the sight of demon soldiers gathering from all directions and beginning to surround this area.
They arrived with the warrior wearing the red armor that they had seen in the arena just before.
The Hero party, who had been thinking that they might be able to save their companions’ lives if things went well, began to think that the situation had fallen to an even worse level.
‘Maybe that red armor reported it and brought the soldiers…’
‘Damn it… Does that mean there’s no way for us to survive in the end?’
Thinking that it would be impossible to rely on the mercy of the Black Hero alone any longer now that the soldiers had formally intervened, the Hero party began to feel a deep sense of despair.
Meanwhile, the Black Hero simply glanced at the red warrior who had just interrupted him, a faint look of curiosity in his eyes.
