I somehow managed to do this chapter (lol). Forgot to mention this before, but I'm using Darkaeluz's suggestion of putting the meaning of 【Abandonment】in brackets next to it because I don’t have a proper name that means what it. Thanks for reading~
It's finally the day of the execution. Right now, it's just past noon. I have already sneaked into the coliseum, where the execution is being held, and have mixed in with the ordinary people.
I'm doing separate things to what Freya and Setsuna are doing, because I have entrusted Freya with an important job and I made Setsuna stick with her as a guard.
Setsuna has become level 28. Although it's still quite low compared to Freya and I, she's on the higher side for an ordinary person and her fighting sense is good. Besides, her talent values are overwhelmingly high as well.
Even against a high grade knight, she should be stronger in a fight. I also requested for the sword saint, Kureha's co-operation, but she politely declined.
I was making her provide information, but it seems she doesn't count as part of our fighting force. There are multiple reasons for that.
First of all, it's the fact that I'm enough by myself for this strategy. As long as no special grade war potential like Kureha or the heroes come out, I am able to deal with anything, even if the masses gather up. I have already confirmed that that kind of existence wouldn't appear, by capturing a few soldiers that are following this operation and using【Recovery Heal】on them.
The other one is that it's more convenient for Kureha to stay at the kingdom. The role I'm expecting from Kureha is a spy, because there is a lot of information which can only be found from the inside.
Ideally, even if Kureha was to earnestly take actions with us, I need her to kill Flare's younger sister princess before that.
The defenses around that girl are tough. She's a perfectionist that has an extreme distrust of other humans, so she doesn't quite show any gaps. It would be impossible to kill that thing unless she comes out of the inside.
Rather than the king, that thing's nature is much worse. The reason why the king who can be called the root of all evil has still not been killed is because that younger sister princess will be able to freely take action after his death. They must not hand over the authority of the king to that thing. If that thing is guilty of doing anything to me in this world, I would immediately use all my power to go and kill it, but for a while, I have no choice but to leave it alone.
"Seems I have gotten nervous." (Kearuga)
I unintentionally talk to myself. This time, I'm going to be rescuing. When it becomes rescue and not destroying, the degree of difficulty with the strategy springs up all at once. There are various hard parts about rescuing that destroying doesn't have.
First of all, I have to fight while protecting the villagers. Following that, there's a risk while leading them in escaping. In the end, I also have to protect their lives after running away.
There are close to 40 people being executed today… on the reverse, I could say there is only 40 more remaining. The rest have all been killed.
I have taken various measures. As long as I have money, most things manage somehow or another and if I am holding the weakness of an influential person, I can even do most unreasonable things.
I used the merchant who worked with me for selling the cure for the strange disease as a game piece. Just as I guessed, he had failed at reproducing the potion from the recipe he stole from me and was on the verge of ruin because the strange disease itself had settled. I purposely helped him with a "method that has problems" when he was about to be disposed of by the mastermind who tried using him, and at the same time, I got hold of his weakness and made him co-operate with this time's incident. I will make him protect the lives of the villagers after they escape.
"Well, although I tried, it would probably be useless." (Kearuga)
I was confident in that. While I was in deep thought, I was pushed into the spectator stands which encircle the ring.
There are a lot of people and the spectator stands are crowded. It's the execution of everyone that lives in the village that gave birth to the princess killer. It's not bad as an exhibition. I can also agree that it's popular.
The villagers were brought along to the ring and one by one, were all being crucified. It seems they didn't have any willpower to resist since their eyes were blank.
There were both women and children. From the spectating stands, the audience was calling out 'kill them, kill them'. I once again feel it; humans are cruel living beings. How ugly can they get.
After they finished crucifying them, the knights formed a line and a middle-aged man wearing flashy clothes went up to a higher stage. He is most likely the person in charge of this operation. There is a high chance he's Renard's, who I killed, successor.
A kiiin, high pitched noise was made; it's a phenomenon peculiar to amplification magic. There was equipment prepared to use amplification magic on the ring and when he started talking to the jewel, the amplified voice reached the spectator stands.
"From now, the execution of the corrupt people who lived in the village of heresy will be carried out. This village disobeyed god's teachings and believed in the whispers of the devil. Furthermore, those warped teachings even made the hero descend to evil, resulting in the tragic death of the saint, Freysama."
The voice of the middle aged man which was amplified by magic resounded through the spectator stands. I started to hear sobbing from the spectator stands; princess Flare was loved by everyone as a saint.
"To not let this tragedy happen again, we will eradicate all the culprits here"
The knights near the crucified villagers took a stance with their spears.
"… is what I want to say, but a heretic devil dwells inside the hero of healing's body. All the malice has been condensed into just one person. Keare, the hero of healing. If you can hear my voice, could you come forth? If you who has taken in all the malice dies, the devil will return to hell and the villagers will be released. If you still have a human heart inside you, then come here. By dying, you will also be saved!"
My laughter almost started leaking out. What a forced meaning. They probably want to lure me out, but to lure me out, they need to use the villagers' lives as bait.
However, since they stuck the label of being dyed in heresy on me, they must have some kind of reason to overlook the villagers without executing them. Therefore, they made it so I'm in the wrong for everything. Despite that, it seems like they are trying to turn my honor into bait. If I reveal myself here, I can at least protect my honor by being someone who resisted the devil's control until the very end.
It's quite an interesting way of thinking, but it's stupid. Do they really think I would be lured out by this kind of bait?
That being said, if I don't come out here, the villagers are probably going to be killed. It's annoying, but I have to go. I stand up from where I was hiding in the spectator stands, run in between the stands and jump; landing inside the ring. Just before the villagers are going to be executed, I jumped into the stage of death which the soldiers and knights were on the watch for.
Attention from the surroundings start gathering on me. While that was happening, I throw off my robe. The audience keeps quiet.
My current appearance is Keare; the hero of healing's appearance. There should be no appearance more appropriate than this. The middle aged man and the leader of the soldiers and knights here laugh. That is a laugh of scorn.
"So you have arriiiiiiived, the heinous criminal who killed the princess, the fallen hero who is possessed by a devil. The hero of healing Keareee!" (TL Note: Yeah… I should've made his name Kearu instead of Keare… I just wanted to make it look a bit more English-like instead of looking like romaji, but now it just sounds like a meme.)
The audience starts springing out. The crowd starts calling out "kill him". Madness and enthusiasm envelops the surroundings.
"Cooooome, present your neck. If you die, the villagers will be saved. Now, with the last part of your conscience, hold down the devil. We are compassionate. We will bury you as a human, so be relieeeeved."
Compassionate. They certainly are. After all, they are going to kill me.
The heinous sinner who killed the princess and countless soldiers. Quickly killing someone like that it too kind it makes me almost want to cry. Normally, they would torture me until I plead for death.
Using【Jade Eyes】, I confirm the difference in war potential between us. Combining soldiers and knights, the enemy numbers 43 in total. There's no special grade war potential either. Ahh, that's it huh. That number? What's up with that quality? Did they really think they could kill me with just that much? It's unpleasant.
Soldiers start rushing at me, and each time, they are in a group of six. They probably intend on holding me down. They aren't even taking a stance with their swords. It's getting increasingly unpleasant.
"You probably don't plan on seriously capturing me. If you are being serious with just this, it's an insult towards me." (Kearuga)
Shortly informing them, I slip through all their hands. However, I didn't only slip through them; I struck all of their backs. With a befuddled face, the soldiers turn around.
"【Deterioration Heal】" (Kearuga)
I tell them the name of my certain kill magic. The soldiers crumble down.
To kill a human, neither an enormous explosion nor cutting them in half with a strong sword is needed. Simply blocking the gateway which blood comes out from the heart can make a human die. With my【Deterioration Heal】, that is possible.
I just need to touch them with my hand.【Abandonment】(Meaning: To see everything) that I copied from the sword saint and【Serene】which makes me concentrate to the utmost limits. If I use those two, I can do tricks like this.
"You bastaaaaaaaaard, are you going to keep piling up crimes"
The middle aged man, the current leader, is shouting.
"Crimes? What are you saying? Crimes are evil things, and I'm doing righteous things. I, who came to save the pitiful villagers, am justice. In other words, this is just carrying out justice. You guys are the evil ones right?" (Kearuga)
It seems they couldn't stomach the words I said right now, as the killing intent of the knights and soldiers in front of me swelled up all at once. Humans get the most angry when the bull's-eye is hit.
They most likely recognize that they are the evil ones. I, an ally of justice, have the responsibility to swiftly exterminate evil people.
"Hero of healing Keare! Don't move. Do you know what will happen to the villagers if you move closer?"
The soldiers near the villagers thrust their spears right in front of the villagers. I smile and use【Deterioration Heal】on the closest soldier.
The soldier's body swells up in one go and explodes. If all the cells in the body are forcibly grown, it becomes like this.
It's such a brutal death that everyone's faces apart from mine has turned ghastly pale. Compared with plugging up one blood vessel, it's a method of killing which has an intense mana collection. However, this is a threat. It's necessary to kill as brutally as possible; it's not a waste, but it's a necessary cost.
"Tell me, what will happen to them?" (Kearuga)
"Kill themmmmm, first do five of themmmm!"
Under the middle aged man's command, four of the villagers were killed. They were planning to kill five, but one of them was saved. By throwing a sword I collected from the corpse, the sword became stuck in the nape of his neck and one of the soldiers that was trying to execute a villager died.
"Hahahahaha, because of you, four of them died. It's your fault!"
"My fault? What exactly are you saying?" (Kearuga)
I don't understand. Why is it my fault?
"Because you were disobedient, the villagers died!"
"That has nothing to do with it. You guys killed them. It's your fault. I am a victim who had his loved ones killed. That's cruel. To think you would put a false accusation on me while I'm mourning. Instead, I saved one person. As I thought, I really am justice. After all, you guys killed four people, and I saved one person." (Kearuga)
Good grief, he's the worst trash to blame someone for a crime. Although I'm pitiful, the most pitiful ones are the villagers who were killed. So that they can peacefully sleep, I need to kill them and dispel their resentment. I should immediately start killing some people as a memorial service for the dead.
"Wait, waaaaait, do you not understand, if you resist, the more you resist, the villagers will"
"It's okay. Even if they are killed, I can properly avenge them." (Kearuga)
I love revenge. For both the villagers, and my sake, I will properly do what I need to do. If they are killed, I will properly take revenge for them. The soldiers in frenzy kill three more villagers. Do these guys not have a human conscience? I need to kill them as fast as I can. If I do that, the amount of villagers who are saved will increase. It will also dispel the chagrin of the dead villagers, so it's killing two birds with one stone.
"This guy, he's broken, weird, what even is this"
They are treating me like a deviant. Not only are they cruel, they are rude people. Now there's no choice but to kill them.
I begin to run. My aim is the middle aged man who seems like the leader. Trying to hold me back, men who take stances with their sword stand in my way. One, two, three. This time, 3 knights, not soldiers, get annihilated by my【Deterioration Heal】; it was a good choice to distribute my talent value to MP. To hide the fact that I can use sword techniques, I have been fighting with【Deterioration Heal】and martial arts, but it's quite hard. Because it's troublesome, I want to use a sword.
"The barrieeeeeeer! Use the barrieeeeeeer!"
The middle aged man shouts. Oh no, he's done it now. That alone is useless.
Well, the barrier I prepared… the world of blood has been put into operation. Originally, it's their trump card which protects them. However, that is distorted irregularly. The world of blood will surely cause tragedy. Now, I'll have them enjoy this performance.