"You're...not a villager. Hey now, we've got a celebrity here. Though the guy next to you looks like a common villager."
"You are...?!"
Cecilia seemed surprised seeing the strange man, meaning that she might know something about him. I really wanted to ask about it, but now wasn't the time. Shiek was in trouble.
"But before that, knock it off you little...brat!"
Shiek's dagger was parried, and the man delivered a strong kick into his stomach, sending Shiek flying in our direction where he slammed into a tree.. He slid down to the ground, only to stand back up again.
When I looked at his face, the smile that should have been there was missing. Not because of the wounds, but because he was thoroughly pissed off. His mouth was closed, and his eyes were full of hatred as he glared at the man.
Again he faced the man, but I stopped him with a firm grip on his shoulder.
Even if Shiek attacked the man again, Shiek would still be the one defeated. Cecilia quickly used her healing magic on him as he was covered in wounds.
"Captain...this isn't funny at all..."
Like that, he gripped his dagger, clearly intending to attack the man again. This time, I stopped him by pinning him to the ground.
"Calm down! Tell me exactly what happened."
"That guy...took us by surprise, and attacked the gargoyle from behind while he was defending Tiel-chan from the bandits. ...When we asked why, that guy said it was because he was a gargoyle, and a gargoyle is a monster."
"Come on now~, is it wrong to kill a monster? Even though I took the bastard down, that kid there attacked me out of nowhere. If you're his guardian, teach him some goddamn manners."
Just being a monster wasn’t a good reason to kill someone. Whether it was because Shiek felt ridiculed or mortified, he let out a soundless cry.
"If you're just gonna cry, don't bare your fangs at someone. Though I suppose you’re just at that age, but you chose the wrong opponent, little boy~"
(TL: ლ(ಠ益ಠლ fffffffffffff)
The man continued to ridicule Shiek. Shiek and the gargoyle.
And so, this bastard who would kill a monster arbitrarily...
I would never be able to forgive him! I used 《Lightning Flash》 to strengthen my legs and narrowed the distance between us, then channeled 《Storm Blow》 into my arm and punched him. However, the man blocked the attack with his sword.
In an instant 《Storm Blow》, the spell I had on my arm, was nullified.
"Shit, what's up with that sword?"
I was sure that sword was the reason my magic was canceled.
It wasn't a particularly remarkable one handed-sword, but... Damn, I couldn't even think, I was so angry.
"Youki-san, please get away! He's not an opponent you should fight."
While Cecilia healed Shiek, she calmed my rage.
"Cecilia, do you know this guy?"
"He's the Hero from the Gallis Empire. His name is Mirror, the sword he wields is an artificial magic sword called 《Magic Eater》. It absorbs all magic, and for someone like Youki-san who only uses magic..."
"Wait wait wait, the Gallis Empire's Hero?! There's another Hero out there besides Hero-kun?"
I totally thought Hero-kun was the only one called Hero out there, but it looked like I was wrong. And that artificial magic sword had me intrigued.
"Yuuga was just the Clariness Kingdom's chosen Hero; all the other countries had their own chosen Heroes as well. We were just the only ones that made it to the Demon Lord's castle."
Having locked myself away in the Demon Lord's castle, I had no idea. Cecilia and her party were the only ones that came to my Mid-boss room. Duke and the rest never had any information for me either.
"Then, what's up with this artificial magic sword?"
"The Gallis Empire created it using a great many powerful swords. There's also rumored to be a spear and hammer as well, but..."
"Then what sword was Hero-kun using?"
"That was a legitimate holy sword; the Gallis Empire sought to make something like a replica.”
If they were really able to create something as dangerous as that, doesn’t that mean they were looking to start a war? It seemed like the guy beat Shiek using only his sword skills, and absorbed any magic that came his way. How annoying.
"And just how long are you gonna chitchat? If you're not here to get in the way, then get out of the way. And shut the fuck up!"
After interrupting us, Mirror, the Hero of the Gallis Empire, walked up to the gargoyle. He was going to deliver the final blow.
"Wait! That gargoyle saved Tiel-chan, he wouldn't attack people..."
"What fucking bullshit are you spouting? It doesn't matter if a monster is good or evil. And me? I just want to kill 'em all."
...What did he just say? That's the line of a psychopathic killer.
"Youki-san, right from the very start that man had no intention of defeating the Demon Lord."
"What?! Then why'd he become a Hero? He was selected by the empire, I wouldn’t think he’d have a choice."
"No. He did choose to become a Hero, but his reason for it――"
"It’s the greatest excuse to kill as many monsters as I want. It was a pain in the ass having to get a quest for every single one of them from the guild, ya know? That's why I wanted to become a Hero."
He kicked Tiel-chan aside with a hearty laugh, then sliced through the gargoyle's last remaining wing.
"Guardian Deity-sama――!!"
"Oh, hey now, if you get in my way...you know what'll happen, eh?"
He threateningly pointed his sword at Tiel-chan as she rushed over to save the wingless gargoyle.
"Please wait! If you, the Hero of the Gallis Empire, took the life of one of the Clariness Kingdom’s citizens, do you have any idea what would happen...?"
"Don't know, don't care. If you wanna start a war, be my guest, it ain’t got nothin’ to do with me. And what's this? Are you telling me the noble Lady of the Aquarain family wants to be my next victim?"
Pointing his sword at Cecilia now, he was grinning and laughing to himself,
Although his previous conduct and behavior had already reached unforgivable levels… now… NOW he crossed the line.
Something snapped inside me.
Not wanting to go down without a fight, Cecilia raised her staff and began channelling magic but I interrupted her by grabbing her shoulder and pulling her behind me.
"Youki-san?!"
Cecilia noticed the sudden change in me and was disquieted. But now that it had come to this, there was no stopping me.
"Huh? You're gonna take me on? Sorry, but I think I'd have more fun with that little Aquarain bitch over there."
He thought he understood the extent of my power from our little exchange earlier. Don't look down on a cheat, buddy. No way in hell that was my real strength. Some little scrub who was good with a blade and relied on a magic-absorbing sword...get set to get rekt!
"Mwahahaha, I'll send you to a special kind of hell. Prepare yourself!!"
Making Shiek and Tiel-chan cry, messing up the gargoyle, and to top it all off, pointing a blade at my beloved Cecilia, he was going to regret all of it.
"What on earth do you think you can do? Bring it on, Villager boyー"
Now he was even mocking me, but not for long.
"Heh, here we go! 《Fireball》《Thunderbolt》《Aqua Vulcan》《Wind Blade》《Rock Needle》!"
I fired off elementary level magic for Fire, Lightning, Water, Wind, and Earth.
"Surprisingly powerful, but futile. Don't you know that won't work?"
He wore a carefree smile while his sword absorbed all of the spells. But I wasn't done just yet. That was just a greeting.
"《Spark Storm》《Aqua Stream》《Gale Shoot》!"
I combined intermediate level Lightning, Water, and Wind spells together.
The Wind magic added momentum, and the raging stream wrapped in Lightning tore through the ground to Mirror.
"I told you, that won’t do jack shit!"
Once again, the blade cut through the magic and absorbed it. Mirror had a huge grin aimed at me. I'm sure he thought I was an idiot.
"I'm getting bored here, hurry up and take a hike!"
He ran to me and slashed with his sword. Using 《Lightning Flash》 I managed to avoid Mirror's swing. His skill with the sword was impressive, but it mattered little to me.
"Ya know, you're good at dodging and all, but how about pulling out a goddamn weapon? You know magic doesn't work against me. At least with a weapon you'd have a chance!"
"Bwahahaha, unfortunately for you I won't be using any weapons. All those who oppose me shall be consigned to oblivion by my magic."
There was a simple reason as to why I didn’t want to use weapons: I had reincarnated in a fantasy world, and I always thought that people who used magic to defeat their enemies were really cool.
I may have had a cheat, but I never really wanted to wield a proper weapon in the first place. Being a demon, I did have sharp claws to use as a natural weapon, but I didn't really feel like using them right now.
"You're some kind of super moron, you know that? You could fight against me for the rest of your life and never win! 《Blade Wave》!"
He was continuously frustrated with me dodging all of his attacks, and finally released a wide-ranged shockwave with his sword.
I could have easily dodged the attack, but Cecilia and everyone else would have received the brunt of the shockwave, so I took it head on.
"Youki-san!"
Cecilia's voice resounded through the air. Aw shit, having the girl you're in love with worry about you is great, it fanned the flames of my passion!
It would have been nice to drag this moment out a little longer, but playtime was over. I dispersed the shockwave with my magic, then put some distance between Mirror and myself.
"See if you can absorb this! 《Burn Waltz》《Sea Paradise》《Hyper Storm》《Roaring Thunder》《Heaven Judgement》《Falling Meteor》!"
I cast Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Light, and Earth type Superlative level magic. Likely the only magic user capable of such a feat was me.
Even Mirror was a bit surprised, but still managed to absorb the magic with a slash of his blade.
"But wait, there's more! 《Burn Waltz》《Sea Paradise》《Hyper Storm》《Roaring Thunder》《Heaven Judgement》《Falling Meteor》!"
Once again I cast Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Light, and Earth type Superlative level magic.
It was only an artificial magic sword after all, there had to be a limit to how much magic the blade could absorb. This realization slowly spread over Mirror's face as well.
I repeated the volley of Superlative level magic 4 times, and finally his sword started to crack. Then, on the fifth volley, the cracks spread and finally the whole thing broke apart.
"Fuck! Just how much magic do you have?!"
His precious sword was broken by a guy he severely underestimated, thus Mirror completely lost his composure. However, I wasn't so nice as to wait for my opponent to recover.
"You're full of openings!"
Without even the time to panic, I gifted him a straight punch right into his face. He was blown backwards, and awkwardly rolled across the ground.
Unable to contain my anger, I cast 《Falling Meteor》 and 《Burn Waltz》 in rapid succession.
When the smoke cleared, Mirror collapsed on the ground, utterly thrashed.
"Making me angry was your biggest mistake."
And of course, at the end, I gave my signature pose.
When I looked back, Cecilia was holding her head as if she was face palming. Tiel-chan was attending to the gargoyle and didn't see me at all.
And here I thought I'd be showered with praise at my victory. Well, it’s not like I wanted any recognition for my success, so I didn't worry about it much. I was more concerned with how Shiek was doing and jogged over to Cecilia.
"Well done, Youki-san. ...But was that last part really necessary?"
'That last part' was probably the signature pose.
"Er, well, it was like a switch flipped inside me, and I kinda got all jazzed up. So after battling for a bit, I just naturally fell into my signature pose when the fight ended..."
Switch inside of me...I dub thee Chuuni-switch.
"Right..."
Cecilia didn't look convinced. She didn't understand the concept of Chuunibyou at all.
"Anyway, how's Shiek doing?"
"He has a number of cuts, but no serious wounds, so 2-3 days of treatment and he should be as good as new."
"I see, thank goodness. Next, to heal the gargoyle――"
At that moment, sensing a presence I quickly turned around. Mirror, who should have been defeated, threw a spear at the gargoyle. He used the spear to cast 《Holy Laser》. The moment the attack hit, the magic would explode.
"Shit, now's it's an artificial magic spear?!"
I had no choice but to stop it. I cast 《Lightning Flash》, and jumped over to the gargoyle.
Would I make it in time?
However, as I ran, an unbelieveable scene unfolded before my eyes. Standing in front of the gargoyle was Tiel-chan.
At this rate, the spear would pierce Tiel-chan instead. Please let me make it in time! I prayed as I drew near the spear and reached out to catch it.
However, reality is cruel, and the spear went through Tiel-chan, piercing her abdomen.
"Girl, why did you protect me?!"
"Guardian, Deity-sama...You have, protected me, so many, times. That's why, this time..."
"Nrg, boy!"
"I got it. Cecilia! Hurry!"
I grabbed the spear and pulled it free. Blood poured out from her abdomen when I did. As I knew she'd collapse to the ground, I quickly went in to support her body. It was a dangerous situation, and her body was already weak. We had to hurry and use healing magic to close the wound.
"Youki-san, behind you!"
Cecilia ran towards me, yelling. When I looked at Mirror, he was firing off another shot.
"Don't fuck with me!"
The second shot was aimed again at the gargoyle, but this time I was able to easily catch it and nullify it. Finally noticing me, he refrained from firing a third shot.
"Haah... So a different nuisance got in my way this time. Is it really impossible now that Villager boy is here?"
Mirror, the “Hero” of the Gallis Empire, should have been a mess from our fight just now, but it looked like he was already healed.
Cecilia finally made it over, so I entrusted her with continuing Tiel-chan's healing, then headed over to Mirror. Unlike before, I didn't snap. On the contrary, I was strangely calm. I approached Mirror with no expression showing on my face.
"Honestly, I was here to investigate the Clariness Kingdom's Hero. I just so happened to pass by this village."
There's a limit to how much he could mess around; Tiel-chan and the gargoyle were in a terrible state because he 'just so happened to pass by'. As I thought, he was unforgivable.
"I still can't believe it; my sword 《Magic Eater》 breaking was outside my expectations. And I took way more damage than I should have. Thanks to the 《Wand of Magical Storage》, I was able to heal up just fine, but it has limited uses. Still, you gave me quite a run for my money, so it's all good. I don't even care about gathering information on the Hero anymore. I've gotten my hands on some even more amazing intel."
"You think you can escape?"
I had a feeling I was going to have to beat this guy senseless. I couldn't let him escape.
"You really are an idiot, Villager boy. Did you really think I wouldn’t have an escape plan?"
Mirror then took out a bow he had hidden behind his back and loosed an arrow. It flew in an arc, and as it got higher, it kept multiplying until it was about to rain arrows upon Cecilia and the others.
"If you don't protect your friends, they'll be hit by the arrows~"
"Dammit!"
I rushed to Cecilia's side, and used the senior level magic 《Hurricane》 to blow the arrows away.
When I looked back for Mirror, there was a blinding flash.
I opened my eyes to find he was gone. He got away.
He slayed bandits, hurt Shiek, and severed the gargoyle's arm and both wings. There was also Tiel-chan's weak body to worry about; the whole situation was pretty bad. He better not think this was over yet...
He couldn't have gotten far yet. If I hunted him down, I should find him. I wouldn't rest until he was crushed.