Chapter 109 – Hero vs Hero (1)

The goddess’s protection was weakening, but there was still a belief that they were safe.

They thought they’d never let their guard down, but at some point, they had.

The constant pressure from the encroaching monsters.

The devil tempted them, offering a way to escape the terror.

The emergency bell rang.

A grim toll echoing through the evening.

Knowing what it meant, people shut their windows and doors.

The children, as if terrified by the ceaseless ringing, burrowed into their mothers’ arms.

Feeling the warmth and trembling of her children pressed against her sides, the mother closed her eyes and prayed.

But even prayer could not stop her own trembling.

“Lower it!”

“The monsters have already broken through!”

“Damn bastards, are you trying to kill your comrades and sell out the entire town?”

The traitors who lowered the drawbridge were run through with spears, never to see the glory they had hoped for.

The City of Protection.

From the entrance that had, for the first time, allowed monsters to pass, terrible roars echoed.

“Shit, you goddamn bastards! I had a bad feeling about today.”

The guard cursed, gripping his spear tightly.

His comrades around him did the same.

He wanted to turn and run, right then and there. But he couldn’t.

“Block the entrance! Don’t let them in!”

The number of guards currently gathered was twelve.

And the number of monsters that had already entered was twenty.

Six-armed zombies began to run, laughing grotesquely.

The guards, prepared for death, met the zombies’ charge head-on.

Squish!

The sharp spearheads pierced the zombies’ torsos. But the zombies, incapable of feeling pain, simply opened their rotten mouths and laughed grotesquely.

Gaaah!

A soldier’s scream.

To save his captured comrade, another soldier struck a zombie’s neck with his spear.

As its head flew off, the zombie’s movements slowed.

Thanks to him, the captured soldier survived, but the one who had swung the spear had his torso torn apart by another zombie.

“Damn it!”

“These fucking bastards!”

They couldn’t even handle them one-on-one; there was no way they could stop a greater number of zombies.

Besides, these weren’t just any zombies; they were warriors created by the Demon King.

The soldiers entangled with the zombies fought with every ounce of their strength.

If their spears broke, they drew daggers. If they lost their daggers, they swung their fists.

“Stay with me!”

A bleeding comrade repeatedly collapsed, unable to even stand properly.

The soldier who stood in front to protect his falling comrade felt his own powerlessness.

Swoosh, shhhk!

Just then, the sound of something cutting through the air was heard, and the zombies’ bodies staggered.

Reinforcements had arrived.

Comrades, not even properly armored, drew their bowstrings and saved their allies in peril.

“You bastards from B-squad, I’ll never complain about you being late for a shift change again!”

The zombies began to fall, one by one.

In an instant, their numbers were halved. The guards helped their injured comrades and retreated.

But there was a reason they couldn’t view the situation with optimism.

‘The Traitor Hero…!’

A hero clad in black armor, radiating a sinister aura.

He stood there, sword in hand, merely watching.

If he moves, it’s over.

Everyone knew it.

This moment, while he remained still, was their only chance.

Creeaak, grrrind!

Dozens more zombies, riding the rising drawbridge, poured inside.

The only saving grace was that they had closed the gate.

“Hah…”

Dozens of zombies were bad enough. But to make matters worse, among them was a monster called a Parasitic Mushroom.

The Parasitic Mushroom was a human-sized fungus.

It had no offensive power, but this monster was extremely dangerous.

It scattered spores in all directions, killing those without resistance with its poison.

The dead had a chance of turning into zombies.

In a densely populated area like this, a single Parasitic Mushroom could cause a massive disaster.

“Take out the Parasitic Mushroom first!”

The guards fired their arrows.

The arrows sank into the mushroom’s damp body.

It let out a strange cry and began to waddle toward the town.

“Damn it!”

A curse escaped his lips.

The guards who were about to chase the Parasitic Mushroom felt a chill run down their spines.

For some reason, the man in black armor who had been watching until now…

The fallen hero glanced at the soldiers who had closed the drawbridge.

The hero raised his sword high.

Crackle.

A black aura formed around it.

Seeing it, the soldiers trembled.

Swish!

The fallen hero swung his sword, and the condensed sword energy severed the drawbridge’s left chain.

Clang!

With one chain broken, the drawbridge tilted to one side.

If the other one broke, there would be nothing left to hold the closed drawbridge up.

“Son of a bitch…!”

The ninth hero, Teylder, was toying with them.

He was simply watching them struggle before his overwhelming power.

Like an absolute being pressing its thumb down on an ant crawling on the ground.

“Die, you bastard!”

The leader of B-squad fired an arrow, drawn with all his might.

Ting!

The HP shield that appeared around the fallen hero’s body repelled the arrow before it could even get close.

The fallen hero raised his sword.

Once again, a dense black energy gathered at the tip of his blade.

To sever the last remaining drawbridge chain.

Swish!

The condensed energy flew. The guard who had closed the drawbridge gritted his teeth and threw his arms around the chain.

Crack!

He felt his back being torn apart.

Coughing up blood, the man holding the drawbridge chain felt his consciousness fade.

It felt like he could die at any moment.

His back burned as if on fire. The pain was so intense that the blood vessels in his eyes burst, turning his vision red.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’

He hugged the chain with his trembling body. He would probably die.

But if this chain broke, the drawbridge would fall, and everyone in the town would die.

The guards charged the fallen hero.

They were emboldened by the valiant effort of their comrade who had thrown his body to protect the chain.

The fallen hero sneered and raised his sword.

Shunk, thwack!

It was a one-sided battle.

With a single swing of the fallen hero’s sword, the guards were swept away like insects.

It was infuriating.

Their spearheads, lacking mana, couldn’t penetrate the fallen hero’s shield.

He was, quite literally, invincible.

A boy named Theo collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the scene.

The Parasitic Mushroom rushed inside, spreading its spores like mad.

The guards struck down by the hero were crawling on the ground like helpless insects.

The boy’s eyes met one of the guards’.

Unable to stand due to a large gash on his stomach, he gestured to the boy.

Telling him to run.

The fallen hero raised his sword.

The man who had given his life to protect the drawbridge chain was already a cold corpse.

Still, his body was wrapped around the chain.

Teylder unleashed his sword energy.

Swoooosh!

The man’s body was torn apart along with the chain.

Clank-clank-clank!

The drawbridge plummeted, crashing to the ground.

Through the thick cloud of dust, the army of the undead began to enter the goddess’s city.

* * *

“How boring.”

Teylder felt a sense of boredom.

He, who had been the strongest knight, became a hero.

By becoming a hero, he received the goddess’s protection and the system’s blessing.

Already strong, he became even stronger and set out to subjugate the Demon King.

But he always felt a question lingering in his heart.

Humans are weak.

The beings called kings merely rule by relying on their bloodlines.

There was no reason to offer them loyalty.

Teylder changed his way of thinking.

He decided to become a subordinate of the powerful Demon King.

Upon becoming the Demon King’s subordinate and inheriting his army, he felt a catharsis he had never known before.

The pleasure of trampling on arrogant insects who were nothing but weak was indescribable.

At the same time, he also felt a deep sense of loss.

Having received the protection of both the goddess and the Demon King, he had become far too strong.

“How boring.”

The fallen hero, Teylder, turned away.

His underlings saw the fresh prey their master had intentionally left alive crawling on the ground and rushed forward, each wanting to be the first to eat.

The fresh prey, the boy, stood up.

He tried to run, but with his trembling legs, even walking was a struggle.

The boy shuddered, sensing the disgusting stench from behind him.

A massive shadow fell over his body.

This is the end.

The moment the boy squeezed his eyes shut.

Swish! Splat!

Something fell, rolling on the ground with a splash of bodily fluids.

It was the severed head of the Parasitic Mushroom.

“…!”

The boy quickly turned around.

A man was walking leisurely toward the monsters.

As if he were taking a stroll.

The boy, Theo, found himself following the man with his eyes.

It wasn’t just the boy.

The injured guards struggling on the ground.

The woman fleeing with a child in her arms.

They were all staring at the man as if possessed.

* * *

I crossed dimensions through the gate the old man made.

He said the gate he made doesn’t cause time discrepancies like other gates.

I guess that’s the difference between a master and a commoner.

Olivier is handling the information gathering on this other world.

“Sir Hero, shouldn’t we close the gate? It seems dangerous.”

This tiny fairy currently clinging to my shoulder.

No, calling her a fairy gives me goosebumps.

Let’s just call her a GPS.

A clone of Olivier followed me.

It’s nice and convenient to have her for information gathering and guidance.

“I’m going to charge you for all of this, you know? Did you think it was for. free? All my clones get a salary, you see.”

Ah, yes. I see.

“Was that what a hero was originally supposed to look like?”

I looked at my junior, clad in black armor.

“Of course. I was so scared, too.”

Scared, my ass. This is the same person who’s currently sitting on my shoulder, pulling my cheeks.

It looked like this so-called ninth hero was thoroughly enjoying himself.

The kid who was being chased by the monster is staring blankly at me.

I walked over to the kid.

Seeing him frozen like a statue made me feel a bit sorry for him.

I patted the kid’s head.

Only then did he flinch, as if the statue spell had been broken.

“Can you go get some people?”

Hearing my words, the boy slowly nodded.

He’s a good listener.

The zombies bared their rotten teeth at me.

These undead guys, I wonder if they have sinus problems or something.

To think he brings these things around with him.

“Grrrraaa!”

“Ugh, the smell!”

Thwack!

I swung my sword reflexively because of the stench.

Four zombies, cut by my sword, were sliced apart at once. They staggered and then collapsed.

The guards stared at me.

Even in their severely injured state, their pupils were wide as they looked at me.

“Here we go.”

I swung my two-handed sword in a wide arc.

Craaack!

The satisfying sound of flesh being sliced and bones shattering echoed.

I wiped out all the zombies that had gathered around in one go.

I should build a memorial for the noble warriors who overcame their fear and sacrificed themselves for others.

“Time for a little handover.”

-Entering Phase 1.

-Phantom Step LV Max has been activated.

-Close Quarters Combat LV Max has been activated.

-Hero’s Authority: Weapon Master has been activated.

-Hero of Salvation has been activated.

-The more people there are to protect, the higher your attack power rises.

-Current application: Attack Power +210%.

-A unique barrier is being formed.

-Banish Darkness has been activated.

“You’re so fucked now.”