"Hey! Are you guys all right?!"
I shouted at Leon's party, who looked like they had wounds all over their bodies.
Ciel is bleeding from the chest. Melia is tending to her.
And - a little further away from them, Leon is kneeling down with a wound.
They are cornered, as if they were about to be annihilated.
"I-Isn't it Baskerville-san? Did you come to help us?"
Melia, who is holding a cloth to Ciel's chest to stop the bleeding, looks up.
Her tone of voice was slow and tense, but her forehead covered with beads of sweat.
At her feet, there are exhausted bottles of recovery medicine and remnants of rescue fireworks. It seems that it was Melia who launched the fireworks.
"Is it because of my good behavior that the help comes so conveniently? And Baskerville-san, you're getting a lot of points from Melia. Shall I give you a kiss on the cheek?"
"No need. I'm glad to see you're doing well, but I guess you're not. Please, Aeris."
"Okay. I'll take care of it!"
Aeris begins to heal the unconscious Ciel.
Ciel, whose face is as white as paper, is obviously out of combat, but Aeris will be able to heal her without any problem.
Well, it's good. In the meantime, I'll go to Leon.
"Here, here's a potion. Drink it quickly or you'll die."
"Baskerville... why are you here...?"
Leon looks up at me while kneeling on the ground, breathing on his shoulders with wounds all over his body.
But I shrug my shoulders and ask Leon back.
"That's my line. How did you end up fighting such a crazy enemy?"
"...I don't know. He challenged me to a fight because I'm the descendant of a hero."
"Hmm...?"
Leon's explanation pulls the game scenario from my memory.
As a descendant of a hero, Leon was often targeted by the minions of the Demon Lord's army, including the gargoyle that he fought in the first dungeon.
But...of course, Shinya, the fourth heavenly king, does not appear in the early stages of the game.
There must be some event that triggers it....
"Ah..."
I suddenly realized one fact.
The next assassin of the Demon King's army that the hero Leon fights after defeating the first assassin, a gargoyle, is a monster named 'Gargoyle Powered'.
This is a gargoyle that was defeated by Leon once, but has been specially modified and greatly strengthened by the Demon Lord's army.
For Leon, the gargoyle is the mortal enemy who killed his classmate.
There is supposed to be an event battle where those who have a history with each other clash again....
"...That Gargoyle, I had killed it..."
I whisper to myself, so Leon can't hear me.
Come to think of it, I had already killed the gargoyle. And there is no way the gargoyle and Leon will have a rematch.
Perhaps the defeat of the gargoyle is the reason for Shinya Kushinagi's appearance.
Is it possible that this incident might have alerted the demon king's army to Leon's power, and they suddenly sent one of the Four Heavenly Kings into the fray?
Well, the common sense says that the weaker enemies are sent in turn to help the protagonist to raise his level up... but now that the game has become a reality, the sudden appearance of the stronger enemies is an unreasonable development.
"...I was the cause again, wasn't I? Sorry about that..."
I mean, who would have thought that saving the lives of Jean and Arisa would have changed the scenario too much?
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Nagisa!?"
In the meantime, Nagisa is blown away and flies into the air.
She rolls on the ground, spraying red blood, until she comes to my feet.
"Hold on! Are you all right!?"
"Ugh...!"
Nagisa is barely conscious with a deep cut in her abdomen.
Immediately I take out a healing potion and sprinkle it on the wound.
"Mas...ter..."
"Don't talk. You'll bleed your guts out."
"I have lost... without avenging my father... without avenging everyone..."
"...!"
Nagisa's eyes are filled with tears.
But such tears from the stout-hearted Nagisa had never happened even in the game.
"It's sad. It's so sad. Nagisa ojou-san... it's sad that you're so weak that you can't even avenge your father's death."
"...!"
I look up at the theatrical voice and see Shinya covering his face with his palms in sorrow against the cliff of the ravine.
He doesn't even attack Nagisa, who has been blown away. Instead, he is treating Nagisa as if she is his subordinate.
"How do you feel? You chased me all the way from the east to avenge your familty death, and when you finally found me, you were defeated because you couldn't even draw out you true power and was beaten by me. It must have been a humiliating experience. At that time I let you off the hook, but it seems that was all for nothing!"
"You...!"
"But I respect your seriousness. You may not be good enough to kill me, but you may still be worth using."
Ignoring my glare, Shinya smiles with amusement. The edge of his palm reveals his ugly crescent-shaped lips.
"Ojou-san... no, Nagisa. You will conceive my child! If it's you and me, I'm sure our child will grow up to be a mighty swordsman! You will give birth our child who will inherit my talent, and you will raise our child... and when our child is fully grown, I will slay him/her! Hahahahahahaha! If it's a child with my blood in it, it will be a good fertilizer!"
It was a loud laugh that was too loud to be heard.
And for the note, in accordance with his contract with the demon, Shinya has the ability to gain strength by killing the strong and taking their lives as his strength.
Both Nagisa's father and his students were killed by this man and became his food and strength.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! It must be humiliating to give birth to a child whom you hate as an enemy! But don't worry. If I had not expelled from the school, you would have become my wife! It's just a matter of getting back together. Don't be discouraged! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
"...You're a much uglier man than you sound. Don't spew any more words that stink more than shit."
"Huh?"
I spat out, and Shinya turned his eyes to me as if he had just noticed.
"Hmph...!"
I ignore his eyes, which are twisted into a grim expression.
Then, I carry the fallen Nagisa to Aeris.
"When you're done with the first aid, please take care of Nagisa. And... please give me a buff."
"U-Understand... Strength Up... Guard Up... Stamina Charge... Rapid Foot..."
Aeris puts her hands together as if in prayer and casts a support spell on me.
A blue effect envelops my body, and I feel my strength welling up from within.
"Zenon-sama, I wish you good luck...!"
"Master, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...!"
Aeris and Nagisa send me off together.
In their eyes, I could clearly see their concern for me and their wishes for my safety.
"I can't lose, can I? To that scumbag who is no better than a scoundrel?"
After all, the heroine is watching over me. Defeat is unacceptable.
So, I'll kill any insolent man who tries to touch her.
"And... Nagisa, I'm a man who keeps his promises."
"...?"
"I'll avenge your family, just as I promised. So, 'please watch my back carefully'."
I leave with these words and walks toward Shinya.
Right now, my heart is boiling with anger, but my thoughts are strangely clear and cool.
"...Maybe human beings become calm when their anger reaches an extreme level. I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."
"B-Baskerville..."
Leon stands up and calls out to me as I head toward the enemy.
"I'll help you... we'll fight together...!"
"Take it easy. Your wounds are not fully healed. Your leg's shaking."
"But...!"
Leon tries to argue with me, but I put a smile on my face and look at him.
"Ugh...!"
"I'm not going to fight a fight I can't win. I'll show you the power of the man who beat you."
"I... understand. But, be careful..."
I tried to reassure him with a smile, but Leon's face became obviously frightened.
Did I look that scared?
"Thanks for waiting. I'm sorry I left you hanging."
"...It's sad. It's so sad that you think you can beat me all by yourself."
Shinya looked at me reproachfully and hurled a snide remark at me.
"Are you Nagisa's man? Or are you just another companion? You look rather weak for a comrade who has gathered here to defeat me."
"Is that all you have to say? If you have more to say, go on. You'll never speak again. Get all the shit out of your mouth."
"...You're really an unpleasant man. Be glad that a sad little fish is my food."
Shinya slash sideways with his sword in a smooth movement.
The slash is so natural that it is hard to be alert, as silent as the calm of the sea.
"Ha!"
"...!"
But I caught it with the sword I had taken out of my magic bag.
"Huh...!?"
Shinya's face changes color in surprise. Then, he leaps backward and moves away from me.
Perhaps the reason for his astonishment is not that he was able to catch the special slash but other reason.
"What's with that sword...! Where did you get that!?"
The composure he had shown earlier disappeared from his face.
Instead, his gaze, filled with strong hostility and caution, is fixed on the sword in my right hand, the 'Amanohazamaru'.
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