I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 57



56 – [In the Land of Elves – 24]

They clash continuously.

Sword and spear clash.

And little by little.

But definitively.

Wounds were appearing on Garfield’s body.

“N-No way!! I’m losing to a cripple with only one arm!?”

“…….”

I remained silent, continuing to observe.

Engraving the movements in my singular eye.

The flexing of muscle.

Movement of the eyes.

Breath.

Everything was telegraphing the next move.

‘I almost miss it.’

Back when I was still weak.

Back when I was still too ashamed to even call myself a hero, back when I was frequently getting critically injured, there was a method of fighting I used.

That method was observation.

Observing the enemy’s movements from the first to the last, understanding every single thing.

Swordsmanship, spear techniques, magic, none of it mattered.

If I could find their unique breathing pattern, unless the difference in physical abilities was too drastic, I could win for sure.

The problem was, it took some time to figure it out, so I had no choice but to brace myself for some injuries.

That’s why, after I gained power, I stopped using it properly.

After all, I could win without resorting to such things.

But now, weakened as I am, I have no choice but to fight while enduring the seizures. That’s why a prolonged battle might not be ideal, but securing a clean kill was more important.

Even if I’m late, the damage caused could be severe, but the damage caused by my failure to defeat this guy would be even worse.

“You should have killed me.”

“Huh?”

“You should have tried to kill me with all your might from the start.”

Clang! Clang! CRACK!!

“Kuh-heheh!!”

Blood sprayed from Garfield’s body.

“You damn b*tch!!”

*SPLAT!!*

Cleanly severing Garfield’s arm.

“KREEEaaaK!!”

Garfield’s only chance of winning was to kill me with everything he had from the start.

He should have done that when I hadn’t properly grasped the movements of the monster, Garfield. But, like a monster, he let his guard down, looking down on me with arrogance.

He believed that dragging things out while seeing me as half-crippled was to his advantage.

And that was true.

As time passed, the pain in my body increased, and blood continued to flow.

To be honest, I wasn’t in a normal state.

But Garfield was facing someone who couldn’t be felled by ordinary thinking.

It’s ridiculous for me to say it myself, but I’m the hero.

There isn’t a human alive right now stronger than me in a straight fight.

There isn’t a monster alive right now capable of beating me in a straight fight either.

And yet, he came head-on?

“Don’t underestimate a Berserk Wyvern!!”

*CLANG!!*

Attack met attack once more.

A Berserk Wyvern is at its strongest just before death, and that was exactly the feeling now.

It was replaying fast, but the berserk wyvern’s buff would stay up until this fight was over. Still, I didn’t need to worry too much about it.

I’d read its movements.

I’d read its breathing.

It wasn’t like a person was going to change, and I lunged in fast.

When I dodged all of Garfield’s attacks, he widened his eyes.

“H-How…?! With that body…!!”

“Do I look like some idiot who only knows strength?”

Strength.

Agility.

Technique.

I honed every combat-related ability to the limit, that’s why I became the ‘Hero’.

I didn’t leave my talent as just talent, I reached this point with efforts that made my mind crack.

From noble mtl dot com

Sure, I’m ridiculously weak now compared to my prime and if Garfield had rushed me with the intent for a quick fight, I might’ve been the one to lose.

*Shhwipp!*

Severed in one stroke.

At the same time as I slashed him, I vomited blood.

“T-This, to this degree!!”

“You won’t die, you’re tough as a cockroach!!”

*Shhwipp! Shhwipp! Shhwipp! Shhwipp!!*

I slashed him repeatedly, and Garfield, utterly ripped apart, fell backward.

“Hah… Hah… *Cough! Cough!* Ah, seriously… you cursed son of a b*tch… Royce will figure something out, but before then… another of the Demon Lord’s officers, I have to, somehow.”

I was going to head straight into Elvenheim.

And then, in that instant, my instincts screamed.

*Dodge.*

“Hup!”

*WHIP!!*

The spear, grazing my side, was Garfield’s spear.

‘Idiot, I tore him apart so badly there wouldn’t even be a corpse left!!’

Turning my head, I saw Garfield rising, his body only half-there.

‘Is it a Berserk Wyvern’s trait to rampage even after death?’

Berserk Wyverns had a trait of fighting for a while even after their heads were cut off. The thought of saving people had made me commit a small mistake, but it would be over soon.

I didn’t die from that ambush, so it was fine.

But.

‘No, something’s wrong.’

He was rapidly regenerating, and a dark energy surged.

Garfield’s body, instantly restored to its original form, was emitting a jet-black aura like steam.

“I didn’t think I’d have to use this so soon… Indeed, even if you’re half-crippled, a hero is still a hero. I almost forgot about the fact that you defeated the Demon Lord.”

“You, how…”

“This is the pinnacle of monsters, power granted by the Death God himself.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want to use it this soon, but! If the opponent’s the hero, it’s worth it!!”

*Thwoom!!*

Fast.

Faster than before.

This speed.

This power.

‘Equivalent to the Demon Lord…!’

*Twaang!!*

I blocked, but the force pushed me back, sending me flying.

*Crash-crash-crash!!*

I tumbled across the ground, then glared at Garfield.

“Hahahaha!! Amazing!! This is the power of the Death God!! Now I’m the strongest! I’ll become the real Demon Lord!!”

‘It’s not just bravado.’

The power was similar to the Demon Lord’s.

That black vapor-like thing had instantly elevated Garfield, who was already a Demon Army executive-class, to a level that rivaled the Demon Lord.

And this aura.

*Whooom.*

The holy sword is reacting.

‘Is it really the Death God’s power?’

No, the problem wasn’t this.

The problem.

Was that the demon army officer, a mage on their side, likely possessed the same power.

If the demon army officers suddenly jumped to demon lord level, we wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Die this time, hero. If you beg, I might consider killing you gently.”

‘Royce…’

I closed my eyes and then opened them, smiling.

“A hero.”

I raised my holy sword.

“A hero should never bow his head to a monster.”

“Then… Die painfully!!”

This is seriously dangerous.

*

“So carefree, so carefree.”

“Tch!”

Even with Reina joining the fight, making it a 3-on-1 situation, things weren’t looking good.

The lich, Bane, was leisurely blocking our attacks, and the relentless barrage was overwhelming us, even just defending against it.

The biggest problem was still the fact he was blocking our attacks.

Maintaining a barrier at all times would consume a considerable amount of magic power, but he was temporarily blocking only the exact points of impact, minimizing his magic consumption.

Lichs already have overflowing magic power, but it was more reasonable to assume this was a result of the power control he had been honing since the past.

“You, that bow…”

“Please, don’t ask now! There’s no time to explain!”

“Alright…”

“Honestly, I was kinda looking forward to it? But what a letdown, seriously. I even got a power boost from the Death God, but I don’t even need to use it? Maybe I should’ve fought their hero instead? The hero’s corpse would definitely be useful.”

“You b*stard!!”

Thwung! Thwung!!

Bane laughed, trying to take down three of them at once.

“Hoo.”

In that instant, Reina gasped.

“Tempest Bow.”

Thwaaang!!

An attack, whipping up a storm, flew accurately towards Bane, who casually put up a barrier to block it.

But at the same moment, Les jumped in, thrusting his sword towards Bane’s throat.

Shwaang!!

“Tch!”

Barely dodging, Bane backed away, grinning.

“Whoa! That last attack was definitely dangerous!”

“A demon army commander… far beyond what I imagined…”

“You, Reina Forest, right? A hero party that hasn’t even properly fought a demon army commander, let alone the demon king, all thanks to the hero! Hahaha! Hilarious!”

Reina was silent.

Raina had definitely just been support for Olivia in fights, and honestly, most of the time Olivia could handle things herself anyway. Raina was really just taking a bit of the annoying stuff off her plate.

It wasn’t a joke, Olivia’s partner could have been anyone who could just barely hold their own.

Most of the important fights were things that couldn’t have been solved without Olivia.

“You, too.”

Silphy spoke up instead of Raina.

“For someone who’s supposed to be a high-ranking demon, you’ve never faced a hero? Even so, who is more pathetic, you who never showed your face even when the Demon Lord was dying, or Raina-sama who at least stood by fighting?”

“…….”

For the briefest moment, the smile vanished from Vane’s face.

“Empty vessels make the most noise. The three of you couldn’t even beat me and what do you think you could accomplish? Besides, I’m not even going all out right now, does it sound like a lie? Wanna test me?”

“…….”

Raina briefly looked at Silphy.

*Still, she was there*, that thought process was something Raina had never had before.

Raina unconsciously rubbed her neck.

What was she supposed to do here?

She probably already knew the answer to that.

Raina looked at her bow, formed from her own magical energy.

“Silphy, Les.”

“Yes?”

“What is it?”

“I have a plan, it’s not perfect, but at least I can promise you’ll live.”

“Let’s hear it, we’re going to get wiped out like this anyway.”

“By a mere executive of the Demon Lord’s army… Well, we gotta try *something*.”

Yeah, they can live.

Silphy and Les can.

But what about Reina?

She survived through a selfish choice.

Then, dying through a selfless choice could be another option.

No, Reina didn’t have the right to use the word “selfless.”

Just.

Reina forced a strained smile.

“Blood Bow.”

*Crack.*

The bow made of magic was dyed a dark, blood-red, as if with blood, and soon that color dyed Reina’s arm as well.

“Reina-nim!”

Les shouted, understanding what it was, but Reina just smiled and said.

“If we die here, this Lich will go kill other members of our species.”

“But…”

“…….”

Reina looked at Silphy.

Her face didn’t seem to be following the flow of the conversation.

Raina offered a small smile.

“Let’s go.”

To do the things that were already too late.