S-Rank Adventurer Betrayed by His Fiancée in the Hero’s Party Sets Off on a Journey to Heal His Broken Heart ~The Strongest Betrayed Adventurer Ends Up Forming a Harem Party~ - Chapter 27: The Fate of Touching the Reverse Scale

Chapter 27: The Fate of Touching the Reverse Scale

“Hahaha! Come on, fly faster! What if my hand slips and I accidentally cut you down!?”

“Giiih, giiiih! Hiii…!”

Slash (vertical), slash (horizontal), slash (diagonal).

The Demonkin flew desperately, barely skimming above the ground, while the water blade grazed it.

Well, “grazed” might be putting it lightly—it always lost at least one limb with each swipe.

Every time it regenerated, I sliced off another limb in turn. With all those arms, it just kept the cycle going, which made venting my frustration all the more satisfying.

Also, getting a proper sleep really does wonders!

My sword techniques were far sharper than before. Right now, I could easily take down a wyvern or split a Moldrake in half with a single stroke.

That’s how it should be, after all!

“Giiih, gigiiih! Giiiihhh!!!”

While flying, the Demonkin screamed—whether it was giving orders or just wailing, I didn’t care. But every time it shrieked, more monsters swarmed toward me.

“Annoying! 《Wind Fang: Steeled Tail》!”

I channeled wind magic into my sword, activating 《Wind Fang》—extending the winds around the blade and bending them.

The sharp, whip-like wind lashed out as I swung it wildly, turning into a storm of slicing blades.

“Shredded to pieces! B-Rank and lower aren’t even good enough to slow me down!”

I unleashed spiraling slashes in all directions, like a tornado of destruction.

The attacking monsters didn’t last a second—they were turned into minced meat instantly.

“M-Monster…!”

“Coming from a Demonkin? That’s rich! Now dodge up, or you’ll be cut clean in half!”

As the Demonkin tried to turn its back and escape, I swung the extended 《Lake Cleaver》 horizontally.

If it takes its eyes off me, it’ll be sliced in two—but apparently, it still hasn’t learned its lesson.

It managed to barely avoid the slash… but I still caught two of its legs.

“Gyaaahhhh!!!”

“You keep trying to run even though I’m watching your every move. You’ll never get away. And screaming like that—”

“Gyah!?”

The Demonkin, wobbling from its failed dodge, had one of its compound eyes sliced open.

Struck at its insect-like weak spot, it couldn’t keep itself in the air and crashed to the ground.

“That’s what happens when you focus only on big, flashy attacks.”

I twirled the tip of my 《Steeled Tail》, letting the sharp wind hum in the air.

It was a basic battle feint.

Unfortunately for this Demonkin, it didn’t seem to have the brains to catch on.

“Haa… gah… giii…”

“Scared now? Good. That makes two of us feeling better.”

Attacks it couldn’t dodge, no matter how fast it was.

Each one carried fatal power, slicing off its regenerating arms and legs one after another.

No matter how much it tried to escape, there was no way out.

It must have been terrified—an endless, suffocating fear.

For the one who dared to hurt Elmie and the others, this fear was perfectly fitting.

I rested my sword on my shoulder, walking toward it as it lay on the ground.

Even then, it managed to open its mouth to speak.

“I… I can still…”

“Hm?”

“I can still escape! I’ll use all my minions at once to break through the wall…!”

“…Hah.”

Even now, it still hadn’t given up. What a foolish creature.

“Do you even realize why I stopped attacking?”

“Guh… gi…?”

“Because I’ve already achieved my goal.”

“G-Goal…?”

Despite its exhaustion and the obvious difference in our strength, it still didn’t understand.

But what it had done to the three members of the Oathsworn Radiant Swords couldn’t go unpunished.

It was time to deliver the final, crushing blow of despair.

“Take a good look around you.”

“A-Around…? …Gi… ah?”

As the Demonkin looked around, what it saw was a wasteland filled with the mutilated corpses of monsters, and the pitifully small number of survivors from its horde.

“《Steeled Tail》, 《Lake Cleaver》.”

With those words, I swung both techniques simultaneously, erasing what was left of its minions.

A-Rank, B-Rank, C-Rank—it didn’t matter. They were wiped out.

The few survivors left were so weak that the forces defending the town could easily clean them up.

As the Demonkin stood frozen in shock, I smiled and spoke to it.

“M-My minions…? Why…?”

“While you were running around trying to escape, I kept cutting them down, bit by bit. And thanks to you pulling in more monsters from a distance, it made my job even easier.”

The truth is, my target this whole time wasn’t just the Demonkin. My goal was to wipe out the gathered monsters all at once.

After all, even if I killed the Demonkin, I’d still have to deal with the remaining monsters anyway. And the real damage caused by a Demonkin-led stampede usually comes from the monsters it drags along.

Efficiency comes first. Plus, I wanted to crush its hopes while I was at it.

“See, a stampede of that scale? I could’ve wiped it out with one big attack. But having to chase down the scattered ones afterward would’ve been a pain, right? Thanks to you gathering them all up for me, I could deal with them in one go. So… thanks for that.”

Of course, I had guided it to do exactly that.

“You really helped me out by playing along with my ‘advice.’ I prefer to clean up everything in one sweep.”

“Giiih… giiiiiihhh!!!”

The Demonkin, now unable to regenerate properly, clenched the dirt with its remaining left hand, the other one missing.

The monsters it relied on were completely wiped out. Its pride, too, was about to be torn apart even further with my words.

Of course—I had to go this far. After what it did to Elmie, Frey, and Maria, to their once-pristine bodies, I couldn’t let it off easily.

“And you know, among the Demonkin, you’re probably at the very bottom of the ranks, aren’t you?”

“Giii!?”

“Barely able to speak coherently, and so dumb you fall for every provocation… Demonkin like you? Even back when we fought the Demon Lord’s army, guys like you were treated as disposable pawns.”

Demonkin are reflections of the Demon Lord. The ones I know well aren’t this pathetic.

Their forms are more human-like, their words cunning enough to manipulate and deceive, understanding human emotions only to exploit them.

They crush humans not just with their power, but with malice and hatred.

Their essence is pure evil—an unrelenting, vicious hatred for humanity.

“Let me guess, you got sent all the way down here because you’re useless? Playing king of the hill out here must’ve felt nice, huh?”

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!!”

Provoked to its limit, the Demonkin snapped and charged at me with reckless abandon.

“I got power! From the Demon Lord! I’m amazing! I’m superior! Everyone is my food! They’re all MINE!!!”

It was a desperate, all-or-nothing attack.

In an instant, it closed the gap, aiming for me at full force—but I stepped back slightly, just enough to barely dodge the strike from its right upper arm.

At the same time, I swung up my Azure Ice Sword, Granchario, slicing off its left arm.

“Giiiih!? …I’m not done yet—!”

“Yeah, I know.”

It had been hiding its lower right arm behind the upper one, trying to set up a follow-up strike.

But before it could thrust it forward, I swung my Breathslate upward, severing both of its right arms at once.

“Having so many arms must be exhausting. Even if you’ve got more attacks, that’s just more things to keep track of, isn’t it?”

I had noticed for a while now that this Demonkin had a slight delay whenever it launched consecutive attacks with its arms.

Having more arms might mean more options, but it also means more “devices” to manage.

It complicates movement, making the overall coordination clumsier.

Even for humans, wielding multiple swords increases the difficulty exponentially.

This Demonkin wasn’t much different from those monsters earlier that struggled to use their extra limbs skillfully.

Of course, with enough training, it could have overcome that… but this one clearly hadn’t.

“That’s why even your follow-up kicks are too slow.”

Moving as smoothly as water, faster than the wind.

In the fraction of a second the Demonkin hesitated after losing all its arms, I swept its remaining legs clean off.

“Gyaaaaaahhhhh!!!”

Then, with Breathslate, now wrapped in wind, I pierced the Demonkin’s body, which was now missing all its limbs.

“Gah…!”

“Those wings of yours? They’re just in the way. 《Various Slash》.”

Wind blades formed behind the Demonkin, shredding its last pair of wings to pieces.

“W-Why… how… this… gah!”

“In everything… yes, you underestimated everything.”

Now reduced to a limbless husk, the Demonkin could only squirm.

It had underestimated Elmie and the others. It had underestimated me.

And most of all, it had underestimated humans.

That’s why—

“And this is the result—this pathetic end. Regret everything quietly as you die.”

Magic Sword Art: 《Piercing Tempest》

The wind blades swirled around Breathslate, the sword piercing through the Demonkin’s abdomen.

The relentless wind stripped away any resistance, tearing apart the powerless Demonkin entirely.

The source of this disaster was obliterated, leaving no trace behind—not even ash.

“Phew…”

I flicked the Demonkin’s blood off the magical blades and slid both swords back into their sheaths.

With a deep exhale, I let the heat of battle simmer down and cooled my fighting spirit.

“Should I… maybe stop bluffing so much when I fight?”

In the past, when I was weaker, I used bravado to psych myself up during battles.

At some point, it became a habit. Even after I got stronger, I still kept that heightened energy whenever I fought.

My heart stayed fiery, but my head stayed cool—it hadn’t caused any problems so far. Still, maybe it was time to drop it.

It might cause trouble if people saw me like this.

With those thoughts in mind, I walked toward the Oathsworn Radiant Swords.

The protective magic I’d used earlier had kept them safe, which was a relief.

But as I approached… none of them reacted.

They just stood there, staring at me, completely dumbfounded.

Wait… were they horrified by what looked like me bullying a weak opponent just now!?

“Uh… it’s over now, you know?”

“Eh?! Ah… um…”

Even when I awkwardly tried to start a conversation, they were flustered and stumbling over their words.

And their faces… were bright red.

“Eh… eh…!? That cute Abel from before is now… so strong and cool…!!”

“He was cute, still is… but now he’s wild? Dominant? I-I can’t…!”

“Oh no… nosebleed…! He was like a little brother, but now…? Since when did he become my ideal… ahh…!”

“Uh, yeah… sure… right…”

I turned my face away, barely catching their murmurs.

What they were saying… was a bit too much for me to handle right now.

“Anyway… let’s head back.”

Not knowing how else to respond, I threw out those words and left it at that.

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[Author’s Notes]

Debuffs So Far:

-Near-suicidal mental state

-Chronic insomnia.

-Post-recovery (slept for a month after the final battle).

The result of all those debuffs being lifted is… this.

For Abel, those three years were tough, with many near-death moments. But it wasn’t all bad.

He grew stronger, acquired convenient tools, and got to enjoy fresh, rare meat and unique ingredients from his prey.

He experienced different regional cultures, expanded his connections, and even harvested rare and valuable blue flowers in abundance.

Oh, and I’ve revised the subtitle!

I got a lot of feedback, and honestly, I wasn’t satisfied with it either.

Lesson learned: don’t make creative decisions after an all-nighter.