Vol 1 Chapter 39 – Hero or Berserker, or Perhaps…【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

Erik’s body was sent flying.

It soared through the air before being slammed back down to the ground.

It tumbled over and over before coming to a stop, not moving a single inch.

“Kuh… Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!! Well done, girl! I’ll give you a handsome reward for this!!”

Having struck down the anomalous hero, Biriel roared with laughter.

The fireball had blown away several of his own men, but that was a trivial matter compared to defeating Erik.

“Ah, ah…”

The girl who had fired the spell could only stare blankly.

She had killed the Altruistic Charity Hero with her own hands.

The hero who had shown such a noble spirit, not claiming to act for the royals but even lying that he remained for his own sake—she had killed him for the sake of her own family.

“Hey! Someone go cut that man’s head off! There’s a bounty for whoever does it!”

At Biriel’s words, the private soldiers smirked.

They rushed toward the fallen Erik, each trying to be the first.

“Ah…!”

The girl tried to stop them, but she didn’t know what would happen if she did.

And so, she could do nothing but bite her lip and remain silent.

Her eyes could only watch as the soldiers swarmed Erik like hyenas…

“I’ll take the head!!”

“Don’t be stupid! It’s mine!”

They shouted at one another as they approached Erik.

But Erik’s head would not be cut off and held high.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

“What…?!”

It was the soldiers who had closed in on Erik who screamed as they collapsed.

They fell, spouting blood.

Standing up in their place was Erik.

The soldiers, who had thought he was dead or on his last breath, were cut down by Erik’s blade in a single stroke, unable to even resist.

“I-Impossible! How is he alive after taking a direct hit from a magic attack…!!”

Did the girl hold back?

No, that couldn’t be it.

Biriel, who couldn’t use magic himself, had thoroughly threatened to kill her family if she did.

Besides, seeing Erik’s miserable state, he couldn’t accuse her of holding back.

“Guh… hah…!”

Erik spat blood from his mouth.

The impact of being hit by the fireball must have damaged his internal organs.

He was using his sword as a cane, looking as if he could barely stand.

His legs trembled, as unsteady as a newborn fawn.

The burns were also severe, likely because he had instinctively used his arms to shield himself.

But still… still Erik stood.

“H-Hero-sama…”

The girl, and the other townspeople who had been forced into the private army, stared at Erik with shining eyes.

It was as if they were looking at a true hero.

But Biriel was terrified.

Why won’t he die? Why is he still alive?

This was like fighting an undead.

“Q-Quickly… Quickly kill himmmmmmmmm!!”

Biriel screamed at his men.

Until now, he had been trying to kill Erik for the simple reason that he needed to chase after Orace’s group immediately.

But the order he gave now was born from the terror he felt toward the anomaly that was Erik, who continued to stand before the path even on the verge of death.

Shot with an arrow, slashed by the swords of many men and lynched, and finally, sent flying by a powerful magic attack…

The agony from that would be enough for some to die from the pain alone.

But Erik kept standing.

“Gah!?”

“Th-This guy… where in the world does he have this much strength left…!!”

The private soldiers attacked the half-dead Erik, only to be cut down in return.

But Erik, too, must have been at his limit.

He no longer even tried to dodge the soldiers’ attacks.

His torso was slashed diagonally, and blood gushed out.

He countered, sending the soldier’s head flying.

A spear pierced his side.

He grabbed the spear, holding it in place, and stabbed the soldier through the heart.

Another magic attack was launched, this one not from the girl.

Erik’s body was sent flying again, tumbling across the ground while scattering blood.

His arm must have landed strangely, as it was now bent in an unnatural direction.

“Don’t get up…! Please, don’t get up…!”

Biriel pleaded.

It was all too strange, and an intense fear assaulted him.

“Guh… heh, hehehe…”

But Erik stood up.

And what he did next sent a chill down the spines of Biriel and his men.

The hero, covered in blood, bones broken and body battered, was smiling.

His face, stained red with blood flowing from his head, was twisted in a grin, as if to say that this was utterly delightful.

“Kufufufu. Hahahaha…!”

“Gih!?”

“Hiiieeeeeeeeeehh!!”

The soldiers screamed at the sight of Erik cutting down his approaching foes with a laugh.

After all that agony, after sustaining such injuries, he still tried to move forward.

And he did so while laughing… laughing as if he were truly enjoying himself, closing the distance one step at a time.

Biriel’s private soldiers, who lacked the strong will to fight for any cause, were instantly overwhelmed by the bizarre sight.

And Biriel himself was just as overwhelmed.

“B-Berserker…”

He knew such people existed.

But to see one right before his eyes, and to have such a man slowly but surely approaching him, the scale of his terror was immeasurable.

More sweat beaded on Biriel’s face than when he had been accused of involvement in Debora’s attempted assassination, and his skin had turned deathly pale.

“I-I can’t take it anymore!!”

“Who can fight a monster like that!!”

“Ah! Y-You bastards, wait!! Don’t run!!”

The private soldiers, falling into a panic, threw down their weapons and fled.

A great number of men turned their backs on a single, battered individual and ran for their lives.

The absurdity of it could likely only be understood by those who witnessed it.

But the men themselves didn’t think for a second that what they were doing was pathetic.

Even if, just moments before, they had been trying to lynch a single man to death for a bounty.

A man who, despite being wounded, tormented, and broken… still laughed as he moved forward.

Just how much terror had that sight inflicted upon them?

“Damn it! You useless scum!! Hey, you! Fire another magic attack! Not just one this time! Again and again, until he collapses and can’t move a second time!!”

Biriel cursed his fleeing men, then turned and yelled at the girl who remained nearby.

She had wanted to get away from Biriel’s side as quickly as possible, but while some soldiers fled, others did not.

The more thick-headed men who didn’t feel threatened by Erik had remained.

As such, the girl had been unable to escape, and Biriel’s wrath was now directed at her.

“Do you understand? You fight until he’s dead! It’s a battle of wills between that berserker’s life and your magic! But you will not lose. If you fall before he does, I’ll have your family torn apart right in front of you!!”

“N-No…!!”

The girl didn’t want to use magic on Erik anymore.

She had been forcibly conscripted into the private army and had followed their orders reluctantly from the start.

Furthermore, she had no desire to fire magic at a man who was risking his life for someone else.

She wanted to run from Biriel’s side right now, stand next to Erik, and fire her magic at the private soldiers.

But with her family held as a shield…

The girl looked at Erik, her eyes welling with tears, and…

“Eh…?”

Erik was smiling faintly.

It was as if he was letting her choose to attack…

The girl gasped.

She understood that he was prioritizing her over himself.

If you strike me with magic, and that saves you and your family, then so be it.

That’s what his eyes were saying.

“Ah, ah…”

This was the Altruistic Charity Hero.

He gave no thought to himself, working tirelessly for the sake of others.

Seeing him, the thought that came to the girl’s mind was…

‘Guardian’…

“What’s wrong, girl!? Hurry up and shoot!!”

Biriel’s roar echoed, drowning out the word the girl had mumbled.

The girl flinched, but then turned to him with sharp, determined eyes…

“N-No, I won’t!!”

“What did you say!?”

She had refused him outright.

Biriel, who had never imagined he would be refused, stood stunned for a few moments before his face turned beet red with fury.

“What nonsense are you spouting!? Do you not care if your family is killed!?”

“N-No! But I don’t want to hurt the Hero-sama anymore either!!”

“Y-You insolent…!!”

Blood rushed to Biriel’s head.

Does she think she can get away with such selfishness?

He was about to scream just that when his eyes went wide at the sight of a rapid convergence of mana.

It was happening where the private soldiers were gathered, and they, having no idea what was happening, could only stare blankly…

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”

A tremendous explosion erupted, blowing the private soldiers away.

Some were swallowed by the inferno, falling to the ground as charred corpses.

Others were sent flying by the blast wave. Of those, few were still in one piece; some were missing limbs, and the worst among them had lost the entire lower half of their bodies.

“W-What was that!? What just happened!?”

“I-I don’t know!! A-An explosion just went off out of nowhere, and people are in pieces…!!”

Biriel screamed, his ears ringing from the blast, half in tears.

But no one could answer him.

All they knew was that a sudden explosion had wiped out a huge number of his men at once.

…No, Biriel knew of one person capable of something so ridiculous.

“N-No way…!!”

As if in answer to Biriel’s thoughts, the pile of rubble behind Erik was blown away.

And from it, appearing on horseback, was…

“ERIK—!! You’re alive—!?”

It was the “Spoiled Princess,” Debora Vilemse.