Vol 1 Chapter 30 – I’m Going to Slaughter You All

“(…I didn’t feel anything.)”

Ludrick showed no reaction on the outside, but inwardly he was stunned.

He hadn’t noticed Alvarado closing in at all.

Of course, it’s only natural to move without giving away your presence.

If you’re planning an ambush, anyone would do that.

Ludrick was a top-notch assassin, and the subordinates who died under him were the same.

Because they’d done that kind of work themselves, they were always hyperaware of any hint of someone nearby.

And yet, he hadn’t sensed Alvarado getting this close—and because of that, one of his valuable subordinates ended up horribly mangled.

“Rest easy.”

He lifted his head to find Alvarado wearing a gentle smile.

“If he didn’t spout such outrageous threats and just smiled like this all the time, he’d be ridiculously popular.”

She thought it, but didn’t voice it.

Alvarado just kept smiling sweetly and said:

“In five minutes, all of you will be like this.”

“A fair and square death threat.”

Ruru was totally creeped out.

A hero issuing a death threat — let alone announcing plans to bludgeon everyone to death…

It was a reality she refused to accept.

Meanwhile, Spica — who also went around bludgeoning people with a gigantic warhammer — for some reason had her eyes gleaming at finding something in common.

“Yaaaawn…”

“I’m so sleepy. Al, piggyback me.”

“Mm.”

The spirit blinked her eyes drowsily and spread her arms toward Alvarado.

He slid his arm under her from his side, lifted her up, and shifted into a piggyback carry.

It was hard, but surprisingly comfortable.

Half in and out of consciousness again, the spirit relished the feeling of nearly drifting off but never quite dozing.

“Shing!”

A sharp knife was thrown at the unsuspecting Alvarado.

The aim was his neck. Without veering off, it flew straight for a fatal spot.

Since it was a perfect surprise, both the assassin who threw it and Ludrick, who had noticed, were convinced it would injure him.

But…

“!?”

Ludrick, Ruru, and even Spica were dumbfounded.

The knife, which had been hurtling forward, had been stopped dead.

It was as if pinched between two of Alvarado’s fingers.

That was nothing short of an unrivaled technique.

Indeed, it was an extraordinary feat.

“Let me return it.”

Alvarado said, as if it were nothing.

“Whoosh…”

With a casual flick of his wrist, it plunged into the forehead of the assassin who’d thrown it.

“Thud”

He collapsed heavily to the ground.

Seeing an impossibility performed before their eyes, everyone was left slack-jawed.

“Ugh…”

“That’s brutal.”

“What the hell is this guy, seriously? How does he even think he qualifies as a hero…?”

“Well, if he’s that strong, I get why he’s called a hero.”

“After all, to wield justice, you need power.”

“The other four heroes besides Ruru each had the strength of a thousand warriors.”

“Alvarado would hold his own among them… or rather, he’d utterly outclass them.”

“Still, for some reason… she just couldn’t bring herself to admit it.”

“Hey, hey, I never heard there’d be a monster like this. What’s going on, client-san?”

“Well, well. So there’s actually a villain who hired you to do evil, huh? Then I’ll have someone properly follow in your footsteps, so tell me about that person.”

“As if I’d ever tell you that.”

Why the hell would I tell someone who just said they’d kill me who my client is?

In this kind of under-the-table business, trust becomes even more important than in the open world precisely because you’re doing dirty work.

Guys who blab about their clients never get more work, and anyway, they’d probably be killed to keep them quiet.

“We’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from interfering with us…”

At those words, Alvarado chuckled cynically.

“That I cannot do. You lot are going to be massacred.”

“Do heroes really say stuff like that?”

“No way!”

At Spica’s question, Ruru exploded in anger.

She didn’t have any pride in being a hero, per se, but she adamantly refused to be treated that way.

“Are you kidding me? Don’t put me in the same category as a hero whose second line is ‘I’ll kill you.’”

“…It can’t be helped. Looks like I’ll have to kill you myself.”

Ludrick brimmed with murderous intent.

As an assassin, he should have kept it hidden, but now that he was exposed, there was no point in holding back.

Ludrick decided to kill Alvarado head-on. That was Ludrick’s decision.

Seeing that, Alvarado broke into a smile.

“You’re about the hundredth person to make such a bold boast at me.”

“That many!? How much do people hate me?”

“Nya!?”

“One after another, they sank into a pool of their own blood.”

“Ehh…”

Alvarado, who’d routed every single one before, made his move.

He hefted his holy sword, debris still clinging to it, and in a flash, he moved.

He closed in on Ludrick.

“Well then, die.”

Ludrick couldn’t match his speed.

He brought the holy sword down from above with all his might, and it should have left another gruesome, minced corpse—but…

“What the…?”

Alvarado was stunned to see the blade slice straight through Ludrick’s body as it struck him.