Vol 1 Chapter 31 – Is There Really a Hero Who Says Stuff Like This…?

Alvarado’s eyes rounded in shock. He’d beaten every enemy to death, so he couldn’t believe his attacks were useless. It wasn’t that his strikes didn’t deal damage; he simply couldn’t land a hit at all. It wasn’t that Rudo was moving at super speed or blocking—it was that the Holy Sword had definitely connected with Rudo’s body, only to pass right through.

“Can’t bludgeon him to death…?”

“Not that it’s my place to say this, but didn’t you just blurt out something outrageous? Are you really a hero recognized by the Holy Sword?”

“I don’t acknowledge you!!”

“He’s no hero, nya!!”

At Rudo’s words, the two in question fired back scathing criticism. Not being recognized—those are harsh words no one wants to hear. But instead of being shocked, Alvarado somehow smiled proudly.

“Heh—rave reviews.”

“In what way?”

Rudo thought. Could it be that this guy was completely unhinged? Leading an assassination organization infamous in the underworld meant he’d obviously encountered—and even mingled with—a lot of crazy people. Yet this man was something else… or maybe even less.

“Fine. You’ll see—I don’t take any damage from your attacks… hey, stop hitting me! Listen to what I’m saying! I told you it doesn’t work! Hey, quit it! You’re so persistent!!”

“Buon Buon”

The sound of heavy objects slicing through the air kept roaring. Even though he was saying it didn’t work, Alvarado attacked over and over without getting bored. Sure, he wasn’t taking any damage—but constantly being attacked like that was mentally draining. Honestly, watching someone try to kill you with everything they’ve got right in front of your eyes is just painful.

“My ability lets me turn my body into smoke. You can smash at a gas all you want, but you can’t hit it. Understand? Say you do. Hey, I said stop attacking!!”

Rudo’s ability. It allows him to transform his body into smoke. At first glance, it might not seem that powerful, but combined with his assassination skills, it becomes extremely strong. First of all, while the ability is active, attacks have no effect. Of course, he doesn’t use it constantly, so if he doesn’t activate it deliberately, he can be hurt. His wide field of vision and judgment skills are the result of his own hard work. And once he becomes smoke, he can slip into heavily fortified areas that would otherwise be impenetrable, without making a sound. If there’s even a tiny gap in a window, he can easily sneak in—even with plenty of guards. Indeed, it’s an ability with perfect synergy for assassination.

“Fuun…”

Alvarado, who was trading blows with Rudo… Yet in the end, it was Rudo who held the advantage. Alvarado swung the Holy Sword with enough force that even a glancing blow could shatter whatever it struck. For most people, that would be a lethal, devastating attack—but for Rudo, who shrugged it off by turning into smoke, it was nothing. In fact, he was counterattacking with thrown knives as the situation called for it. After one clash after another, Rudo put some distance between them and laughed.

“See? You can’t catch me.”

Having secured victory, Rudo was in high spirits. Even with the cold, calculating mind of an assassin, seeing victory right before his eyes got his adrenaline pumping. That’s why, all too late…

…he spoke out of turn.

“No matter how much you try to slash with that dull blade…”

“…Huh?”

“Putchin”

It was the spirit of the Holy Sword who lit the easily ignitable fuse. In an instant, she burst into fury, then beamed as she addressed Rudo.

“Dull blade? Who are you calling that? Ruru’s Holy Sword?”

“Whoa!? Don’t go berserk! Attacking from behind is a no-no, nya!”

“Nya!”

Ruru, panicking, rushed to calm her own sword, which had started making an uproar. She shouldn’t have that ability, yet it felt like her sword was about to leap out of her hand and stab the spirit. Just as Alvarado’s Holy Sword had its own spirit, the Holy Sword Ruru carried had one too. By the way, it seemed those two sword spirits didn’t get along very well. Although the Holy Sword spirit had once let it slide as a mishearing, Rudo dove back into the minefield once more.

“Ukikuki”

Because he was bubbling with excitement. “It’s obviously the weapon this man is wielding. And is that even a sword? There’s a massive chunk of debris on the blade’s tip…”

“Heh… heh heh…”

The spirit of the Holy Sword was furious. For being called “dull blade.” And at the tremendous insult of being told it wasn’t even a sword, the short-tempered spirit exploded with rage.

“I don’t care if you mock other Holy Swords or look down on Al, but…”

“Isn’t she saying something outrageous? This girl…”

Her eyes flew open wide, and she unleashed sheer fury. She completely ignored Ruru’s interjection. In fact, she didn’t even hear it.

“I will never forgive anyone who mocks or belittles me! Al, show her!”

“Understood. ‘Lament of the Dead.’”

“Wha—!?”

Without a second thought, Alvarado, who’d nodded at the spirit’s command, unleashed a dark slash from the Holy Sword. It was a bizarre reversal: the weapon that should have been used was actually using him—but the two involved didn’t care at all. Actually, even without the spirit’s command, Alvarado was determined to kill Rudo.

“…Heroes really use techniques with such awesome names.”

“P-Please don’t lump me in with that! I don’t have a technique with such a gruesome name!”

As Spica was about to make an outrageous misunderstanding, Ruru, half in tears, stopped her. It was odd. She herself should have been the carefree beastkin, the one stirring everyone around her. Why was she playing the straight man? Why was she supposed to protect the hero’s image? She never asked for any of that!

Ruru cried.

“Th-This slash won’t land on me…!”

Rudo jumped back on reflex to escape the dark slash. He succeeded in dodging it, and if it had hit, he could have turned to smoke and escaped. Even as cold sweat poured down in the face of the massive dark torrent, he told himself to stay calm…

“Let me show you: before me and my beloved sword, no matter how powerful your abilities may be, they are powerless.”

The slash halted midstream. From it extended slender arms, utterly devoid of life. Not just one or two, but dozens. They firmly gripped Rudo’s body as he tried to escape in smoke, dragged him along… and he vanished into the slash.

“A-aaaaaaah!?”

“Don!”

With a final blast, the dark slash exploded. There was no sign of Rudo, as if he had never existed there to begin with.

Silence reigned. Even the assassins, who should have been burning with rage at the death of their leader, were drenched in sweat, frozen in place by the horrifying scene before them. They’d been trained. Overcoming fear was one of the most basic things you did right at the start. They’d perfected that, which is how they became assassins able to accept such jobs. Yet even so, what had just happened before their eyes was unacceptable.

“Egu”

Whose voice was that? But that was probably the unanimous consensus of everyone there, except the pleased Alvarado and the spirit.

“Now then…”

“…!?”

Alvarado moved slowly. At that, the assassins flinched so hard it was almost pitiful.

Turning back to them, he wore a full, beaming smile.

“Time to take out the trash.”

“Is there really a hero who says stuff like this…?”