Vol 1 Chapter 43 – Please Rest Assured!

Alvarado.

Within the Demon Lord’s army, it was a ghastly name known only to a select few.

The reason so few knew of him was that nearly every demon who encountered him was summarily annihilated.

As a result, rumors did not spread easily.

Furthermore, since most who saw his face also died, his appearance remained a mystery.

“Alvarado, you mean that Alvarado?! A monster like him can’t possibly exist! The world is bugged! Patch it, you shitty devs!!”

Rayphia was so furious she was spouting nonsense.

There was no trace of the beautiful, perfectly composed woman with the emotionless face.

Her anger was exploding, and her appearance was a tattered mess.

That last attack… it wasn’t some special technique.

He had simply put his mind to it and swung his Holy Sword.

That alone had caused this much damage.

Now I see why Ludrick barely managed to escape with his life.

She had no way of knowing that such a monster was on humanity’s side, let alone present in this very city.

Well, he might be on humanity’s side, but he also frequently killed humans, so there was no doubt he was a menace to both humans and demons.

“A-anyway, I have to get out of here. My preparations are complete; all that’s left is to send in my subordinates. I don’t care if they die.”

Muttering to herself, Rayphia decided to burn through the lives of her precious subordinates. It’s fine, it’s fine. Someone’s bound to survive. Probably. I guess.

Here was a woman fully prepared to send her troops charging at a monster capable of making two of the Four Heavenly Kings lose their will to fight.

She seemed to be under the misconception that she alone could escape, but this world was not so kind.

“————Oh? Oh, ara, ara, ara, ara, ara?”

scrape, scrape, scrape

A metallic sound so grating you’d want to cover your ears.

It was the sound of a sharp rapier tip carving into the stone pavement.

It was the kind of abuse that would normally ruin a weapon, but the one she held was a Holy Sword.

It was no ordinary blade, so it was no problem.

Hearing that syrupy-sweet voice, Rayphia’s shoulders jolted.

“Eek…”

When she fearfully looked back, she saw the female Hero, Antares, staring at her with ghastly, clouded eyes devoid of any light.

“There appears to be some trash on the ground here. Honestly, if you don’t take out the garbage properly, the city gets so dirty. This city is just hopeless, isn’t it?”

Antares shook her head with a sigh.

“I shall do you the favor of cleaning it up myself.”

A hurricane of murderous intent raged forth.

As one of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings, Rayphia had survived countless life-or-death battles.

But, as she thought to herself, drenched in a torrent of sweat, had any been worse than this?… No, they haven’t. If I’d run into something like this before, I’d already be dead.

“Please wait.”

For now, she decided to talk to buy some time.

She might find an opening to escape.

But Antares mercilessly shook her head.

“You have nothing worth hearing. Please speak to me after you have died.”

“No, I can’t talk then! Just listen to me! This involves the residents of this city, you know!”

Hearing those words, Antares froze in her tracks. Just as I thought, a Hero. If she hears that innocent civilians might get hurt, she’ll have no choice but to listen.

Now then, I’ll exploit that to ensure my own survival…!

“Do you understand? I am strong. And you are strong. If we were to fight, no matter the outcome, the aftershocks of our battle would be immense.”

“The outcome is already decided. Your death.”

“Y-you don’t have to be so certain about it, but fine. However, this isn’t a lie. A large part of the city will be destroyed, and many people will lose their lives. As a Hero, can you allow that?”

Being told that she, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, stood no chance and would die was a blow to her pride, but since it didn’t seem far from the truth, she didn’t deny it.

At any rate, this was a mental attack.

If she could make her hesitate to attack, that would be ideal.

She had no intention of trying to defeat her in that opening.

Her goal was escape. A single-minded retreat…

“I can.”

“Right, you can’t. That’s what makes a Hero a He—Ehhh?!”

The reply was instant.

An instant declaration that she would fight, even if it meant sacrificing the people around her.

What is with this woman…

“Y-you can?! Even though people who have done nothing wrong—innocent people—might get caught in the crossfire and lose their lives?!”

“I can.”

“She didn’t even hesitate!!”

Even Rayphia felt a tiny pang of guilt, yet the woman before her, Antares, seemed to feel not a shred of it.

She maintained a gentle, serene smile.

That, more than anything, was what made her so unsettling.

“It is true that many people may lose their lives because of you. That is a very sad thing.”

“Wait, are you trying to put all the blame on me?”

A battle is something two people do, right? If you just said you’d let me go, this would all be over, right?

She wanted to say that, but before she could, Antares spoke.

“However, even taking that into account, killing you here will save more people in the future! After weighing their lives on the scales, I believe this is the most prudent course of action!”

“I don’t think a Hero should be talking about weighing lives on a scale.”

It was a bad sign when one started discussing the value of a life.

Moreover, to start talking about which lives were heavier or lighter—surely you couldn’t call yourself a Hero then.

As if to blow away Rayphia’s concerns, Antares swung her rapier.

Vwun!

“In place of all the people you would have killed, I will kill you without fail! Please rest assured!”

“I can’t rest assured at all?!”

As Antares charged her with ferocious intensity, Rayphia finally broke down and began to cry for real.