Vol 1 Chapter 49 – If You Don’t Surrender and Gut Yourself This Instant, I’ll Kill Her

Toward the dumbfounded Alan, Melia offered a sweet, adorable smile.

It was the very same smile she had always used to help and reassure those crushed by hardship.

But to Alan, looking at her now, it was nothing but a cold vision that sent a chill down his spine.

“To tell you the truth, this was also just to buy time. While I keep you occupied, another will draw the attention of the other Heroes. In that time, I had the Demon Lord’s army, which was on standby, launch an attack. Against this city that’s grown soft from the peace, something like this is easy to pull off without any Heroes around.”

The words spilled from Melia’s lips.

A Hero who had become a traitor to the core, siding with the Demon Lord’s army against humanity.

If an all-out war were to break out and humanity won, she would surely be remembered with infamy for a thousand years to come.

If the other side were to be victorious, however, perhaps she would be hailed as a hero.

Hearing this, Alan let out a deep, deep sigh.

“Ahhh… what a drag.”

His glare toward Melia was colder than it had ever been.

They had been trying to kill each other just moments before, so his eyes had already been filled with animosity.

But what she had done now had crossed a line. There was no going back.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? It should be obvious what happens when you do something like this.”

“Yes. An all-out war between the Demon Lord’s army and humanity.”

“That’s not something you should be saying so lightly.”

Tch.

He clicked his tongue loudly.

Alan had never been one to hide his emotions, but it had been a long time since he had shown this much raw anger.

At this, even Melia raised her eyebrows in slight surprise.

“…It was unexpected that you would display such anger. I thought you didn’t care about anyone but yourself?”

“That’s right. As long as I’m fine, I don’t care what happens to anyone else. But…”

Unleashing a killing intent that surpassed mere animosity, he aimed his Holy Sword at her.

“When you go and mess up the world I’m trying to enjoy, it ruins that whole premise, doesn’t it!”

“Oh my… That almost sounded like you were saying something noble, but in the end, it was all for yourself, wasn’t it…”

A bitter smile played on Melia’s lips.

She was a woman who had cast aside her own needs to live for others.

Alan was a man who had lived the exact opposite life.

And that was precisely why he was strong.

To fulfill one’s own desires, one needed absolute power.

“Now then, let us continue our little fight. It’s all right. I have no intention of killing you, and once my work is done, we can both walk away without a scratch.”

For Melia, the victory condition was not to kill Alan.

She just needed to pin him down here and buy time.

Even if Alan tried to flee, Melia, who could travel through subspace, was far faster.

For her, the victory condition had already been met.

“Don’t screw with me!!”

It was pointless for Alan to charge her in a fit of rage.

Melia smiled as she prepared to intercept his attack…

“————I see, I see.”

“!?”

“!?”

A man’s voice echoed.

Neither Alan nor Melia could quite decipher what emotion was laced into that low voice.

Perhaps there was a hint of delight. Maybe a touch of anger as well.

But since it didn’t lean clearly one way or the other, it was hard to tell.

Looking toward the voice, they saw the figure of Alvarado, who strode toward them slowly and confidently.

And right behind him, following like a subordinate, was his loyal hound, Antares, who looked utterly delighted.

“So that was the situation. I’m glad we rushed over. We were absolutely right to, weren’t we, Ann?”

“Yes, Master.”

The two of them smiled brightly.

It was so out of sync with the mood and the situation that it was impossible to process, creating a vague sense of terror.

“Reinforcements arrived quickly. However, someone like you, who isn’t even a Hero, cannot stop me. I don’t wish for any needless killing. If you were to disappear somewhere, I will not pursue you.”

From Melia’s perspective, she had no idea who Alvarado was.

The only one to be wary of was Antares.

However, she seems rather attached to this unknown man before me.

Knowing the usual Antares, this was an extremely dangerous situation, but if she could neutralize this man, she might be able to negotiate her way out of this.

She prepared to use her Holy Sword’s power to create a subspace and capture Alvarado…

“Well then, traitorous Hero. I shall make you a proposal.”

As if to seize the initiative, Alvarado spoke.

She could have ignored him, but a strange premonition made Melia hesitate.

For some reason, Alvarado and Antares looked incredibly smug.

Once they were certain Melia was watching them intently, they pushed forward the ‘thing’ that had been hidden in the shadows.

“If you don’t surrender and gut yourself this instant, I’ll kill her.”

“Ugh…”

Alvarado uttered something outrageous with a brilliant, beaming smile.

And what he held aloft so proudly, as if it were a trophy, was one of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings, Rayphia, who had been battered into a veritable dishrag.

“R-Rayphia-saaaaaaaan!?”

Seeing her comrade, and the one she loved, brought before her on the verge of death, Melia screamed.

All composure was gone.

“Eh…?”

And, watching the situation suddenly turn on its head for reasons he couldn’t comprehend, Alan could only gape with his mouth hanging open.