“We’ll Definitely Come Back to Save You!” — It’s Been Three Years Since I Was Left in the Most Difficult Dungeon, Isn’t It About Time for Help to Arrive...? - 14-15

Chapter 14: In the Fit of Rage

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“Haa.. Haa… Ahh, this is a complete disaster…”

In the end, we got spotted by an adventurer who had come looking for us, and now we were currently being chased all around the city.

“…Athos, I’m starting to get tired of running. How long do you plan on keeping this up?”

“Yeah… It doesn’t look like we’re getting anywhere just running. Let’s stop here for now.”

We stopped fleeing when we reached the outskirts of town and turned to face the adventurers chasing us. The burly men, clad in leather armor, made no effort to hide their brutishness as they slowly closed in on us.

“So you’ve finally given up… Dammit, you really made us work for it.”

“Well, well. Five million sert is as good as ours now. Let’s finish this quick and go collect our reward.”

The leader-type guy standing in the center sneered and waved the wanted poster in the air.

They already think they’ve won. This is getting ridiculous. Then again, a lot of adventurers are full of themselves, always thinking they’re the strongest. I guess it can’t be helped. But this could work in my favor. If I let them get cocky, they’ll drop their guard, and that’ll give me a chance to slip away. I should hold off on making any moves for now and just watch.

“Hey, look. I’m not that so-called Demon Lord on that poster or anything grand like that. So how about letting me go, just this once?”

I had hoped that if I spoke honestly, maybe they’d realize it was all a misunderstanding. But the adventurers just burst out laughing all at once.

“Ahahaha! I also thought you didn’t look like the sketch, but to think you’re a weakling even down to your core! That’s hilarious!”

“Begging for your life with that pathetic face? And you call yourself a man? Or were you planning to cry to your girl for help from the start?”

“Hey, hey! Some Demon Lord you are! That grand title is a joke for the likes of you! What the hell did you even get wanted for? Stealing women’s underwear or something? Maybe we should put you down before you disgrace your bloodline for good!”

Dammit… These bastards are saying whatever they want… I told you, I’m not a damn Demon Lord…!

I knew they were just trying to provoke me, but getting slandered so unfairly still made my blood boil. Still, picking a fight here would only make things worse for me. I tried to calm myself down—until their mocking laughter was suddenly cut through by a sharp gust of wind.

“…Huh?”

By the time the guy let out that sound, it was already too late. A black shadow closed in on one of the adventurers in the blink of an eye and reached for his throat like a striking snake.

“…What exactly do you find so funny?”

With lifeless eyes and a cold expression, Hel glared at the man as her words sliced through the air like blades.

“W-What the hell…!? This woman is freakishly strong…!”

The adventurer, lifted off the ground by his neck, started to turn pale. He struggled desperately, but it only irritated her further. Even calling for help from his comrades didn’t do any good—none of them could grasp what had just happened and were frozen in place.

“-!? Hey! Look at her right side—!”

Finally beginning to understand the situation, one of the adventurers pointed at Hel in a panic. Her hood had fallen away in her fury, and with it, the right side of her face was revealed—clearly and unmistakably showing that she was not human, but a monster.

In stark contrast to the serene beauty of the left side of her face, the right was heavily corroded, as though displaying a piece of her monstrous power. To the adventurers, that blistered, disfigured skin, combined with her unnatural strength, must have seemed terrifying.

“Shit! She’s a damn monster too!? Pretending to be human so nonchalantly like that… Freaking gross! What the hell is that filthy freak face!?”

“…”

Hel didn’t look away from the man’s hateful words. Her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. Her eyes held no anger, no sadness—only a faint glimmer of pain.

“You bitch—! Let go of me, you freak!”

One of the nearby adventurers raised his hands and launched a fireball spell at her from a summoned magic circle. Just before it scorched her cheek—I kicked off the ground and slashed through the flame with my greatsword.

Ignoring the stunned adventurers, I stepped forward with my now-free hand and grabbed the face of the man Hel was holding.

“The only filthy thing here is that goddamn mouth of yours!!!”

“Hebuaaaaagh!?”

With unrestrained rage—rage I didn’t even try to hold back—I slammed the man’s face straight into the ground.

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Chapter 15: A Meeting Beyond Expectation

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The adventurer had apparently gotten off with only non-lethal injuries, thanks to the soft dirt road beneath him. His body twitched like a bug in midsummer, head-first in the ground.

“Look, I let go of you. Happy now?”

“What do you mean ‘let go’!? You practically threw me!”

“You’re the ones who came at us for money, so don’t start complaining now. Besides, I wasn’t mahandling you. I was saving your life. You could at least say thanks.”

If I’d left him there, Hel—completely enraged—would’ve melted him down to nothing. Compared to that, this kind of injury was nothing.

“Saved me…? Don’t screw with me…!”

“You’re getting cocky! You’ve got some nerve!”

It seemed my earlier strike had lit a fire under their caution. Each of them raised their weapons and took up fighting stances.

“…Fine. If you really want a fight that badly, I’ll give you one. Come at me.”

I drew my weapon and leaned in close to Hel, who had also taken a battle stance.

“Listen. Just this once, I’ll let you go wild—but don’t kill anyone. And no melting down to the bone—stick to skin or at most muscle.”

“No bone… Understood. In honor of your little stunt earlier, I’ll show a little restraint.”

“Good girl. I’ll pet you as much as you want later.”

“…You said it. That means you’re spending at least three hours petting me, okay?”

“As long as you keep your end of the deal.”

And with that, we split into two groups, and the brawl against the other adventurers who’d gathered at the commotion began.

“ORAAHHHH!!”

The biggest man among them roared as he charged, swinging an iron hammer that matched his frame. A blow from that thing wouldn’t end well—if it hit, that is.

“Hmph!”

Splat!

“Gwahh…!”

I gave a light slash to his bulging, vein-popping arms, and the strength immediately drained from his hands. Unable to bear the hammer’s weight, he collapsed on the spot.

“Compared to him, it’s not even fair. That black dragon is a hundred times more powerful and has much better endurance.”

I flicked the faint blood off my blade, and two more adventurers came at me from both sides. I caught both their strikes head-on and knocked them away with a wide sweep of my greatsword.

“GAAHH!?”

“URGH!?”

Unable to withstand the impact, they flew into a wall, their weapons flying off into a faraway bush.

“Damn it, if we rush him together—ugh!”

I twisted and struck a guy with the hilt at his elbow. Kicked away another’s weapon mid-charge, then spun and slammed my sword into another’s head. Seeing these adventurers rush me only to end up sprawled on the ground made me realize just how absurd the opponents I’d fought until now had been.

When I pointed my sword at the fallen adventurers, the remaining ones started to tremble in fear.

“Th-this can’t be… Wasn’t he just running away before…!?”

“He took out like ten guys in an instant and he’s not even breathing hard… What the hell is he…!?”

If I were to go out of breath from something like this, there was no way I could’ve survived that hell. 

…Man, people really do underestimate me. Maybe I should lean into the atmosphere a bit and see if I can break their morale.

“…Hmph. If you plan to hunt the Demon Lord, then you’d better etch that resolve into your hearts before you challenge me. Otherwise, you’ll end up like these guys.”

God, that was embarrassing to say out loud. But judging by the way their hands trembled and their feet inched back, it seemed to be working. For the finishing touch, I stepped on one of the fallen adventurers and pressed my blade along his cheek. Then I raised the bloodied sword high, showing the red-stained edge to the rest of them. The last remnants started to back away on shaking legs.

“Hii…! He’s the real deal…!”

“What do we do…!? The girl is just as bad, and we can’t take them on by ourselves…!”

The girl?

I glanced over at Hel, who I’d left to handle her side. She’d apparently already taken out most of the rowdy ones, and was now melting the face of the fireball-throwing adventurer who had called her a monster earlier.

“Is this the end? What happened to all that bluster from before?”

“HGYAAAAHH!! HOT!! IT BURNS!!”

She seemed to be keeping her promise—not going past the skin and flesh—but watching someone’s face slowly dissolve still implanted raw fear in the others.

“Damn it…! They’re both monsters, after all!”

“Five million for this!? There’s no way that flimsy amount of money is worth it! The guild is making fools of us…!”

Apparently realizing they couldn’t win, the adventurers finally turned their hatred toward the guild. Honestly, I’m the one who should be pissed here…

“Hey, can we wrap this up? Just give up already and get out of—”

Just as I was about to say “our way,” a new party pushed through the hesitant crowd. And not just any party—the one I remembered best.

“Stand back! Weaklings like you are no match for him! We’re the ones who’ll take him down!”

“Wha—!?”

A blond-haired knight shouting boldly that they’d defeat us, followed by three female companions. The moment I laid eyes on them, I knew. It was them. And so, after three long years, my reunion with my former companions didn’t arrive in awe or nostalgia, but with sheer, unfiltered shock.

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