When I Tried Strengthening 【Rusted Sword】, It Evolved Into An Overpowered Magic Sword

Chapter 55 Resistance

Seeing Helio raise his spear, the two men behind him spoke up in exasperation.

“Hey, Helio. Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Can’t you try to solve this by talking? Pointing your divine weapon at a fellow adventurer is going too far, isn’t it?”

A young man with brown hair who seemed even more mischievous than Helio used to be.

A young man with blue hair, squinting lazily, looking somehow lifeless.

These two, who seemed to be Helio’s comrades, surprisingly called out to stop him from raising his spear.

I had expected them to side with Helio and help hunt down the demon girl.

But it seemed they were not as rough as Helio, and in fact, they appeared quite reasonable.

However, Helio paid no heed to their words.

“Shut up. He’s being unreasonably stubborn, so it’s his own fault. Or what, are you saying I’m wrong?”

He lowered the spear he had raised and glared at the two young men.

The two, however, remained unfazed and responded calmly.

“Well, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but…”

“Can’t say you’re completely right either.”

Watching the exchange between Helio and the two young men, I started to vaguely understand their relationship.

Perhaps these two were used to Helio’s outbursts and often had to stop him.

Helio would act recklessly, and they would intervene, exasperated but maintaining balance in their group.

If that was how it worked, it made sense why they continued to party with Helio.

Then the mischievous-looking young man, unexpectedly sensible, spoke to Helio.

“Demons are enemies. That’s not wrong. But I think we should avoid immediate extermination here.”

“…Why?”

“Like the kid said, wouldn’t it be better to capture rather than kill?”

Hearing this, Helio’s face contorted in even greater displeasure.

“Then, what’s the reason?”

“First off, let’s talk about the ethics of it. Borrowing the kid’s words, isn’t it a problem as a person, not just as an adventurer, to hurt someone who’s not resisting? And besides, we’re here for…”

The young man took out his adventurer’s handbook from his pocket, opened it to a certain page, and showed it to Helio.

“We came to this area to investigate the ‘adventurer kidnapping’ incidents, right? According to the info, a ‘demon’ might be behind these incidents. So, that demon girl could be the perpetrator, couldn’t she?”

The other lazy-looking young man added.

“Yeah, since there’s that possibility, wouldn’t it be better to capture her and let the guild decide? This isn’t something we should decide on our own.”

Listening to this conversation close-up, I found myself puzzled.

An adventurer kidnapping incident? A demon as the perpetrator?

From what I could gather, these three came to this forest to investigate such an incident. It sounded like adventurers were being kidnapped.

Charm had mentioned before that adventurers had been going missing in a big town. She suspected that they had abandoned their quests and fled. But perhaps the truth was that they were being kidnapped.

That would explain some things. The missing adventurers had gone into the area and never returned, so if they were kidnapped, it made sense.

The only being with the power to kidnap adventurers would be a demon.

While it’s hard to believe the demon girl behind me could be the culprit, I understood their logic in capturing her for investigation.

Their suggestion to capture instead of kill her was a practical one, unlike my emotional plea.

It made sense to me, but Helio remained unmoved.

“That’s a ‘maybe.’ There’s no way such a weak-looking demon could kidnap adventurers. Some of them were even Gold-ranked. It’s unlikely she’s the culprit.”

“Even if she isn’t, she might have some clues.”

“That’s also a ‘maybe.’ Clinging to such a small possibility and taking a risk is foolish. Killing her is the surest way. Besides, if we dawdle, someone else will ‘take’ her.”

Helio’s harsh words made the two young men shrug in exasperation.

Their expressions seemed to say that Helio had finally crossed a line.

They tried to calm him down, looking fed up.

“We’ve noticed you’ve been pretty tense lately.”

“Today, you’re especially on edge. Can’t you handle this more peacefully?”

Even their concern only seemed to irritate Helio further.

“You guys are always too relaxed. If you’re not motivated, just stand there and shut up. I’ll handle this myself.”

Helio re-aimed his spear at us and lunged forward, ignoring his companions’ objections. Seeing this, I heightened my vigilance once more.

It seemed even his companions couldn’t stop him when he was like this. Helio was more on edge than usual, perhaps because he was dealing with me. Regardless, I had to find a way to deal with the current situation.

Should we run? No, given Helio’s speed, it wouldn’t be easy to escape. The benefits from the [Thunderstrike Spear] must significantly boost his ‘agility’. His initial strike was terrifyingly fast. Escaping with the girl in my arms would be extremely difficult. But where would we run to anyway?

My mind raced, and I resorted to a desperate measure.

“Dia, protect the girl!”

“Huh?”

Dia froze for a moment, surprised by my shout. But she quickly understood and positioned herself to shield the demon girl and the puppy. With Dia protecting them, I could focus on facing Helio without worrying about their safety.

Yes, as long as Dia was protecting her, I could fight Helio. And by fighting, I meant neutralizing him. I didn’t need to subdue or tie him up, just destroy his artifact. Doing so would strip him of its benefits and disable his magic and skills. The demon girl would no longer be in danger, and we could escape.

Perhaps, destroying his artifact would even calm him down enough to have a rational discussion. With this plan in mind, I reached behind me and drew the [Rusted Sword] with a loud metallic sound.

“And what do you think you can do with that?”

Helio sneered at my artifact. In my mind, I confidently replied, ‘This is what I’ll do,’ gripping the sword’s hilt firmly.

In that moment, the rust on the [Rusted Sword] disappeared as if blown away by a gust of wind, revealing a jet-black blade beneath.