The whole chapter is from a Third person perspective this time.
“Fufufu~ Welcome, my hero and their friends. We have been waiting for you.”
A large number of the Demon King’s army was deployed to surround the hero’s party as they emerged from the demon’s border. A large, lanky demon warrior in shiny jet-black armor stepped forward and elegantly called out to the heroes.
Alexis, the hero, responded to the words of the man while holding up his holy sword.
“This is quite a generous welcome. How on earth did you know we were coming?”
“Ha! A funny joke. Do you really think, after all that violence you caused in the demonic forest, we would have not noticed your presence?”
“… Well, that’s true.”
The fighting ability and strength of the heroes had improved dramatically thanks to Alexis acquiring the true holy sword and weapons crafted by Ed, but their growth was not in the direction that could deceive the eyes of demons that lurked the demonic world. There was no way to get through the demonic forest without a fight, so it was only natural that their presence would be detected.
Alexis knew this. He wanted the time that was being created by this conversation, and Ed, who had been staring at him, realized exactly what Alexis wanted and took the transfer crystal out of the [Stranger Box] and held it in his hand.
All that was left to do was to shatter it and all of them would teleport away from this place … The Demon detected Ed’s movement and twisted his mouth in amusement.
“I’m telling you, you can’t use the transfer crystals. We didn’t want you to come all the way here and run back without even crossing swords with us. I had to make a few adjustments.”
“We are not going to run away. It’s just that the demon lord’s army, which is supposed to be “heroic”, has outnumbered us by so much. How afraid are you of me? If you’re this afraid, why don’t you just shiver and hide behind your Demon Lord or whatever he is called.”
To be precise, “their means of escape was blocked,” but there was no obligation to tell them the truth. He was not obliged to tell them the truth. Alexis continued to provoke him, hoping to create even the slightest opening, while his whole body was full powered.
If their escape route was blocked, the only thing left to do is to defeat the enemy with all their might. Because they had been deprived to escape from here, they could only concentrate their strength to fight.
“Behind Maou-sama huh… this is amusing. If I were to hide behind him, I would be easily extinguished by the black flames. I cannot let such a shameful act happen, so … I’ll take your heads here!”
“Everybody, get read――”
“Wait, Alexis.”
Just as they were about to begin the deadly battle, a voice suddenly stopped Alexis. The owner of the voice leapt in front of the heroes and turned his back on them as if he were standing in their way.
“Ed? What are you doing?”
“Alexis. What is your purpose?” Ed asked.
“… What’s with you all of a sudden? That’s getting through here with everyone’s strength――”
“No! That’s not it. Your … A hero’s purpose is to defeat the Demon Lord! Then, we shouldn’t be wasting our strength on a bunch of small fries in a place like this.”
“…Do you have any ideas?” Alexis asked.
“Of course. From now on, I’ll use my trump card and make a hole in that army and create an opening for you. Then you, …… you… the hero’s party. Run through it in a straight line.”
“… what are you talking about? Ed? What about you!?”
Tia, with a look of deep confusion on her face, asked about the content of the plan that suddenly came out of her friend’s mouth, which could hardly be called a strategy. Nevertheless, the response that she received was not at all appropriate.
“Me? Well …… that. I’ll follow after I get these guys out of the way.”
“Lies! You cannot fool me with such a lie!”
“… Ed, are you going to be the bait here? Isn’t that the job of the elder me?” old man Gonzo said.
“Don’t be silly. Old man’s defense and recovery magic will be absolutely necessary in the future. Tia’s spirit magic, which can respond flexibly to any situation, is also necessary. I mean, isn’t that how the original heroes’ party was formed in the first place?Then it’s logical that even a … kid would know that I’m the right person to be bait here.”
“No! That’s not true! Ed is one of us! Why are you saying that now?”
Despite Tia’s cries, Ed never looked back. He then removed the bag from his waist and tossed it to Alexis with his back turned to him.
“It’s packed with the finest potions. Sorry, it’s out of my control now, so what you see is what you get. Use it wisely. … Well, If it’s you, Alexis, I don’t need to tell you that,”
“Ed, you’re …”
“Alexis … No, Yuusha-sama… I am sorry, but I would like to end my contract as your porter. Therefore, would you be so kind as to formally expel me from the hero’s party?”
“Don’t be silly! Do you really think I would do such a thing!?”
“…, please. Otherwise, Tia won’t be understand, right?”
Ed, who had been looking forward all along, looked back for the first time at that moment. Seeing the bitter smile on his face, Alexis clenched his fists so hard that it started bleeding.
“No! Don’t! Alexis, please! No!”
“… Gonzo, put Tia on your shoulder. We don’t want her to get out of control.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s wrong …? Hey, let go of me! Put me down!!!!”
At Alexis’ command, Gonzo lifted Tia’s body up. Tia resisted with her hands, but there was no way that Tia could escape from Gonzo with pure muscle power.
“Ed, you――”
“No! No! No!”
“From the hero’s party――”
“Stop! Stop it! Please, please, please!”
“――I expel you!!!!”
“EDDDDDDDDDD!!!!”
“… Thanks.”
The next moment, Ed’s skin turned reddish-black and a red mist covered his body. The smell of iron rust began to waft in the air around them. Alexis and Gonzo frowned at this more than ever, and Tia spilled large tears from her wide-open eyes.
“Goooooooooooo!!!”
With a roar, Ed’s figure disappeared. At the same time, a Red flash ran through the Demon Lord’s army, and a path colored with blood opened up in front of Alexis and others.
“…Let’s go”
“OOOOOOH!”
“NOOOO!!! EDDDDD!!!!!!”
While the Demon King’s army stopped moving in confusion, Alexis and his party ran along the path single-mindedly. Halfway through the path, the surrounding Demon King’s army came to their senses and attacked, but they were all knocked away by a blow from the holy sword, and they just kept running forward as fast as they could.
Heat was power. It was common knowledge that extremely powerful physical enhancements would result in a corresponding increase in body temperature. However, there was no way that a person’s body could be safe from such a high temperature that his or her blood would boil and vaporize.
Risking his life, he exerted more than his full strength for a short period of time. They all understood at a glance that it was that kind of tactic that Ed took, being the bravest and strongest out of all.
I … I also …!
Again someone important to me sacrificed their life…. to protect me, and saved my life.
Memories that should not be there made Tia’s soul scream, and tears continued to fall from her eyes.
“Damn, we’re so close to breaking through. …”
“Urghh, It can’t be helped. I’ll take this――”
“Put me down. It’s all right now.”
A minute was shorter than the blink of an eye in a life of more than a hundred years, but longer than an eternity in the midst of enemy lines. Tia, who had spent that much time in grief, got off Gonzo’s shoulders and stood bravely, not even wiping her eyes.
“The tower of the half-moon that rises to convey the overlapping winds, and the voice of the spirit of the four elements that gather the light of the and turn it around! Turn around and blow it away! In the name of Lunaritia, manifest [Stormbringer]!”
A huge tornado materialized in front of Tia as she finished her chanting. However, Tia did not shoot it at the enemy, but cut it open with the thin silver sword entrusted to her by Ed.
“Dwell! Sword of the Silver Spirit!”
A green light appeared on the blade of the sword that cut through the magic, and a smaller tornado covered the area around it. The moment Tia swung it sideways, the unfurled tornado swept away the army that had been standing in a fan formation.
I really want to go back to Ed right now. I would even be willing to fight shoulder-to-shoulder and die for it.
But I can’t do that. If I trample on the wishes of my friends who risked their lives for me, I will continue to regret it for the hundreds of years of my life that will follow until my death.
Therefore, Tia, who had let out all her regrets in tears, bit her lip so hard that it bled, and uttered.
” …Let’s go, Alexis. We have to go and defeat the Demon Lord.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Gahahaha! Both of you, go wild to your heart’s content. Since we left our back to that guy, I will stop everything that comes from the front with my muscles.”
With renewed determination, the hero’s party, now back to three, ran towards the Demon Lord’s castle. Even though Demon Lord’s army had over 10,000 troops, there was not even a single one chasing after them.