The sound of destruction echoed through the city of Elden.
It was caused by the cannonball that was kicked away, the hero Ares, crashing at high speed into a building and causing it to collapse.
The one who kicked that cannonball—Shes—cut his gaze from the swirling dust and turned to face me. He sheathed his rusted holy sword and kneeled, bowing his head.
“I am Shestin Sacred, a holy knight and the Imperial hero of the Ainheryal Empire. I stand before you now, with my life renewed, Master.”
Shes, with his long silver hair swaying, looked up at me with a serious expression.
“I am deeply grateful for your generous grace, Master, not just this time, but repeatedly.”
“M-Master…?”
“My apologies. Should I call you ‘Lord’ instead?”
Shes tilted his head, asking. The use of titles like “Master” or “Lord” left me somewhat confused.
Before I could answer, I asked:
“Shes… or rather, your true name is Shestin, right?”
“Yes. Call me whichever you prefer, Lord Kiwi.”
“Alright then, Shes. You can call me Kiwi as well. Just Kiwi, no need for ‘Lord’ or ‘Master’.” I cleared my throat.
“Shes, by the way, are you on the side of the ‘Demon Kingdom’?”
That had been my biggest concern. Shes was clearly once a holy knight, and he had been a hero as well.
…The Ainheryal Empire had fallen about two hundred years ago. So, there was the possibility that he might side with the “human side” instead.
But before I could dwell further on it, Shes responded:
“Do you think I would raise my blade against my savior, who gave me this new life? That is unthinkable.”
Shes narrowed his eyes in disbelief and firmly declared. It seemed my worry had been unfounded.
“I’m relieved to hear that. It’s reassuring.”
“Yes. You can rest assured, as if aboard a great ship.”
Shes gave a quiet smile and slowly stood up.
“As long as I am here, I will never let you die, Kiwi.”
Shes drew his holy sword again. Just after, the blue light of a flash of light, the strike of a sword, came at us, but Shes expertly parried and struck down every attack.
“For the pride of my knighthood.”
Shes glared at the dust ahead, from which Hero Ares came charging at him, moving at the speed of a bullet.
The holy swords of both Shes and Ares clashed, their blades meeting.
“If you’ve been listening… it’s laughable that you, the ones who live in darkness, speak of knighthood and pride!”
“My code of chivalry knows neither light nor dark. It is only under a worthy master that loyalty is to be given.”
The battle unfolded at a speed far beyond my ability to see.
The sound of swords clashing was like grinding a rock, a harsh and unforgiving noise that no human hand could produce.
And then—
“You’re relying too much on brute force. Is this the extent of what modern heroes can do?”
Shes’s graceful footwork and swordplay began to toy with Ares.
First, Ares’ sword failed to catch Shes’ blade.
“Damn it, you slippery bastard!”
“Your holy power and strength are impressive, but your form is a mess.”
Shes drew a circle with his holy sword, using it to catch Ares’ missed thrust, and then sent Ares’ sword flying into the air. Then, he quickly struck at Ares’ open torso.
“Gah, ha…!”
“You’re tough, but at least I can use this to clean the rust off my sword.”
Ares had taken the hit directly, but his armor only showed traces of rust. It seemed the holy magic on his armor was protecting his body.
“Damn it… don’t think you’ve won just because of that!”
“Won? …Pitiful hero. I feel like I’m facing a child swinging around a stick. There’s no way I could feel triumphant.”
“You’re underestimating me!”
Ares lunged at Shes, but none of his strikes landed.
The battle was now overwhelmingly in Shes’s favor. However, it seemed that with his rusted sword, Shes couldn’t break through Ares’ defense.
…This is my fault. I had planned to bring zombies as my escorts, so I should have prepared for situations like this and maintained their equipment.
“Ha! No matter how great your sword skills are, I’m not afraid of your attacks!”
It seemed Ares had noticed Shes’ weakness.
“How pathetic! To have only rusty swords and shameful armor from a foolish master. Your skills will go to waste!”
Ares taunted Shes between their clashes.
…That hurt to hear.
If I make it out of here alive, I’ll make sure to sharpen that sword and buy him some proper armor.
One of the uses for my 120 million gold had just been decided.
As I thought about it, a voice rang out:
“A foolish master, you say…?”
Shes’s tone and presence changed, and with a loud crack, he stomped the ground, swinging his holy sword with brute force.
Although Ares’ holy sword blocked the attack, the force sent Ares flying back into another building.
Shes, attempting to follow up, nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
“…Be careful, Shes.”
I rushed behind him, supporting his body and using Dark Heal.
His foot had been crushed when he stepped, and his arm was nearly torn from swinging the holy sword.
“You’ve shifted from good to evil since your first death. Your potential has risen to the level of a demon. But your body is still human. If you push yourself too hard, your body will break.”
“I apologize for the trouble. Thank you for healing me.”
Shes steadied himself and raised his holy sword once more.
Ahead of him, Hero Ares rose to his feet.
…That hero. How tough can he be?
After all the punishment he had taken—Shes’s kick, rubble crushing him, multiple sword strikes, and even a full-force attack—he was still standing strong.
But even so…
“It seems we’ve reached the victory condition.”
With my murmur, thunder roared. From the dark sky, something ominous and red landed between Ares and us, accompanied by evil magic.
The strong man who appeared tossed a bundle of things at Ares’ feet.
“A gift. The remains of your subordinates.”
The items that rolled out were more than ten broken swords—likely belonging to the Ares’ subordinates who had been trying to stall us.
Ares stared, wide-eyed, as the powerful man—one of the strongest in the Demon Kingdom, a high-ranking officer named Agito—grinned widely, showing his large, jagged teeth.
“Now, shall we continue, hero?”
