I can still vividly remember the scene when they died.

To be honest, I was in the depths of despair and despair for a while after they died.

Anger at himself and Nero for being immature in everything.

And the hatred for the demon tribe that constantly springs up.

At one point, he was thinking of something stupid like riding into the Demon Lord's territory and taking out the Demon Clan from one end to the other.

If I had done that, I would definitely have fallen out of the way.

In my mental state at the time, I was so cornered that I could have done such an atrocity, but I was able to stop because of the words of the woman who was the vice captain of the Owl -- at the time of her death.

 

"I don't regret fighting under you."

 

The words he uttered even though he was mortally wounded by Nero's magic sword.

 

"You will always remain our longing."

 

A voice that is exhaled without being sure whether it is deaf or not.

She smiled so gently at me as I struggled to cast a healing spell on me, leaving behind a curse that would never go away at the very end.

 

"That's you, Captain......

 

Those words kept me as a person.

Staying the same person they longed for was the only thing I could do as a survivor.

I'm sure they'd have laughed when they saw me trying to get revenge.

I'm sure you'll laugh out loud and say, "I can't do that."

That's why I decided to live my life so that I could face them, and I created a rescue team.

Instead of dwelling on the past, I want to move forward.

 

"Rows!"

"Oh?"

 

Nero's angry voice returns to me.

Ah, I was in the middle of a battle right now.

He raises his fist to Nero, who approaches him in a sliding motion on the ground.

Second fight with Nero Argens.

At one point, I was drowning in murderous intent and trying to reap my life, but when I confronted him again, I was surprisingly calm myself.

He uses his sword to drown out the blades of wind that are continuously released and attacks Nero.

One thing I need to keep in mind when fighting this guy is that I will never be hit by a magic sword.

 

"Hmph!"

 

Place your back fist on the belly of the magic sword that is wielded as if it were slashing your torso, and forcibly deflect it.

The blade of wind released from the tip of the sword flew far backwards and crashed into the tornado that surrounded us, and a particularly large wind blew from behind.

It is not enough to prevent it once.

Nero unleashes a slashing blow with a flowing swordplay.

 

「…… You still rely on the magic sword."

 

Crush the attack, flick the belly of the sword with your fist, and simply dodge.

That alone would not have to hit the magic sword itself, but the demon tribe in front of him was not an easy opponent to deal with.

As I stepped back and dealt with the magic sword, Nero turned his palm at me and released a gust of wind.

 

"Ha!"

"Whew!"

 

A sudden wind blows you backwards.

Positioning himself in mid-air, he lands on the ground, and at the same time, a particularly large blade of wind approaches him.

Wind slashing with system enhancement! It's bad ...... you have to avoid this!

Leap on the spot and dodge wind blades.

However, as I flew into the air, Nero was already charging in front of me, with his sword at his waist.

 

"Wow!"

 

My eyes widened, and Nero let out a roar as he unleashed his magic-laden sword.

A jolt ran through his torso, and the magic power contained in the magic sword was released in the form of a kamai, and lacerations were etched all over his body.

But my torso is still connected.

 

"Don't get carried away......!"

"What!?"

"How many times do you think you've been shown the sword of Temeje...... Oh?"

 

Nero's eyes widen as I hold the belly of the sword as if I were pinching it with my fist.

While healing wounds all over his body with healing magic, he distorts his mouth as much as possible.

 

"Laugh even though you're covered in blood, or this monster ......!"

"I'm under attack.

 

Aiming for the moment when they both land on the ground, they swing their right arms wide, hooking their sword-holding arms around their necks and slamming them into the ground.

 

"Whew......!"

 

Of course, we know that the wind armor will keep us intact.

But that's just a matter of ripping it off.

As it is, he forcibly grabs his ankle and swings it casually as he slams it into the raised ground created by Nero himself.

With each strike, a lump of earth bursts into pieces.

Despite being so shocked, Nero doesn't let go of the magic sword in his hand, and on top of that, he cheekily tries to suppress the impact by applying wind magic to the dirt.

He scoops up his cheek and slams Nero into the dirt with even more force, then tosses him away and slams a kick into the belly of the guy who is writhing in shock.

 

"Olaa!"

「———!」

 

- Seeing off Nero who is blown away as it is.

From my senses, it seems that I couldn't break through the wind armor.

It's definitely more robust than before.

 

「…… Is that the cause of what you just said?"

 

The technique he used when he punched Nero, who was making fun of him for hating and being silly.

I tried using it just to try it out, but it was unexpected for me that it had an unexpectedly effective effect on Nero.

This made Nero even more vigilant, and he changed his wind armor to an even more robust one.

However, the flip side of this is that the technology can be used to penetrate Nero's armor.

 

"You're really unpredictable...... Usato"

 

Remembering that guy who wasn't here, he smiled.

——— if it was true, he should have been the last.

When I created the lifeguard, the first thing I wanted was a healing wizard who could act in my place in case of emergency.

That is the "subordinate who does not die".

Just like me, a healing wizard.

However, the plan failed spectacularly.

None of the healing wizards could keep up with the training to reach their target healing wizard standard.

Just when I was about to give up, I found Usato.

 

「…… Huh."

 

It reminds me of the image of Usato, who looks at me like a mass of rebellious spirit in the midst of training that makes everyone run away with a broken heart.

At that time, I was really surprised.

I thought that if he was just a kid, he would immediately start crying and run away, but he was actually a ridiculously funny guy. It's impossible not to be surprised by this.

 

"I guess that's when it started."

 

I tried to keep moving forward aimlessly, following the words of the owls, but it was ...... that I decided on a set goal.

 

"Usato, you're mytimewhenmoved. It's not the Owls, it's none other than you."

 

No one can hear it, but one person mutters so.

The owls pushed me back when I had stopped in the past.

He then pointed to my path, which had been aimlessly moving forward to Usato.

 

"Rose......!"

"It's time to finish it, Nero Argens."

 

Standing at the end of the sand smoke is the figure of Nero, who emits an even stronger wind.

The one who is still unharmed swings his sword tightly clenched as if to deny my words.

 

"No, it's never over...... Our battle has been going on since then......!"

"Then it should be even more endless."

 

This is one of the paths I could have chosen.

He has turned his remorse for forcing his subordinates to die into an obsession to fight me.

He thinks that if he does so, he will be able to repay those who have died, and he is trying so desperately to fight.

Maybe that's why I can understand his struggles.

Still not approving, Nero begins to draw in the wind around him while wrapping his magic power in his magic sword.

 

「…… Apparently, they're serious about it too."

 

I probably won't be able to stop the sword and prevent it like I did before.

However, even if my attack hits, it will be blocked by the wind armor.

 

"Finish them off with one blow...... How?"

 

You'll have to make sure you destroy the wind armor and then slam your fist into it. The only way to do that is to stop him directly from moving, so that he can't escape with the magic of the wind.

Having decided what to do, I poured magic into my right arm.

As it is, he draws his right fist and holds it to Nero.

 

「……」

「……」

 

There is an eerie silence as they glare at each other.

Amid the sound of a tornado cutting through the wind, Nero began to move, lowering himself.

Nero is pushed out by a powerful wind that can be mistaken for an explosion in the air, and rushes towards him. The magic sword in his hands was held on the upper level, and it seemed that he intended to cut me in two.

I looked at it and took a short breath, then I clenched my teeth and took half a step forward.

 

"Shh......hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

--Catch the part that corresponds to the base of Nero's magic sword with your left shoulder.

He feels the sword dig into his shoulder and reacts at the same time as he perceives the pain - he grabs the hilt of the sword with his left arm and Nero's hands.

 

"You ...... that you received the blade yourself!? You're crazy!"

"Apparently, this was the only way to hit Temeje directly...... You can't get away with this, can you?"

 

Blood gushed from his shoulder, which was slashed halfway through the magic sword, dripping onto the ground.

I've got a wound that can't be healed by healing magic, but if I can defeat this guy, it's cheap......!

With his left hand, he holds Nero's hands and squeezes his right arm, which was holding power and magic.

 

"It's my proud disciple's skill.

 

A technique used by Usato, who dares to unleash magical power.

He treated it as a non-dangerous technique through a special gauntlet——— but that technique could also be done by me, a fellow healing wizard.

He slams his fist into the ground with such a step that it cracks.

As soon as the fists make contact, the magic power that has been put into the fist explodes, and the impact released along with the fresh blood from the fist destroys Nero's wind armor and hits the exposed flesh directly.

 

"Huh...... Whew!"

 

Nero's body snaps into a crooked shape, and the hand that held the magic sword weakens.

Regardless of that, I firmly fixed Nero's body and started running, pushing out my fist as it was.

 

"I know you can't do this much! I'm sorry, but I'll do it thoroughly!"

"Oooo......!"

 

He pushes Nero at full speed until he reaches the wall created by the tornado, and at the same time, he swings his arms and knocks Nero into the tornado.

As a result, Nero plunged into the tornado with moderate momentum -- the huge tornado that had caused so much harm to the surroundings disappeared in an instant.

 

「…… It's ridiculous to come up with a technique. He's the one."

　

Nero glared in the direction from which he had been blown away, and pulled out the magic sword that was still stuck in his shoulder.

Unforgettable, a sword with a blood-red color.

 

「…… It's not that I don't have any thoughts, but I think we should get rid of this stuff right away."

 

I can't afford to be picked up and misused by someone.

With a slight frown on his shoulder pain in his shoulder, he smashes the ground as if he were trampling it.

I'm not sure if it was protected by Nero's own magic, but I'm a little surprised that it shattered so easily.

…… Then there's the scar on my shoulder.

 

"Can't you break the curse by shattering the sword...... As long as I don't heal this wound, my left shoulder will be useless."

 

It can't be helped, but it seems that he won't be able to heal his left shoulder until the curse on the wound is lifted.

Remove the bandage from the clothes and wrap them tightly over the clothes.

It's just a stopgap measure.

Normally, I would have to go back to the base and do the treatment without the healing magic...... But first, I need to do something.

 

"Okay, let's go see if you've killed him."

 

Of course, I know he's not that guy.

If it still seems to stand, I will beat it thoroughly.

With that in mind, he holds his left shoulder and walks in the direction in which Nero would have been blown away. In the midst of this, the corpses of the demons that were brought in were left unattended, and among them the corpses of demons and humans can be seen.

 

「……」

 

After closing his eyes for a few seconds, he walks forward again and catches sight of a soldier from the Demon King's army in the direction Nero had flown to.

They look at each other in bewilderment.

...... to be surprised and frightened by the unexpected.

 

「…… What's that?"

 

The situation is strange.

He's upset that Nero was blown away by me, but he also seems to be scared of the unexpected happening.

As I stopped in my tracks to see the panicked soldiers, the dust and smoke in front of me cleared.

 

"Wow, ......."

 

There is a figure of Nero on his knees, holding his abdomen and vomiting blood.

…… He doesn't have the strength to fight anymore.

Just as he was about to clench his fists to stun him and get closer, Nero looked up with a puzzled expression on his face and opened his blood-stained mouth.

 

"What do you mean......!"

"Oh?"

 

An honorific that doesn't look like a slugger.

Nero, who spoke out to me, or rather, to someone else in the room, looked up at the sky with a look of desperation, and continued.

 

"'If you don't want to get involved, evacuate,' what are you going to do...... Demon King・・・!!」

"Huh!?"

 

At that moment, I was tormented by chills that I had never felt before.

Something is coming.

I was the first to detect the source, and immediately looked up at my head—speechless.

 

「———」

 

A black pattern that can be seen in the gaps in the clouds covering the sky.

It floated so densely and in large quantities that it could be seen, and it spread to a scale that covered the entire battlefield, forming a circle like a magic circle.

At the same time, I noticed that several signs that I had not felt before appeared from behind me and were approaching me.

I immediately turned behind me to intercept it——— and what caught my eye was the Glow Wolf, a monster that should have been a corpse earlier.

Blood was splattered on him, his wounded body was moving, but he was still moving.

 

"The corpse is moving, you say?"

"Woo, woo, wow!"

 

A few glowwolves let out a hoarse scream, and when they passed by without even looking at me, they bit Nero's armor, which was immobilized due to his injuries, and tried to take him somewhere.

 

"Demon Lord, ......! Why! Why?!"

 

Nero shows a pretense of resistance, but Glow Wolf pulls him as if he doesn't need to ask questions.

The demons, who were corpses that began to move as if to follow, forcibly carried the immobilized demons.

…… I'd like to chase it down, but the Glow Wolf's body was engraved with something like the same pattern as the magic used by Usato's familiar, Nea.

 

"Witchcraft, if that's the case, the sky is ......."

 

Looking up at the sky again, a kind of light emanates from a black magic circle floating higher than the clouds.

I narrowed my eyes, and in the moment I recognized it faster than anyone else, I ignored even the condition of my wound and sprinted to the base where my men and the healing wizard were.

 

"The Demon King is a ridiculous idiot......!"

 

Released from the magic circle, the fireballs that fall while drowning out the clouds are fireballs with so much magical power that it seems foolish to count them———

This battle was literally a battle for all of the strength of the Demon King's army.

If you lose, there's nothing left to do.

That's why the Demon King's army had to win at all costs.

In other words, the guy who did this would like to say:

 

"We can't let them win for free."

 

Everything is ruined.

Every fight, every sacrifice, every effort.

Realizing this, and feeling so angry that I didn't even feel the pain in my shoulders, I set out to protect my allies from the threat that was raining down from above.

___________________________

What kind of monster is this!? (Tendon)