Chapter 5

EP.5 What is this? Give it back (4)

A city located on the opposite side of Cardiac.

A lodging in the floating city of Rapheln.

“Mmm...”

After covering the exhausted and sleeping Sarah and Remia with a blanket, Kyle walked out of the lodging. Despite wearing only a leather pants and a shirt, Kyle felt no cold.

For the body of a hero was always like that.

The body of a hero is not bound by trivial matters. There is no need to train or maintain it. It is a body prepared solely to defeat the Demon King, and it maintains the best condition in any situation.

A hero chosen by the stars.

His body must always be perfect.

In the cold air, Kyle’s body, which instead felt warm, wore a bitter smile. As he walked the streets at dawn to cool off, a boy’s figure suddenly caught Kyle’s eye.

Early in the morning.

The boy ran hard on the street, where the morning mist had yet to clear. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he delivered newspapers to each house.

“...”

Eventually, the boy passed by Kyle’s side.

With the boy, an old memory surfaced in Kyle’s mind. The terrible times before he became a hero.

‘It’s an irrelevant story now.’

Like shaking off dust, Kyle shook off those memories.

‘It’s different now.’

No one ignores Kyle anymore. No one can touch Kyle’s achievements. Therefore, he is no longer the pitiful self he once was.

He had abandoned the past where he had to lick the feet of nobles.

He had killed all the nobles involved in that past.

Thus, no one knows Kyle’s past. No one can connect the pitiful and humble boy to the current brilliant Kyle.

‘Except for one person.’

Lanie.

Kyle chewed on that name in his mind.

- Hey, Kyle.

- How long are you going to keep this up?

Voice.

- I’m not going to say anything about you running away from the Demon King. It was the right choice. Even if it means I, Sarah, and Remia die, you, as a hero, must survive.

- So, I’m not going to say anything about that, but I have to say something about your attitude now.

- Get up.

- Grab the holy sword.

- How long are you going to lie there, you hero? If you don’t have an answer, you need to find one. That’s what the sword is for, after all.

- If you can’t do it, I’ll help you.

- Hey, fuck, who am I? I was the next master of that damn Ashen Tower. Who would ignore you when I’m pushing you?

Kyle couldn’t bear the voice that never gave up, no matter what. It made him feel small just standing in front of that guy.

In front of Lanie.

Standing beside that magician who always looked forward.

It felt like his old self was being exposed.

“...”

But, that’s all over now. Finally, that guy has given up on him. Let him go.

- Eat well and live well without me, you bastard.

Chewing on Lanie’s last words, Kyle wore a bitter smile. Eat well and live well without me? Who should be saying that?

“You don’t know, and I’m glad you don’t, Lanie.”

The day you bound the Demon King’s feet at the cost of half your lifespan.

What kind of deal did I make with the stars?

2.

Blink.

I blink at the sunlight streaming in. Forcing my eyes open, which are not used to the light, I slowly sit up.

“Ugh.”

Rustle. As I move, the dried blood on my clothes cracks. I look at the robe, from which dark red powder falls.

The robe I’ve been wearing since leaving the tower.

Today, it feels unusually large.

“...”

With half-open eyes, I raise my arm. The arm, covered in dried blood. The stockpiled spells that should have filled my forearms are gone.

‘...Of course they are.’

To deal with the black mist, I had to imbue mana into the spells. In that sense, this is a cheap price to pay.

‘When we first met, I lost half my lifespan.’

Compared to that, losing a few dozen stockpiled spells is nothing.

It’s a loss I can afford.

In any case, I decided to focus on the fact that I survived the confrontation with the black mist. There was a small satisfaction in knowing that my magic worked on the mist.

“Sigh.”

But, that was short-lived.

I soon sighed deeply and lowered my head.

‘What’s the point of figuring it out now?’

What good would it do to understand how to deal with the Demon King?

I’ve already been expelled from the hero party, and I don’t want to get involved with those annoying Demon King’s forces anymore.

And, the results are disheartening.

All the stockpiled spells are gone.

I lost the Succubus Queen and the Black Knight.

The only thing I gained is this badge on my chest.

‘What a terrible return on investment.’

I smiled bitterly and touched the badge on my robe’s chest. The badge I put back on as soon as I got it back from Lephe. Well, at least I got this back.

Just as I was about to brush my chest,

“...?”

I felt something strange as I touched my chest. I blinked and looked down.

“...What is this?”

Tilting my head, my ash-gray hair fell. The length was unusual.

“What is this?”

Something is off.

“Why is my voice like this, damn it.”

My voice also sounded strange. As I was puzzled by these inexplicable things,

-...!

-...L...!

I sensed someone nearby. I heard a voice. I paused my thoughts and listened to the sound.

-Search!

-...said the barrier was set. We need to recover it before the knights notice. Hurry!

-Quickly, it’s ...’s order!

Voice.

-It’s definitely in here, the Succubus Queen said.

-It’s a pearl the size of a fist. Find it!

Footsteps.

The clanking of armor.

“...”

I narrowed my eyes and looked around. The debris of collapsed buildings was everywhere. The buildings had already collapsed, and by chance, a small space was formed around the pillar I was leaning against.

I raised my head.

Above me, layers of walls.

There’s a small gap in the wall. Light comes through the gap, and so does the sound.

-It’s a black pearl!

-As soon as you find it...

Pearl.

The only pearl I remember is one.

The pearl Lephe shattered last night. The image of the damn black mist it summoned comes to mind.

‘It was definitely around here.’

Lephe dropped the pearl when she was enveloped by the black mist. If she didn’t take it with her... it must be around here.

I slowly stood up.

My body felt strange, but I decided to ignore it for now. My body wasn’t the priority right now.

-Trace the battle.

-I heard there are scratch marks left behind.

The voices I occasionally hear are probably from the Demon King’s forces. Their words and the stench seeping through the gap confirm this.

The smell of monsters.

The smell of rotting flesh of minions.

I don’t know why the Demon King’s forces are in a human city in broad daylight. The worst scenario is that Cardiac has been occupied by the Demon King’s forces...

‘But that’s unlikely.’

Even for a small city, Cardiac is close to the knights’ garrison. It would be difficult to capture such a place in a day, unless the Demon King himself came.

So, the only remaining possibility is one.

‘The pearl Lephe dropped.’

They came to find that pearl.

Taking considerable risks to do so.

Thud.

I stood on both feet.

I turned my head in the direction of the sensed presence.

-Crash!

The ceiling wall is torn by someone.

The gap widens, letting in more sunlight. Sounds and stench fill the air.

“There’s an empty space here! Hurry, Commander...?”

Voice.

“Huh?”

Confused eyes.

I meet the eyes of the soldier who tore the wall.

Naturally, I sense mana. As he opens his mouth to say something, I grab his neck.

Then, I pull him in as if catching a fish.

“Gasp!”

I trip the soldier’s feet as he is pulled in. I knock him over and shove my fingers into his mouth.

“Mmm, mmm!”

I feel the rough texture of a tongue, not human, but split like a lizard’s. I push my fingers in a bit deeper.

“Gurgle, gurgle!”

My fingertips eventually touch the soldier’s uvula.

In that state, I cast a spell.

‘Smite.’

A gray mana sparkles at my fingertips.

The hastily cast spell pierces the soldier’s uvula.

“Choke!”

Blood splatters.

I pull my fingers out of the limp soldier’s mouth. As I shake my hand, a blood clot falls to the ground with a thud.

The hastily cast spell is both weak and slow. To be efficient, I had to use this method, even if it was a bit dirty.

I feel a sense of unease about this fact.

Normally, there’s no need to use a spell on such a low-level enemy. At the point where I tripped him, I could have broken his neck or hit his head to knock him out.

However, for some reason.

I had a gut feeling at the point where I tripped him.

This body can’t do it.

It lacks the strength.

I trusted that gut feeling and immediately cast a spell.

Indeed, that gut feeling was right. This body didn’t have the necessary strength.

“...”

I look at my blood-stained arm.

A pale, slender arm.

I had a rough idea of how my body had changed. The answer was clear with a little thought.

Succubus, physical mutation, black mist.

And the strange feeling in my chest earlier.

The unusually thin voice.

The answer was only one.

“Sigh...”

I sighed and wiped my eyes.

I wanted to catch and beat that bat woman right away, but unfortunately, I didn’t even have the time to think about it.

-...

The voices I heard earlier disappeared.

The chaotic footsteps now move in one direction. Footsteps are heard from all directions.

Yes.

I can sense the presence approaching this place.

“...”

As I hear the sound.

I steady my breathing. I clear my mind. I check the conditions given to me one by one.

Do I have enough stockpiled spells?

No, not even one.

Is the terrain advantageous to me?

On the contrary, it’s disadvantageous. I’m surrounded, and there’s no place to run.

How many enemies are there?

At least ten.

Finally, I ask myself.

‘Then, what do I have?’

The answer is always the same.

‘Mana.’

An abundance of mana.

That’s enough.

Author’s Note (Postscript)

I think it’s better to read the battle scene in one go, so I’ve made a break here.

I’ll submit the assignment due by 12:00 and continue writing.

I didn’t expect to get so many assignments from the first class.

I really don’t like the professor...

I only did assignments, and the weekend disappeared.

*The length is around 5,500 characters in Korean.

*On 3/22 at 2:06 AM, I revised the last paragraph by about 5 lines.