𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦
After leaving Dwerk-san’s place, it was obvious that we were headed for where Blade had run off to.
That said, we have no clue where he escaped to.
In search of eyewitnesses, we decided to head for places where people might be.
From a distance, we saw several Iron Dwarves in combat and a group of people making a ruckus around them. On a whim, we decided to ask around and, unbelievably, struck gold immediately.
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“Woahhhhh!!!”
“Take that!”
“Ha!”
“Urya!”
“Finish him!”
“Right there!”
“Crush him!”
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What caught our eyes was Blade, fighting with a greatsword made by Divine Tree.
He was fighting against a battalion of Iron Dwarves, controlled by young girls.
Additionally, many regular golems operated by women were fighting in support of the Iron Dwarves.
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All of this was the backdrop for a group of drunks enjoying their booze.
Nearby, familiar weirdos were hanging upside-down from trees, faces swollen and wrapped like mummies, while Imina-san was clapping her hands as if their punishment was complete.
Also in the shade of a nearby tree sat Rin, sulking and hugging her knees.
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Chaos.
That’s the only word to describe the scene unfolding before us.
Stella and I were in shock, while Auntie Elle was clutching her forehead as if enduring a headache.
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“Oh, done talking with the old man?”
“Imina-san, what is this. . . . . .?”
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In utter bewilderment, I asked Imina-san, who had confidently approached us from in front of the mummified perverts.
She started speaking with an indescribable expression.
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“Ah, I don’t really know the details, but these idiots told that depressed kid, 『If you’re feeling down, let’s get moving!』 and had him help with the Iron Dwarves’ test run.
Of course, we immediately dealt with these guys for kidnapping Emma, but the one who got fired up was the kid himself. The children who were his opponents got enthusiastic, and before we knew it, the adults and idlers got involved, causing this uproar.
As for this one,” she gestured, “She suddenly broke down after watching all this. Did the old man do something?”
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Imina-san cautiously asked.
In the background, Stella and Auntie Elle quickly moved to support Rin.
However, even as they gently patted her shoulders, Rin continued to stare at Blade with lifeless eyes.
This is bad.
I don’t fully understand, but we’re also in serious trouble.
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“. . . . . .No, he was just wounded by sharp words.”
“. . . . . .I’m really sorry for all the trouble, both from the old man and these idiots. I apologize on behalf of all Dwarves here.”
“””Gyaaahhh?!”””
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Imina-san deeply, deeply bowed her head.
As a gesture of sincerity, she hurled one of the mummified weirdos into the others, causing a chain reaction and penalizing them even more.
The hanging and beating was for kidnapping a little girl.
The latest was for instigating Blade who was already vulnerable.
She may speak lightly, but she’s serious when it comes to principles.
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“It’s not the fault of Imina-san and the others. Actually, this is our problem to begin with.”
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I can only say things like that.
In reality, they haven’t done anything to apologize for.
Though Dwerk-san’s words were harsh to the point of being fatal, they were true. Going along with the perverts was Blade’s own choice.
Rather than that, what we should be concerned about right now is. . . . . .
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“. . . . . .Rin, are you okay?”
“Ahaha. Look, Stella-san. Blade-sama is so lively like that.
I haven’t done anything, but he’s full of energy.
It seems Blade-sama needs a super golem, not me.”
“Pull yourself together! Look as cheerful as ever, alright?!”
“It seems I was an unnecessary child.”
“Have mercy. If you fall into despair, it will seriously ruin the party. . . . . . .”
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Stella shakes Rin’s shoulder with a pale face, trying to bring her back to her senses, while Auntie Elle holds her head in her hands.
My head hurts too.
Things have gotten significantly complicated since we got here. . . . . .
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Can this be managed before the next battle with the Demon King’s Army?
My inner calmness says.
It’s impossible, there’s no way.
At least, I can’t think of any means to handle it.
Even a little while ago, I was in a state of half-surrender, saying that it could only be resolved over time.
If it has deteriorated to this point, there’s no way to deal with it.
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. . . . . .Or should we think about it the other way around?
If things have come to this, it can’t possibly get any worse.
So now, isn’t it the chance to try out ideas, without worrying about the risk, to see if any of them will work?
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“So, Imina-san, could you please join in and fight with Blade over there?”
“That’s way out of left field. For starters, I don’t even know what state that kid is in. . . . . .”
“After being defeated by the Four Heavenly Kings and then beaten up by his own demon-possessed brother, whom he lost, he’s tormented by a sense of powerlessness and is obsessively seeking strength.”
“Whoa, that’s a heavyweight story, too heavy to summarize like that.”
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Imina-san looks at Blade, her eyes filling with compassion.
Then, with eyes full of a sense of mission, she takes out a normal war hammer from her Magic bag at her waist.
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“Got it. So, I just need to train with that kid.
Certainly, fighting with a peer Holy Warrior should be beneficial.
I’ll go and make amends for what my guys did!”
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With that, Imina-san jumps in.
She forms a team with the Iron Dwarves on the spot and confronts Blade as an opponent.
Seeing this, Stella comes up to me with a shocked face.
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“Wait, Allan?! Why is Imina-san joining the fight too?!”
“I asked her to. It’s part of Blade’s rehabilitation plan #1: ‘Maybe he’ll get fixed if we beat him up’ strategy.”
“He’s already like that after being beaten up by Dwerk-san, you know?!”
“I’m thinking that maybe if we destroy him to the point where he can’t recover, something will change.
Dwerk-san once said that when fixing broken equipment, it’s faster to completely destroy it and reforge it.”
“Don’t equate humans and equipment!
I get it, you’re panicking!
It’s a bad habit when you feel cornered!”
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“Snap out of it!” Stella says, shaking my shoulders just as she did earlier to Rin.
Hey, stop it!
It’s one thing if it’s Rin who has divine protection, but if you shake me that vigorously, my head could literally come off!
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“『Destructive Sword』!”
“『Thundering Hammer』!”
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While I’m secretly fighting for my life, Blade and Imina-san are directly clashing with their special moves.
Blade, with his impressive physique, boasts unparalleled brute strength among the Holy Warriors, and Imina-san, the 『Hammer Saint』, excels in physical strength due to wielding a heavy weapon.
In a collision between two powerhouses, Blade unexpectedly overcame the difference in divine protection and came out on top.
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“Seriously?!”
“Take this!”
“What the━?!”
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Imina-san, who had her war hammer deflected and left vulnerable, takes the second strike from Blade’s quick-draw technique.
She doesn’t die because it’s a wooden sword, but she’s sent flying and knocked down.
However, Blade also seems to have expended all his energy in that exchange and couldn’t handle the following punch from the Iron Dwarves, taking him down as well.
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With both Holy Warriors down, the Iron Dwarves surprisingly take the win.
Little girls are high-fiving and celebrating, women who seem to be able to use Healing Magic rush over to the fallen, and Rin, who was sitting with her knees up, also springs up to approach Blade.
Unexpectedly, screams rise from the drunkards who apparently had been betting on the fight, while only those who had bet on the long shot are cheering.
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“Can’t believe the Iron Dwarves won. . . . . .
But more surprisingly, Blade is stronger than Imina-san. Never saw that coming.”
“Well, Imina-san’s true strength lies in fighting monsters using her magic hammer.
Still, I didn’t expect Blade to win. I’m honestly surprised.”
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Surprisingly, even with this unexpected turn of events, the attacks(shaking) on me ceased, allowing Stella and me to calmly exchange our thoughts.
Imina-san is not weak in interpersonal combat either.
I know this well because we used to practice against each other frequently during our training days.
Can I really defeat Imina-san in such a shaky mental state like that?
Honestly, I thought I was done for, about to be knocked out.
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Blade has become stronger than I thought.
So, that means. . . . . .
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“What a shame.”
“. . . . . .Indeed.”
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I sigh alongside Stella.
I can’t help but think that if even your mental state can somehow manage with this, then. . . . . .
If that were to happen, a true successor to Ruberto-san, a great hero of our time, would surely be born.
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“Don’t be so pessimistic, both of you. Look over there.”
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The one who says this is Auntie Elle.
Following her gaze, I see Rin, who looks concerned but is efficiently treating Blade.
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“At least Rin still has enough energy left to reflexively act for Blade’s sake.
And Blade still has the will to fight.
Isn’t it too early to lose hope?”
“Well, you have a point. . . . . .”
“. . . . . .Yes, you do.”
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Auntie Elle is not wrong.
She’s not wrong, but. . . . . .
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“Well, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re still in a dire situation!”
“You’re saying that yourself?!”
“Ahaha. . . . . .”
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Auntie Elle unhesitatingly spoke the truth that we had been evasively skirting with vague responses.
I couldn’t help but interject, while Stella let out a dry laugh.
However, I think the atmosphere actually improved now that we had voiced our true feelings, compared to forcibly glossing things over.
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Ah, I don’t care anymore!
Let things go as they will!
Thinking about it is exhausting.
So, I’m going to stop overthinking it.
I’ll just interact with the two of them like I used to, and whether we can overcome this difficulty or not, I’ll leave it to their resilience.
There’s nothing else to do.
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Hopefully, the next battle with the Demon King’s Army doesn’t break out before the two of them can recover.
Praying is about all I can do.
Then again, the most likely god to pray to would probably be bothered if I prayed about the movements of their natural enemy, the demons. So it ends up being an empty prayer with no clear recipient.
Really, it’s a harsh world where you can’t even rely on divine intervention properly.
Well, that’s nothing new.
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◆◆◆
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A few days after the Hero’s Party entered the Dwarf Village.
On a cloudless full-moon night.
They were near the summit of Celestial Mountains, in the labyrinth located in the upper part of the village.
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“Ah, what a splendid night. Fitting for both the anniversary of the Hero’s demise and the beginning of my own rise.”
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The man who spoke these words was dressed in extravagant noble-like attire.
Standing at the peak of Celestial Mountains, he gazes up at the full moon in the night sky.
What he sees in the moonlight pouring down are the tragic end of the Hero and a future filled with his own glory.
Beneath him stood a multitude of monsters, unnaturally silent, as if they were loyal vassals to a king.
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Murder Lions, Dark Wolves, Bolt Horses, Snow Rabbits, Rock Dragons.
All were formidable beings that inhabit the Celestial Mountains.
Additionally, behind these mighty creatures were hundreds, if not more, of monsters.
Controlled and led by the man’s abilities, they were no longer a motley crew of monsters, but a formidable force that constitutes the Demon King’s Army.
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“Ah, this is good. This mountain is truly incredible. The energy of the earth is abundant here. I want to live here now.”
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Among this army, there was one who seemed out of place.
The one making such silly comments while clinging to a rock wall was a child dressed in grubby clothes.
Since arriving here, he had been idly clinging to the rock wall like this.
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Upon observing the child’s behavior, the man who had been contemplating his glorious future frowned in displeasure and issued an order to the child.
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“Asgard, preparations are complete. We will now initiate the plan to assassinate the Hero.”
“Ugh, bothersome. If you want to do it, do it yourself.”
(This guy. . . . . .?!)
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A vein popped on the man’s forehead, and for a moment, the thought of killing the child right then crossed his mind.
Somehow suppressing this urge, the man dangled the bait that he had originally used to lure Asgard to this location once more.
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“You want the Hero’s Holy Sword, don’t you? You can’t get it unless you kill him.”
“Oh, right. Let’s get this over with then.”
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Somehow managing to reignite the child’s motivation, the man inwardly cursed at the troublesome fool he was dealing with.
He pondered on what to do once he becomes the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings.
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However, regardless of all that, the initial formation was now complete.
Instead of bringing his army along, he procured local forces to maintain secrecy and caught the Hero unprepared in a location with inferior military strength.
It was perfect.
Thanks to the prior preparations, they could start the battle with a significant advantage in forces, and he even had a hidden trump card.
There was no way they could lose.
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“Let’s go, Hero. Feel honored to become the stepping stone for my rise to glory. ━━Advance!”
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At the man’s command, the swarm of monsters descended the mountain, charging toward the Dwarf Village.
Despite Allan’s prayers, the curtain rises on the next battle between the Demon King’s Army and the Hero’s Party—a decisive battle that would last a night.
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