It is time.

This was something I wanted for a long time.

A Hero’s journey is always full of interesting adventures and stories.

I researched previous Heroes a lot. Except for the “failed” one, every one of them had books or songs about them. All of them are good, but… It would be much better in person. 

Isn’t that what I’ve been working so hard for?

I was excited on my way to them, both to meet after so long… and to follow their story.

I hoped to hear Luthor’s report. He was good at making those, so if there was an interesting story… it will be fun to read.

Rumours about the Hero travel very quickly. That works in the demons’ favour. I’m sure there would be far fewer attacks on Lance’s party if they hid their identities… But he was probably advised not to do it. Those with high positions think that “The Hero from the Golden Kingdom” would do many good deeds on his journey. Eventually, even other countries might receive help from “The Hero from the Golden Kingdom”, which would give them a least some credit… I hate politics.

After a few hours of flight, I reached my destination.

The first person who caught my attention was Lance. It was easy to recognise him because of his blue hair. Seeing him after so many years, I almost couldn’t believe what I saw. Although I knew he had much better looks than me even from birth… With his broad shoulders and 190 cm height, he doesn’t fall far behind Leon. 

Speaking of Leon, what is wrong with his eyes? Why are they golden? Are those lenses? 

Maybe he went through something similar to me? Hopefully, Luthor includes that in the report. 

Looking at Leon makes me question if my face is even average in terms of looks. Even when we were younger he was too beautiful. Probably, he has the same effect on women, as Melissa has on men. 

If I was a person not familiar with the Hero’s face, I would think that Leon was the Hero. The way he looks, speaks, even moves screams “I am a noble Hero!”... His true strength implies that too…

As surprising as they are… I was amazed after looking at Naty.

I would never expect someone to change so much after only 2 years. 

If before I referred to her as a girl… it’s now a woman. A truly gorgeous woman that is equal to Melissa in beauty. I always thought of her as cute before. Now, I can’t even force myself to describe her with that word… She is just too beautiful.

My thoughts may go in a bad direction at this rate.

I need to calm down.

Damn hormones.

Was that change related to her becoming a Saintess?

It may be so…

There were three more people in Hero’s party at this point in time. 

I knew Melissa and Agness. They didn’t seem to change much. Agness is smiling more, but I never looked for Agness when I “wasn’t” near. So she might have always behaved this playfully.

The last person was someone I didn’t know. Timothy, a boy recommended by the King himself.

…That face is a bit familiar… Did I see him somewhere before?

Where are my little disciples by the way?

They should’ve been here already.

Ah, there they are… Why are Barry and Marta screaming at Melissa and Agness?

And why is Luthor tied up in another tent?

What’s going on?

.

.

.

“It is useless to keep your mouth shut. It will not bring you anywhere… I can make you open your mouth.”

Killing Intent started flowing out of Timothy.

It was not a big amount, but enough to intimidate a child… a normal child.

“Timmy, stop! He is just a child!”

Leon did not let him do any more than that.

“... Even children are capable of killing… He is an example of it.”

“Having Aura doesn’t mean that he killed anyone!”

“If he just answered the question, we could’ve known for sure.”

Timothy pointed at Naty, who was in the same tent.

It was common knowledge that with the use of divinity, a person could discern lies.

“... Maybe he was just too scared of our sudden actions… I still don’t understand why are we doing this…”

Naty believed in Leon, so she did not question him much when he and Timothy tied Luthor up for a seemingly stupid suspicion.

“I said it before, the skill he uses… It is not something he’s supposed to know.”

“Why? It sometimes happens. People who never met, but developed the same skill.”

“...This is too specific. It can’t be a coincidence.”

‘Not only the technique itself… Even the way he combines Aura with it is almost identical to mine…’ Timothy fell in shock when he saw it at first. He thought of only one possibility of this happening apart from some stupid coincidence.

The person he was looking for taught that kid.

So he wanted answers.

Fortunately, Leon supported him for some reason.

Even Timothy didn’t understand the reason behind all the trust he received from Leon.

“Naty, I have things I want to clear out too. We won’t hurt him.”

Naty weakly nodded at Leon’s words.

She knew even without her ability that Leon wasn’t lying.

“Luthor, please just tell us. Who taught you that technique?”

Luthor was a smart child, so he saw a loophole.

“... my Master did.”

That, however, would not make them free him.

“...Luthor… Does that Master of yours have a name?”

“He does.”

“What is it?”

“...”

Yet again he went silent. 

He made the mistake of lying at first but quickly understood what to do.

“...Can I use force?”

Someone’s patience was growing dim.

“No! Timmy! Why are you like this? I know you are better than this!”

Timmy in Leon’s memories was a kind person. With a dark past, but kind nonetheless.

There was a moment of silence.

Naty was the one to break it.

“...Luthor… You, Barry and Marta, are all great kids. No matter the reason, you saved the lives of many people. I know that you are not a bad person… And you should know that we are not bad either. So why can’t you tell us about your master?”

It did not take Luthor long to respond.

He looked her in the eyes and spoke with confidence.

“Master is a person who saved me and gave me a new life. I will never betray him… Even if it gets me killed.”

*Thump*

Luthor felt someone lightly punch him on the head.

“I’m touched, but there is no need for that.”

“M-Master!?”

“Who are you!?”

Everyone in the room got surprised by the sudden appearance of a masked man.

Timothy and Leon could not understand how this person got into the tent without them noticing.

Leon was worrying the most.

There were not many people who could get past him… And those people are not something the current Hero and his team can deal with.

So he unsheathed his sword.

“Ho? Do you want to fight? I did not kill you because you did not lay your hands on him yet… Are you sure about your decision? I am not your enemy… as of yet.”

There was no killing intent, but those confident words made Timothy tremble.

The man had a common Concealment Mask that could be bought anywhere. He had a black hood with black pants.

There was no way to know who this was, but… Timothy had a hunch.

“Name yourself!”

Leon did not show any signs of fear.

He too had a hunch of who it might be… although a lot different from Timothy’s.

“... You can call me Jack. I’m here to pick up my disciples. Can you make way?”

Jack’s voice sounded calm, yet, because of his nearly formal manner of speech others thought that he wanted to make fun of them.

Naty was the only one to comply.

“Unfortunately, we can’t do that.”

“Why that might be?”

“We need answers.”

“And why would I answer them?”

Leon hesitated for a second.

“...To protect the world.”

‘Does he think I’m that much of a threat?’ The masked man felt both proud and scared at the same time but didn’t show it even under his mask.

“... That’s an oddly vague answer. But assuming you are Hero’s comrades… I will allow one question.”

Leon started doubting the identity of the man but was pleased to hear the answer regardless.

“Then are-”

“Who taught you your technique!?”

Timothy interrupted Leon.

For him, it was information worth more than his life, so ignoring his fear, the young man took a risk.

Jack did not answer momentarily due to confusion, and Leon looked at Timmy with slight anger in his golden eyes.

“... I taught it myself from the notes left by someone.”

“N-Notes? Do you perhaps know the person who wrote them?”

Timmy sounded like someone clinging for hope.

Jack didn’t understand why he needed that information.

“...I said just one question.”

“But-!”

“You. Do you think I didn’t notice that our techniques are the same?”, anger could be felt coming from his words, ”It happens. And there is no way a King’s mutt learned from the same person as I did!”

His calmness disappeared while talking to Timothy.

And Timothy knew why.

He started trembling even more and his words could not leave his mouth.

Jack did a step toward Timothy and a bit of Killing Intent slipped from him.

“Please stop!”

Hearing Naty, Jack instantly stopped.

He noticed that emotions were affecting his behaviour, so he thought:

‘I got a bit too relaxed over this month, I need to concentrate a bit more.’

“We’re leaving… I hope the noble Hero’s party is noble even without the Hero himself.”

Leon bit his lips but still made way.

He wanted to hear a more satisfying answer, however, decided to let it go… for now.

Jack went out and took his other disciples away.

Not long after they left, the Hero, Lance, came back with a huge amount of firewood on his back.

They had a brief meeting.

After explaining everything, Leon asked Timmy a question.

He did not want to dwell on his teammate’s past, but he needed every piece of information on such a strong person.

‘I don’t know how much has changed. He doesn’t seem to be on the demons’ side, but… I can’t be too cautious.’

Leon got an… unexpected answer.

“...I’m not sure about his identity… But we should definitely apologize if we meet him again.”

“Hm? Well… what we did was a bit… excessive.”

Leon rubbed the back of his head with a small feeling of regret.

“That’s for sure!”

Leon ignored Lance’s screams and looked at Naty.

“Did he lie at any point?”

“... I was a bit surprised at first, so I didn’t use it the whole time… But I know that he lied about his name.”

The reason Naty was surprised was not that someone appeared so suddenly, no, she was used to it due to a certain person… Because it was so similar to the way he did it, she got lost for a second.

‘...And lies about his name… It’s too similar… But it can’t be him… I wonder… Is he even alive?’

She was worried but did not show it. 

Naty decided to keep the conversation she had with miss Valeria to herself.

She did not tell her much, but… Mixen’s trip was not a safe one.

Naty knew about a threat that loomed over her childhood friend, but that was as far as she got to the truth.

No matter how hard she tried, he would not tell her, blaming it on her own safety.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Agness asking her to help with food.

.

.

Somewhere not that far away, Mixen and his three disciples were having a conversation.

Kids hung their heads low. Mixen took off his mask, he did not look angry.

Only a bit disappointed.

“...What happened?”

Luthor was first to talk, as always. He sounded weak, and guilt could be felt while listening to him.

“It was my fault, I’m sorry.”

Luthor expected punishment for failing his task, but Mixen was not that kind of person.

“*Sigh* From the beginning please.”

“... When we got here, the village nearby had troubles with monsters. Hero’s party volunteered to help. I saw that as an opportunity to get closer, as you instructed. They did not want to let us fight at first, but I convinced them. However… During the fight, I made a mistake… I used my- your Stealth Technique. Timothy noticed it, and soon after the fight ended, he approached me. He started asking questions. I did not answer, so he tied me up and… for some reason Leon helped him. They started interrogating me… until you came…

Does Timothy know the same Technique as we do?”

It was a question Mixen could answer easily.

“No. Well… It’s very similar, but there is no way he learned from the same people as I. It’s just a coincidence.”

‘There is no way that bastard would somehow learn from mother…

Recommended by the King my ass! They never said which King.

I’ve met him on my… trip.

He is one of the Lead Kingdom’s soldiers.

When I first met him, however, he just observed me.

I do not know how he found me. I always cover my tracks… that is if I leave some.

It happened when I slept. I noticed someone with my Sixth Sence.

He did not show any Killing Intent, and at the time, I did not know if he was an enemy or not.

For a few days he kept observing, but I made sure to never show my face and tried to figure out his intentions.

I noticed just how similar our techniques are… His was more like Father’s though.

But it must’ve been a coincidence. There is no way Father would teach an enemy anything at all…

Was he even an enemy?

When I found out he worked for the pig-looking King, I attacked… It happened when I had almost no control over my Killing Intent, so he could dodge and block my attacks… but I let him go soon after.

The reason is rather simple.

Our similar stealth techniques were one thing… The other is that he never attacked himself or showed his Killing Intent to me.

One is bound to let some out even while he is defending, if your enemy wants to kill you that is.

That meant that he truly didn’t want to kill me.

I saw him a few more times but never approached him.

Why was he so different from every other bastard under that King?

Were his orders different?

…Or is he not brainwashed?

That can’t be true.

The personality of that petty ruler is too awful to not brainwash someone under him.

Timothy disappeared just before I’d saved those three… I guess he went here.

.

.

I should observe him closely from now on.’

“...Master?”

There was a long silence, so the kids became nervous.

“...Right, I have a new objective for you all.”

Hearing those words, they thought that they could redeem their mistake.

“You will go to the city of Ganesh… and play with Lara while I’m here.”

“”Huh?””

“Objections?”

“”No!””

“Good. I also have some things to say about your training… Marta, find a person named Theodore Miller, he will teach you the remaining circles. His words may be a bit hard to understand, but you are a smart girl, you’ll manage.”

Marta’s hopeful smile turned into a deep frown very quickly.

“...But… I want to learn from you, Master…”

She behaved like an abandoned puppy.

“It’s the same. Theodore Miller is my Master.”

“What!? He’s Master’s Master?”

“Yes, he taught me almost everything I know about magic. So treat him with respect.”

“Yes!”

Marta was now as happy as ever, which couldn’t be said about Luthor and Barry.

Barry was first to speak.

“...Master, what are I and Luthor supposed to do?”

He thought that they would have to progress without any help.

“Don’t worry, Barry, you are learning swordsmanship of my Father. I asked him before, he is willing to teach you, just as he did me.”

“Really!? That’s awesome!”

Now only Luthor was left with a somewhat sad expression. It was hidden under his cold face, but Mixen could tell.

“...Master, who taught you your Stealth Technique?”

“My mo-... My Father. He will help you with it if you ask him.”

Luthor noticed the change in his Master’s voice but did not ask about it.

He nodded.

“...Good… Oh, and… You all will have tests. Marta, enroll into the Magic academy, your test is to graduate.”

“Yes!” 

“Barry, go and become a fighter on the Arena, Luthor will help you with that. Your test is to become an A-ranked fighter.”

“Got it!”

“Luthor, you go to…”

Mixen stopped.

He suddenly understood what he was about to ask of this child.

However, he knew that this world is rotten.

He was an example of it.

There were paths filled with blood and darkness… But those paths can make other ones much cleaner and lighter.

But he did not want to force a young boy to do it.

“...Find a person named AL in the company “Tragedy and Comedy”. If you mention my name, he will trust you. There, ask him if he needs any help… He will explain it to you there.”

“Understo-”

“Luthor.”

Mixen’s tone became serious.

“Y-Yes?”

It is not often that their Master becomes serious while they are alone.

“Your task is not like Marta’s or Barry’s… After you hear details from AL, you are free to decline… I will prepare a new test for you then… But you will have to choose your path.”

“...Understood.”

“Good. Now, you’re free to go…Ah, and here.”

Mixen tossed a bag of platinum coins to Luthor.

“Use it if needed. Luthor is in charge of it… Make sure Barry doesn’t waste it all.”

“I-I wouldn’t!”

He would.

“I’ll make sure of it, thank you, Master.”

“Off you go then, I’ll try to visit as soon as I can.”

After the Kids left, Mixen returned to finally watch his long-awaited story.

.

.

.

I doubt they would ever notice, but I tried to hide my true identity by any means.

My voice and face were already hidden, so I changed the way I speak and even tried to be conscious about any small moves I make. 

Not even Naty should be able to recognize me… Her ability is burdensome…

I can’t imagine what would happen if she knew just how many times I lied to her…

I need to be careful with my words from now on…

Anyway, what are they up to?

.

.

.

Due to recent events, Timothy fell into his “weak” state. He was deep in thoughts and chewing his nails all the time.

It was a familiar sight for Leon.

Although they never verbally agreed to it, Leon was considered the party’s leader.

Lance didn’t mind and even acknowledged him.

Leon recommended returning to the village while they were near to rest for a day.

Nobody minded that decision.

Because the person who could calm Timothy down wasn’t here, only time could do it.

Villagers were glad to have the Hero as their guest again.

At night, Leon was patrolling alone, he knew how vile demons could be. Not only attacking at night, but they would also use villagers as hostages to get to the Hero. Leon couldn’t let that happen.

Usually, they changed positions with Timothy, but he said that Timothy should sleep this one time.

However, someone came to keep him company.

“Naty? Why are you here?”

“I came to make sure you won’t fall asleep.”

With a small giggle, she started walking near him.

“You should go back, I’ll be okay.”

“I can heal so much exhaustion with a spell, so it’s fine, I don’t need to sleep.”

“Mental health is important too, you know.”

“...I wanted to talk.”

It was a bit surprising to Leon.

Naty usually didn’t come to him like this.

Only Melissa and Agness did that.

“Sure, what’s up?”

It was a pleasant occurrence for Leon, as walking circles around town was boring.

“What do you think about that person?”

“That person?”

“...Jack.”

“Ah… I don’t know, really. He is mysterious… and strong.”

“Strong?”

“Yeah, if a fight broke out, I’m sure we would’ve likely lost.”

“Was he… That strong?”

“No doubt, you noticed Timothy’s behaviour, right?”

“...He started acting… weird.”

“I think that’s because he felt Killing Intent of that person directly… I felt only a small part of it, but still got chills.”

Naty knew what Killing Intent was. She felt it herself from demons… although not in the same way Leon or Timothy did it. She never killed, so all she felt was fear.

Leon didn’t bother with keeping the fact he killed a secret… Though never did he say it out aloud. And there was no need. Everyone knew about his tragic past, so they just blamed already dead bandits… Which wasn’t entirely true.

“...Does that mean he killed… a lot?”

“Yeah… Thousands… But, there is also a chance that those were demons.”

‘Lie’ Naty felt it.‘Why would he lie about that?’

What she didn’t know is that there is a difference in Killing Intent gained from killing one’s own kind and another, like demons.

It was an extremely small difference, but Leon was already on a level where he could tell the difference. But Leon didn’t want to show his true strength just yet.

“I see.”

‘There is no way he will kill so many people.’

Now Naty was sure that she was mistaken. It was simultaneously good and bad news for her. 

She was glad that Mixen wasn’t a murderer… But now she lost her only thread of hope…

“And what about you?”

“Huh?”

“What did you think of him?”

“Ah, well… He felt… familiar.”

 

Someone cursed from the side, but nobody but he heard it.

“...Familiar?”

“It’s just… It’s nothing actually.”

Leon shrugged and didn’t question her further.

They spent the rest of the night talking about various things and reminiscing about the past.

From that dialogue, Mixen figured that he will be beaten to a half-dead state by not only Naty but Leon too.

‘...But it feels good to know that they care about me that much…’

When morning came, Naty went to wake others up, and Mixen noticed something.

‘Is that a goblin?’

Goblins were lesser demons, they were weak… but they shouldn’t be here.

‘Are they sending such small fries after the Hero?’

He thought for a few minutes but shook his head in the end.

‘There is no way that’s true… But that goblin can hurt someone… Should I just kill him?.. No. I can’t leave traces, and getting rid of the body might bring even bigger issues… Ha! I have a great idea!’

Mixen flew to a little demon’s position, took him by the neck… and threw him toward Leon.

*Boom*

“Huh?”

Leon took his sword out and went to the sudden loud sound.

“Kerk!?”

Goblin was as confused as Leon.

Lesser demons had some intelligence, but not enough to say even simple words.

They were out of the village, but not really that far.

“...A goblin?”

Leon easily killed it and went to report the news to the chief of the village.

After hearing the chief pleads to investigate it further, which Leon would’ve done anyway, he returned to his party.

“... So what if there was a lone goblin here? Village’s guard should be enough to deal with it.”

Everyone looked at Lance in dismay.

“Lance… Did you not take your classes properly at the Academy?”

“Ha-ha! I figured that they didn’t really care about my marks, as long as I won my fights!”

Lance flexed his muscles a little.

Naty and Leon face-palmed at that sight.

“Lance… Goblins don’t appear so far from the demon’s territory… and they always travel in packs.”

Like a neanderthal who discovered fire, he understood something.

“Hm? Then there are more of them?”

“Good thinking!”

It sounded sarcastic, but Leon was genuinely happy for his friend.

“Also, they often have a leader. A goblin with enough intellect to plan and command others… Sometimes, it isn’t even a goblin.”

Everyone understood what Leon implied.

“...We need to find how they managed to get all the way here… or who brought them here.”

Agness figured out what they needed to do.

“Yes, so let’s split into three teams. Timothy, how are you feeling?”

He still was a bit shaken, but it wasn’t that bad from the beginning, so a good night's sleep somewhat healed him.

“I’m fine.”

“Good. You can manage on your own, right?”

Timothy was good at tracking, so others will only slow him down.

“...Show me where you encountered it.”

“Ah, sure. Naty and Lance will be on one team, you can start searching for more goblins. Melissa and Agness, you go with me.”

Three people nodded and one girl jumped.

“Yay!”

However, someone else was screaming internally.

‘I thought you were better than this, Leon!’

It was not because of anger, but because of jealousy.

What Mixen didn’t know yet, is that they always split like this.

Timothy was very familiar with acting alone.

Naty and Lance were a good fit. With a buff, Lance could not only protect Naty but also fight with A-ranked monsters on even ground. 

Melissa was the weakest in their group. Only in pair with Agness could she properly fight.

Although Melissa had some skills as a swordsman, she was still a mage, so they needed someone at the front. Leon was perfect for that position.

He knew it all too well. There was no other reason for his decision… but Mixen didn’t know that.

When they finally ventured out, Mixen didn’t know who to follow.

He couldn’t be in multiple places at once. Sure, he could watch over them with his “Sixth Sense” if they were inside of its radius, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying, so it was no fun.

Purely on random, Mixen picked Leon.

Contrary to his expectation, nothing happened. They found a few weak monsters and demons… that’s all.

After a few hours, Timothy sent a signal and they all gathered again.

He explained that it was a strange occurrence. There were no traces of that goblin in the place Leon showed him as if he fell from the sky. So it took him some time to find another trace, but when he did, he followed them and found a weird cave. Timothy didn’t go far into it but could see various small monsters coming out of it.

“We need to go inside, let’s do it in the night, that way we may catch them off-guard.”

It was an underhanded tactic, but all’s fair in war.

It wasn’t their first time doing something similar, so they agreed.

Only Mixen was a bit surprised.

“I will continue hunting monsters in the meantime. Naty, come with me.”

Lance didn’t want to sit and do nothing while regular villagers might be in danger.

“I will prepare everything for the ambush.”

Timothy was a professional with such things after all.

“Oh, and Agness and Lance should stay here while we will be in the cave.”

“What!? Why!?”

“What do you think will happen to this village if someone attacks it while we are there? After all, maybe they are expecting us to come there, just so they can hold the village hostage?”

“That…”

“You needed to spend more time learning and not training, Lance.”

It looked from the side as if big brother was pointing out his little brother’s mistakes

…or little brother was pointing at big brother’s mistakes? With their size difference, it wasn’t apparent.

‘...He is weirdly experienced in all of this…’

The rest of the day was going smoothly for the Hero’s party.

It felt like good luck for them, as usually they are attacked by demons at least once in three days.

They were on high guard and never left someone alone.

But only one person knew the true reason behind it.

‘Killing demos is much more pleasant than humans… Somewhat relaxing even.’

Mixen felt that he might’ve developed sinister habits… but upon remembering the feeling of killing actual humans… he knew that it was not it.

‘Hm? Why is my sword vibrating? Wait, I didn’t clean the blood on it… Did it absorb demons’ blood?’

The sword was definitely an artefact, with unknown abilities at that.

‘I’ll feed you more if I have a chance.’

He returned to Leon and co. just when they were about to go into the cave.

“We need to be quiet, so follow Timothy’s footsteps accurately.”

“I’ll try to disarm any traps.”

It was not their first time entrusting Timmy with this task.

He was the only one who could do it after all.

Mixen too checked the cave for any traps.

‘There aren’t many. Some are dangerous, and some just give the signal to the boss of this place.’

Mixen found that the cave wasn’t that big.

There were many small fries here. Only about 15 demons look somewhat strong.

.

.

.

It is impossible to tell just how strong a demon was just from his looks.

Demons are ranked differently from monsters for a reason.

If only S-ranked monsters have some intellect, then even E-ranked demons have the same.

So demons are ranked according to their intellect. 

Lesser demons can barely understand commands given to them. This includes goblins, ghouls, for some reason skeletons that are summoned with necromancy go into this category too… Maybe because it’s a devil’s power that summons them.

They usually have power equal to E-C rank. 

Intermediate demons can speak some basic words but are still far from human intelligence. Orcs and phantoms for example.

Their ranks are from C-A.

Higher demons have intellect on the same level as humans. Not only that, but their appearance is often human-like too. Because of that, they are also called demon people. 

Vampires, Succubi…Cambions… 

Strength wary from A-S rank.

Demons that have enough strength to be equal to SS rank become Named demons.

Similar to humanity’s Titled, but they get a new name.

It is given by the Demon King personally. Named demons should throw away the name given by their parents and only use the new one… which is cruel… But they are demons after all.

There are some uneducated people who call elves or dwarves demon people.

That is highly offensive and wrong.

Although at first glance, demon people are no different from some beastfolk or merfolk, there is one…

Blood.

Most demons’ blood is not of red colour. There are cases of red blood in demons, such as succubi, however, one thing won’t change. Human’s and demon’s blood will never mix.

It’s like putting oil on water…

It is possible for a demon to live among humans. They would have a hard time if someone finds out their identity through… 

.

.

.

Only 4 demons inside were higher demons. 

‘Leon shouldn’t have trouble dealing with them.’

Timothy successfully disarmed all traps.

They reached the room where a lot of monsters and lesser demons were kept in cages.

There also was a small hole in the ceiling… ‘Is it even possible for a goblin to reach up there?’

Leon said to ignore this room for now and go further.

The traps were not very complicated and placed in a hurry, so they successfully reached the room where a few demons slept.

Timothy did not hesitate and came closer to slit their throats.

‘Ah, I wondered why there was no guard here at all… This is a trap.’

“Timmy, No!”

Timothy reacted fast enough and jumped back.

*Boom!*

The body of the demon exploded.

*Boom!* *Boom!*

The other two bodies exploded too.

“Fall back!”

The room started crumbling and big rocks started falling on the team.

All of them tried to run back, but the corridor was long and big, so they were in danger even after leaving the room.

‘Oh, no you won’t’

A rock was falling straight at Naty, but Mixen dealt with it even before Naty noticed it.

After the rumbling stopped, they found themselves in a room full of small demons and monsters.

“Fortunately, the explosion wasn’t strong enough to collapse the entire cave.”

“Yeah… Were they expecting us?”

“Probably… It seems that there is no one here… We need to hurry back! This was their plan!”

They started to run.

‘Tsk. It seems that demons managed to fool Leon.’

Mixen could see that there were a bunch of demons sitting in a secret room nearby.

It wasn’t hard to see the entrance, as it was behind the cages. But a big amount of monsters covered it neatly.

If things go as the demons planned, they will successfully escape.

‘This is no fun, I wanted to see a cool fight… Oh! I have a plan!’

Mixen smirked and carefully made his way through the cages to the demons in another room.

He took out a weird looking tablet from his ring.

‘Time to scream, piggy!’

He pressed it to the back of one of the demons.

“Hm?”

‘Hm?’

“Be quiet! You idiot!”

‘Why doesn’t it work? Oh, well. Plan B.’

Mixen waved his hand.

*Boom!*

“AAAGH!”

A rock slammed a pig-looking demon to the ground.

Leon’s team was near the entrance already, but the scream was so loud that they still heard it.

“Did you hear it?”

“Was that… a scream?”

“I think we should check it out.”

“Agness, Timothy, you are quick, go and help Lance, I and Naty will check it out.”

“Okay!”

They split yet again.

When Leon reached the source of the scream, he couldn’t find anything, so Mixen pressed on the demon’s bleeding leg.

“HMPF! MFFF!”

Another demon put a rag into his mouth moments before, but that didn’t help much.

Leon crushed cages with monsters in them and finally found the room behind them.

“You! Demons! Naty, stay behind me!”

“Grrr! You morons can’t even sit silently! And you! Just die!”

“N-no, boss! Spa-”

*Crunch*

The insides of a poor demon splattered in all directions.

Leon stood in Naty’s sight, just so she doesn’t see the process.

‘Oh, that’s the leader? Is he an Oni?’

Oni were higher demons with large physic. Their skin was red and they had one or more horns on their head.

“Why are you not attacking!? There are only two of them! GO!”

The last part sounded more like a roar, so other demons started running at Leon and Naty. 

There was enough room only for 4 demons to attack simultaneously, others took rocks and threw them at Leon.

That was of no issue to him.

Naty buffed him from the begging.

He slashed anyone who came close enough.

Only one swing was enough for each demon.

‘I know he can kill them all in one swing… Why is he hiding his power?’

After killing half of the demons, Leon started his offence.

“Why are you so weak!? Both of you! Your turn!”

‘What is that?’

Oni secretly handed some sort of box to a small demon behind him.

In the meantime, two demons that were sent to their death completed their mission and lifelessly fell down.

“F*CK! Don’t think that you are strong after killing those weaklings!”

The big bad oni took off his hood and showed his body full of scars and a broken horn on his forehead.

“...an oni…”

“Haha! Scared? Yes, I am from the mighty Oni tribe!”

“...But your horn is broken.”

“YOU! SHUT YOUR MOOUUUTH!”

Oni didn’t wait any longer and jumped with a battle cry.

*Clang*

Oni fought with a big iron club, Leon blocked the attack with a calm expression, but his hands were shaking.

Taking advantage of his size, Leon dashed to the left and stabbed Oni in his side.

The oni didn’t have any armour, so the sword penetrated his skin easily…but stopped a few centimetres through.

“It won’t be as easy as that!”

Oni swung his fist at Leon. Leon’s sword was stuck in his enemy’s body, so he had no choice but to take the hit.

*Boom!*

He hit the wall.

“Leon!”

“*Cough* I’m fine.”

He managed to pull the sword out with the impact of the hit.

Naty was quite a distance from him, so she couldn’t heal him. Leon quickly pulled himself together and took a stance yet again.

“HAHAHA! Without Aura, you have no chances against me!”

Oni didn’t wait for Leon to come at him, so he jumped yet again.

“Then, I will use Aura!”

“Gha!?”

The Oni couldn’t change his trajectory once he was in the air.

Leon’s sword started giving off a small golden light.

*Swish*

A golden line could be seen in the air. It went through oni’s abdomen.

*Boom*

Oni fell, as he couldn’t feel his legs.

The lower half of his body was hanging only on a small chunk of flesh.

“*Cough* You… Why didn’t you use it from the beginning?”

“... I just recently was told I have it.”

“ha…ha… You beat me… Human… Are you… the Hero?”

Just like blood was flowing out of the Oni, his life was too.

“...No.”

However, there was no answer.

Only someone internally cursing at Leon.

‘Leon… What do you mean you have Aura!? And Golden one at that!? I respected you because I saw you being so strong without using Aura! Do you want to say that you had Aura all this time!? This is unfair! Why am I so unlucky!? …I’m not jealous… I will forgive, you, Leon… It seems that you didn’t know you had it either… And you gave me such a great sight after all.’

“Leon?”

“Yes?”

Naty had a somewhat confused expression.

“Why did you… No, are we done?”

She quickly made her usual face.

“...Almost.”

Leon jumped to the side and struck his sword into a corpse of a demon.

“AAAGH”

“EEK!”

The demon screamed from pain and Naty from surprise.

“Naty, you can leave, I will come after a few minutes.”

She understood what was about to happen.

“O-Okay…”

It was unusual for Naty to see Leon so cruel… But she knew that demons didn’t deserve kindness.

‘I thought he wouldn’t notice him, honestly.’

“Now… Shall we talk?”

“S-Spare me! Human! I beg of you!”

Leon’s tone was calm as ever.

“We both know that won’t happen. But depending on if you talk or not…”

Leon wiggled his sword.

“AAARGH. STOP IIIT!”

“...I might end your life less painfully.”

Leon didn’t smile, quite the opposite, he frowned.

He didn’t like this process.

“I will talk! Please, stop!”

Leon stopped.

“W-We were told to use an artefact to make a small army.”

“Artefact?”

“I-It uses mana in the body of a monster to turn it into a demon.”

‘So that’s why there were so many monsters and demons in cages.’

“Continue.”

“A-Ah… It… It can be used on humans too… But we didn’t use it on them yet, I swear!”

“Good, where is it?”

“It’s in my pocket, p-please take it.”

The demon smiled a little after saying that.

Leon pulled his sword out.

“... I know that demon’s artefacts are cursed, fool.”

“YOU!!”

There was a last-ditch effort from the demon to kill Leon.

His sword started shining with a bright golden light.

Countless strikes destroyed both the body of the demon and the artefact with him.

He made one swing, killing all monsters and demons in there. 

Leon sheathed his sword and started walking towards the entrance.

‘...Recently told, my ass! You lying bastard! I will never forgive you!’

Holding back from hitting Leon on the head, Mixen flew out of the cave.

Soon after Leon left the cave, he and Naty met another part of the team who were running to them.

Leon told them everything and it appears that there were no demons attacking the village.

Lance was feeling down after hearing he missed a great fight.

They spent a night in the village and left the next morning.

.

.

.

It seems that my first small chapter concluded…

.

.

Putting aside my jea- hatred for Leon…

It was great.

.

.

Seeing such great fights from the side, cheering for the good guys… and messing with the bad guys.

This was something I thought of a lot… 

.

.

I enjoyed the first chapter of this story.

.

.

It seems that the days when I suffer finally ended…

.

.

“The hell are talking about?”

You again?

“What? Haven’t I repeated this enough times? I have no idea why I’m here!”

Just let me sleep in silence.

.

.

When did you start having an actual body?

“Huh? Like…On our third meeting?”

I didn’t pay attention…

.

.

You’re blurry.

“Can do nothing about it.”

.

.

.

“...So~, What’s new? What’s that story?”

.

.

Why the hell am I talking to myself in my dreams?

“Dunno~, but I’m bo~red.”

I’m just following a story… Like reading a book but in person.

“Oh~ sounds cool. Tell me more.”

.

.

Are you really me?

“Yeah, you’re Mixen, right?”

Technically, yeah.

But, what’s up with you?

Do you not remember the same things as I do?

“Nope.”

Why?

“You stupid or something? I. Don’t. Know. This is your “dream” after all, so you tell me.”

.

No need for finger quotes.

.

.

If you think this is not a dream…

What is this?

“Who knows? Purgatory, maybe?”

.

.

A place between Heaven and Hell?

“Yeah, filled with emptiness.”

.

.

Why?

“There is nothing here when you leave. No water, no bodies, no moon… I wanted to ask this before, but what’s up with this moon?”

What do you mean?

“It’s weird.”

No, it’s not.

“Really? Hmm…”

Stop, you said there is nothing in here when I leave… What about you?

“Me? I just sit here. Usually, sleep.”

.

.

This is weird.

“I know, right?”

.

.

.

“Anyway… Is that story of yours any good?”

Yeah.

.

.

I liked it a lot.