Dantalion of the Four Heavenly Kings
Meanwhile, Count Rochelly, who was leading his men through a bypass in the valley to rescue the isolated army and adventurers, was moving with only his most elite knights to avoid detection by the Demon King's army.
"My Lord, was that man earlier really the Hero?"
"Hmm? Why do you ask all of a sudden?"
"Well... his appearance and attire make him look like just an ordinary adventurer... And facing thousands of monsters alone? It sounds too much like a lie..."
"Heh..."
Count Rochelly smiled and let out a soft chuckle at the Knight Commander, who was harboring doubts about the Hero they had seen earlier that day.
"He is undoubtedly the Hero, so do not worry."
"Ah... I see..."
"Where were you three years ago?"
"Pardon? I... I was stationed in the rear back then."
"Then it makes sense why you cannot believe it."
"Pardon? Believe what?"
Count Rochelly walked silently through the overgrown brush of the long-abandoned path.
Unable to contain his curiosity, the Knight Commander caught up to the Count's side, practically begging for answers.
"My Lord, please tell me. What happened on the front lines three years ago?"
"Do you remember the Third Great Invasion?"
"Yes! I remember."
"What do you know about it?"
"I only know that the human realm was in dire peril due to the Demon King's army's all-out offensive, but we were saved by the Hero's heroic deeds."
At the Knight Commander's response, Count Rochelly laughed wistfully, as if lost in past memories, before speaking again.
"The Demon King's forces numbered a whopping one hundred thousand back then. One hundred thousand. Out of that hundred thousand, how many do you think the Hero defeated by himself?"
"Well... maybe a few hundred?"
Hearing the commander's guess, Count Rochelly held up two fingers, smiling silently.
"Two hundred?"
"..."
"Two thousand?"
"..."
"No way... surely not."
"Officially, twenty thousand. And unofficially..."
Count Rochelly unfolded three more fingers, showing his full palm to the commander.
"Fifty thousand. Fifty thousand."
"My Lord, please... Who believes such fairy tales these days?"
"Hahaha. That is why I said you would not believe it."
"Please, tell me the truth. What did the Hero actually do back then..."
"If you do not believe my words, look over there."
The Count pointed toward the entrance of the valley. That was where the Hero was currently fighting to buy time for Count Rochelly and his men to rescue the trapped forces.
Boom! Rumble!
"W-What is that?"
A tremendous explosion shook the area. In the direction the Count had pointed, countless explosions were erupting one after another.
The Knight Commander, who should have been calming his panicked men, could only stare blankly at the distant explosions.
The Holy Sword Ascalon unleashed endless flames, incinerating the vanguard of the Orc legion.
Before they could even launch a proper attack, they screamed blood-curdling screeches and collapsed, burning to ashes.
"Whew..."
The surrounding area had turned into a sea of fire, preventing the monsters from approaching. I took a brief moment to catch my breath and looked toward the bypass path.
My job was to buy time while they safely rescued the isolated army and adventurers.
However, perhaps because I hadn't used Ascalon—which drains a massive amount of mana—in a long time, fatigue was starting to set in.
"Are you the Hero?"
Despite the raging inferno, someone was walking calmly through the flames.
With black hair and wearing a Demon King's army uniform, his voice, his bearing, and the sheer mana radiating from him made it clear he was no ordinary foe.
"Are you Dantalion of the Four Heavenly Kings?"
"For the Hero to know my name... I am honored."
Dantalion smirked, curling one side of his mouth in a sneer.
"Where are your precious party members? They talked so big earlier, only to vanish like ghosts."
"Party members? Do you mean Illuen?"
"Oh, yes! That 'noble High Elf' who charged in blindly, left her soldiers to die, and fled all by herself."
"..."
Although I had already heard the story from Count Rochelly, hearing it directly from the enemy commander made it feel even more wretched.
"I guess the Hero has passed his prime, dragging around baggage like that..."
"She has nothing to do with me anymore. She is no longer a member of my party."
"Well, I suppose you have your reasons... But putting that aside, as you know, a human army is trapped in that valley. A few thousand, I believe. With just one word from me, they will all be sent to the afterlife."
Dantalion pointed toward the valley entrance, mocking me as if he had already won.
"If I tell you to drop your sword and surrender... you probably won't, right? Then I will just have to kill them all."
Snap!
Dantalion snapped his fingers. The sharp sound echoed loudly, reverberating deep into the valley.
Upon hearing the signal, the Demon King's army began to swarm toward the inner valley.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"What does it look like? Since I cannot get the Hero to surrender, I am going to slaughter them all."
Count Rochelly probably hadn't even reached them yet.
Clang!
I immediately lunged at Dantalion with my Holy Sword. Anticipating my move, he blocked my strike with his own blade.
"Order your forces back right now. Otherwise, you will die here."
"If you want to stop them so badly, why not kill me and go stop them yourself?"
I didn't know exactly how strong Dantalion was, but compared to the Four Heavenly Kings of the past, my current self was more than capable of killing him and wiping out the rest of the demon army.
However, that was only possible if I had enough time.
Right now, no matter how quickly I killed Dantalion and ran to the valley, it was doubtful I would make it in time.
"What are you doing, Hero? Hurry up and kill me to save those trapped humans. Come on."
"..."
"Hurry up and kill me. What is taking so long? Hahaha!"
Dantalion taunted me, knowing I was pressed for time. I clashed swords with him, racking my brain to find a way out of this situation.
Either Count Rochelly had to rescue them faster than expected and escape...
Or else...
In this desperate moment where I desperately needed help, I had no reliable party members left.
"Elraim!"
A familiar voice echoed in my ears, followed by a massive surge of mana gathering in the area.
"Lu... Lucia?"
Lucia stood on the hill, gathering an amount of mana that was incomparable to when she summoned Undine. She was shaping a massive entity of water.
Soon, the water coalesced into a queenly figure with long, flowing hair.
"Elraim, please stop the Demon King's army heading into the valley."
[Yes.]
The watery figure of Elraim replied before soaring through the sky toward the valley.
"Hero, leave that side to me!"
"Thank you, Lucia."
I didn't know how Lucia knew my identity, but bolstered by her support, I parried Dantalion's sword as he stood dazed by her sudden appearance and lunged forward.
Burst
Boom!
Although there was some distance between Dantalion and me, the command word for Ascalon triggered an explosion that, while not fatal, was enough to inflict a critical wound. Thick smoke immediately enveloped the area.
Clang!
Contrary to my expectation that he would be severely incapacitated, Dantalion charged at me through the smoke. He was injured, but it wasn't as severe as I had hoped.
"Tsk... Did you think I would die just like that?"
Despite the burns and wounds covering his face, Dantalion kept smirking as he launched his counterattack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
However, his skills were not enough to wound me. Realizing this himself, his attacks gradually slowed down.
Tsunami
Whoosh!
Meanwhile, over in the valley, Lucia's spirit Elraim conjured a massive tsunami. I had no idea how she did it, but she summoned a giant wall of water on this dry land far from the sea, sweeping away the invading demon army.
A spell of this scale was utterly impossible for an ordinary spirit.
"W-What... is that..."
Even Dantalion was dumbfounded. Forgetting our battle, he stood frozen, staring blankly at his army being washed out of the valley.
Burst
Boom!
Not missing the opening, I shouted the command word again. The massive explosion sent Dantalion flying into the distance, barely visible through the smoke.
I rushed toward the impact site to deliver the finishing blow.
However, though Dantalion's blood and torn pieces of his uniform remained, he was nowhere to be found.
Beside the bloodstains, the faint, glowing remnants of a teleportation magic circle were slowly fading away.
Tsunami
Whoosh!
As another massive wave surged through the valley, I abandoned the search for Dantalion and headed toward the valley entrance.
"Hero!"
"Lucia?"
"I swept away all the demons heading into the valley. For some reason, they aren't trying to enter anymore and are scattering... I think they are retreating."
Just as Lucia said, the area near the valley was littered with the bodies of the drowned demon army. The surviving monsters and demons were throwing away their weapons and fleeing for their lives.
"Lucia... Who on earth are you...?"