Even in a Ruined Body
"He fights well. I suppose a Hero is still a Hero, even if his body is a complete wreck."
Idrian Goldenroad, a man who possessed the memories of his past life as the First Hero. Even though he had fought alongside his companions, his achievement of subjugating the primordial evil, Apophis, was an overwhelming feat incomparable to anything else in this world. Perhaps it was because of that history of achieving such a grand undertaking? Even in his obese body, he hadn't lost his sharp edge. Just looking at the way he held his drawn sword was enough to warrant praise.
Miruel wasn't quite at his level, but she fought decently enough. She was easily pulling her own weight. On the other hand, Soward was...
"Ugh, my eyes are rotting. A newborn baby could swing a sword better than that."
It was the absolute worst. His swordsmanship was so disgusting that the title 'Sword Devil' felt like an embarrassment. Was he a sword devil or just a sword-wielding disaster? Even if he was merely a replica that partially mimicked the original's power, this was too much. Giving him a club and telling him to just flail around would probably make him far more threatening.
Still, Idrian's swordsmanship cleansed my eyes. The disgust bubbling up inside me completely vanished.
At that moment, Soward's eyes rolled back and turned pitch black.
The very reason I had stayed behind—the variable!
"How dare you! How dare you! How dare you! To parry all of my strikes! A mere insect like youuuuu!!!"
The devil's pupils dilated, dyeing his entire eyes black. The demonic energy radiating from him until now grew exponentially denser.
"Ugh...!"
Unable to withstand the suddenly concentrated demonic energy, Miruel fell to her knees. She retched repeatedly onto the ground, but there was no sign of her condition improving. If anything, it was only getting worse.
Seeing this, Idrian cursed inwardly.
Damn it! Is this a demonic energy rampage?!
He was supposed to be a mere replica devil. For a demonic energy rampage—a phenomenon that only occurred in devils with an excessively massive pool of demonic energy—to happen here was absurd. Could that atrocious swordsmanship of his have been caused by this all along? If it had been a real devil, he would have prepared for it.
No, excuses are pointless. I failed to anticipate this. If I had paid just a little more attention, this wouldn't have happened.
The probability of a demonic energy rampage occurring in a replica devil was a mere 0.000019%. Even the Alchemist Devil Legion Commander, who had spent his entire life creating replica devils in the past, had rarely witnessed this phenomenon. Yet, it was happening right now.
This was dangerous. He had barely managed to muster enough Sword Qi to defeat the devil, but now it was useless. He doubted whether thrusting his sword would even scratch the creature, let alone pierce its neck.
Beside him, the female student he had been fighting alongside just moments ago was groaning in agony from the demonic energy. Unless one was accustomed to demonic energy from fighting countless devils like he had, it would inflict a severe blow to the soul.
Demonic energy did not harm the physical body; instead, it was a toxic substance that wounded the soul, which was far more dangerous. If left like this, she would end up a crippled shell of herself.
"I won't let that happen!"
She was a girl who possessed the qualities of a hero, prioritizing others even when her own life was in danger. What kind of Hero would abandon a seed that could grow into a future hero? He had to nurture her well and turn her into a hero who would protect the world.
He slung the collapsed girl over his shoulder. Perhaps due to his broad shoulders, carrying her felt remarkably stable. It was the first useful trait he had found since possessing this body.
Idrian fled without looking back. The devil's roars echoed behind him, but he ignored them.
However, there was one thing he had miscalculated.
"Haaah... Haaah..."
No matter how great of a Hero he had been in his past life, there was a limit to what he could achieve with this ruined body.
He was caught in an instant. To think he would be overtaken after running only a few paces!
He gently tossed the girl on his shoulder to the ground and braced for impact.
Crash!
"Agh!"
Idrian's massive body slammed into a wall. A large crack spiderwebbed across the masonry, and his body, embedded in the brickwork, succumbed to gravity and slumped to the ground.
"Ugh...!"
"A brainless pig dares to defy me just because I played along for a bit. You don't know your place."
The devil sneered as he approached. In his hand, he held a sword forged of blood and flesh.
His consciousness began to fade.
Wake up! Wake up, damn it!
He tried to hold onto his slipping awareness through sheer willpower, but his body could not endure and went limp. Idrian's indomitable will was snuffed out by the shocking incompetence of his trash-tier body.
Just as his consciousness was about to fade completely, the last thing he saw was the devil's face, frozen in sheer shock.
Snap.
Idrian collapsed. His unyielding will had failed to overcome his physical limitations and faded away.
Soward (Replica) rushed toward Idrian with his sword raised. His face was flushed red, indicating he was furious. Ah, wait, was his face always red? All sorts of random thoughts crossed my mind. Was it because this was my first time seeing the protagonist collapse? Well, it was a sight I would get used to seeing in the future anyway.
For now, the important thing was...
"That I have to kill you."
"And who are you supposed to be, insect? How dare you speak of killing me. You must have a death wish."
"Pfft! A mere low-ranking devil calling himself 'me'? You're just a minor mob who gets easily slaughtered by ordinary students by the mid-game."
"M-Minor mob?! I will tear you to shreds and feed you to the dogs!"
Furious to the point of madness by my mockery, Soward lunged at me with a pathetic, clumsy movement.
Though I mocked him, a low-ranking devil at this point in time was strong enough to be a disaster for ordinary students. Neither freshmen nor lower-ranked sophomores stood a chance against one.
Even so, the reason I could laugh was simple.
Slash!
"What?! How?!"
Because I was a powerhouse who could easily slaughter a truckload of Sowards without breaking a sweat.
As his full-power strike was cleanly severed in a single motion, he stared at me with a face full of shock. The friend I had first dueled after dropping into this world had made that exact same face.
An absurd power obtained without a shred of effort. Since this world had handed me such power, it must want something in return. Namely, the safety of the protagonist, Idrian Goldenroad.
"Foolish insect! Die!"
The replica Soward charged at me with his fleshy sword. Beneath his arrogance, I could sense urgency and dread. Behind his contemptuous insults lay pure terror.
I swung my sword. My standard-issue blade traced a path through the air like a crescent moon illuminating the night sky.
From left to right. Like a painter drawing a line on a blank canvas, I drew a straight line across the world with a brush called a sword.
Slice.
A single line appeared on the devil's neck, and that was it. The story of the replica devil had reached its final period.
"Well, that's one fire put out..."
I looked down at the two collapsed leads. The obese Idrian and the country girl, Miruel. I had successfully preserved the lives of the heroes destined to resolve the future cataclysms.
And... my work wasn't finished yet. The attack was happening all across the academy.
There were three major factions at Teonor Academy. The Student Council, composed of elites recognized for both their prestige and skill, who had been entrusted with financial authority by the board of directors; the Occupation Club, a rogue student organization packed with lunatics who sowed chaos throughout the academy; and the Disciplinary Committee, which protected the academy's public order from them.
Among them, the Student Council undoubtedly possessed the most overwhelming power, but during attacks like this, the Disciplinary Committee was granted the most authority.
To repel the devil invasion, the Disciplinary Committee began to mobilize.
"Everyone, get away from the Gate! The Disciplinary Committee will handle the Gate and the devils!"
The members of the Disciplinary Committee drew their weapons and began dispatching the devils attacking the academy. Though they weren't the brightest and lacked the stellar academic records of the Student Council, their combat prowess was second to none.
With the committee members—all possessing top-tier combat strength in their respective years—drawing their weapons, the battle quickly became one-sided. While dangerous to freshmen or low-ranking students, a low-ranking devil was something an ordinary Teonor student could easily handle.
Yet, even among them, there was one who stood out above the rest.
"Protect the freshmen with your lives! If you want to live, run as fast as you can!"
"Chief! This one is an intermediate-ranking devil!"
"Hold out for just a bit! I'll be there to crush it in a second!"
A powerhouse who wouldn't be out of place even as a department head in the Student Council. The third-year runner-up and the leader of the Disciplinary Committee, one of the three major factions: Irelia Leonhart.
Known as 'Teonor's Madwoman', she severed the necks of four low-ranking devils in a single sweep before charging straight at the intermediate-ranking devil.
"Where do you filthy devil bastards think you're invading?! The Occupation Club is already giving me a massive headache!"
"How can a human whelp possess such strength?!"
The intermediate-ranking devil, who had blocked her battleaxe with his bare hands, was utterly shocked. A human who didn't even look fully grown. How could a human, naturally weaker than a devil, exert such power at such a young age?
Boom!
An explosive sound erupted, hard to believe it was merely from a hand colliding with an axe. The devil's hand, which had barely managed to block Irelia's strike, split cleanly in half.
"Aargh!"
"Just die already."
The massive axe blade fell like a guillotine onto the intermediate-ranking devil's neck. The scales protecting his throat snapped like dry twigs, offering no resistance to the blade.
The devil's head tumbled to the ground. An intermediate-ranking devil, capable of wiping out an entire town, had lost his life to a mere student.
"The commander unit is dead! Wipe out every last one of them!"
"Yes, Chief!"
Irelia held the severed head of the devil high in the air. At that sight, the devils' morale plummeted to rock bottom. Already pushed back, they were slaughtered by the handful with every blink of an eye.
Just as they were about to celebrate their victory, a male student rushed up to her.
"Senior! A Gate has appeared near the cafeteria!"
"What? The cafeteria?"
The academy was so massive that it was easy to get lost. During the freshman entrance ceremony, a few directionally challenged freshmen would inevitably fail to find the auditorium and end up sitting in the cafeteria instead. And a Gate had appeared right there?
This is bad!
Freshmen shouldn't be capable of handling even a low-ranking devil yet. It would take at least a semester before they could defeat one on their own.
Irelia quickly retrieved her axe and sprinted toward the cafeteria.
And what she found there...
Was a decapitated devil, and two freshmen collapsed on the ground with their swords still in hand.
"Ha. They weren't kidding when they called this freshman class the Golden Generation."
This was going to get interesting.
Subjugated a low-ranking devil on the very first day of admission. That was the single sentence written into the student records of Idrian Goldenroad and Miruel.