Chapter 67
Chapter 67
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: To Avenge My Parents
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as I heard the Dullahan's declaration of war, I realized all the plans we had made up until now had come to naught.
From the beginning, the Perception Hindrance Magic had weaknesses: it wouldn't work on a mage of a similar level to me, and if my poor acting revealed any awkwardness, the opponent could catch on.
This was a place where, normally, the arena battles would have already ended, the winner decided, and a celebration with plentiful food and drink would be held to honor the fights of the past.
"Fight and kill! Fight and kill! Fight and kill!"
There, everyone was repeating a fixed phrase, shouting cheers, and waving their fists excitedly, looking expectantly at the arena as if it hadn't even started yet.
We had even deliberately delayed our arrival at the territory to target the time when the opponent would be most off-guard.
Whether he noticed that or not, from the start, the Dullahan hadn't opened the arena. Instead, he had gathered his territory's residents in one place and laid a trap to detect our arrival.
"The weak have no reason to survive! The weak have no reason to survive! The weak have no reason to survive!"
"Waaaah—!!"
No matter how much I looked around, the escape routes were blocked. Like a fish caught in a trap, the moment we approached the bleeding man, we were in a structure from which we couldn't escape.
In the Demon Realm, teeming with demons and monsters, using a single human like paint was a common enough occurrence that no one would bat an eye unless it involved a Hero or another human.
The Dullahan had used my knowledge of his vendetta against me to try and identify us, who were using Perception Hindrance Magic.
"Prove your strength! Fight until only one remains!!"
"These bastards, for real…."
I spat out a curse, took down the upside-down, dead man, and closed his eyes for him. Judging by his condition, he hadn't been killed peacefully and then toyed with.
His face was contorted with pain, and all his teeth were shattered. It was painfully obvious they had deliberately taken his life slowly to draw out as much blood as possible.
Demons and monsters are beings whose fundamental values and thoughts differ from ordinary humans. They are the reason I want to kill them all, even if it costs me my life.
"…Astal, stop it. Release the Perception Hindrance Magic."
I gritted my teeth, preparing a spell to wipe out all the monsters and demons here at once, but Kyle grabbed my shoulder and shook his head, telling me to stop.
"Why on earth…? When we've been provoked like this, obviously we should just blast them all away without participating in the arena…."
"You can see children tied up here and there among the crowd, and other humans crying and slumped over, right? They've taken hostages to stop you from doing that."
At Kyle's words, I tried my best to regain my composure and calmly began to look around. Soon, I could see that people who looked completely unrelated were indeed mixed in.
"Hah… So that's the setup. This bastard is meticulous to a chilling degree."
Seeing that sight, I let out a deep sigh. It was a scene where he had deliberately provoked me with something related to my parents and, anticipating I might refuse the offer, mixed in completely innocent humans.
I, who am called by the epithet "the Harmless Mage," live by the conviction that I will save anyone around me from death.
"It might be safer to accept the offer to participate in the arena. If he prepared a scheme of this level, something even more terrible would be waiting for us if we refuse."
"You believe what a demon says? The Dullahan is the bastard who brutally murdered my parents and acts as the Demon King's lackey!"
For the first time, I voiced opposition to Kyle, the Hero. In the end, the Dullahan's goal must be for us to participate in his arena.
An event where only the winner survives and all others die. A horrific slaughterhouse where the weak are thoroughly despised and only the strong survive.
"That bastard Dullahan just wants to watch us fight and kill each other. We shouldn't fall for such a creature's schemes…!"
This was something anyone could figure out with a little thought.
However,
"…I am the Hero. I am someone who must save as many lives as possible, even if it costs me my own."
As the cheers of the monsters and demons died down, the sounds of people's weeping and screams could be heard within.
Kyle gave me a bitter smile. Like a man who had resigned himself to everything, he seemed prepared to sacrifice himself to save the many lives here.
"Besides, you don't want to see anyone die in front of you either, right? If we at least participate in the arena, wouldn't there be a hope, however slim, of saving everyone?"
"But…"
"Moreover. More than anything, I believe in you, Astal. If you put on an incredible performance in the arena and sweep away all the demons, maybe none of us will have to be sacrificed."
Kyle was presenting the best-case scenario he had conceived to persuade me and our comrades. An ultimately improbable possibility. But we were the ones who had accomplished things thought to be impossible.
Kyle wore an expression of trust in me and his comrades more than ever before.
Although, it was strange how he'd been oddly staring somewhere, not meeting our gaze since earlier.
"…This is an excessively dangerous gamble, Kyle."
The first person to voice an opinion similar to mine was Victoria. With a troubled expression, she was offering a prayer towards the already deceased man.
"In the end, someone among us will die. Originally, in arena battles, there is no honorable surrender for the warriors who fight."
Victoria stated she didn't want anyone's sacrifice and hoped we would refuse the Dullahan's proposal.
"Even if our identities are exposed, if we blow up this entire area with holy magic, only the wicked mob of monsters and demons will die. That way would be…"
"On that scale, it would surely be a Miracle, not holy magic, Victoria."
Being able to read Victoria's inner thoughts, I was the first to notice her lie. When I retorted, she fell silent like a mute who'd eaten honey, unable to say anything.
If she could have recklessly used holy magic on that scale from the beginning, she could have just purified the entire Demon Realm we're standing in right now.
"……."
—Even if part of my body turns to flowers, I can endure any pain to save you, Astal-sama….
Ever since my body turned to flowers, Victoria had been feeling guilty about even the slightest wound or pain I suffered.
How much does the emotion called love change a person? The Saint, who at first glance seemed like she wouldn't shed a drop of blood even if pricked by a needle, was now on the verge of tears for my sake.
"I also oppose. It's a leap to assume the outcome will be good by moving according to the enemy's intentions from the start."
"Right. Last time we went to the movie theater run by Bellamora, Astal and Victoria came out half-dead."
Taryon and Anima also expressed opposition similar to mine. Even to save people, the proposal was far too risky.
"…Let's find another way, Kyle. There must be a way to save all the captured people without fighting amongst ourselves."
I said this to persuade Kyle, but the situation was already heading for the worst.
Judging by the surroundings' reactions, our Hero party had been discovered despite the Perception Hindrance Magic, and if we didn't participate in the arena immediately, it looked like they would kill all the people taken hostage, laughing in a chilling manner.
"What other method is there…? Combining Victoria's holy magic and your magic to blow away everything around here? The hostages would die before that, wouldn't they?"
Thus, Kyle's deductions and situational judgment skills showed the most realistic perspective among us. In a situation where all humans could die, he was talking about sacrificing the absolute minimum number of people.
"If just us, the members of the Hero party, fight each other and only one remains, we can save all the hostages here, right? Astal."
At that moment, Kyle winked at me with one eye, sending a silent signal. Seeing that signal, I finally realized what had been strange all along.
The reason why Kyle, who is usually considered the most Hero-like among us, was so intent on accepting the Dullahan's proposal without putting up any resistance.
'…The Dullahan is watching this entire situation. That's why Kyle is trying to flip the script as much as possible to give us an advantage.'
And the reason he had been stalling for time by arguing like this flashed through my mind all at once.
It would be even stranger if the one who devised all these schemes and is trying to lead us into a fight wasn't present at this location right now.
Just like the hint Kyle gave, the Dullahan must want us, the Hero party, to fight.
More precisely, he wants 'one' among us to kill everyone here.
That person is me. The man named Astal Caisaros, the sole survivor when his rural village burned.
"I alone will participate in the arena! On the condition that everyone's safety is guaranteed!"
I chuckled dryly, released the Perception Hindrance Magic, and declared while looking at the figure in the spot Kyle had been staring at intently since earlier.
"…So, wait patiently until then. Dullahan."
"As expected, you noticed. If you hadn't realized my presence and chosen for everyone to participate in the arena, it would have been no fun."
Clap, clap, clap.
Then, the Dullahan, who had been hiding within the shadow of a certain demon, began clapping with an excited voice.
"If you couldn't even notice such a simple scheme, I would have judged you useless as a warrior and killed everyone here on the spot, you know."