The Hero's Party Invades
Fuck. The Hero's Party had invaded.
In the forest overlooking Elara von Heim's mansion, Lillian leaned casually against a tree, a long pipe clenched between her lips.
— Hoo……
White smoke drifted from between her crimson lips. Moonlight traced the curves of her body with intimate secrecy.
"……Hmm. Idiots. They always need so much hand-holding."
Lillian lowered the pipe and let out a low, mocking laugh. She wet her lips with a red tongue and exhaled a languid breath. Her gaze fell on the girl crouched at her feet—Lidia.
Lillian bent at the waist until their eyes met. A dense, dangerous fragrance spilled from the deep plunge of her dress.
"My cute little sister. Let's do well today, okay?"
Her fingers slid like a snake along Lidia's cheek.
"If you mess up again today…… Big Sister might get so upset she tears you apart."
Lillian's sweet threat. The girl bit her lip until it bled and hung her head low. Not even an answer was permitted under that terror.
Beside them, Gaila roughly yanked the leash.
Clink-clank—!
The chilling rattle of iron chains split the silent forest. The girl's body lurched under Gaila's rough grip.
"Can't you hear Lillian? Move it. Now."
"……Ugh, uuugh."
The choked girl could only manage bestial whimpers.
Watching the scene, Kurast snickered and bared his signature nasty teeth.
"Whoa, look at this bitch. Still won't say a single word to the end. Tough little slut."
Kurast shot Lillian a sidelong glance and sneered.
"Lillian. Is this thing really your blood? The family tree's looking pretty damn suspicious."
"……Blood? Please. She's just a failed product."
Lillian clicked her tongue as if looking at filthy refuse. The only thing in her eyes for her half-sister was pure contempt.
"Anyway…… the script's perfect, right?"
Kurast shrugged and continued.
"'Divine judgment awaits~' That's the line, yeah? The foolish Hero Elara dies miserably by our hands, and that great Holy Sword……"
His greedy gaze locked onto the trembling slave girl.
"……gets passed to that mute bitch. A truly moving generational change, don't you think?"
The Holy Sword.
By custom it should have shone in Elara's hands. Now it was time to pour that noble relic into the vessel of this lowly slave girl.
That was when Lidia, who had been watching from behind, made the sign of the cross and stepped forward. Clad in pure white priestly robes, she looked the picture of holiness—yet the smile twisting her lips was grotesque.
"……Tonight will be filled with the Lord's grace."
Lidia elegantly covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed. She folded the corners of her eyes as if smiling kindly, but black murderous intent glittered inside her pupils.
"The birth of a new Hero…… Heh heh. I'm truly looking forward to it. Right, Lillian?"
At her hypocritical question, Lillian tapped out her pipe and answered coldly.
"Yeah. Shall we clean this up already?"
Wearing a bewitching smile, Lillian slowly descended the mountain path. Every time her high heels crushed the dirt, Gaila's heavy footsteps and the dragging of chains mixed behind her in an off-beat rhythm.
How long did they walk?
Elara von Heim's mansion, sunk in darkness. Its massive iron gates barred their way.
Lillian stopped, crossed her arms, and tilted her head to one side.
"Well then……"
She stretched her right hand into the empty air as if yawning lazily. Crimson mana gathered at her slender fingertips, then formed a sticky, blazing sphere of flame.
This was no mere Firebolt. It was high-density flame that instantly dried the surrounding air to a crisp.
"Shall we start the fireworks show?"
Snap.
Lillian flicked her fingers lightly. The flame left her hand, sliced through the night air like a meteor, and slammed into the iron gates.
KWA-AAAANG————!!!!!!
An eardrum-shattering roar accompanied a massive explosion. The seemingly solid steel gates warped like soft candy and melted away. Black smoke mixed with red flames and shot into the sky.
"Cough! Cough! Wh-what's going on?!"
"Explosion! Fire at the front gate!"
The peaceful mansion instantly became a living hell. Servants and guards in nightclothes scrambled outside in panic. What met their eyes were four nightmares walking through the melted iron gates.
Through the thick smoke, Lillian click-clacked forward and put the pipe back between her lips.
"Oh my, was that too loud? The master of the house isn't even coming out to greet us."
As the smoke cleared, Lillian walked out of it, pipe bobbing. The bizarre figures lined up behind her made the servants' faces drain with horror.
"Th-those crazy bastards……!"
"Shit! It's the Hero's Party!"
The Hero's Party.
Under the pretext of saving the world, they trampled cities more cruelly than any demon—legal butchers. That infamous reputation had now arrived at the front courtyard of Elara von Heim's mansion.
"……Stop them! We have to stop them somehow!"
"If those crazy bitches get in, we're all dead! Draw your swords!"
Shiiing—
Clang!
Terror-stricken servants raised their weapons with trembling hands. They did it to survive. But their resistance looked as trivial as rabbits before a lion.
"Heh heh heh, look at this? They dare try to sit at the same table as us?"
Kurast let out a greasy laugh and pulled an arrowhead from his belt. The instant he was about to snipe them with his bow—
"Just a moment, Kurast."
A fair, delicate hand gently blocked his arm. It was Lidia.
"Lidia? Why? I was just about to have some fun."
"Aren't they…… truly pitiful?"
Lidia looked at the armed servants with tears welling in her eyes—the compassionate gaze of someone watching lost little lambs. Yet the corners of her mouth curled upward in a bizarre twist.
"To these poor souls wandering without knowing the way…… we must offer the gift of truth."
"……Ha. Here we go again."
Kurast stepped back with a look of pure disgust.
Lidia clasped her hands and drew the sign of the cross in the air. It was no ordinary sign. Not from top to bottom, but from bottom to top—a reverse-cross.
"Please kneel and worship. For pain is salvation."
The moment Lidia murmured her quiet prayer—
Thud—!
Invisible pressure crushed the space.
"Guh, kuh?! Aaaaaaagh!"
"M-my head…… my head……!"
This was no simple headache. It was the horrific sensation of brain matter boiling and thousands of needles scraping the inside of the skull. Light too ominous to call holy power, yet too bright to call a curse, poured down onto the servants' heads.
"Grrraaagh! S-save……!"
The hands gripping weapons went limp. One by one the servants foamed at the mouth and slammed their heads into the ground. Forced prayer had begun.
As the servants collapsed one after another under the prayer, Lillian wore a small smile.
"Ha. So boring I could yawn……"
She walked on, tapping the sprawled servants with her heel. Their screams of agony were nothing more than dull background music to her.
That was when it happened.
────Halt!!!!
From the mansion entrance the Old Butler burst out, gasping for breath. His once-neat uniform was disheveled, and his white hair was soaked with sweat.
Lillian removed the pipe from her mouth and wore a greasy smile.
"Oh my? I thought there were only rats, but the old dog finally shows up?"
"……Hah, hah."
The butler swept his trembling eyes around. The colleagues he had spent a lifetime with, the children who were like family, were foaming and writhing. Their suffering beneath Lidia's reverse-cross was a living picture of hell.
"Y-you…… devilish bastards……!"
The face of the butler who had always been cold and expressionless twisted with rage for the first time in his life. Bloodshot veins stood out in his eyes.
"How dare you… to the master's garden…… to my family……!"
The butler's fists shook violently. He was no mere old man. He was the loyal hunting dog who had protected the Von Heim family his entire life. Faint but heavy mana rose from his body.
"I will not…… let you leave here alive!"
Crack!
The Old Butler kicked off the ground and charged forward. It was a desperate, ferocious charge that looked as if he were burning the last of his life.
Heard a ruckus so I looked out the window and the Hero's Party is storming in;;;;
Elara's affection hit 100 but suddenly this kind of event pops up? Is that even right?
Bros I'm seriously about to get wrecked ;;;;;
These bastards for real……
I frantically typed another reply.
Overcome……?
Of course I could. As long as I had the items I'd prepared, that is.
But the Hero's Party hadn't come with just Lillian—the other members were here too. How the hell was I supposed to cover all of them? Me, ordinary mental-illness counselor A?
Elara's affection reaching 100. That meant we were close to the ending. I never dreamed in my wildest nightmares that this ending would explode like an event.
It was my first heroine clear—how the hell was I supposed to know?
These bastards were all completely useless……
What the hell was I supposed to do from here?
First, following Gogumador's advice, I had prepared my ultimate items. Next problem was how to deal with those things.
Oh. The comment I'd been waiting for had arrived.
Gogumador.
I replied to him at once.
What?
I was so dumbfounded I typed back to Gogumador again.
Oh. Right.
Come to think of it, there was Awakening.
Like some kind of evolution?
What the fuck?
Ha……
Still, the fact that just triggering Awakening could overcome this situation was hope enough.
Match the class……?
What had I done that matched her class……
Right…… counseling, and encouragement……
Those two things were how I filled Elara's affection. There was nothing else I could do except give her confidence.
And with the items I'd bought, I could buy enough time for a while. They still didn't seem to have fallen into my 「traps」 yet.
All that remained was how to persuade Elara to drive those bastards out.
That was the ending of this game.
Alright then……
— Guh-hack!
"……!"
A sharp bursting sound seemed loud enough to pierce through the gallery screen. The letters in the comment window blurred under the violence of the noise.
I frantically looked out the window. There, the Old Butler who had always stood so straight was face-down on the ground. His bloodless face rolled across the lawn.
I had to get outside fast.
First, take Elara and……!
At that very moment, a familiar silver-haired woman was walking toward the Hero's Party.
"Elara……!"
I needed to hurry downstairs too.