The Hero's Warped Justice

"I'm so bored..."

The playful glint beneath that blue, mane-like hair drooped. A girl like the fickle sea breeze of early autumn — the reincarnated Thief, Rosaria, was grumbling.

"Diana, isn't there anything fun to do?"

Rosaria's hair whipped through the air as she shook her head, and the girl beside her, caught by it, scowled.

"Rosaria, get your hair out of my face and act your age."

Curly green hair that called to mind a spray of leaves. Sharp brown eyes glinted with irritation. A girl like a thornbush in the sweltering midsummer — the reincarnated Divine Archer, Diana.

"Act my age? I'm seventeen. I'm still a widdle baby."

"A forty-five-year-old spinster running her mouth..."

"Hey, you gotta subtract the seventeen! I died at twenty-eight! You're the one who's a thirty-something spinster, Miss Oldest!"

"You want me to physically punch a hole through that snout of yours...?"

Rosaria and Diana bickered the way they always did. Frey, sitting beside them, smiled as if this were simply the weather.

"It's so peaceful. I never could have imagined this a hundred years ago."

Silver hair scattered a mysterious radiance; white, luminous eyes curved into gentle crescents. A girl like early spring, when winter's snow is just beginning to melt — the reincarnated Saintess, Frey.

Reincarnation a hundred years later. Reunion with the party. All of it was the grace of Goddess Deusrute — a reward, in its way, for surviving the hell of their previous lives.

"...Yeah. This is the peace we barely managed to claw back. Yeah..."

Leon, looking somehow uneasy, let out a reluctant sigh.

"The Goddess must have granted us this as a reward..."

"Are you all right? You've been looking unwell lately."

"Hmm? Oh — no. I've just got a lot on my mind."

Several chaotic incidents had erupted recently, but their daily lives hadn't changed much. Even Leon being chosen as the Hero after they slew the demons last time hadn't made a difference.

"Frey, is the Holy Kingdom still calling for us?"

"Yes. Even I'm starting to find it annoying."

The Holy Kingdom had been sending persistent summons for Leon, and they had ignored every one of them. Circe had told them the Holy Kingdom's movements were suspicious, so the calls were to be disregarded.

Circe's never been wrong...

"Oh, right — where's Circe?"

"She went to the faculty office for a bit, but she's running late."

They were waiting for the next class when a familiar rumor drifted over from a cluster of students in the distance. Noble girls who hadn't managed to join the Imperial Princess's circle.

"Class F's weed caused another incident."

"I heard he got so mad he blew up his own class?"

"He was messing around with two innocent girls and caused an accident."

"Acting like a thug just because he's got the princess backing him. A commoner, of all people..."

The rumors were thoroughly malicious. It was something a commoner from Class F — a gathering of nothing but washouts — had caused. Whatever his intentions, of course it looked bad. Rosaria and Diana joined in on the gossip as well.

"I've hated that bastard from the start. Isn't he actually a demonkin or a demon?"

"Wouldn't be surprising. There's that weird rumor he used Aura and mana at the same time recently. Even if he is a demon..."

"Rosaria. Diana. That's enough. Shut your mouths."

The two of them clamped their lips shut at the sudden, stern voice. Leon had rebuked them, his tone edged with anger.

"Don't you ever badmouth someone behind their back in front of me again. That's not the right thing to do."

"Nnh..."

"...Okay."

A sudden chill settled over the Hero party, and they fell silent. The other students, however, did not. If anything, they seemed to take the Hero party's silence as agreement, and piled on the slander and wild rumors with even more enthusiasm.

"I can't just sit here and listen to this."

"Wait, Leon — calm down...!"

Leon stood. Frey read the atmosphere and tried to stop him, but he was already walking toward the girls who were still running their mouths.

The girls fell silent when they noticed Leon, who had somehow drawn right up to them. His expression was uglier than usual. Among them, a particularly thick-skinned noble girl failed to read the room and kept talking.

"Well, this is an honor.... The Goddess's chosen Hero, Leon Brave. To what do I owe—"

WHAM-!!!

"Kyaaah—!!"

A sudden scream rang through Class 1-A. Leon had smashed his fist into the girl's face.

"Ah — it hurts..."

Tears burst from her eyes at the pain in her face, but Leon looked down at her with ice-cold eyes.

"How long are you going to keep spreading baseless rumors and tearing people down?"

"A-ahhk.... W-why..."

"Does that kind of crap even make that petty heart of yours feel any better?"

"I-it was just a rumor..."

"I haven't heard a single decent word come out of that mouth of yours in the past month. If you're just going to keep tearing people down, then I'd rather...!"

His fist was about to come down again when—

"Leon. What are you doing."

CLANG-!

The punch struck a barrier that had materialized in midair and bounced off. Someone had cast a shield spell in the nick of time.

Violet straight hair. Venomous black eyes. A girl like the cutting wind of an arctic winter after the aurora has fallen — the reincarnated Sage, Circe.

"Circe, what are you—"

"What are you doing? Beating a kid to a pulp because she said some nasty things? You think that's the right thing to do?"

Circe stepped in front of Leon as if to protect the girl. He frowned at the scolding, then answered.

"Someone has to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠step up and set things right. If you let this slide, it'll become a bigger problem later."

"Snap out of it, Leon! This isn't the Demon Realm! This is the Imperial Academy! These are just students! They're kids!"

"..."

"What's gotten into you lately? You were quiet for a while, so why are you pulling this crap again all of a sudden!"

Circe had been sensing something off for some time now. Lately, Leon had become obsessed with correcting whatever he deemed wrong. He had been launching into impulsive stunts in the name of righteousness, of justice.

That's why I came back as fast as I could...!

Until now, Circe had been able to stop him. The moment she was gone, this had happened.

"Go cool your head!"

Circe left Leon where he stood, turned around, and examined the girl's face. She had been beaten so mercilessly that the bones in her face had cracked. Circe immediately treated the wounds with magic.

"Bear with it even if it hurts. And a word of advice..."

Circe leaned in and whispered quietly into the girl's ear.

"X has the Imperial Princess's favor. You know full well what it means to insult him."

"Hhk..."

"Watch your mouth. Unless you want to get hit by something other than a fist."

Sure enough, Beatrice was watching the commotion from a distance with a disinterested gaze. The noble girl, her face now healed, went deathly pale the moment her eyes met the Imperial Princess's, and nodded frantically.

Circe finished the treatment and returned to the Hero party. Leon stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, swallowing his anger. Everyone else was watching Circe and Leon's faces, gauging the mood. Circe let out a single sigh and spoke to him.

"Leon. We need to talk."

"Sorry, Circe. I've got nothing to say."

"You know you've been acting weird lately, right?"

At that, Leon opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"There's nothing weird about me. I've always been perfectly fine."

"Are you even hearing yourself? Look around at how the kids are looking at you! They think you're a complete lunatic!"

The students were staring at him with frightened eyes. Leon simply closed his own against those stares.

"Setting things right is a painful process. They're all still young, so they just don't understand yet."

"That's what you're going with right now...?! Huuuuh........."

Circe stopped talking. It wasn't worth the energy. This was the iron-wall stubbornness that listened to no one. Once he got like this, Leon wouldn't hear a word anyone said. When it came to righteousness and justice, he had never once yielded.

He looks so bad compared to that guy...

Watching him like this, she couldn't help comparing him to X. X always let petty provocations slide with a flexible touch. And yet, when it truly mattered, he never compromised. At the very least, he had put his life on the line to protect a girl who couldn't even fight back — he had never once beaten anyone mercilessly.

If he had even half of that personality...

Come to think of it, she'd been in the faculty office today too. She'd seen X handing some kind of document to his homeroom professor, Roxwell. She vaguely remembered the title on those papers.

I'm sure it said something about the Ancient Ruins...

The Ancient Ruins were a place they'd planned to explore someday. She'd tried to eavesdrop, but X and Roxwell had soon left with grave expressions on their faces.

Knowing that guy, he's plotting something again...

She decided not to care. She was supposed to ignore him, just as they'd agreed last time. He was always causing incidents, but if she paid attention...

Wait a minute. Why should I have to do that?

Why was he barking orders at her, the reincarnated Sage? While still running around with that little brat Lola, no less. Don't go telling me what to do just because you peeked at the future a little.

The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is. He's just X, of all people.

Looking at Leon in his iron-wall stubbornness, a good idea struck her. There was a clear reason Leon was being this pointlessly obstinate, and why the rest of the party was sitting around listlessly.

"I think you're all just rotting in peace, that's what it is."

"...Circe?"

"If we pour all our strength into something, you'll feel better."

Circe made a snap decision. She didn't know when that guy would go to the Ancient Ruins, but she'd get there first. She'd claim the ruins' rewards ahead of him and dangle them right in front of his face.

"This Saturday, let's go clear the Ancient Ruins again."

If he grovels hard enough, she might even share.

With all her classes over, Elia returned to the dormitory. This was normally the time she'd study in the library ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with Lola. But she couldn't do that anymore.

It's not time yet.

She had declared a complete break with X. Naturally, that meant she couldn't go to Lola, who stayed by his side.

This is the only way to save Lola.

Innocent, kind-hearted Lola was still being deceived by X. Because of X's existence, she had no other friends. Lola was being sacrificed for X's vile hobby. Elia didn't know what that hobby was, but the Goddess had said so, so it had to be true.

Then why did X get so angry back then...?

That furious emotion when she'd answered that she had nothing to say — that had definitely been real.

But the Goddess said...

"Oh, I knew you'd be here~ I wandered around for nothing~"

Someone opened the front door and walked in uninvited. Elia had been gazing at the sky through the window, but she knew exactly who had arrived.

"Gremory."

"It's 'Hilde' right now! Daughter of a great merchant and 3rd-Circle mage, 'Hilde Borson'! Not that anyone cares~"

A girl with long black hair steeped in clinging malice, and leisurely, languid brown eyes. Of course, Elia already knew her true identity: the demon Gremory, a being forged from horrific evil.

"If you weren't the Goddess's apostle, I would have killed you..."

"That's right! I'm one of only two apostles of the Goddess Elysia you believe in and follow, so you can't~ The Goddess would be furious~"

"But you haven't forgotten what I told you."

Elia turned to Gremory with a face gone cold and hard.

"If you harm any more innocent people, I'll kill you. The Goddess wouldn't want something like that."

"...Heh."

Gremory flinched, shrinking back from the condensed rage and threat pouring off Elia. Elia was a 4-Star martial artist on the verge of 5-Star — a realm that ordinary warriors spent half a lifetime reaching, achieved in a mere week.

A monster. She's a real monster.

She was, without a doubt, the strongest human Gremory had ever seen. Her very existence had received the world's blessing. At this rate, she might grow stronger than the Hero or even the Demon King. A genius, in every sense of the word.

But that's what makes her worth devouring.

The only problem was that she was stupid. If Gremory exploited that, she could devour the genius's body. She might even reach for the Hero, the Demon King — and if she was lucky, Him.

That's how I'll get that brother of mine I want so badly to kill.

She still hated the shackles that had sealed her Falsehood. She wanted to kill the one who'd clamped these on her because he was "bored." So for now, she bowed her head. To devour her at the most delicious moment. To kill the "brother" who had cast her into the abyss.

"Don't worry~ I haven't hurt anyone since then~"

"You're cleverly hiding the truth. A demon who can't lie."

To Elia, the sight of her was nothing but loathsome and repulsive.

"I will make sure you pay for the girl named Hilde that you killed. So please don't forget your place. I still want to keep receiving the Goddess's messages, after all."

"I never forgot in the first place~"

"So what's the Goddess's message this time?"

Gremory set the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠object she'd brought down in front of Elia. It was a longsword, extravagantly ornamented as if for ritual use. As Elia examined it, Gremory explained.

"It's a weapon called the Soul Killer. If you stab someone properly, it destroys their soul~! Unfortunately, it doesn't kill demons~"

"...Where did you get a weapon like this?"

"The Goddess has a 'Shop' ability, right? It suddenly got added this time~ I had a lot of points left so I just bought it~"

"...The Shop."

Elia knew of the Shop's existence as well. But her Shop was empty. The only thing she could purchase was stats.

"This is another of the Goddess's newly added abilities~ I obtained this message through my own special method~"

Gremory launched into a comical, unauthorized impersonation of the Goddess's voice.

"Don't defile the Goddess with your impersonation. Just get to the point."

Gremory smiled, languid and unhurried.

Even to her eyes, it was a malicious and wicked message.

Elia, with her low intelligence, failed to catch it in that moment — the meaning of the fact that demons did not die to the Soul Killer. Gremory was the only one who understood what that meant. In a way, the Goddess might have been even more wicked than a demon.

Since early morning, X had been pushing through the dense forest, his entire body soaked in sweat.

"Whew.... Finally made it."

Shouldering an enormous load, X wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at the spectacle spread before him. Below, a basin as vast as a city had been carved between the deep mountain ranges, and at its center stood a colossal structure of unmistakably artificial design.

"Hah.... C-commoner.... I-is this the place?"

Lola, who'd only brought light luggage, caught her breath behind him. The bags may have been light, but the journey here had been anything but. They had climbed up and down several massive mountains. For a mage with poor physical ability, it was inevitably grueling. On top of that, mana interference was severe in this area, making even support magic difficult to use. It had only been possible because X had kept helping her; with Lola's ordinary physique, reaching this place would have been out of the question.

Still, she didn't complain even once. That's admirable.

X gave Lola's bag a slight lift as he spoke.

"Yes, miss. This is the place."

X gazed at the destination they had finally reached. A congregation of mysteries no scholar had ever deciphered. A ruin site that even legendary explorers had never fully uncovered. A place of chaos and irregularity — ten thousand characters of discarded lore.

"This is the Ancient Ruins."