Chapter 45. A Fierce War of Nerves to Claim the Hero...?
Chapter 45. A Fierce War of Nerves to Claim the Hero...?
Ah, this one really got under my skin.
No, scratch that. It's way beyond just getting under my skin.
I wanted to kill him right then and there.
"What did you just say?"
Despite my question, the bastard just smirked shamelessly and tilted his chin up.
In his eyes, that thing called 'confidence' still lingered.
No—was it arrogance?
"For a human to conceive the child of a god..."
The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward as his tongue licked across his lips.
"...is something she ought to consider an honor. That woman is different from the ones here..."
—Kwaaang!!!
Before he could finish, I drove my fist straight into the monster's face.
In that instant, a shockwave erupted in all directions as if a bomb had gone off.
—Whoosh...!
The flames draped around him scattered everywhere, like blood spraying from a punch. The fire that looked ready to engulf everything shrank in an instant, and the bastard looked up at me.
'What... what in the world was this...?'
I drove him all the way to the wall.
And to crush that mouth spewing nonsense, I swung my fist again.
—Boom! Boom! Bang! Kwaaang!
"Guhk...!"
The flames that had barely maintained his human form flickered and faded. The part that was his face crumpled like wet clay.
I seized his face and lifted him into the air.
"Say it again. What was that?"
"Guhk... heh heh... Are your ears failing you? Or..."
—Kwaaang!!!
I kicked him with every ounce of strength before he could spout more garbage.
His abdomen caved inward as if hollowed out, and his body crashed through the wall, hurtling into the rubble beyond.
—Crunch...!
I grabbed the bastard's face, still buried in the debris, and dragged him back out.
Even as his flames weakened and flickered like dying embers, he was grinning ear to ear as if it amused him.
"Have you lost your mind because you can't accept reality?"
"No... on the contrary, your futile actions are so ridiculous that I can't help but laugh..."
When rage surpasses its limit, a person ironically became calm.
Still gripping him, I twisted one of his arms.
—Crack... Snap!!!
"Grrraaagh...!"
"So you do feel pain, huh?"
"Heh heh heh..."
I tore one of his arms clean off.
But then flames flickered at his shoulder, and a new arm sprouted right back.
"You cannot kill me."
Wrong.
Gods were neither omniscient nor omnipotent.
They age just the same, and when their time comes, they die.
Of course, the only difference was that they live incomparably longer than humans.
"I've seen plenty of bastards who said the exact same thing as you."
"...?"
"You know what they're doing now?"
"What nonsense are you—"
This bastard was really pissing me off.
I fiddled with my earring and pulled out my 'Holy Sword.'
Sensing something was wrong, the bastard started thrashing in my grip.
"Why don't you go ask them yourself what they're up to."
"W-wait...!"
—Crunch!
Swinging the sword like a club with one hand, I pulverized his other arm.
"Grrrgh...!!!"
"What's wrong? Regeneration not working so well this time?"
—Bang! Bang! Kwaaang!!!
I pounded every one of his limbs for a good long while.
If we'd been outside the gate instead of in here, people would've mistaken it for an earthquake. I was hammering him that hard.
'How dare he... what? Laila...?'
[Hero's freaking terrifying rn...]
[Wow, first time seeing that bastard completely lose it]
[He's beating the absolute shit out of him for real]
"...Sir!"
—Bang! Crunch! Smash...!
"Hero, sir!"
"Hm?"
I'd been so focused on the beating that I hadn't responded to Laila's voice.
Laila was watching me with a pleased smile—probably because I'd beaten the crap out of the guy who'd sexually harassed her.
"If you keep going, he'll be completely destroyed!"
"Ah, right..."
I came to my senses and stared quietly at the bastard crumpled on the ground.
"Gah... s-save..."
From where his face had been, molten lava flowed like gushing blood.
His limbs had already vanished without a trace. Only his upper body remained intact.
I slowly reached toward where his heart would be.
"Wh-what are you...?"
I drove my hand into his body—agonizingly slowly, deliberately enough for him to feel every ounce of pain.
—Crunch... crackle...
"Guhk...! That's my...!"
Inside his body, I felt something hot, shaped like an orb.
I clenched my hand around the orb that felt like his heart.
"P-please... grrk...!"
I looked him straight in his pleading eyes.
Even as his body writhed in agony, those eyes were still filled with disbelief, terror, and a fear he'd never experienced before.
'NTR(?) was a death sentence.'
And just like that, I ripped the orb out.
Immediately, his flames died down, and all the surrounding fire went out.
"Let's grab what we need and head back."
I stored the corpse and the heart in my ring and turned to leave with Laila.
—Squeeze...
"Heehee..."
"?"
"Let's go back!"
I wrapped my arm around Laila's waist and prepared to jump upward.
But then, in the corner, I spotted the bastard's sword lying there all by itself.
'Why didn't this disappear...?'
Of course, I grabbed the sword too.
And I glanced sideways at Laila, tucked against me.
'If I compress this... it could become a pretty gem... should I make a ring?'
I'd heard the artifact the Takamine family intended to give me was an accessory.
What if I set a red gem like a ruby into that accessory?
'Mm! Nice.'
I'd make that and then give Laila a cool confession.
The thought immediately lifted my mood.
"Alright, let's head back!"
---
We took the same waiting helicopter and returned to the Takamine family estate.
When we arrived, Reina was already there—along with another woman who looked just like her.
"...?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
The greeting was gentle yet impeccably polite. Grace and dignity quietly permeated her bearing.
"I am this child's mother and the lady of the Takamine house—Takamine Sayo."
Her eyes were composed, her tone low and serene. Every word carried refinement.
'She really... felt like an imperial noble.'
They guided us into the reception room.
There was no reason to drag things out further anyway.
I took the heart out of my ring and looked at Reina.
"Here, the heart."
A grotesquely shaped heart, still radiating residual heat.
An orb-like exterior with veins that flickered in the shape of flames.
"Yes, that's right... Even though it's no longer a living heart, it still holds this much warmth..."
At that moment, Reina's mother, Takamine Sayo, quietly spoke up.
"Would you follow me this way for a moment?"
With her hands neatly clasped, Sayo stepped toward a corridor at the back.
We passed through the hallway and entered an inner room, where a man lay bedridden.
A body with no flesh to speak of—little more than dried bones with skin stretched over them.
Only his faint breathing proved that he was still alive.
'So this man was...'
"He is the head of our family—and Reina's father."
Sayo turned her head, looked at me, and extended her hand.
"May I have that heart?"
"This was the commission, after all."
Once Sayo received the heart from me, she placed it above the family head.
Then she opened her mouth and chanted an incantation.
—Whoosh...!
Flames bloomed from the heart and instantly engulfed the family head's entire body.
The fire wrapped around him blazed fiercely, accompanied by a roaring sound as if it were melting and burning flesh.
"W-wait a second...!"
I'd clearly understood this was supposed to heal him—was this cremation instead?
"Fufu, don't worry. This fire is completely under control."
Her voice didn't waver.
And as she spoke, the flames began to be absorbed into the family head's body.
His gaunt, sunken cheeks slowly began to fill back out.
Tendons rose on his withered arms, and a faint hint of color returned to his pallid lips.
"Thanks to you, the family head's life has been preserved. It will take some time before he regains consciousness, but he'll awaken soon."
As she said this, Sayo brushed the family head's forehead with a hand full of affection.
I watched Sayo quietly and carefully asked a question.
"Is there a reason you felt the need to show us this entire process?"
"...Because he must awaken before we can give you the artifact."
"What do you mean by that...?"
"The artifact cannot be touched by anyone unauthorized. Please don't worry—we will honor our promise to you at all costs."
Had I been scammed...?
Just as my brows were about to furrow, Sayo smiled and spoke.
"He will regain consciousness within a day or two. Until then, please allow us to host you. Rest well."
---
They returned to the reception room.
Sayo glanced sideways at Laila and gave an unreadable smile.
Then she looked back at Song Hoon and spoke.
"I would like to speak with you alone, Hunter... Could the others give us the room?"
Sayo wore a courteous smile, but the edge in her voice was unmistakably sharp.
'Give us the room.'
Song Hoon, on the receiving end of that remark, was about to say something about Sayo slightly overstepping. But Laila simply smiled brightly.
"Oh my, I don't mind at all. This is a 'business' conversation anyway, isn't it?"
Laila, who had every right to feel slighted, said it as if it were nothing.
'Hmph... Since the daughter didn't succeed, the mother's going to arrange things herself?'
Then Sayo, too, gave a short laugh and nodded.
"Fufu, thank you for your consideration. As expected from a 'colleague'—your ability to separate business from personal matters is truly admirable, isn't it?"
Behind Sayo's words, there was unmistakably a sharp barb: 'You're not even in a romantic relationship—just a mere colleague.'
'Hmph, so it's just a contract between hunters whose interests happen to align...'
Of course, it was a different dynamic from the guilds Sayo was imagining, but...
Laila lifted her teacup and took a sip.
Her eyes remained perfectly at ease, and her voice was gentle.
"After all, I've 'always' been by Hero's side. I think decisions this important are rightfully his to make."
"How wonderful. Having such a 'loyal colleague' who supports your decisions in critical moments—that's truly a great fortune."
The two sat there drinking tea, staring at each other for a long moment.
And Reina, caught between them, had absolutely no idea what to do.
Likewise, Song Hoon simply had no clue what was happening in this situation...
"...?"