The Hero's Last Gamble
I would hold them off here...
With the encouragement of my comrades ringing in my ears, I, Elan, stepped forward. Yet at that very moment, a cold sneer automatically crept across the lips of the man listening to the beautiful women’s words. He had tried his best to hide it, but he already knew the truth.
The lovely women who had openly expressed their affection for the hero even on the eve of the final battle… In their hearts, the existence known as Hero Elan had already ceased to exist.
Amelda, who spoke of marriage. Shude, who burned with rivalry yet still showed subtle affection. Terra, who seemed indifferent but quietly expressed her love. And even Aileen, his childhood friend who claimed to be his rightful wife and had spent the longest time by his side.
In their hearts, Hero Elan had already been reduced to nothing more than a tool. A means to defeat the mighty Demon King and bring them fame and fortune. And once that purpose was fulfilled, an obstacle that needed to be removed so it would not interfere with their happy future alongside the one who had already stolen both their bodies and hearts—the porter, Torare.
He was someone who had to be stabbed in the back the instant the Demon King was slain and completely erased from this world. Of course, the women never let any of this show on the surface. Regardless of how coldly their affection had cooled, Hero Elan was still the strongest warrior on the continent. Without his power, they could neither defeat the Demon King nor obtain the wealth and fame they desired.
At least until the Demon King was defeated… they had to keep him motivated to fight with everything he had. That was why they dredged up emotions that had long since vanished, leaving only traces behind, and continued to fill the hero’s heart with dreams and hope until the very end.
And at this moment, the hero in question—Elan—no, the man who had been Kim Sang-hoon, an ordinary salaryman at a pathetic small company in South Korea, the very person who had been half-tricked into playing that garbage Porter’s Night, the NTR game about a porter who stole the heroines from the hero and claimed his achievements… was currently moving forward while receiving the nauseating encouragement of those despicable bitches. This scene could essentially be called the moment right before the original work’s ending.
‘Fuck… Of all the roles I could’ve been isekai’d into, it had to be this dogshit situation with this dogshit character…’
Porter’s Night had somehow become a life-ruining game in the most literal, miserable sense. For someone like me who had originally preferred pure romance routes, it dealt a massive blow.
To be honest, just from the title I had sensed something was off. But the friend who recommended it had seriously told me that if I played it pretending to be fooled and watched the ending, I would realize something. I fell for it and ended up swallowing that forbidden fruit I should never have touched.
The mental damage alone lasted nearly a week. When I asked what exactly that “realization” was supposed to be, my friend spouted this nonsense:
“I just feel bad for you because you don’t understand how great NTR is…”
That was the last straw. I declared our friendship over and completely deleted that cursed game, save data and all.
But, regrettably… whether it was the aftereffect of playing that damned game or something else entirely, one day I opened my eyes to find myself possessed by Hero Elan—the very character who, throughout the game, knew nothing, was used like a tool, and ultimately got stabbed in the back and died in despair.
And of all times, it had to be at the point where Torare had already conquered every heroine and the ending was literally one spacebar press away.
If I had possessed him at the beginning, I would have immediately cut that porter bastard’s head off and tried to twist the original story somehow. But at the moment I took over Elan’s body, the heroines had already completely fallen—body and soul.
This was confirmed when I suggested replacing Torare with another porter; every single woman had turned deathly serious, glared at me with fury and killing intent, and flat-out refused. Moreover, since Torare could not have reached this point alive without conquering all four heroines, the story itself had already given its answer.
In other words… the women known as the Hero Party’s warriors were already fully prepared to crawl naked across the floor, barking like dogs the moment Torare gave the order.
Because of that, I needed to come up with some way—any way—to escape the grasp of those double-crossing bitches who were waiting to stab me in the back the instant I defeated the Demon King and run straight into the arms of their porter.
In my heart, I wanted nothing more than to wipe out the entire porter and Hero Party in one fell swoop. But even though I was currently the strongest being in this world as the Hero, it was impossible for me to defeat all of them alone with my own power.
Though they were weaker than me, who possessed the Hero’s combat strength, they were still the strongest warriors from each of their respective nations. And through the detection ability contained within the Hero’s body, I could tell that while I could win against two—or even three—of them, one versus four would truly require staking my life.
On top of that, they no longer saw me as an ally. They already viewed me as someone who could be killed the moment things went wrong, making even a surprise attack extremely difficult. That was precisely why I had maintained the attitude of a yes-man exactly like in the original work all the way here.
And now.
In this desperate situation where the heroines had knives pressed to my throat, standing before my eyes was the Demon King, whose power was equal to or only slightly weaker than mine, along with her subordinates who possessed strength comparable to the Hero Party’s warriors. We were being welcomed by them.
It was truly a situation with no path forward or backward. A perfect dead end with enemies on all sides.
However… at this very moment, I judged that this was my one and only final chance. The last opportunity to make a single gamble while trapped in a despair so thick I couldn’t see even an inch ahead. It was the final chance to jump off this express train to hell that I had been riding with a pounding heart for the past several days, a last-ditch effort that might just save my life.
Clinging to that single possibility, I charged straight toward the Demon King standing before me.
“Uaaaaah!!”
I rushed toward the Demon King without fear, displaying the image of a valiant warrior. Watching me, the Demon King rose from her throne just as she had in the original work and proudly drew a jet-black sword wrapped in darkness.
A demonic blade that clearly contained an extraordinary aura at first glance. Holding it in her hand, the Demon King began advancing toward me with a terrifying presence as I ran toward her.
And then—
-KWAANG!
The Hero’s sword and the Demon King’s demonic blade collided in an instant. An enormous wave of power that signaled the true beginning of the final battle swept over the area, accompanied by a terrifying roar and a cloud of dust.
*
The clash between the Demon King and the Hero began with terrifying momentum. The women of the Hero Party, who had been watching the situation, quickly rushed forward to join the battle.
“Not a chance!”
“Your opponents are us!”
The Demon King’s direct subordinates blocked their path. Clad in the same black armor as their lord, they swung their weapons without hesitation, ready to fight the Hero Party’s warriors.
But then…
“Kuaaaaaaaaagh!!!”
“Huh?”
“W… what?”
The next moment, a desperate scream suddenly rang out. The instant they heard it, the Hero Party’s warriors—who had been about to engage the enemies before them—and even the Demon King’s subordinates who had been preparing to attack them, all had expressions of thick astonishment… and a natural surge of joy cross their faces in an instant.
The scene reflected in their eyes at that moment was… the Hero kneeling on the ground with one arm severed by the Demon King’s sword.
“H… Hero… sir?”
“Ooh! Your Majesty the Demon King!”
The women, including Aileen, wore expressions of disbelief, while the Demon King’s subordinates let out voices filled with delight. At that moment, the Hero Elan, whose one arm had been cut off, spoke to his bewildered comrades in a voice drenched in pain.
“Everyone… everyone, run away right now!”
“E… Elan?”
Blood poured endlessly from his severed arm, yet Elan forced himself to his feet. After barely managing to stand and steady his posture, he squeezed out his words with great difficulty.
“This guy… is not an enemy we can defeat…! If we stay like this, we’ll all die…! So… I’ll hold him off here… so please… please, all of you, run away!”
The Hero, who had boasted that he possessed enough power to defeat the Demon King. Yet now, that same Hero had been overwhelmed after exchanging only a few blows, his defeat all but certain.
And what that meant, the other party members present instinctively understood.
‘That Hero… so easily…’
‘Does that mean… the Demon King is that overwhelmingly strong?’
‘This is bad… Our calculations are completely off…’
‘We’re finished… We’re done for.’
From the beginning, the Hero had been someone they could only hope to defeat by attacking all together. There was no way they could do anything against a Demon King powerful enough to overwhelm even him. Caught in a heavy fear they had never once felt during their journey, they began to back away from the Demon King’s subordinates.
And then…
“Ugh…”
“Damn it!”
Letting out sounds mixed with resignation, the women began fleeing toward the passage they had entered through. The Demon King Army’s executives immediately tried to chase after them.
At that moment…
“W… wait.”
A slightly trembling voice suddenly rang out. The executives stopped their pursuit and turned their heads toward the owner of that voice… toward their sovereign, the Demon King.
At that instant, the Demon King—despite having given the order—was not looking at her subordinates, but at the Hero standing before her, still holding his sword. Then, in a voice filled with doubt, she asked the Hero before her.
“…Why?”