The Black Hero's Overwhelming Might
This guy’s a complete monster!
Shamyuel dashed toward the attackers, using her tracking ability to pinpoint their location. As I followed close behind, I could overhear the rough outline of what was happening.
“A human?”
“That’s right. Even though the matches were still ongoing and I couldn’t be sure whether the rest of their group was nearby, the one I fought earlier was definitely human, that’s what it is.”
“Why would a human still be here… and why appear in Jerusalem of all places?”
“I don’t know exactly. If I had interrogated him right away, something might have come out, but at the time I had to focus on the match first, that’s what it is.”
“Hmm…”
Shamyuel’s tone was somewhat mechanical, yet she spoke with perfect clarity. If she had publicly revealed that a human had infiltrated the arena, it would have caused massive disruption to the tournament over security concerns. With the Demon King and numerous high-ranking demons present, there was no other choice. To prevent that, and because she had to prioritize her own upcoming match, she had no option but to set the matter of the human aside for the moment. If she had been part of the royal guard directly responsible for the Demon King’s protection, she might have handled it differently, but her role was that of a legion commander leading troops, not a bodyguard. The nature of their duties was fundamentally different, so she couldn’t be blamed for it. Interrogating the captive was clearly the responsibility of the royal guard and other security personnel. It was no different from a soldier catching a thief on the street and handing him over to the police—that was simply where their duty ended.
“Well, anyway, I didn’t expect things to blow up like this. If I’d known, I should’ve at least broken one of that human’s arms or legs beforehand, that’s what it is.”
“Haha…”
Shamyuel casually voiced such a brutal sentiment without the slightest change in expression. The next moment, she suddenly accelerated, as if her targets were close. I widened the distance between us slightly so I could follow her more smoothly.
‘Come to think of it… the Demon King seemed to be following from behind earlier, but where did she suddenly disappear to?’
I hadn’t been able to pay attention because everything had happened so fast, yet the question still nagged at me. In any case, there was no time to search for the Demon King now. I landed in the clearing after Shamyuel, who had already arrived ahead of me.
*
Before us stood the demon legion commander Shamyuel and the black hero—the same formidable fighter who had just defeated one of the royal guards. Even with two powerful opponents blocking their path, the hero’s party showed no sign of losing their will to fight.
‘Four against two… The situation’s worse than before, but we still have a chance.’
‘That black hero’s strength is incredible, but if Hector takes on the legion commander and the three of us handle the other one…’
Though they had lost earlier due to bad luck, it was well known that Hector and Shamyuel were on equal footing. Believing the fight was still winnable, they began drawing their weapons. Dagon readied her staff, Bless equipped her claws, Pompey nocked an arrow from the rear, and Hector once again drew his sword. The four of them quickly formed their formation and prepared for battle against the two powerful foes before them. In response, Shamyuel and the black hero also gathered their mana, readying themselves for combat.
“I’ll settle things with that man. You three handle the hero.”
“Understood. Then—”
With their roles decided, they glared at their respective opponents. A cold wind swept through the clearing, carrying with it a menacing aura. The suffocating tension finally snapped the instant Pompey released the arrow from his bowstring.
—Shhhiiiing!!!
The arrow flew toward the black hero with a sharp whistle. It wasn’t an ordinary steel arrow; it carried a considerable amount of mana within it, powerful enough to pierce even steel armor if it struck true. Yet the black hero showed no intention of dodging. Pompey smirked inwardly, imagining the man would pay dearly for relying solely on his armor’s defense.
However—
—Ting!
“Huh?”
“Kuh!”
In the next instant, the black hero merely tilted his greatsword slightly, and Pompey’s arrow was effortlessly deflected. Despite the mana-enhanced destructive power, the strike flew away so pathetically that a flicker of confusion crossed the faces of Pompey and his companions.
“He deflected an arrow carrying that much mana like it was nothing…”
“Tch! Then try this!”
With those words, Dagon gathered mana into her staff and began chanting. The mana emanating from her body manifested as a translucent, water-like liquid, which soon transformed into the shape of a massive whale. A four-meter-wide whale made of blue liquid, as if swimming through the air. Yet the next moment, that beautiful, almost dreamlike form hurtled forward like a cannonball, charging straight toward the black hero.
Though smaller than a real whale, the creature was still objectively enormous as it flew directly at him. However—
In a situation that would have been enough to instill fear in anyone with ordinary courage, the black hero didn’t even blink. He simply adjusted his grip on his sword. And then—
“Hek!”
—Kwaaaang!!!
The black hero swung his sword with nothing but mana-infused strength, no special magic involved. Yet that single strike completely erased the blue whale Dagon had created, leaving not even a trace behind. The remaining shockwave then surged toward Dagon and the rest of the hero’s party with terrifying force.
“Sh… Shield!!!”
Faced with the incoming devastating blow, Dagon poured every ounce of her mana into creating a barrier. But even the shield she had summoned with all her strength was no match for the wave of power erupting from the black hero’s sword. Cracks spread across the barrier under the overwhelming force, threatening to shatter at any moment. Though she desperately poured more mana into repairing it, the speed of the repairs couldn’t keep up with the rate of destruction.
‘Wh… what is this…’
‘This guy’s a complete monster!’
‘How can he… Even the legion commanders couldn’t produce this kind of power…’
With a single strike that not only nullified her strongest attack but whose aftershock alone exceeded what she could withstand, Dagon and her companions belatedly realized they had chosen the wrong opponent. But it was already too late.
—Crackle!
“Ah…!”
In the end, despite pouring every last bit of her mana into it, Dagon’s barrier shattered. As a result, the three of them were helplessly swallowed by the black wave of power.
*
“Wh… what the… This is impossible…”
The unimaginable strike had occurred right beside him. Hector’s face was instantly filled with shock at the situation and concern for his comrades who had been caught in the attack. At that moment—
“You don’t have the luxury of worrying about them, that’s what it is.”
“Kuh!”
—Boom!
Shamyuel’s gauntlet grazed past Hector, who had been momentarily distracted. He barely managed to dodge an attack that could have knocked him unconscious at best—or blown his head clean off at worst—and was forced to focus entirely on the fight at hand.
‘Thankfully, I can still sense their presence, even if it’s faint, so they’re not dead. But I never imagined the black hero would possess such monstrous strength…’
The black hero wielded an unimaginable, brutal power. Honestly, when Hector had first heard the name, he had assumed the man was nothing more than a fake trying to imitate a hero among the demons. But now, he clearly understood how wrong that assumption had been.
‘It wasn’t just the name. With that level of strength, he’s more than worthy of being called a hero. He might even be on par with Lord Elan, the strongest in history.’
As the situation grew increasingly dire, the hero Hector struggled desperately to defeat Shamyuel. Yet despite his full effort, he couldn’t gain the upper hand against her. It wasn’t simply because her appearance was overwhelmingly beautiful. Worry for his companions, thoughts of the danger this unfathomable monster would pose to the allied races in the future—everything was preventing Hector from focusing on the battle. Even though he technically possessed greater combat ability than Shamyuel, he couldn’t make use of it at all. And as a result—
“Ah!”
“Got you. —Thud!