Prologue – Chapter 9

Chapter 09 2nd year

“Kuuh, Kaaaaaaaaaaaa"!!!!

A roar resounds.
An ancient castle with ivy covering the floor exposed to the elements and a dark, cloudy sky peeking through the collapsed ceiling.
A man and three people were facing each other in a large hall that seemed to be the throne room.

“Fuh, fuh…!”

The man roared and knocked the humans away, and the man regained his balance, letting out his anger.
The dark-skinned man --- the man with the characteristics of a demon roared while bleeding profusely from his body.

"Defeated!? Me!?...... Impossible! I am Zoldas... one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King, Zoldas of Roaring Blood!"

Saying that, Zoldas glared at the young man in a terribly confused state.
There were three people there.

One is a man with a shining white straight sword.
One is a woman who holds a gauntlet on her hands and feet.
And one is a woman in a white robe holding her cane.

Zoldas glared at the humans who were called the Hero, Kensei, and Saintess, respectively, among the Humans, and who had scars all over their bodies like himself――――
--- There was a hero in front of him.

"Chee!!"

A white blade swung down.
It cuts through the barrier that originally renders the devil invincible like paper, and approaches Zoldas.
However, Zoldas is also a battle-hardened demon.
He was surprised at first, but once he figured it out, that was it.
Pass magic through his outstretched claws and parry the approaching sword.
The hero's posture slightly collapsed, perhaps because he didn't think he would be parried.
Trying to exploit that gap, Zoldas stretches out his arm and is blown away.

"Gah!!"

Zoldas was blown away horizontally by the impact and stuck straight into the pile of rubble.

"Aaaaaaaa!!!"

Blowing away the pile of rubble, Zoldas stood up.
If you hurriedly glance at him, you'll see the Hero and Kensei standing where he was blown away.

[Why didn't they come after me...]
In his cautious state,

"Holy"
(Huh……!?)

A voice that resounded cool enough to be out of place arrived.
Zoldas immediately lifted up his arm, which was filled with his magical power---the holy attribute magic Holy landed there.
 
"Gaaaaaaaa!!!"



Zoldas' scream echoes.

《Holy》 is extremely difficult to hit due to its slow start and the nature of falling downwards from the point of origin.
――――However, once it hits, its power is more than enough to blow away the devil.
The anti-demon annihilation magic was cast on top of the demon that was pushed to the point of impact by Kensei.
Zoldas endures that magic.
With blood gushing out from numerous wounds on his body, Zoldas gathers his own magical powers to fight back against 《Holy》.
"Holy" collides with the devil's magic power and flickers violently, the pressure cracks the floor of the old castle and Zoldas' feet sink.

"---This is the end"

It was when Zoldas's mind relaxed for a moment when the 《Holy》 was released, which was finally coming to an end.
A voice that sounds somewhat solemn resounds.
When the demon man raised his head at that voice, there was a man with a shining white sword above him.

"Heerrroooooo!!!"

A voice filled with resentment released his will.
The hero caught it with his whole body and swung his white sword.

「――――」

The remnants of demon’s aura run through the air――――
The demon fell to the floor.




◆

It's already been two years since the hero Louis set out on a journey to defeat the Demon King.
In the last two years, Louis' name as a brave man has become known to the rest of humans.
First of all, in his first battlefield, he defeated a devil who had been tyrannical ruler.
In the second battlefield, he rescued the overwhelmingly outnumbered human army, and single-handedly pushed back the waves of demons that rushed in like muddy water.
A "hero" whose existence and ability were questioned despite being widely announced by the Great Holy Church.
However, his ability will be recognized when the hero subjugates the second heavenly kings and single-handedly defeats the third one.
The people rejoiced at the existence of the savior who had finally appeared.
Until then, there was no way to fight against the demons, but with the emergence of a distinct individual, the "Hero", the battle front of the humans suddenly revitalized, and their will to counterattack increased.
The existence of Louis, who had achieved remarkable results in battle, became well known in half a year, and now, two years later, some people began to deify him.
In the midst of this, news about the subjugation of the Four Heavenly Kings by the hero Louis is reported.
The news of the subjugation of one of the four subordinates of the Demon King, who is said to have particularly high abilities, made people feel relieved.

"thank you very much"
"No, this is our duty as nobles."

The Empire of Soltaire, located in the northern part of the western part of the continent, and the Travis territory located to the southeast.
Louis was bowing to a man in one of the rooms of the aristocratic mansion that had jurisdiction over it.
The man's name is Burst Alzen.
With a muscular physique, he was an Earl who was entrusted by the empire's king to take over the Travis territory, which is close to the battle line with the demons, and he was also the person who spread the news of the defeat of the Four Heavenly Kings.



After defeating the a member of Four Heavenly Kings in the old castle, Louis and the others came to Santos, the nearest town.
The purpose is to report on the subjugation of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Until then, Louis and the others had left the records of the battlefield to the soldiers around them, but this time the enemy was the Four Heavenly Kings, and since it was in an isolated old castle, there were no soldiers around them. He came to report directly.

“I think this incident has given people another new hope.”
"I hope so..."
"... do you have anything else to worry about?"

Louis showed a somewhat disappointing face to Burst, who cheerfully expressed his joy.
Burst asks Louis, but before Louis can answer anything, a voice comes from behind him.

"Louis-sama"
"Hmm?" 
“Louis-sama, there is no need to worry more than necessary. Even if it's just one body, this is also a definite step."
"Hmm, I see... Thank you, Iris. I'm sorry to have worried you."
"Indeed, it's certainly as the saint-sama said. Hero-sama is doing a splendid job."
"thank you"

It seemed that Louis was worried about the fact that there were still three of the Four Heavenly Kings left, and when Iris reprimanded him, the peaceful atmosphere returned to the room.

“How long do you plan to stay in this town?”
"I think I'll be leaving soon. I hear that the demons' offensive at Baldic Fortress is getting stronger."
"Is that so... I was just thinking that if possible, I would like you to take a good rest, if not for a week, but for just two or three days."
"I  appreciate your kindness."

Fort Baldic is a fort located in the north-northeast of the Travis territory.
Fort Baldic, which was originally intended to keep the Norwich merchant state in the east of the empire in check, became the front line against the demons after the Norwich merchant state was taken down by the demons.
Louis bowed to Lord Travis who seemed to care about them.
For Burst, those words must have come from his heart. Seeing Louis's firm will, he let out an unbearable sigh.

“If Louis-sama says so, I won’t force you to stay. But can you stay for at least one day today?"
"Yes, that's what I intend to do."
“Then please use my mansion. We’ll prepare our best hospitality even if it's trivial."
"That much is――"
"It's fine. If you can think of this as a token of our gratitude for not being able to stand in front and fight."
"If that's all it is"

As for Burst, he couldn't hide his frustration at the fact that he had to entrust the battle against the devils to them, who were the same age as his own son.
However, since he doesn't have any special powers, there's not much he can do.
Even Louis had no choice but to nod.
Louis nodded with a wry smile, reading his anguish from the kindness and sincerity of his words.
Burst relieved the heavy atmosphere to Louis who nodded.

"-- Ah, if you don't mind, could you have a talk with my bad son once?"
"Your son, is it?"
“Yes. He’s a fool who usually only hunts women --- I'm sorry, I've hoped my idiot son could learn a few things from meeting you."
"Sure, if you don't mind"
"It would be helpful if you could do so."

The necessary reports had already been completed, and the place was shifting to chatting while also reporting on the current situation.

"Are there any supplies that are lacking, or is there any necessary support that you required?"

As Louis responded with a wry smile at his hint of concern, the topic suddenly shifted to him from Burst's son.
Burst, who was showing a pained expression as if he was having a hard time with his son, was relieved when he heard Louis' reply.

"――――――――――"

After that, Louis and Burst were discussing the future with Iris.
The outside of the office, blocked by a heavy door, suddenly became noisy.
Brust was the one who quickly reacted to the slightly frivolous voice.
The moment he hears that voice, his expression changes, and he excuse himself from Louis and Iris with a word, "Excuse me," and opens the door.

"Hey, what do you think? I have a lot of money, so I think I can entertain you."
“…………”
"What, you feel like ignoring me? But I don't think there's anyone in this town who can have more fun than me, you know? That's why――――"
"Geek!"

Burst's angry voice echoes through the mansion.
When Louis and Iris followed Burst out of the room, there was a young man there.
Even though he was being yelled at by the feudal lord Burst, he didn't lose his temper and was probably the son he was talking about earlier.
With blond hair inherited from his parents and tanned dark skin, he has a slender and well-groomed face with a sleazy smile that bears no resemblance to the stern face of his parent, Burst.

"Tch, what is it, father? I’m doing what you told me, so I'm free to do this――"

It was Claire who was involved.
As if he was trying to persuade her, he sat next to her leaning against the wall and tried to get her attention from ignoring him. He distort his face.
However, his distorted face, which was really troublesome, turned around, crossed over Burst and Louis, and turned into a puzzled look when he saw the woman standing behind him.

"-- Yay! There's another really high-level woman! Hey, what's your name? I'm Geek, and--"
"Geek!"

Who he sees is Iris wearing the robe of the Great Holy Church.
The beauty of Iris, which can not be hidden even through a thick robe, made him attracted to her mystique, and Geek who approaches her like a butterfly lured by honey is yelled at by Burst.
Hearing his father's angry yell from close range, Geek answered with annoyance.

"Ah? What is it?"
"...The ones who are here are the Hero-sama's party."
"Ah... Seriously? Then, are these Kensei-sama and Holy Maiden-sama?"

There must have been something else he wanted to say.
However, he somehow managed to swallow them, and when Burst quietly told him, he stopped for a moment.
"...Haa, well then, let's see... If you want to play with me, talk to me anytime."
"Geek"
"Aye aye, I understand"

His father's scolding is not enough, and Geek walks away while waving his hand.
Burst sighed at his pitiful back and turned his body into Louis and the others.

"that person is?"
"... yes. I'm sorry, everyone. I showed you such unsightly part"
"Yeah, for real"
"Claire"

Iris admonished Claire, who nodded in disgust.
Burst smiled wryly at Claire's unwillingness to hide her emotions, and turned to Louis.

“Well then, Louis-sama.”
"Ah, okay, thank you."
"Hey, take the three of them to their room."

The report we needed here had already been completed.
When Burst told a servant to guide the three to their room, the steward who was standing by responded.
Following the instructions of the steward, Louis and the others left the office.
Seeing him off from behind, Burst let out a sigh once more at how different he was from his own son.

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