Episode 34: Demonbane Warrior
The fact that a Hero without Magical Power was able to infiltrate Ortenatris Castle is a grave matter.
As expected, Heroes skilled in reconnaissance are troublesome… Perhaps countermeasures are needed in the future.
“Kukuku, Ahahaha! What, so you guys were onto that too? Well, whatever. Yeah, Lynx was the one who leaked your information.”
“Oh, so the charade is over, Hero?”
“There’s no point in pretending anymore, is there? Then you tell me, how did you find my location?”
Does he really think I’d tell him something that important?
He’s like a child who’s grown up but remains a child.
“There’s no way I’d tell a Hero that.”
“Haa, that’s why I hate nobles. Selfish and only thinking about exploitation. If you won’t tell me… then die here!”
As Aquila said that, he suddenly threw several knives at me.
As if I could be taken down by something like that… or so I thought, but I became slightly wary.
“Those knives, are they poisoned?”
The blades of the thrown knives were discolored in a poisonous hue.
Stella-Class individuals are generally immune to poison, but I felt a slight unpleasant sensation.
I swung my pipe, knocking each one down.
“Kukuku, you guessed right~ Now, here comes more~”
I wonder how many he had, as he threw them in rapid succession.
The number of thrown knives must have reached dozens, but he should be running out soon.
Doing this will only lead to a losing battle.
“It’s useless, such petty tricks won’t work on me.”
“Ahahaha, nobles always say that before they die.”
“?”
While throwing knives, Aquila began to knead Magical Power.
I sensed the activation of magic, but nothing in particular happened.
However, feeling a sense of unease from Aquila’s words and actions, I used Magical Power Detection.
Then, I felt a Magical Power reaction rapidly approaching from behind.
“Tch!”
Bending my knees and lowering my stance, I swung my pipe.
I heard the sound of a thrown knife from behind being deflected.
“Wow, amazing reaction!”
“Magical Power in the knives…? Could it be you’re manipulating the knives remotely?”
“Kukuku, to think you’d see through my “Puppet Magic” so quickly.”
“Puppet Magic?”
I’ve never heard of that magic before.
But judging from the name, it’s probably a magic that infuses Magical Power into small objects and manipulates them freely.
Wait, isn’t this an application of the “Magical Power Conduction” I discovered?
It’s interesting, but I’m incredibly frustrated that someone beat me to it.
“Yes. This Puppet Magic is my signature, so to speak. That’s right, I am the Hero Alliance’s proud eleventh seat, “Aquila the Puppeteer.” I’m the strongest rookie among the Heroes, having buried many nobles with this Puppet Magic.”
“Alliance… Ah, the “Hero Alliance,” huh?”
The Alliance, or Hero Alliance.
I’ve heard from my father that they are an armed terrorist group composed of Heroes.
They are a troublesome bunch who carry out terrorist activities all over the Atla Continent, and at their head are twelve Heroes with powerful abilities.
I see, so one of them was the man in front of me.
“That’s right. Unfortunately, your defeat is as good as decided. The seeds have already been sown.”
“What?”
Countless Magical Power reactions appeared around me.
The thrown knives floated up, completely surrounding me, their blades pointed towards me.
“Kukuku, even if the opponent is a Demonbane Warrior like you, you can’t defend against this many!”
“…Tch!”
Indeed, there’s no escape from this.
So Aquila’s goal was to throw and scatter a large number of poisoned knives.
“The poison smeared on these knives is mixed with Demon Beast bodily fluids. Even a Stella-Class body won’t come out unscathed if touched! Of course, even a Demonbane Warrior won’t stand a chance!”
I feel uneasy, but honestly, I don’t feel as much danger as Aquila says.
It’s just a feeling, but I feel like I have resistance to poison.
Also, I’m bothered by Aquila using the term “Demonbane Warrior.”
“Aquila, was it? Why did the Alliance tell you to monitor me?”
“Kukuku, fine, I’ll tell you as a parting gift. Strictly speaking, I wasn’t monitoring you. It was to confirm the existence of a possible Demonbane Warrior newly born in Ortenos.”
“Hmm? That’s a strange way of putting it. I don’t know what a Demonbane Warrior is, but why not say they were definitely born?”
Aquila looked at my words with a stunned expression, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Eh? You don’t know what a Demonbane Warrior is? Pfft, Ahhahahahaha! This is a masterpiece! To become a Demonbane Warrior without knowing it, that’s too funny of a joke.”
“?”
I tilted my head at Aquila, who suddenly burst into laughter.
“Well, whatever. A Demonbane Warrior is the greatest calamity for Stella-Class individuals, someone who can only become one by destroying a “Demon Beast.” Those who defeat a Demon Beast take its power as their own and become beings that surpass Stella-Class.”
“…”
Aquila readily told me what a Demonbane Warrior is.
An existence that destroys Demon Beasts, hence a Demonbane Warrior.
In other words, I defeated a Demon Beast and became a Demonbane Warrior.
But that’s strange.
— Because I have never defeated a Demon Beast before.