Chapter 39: A Hard-Fought Battle 【Side: Hero Party】
※Third-Person Perspective
Alester and the Hero Party had arrived at Dragon’s Peak a step ahead of Loin.
Around the time Loin was being revered as the Dragon Killer in town…
“So this is the enemy’s stronghold…”
Dragon’s Peak, where the Demon Lord Army Executive Delormeria had established her den—
Its once divine appearance was now completely transformed.
It was no longer a hidden paradise for dragons.
Now, a sinister Demon Lord-like castle stood atop it, with poisonous smoke billowing from it.
Inside, Delormeria was honing her magic for the invasion of humanity.
And she was creating an army of monsters, preparing for battle.
“We will absolutely defeat her…!”
Alester, with an expression full of fighting spirit befitting a hero, glared at the Demon Lord’s castle.
And so, they entered the dungeon—
The dungeon leading to the Demon Lord’s castle on the summit of Dragon’s Peak—
◇
“Damn it…! There are still this many dragons inside…?!”
The dungeon was teeming with dragons.
Red Dragons, White Dragons, and various other types of dragons.
Alester, despite being the Hero, didn’t have that much combat experience against dragons.
And now, he faced a large number of unknown dragons.
Naturally, they were forced into a difficult battle.
“Hey, Geord! Keep your shield up properly!”
Alester, even while wounded, never admitted his own mistakes.
He was convinced that all his injuries were due to Geord, the shield bearer, messing up.
“Damn it! There are too many enemies! If we’re surrounded on all four sides like this, my shield alone isn’t enough!”
“Stop making excuses! It’s pathetic! You’re supposed to be the Hero’s shield, aren’t you!”
Things were fine when the battles were going well, but as these harsh conditions persisted, the party’s atmosphere worsened.
Alester, in particular, was still affected by their recent defeat, and his irritation was mounting.
“Elena! What’s with the healing…?!”
“Kh… I’m doing it… but I can’t keep up!”
Eventually, he even started lashing out at Elena, the healer.
Fighting while dodging dragon breaths was an extremely difficult feat.
To mitigate the continuous damage, Elena was forced to heal desperately.
Alester also desperately pushed forward, attacking with his sword, but…
The dragon scales were harder than he thought, and unless he precisely targeted their weak spots, he could barely deal any damage.
“Damn it…! I can’t hit them!”
Gradually, Alester’s stress built up.
He was already irritated… and his anger was steadily rising.
His frustration was evident even to the other party members.
The bad atmosphere spread to those around him.
“Hey, Alester! You haven’t landed a single hit for a while now! It’s only my magic that’s taking them down, you know?”
Momoka, while casting attack spells, also blamed Alester.
Among them, only Momoka was able to perform her duties as usual.
Her powerful attack magic could even shatter the dragons’ tough hides.
“Tch…! I’m doing my best, damn it!”
Alester, consumed by anger, recklessly slashed at a dragon!
—Clang!
However, his wild sword strike was deflected by the dragon’s tail.
Alester’s sword fell to the ground.
“Ah…?!”
Just then, a powerful dragon breath…!
The dragon hadn’t missed the opening…!
Alester was in a desperate situation.
“Tch… For a Hero, you’re causing a lot of trouble…!”
Geord threw himself forward, leaping in front of Alester.
Bracing the shield with his entire body, he somehow endured the dragon’s powerful breath.
—BOOM!
Instantly, Momoka’s attack magic pierced the dragon!
The dragon, distracted by Alester, was struck through the head and died.
“Phew… Looks like we managed somehow…”
Thanks to Momoka’s attack magic, they had somehow weathered this crisis.
Geord’s hand holding the shield was trembling.
“Ah, thank you…”
Alester, having narrowly escaped disaster, naturally thanked Geord.
If Geord hadn’t instantly protected Alester, he would have died.
Looking back calmly, it was Alester who had been dragging them down the most.
“You bastard! You’re the Hero, stop acting so spineless just because you lost once! Our lives are on the line here!”
Geord grabbed Alester by the collar and berated him.
If they didn’t pull themselves together here, there was no way they could proceed.
With that, Alester seemed to snap out of it, and the fighting spirit returned to his expression.
“Ah, yeah… My bad…”
Pulling themselves together, they all advanced.
Once they cleared the dungeon, it would finally be time for the confrontation with Delormeria.
◇
“Demon Lord Army Executive Delormeria! I am Hero Alester Lyos! I will absolutely not allow you to threaten this world!”
Alester, having regained his fighting spirit, confidently opened the door to the boss room where Delormeria awaited.
However—
—KyuRURURURURURURU…
—ZDOOOOM!!!!
The moment he opened the door, a super high-speed beam shot towards Alester and the others.
Caught completely off guard, Alester and his party were helpless.
Alester narrowly avoided being hit, but the beam grazed his hair slightly.
A part of his golden hair was singed.
“Wha…?!”
Alester was frozen in place by fear.
(What was that attack…? I couldn’t see it at all… Is this… a monster from another world, from the Demon Realm…?!)
In his shock, Alester didn’t notice what had happened to his allies.
He finally came to his senses when he felt a warm liquid flowing at his feet.
When Alester looked down, he saw a large pool of blood.
“Huh……………………?”
For a moment, he didn’t understand.
The enemy’s beam shouldn’t have hit Alester.
But behind Alester were his party members.
Then, Alester realized.
(Who… did it hit…?!)
This blood belonged to one of his comrades.
He realized that.
Time, an instant, felt like an eternity.
But Alester absolutely refused to turn around.
He was afraid to turn around.
“Hey…”
Suddenly, a hand was placed firmly on Alester’s shoulder.
A rugged man’s hand.
(Thank goodness… Geord is safe.)
Geord said to Alester.
“I… I’ll never forgive that damn demon…! Right, Alester…?”
“Y-Yeah…”
Alester’s voice, as he replied weakly, was trembling.
Geord stepped past Alester, moving one step forward.
“From here on out, I won’t let anyone else die…!”
He raised his shield, intending to protect Alester and the others.
Suddenly, Alester heard the sound of a woman sobbing.
“Sob… sob… No… No… Don’t die…!”
(Elena…? Is she crying…?)
Behind Alester, Elena was crying.
And desperately chanting healing magic.
Does that mean… the beam hit Momoka…?!
Even though Alester reached that conclusion, he couldn’t muster the courage to turn around.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOH! We’re the ones who will save the world! Let’s go, Alester!!!!”
Geord shouted that and charged towards that demon—Delormeria!
Yes, Geord believed that Alester was following him from behind.
But Alester didn’t move…
(Damn it…! I…!)
Alester could neither turn around nor move forward, simply standing rooted to the spot.
“GUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”
Before his eyes, Geord’s shield was destroyed.
Geord, just like Momoka, was incinerated by the beam.
“Hic…!”
Alester instinctively closed his eyes.
(At this rate… I’ll be killed too…?!)
The next action Alester took was—
“I’m sorry…! Everyone…!”
Alester turned around and fled at full speed.
When he turned, the fallen Momoka came into view.
And Elena, desperately trying to heal Momoka…
However, Alester kept running.
Seeing Momoka’s state spurred Alester to flee even faster.
(Momoka… Geord… Elena…)
Alester retraced his steps through the dungeon he had come from.
As he fled, the image of Momoka was seared into his mind and wouldn’t leave.
“Urp…!”
Alester threw up on the spot.
(Momoka… her face… was gone… from the neck up…)
“URGHHHHHHHHHH…!!!!”
What happened to Elena…?
Thinking such thoughts, Alester had stopped.
If I turn back now… no, is it already too late for that…?
He thought such things, but it was nothing more than a mere excuse.
In his heart, Alester no longer had any will to fight.
Overcome by such intense nausea, Alester had stopped midway through the dungeon.
A vast shadow fell over Alester.
“Huh…?”
When Alester chanced to look back, there stood a dragon so colossal, he had never laid eyes on its like before.
“Heh… So this is my comeuppance, huh…?”
Alester no longer had any will to resist—
—There was none.
—SPLAT!