It Seems That the Demon King Is Among the Members of the Hero’s Party

37. VS Clovickus 1

───I behead the goblin that was about to finish off the blown-away guard. There are still several of them around.

“Can you get up?”

“Ugh…”

I ask the guard, who’s struggling to stand, while slashing down nearby goblins. He’s not in a life-or-death situation, but he’s probably broken a bone or two. He was beaten up pretty badly by the goblin’s club. He stands up, clutching his stomach. It’s no use fighting in this state.

“We’ll handle the front lines, Tra and I. You guards, work with the others to keep the goblins from entering the village.”

“Yes…”

“There’s a friend of mine at the entrance. Get healed by Noel.”

“I understand.”

But in this state, they can’t fight properly. I tell them to follow me, and we push forward, kicking away the goblins that attack us.

Luckily, it’s not far. However, the number of goblins is too great, and we can’t make progress.

Not only is the number overwhelming, but the goblins’ behavior is also strange. Their eyes are bloodshot, and they’re drooling. It’s as if they’re being controlled. Some of them are heading towards the village, but most are targeting us.

I spot around 30 goblins floating in the air about 30 meters away. Some have their bodies torn in two, while others have lost their heads. Tra is wreaking havoc.

I’m getting tired of slashing down goblins that just keep coming.

“Annoying!”

I have to be careful not to trip over the goblin corpses. I kick away the bodies and send ‘Flying Swallow’ towards the clustered goblins. Have around 50 of them died?

With this many goblins packed together, it seems like just using ‘Flying Swallow’ would be effective.

The guards are following me, enduring the pain as they swing their spears and take down goblins.

As I look ahead, I see a white magic circle floating in the air.

“Is that Noel?”

I instantly recognize whose magic it is. Judging from the size of the magic circle, it’s probably ‘Judgment’. Then I can proceed without worrying.

This magic only affects those with evil souls. It’s a ‘Holy’ attribute magic that can be used without worrying about friendly fire, even in crowded areas.

“That magic won’t harm us, let’s keep moving.”

“Yes…”

The guard’s face was tense, as if he feared being caught in a spell. After calling out to me, he proceeded straight towards the magic circle. When the magic incantation was complete, the magic circle emitted a dazzling light, and a thick, divine beam of light descended from the sky, evoking the image of a god’s judgment.

Since I knew it wouldn’t harm me, I advanced without worry, while the guard took excessive evasive action. Seeing his behavior, I immediately launched ‘Flying Swallow’ at the guard.

“What are you doing!?”

The guard, who had dodged ‘Flying Swallow’ by rolling, raised a voice of discontent. However, I ignored him and attempted to strike, but a goblin intervened, getting in the way.

After beheading the goblin, the thick beam of light (Judgment) fell from behind me, and the surrounding goblins let out their final screams as they vanished into dust.

Now, I didn’t have to worry about my back.

“Have you stopped acting?”

The guard, who was facing me while being protected by the goblins, was smiling eerily, as if he was enjoying himself.

“It seems you won’t be deceived, so what’s your plan? If I weren’t a demon, what would you do?”

“If you’re not a demon, then I’ll just ignore you. That magic doesn’t affect us.”

“Even so, the descending beam of light is frightening. Not everyone has the courage to stand firm like you.”

“Then just stand still. You won’t get hit, and there’s no need to dodge deliberately.”

“You’d try to change the trajectory and hit me, wouldn’t you? You’re a frustrating human.”

—From the start, I didn’t trust that guard. When he approached us on the street and started talking, I sensed something was off. Even though we’re a hero party, not many people know our faces. There’s no TV or SNS like in my previous life, so at most, people might recognize us from rough sketches.

The dwarves are trying to develop some sort of image technology, but it’ll take time. That’s why there aren’t many people who know our faces.

Even the gatekeeper who first dealt with us didn’t recognize us until we showed him our identification. There might be people who know us in towns or villages we’ve visited before.

Unfortunately, this is our first time visiting this village, and we’ve never met that guard before. Yet, he called Eclair “Hero-sama” straight away.

And his gaze was always fixed on the holy sword she held. He seemed to be watching her every move.

When we split into two groups, he followed us instead of Eclair. It’s safer to be with Eclair, the hero, but I couldn’t believe a guard who’s terrified to the point of turning pale would follow us.

When I and Tora-san headed to the front lines, even though another guard tried to stop us, he followed us without hesitation.

That’s not the behavior of a cowardly guard.

That’s why I was on high alert. I gave a signal to Noel, leaving the judgment to her magic. If he’s not a demon, then that’s fine. If he is, then we’ll take him down.

“The movement has stopped…”

There was no movement from the goblins around me. They seemed to be waiting for instructions. When I turned my gaze towards Tora-san, I saw that all the goblins that were coming towards me were now heading towards Tora-san.

Is the goal to stop Tora-san?

The guard discarded his spear and stretched out his hand towards me, his eyes sharp like a blade.

“Well, it’s fine. Hand over that sword, human. If you do, I’ll spare your life. That’s not a sword suitable for you to wield.”

“Do you think I’d hand it over just because an enemy tells me to?”

“You don’t know the value of that sword, and yet you dare to defy me? You’ll die.”

“I came here to defeat you. I’m not afraid of dying.”

As I readied Durandal, the goblins that had been waiting for instructions charged towards me.

The troublesome ones are the demons. While keeping an eye on the guard, I began to take down the goblins one by one.

“If you had just handed over the sword, you would have been spared.”

As I fought the goblins, I turned my attention to the guard, and noticed a change in him. His body was now covered in a dark, black aura. He had abandoned his disguise as a human. When the darkness cleared, the person standing before me was no longer the same guard.

A man with a rugged, black haircut, curved horns like a sheep, and blood-red eyes glared at me. He wore a noble’s attire, complete with a tailcoat, and seemed to be playing the role of a gentleman. But what an evil gentleman he was.

A red-black tail extended from his waist, its tip sharp and adorned with thorn-like protrusions. The tail was likely another weapon.

He was known as Crovicas, the “One-Winged” demon, with a single, crimson-black bat-like wing on his back.

Crovicas’ wing was cut off by the first-generation hero, but he still managed to survive and fight against humans and elves for hundreds, thousands of years. He was a powerful demon, considered one of the top echelons among his kind, even if not officially recognized as one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

“Kill me!”

With only one wing, Clovikas jumped towards me, closing the distance in just one step. I dodged the swinging arm and countered with Durandal, but it was caught by their arm.

Hard. It felt like trying to cut through rock. Are they reinforcing their arm with magic?

“You can’t even bring out the true power of that sword! You’re no match for me!”

“Next, I’ll cut you down!”

───VS ‘One-Winged’ Clovikas.