Quit The Hero Party

EP.65 Aftermath (1)

“It seems there are no Black Bone Soldiers in sight.”

“Did you check the corners of the building? Just because they came from the ground doesn’t mean they weren’t summoned inside the building.”

“I’m checking inside the building now. Should we coordinate with the knights?”

Kalt nodded his head.

“Coordinate and deal with it. If we leave even one Black Bone Soldier behind, it’ll be a big problem. Search thoroughly.”

“Yes, understood.”

Kalt twisted his wrist and shook off his sword.

The bone fragments that were stuck to the hilt fell thud thud. While sliding the blade back into its sheath, Kalt looked around.

Crumbled bones were everywhere.

The knights were organizing the situation, and there were no abnormalities in the building where the students had evacuated. Lastly, Kalt glanced at the Harmain Forest.

The black barrier that covered the forest was already shattered and gone.

The demons that had been boiling within the woods were also settling down.

‘…Looks like it’s been handled well.’

After all, he had been quite the expert at dealing with skeletons since ancient times. Thinking that, Kalt took a breath.

Things were finally starting to get organized.

He had been through numerous operations even before becoming a Hound, but it was rare to see an incident end this cleanly.

‘Especially considering this was a situation involving Skebal the Ancient Lich…’

It was nothing short of a miracle.

“Hoo…”

Kalt exhaled shortly.

The sun began to dip below the horizon. Watching the crimson sunset, his gaze naturally turned towards the Harmain Forest.

‘…By the way, Kyle went there.’

It had been a while since the Hero headed into the forest. He must have encountered something by now.

‘But he should be fine, right? He seemed to have a decent relationship with the Hero after all…’

-Who knows.

Kalt halted his thoughts.

It was because of the voice that brushed past his ear. The words of the Ashen Mage from long ago echoed in his mind.

-He might just swing a punch at you.

“…”

A strange sense of foreboding washed over him.

Kalt shuddered.

2.

Ashes to Ashes.

It’s my signature spell.

Classed as a fire-type spell, it’s recorded on the highest floor of the Ashen Tower, but…

‘It’s not that complicated of a spell.’

Surprisingly, the principle behind the spell is quite simple.

It consumes scattered mana and erupts a large fire in one go.

‘It’s a trigger concept spell, so there are many prerequisites to set up, which can be somewhat annoying…’

Due to those constraints, its power is exceptional. Once activated, it can wipe out just about anything cleanly.

“Ugh, the smoke.”

I waved my hand to clear away the smoke. The flames from earlier were no longer present.

Crackle, crackle.

The flames that had burst out momentarily left only embers. Normally, not even embers would remain, and only ashes would take their place, but…

“Seriously, it’s annoyingly resistant.”

This guy must be quite tough.

Crackle, crackle.

The half-melted skull of Skebal lay at the center of the embers. Missing arms and legs, only his exposed ribs, spine, and shattered skull remained.

“…Ash, light.”

Still, in that state…

Skebal was still alive.

‘Though it seems he’ll die soon anyway.’

The brain visible through the skull was melting away, and judging by the time, he would only leave ashes in a minute at most.

“You… after swallowing that shadow, why…”

“About that shadow.”

I approached Skebal.

“The black orb that Succubus Queen, that bat lady had, you created that, didn’t you?”

I stepped on his exposed ribs.

Snap, the sound echoed as the ribs crumbled. I continued speaking, crushing his spine beneath my foot.

“What’s this curse, what’s this shadow supposed to be?”

“…You really don’t know? You blocked the curse without knowing that? Just what are you…”

“Man, you sure talk like a jerk.”

Creak, creak.

The sound of the crushed bones crumbling is heard.

“If you had truly blocked it, would I be like this?”

Upon reflection, it was somewhat ridiculous.

What kind of curse makes you switch genders?

‘The bastard who developed this curse isn’t normal either.’

And the abnormal bastard was lying under my feet. I looked down at the lich that had lived for centuries.

“Hey, they say that living long makes you desensitized to stimuli… Is that why you developed such a perverse spell?”

“…Ha.”

Skebal let out a scoff as he spoke.

“Be grateful I was not the one in that place; the entity there was no monster but a succubus, unlike me.”

His black eyes gleamed.

“The curse will eat you alive. It will devour your skin and make you spew black blood every night. You may look fine for now, but…”

“Ah, that?”

I clapped my hands in front of him. Ashen mana surged up over my palms. It was a very small amount, but that mana was unique.

Mana that devours curses.

I thrust the squirming mana in front of Skebal.

“…What?”

Skebal’s black eyes wavered.

“How can you, having not entered the realm of shadows, use the shadow that Death’s Blade employs…?”

“Well.”

I grinned.

“Seems it works just fine, huh?”

“Aaaah, aaaaahhhhh!”

His black eyes ignited.

There didn’t seem to be more information to be gathered, so I lifted my foot. Shadows fell over Skebal’s head.

Crack!

Skebal’s skull crumbled beneath my foot.

I heard the sound of the life vessel inside bursting splat.

“Ugh, how foul.”

I was glad I had worn combat boots.

I dragged the soles of my shoes along the ground to wipe away the slimy residue left behind. After cleaning it up haphazardly, I glanced around.

“…”

Hmm.

‘…Is it alright?’

I had acted recklessly, but now that it was over, the surroundings were a sight to behold.

“…It should be fine.”

Better than having all of Apuria blown away.

I shook my head in attempts to dismiss the idea and moved on.

Whatever happened, the situation was wrapped up for now.

The altar was stopped, Skebal was destroyed, and Resti, who was the medium, seemed safe as well.

The remaining task was cleanup, but aside from the chaos I had caused, it didn’t seem like the cleanup would be much of a problem.

The mana that had been simmering down dissipated after Skebal’s death.

The mana that was on the verge of exploding had already been consumed by the flames, so there shouldn’t be a risk of explosion.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s not half bad, right?’

Suddenly that thought crossed my mind.

There was no more neatly wrapped up ending than this.

‘The only potential trouble could come from Apuria…’

But that didn’t seem like it would pose much of a problem either.

Kalt was a competent knight. Even if informed just one day before, he handled things with no issues, so having been notified long before, he would have taken thorough precautions.

‘Right, even called for reinforcements.’

The moment I recalled that…

I momentarily halted my steps.

‘Reinforcements.’

I focused on the individual coming with those reinforcements. The only person that came to mind was one.

“You bastard.”

I muttered, leaning my head back.

Footsteps could be heard. They were getting closer.

“…Huh.”

It seemed I was a bit too late.

“…”

Slowly, I lowered my head. I looked ahead.

A figure was approaching from beyond the forest. I met his gaze; he was looking straight at me too.

His black hair caught my attention.

He wasn’t in armor. Knowing his body was sturdier than most armors, this was how he operated.

“Shit.”

A curse slipped through my lips.

‘I really didn’t want to meet him.’

Even though it had been a while since I’d seen him, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize him.

The sole survivor of the destroyed village.

The only friend I could call my hometown companion.

‘Hero, Kyle Toven.’

The bastard who had kicked me out of the Hero party was approaching me.

3.

The body given by the Star enables many possibilities.

The expansion of senses gained without training has long exceeded human limits.

Kyle squinted his eyes.

At the edge of his widely expanded vision, he caught sight of something. The devastated scenery of the forest.

Trees were uprooted and strewn across the ground.

The ground was deeply gouged, with traces of something being thrown and dragged along.

There were no traces of cuts from swords.

It was evidence that a gigantic beast had rampaged.

Not a warrior’s mark, nor that of a mage.

Kyle recognized those marks at a glance.

‘…As expected, that bastard has arrived.’

The Battle Mage.

This was a mark that only the one called by that name could leave. Recognizing the mark, Kyle frowned.

The situation had already reached its conclusion.

Kyle sheathed his holy sword.

Listening intently to the presence that remained in the forest, he began to move forward. The first thing he encountered was a girl leaning against a tree.

Dressed in a school uniform, she appeared to be a student from Apuria. She was likely the one selected as the medium.

“…”

In Kyle’s eyes, the robe the girl wore stood out.

It was the kind of robe the other had frequently worn. His certainty intensified. Somewhere in this forest, that person was present.

Kyle walked deeper into the forest.

As he went deeper, he got closer to the presence.

His footsteps slowed.

When it came to encountering someone he didn’t want to see, his pace always slowed. But he still wouldn’t turn back.

‘That would be even more humiliating.’

Eventually, his view cleared as the trees were no longer blocking it.

An open space in the forest without any trees.

Across that vacant spot, Kyle locked eyes with the figure standing across from him.

The first thing he noticed was the Ashen Hair.

Hair of the same as that person, but it was longer.

It was a strange sight.

Observing the strangeness, Kyle squinted his eyes.

The next thing that caught his gaze was the blue eyes.

Skin as white as snow, slender limbs came into view. When those eyes turned to him, Kyle realized.

It wasn’t that person.

Even after realizing that, Kyle didn’t stop. He moved as if being drawn in by something.

Thud, thud.

Crossing the open space, he approached the figure standing on the opposite side. Up close, the strangeness turned to certainty.

Thud.

Kyle stood before the figure.

Looking down, the figure was a woman. She had a resemblance to that person, yet the difference in gender was evident.

“…”

A girl who could rightly be called a woman.

She looked up at him. Her blue eyes, reminiscent of that person, gazed into his.

“You.”

Kyle opened his mouth.

“Who are you?”

“…”

The girl did not respond.

Instead of an answer, her brows furrowed. Her eyes narrowed. The emotion she plainly expressed was disgust.

A look of hatred.

That expression was unfamiliar to Kyle.

Kyle was a hero. A symbol of light. Wherever he went, he was met with cheers and envious gazes. For someone to direct such contempt at him, there had only ever been one person.

‘Raniel.’

For a moment, the images of the girl and that person overlapped.

But it only lasted for a moment.

Rustle.

Her hair fluttered in the breeze. The overlapping images shook as well. In the end, only the girl glaring at him remained.

Meeting that gaze, Kyle thought.

‘…She resembles her.’

Of course, their body shapes were different.

Only their eye color and hair color were alike. Even so, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of familiarity.

“Rani….”

Just as he was about to say the name…

The girl spoke.

“Get out of the way.”

The edge of her words was sharp.

Her eyes, staring straight at Kyle, were fierce. As if they contained venom, they were razor-sharp.

“Did you not hear me? I said get out of the way.”

Kyle silently looked down at her.

Unfounded hatred was unfamiliar to him.

Being met with such overt enmity, Kyle did not step aside. Instead, he took a step closer.

“Hah.”

The girl scoffed.

Then, without a word, she stepped to the side. It was as if she were saying she’ll turn back if he wouldn’t let her through.

Kyle reached out.

He grabbed the girl’s wrist as she attempted to step aside.

“…What the hell?”

“Wait.”

“Let go of me.”

“I have a question…”

“I told you to let go.”

“You….”

“I said let go, you bastard.”

Crack!

“….”

Kyle frowned.

He looked down. The girl’s foot was stomping on his toes. Despite her appearance, there was a surprising amount of force behind her leg.

“…I won’t take long to ask.”

Kyle ultimately released her wrist. The girl rubbed the red mark left on her wrist and glared at Kyle.

“Is it okay for a Hero to behave like this?”

A smirk danced on her lips.

Her piercing gaze was sharp. Kyle hesitated before continuing to speak.

“…So you recognize me as a Hero.”

“Am I blind? How could I not know that?”

The girl pointed to the holy sword strapped to Kyle’s waist. While there may be those who did not know Kyle’s face, there were none who did not know the holy sword.

“…I had no idea you’d show such animosity even after recognizing me as Hero. I apologize for my previous rudeness.”

“Apologize? You should kneel and do it.”

“I was taught that a head should be heavy.”

“Ugh.”

The girl pretended to retch, shaking her head.

“Do you think being a Hero is a title of nobility, you bastard?”

“It’s true that it’s a title. It comes with a position from the Royal Family.”

“Who asked?”

For some reason, Kyle found this exchange familiar, so he continued.

“I only have one question.”

He stared directly into the girl’s eyes as he asked.

“What is your name?”

“….”

“What is your name?”

The girl’s reply was short.

“Fuck off.”

She raised her hand.

Her fingers folded one by one.

“Why should I tell you?”

The remaining finger was her middle finger. She thrust that hand right in front of Kyle’s face.

“….”

For a moment, Kyle found himself at a loss for words.

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