NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
After Droniel left the village, the Village Chief focused on the festival with the townsfolk.
“Hero! Hero! Hero!”
Everyone raising a toast for Lucius praised his usual conduct.
“The best hunter in the village.”
A friend who lives each day to the fullest until the world collapses.
So good-hearted that even if a thief broke into his home, he would sit the thief down and tell him not to steal.
As the Village Chief who knew the truth about Lucius, he couldn’t exactly affirm or deny their words.
He held a bad connection to Lucius and survived thanks to the witch.
‘I should speak well when people come later.’
The Holy Sword that was embedded in the Village of the Holy Sword was proven to be genuine.
Those who sensed its immense power would soon rush here, and the Village Chief would have to explain the circumstances that awakened the Holy Sword.
Perhaps that was the reason the witch, Sorceress of Crimson Lotus, saved him.
The Village Chief raised his glass again in gratitude to the witch.
And then—
Bong, bong, bong, bong—
The distant sound of a bell made the Village Chief and the townspeople all tremble in fear.
“W-what’s going on?!”
“A monster attack…?”
“W-what on earth is happening?!”
The villagers fell into panic in an instant.
Even the oldest Village Chief had never seen anyone attack this village, but being attacked twice in such a short period was unprecedented.
“Could it be that the awakening of the Holy Sword has brought the Demon King’s army…?”
“You fool! The hero has left! Why would they attack the village?!”
“F-first, let’s run away! If we stay here…”
Heehee—ing.
They heard the sound of horses galloping from afar.
Ghostly horses charged in, swiftly encircling the villagers.
“Y-yes?!”
“Death Knight…?!”
Death Knight.
Those riding the ghostly horses were demons that wouldn’t seem out of place even being labeled as ‘goblins.’
Among the knights, only those who had learned Aura could become Death Knights after dying, so their power could easily devastate a village.
And there were a staggering 20 Death Knights charging in.
They surrounded the villagers, ensuring none could escape, waiting for someone to arrive.
Step, step.
[Who is the representative of this village?]
A skeleton knight approached from afar.
Unlike other Death Knights, this skeleton knight didn’t wear a helmet, exposing his skull while clad in a pitch-black robe, standing before the Village Chief with a sword and shield.
[It’s you.]
“O-oh…”
The Village Chief’s lips dried at the red aura flowing from the skeleton knight’s eyes.
It felt like that skeleton knight could sever his head with the sword at any moment, and he prostrated himself on the ground.
“I-I am the Village Chief!”
[Where is the hero?]
“T-the hero is….”
It would be foolish not to realize.
They were here to kill the Hero of the Holy Sword.
“Village Chief…!”
The villagers shook their heads or shot intense gazes at the Village Chief.
Don’t say it.
It was a strong gaze that wished to protect Lucius.
“The hero has left!!”
Yet the Village Chief spoke up.
“W-we don’t know where he went! He just said he would seal the Demon King….”
[Is that so.]
The skeleton knight sheathed his sword into the shield.
[Then we have no further business here.]
Bang—!
He pulled out a shotgun and pulled the trigger towards the Village Chief’s head.
Boom.
The Village Chief’s head was blown off.
The villagers screamed at the fountain of blood gushing from the Chief’s neck….
Tat tat tat tat tat tat.
Soon, all were slaughtered by the volley of gunfire unleashed by the Death Knights.
[The only reason we didn’t attack this village was due to the potential for the Holy Sword’s awakening.]
After wiping the Village Chief’s blood from his robe, the skeleton knight trampled over the Chief’s corpse.
[Thanks to the foolish goblins allowing the Holy Sword to awaken, the power balance of the continent will now flip. Damn it.]
[Master Knight, we must retreat.]
[Why?]
[The Order of the Goddess is coming.]
[Always late.]
As the skeleton knight snapped his fingers, a massive red ghostly horse appeared before him.
[Go report to the Demon Lord. We’ve killed all the humans in the Village of the Holy Sword.]
[Understood. But Master, what about that one human at the outskirts…?]
[Hmm.]
The skeleton knight spotted a young man trembling and hiding in a hunter’s house at the edge of the village.
He was gigantic, but witnessing the slaughter of the villagers, the young man was cowering in fear, prompting the skeleton knight to twist his jaw.
[Not even worth killing.]
[Isn’t that dangerous?]
[Dangerous? The Demon Lord won’t be mad for leaving one like him alive. And it’s too late now. Look.]
The skeleton knight pulled on the reins.
Beyond the forest.
A golden mass was rushing toward the place where the Death Knights were.
[It’s the Order. If we kill that human now, we’ll be caught.]
[Sorry for finding out late, Master.]
[No. We should be grateful we killed everyone except for this one guy. That means….]
Heehee—ing.
[The Hero will be angry and start killing all the other demons. Let’s go!]
Mission accomplished.
The Death Knights quickly departed, and soon the Order of the Goddess arrived in the village.
“…How could this happen?”
“It’s as if they were waiting for this… Gah.”
“…It’s because of me.”
The Saintess, Yan Diere, began biting her hands.
“I… delayed the time…?”
“Saintess! There’s one person still alive here!!”
The Village of the Holy Sword.
Unknown demons attacked, leading to total annihilation.
Only one person survived the scene.
*
“Welcome to Normans. A city of freedom, adventure, and romance.”
As soon as the guards of Normans saw me show my brooch, they welcomed us.
Thanks to that, I didn’t have to go through the annoying procedures of asking where we came from, our travel purpose, or where I got the brooch.
“Master, what’s that brooch…?”
“It’s both the symbol of the Order and like a pass. I owe it to Liriez.”
“…Liriez, the Captain of the Holy Knight Order of the Order of the Crescent Moon Goddess, right?”
“Yes.”
There’s no way the knight who escorts the Saintess isn’t the Captain of the Holy Knight Order.
“Why? Are you afraid of losing?”
“…I feel I still lack in skill a lot. That person looked at me down a notch.”
“That’s true. Such ‘warriors’ judge people mainly by their swordsmanship.”
What about Lucius right now?
Just a fit village youth A, a hunter A, nothing more.
“So you see, what matters most is the visible aspect. Look at that. How does it look?”
“…He looks strong.”
I pointed at a full-plate man walking toward the Adventurer Guild.
He had a deep wound on one eye, glaring at the Adventurer Guild menacingly, and the great sword on his back flaunted his strength everywhere.
“Exactly, guys like that generally possess basic strength.”
“Do you prefer muscular individuals, Master?”
“I prefer a sturdy physique over a slender one.”
In the past, only those with a good basic physique were accepted into the Demon King’s army.
Physically weak or lacking individuals had to undergo a period of physical training before being accepted into the Demon King’s army, and if they didn’t pass, they were assigned support roles at the rear instead.
“A healthy body houses a healthy mind. The healthier the body, the clearer the thoughts.”
“I see… I will try hard.”
“What? You’re saying you’ll try harder from there? No, forget it, Arthur. …Gah.”
Arthur, Lucius.
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“It’s nothing. By the way, Lucius, what’s your name?”
“Name…?”
“Yeah. Is Arthur your name, or is Lucius your name?”
Arthur Lucius.
It’s a little ambiguous to claim one as the surname.
His name felt like it was two names stuck together.
“Both are my names. The one who raised me said that one name was written on the basket I was in.”
“Which one?”
“…I don’t know. They didn’t tell me.”
“So one is from your real father, and the other is from your foster father? Having two names must be nice.”
“…….”
Arthur blinked blankly at me.
“Why?”
“…I’ve never thought of it that way. Well, I suppose it’s because I was abandoned….”
“If you were really just abandoned, they wouldn’t even have given you a name correctly.”
These aren’t ordinary names, whether it’s Arthur or Lucius.
“‘Jean Vierge Nandes’ is lesser compared to ‘Arthur Lucius.’ Isn’t it?”
“…Is there a name like that?”
“There is.”
500 years ago, that was the name of the Necromancer who summoned me.
He tried to take me down, so I fought at full power and killed him to take his body.
“Names are really important. It’s so important that when demons in the Demon World make contracts with humans in the Intermediate Realm, they summon them by name.”
“R-really?”
“Of course. Do you know how important this is? When demons get summoned by their ‘true name,’ they can’t move at all. For example….”
Who should I pick.
With someone widely known in the Intermediate Realm….
“Succubus Queen, Monarch of Nightmares, Lord of Lust. You know them?”
“…I think you’re the only one who calls the Seven Great Demon Lords by their aliases so easily.”
“Because I always win.”
I always win without fail against the Succubus Queen.
“However, just summoning by such aliases is merely summoning. But if it’s a true name summon? Then any demon becomes a slave.”
“I see… And what about the Great Demon Lord…?”
“Bel Pe—”
Lucius covered my mouth with his hand like lightning.
“Master…!!”
“…Sigh, hey.”
I kicked Lucius on the shin.
“Who do you think you are, touching someone else’s body so carelessly?”
“I-I’m sorry, cough, forgive me…. But still, that name…!”
“Sigh. Why are you so scared? In any case, if they are summoned by name, they can’t do a thing.”
“U-then if the Great Demon Lord is summoned by true name…?”
“It’s simple.”
I made a gesture of choking my neck with my hand.
“The Great Demon Lord also becomes a slave to the summoner.”