Chapter 80: VS Brainwashing Hero
“Things have gotten serious now. Prepare yourself, Jin”
He follows Jin outside, who got thrown outside, by breaking the entrance door.
Even though he is not suited for battle, he is still a Hero. As expected, he had repositioned himself and pulled out his sword.
“Good grief. …… I was pretty confident I could talk you out of it”
“I hope you don’t take me so lightly. I can’t be in the company of a man who is in cohort with demons and criminals”
“Hmmm…”
“Here we go”
The two begin a sword fight. Since both were skilled with swords, they struck each other skillfully.
However, since Shion is still superior in terms of ability, Jin gradually becomes defensive.
“Oof, heavy. Among the others that I’ve fought, you’re definitely top class”
“Surrender. If you admit all your sins, I will not take your life”
“That’s basically the same!”
“Hrm”
Jin uses a smoke ball, an object that produces smoke upon impact. Smoke spreads from the ground, making it impossible to see.
In a situation like this, it is better not to move unnecessarily. Knowing from experience, Shion closed his eyes and waits for the enemy to come out.
The attack didn’t come.
Instead, from a distance came the sound of a dog whistle.
“That’s the idea, huh?”
Shion used wind magic to clear the smoke. Sure enough, Jin is on the roof and shows no sign of attacking.
“Groooaaaooogh… Graaaaaaaaaaagh”
Residents rush into Shion, drooling all over the place.
“Even though the bell is broken, it’s quite hard to completely break the brainwash huh…”
“It’ll stay that way for a few more hours”
The number is still about two or three dozen. Shion wants to make a move before there are more. Shion used [Black Hand], and dark arms start to rise from underground.
This will catch the inhabitants. Those who have dodged it have no choice but to beat them up.
But they do not faint easily.
“Normally, this would knock them out”
“Hah, those who have been brainwashed by me won’t go down so easily. You have to kill them. Why don’t you try killing them?”
“I’m not gonna do it”
“They won’t do anything for you anyway. At first, they are grateful to the heroes, but as they keep getting saved, they become more and more arrogant. They are not afraid to ask why you didn’t come to their aid earlier. You’ve experienced it before, haven’t you?”
There are certainly many such experiences. Shion threw one of the residents off and let the black hand grab himself.
“What are you doing?”
“Easy. They’ll throw me to you”
Black Hand’s arm strength is such that he can easily cross fists with the famously monstrous ogre. But throwing someone with it is unheard of.
Shion flies in at a tremendous speed, and Jin hurriedly tries to respond.
But he didn’t make it.
“Ergh…”
He got hit on his neck and fell to his knees. It was not shallow. He had been wounded in the carotid artery.
Landing on the roof, Shion goes to chase him, but a few brainwashed people do their best to get in the way.
“Be quiet for a sec”
While he dropped them off the roof, Jin healed the wounds with the finest ointment.
“It was close. You’re clearly not someone I can hope to win fairly”
“I won’t let you get away with it, but feel free to challenge me”
“Nope, I won’t. First things first…”
Jin snaps his fingers, and a man on the street below uses magic. A sphere of light rises high and illuminates the surroundings.
Where there is light, there are shadows - and there should be shadows - but all shadows disappear from the surroundings.
“… A spell to counter Dark Magic huh?”
“It is. Dark Magic users are very annoying, especially when they move through shadows. That one can easily get them behind you or get close to you”
One of the residents uses light magic, which is said to be a countermeasure against dark magic.
Not everything can be countered, but it will be impossible to hide or move in the shadows.
One by one, the residents gathered to form a formation that protected the caster.
“You said it earlier. You’re good at brainwashing muscleheads, but not those skilled in magic and the like”
“You’ve seen through. Yes, I won’t be able to keep it for long. But that’s okay. We are ready to win. Let’s have one last negotiation”
Jin says these heartbreaking words with eyes that have lost their hostility.
“You and I are together. You too have lost loved ones in the past. Wouldn’t you like to get Marie back?”
“……The dead don’t come back”
“It is the providence of the past. Come with me and you will regain the world you have lost. Shion Axe, this is the turning point of your life”
He must’ve researched Marie’s case. Even though it is ‘Axe’ that is famous in the world, ‘Shion’ was also known from the beginning.
In the position of a Hero, there should be many collaborators. It is not difficult.
Do the dead really come back? Jin speaks as if he sees through such hesitation on Shion.
“Don’t you want to apologize to Marie? I don’t know about you, but she wants to live again. With you”
“Stop it!”
“Why do you want me to stop? Because there is still regret in your heart. Because it’s traumatic. I know. I know, because I’m …… like that too. You should no longer live as a Hero but as yourself”
He knows in the deepest part of his heart. he knows that he should not listen to the words of a man who has done many evil deeds.
But Shion is human, too, and he can’t get Marie’s smile out of his mind.
“Huh?”
That’s what he’s been aiming for. The next thing Shion knew, there were residents on the roof.
One man has stone on both of his hands and smacks them together.
“FU——”
At the same time that Shion shouts this, an explosion occurs and he is blown away.
He fell off the roof back to the ground.
“…Explosion…Stone… huh”
Explosion stones are often found in certain areas. It is a stone that contains magic power and becomes like that when it is impacted.
Even the mighty Shion would receive not-so-slight wounds if exploded at close range. His forehead is bleeding and his body feels heavy.
“You rotten Hero…”
He is outraged because the dead body of the man who used the stone has fallen nearby.
“If you win, even evil becomes righteous. That’s the way this world works”
Jin jumps off the roof and swings his sword. Shion rolls and narrowly avoids it.
But there was another resident there with the stone. This time it was a young woman.
He tried to move away as quickly as he could, but he couldn’t get out of there in time. The impact sends him flying again.
Is this what he was aiming for when he used light magic earlier? Shion, though dizzy, dodged the tip of Jin’s sword as it flew to his heart.
“I’m not gonna let you go”
A spinning kick strikes Shion in the side of the head. A series of attacks prevent him from recovering.
“Guh…”
He saw an opening and he takes a big step and leaves Jin. Shion feels uncomfortable that he is not following.
“I heard that you were robbed of your power by another Hero. And yet, you make it this far. You really were a great hero. Farewell!”
That’s a parting message.
Behind him, another man with the stone was creeping up. This time, he was in danger.
It’s tough just to take it, but after that, Jin will surely come to finish him off.
He saw defeat. An explosion occurs. A bright white hair appeared on the front of Shion’s body.
The sound is like breaking an eardrum. But there is no pain in Shion’s body. Naturally, his fluffy tail protects him after all.
“Haku…! You… came…!”
‘Mufufufu! Coming just right in time to rescue my partner while he’s in a trouble! Am I kinda cool yet?’
“ ‘Kinda’ is an understatement. You’re so blindingly cool!”
‘Yahoo— desu!’
Haku is smiling and excited, and Shion looks at him with a look of relief. Even though they were in the middle of a deathmatch, the mood was clearly relaxed.
“……Abarth was beaten? I’m sure we’ve made every preparation to take that fox down. ……”
‘Yes - it was quite a struggle! Some people seemed to specialize in hunting magical beasts. But I’m used to people like that after all ……’
Having lived for over three hundred years, Haku had many experiences.
When this happens, the flow changes drastically. There are still many minions of Jin, but Haku is more than a hundred times stronger.
“Haku, do something about that light magic user”
‘Certainly!’
Zap! He moves his huge body lightly and rushes forward. He approaches the light magic user, fending off those who are guarding him.
‘You need a little sleep’
He swishes his tail and slams it against the wall of the building with him. This knocks the opponent unconscious and the shadows return to the world.
“You don’t see that level of magical beast very often. So… the monster class Hero got a monster attached to it”
“Rest assured. You’re still dealing with me”
“In this situation, do you still think you have a better chance of winning than I do? ……”
You won’t escape. Shion creates the [Five Lost Swords of Darkness]. He approaches and swings the sword of darkness.
Of course, Jin tried to guard against it with his sword, but it slipped through and slashed his flesh.
“Guh! Special attack?”
Jin hurriedly backs away and secures his distance. He tilted his head to see that there was no wound at the point where he was cut.
“It’s probably a technique you don’t see very often. I don’t really want to use it because the magic consumption is outrageous”
“…… What are the effects?”
“Your eyes and ears are still working? I hope I didn’t miss”
“You won’t tell me, will you?”
CLANG——
Jin’s sword falls to the ground.
As he hurried to pick it up, his face changed color, as if he had learned something unusual.
“My senses are off…”
“Looks like you lost your sense of touch”
The [Five Lost Swords of Darkness] originally temporarily take away the five senses of the person they slashed. But now, in its incomplete state, it randomly takes away one of the senses.
If it’s smell or taste, it’s off the hook. During a battle, they have little or no effect, even if they don’t work.
What about the sense of touch then?
This has a tremendous impact, especially in close combat.
Naturally, Shion boldly sets out to win the match.
With a single sideways swing, he flicks the sword Jin was holding far away.
“…… I didn’t even feel like I was holding it”
“Don’t let your grip get too weak or, conversely, too strong. It would be tricky for someone who has lost the sense of touch, as it is the first sense to develop in the human body”
“If I couldn’t win a fight with the bare minimum, I didn’t stand a chance, did I?”
“Last question. Where is Mei’s grandfather?”
“Do you think if I answer you, you’ll help me?”
“I won’t help you either way”
“As expected. They should be in Olivina by now. I’m not going to be any nicer to you, Shion”
“Thanks”
He did his best to cut JIn, at least to avoid causing them unnecessary suffering.
As soon as he is out of his adrenaline, he loses his strength and Shion almost falls backward.
Pomf— He was supported on his back by something that felt stable. It was Haku, who had already finished his work.
“Sorry, this time was a bit of a mess”
‘As one would expect, a Hero with a lot of experience is very strong’
“I guess I’ll have to fight stronger guys from now on”
‘Now, now… you need to get some rest…’
Taking Haku at his word, Shion took a short break.
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