Chapter 309 - The Hero Party

Kretos looked at the human hero who kept on surprising him with interest. This hero was quite the character, talking to a demon lord without wanting to fight, and then he proceeds to keep on bugging said demon lord with requests. 

"Now, why should I take a human who's a part of the Sliral Kingdom with me?" 

"I want to see with my own eyes if you're telling the truth or not. If you take me with you, I will give you this in exchange." Sora summoned a dark red sword that was two meters long and was slightly curved. The sword looked ferocious as it was emitting a violent aura. This was a sword Sora gained after adventuring to an area called the forgotten lands. This sword was a rank lower than his black Masamune Sword which was granted to him by the Spirit Ruler of Darkness. But even so, it was still regarded as a legendary sword. 

"A sword? Hmm, it does look like a good sword... Well, I guess taking you with me isn't really a problem." 

"Thank you, demon lord Kretos. Here, as promised you can have Scarlet Rage." As Sora was about to hand over the Crimson Sword to Kretos someone intervened. 

"What are you doing Hero Sora!" Niel shouted at the distance. 

"Are you colluding with a demon?" Night shouted as well while dashing at full speed towards Sora and Kretos. 

Jeter was also frowning as he watched Sora trying to pass on the sword Scarlet Rage to an unknown demon. 

'Should I use the control spell now?' While Jeter was deciding what to do, Jason who was at the rear spotted Kretos. The moment he laid eyes on Kretos he halted. Jason couldn't understand it but his instincts that he was honed by experiencing wars and multiple life and death battles were telling him that Kretos was extremely dangerous. 

Seeing the incoming humans Kretos frowned as they were sending killing intent his way. Sensing that Kretos was about to strike Sora shouted at his four companions. 

"Stop!" 

Niel and Night who were already near stopped in front Sora. Even though they were furious that Sora would collude with a demon, they also wanted to believe in Sora. They had been Sora's companions for nearly a year now and they got to know this easy-going and silly guy very well. He was easy to get along with and his sense of justice was something Niel and Night both admired. 

"Did you guys know?" Sora asked, making both Niel and Night look at him in confusion. 

"Did we know what? I don't understand what you're saying, will deal with that later, how about explaining why you're giving the Scarlet Rage to a demon?!" Niel shouted at Sora while pointing at Kretos. 

"Did you guys know about the Sliral Kingdom's army invading the demon lands?!" When Niel heard what Sora said he looked surprised, on the other hand, Night frowned. "So that's what he was planning..." Night mumbled to himself. 

Jeter who was a few steps away heard what Sora asked and was getting impatient. If he used the control spell now before meeting Demon Lord Kretos, he might reach the time limit of the spell before they meet the said demon lord. 

On the other hand, Jason was silent and unmoving, he couldn't even open his mouth as fear was slowly encroaching him. No one in his group had noticed his weird behavior as he was at the rear and they were busy talking to each other. 

"The army invading the demon lands? Is that what that demon this demon is telling you? It's obviously a-" Niel was about to say it's obviously a lie, but then he remembered the weird movements that were happening in Touma City. It's easy to say that they placed all those soldiers to defend the city, but making the same amount of soldiers start an invasion was also possible. 

Seeing the reactions of his two companions Sora nodded his head and sighed in relief in his mind. Throughout his journey in this other world, he had grown fond of Niel, Night, and Jason. As for Jeter even now he still couldn't trust him. 

The aggressive and hearty mercenary Niel was always the mood maker in the group. He was like the older brother he never had. Night was the edgy quiet type character, which Sora found to be quite entertaining. Jason was like the father of the group who offered a lot of worldly wisdom. 

"I see, so the two of you didn't know about it as well. Then what about you, Jeter. You're the court mage of the kingdom surely you knew about it." Jeter who finally arrived in front of Sora smiled shrewdly. 

"Dear Hero, I don't know what you're talking about. The army hasn't left Touma City and it will continue to stay there in defense of our beloved Sliral Kingdom." 

"Then are you telling me he's lying. He has no reason to lie to me. You on the other hand, ever since I met you have been full of lies." 

Jeter looked at Sora as if he was hurt by Sora's words. Jeter then responded in a tone that made him sound pitiful. 

"That hurts dear hero. I have been with you since you have arrived in this world. I have accompanied you in all your dangerous endeavors. I cannot remember lying to you, and even if I did surely it was because it was in your best interest. As for that demon who we don't know where he came from, you shouldn't believe his words at all, since demons are known to be beings of deceit."

Kretos silently listened to the humans' conversation and found the old human called Jeter to be quite amusing.

'That human is the same as Darius in some aspects, but his leagues below Darius from his schemes to his strength.'

"So you're telling me that you know nothing about the invading army." 

"I'm not even convinced that there is an invading army."

"If that's true, then you wouldn't mind swearing to Goddess of Justice that what you have said is the truth." 

When Jeter heard what Sora said, he was perturbed but he didn't show it in his face as he continued to smile. 

"Of course I'm willing to swear to the Goddess of Justice, only if the demon does the same thing." Hearing what Jeter said the group looked at Kretos. 

"Huh, why should I do that?" Kretos looked at Jeter as if he was looking at a clown. Seeing the look of contempt on Kretos's face infuriated Jeter, but for now, he needed to keep his anger in check. Once he was done convincing Sora and the others he would make sure to kill this arrogant demon. 

"See unlike me he isn't willing to do it. It's obvious now that he is the one lying." 

When Sora heard what Jeter said he frowned. He cannot prove what Kretos was saying was the truth nor can he prove that what Jeter saying was the lie. Niel and Night looked at Sora waiting for his decision. 

"If both of you don't want to swear to the Goddess of Justice. Then how about we head to the Canyon and see if the army is really there."

"We cannot delay our mission for some rumor spoken by a demon. The longer we take to finish our mission the more lives will be lost. Are you willing to sacrifice the lives of the innocent and believe in what this demon has said?" Jeter spoke with a passion, trying to convince Sora and the others. 

"I will go and see if what the demon said is true or not. Seeing as I'm the second-fastest in the group, I can go to the Canyon and meet up with you guys at the demon lord's castle." Night suddenly spoke. 

"You cannot do that!" Jeter shouted, the moment he did so, he knew that he made a mistake. The group now looked at Jeter weirdly.

"Why can't I do that?" Night asked. 

"We all need to be there to support Sora while facing the demon lord. What if something happens and we meet the demon lord before you're able to meet us, what then?" 

"Even though I believe in my strength, I know for a fact that once we face the demon lord aside from Sora we won't be able to do anything. So it doesn't really matter if I'm there or not, surely you know that Court Mage. Though I hate to admit it, the truth is for a while now we have been nothing more than decorations. Sora has long past the level were he needs companions like us." 

Seeing that the situation was no longer in his favor, Jeter gritted his teeth and glared at Kretos for a second before calming down. Jeter sighed as he looked at Sora. 

"I didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice." When Jeter said this, Jason who was immobilized the entire conversation suddenly moved. Even though he felt Kretos was a threat, it doesn't seem like he was going to do anything, on the other hand, Jason could feel Jeter was about to do something bad. So without any hesitation, Jason pounced at Jeter and was about to knock out the Court Mage, but before his fist could reach Jeter's head, Jason's body stopped moving. 

Not only Jason but the whole hero party was unable to move. Even Sora who was supposed to be highly resistant to curses and debuffs wasn't able to do anything. As the group was confused as to what happened, they heard Jeter's sigh. 

"I didn't want to use this spell before meeting demon lord Kretos but you guys forced me."