Chapter 8: The Demon King is Gone, So What's The Hero For?

It's over.

The instant the panties vanished from her hand, Alice immediately had a sinking feeling. The panties she lost this time didn't belong to her, but Zauna instead. Now that she had activated Gaia's Power, Zauna's bear panties would probably vanish without a trace, just like her white panties.

Unfortunately, the skill activation would not stop just because Alice wished for it. Hence, Alice could only awkwardly watch as the bear panties transformed into a streak of golden light that shot into the sky. Then, the beam transformed into a huge curtain of light that descended from the sky and shrouded the forest in front of Alice, crushing innumerable trees into pieces.

Alongside the trees, the curtain of light had also crushed the wolf king standing in front of Alice into a pancake. Moreover, the light curtain appeared to have mass as no blood splatters had occurred. The curtain had simply flattened and killed the wolf king on the spot.

Alice felt a little heartache at this sight. Now that the wolf king's corpse had been turned into such a state, there was no way she could use it as a weapon. This was a huge loss. After all, even as a corpse, the wolf king should be a much better weapon compared to the Milu Rabbit.

However, compared to Alice, Zauna had a completely different perspective of this situation. She had just regained consciousness and had yet to notice that her panties were no longer attached to her body. And because she had yet to recover her stamina and mana, so she had to struggle to even sit up. Meanwhile, as soon as she sat up and lifted her head, the first thing she saw was the spectacular scene before her—a gigantic curtain of light had flattened the entire forest in front of her, and even the wolf king that had been hunting them had been turned into a sheet of paper. Meanwhile, Alice, who stood before this curtain of light, had an unexpectedly holy appearance.

"Gulp," Zauna anxiously swallowed her saliva as she suddenly realized something—the forest located some distance away from Alice's previous campsite had similarly been destroyed and flattened.

Initially, Zauna had not linked the strange phenomenon with Alice. However, after seeing this sight in front of her, Zauna was almost certain that the disappearance of the forest was Alice's doing. Moreover, this majestic power definitely wasn't something an ordinary magician was capable of. Rather, this power was already on the level of Gods.

If Alice could hear Zauna's thoughts right now, she would agree with the apprentice magician on a certain level. After all, the skill she activated was named Gaia's Power. Meanwhile, Gaia referred to Mother Goddess. So, it wasn't wrong to say that the curtain of light was the power of a God. Only, the price to use Gaia's Power was a little steep, requiring the sacrifice of a pair of bear panties.

However, Gaia's Power's effect still hadn't ended. After the golden light crushed everything in front of Alice, the silhouette of a gigantic mountain gradually phased into reality, just like how water vapor gradually condensed into water. Eventually, a corporeal, gigantic mountain had replaced the destroyed forest.

The Gryffin Kingdom and the Ymir Kingdom originally already had the Laja Mountain Range separating them. Now, Alice had given the two kingdoms another mountain.

At this point, Zauna had already become thoroughly dumbfounded. In this current age, most magicians belonged to the research faction, and these magicians mainly studied ways to incorporate magic into a variety of daily life products. Magicians that were proficient at combat only existed in small numbers. However, even the principal of the Magic Academy, the strongest magician she knew of, was incapable of flattening a large section of the Gryffin Forest and creating a mountain out of thin air.

Alice was also a little dazed as she didn't think that the curtain of light would transform into an entire mountain. Moreover, as she happened to serve as the boundary for the light curtain, the spot she stood at had become the foot of the mountain after this mountain appeared. So, she could tell that the mountain was very much real and very much massive. This realization, in turn, filled her with complicated feelings.

However, Alice quickly shook her head and cleared her mind of useless thoughts. Disregarding the aftermath of using Gaia's Power, the skill had, at the very least, removed the wolf king's threat. Then, Alice turned around and looked toward Zauna, which caused the apprentice magician to subconsciously shudder.

Previously, Zauna had still been treating Alice as an ordinary human. However, if she still maintained her line of thought after seeing what just happened, she definitely needed to get her head checked.

"Are you alright, Zauna?" Alice approached Zauna and offered her a hand.

When Zauna looked at Alice's petite and untrained arm, she couldn't help but hesitate. However, she eventually chose to grab Alice's hand and let the other party pull her up. Although her body felt sore all over, she didn't sustain any serious injuries. The worst injuries she suffered were some minor burns, and these could be easily resolved by visiting the church for healing. She also had medical insurance, so the healing fee wouldn't cost her a lot of money. Compared to her injuries, Zauna was more curious about Alice's true identity.

"Alice, could you be the Hero?"

Following this question, Zauna and Alice stared at each other in silence for a while. Alice remained silent because she didn't know how she should explain the matter of her stripping Zauna of her bear panties, while Zauna remained silent because she had focused all her attention on Alice's true identity. It was also because of her concentration that she still hadn't noticed the breezy feeling of her lower body.

After hesitating for a moment, Zauna voiced her conjectures to Alice, saying, "The power you used is similar to the power granted by the Gods. I recall legends saying that Heroes are individuals who have received the blessing of the Gods and are capable of communicating with Gods."

"Hero?" Alice was stunned. She also felt that she had found the reason why she had transmigrated to this world. In the transmigration novels she had read, there were many instances of Earthlings being summoned to save another world. If that was the case, it would make sense why she had suddenly appeared in this world. Then, she asked, "Could there be a Demon King in this world?"

The way Alice phrased her question sounded strange, making it seem like she wasn't an inhabitant of this world. However, considering that Alice was an "amnesiac," Zauna didn't delve too deeply into the matter. Instead, she shook her head and answered, "Demon Kings exist, but the last Demon King already died three hundred years ago."

Then, what's the point even if I am the Hero?!

Alice wanted to yell out her retort but eventually held back from doing so. In reality, she, too, felt that she wasn't a Hero. After all, according to Zauna, a Hero was someone capable of communicating with Gods. However, Alice had already lived in this world for half a month, yet she hadn't even heard a peep from any God. The two mind-blowing skills she had used thus far also originated from her ability, and they had nothing to do with Gods.

So, Alice shook her head and said, "In that case, I shouldn't be the Hero. I don't recall talking with any God before."

"Is that so?" Zauna looked at Alice suspiciously. If Alice wasn't a Hero, how would she explain the miraculous phenomenon just now? However, although Zauna wanted to keep on questioning Alice, she felt that it would be rude to do so since the two of them weren't well-acquainted with each other. So, she held back her curiosity and helplessly said, "Alright, then. If you say so. Anyway, let's head back to the city first. If you really are the Hero, the people from the church should be able to tell."

After saying so, Zauna turned around and prepared to resume escorting Alice out of the Gryffin Forest.

Meanwhile, Alice sighed in relief when she saw that Zauna did not plan to continue asking her about Gaia's Power. The fact that Zauna didn't continue prying into the matter despite her curiosity also showed that she was a person capable of considering the feelings of others.

However, before Alice could finish her sigh, Zauna suddenly stopped walking and reached out to feel the bottom part of her robe.

"...Where's my underwear?"

Alice's body stiffened, not daring to say even a word.