Chapter 180

180 – The Tenth Stratum – The Realm of Demons and The Awakened Interceptors 13 / Azure Heart

The battle with this Monster called Bennu was extremely fierce.

「Haah…haah…」

Avatars have no sense of pain, but they do have sensations. There’s no pain, but there is damage, and even if there is no sense of exhaustion, you become exhausted. It reproduces the act of breathing air in and out even though the body does not expend oxygen, and the heart pumps Magical Energy throughout the body in place of blood.

Therefore, when you exercise in a way that would make your real body out of breath, you would be out of breath in your Avatar. Similarly, if you are excited or agitated, your breathing will be disrupted.

What is with this guy? He’s way too strong.

「Out of breath, lad?」

He can read the movement of my Wind Blades, and he’s too fast for me to catch with Air Box.

The sweltering heat from his side is making my Avatar sweat buckets.

His speed and magic control in midair battles makes Wind Magic users look slow.

He’s got Fire Magic that not even Water Magic can extinguish.

The more I fight, the clearer it becomes. Just how overwhelming the amount of Magical Energy he has is.

I don’t particularly think of myself as the strongest at the current time.

But I do think that there are few who I can fight one-on-one with and lose.

Even so, this guy…

「Are you perhaps lacking Magical Energy?」

That’s definitely true. At my age, there are limits to training my Magical Energy organ. When I was chasing after Aerial, and when I fought with that Mermaid lady, I used too much Magical Energy.

「Why do you not borrow power from your Spirit?」

「…Don’t watch TV much, do ya? I declared to the world that I won’t use it.」

「…How foolish.」

「Even if it is, I made it this far.」

「Hmph.」

Bennu disappeared.

No-he’s behind!

I turn around and release a Wind Blade.

It cuts his body in two.

…Huh?

In the fight so far, he’s been able to handle this level of counter-attacks.

For it to end so anti-climatically… The hell?

What’s happening?

Bennu’s split in half body crumbled and scatte…no it didn’t.

On the contrary, his cross-section was made up of flames. It’s as if he is a flame that is in the shape of a person.

「Why do you think that you were able to make it this far?」

He grabbed me by the neck with his hand.

His two halves stuck back together, as good as new.

The hell is this guy? Isn’t he a Majin? Or was that Hell Magic?

I immediately extended a blade of wind on my arm and cut off his arm. But just as before, it immediately restores itself.

Since his body is made of flames, I can’t kill him the normal way?!

「Gck.」

Our midair battle was unfolding, and thanks to Aerial’s Sky Garden, there is no interference.

Each and every block has been tinkered in a way that the entrance and exit lead back within itself.

No one can interfere with our fight, and neither of us can help our allies.

「Look at her.」

Instead of burning me, Bennu starts talking for some reason.

But his grip on my neck is considerable, and I can’t escape with my arm strength alone.

However, what should I do against a foe that immediately restores itself even after being sliced by a Wind Blade?

The person he’s pointing at…is Fran.

「That girl is doing everything she can to come to your aid. No matter how far ahead you go, she tries to follow behind and be with you. Look.」

Fran is a Destroyer.

There is no reason. It is a Job that is given to strong creatures.

Her huge right arm is only part of her. She’s strong even without it.

Even while it’s many against one, the number of Elementary Level –  Beginner’s Dungeon Monsters has reduced drastically.

Ah…but, she’s already…

Her body was trembling. thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk. Her body jerked like it was pushed by something.

It was due to the four arrows shot by the Centaur archer in quick succession. Orobas. I saw her in the Tag Tournament.

The Orc with one of his arms severed…Ronove, I think he said his name was, he praised Fran, saying「You fought well.」.

Fran turned her head in my direction.

When she saw the state I was in, her eyes went wide and she tried to run towards me.

But she failed… Her Avatar lost too much Magical Energy from her wounds.

She fell over and hit her face. Even so, she crawls towards my direction with just her broken and battered left arm. Despite there still being enemies remaining, she turns her back on them.

「I don’t care what your goals are. But your ally is betting her all to ensure that you are victorious, yet here you are joking around about not using a power that you have. This is a plain and simple fact.」

Fran wasn’t able to crawl for long.

The Monsters of the Elementary Level –  Beginner’s Dungeon, who had lost many of their allies to Fran during their fierce battle up till then, have all diverted their eyes. They didn’t lose interest. They just didn’t need to anymore.

「Wrai…th…」　

Muttering that as her final words, Fran’s body turns into Magical Energy particles and scatters.

Fran and I are childhood friends. Our parents were close, so we’ve been together since we were very little.

Fran was born with that right arm. Her parents are good people who love their daughter, but at the same time, they are also regular people who possess regular emotions. It would be odd to not be a little afraid of your daughter who has the power to crush your hands even as a baby, right? Whether or not they can love her while considering the above is Human nature.

So, they consulted with the former Hero next door. In other words, my dad.

I’m not sure if it was because of that, but Fran was able to grow up without causing any serious destruction.

By the time we were old enough to understand what was going on around us, my dad gently taught her how to control her power.

Fran immediately understood that she was different from everyone else. To me, her strength, her huge discolored right arm was just a part of Fran, but the other people in the village saw otherwise.

Strange objects will be rejected.

The adults blatantly avoided her, and as soon as the kids understood that she won’t hurt anyone, they started bullying her.

They’d throw handfuls of mud at her, trip her, and see how hard they can punch her without her getting angry.

That…really pissed me off.

I taught them a little lesson. My father told me to never use magic on people, but there are guys out there who just won’t listen to a punch.

Sorta similar to what Mister Fenix and Miss Lily saw me do.

Guys who hurt someone, who is kind enough to never hurt anyone, as a joke or playing around deserve to have a painful experience.

It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t make any friends at all, but more like when the kids who I thought were my friends started bad-mouthing my father, I wanted nothing to do with them.

Fran’s favorite words were Thanks and Sorry. Thanks I get, but why Sorry? I told her to stop apologizing when she’s done nothing wrong, but that habit took a while to fix.

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One time, I had a fight with my dad. It wasn’t really a fight, it was just the shock I got from learning that the reason the 1st ranked hero retired was me.

It was probably around that time when I decided to climb the ranks to number one without a Spirit.

The Unyielding Hero had a kid and decided to retire.

But that was also the time that he dropped to 2nd rank. It was the year that the Storm Hero Aerial party overtook him.

If he had worked hard for a year, he would’ve been able to turn the tables. I’m sure of it. My dad is the strongest Hero, after all.

But instead…he left the industry after having a kid, and there are people who say things like he ran away with his tail between his legs when he was overtaken by a Four Great Spirits contractor.

It’s all my fault.

That’s why I have to prove to them.

Hah, look at me, I got to 1st rank without the Spirit, dumbasses.

I have to tell them that. If I don’t…for the rest of my life…I’ll…

『…Wraith, you’re gonna be an Adventurer?』

『Of course!』

『I see.』

『Why don’t you become one too? There are only idiots here, but Adventurers are only good if they’re strong. If you become an Adventurer, everyone will notice how awesome your arm is. More importantly, it’s OK to beat up the enemy. It’s gotta be stifling to always have to be careful to not hurt anyone, break anything or punch anyone, right? Let’s get to 1st rank together!』

『I don’t really mind…as long as Wraith is here, that’s all I need.』

『The heck is that about? I’ll be traveling around the world as an Adventurer, so I’ll be leaving this village soon, y’know?』

『…Then I’ll do it.』

『Heh, the heck…』

『Will…will I be in the way?』

『Huh? I wouldn’t invite someone I didn’t need as my ally. I’ll make a 1st ranked party. I thought about who I’ll need to achieve that, and invited you.』

『…I see. Then I really will become one.』

『Hmm. I’m glad but…don’t force yourself, alright?』

『I’ll break anyone who gets in your way. So take me with you.』

『Ahaha, you said it. I’ll bring you along then.』

『…Mm.』

Now that I think about it, that was also the day that I promised to form a party with Fran.

「What are allies to you? Are they worth less than your own pride?」

「…Will you shut up?」

I scatter a sizable amount of small Wind Blades. His body was chopped to pieces. I escaped during the moment that he was restoring himself. I put some distance between us using Wind Magic to accelerate.

「That thing is made of magic instead of something physical, right? Then you can’t regenerate forever.」

The blue flames take the form of a Majin once again.

I don’t know why he chose to chat instead of killing me, but I don’t have any obligation to do the same.

「You possess no Technique that can push me to my regeneration limit and kill me.」

Something’s wrong. But what? That’s it. His right arm isn’t regenerating. No, wait.

It’s still hanging on to my neck!

Just as I notice that, it pulled me along with the force of it returning to its body.

Because of where his arm is, I can’t cut it with a Wind Blade. Despite being a Hero, I can’t tear it off of me.

My only option is to defeat the main body, huh?

Blade Whirlwind. A blade of wind that imitates the fierce, swirling wind of a maelstrom. Those caught within the whirlwind are chopped up.

I fire it at him and…it missed!

「I tire of your Wind Magic.」

That voice came from above.

As soon as I reacted to it, he collided with me.

His kick, which violently burst my left shoulder, was on fire. My Avatar’s skin sizzled as it burned.

I fell as if none of that mattered.

But I won’t fall to the ground. The bottom of this block is connected to the ceiling, meaning that we cannot escape from this midair block.

At least, that’s what I thought.

I fell normally towards the ground without the scenery changing.

I hit the ground forcefully, knocking the air out of my lungs.

Aerial…he canceled Sky Garden?

「It’s been canceled.」

As if reading my mind, Bennu says that as he descends towards me.

I immediately fix my stance, but Bennu showed no signs of pursuing.

I look around and see Aerial embedded into the ceiling.

The…the Storm Hero was blown away…?!

「…Unfortunately, our time together has been cut short.」

I get why Bennu was concerned over Lemegeton. Aerial isn’t dead yet. The battle rages on.

You wanna go help your boss, huh? You’re not interested in this little brat anymore, right?

Don’t mess with me…

Despite thinking that, I don’t have any ideas on how to blow this guy away.

「Let’s end this, Ms. Botis.」

「Understood.」

His cloak. Someone was lurking in the shadows of his cloak.

She had the upper body of a person and the lower body of a snake. A Lamia…is looking at me.

Or I should say, she’s seeing me for the first time. Because there are bandages wrapped around her eyes, and she’s only removing them now.

Her red…eyes… are looking at…me…

「Wraith…!」

Someone…stands in front of me.

It was Ewan. The Gale Hero. He was a mess. He’s not on the verge of being defeated, but he’s been severely cut up. If I’m not mistaken, he was fighting the Hero that’s on the Monster’s side for some reason. Her party’s composition was interesting, so I remembered them. The Undefeated Hero Ellie. He got done in by that woman, huh? No, wait, more importantly…

「What…are you doing…?」

Ewan was gradually turning black. No, how should I say this? If I were to describe it as I see it, he was slowly turning into stone. His skin, his clothes, his hair…all petrifying.

An…Evil Eye?

Like the Cursed Sword, it’s an eye that harbors a special curse. Herv’s Cursed Sword brings misfortune upon the wielder, but Ms. Botis’s Evil Eye causes anything she sees to turn to stone.

Even if he doesn’t have Resist on, to turn even a Hero to stone…

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Ewan was smiling.

「As long as you are left, we’ll be one step closer to victory. That’s what I thought.」

With those last words, he turns into a stone statue.

The Gale Hero Ewan can no longer fight.

He turned to stone…to protect me.