CH 224

Third Person POV

After Ed dashed off towards the village, Hamokin and Donatella shared an uneasy atmosphere within the cave. Donatella, restless, spoke from inside her cell to the fidgeting Hamokin.

“Hey, Hamokin, let me out! I’m going to fight!”

“No. If you go, it’ll be troublesome for everyone.”

“What’s troublesome! What can an outsider do alone!? If I went, all the women in the village would fight! Men are the worst, but the black demon is even worse! If the women fight, our forces will double! We can easily defeat that black demon!”

“…No.”

“Why!? Are you that afraid of women!?”

Despite Donatella’s pressing words, Hamokin slowly shook his head with a slightly sad expression.

“No. You are certainly strong. But the women other than you, they’re not strong. They can’t defeat the black demon.”

“Huh! Stop talking nonsense! We’ve been fighting and defeating the black demon every day! Men really are liars! Men are the worst!”

Even after driving the men out, a few black demons attacked the village daily. But these were being defeated every day by the women who wanted to fight, and that’s why Donatella didn’t feel so threatened by the black demon.

But Hamokin knew the truth hidden in this situation. Therefore, he could never agree to her wish… But that didn’t mean she would back down.

“The women of the village, they’re my family. Not fighting when my family is being attacked, that’s unthinkable!”

“…I understand your feelings. But if you go, it will only cause confusion. If that happens, we won’t be able to win even a winnable battle. Leave it to us for now.”

“I can’t trust you! I can’t entrust my precious family to useless men!”

Inside Donatella’s head, a white star continued to whisper, intensifying her distrust of men and keeping her from believing.

(What do I do? What should I do? How can I go help my family? Should I break the cell and… Hamokin…!?)

A thought flashed through her mind, causing the edges of Donatella’s vision to turn white. But immediately shaking her head hard, Donatella dismissed the thought.

(No! Men are the worst, I can’t trust them. But men are not the enemy. It’s wrong to hurt them… Ugh, what should I do…)

Caught between various emotions of what she wanted to do, what she could do, and what she must not do, Donatella kept worrying, gnashing her teeth, and scratching her head in frustration, stomping her feet… Then suddenly, a new thought came to her.

“…That’s right. Hey, Hamokin, if I go to the village to fight, and that changes the women, that’s not good. Right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“So, I’ll fight without going to the village. What do you think about that?”

“? Donatella, what are you…?”

“I’m going to defeat the black star.”

“!?”

At Donatella’s words, Hamokin wore a shocked expression. But seeing this as a sign of weakness, Donatella smirked.

“There are many black demons in the village. So, there should be no black demons around the black star. Now I can surely defeat the black star!”

“Are you out of your mind!? The black star isn’t that easy! It’s even hard for us to approach it!”

“That’s because you’re a man, Hamokin! Men, transfixed by the black star’s breasts and buttocks! That’s why you can

‘t fight! Men are weak! Men are the worst! But I’m different. I’m a woman! So it doesn’t matter what form the black star takes!”

“Uh, that is…………”

Hamokin was aware that the black star had a powerful allure. That’s why, even though they knew of its existence, they couldn’t recklessly take action. But indeed, it might not work on women.

However, whether to let women fight or not is a different matter. It’s obvious that the women of the village are overwhelmingly weaker compared to the male warriors. Even if the allure doesn’t work, a woman who can’t fight has no chance of defeating the black star.

But the Donatella in front of him is different. Indeed, it’s possible that Donatella could defeat the black star by breaking through its allure.

“Do you understand! If you do, open the cell and let me out! If not, I’ll break out!”

Donatella gripped the bars of her cell and put her strength into it. Even though the bars were made of sturdy, flexible plant stems, she could break them if she tried her hardest.

“…………I understand.”

But before it came to that, Hamokin opened the cell with his own hands. Of course, he didn’t have the authority to do that. If found out, everyone would severely blame him for acting unilaterally.

Still, the reason he opened the door was because Hamokin had made up his mind as well. If Donatella was going to run rampant… at the crucial moment, he’d sacrifice himself to stop her. That’s the determination of Hamokin, a man who’s cast aside his status and pride.

“However, I’m coming with you. Is that okay?”

“Hmph, do whatever you want! I won’t wait for you, men! I won’t rely on you! If you don’t get in my way, I’ll leave you alone.”

“Alright, that’s fine.”

Without even looking back, Donatella, spear in hand, rushed out of the cave. Hamokin followed her immediately, and they both headed straight for the eastern forest where the black star resided. But…

“What!? What’s with all these black demons!?”

“This is the Eastern Forest. There are more black demons than you can count!”

Blocking their way were dozens, hundreds of enemies wrapped in black miasma. Human, beast, bird, insect – demons possessed by the miasma swarmed to greet the two.

“But, this thing… what!?”

""

Donatella swung her spear with her usual vigor, but the black demon easily stopped it. Given that she could easily defeat the black demons that appeared in the village with a single swing, a look of surprise flashed across her face.

“What are these things!? They’re stronger than the ones that come to the village!?”

“…………”

At those words, Hamokin said nothing. The men who were expelled from the village had set up refuge points between the village and the black star, voluntarily eliminating the black demons that came to attack the village.

So, the only black demons attacking the village, which was now comprised only of women, were those that had been deliberately weakened to maintain “a minimum sense of crisis.” Precisely because they could be defeated so easily, the women came to think less of the men, arguing “You were making a big deal about defeating enemies of this level!” However, such a trivial matter didn’t bother the men.

Everything was for the sake of protecting their comrades, their family. Even if they were loathed and expelled, the men were still proud warriors.

“Guuuu! This…thing!”

And Donatella, too, was a hero chosen by the world. Although the enemies in front of her were significantly stronger than the black demons that have been attacking the village, they were by no means invincible to Donatella, who, ever since awakening due to Tia, had been emanating a golden fighting spirit from her body.

Therefore, the two warriors continued to push forward through the Eastern Forest, struggling as they went… pushing on. But the further they go, the denser the enemies became, and even though they were winning in terms of power, the battle was gradually deteriorating due to the sheer number of enemies.

“…Maybe this was impossible after all. I’ll make a path. Donatella, you run away, even if it’s just you.”

“Hah!? Don’t joke with me! A man letting me escape, that’s impossible! I’ll take care of all these enemies!”

“Don’t joke around! Donatella, you’re stronger than me! If you’re strong, you can fight again if you go back! Dying here for nothing, that’s not happening!”

“I’m not going to die! I won’t give up! Men really are weak! You’re the epitome of a coward, giving up at this level!”

“Donatella!”

“Shut up, Hamokin! I will definitely…!”

“Yeah, I won’t let you die here.”

Suddenly, a violent storm swept through the black demons surrounding the two of them. As they stand dumbfounded, the one who appeared on the scene is…

“Geez, why are you doing something so reckless!”

“Ed!? And, you guys…!”

Leading about twenty men and swinging his sword with a smile, there stood the outsider, Ed.