The Hero of Hypnosis

"What's wrong? Is something going on down there? Did you spot the demon?" Kirlia started bombarding Kai with questions, desperate to know what was going on.

"There's some mist here. It's all around the front lines. I'm looking at it right now, and every soldier has this mist in their body. It's eating away at their mana. It's not enough to be noticeable, but it's enough to make a difference in the long run."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Janna focused her senses and even poured mana into her eyes, yet she still wasn't able to sense, let alone see, this mist Kai was talking about.

"Do you two not see it?" He asked

They shook their heads.

'Hmm. Then I'm able to see it thanks to my abilities.'

"Let's try this then." Kai places an aura barrier around them both, shielding them from the mist. "Can you guys use fire magic?"

"Yes, but I'm not proficient with it," Kirlia admitted.

"Yeah." Janna nodded.

"Create a flame in your hand and maintain that flame. However, don't make the flame too strong. Make it pretty weak, actually."

They did as he said. The flame burned normally, the same way it did when they would cast the spell at any time. Then, they weakened it until the flame could be snuffed out by a small gust of wind.

Kai then removed the barrier.

"Now focus on your spell and don't do anything to it."

Again, they did as he said, not doing anything. However, without their own will, the flame was snuffed out.

"What?!" Janna could still feel herself giving mana to her spell, but nothing was there.

The same thing happened to Kirlia.

"T-The mist did this?" Kirlia asked

"Yeah, it did. And the fact that no one noticed it means that the soldiers here probably think that they're just experiencing fatigue and mental stress. Otherwise, they would have had a priest cleanse them of this because this feels like dark mana."

"Let's head down and speak to the general."

The carriage flew down to the ground, landing on a hill close to the front lines. Kai placed the carriage back in his inventory, then teleported the three of them into the military fort.

"H-Huh?! Who are you people?!" A guard asked, pointing his spear at them.

"I am-" Kai stopped Kirlia from speaking. He didn't want her to reveal her identity and make this look like they were here for Ian and go against the military.

"My name is Kai LuForia, and I'm the hero." He pulled out the hero's sword, its energy radiating in the air as he held it up.

"T-T-T-The hero!" The guard bowed. "W-W-What can I do for you, sir Kai?!"

"Take me to your leader."

The guard wasted no time and directed Kai, Kirlia, and Janna to their captain's tent.

'Ha, what am I? An alien? Did I really just say 'Take me to your leader'? Well, technically, I am an alien since I'm from a different planet. Whatever.'

The reason why Kai wanted to use his status as the hero is that he planned on throwing it away soon. He thought that he might as well get some merit in as the hero before tossing the title aside and going on his adventure to the next continent.

The guard didn't even ask for permission when entering the leader's tent.

"What are you doing?! We're having an important meeting right now! How dare you enter without asking permission!" The commanding officer shouted.

"S-Sorry, Sir. But this man here is the hero!"

Kai showed off his sword, and when they saw it, they knew it was true.

"W-W-We didn't know you would be coming here, sir!" The commander said, standing up and bowing. The other men followed his example.

"At ease. Tell me the situation here." Kai took a seat, and Janna and Kirlia stood behind him.

"We're currently in a fierce battle with the demons. For the past two months, our forces have been getting weaker and losing morale. We haven't had a major victory in a long time, and I'm afraid that's affecting our men's mental state. After Lord Ian went MIA, it's been difficult holding down the fort, even with many superpowers on our side."

"How long has Ian been missing?" Kai asked

"For about a month. He said that something felt wrong in the fort and went to investigate. But when summoned for the next war meeting, he never showed up, and all of his things were gone."

"What?! He's been missing for a month, and you are just now informing me?!" Kirlia was furious. Had she known her husband was missing for that long, she would have acted sooner.

Kai raised his hand, a signal for her to calm down.

"I've gotten reports that superhumans have been going missing. Do you know anything about that?" Kai asked

"A few of the superpowers here have gone missing, but they are probably dead because not only are their belongings still here, but there are demons who eat people and take their power. And around the same time that Lord Ian went MIA, the demons have been getting stronger."

"Hmmmm." Kai looked around at all of the men here. They carried the mist inside their bodies, but none of them were demons or from the cult.

"Tell me, are you lot the ones in charge?" He asked.

"Y-yes, sir, for now at least. I've been leading the war for the past month. I've worked alongside Lord Ian for years and have fought on this battlefield my entire life. We are currently waiting on a new general to be stationed out here."

"I see. I'll handle matters here. Tell your men to retreat and fortify the fort. No one gets in or out of this place." Kai stood up and left the tent.

The ones left inside were silent.

"You heard him, signal our retreat!"

A loud horn blared through the battlefield, its unique sound making it easy to know its meaning.

"Retreat!"

"Fall back!"

The kingdom's army retreated to safety.

"The mortals are retreating! Attack them!"

"Push forward, demons!"

Just as the army of demons came closer, Kai teleported right in front of them, his body glowing with Gracia's power, and the light burned the demons.

"EEEEKKK! A HERO!"

"RETREAT!"

"RUN! RUN AWAY!"

But it was all in vain. With one swipe of his sword, Kai completely eliminated the entirety of the demon army, leaving no one behind.