The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

EP8. The Coming Doom

Grandis retreated by teleportation, then felt doubtful. Just a moment ago, the warrior had clearly been dissuading him from attacking her.

And she didn’t understand it. Why did she stop him from attacking her? Even though she looked completely exhausted, she had nothing to say, and there was no way the opponent would notice her hidden strategy. In other words, anyone could see that now was the most difficult time.

In that situation, the choice to not attack her anymore felt a little strange to her. To put it bluntly, if they continued to cooperate with the Demon King even after knowing that she had been abandoned by him, there was a high probability that they would not be able to defeat him. In other words, just leaving her alone would greatly increase the threat.

And she thought that the chances of the warrior making a wrong judgment were slim. Public opinion within the empire had begun to greatly underestimate the warrior’s strategic acumen after one failure, but in her view, that was nonsense.

For example, in the case of the Telbren fortress, Grandis thought that she could not do better than that. She killed the Black Knight, the most powerful of the legion commanders except for Malecidus and herself, and even forced the destination of the Ashen Soldiers. Furthermore, she weakened their power so that the Crusaders could just eat them up.

That wasn’t all. Judging from the strange judgments the warrior had made so far, the warrior’s strategic judgment was at a level that no one could ignore. No wonder he had defeated him once and forced him into recovery for several years.

Ainzel’s only failure was when he attempted to take down a legion commander, but even that was handled so well that no one else could have done it to that degree.

To that extent, the strategic vision of the warrior who faced him directly was at a level that could not even be described in words. Perhaps the reason the fairy princess followed the warrior’s words obediently was because she trusted the warrior’s vision.

That’s why Grandis couldn’t help but have doubts.

Suddenly, she remembered the warrior’s gaze as he spoke those words and looked at her.

Those eyes were full of longing and yearning. She felt doubtful about those eyes whose identity she could not identify.

… I don’t know why, but the warrior must have been weak-hearted and deliberately showed mercy to himself.

She looked at her estate with curiosity and an unknown emotion.

For now, I thought I should stop being involved in the war and just take a break here.

…

Ainzel and his companions had no choice but to retreat even after winning the battle. The entire Demon King’s territory was filled with the Demon King’s black magic, and they had no idea what kind of negative effects it would have.

However, the fact that the ability that turned the demons into ashen soldiers was the power of the Demon King was something that only Ainzel knew, and since the black magic that currently covered the land was not a power, Ainzel could tell that the Demon King’s black magic had not yet been absorbed into the bodies of others.

Of course, it was clear that it could have negative effects. In fact, during the retreat, some soldiers complained of negative psychological effects.

Ainzel was troubled. What should he do in a situation where the Demon King’s territory itself was contaminated with black magic and literally became a demonic realm?

If they were mediocre allies, they wouldn’t be of much help. Of course, they wouldn’t be of much help. Those who couldn’t even overcome the influence of black magic, let alone do anything in front of the Demon King, would be of any help.

In the end, the only option he had was to lead only his companions to the Demon King’s Castle.

Perhaps the Demon King had given up on producing ash-colored soldiers to gain an advantage in the war, and was planning to use his power to protect only his Demon King Castle.

That meant that the Demon King’s castle was likely filled with the Demon King’s power. It was a situation that was no different from walking into the enemy’s mouth, but the Demon King had to be defeated.

It wasn’t just because it was his mission.

The reason he truly wanted it was because he remembered what the Demon King had done.

The suffering and death caused by all wars were the Demon King’s. The countless lives that died in the midst of them were the Demon King’s. The one he loved… until the end, it was the Demon King’s.

It was not simply a mission, but the Demon King was already a fundamentally unacceptable being to Ainzel. That was why Ainzel had no choice but to enter the Demon King’s castle, even though it was clearly a situation that was advantageous to the Demon King.

The only fortunate thing was that the enemy forces were virtually in disarray. In other words, the process of reaching the Demon King’s Castle itself was easy.

The problem was that after reaching the Demon King’s castle, which was filled with the Demon King’s power, he had to absorb all of that black magic in order to keep his companions from being affected.

Grandis said, no matter how strong your mental power is, there is a limit.

Ainzel denied that statement. Limitations are something only those who have never died would say.

He looked at the holy sword.

After killing the Demon King, I could finally put down this damn sword and rest. That thought occurred to me naturally.

He doesn’t regret becoming a hero. He can’t even regret it anymore. However, the reason his thoughts touched the holy sword was because he wasn’t sure if he could properly live his life as Ainzel, not as a hero anymore.

He has almost no memories of the time when he was not a warrior. The memories he regrets have long ago been eaten away by the torrent of emotions he had abandoned, and decades have passed in that state. When he thinks of his hometown and the past, he can’t remember them well, but he feels a sense of longing, and the past has already been forgotten.

I can’t remember my parents’ faces very well. I can’t remember what they said to me either. … When I left my hometown, I felt like I made a decision that I regretted, but now I can’t even remember what that decision was.

If it were someone else, would they have regretted it when they were in his situation? Ainzel didn’t know. He couldn’t even remember when he regretted it.

In that situation, he wondered if it might be too greedy to think that he could lead a normal life.

He lost his fear. He lost his pain. He lost his regret. He lost his memory. He lost so much, and he gained nothing. His meeting with Grandis was like sand that he held in his hand for a moment and then slipped away. All he had was the resentment and hatred that came from that loss. So what could he do after this mission was over?

Well, I don’t know. I just hope that after defeating the Demon King, there won’t be any more fighting. That was his petty wish. He didn’t want to fight anyone anymore, or hate anyone anymore. He was too tired to do that.

With that thought in mind, Ainzel put the holy sword back into its scabbard.

After a few weeks, Ainzel and his companions finally decided to enter the Demon King’s castle. As for Grandis, she had already returned to her own territory and was locked up, so it was safe to say that nothing could stand in her way anymore.

In this way, they arrived at the Demon King’s castle, which was filled with the Demon King’s black magic. The Demon King’s castle was surrounded by a wall made of black magic.

“What should I do with this? Should I purify it with divine power?”

It was what Lena had said. However, Ainzel firmly shook his head. If he were to waste his divine power here, he could not know what negative effects it would have when fighting the Demon King.

Ainzel touched the barrier and began to absorb it into his body. The black magic that was now filling the Demon King’s castle was all black magic that had activated its power. Naturally, it was accumulating in his body and starting to create abnormal symptoms.

I started to feel chills little by little, and then I started to feel hot again. Not only that, but my senses also started to feel strange, and I even felt like I was being pricked by needles.

But it didn’t matter to him. He had long since surpassed the mental strength to be affected by such things.

“Hey, what is it? How did you do it?”

When Lena asked, Ainzel looked at her.

“I just tried purifying it with divine power and it worked. I think it would be better for Beatrice to conserve her divine power.”

Lena nodded as Ainzel made his excuses.

“Okay, then.”

Ainzel and his companions crossed the barrier and began to enter the Demon King’s castle. The strangely shaped black castle gave an eerie impression just by looking at it.

Ainzel began to absorb the black magic surrounding the Demon King’s castle, which his comrades could not sense. With this, his comrades would not be affected by the Demon King’s black magic.

So they started to climb the castle, and at the top floor, the Demon King finally appeared.