The Heroes Who Executed Me Are Obsessed With Me

“So that’s the place.”

Guided by Flame, Geshkafor arrived where Barungenia was in sight and grinned wide, baring all his teeth.

“Hope it won’t be boring.”

Ever since Copetal became one of the Demon King’s Four Generals, Geshkafor and the other demons within Copetal’s domain had been unable to rampage with brute force like in the old days.

That was because Copetal, though he came from the domain of savagery, didn’t much care for savage behavior.

He had risen to the rank of General through sheer strength, yes—but he was more of a knight than a warrior.

And Geshkafor hated that.

‘Copetal… I haven’t forgotten you.’

But even so, Copetal had recognized Geshkafor’s potential.

He’d designated Geshkafor as his successor—not that he gave a detailed reason. He merely said the strength was there.

‘You saw something in me.’

And that was enough.

Geshkafor had no intention of disgracing the honor Copetal had shown him.

‘Watch me, Copetal. I’ll rise even higher than you.’

So he’d trained endlessly. Savages didn’t ponder strategy—they simply ran, fought, and survived every day.

That was Geshkafor.

“…Huh?”

As he neared Barungenia, he made eye contact with the Eyes of the Demon King’s Castle embedded in the spires.

“What the hell are those?”

He had never been to Barungenia before. He had no clue what they were.

Vmmmmm…

Suddenly, the Eyes began to vibrate as they focused on him.

“!”

Geshkafor’s body was pushed down—like the gravity had multiplied several times.

“Grrgh… Krk, hahaha…”

Crumpling to the ground and supporting himself with one hand, he groaned in pain but couldn’t stop laughing.

“You’re trying to stop me with this kind of trick?”

Crunch!

He stomped the ground, grabbed a massive boulder nearby, and—

“RAAAAHH!”

—hurled it straight up at one of the Eyes.

Whoooosh!

It was an instinctual action. The Eyes only affected his physical body, not the objects he threw, so the boulder arced through the air unimpeded.

That wasn’t even his plan.

But even without aiming, the rock gained speed and struck the Eye head-on.

BOOOOOM!

A tremendous crash echoed as the Eye spun away.

“…Ah.”

The pressure lessened.

Without hesitation, Geshkafor hurled two more boulders.

They struck the remaining Eyes squarely.

『Intruder detected!』

『Eliminate immediately!』

Dozens of gargoyles, clearly sentinels of Barungenia, soared toward him.

“Gargoyles, huh?”

Geshkafor crouched low.

BOOM!

Launching off the ground, he rocketed skyward in an instant.

『Kkrr?!』

Grabbing one of the gargoyles by the leg mid-air, Geshkafor roared.

“Come on, you buzzing pests!”

As the other gargoyles swarmed in, Geshkafor reeled his arm back and threw a wild punch.

Wham!

The shockwave twisted their flight paths, scattering them midair.

“Hahaha! Hm?”

But one managed to correct its trajectory and dive toward him.

Chomp.

It grabbed him and began to fall, dragging him down.

『Goe!』

『He can’t handle this alone!』

The name called by the gargoyles was Goe.

Geshkafor reached out with his foot and grabbed Goe in turn.

“Let’s see who wins, then!”

Now locked together, the two plummeted to the earth in a spiral.

BOOOOM!

The impact formed a crater, blasting debris in every direction.

『Kyaaaak!』

『Aaaagh!』

The surrounding gargoyles screeched in rage, lost in the cloud of dust.

『Goe is…』

As they murmured in panic, a figure emerged from the dust.

“Disappointed already?”

It was none other than Geshkafor.

As the dust cleared, Goe was revealed, embedded deep within the crater.

『Kyaaaaaah!』

The other gargoyles shrieked with fury, but Geshkafor only tilted his head.

“That’s it?”

Even if this wasn’t the Demon King himself, the fact that Barungenia’s defenses were only this strong left Geshkafor slightly underwhelmed.

‘Maybe the rumors were exaggerated.’

It wouldn’t be the first time bards had spread fanciful, inflated tales across the land.

Sure, the Hero had been executed. But maybe the talk of his resurrection wasn’t true at all.

‘Maybe someone’s just playing games.’

And yet… why had Beatrice been nearby?

Whatever else might be said, Beatrice was undeniably powerful.

‘There’s definitely something hidden here.’

There had to be a reason. It didn’t make sense that she would leave Barungenia if it only had this level of protection.

But that was something he could check right now.

‘Fine. I’ll confirm it with my own eyes—’

It was then that he stopped walking.

Shhhhh…

A chill breeze brushed over his skin.

‘What is this…?’

He looked down at himself.

Goosebumps.

Something primal had triggered his nerves.

“!”

When he looked up again, Geshkafor saw him.

A man dressed in black, exuding the aura of a grim reaper, standing right before Barungenia’s front gate.

“Impossible…!”

Geshkafor’s eyes widened again—he recognized that face instantly.

The legendary human Hero who had driven the previous Demon King to the edge of destruction.

The Hero.

‘Who is it…?’

Geshkafor’s eyes darted around.

‘Who’s controlling him?’

Possessing the Hero’s corpse was already astonishing.

But if someone could control it—they were no ordinary person.

Desperate to find the real master pulling the strings, Geshkafor kept twisting his head back and forth.

But—

Step.

For some reason—

Step.

Every time the man took a step, Geshkafor flinched, his body trembling involuntarily.

‘What is this…?’

Could this be something more than just a raised corpse?

Geshkafor let out a hollow laugh and resumed walking toward the man.

“Whatever it is, I just need to smash it.”

If the one behind the barrier was someone cowardly enough to hide inside a castle behind such a flimsy defense, then there was nothing to fear.

With that, Geshkafor continued walking until he stood right before the man.

“Incredible. It’s almost like he’s really alive…”

“Not bad.” The man cut him off mid-sentence, “Looks useful.”

As he spoke, Flame leapt into his hand.

“If Beatrice sent you, then you must be one of the candidates. Which domain are you from?”

Geshkafor tilted his head.

“What?”

“I didn’t give you permission to speak back.”

The man said this without even looking at him, and Geshkafor gritted his teeth.

“You bastard…!”

BOOM!

He slammed his fist downward—right where the man stood.

“!”

But it didn’t hit the man. It hit the ground.

“You’re from Copetal’s domain, aren’t you?”

A voice came from behind him. Geshkafor whirled around and punched again.

Whoosh!

Again, he missed. The figure vanished too fast for him to track with his eyes, and he instinctively threw another punch in a different direction.

After several wild swings, he finally stopped.

“…What?”

No—he was stopped.

“You rely on brute strength alone, don’t you?”

A girl—at least she looked like one—stood beneath his fist. And it was her force field that had stopped his attack cold.

“What now?”

“Me?”

The girl replied without expression.

“Athanasia.”

CRACK!

Multiple waves of force erupted from her, slamming Geshkafor against the cliff wall and pinning him there.

“GRAAAAAAAAAH!”

He let out a monstrous scream, eyes rolling back until only the whites remained. His body then slumped limply.

Thud.

Athanasia’s wave receded.

“He’s a bit too stupid to be useful right now.”

“Athanasia.” The man—Clay—looked at her, “You showed yourself faster than I expected.”

“Hmph.” She averted her gaze slightly, almost self-consciously, “Well, we did form an alliance. I need to find a way to survive too.”

“I see.” Clay replied flatly, then asked, “Judging by how much power you still have, I take it there are still plenty of people who worship you?”

“You’re joking, right?” Athanasia let out a bitter laugh, “It’s more like half of them still follow you and half me. Not exactly brainwashed, but the ones who believed in me did it out of habit. That kind of thing doesn't fade easily.”

“…”

“Anyway, just think of this as me doing my part.”

Turning away from her, Clay looked toward Geshkafor, who now lay unconscious.

Standing nearby were Lin Siart and Goltche the Butcher.

“Big body, but low mental endurance.”

“Fixing the brain’s my specialty.”

“Don’t smash the bones yet! I’m going to adjust his mental resistance first!”

“Think your ability’s enough? You’ll need my skills.”

“What did you just say?!”

Watching the two bicker, Clay let out a faint chuckle.

‘I just laughed…?’

Athanasia, noticing this rare expression, swallowed dryly and stared at him closely. But the smile vanished as if it had never been there.

‘Maybe I imagined it…’

She pushed the thought aside.

He was someone filled with hatred and malice toward others—a being that had long abandoned any traces of humanity.

♧

“Yelena. Nael.”

Meanwhile, in Ezer, Tia had summoned both Yelena and Nael to speak.

“Please listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Her expression was resolute.

“We are going to war with the Holy Alliance.”

It was a shocking declaration, but Yelena showed no response. Her mind was already halfway shattered.

Tia looked instead to Nael.

Nael remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.

“We’ll lose.”

The Holy Alliance was the reigning power of the continent. Nael knew all too well that a few former heroes alone would not be enough to defeat them.

“But even so…”

Nael met Tia’s gaze.

“We can still take them down with us.”

What she had witnessed was something more terrifying than her own death. Even if Clay had died in disgrace, he had once been the Hero.

To Nael, Clay would always be remembered in that role—at least until he returned and made a different choice.

“…Do it.”

Seeing him again had broken something in her. On top of the guilt for letting him die, she now bore the guilt of making him become what he was.

Since then, Nael had stopped trying to make judgments. Whether Clay had become the Demon King’s pawn or something else no longer mattered.

She just wanted to do something with this overwhelming feeling inside her.

The simplest answer was to find a place to dump it all—a battlefield to exhaust herself in.

“I’ll join you.”

That was her answer.

“Good.”

Tia looked at both Yelena, who no longer needed convincing, and Nael, who had just made her decision. Her eyes darkened with conviction.

“Everyone will be judged.”

Including them.

(End of Chapter)