The Heroes Who Executed Me Are Obsessed With Me

Yaphenon.

The nation that had launched a preemptive strike against Ezer not long ago was now under an unexpected attack.

“Stop them all!”

“Don’t let them breach the barrier!”

“Fire the cannons!”

The southern city of Lakara, where Yaphenon stored most of its enchanted weaponry, was surrounded by massive defensive walls.

Upon those ramparts, explosive shells—propelled by gunpowder blasts—were fired in unison at a single point.

Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!

The impact zone was devastated by violent shockwaves.

Fwoooosh!

But the rising dust was blown away in an instant by a sudden gust of wind.

“Valum Hanera.”

Standing in the cleared space was a woman with blue hair clad in a robe.

It was Yuru, the Archmage of the Blue Tower, and once a member of the Hero’s party. As she raised her hand, a massive wall of blue energy surged forth.

“Prakesus.”

She extended her index finger, and the wall of energy launched forward, slamming into the defensive rampart that had fired the shells.

“Aaaargh!”

On the trembling walls—shaking as if struck by an earthquake—soldiers tumbled and scrambled.

One of them barely got back to his feet and tried to shout,

“E-everyone, be caref—!”

The cry never finished.

Yuru had climbed the energy wall like a staircase and now stood atop the ramparts. A blade of wind shot from her hand, cleanly severing the shouting soldier’s head.

“Where is Astrafe?”

She asked the crawling, panicked soldiers at her feet.

“I-I don’t know!”

“Why would we know that…?”

“Why are you doing this?!”

Once known across the continent as a member of the Hero’s party and the Archmage of the Blue Tower—

That version of Yuru was long gone.

“Didn’t you hear about Marfane?”

Now, that was all just an echo of the past.

“I don’t like wasting time.”

Her eyes gleamed with cold fury as the soldiers shrank back and fled.

“Gehenna Manus.”

From the ground beneath their escape route, blood-drenched hands burst forth.

“Uwaaah!”

“Gyaaaah!”

The hands seized their legs and dragged them into the earth.

Those who resisted had their joints snapped and shattered.

A vision of hell.

Yuru had created it all—then rode the wind and slipped past the outer wall into the city.

“A monster!”

“Run!”

People screamed and scattered in all directions the moment they saw her.

Once, she was trailed by praise and admiration.

Now, it was only terror and screams that followed her—condemning her presence.

This is what you wanted, brother.

Vengeance.

He harbored hatred toward the world. The only path left to earn his forgiveness… was to embrace that hatred alongside him.

Astrafe…

To serve him, she too could not remain weak.

She was already strong—but it wasn’t enough.

She would now claim everything she had once been too timid to take.

The first item she intended to seize was Astrafe.

A legendary Staff of Lightning.

A weapon capable of converting internal mana directly into lightning and unleashing powerful magic.

She only knew that it was locked away somewhere in one nation’s armory.

So her best bet was to raid the most likely locations.

BOOM!

After dashing through the city with a high-speed movement spell, Yuru finally found what looked like an armory and blasted its wall down.

And there she saw it.

A ring?

It bore a red gem—clearly an artifact.

Astrafe…

Wasn’t there.

A wasted effort.

But this…

It was an artifact made for demonkin—capable of storing magia.

Why would something like this be here?

WAAAAAAH!

She had no time to ponder it further. Hearing the roar of knights closing in, Yuru dashed back out of the building, clutching the ring close to her chest.

If this can help my brother…

She stomped the ground and soared into the air.

♧

“Astrafe, you say?”

Inside the Demon King’s office.

Cardin tilted his head at Clay’s question.

“I apologize. That’s my first time hearing of it.”

“I thought as much. It’s a divine relic.”

Divine relic.

Ordinary enchanted items that aided their wielders were referred to as artifacts, but these were of a different league.

More precisely—a different rank.

“Divine relics are items born from the influence of the gods, or directly crafted by them.”

Even among humans, such relics were typically hidden away for political or strategic reasons.

Their locations were almost always kept secret.

In some cases, even completely forgotten.

Cardin’s brows furrowed at Clay’s explanation.

“Such items could easily change the course of a war… Why were they never made public?”

“Because no one wanted to give them up.”

In fact, the Holy Alliance actively suppressed even the mention of divine relics.

They claimed it could spark disputes between nations.

“So… unity wasn’t their strong suit either.”

Upon hearing this, Cardin swallowed dryly.

Clay let out a hollow chuckle.

“They were all thinking only about the world after the Hero killed the Demon King. Trying to seize maximum gains and minimize losses. Even helping the Hero was just a political decision.”

His gaze drifted downward to the floor.

“The Hero was just a convenient focal point they used to spin the world in their favor.”

Though his words were self-deprecating, Clay did not smile.

“Whatever the case, among the riches humanity has hoarded, there are plenty of things we can make use of.”

“Truly?”

“Yeah.”

Just because humans owned them didn’t mean only humans could wield them.

“Elhaen was an outlier to begin with. The other gods didn’t necessarily seek worship from humans alone. That’s why divine relic users could be so varied.”

“Well… that’s not wrong.”

At that moment, someone cut into their conversation.

“As expected of a former Hero—seen and heard a great deal, haven’t you?”

“Athanacia.”

Clay’s gaze turned toward the door.

The one who’d just entered was the ancient god Athanacia, who had recently joined Clay’s ranks.

“How are you finding Barungenia?”

“Meh. So-so.”

She casually perched on the edge of Clay’s desk. Seeing this, Cardin raised a sharp brow.

“What are you doing!?”

“Hmm?”

“Even if the Demon King invited you into Barungenia, this kind of rudeness is—”

“It’s fine, Cardin.”

Clay raised a hand to stop him.

“She’s not as disrespectful as she looks.”

He looked over at Athanacia again.

She was subtly shifting herself off the edge of the desk.

“Ahem.”

With a fake cough, Athanacia stepped off completely and met his gaze properly.

“I came in because I overheard talk of divine relics. Was it really necessary to shame me like that?”

“If you heard us talking about relics, then your ear must’ve been pressed against the door.”

“No…!”

Her face flushed as she flustered, then shook her head.

“I didn’t mean to! I came to tell you those two you brought in are bickering with your sword again, and happened to overhear it.”

“So Syltanaro and Selimia are bonding?”

“That’s what you call bonding?”

Athanacia looked exasperated.

“Anyway, don’t go adding more noisy types in here. I can’t even get any sleep.”

“You weren’t revived so you could nap, you know.”

“!”

She let out a groan and widened her eyes, quickly changing the subject.

“Ah, right! As I was saying—there’s a divine relic you could use in Yaphenon.”

“One I can use?”

Clay tilted his head.

“The Ring of Luanac, you mean?”

“Yes, the Ring of Luanac… Huh?”

Athanacia blinked in surprise.

“Wait, you know about it?”

“I do.”

“Seriously?”

“And that Yaphenon’s king uses a Moonblade infused with the Origin Prayer Scripture.”

“The Origin Prayer is there too?”

She murmured, clearly stunned.

“Why would that be there?”

“Would be nice if you were a bit more helpful next time.”

Watching their back-and-forth, Cardin asked cautiously,

“May I ask… What exactly is the Origin Prayer Scripture?”

“It’s also a divine relic. Though since it’s actively worshipped by humans, I suppose it counts more as a holy relic.”

Originally, he had planned to seize Yaphenon’s sacred relic—the Origin Prayer—together with Beatrice. But then Nael appeared, and one urgent matter after another kept piling up, delaying that plan.

“If Yaphenon’s king possesses it, then it must be truly important. Probably stored in the royal palace—won’t be easy to retrieve.”

“If it’s in the palace, sure.”

But Yaphenon was a savage nation.

Even with support from Krata and access to cannons, they still fundamentally preferred close combat—body clashing against body.

Which meant their ruler, the King of Yaphenon, had to meet a very different set of qualifications than other nations.

“When something goes wrong in the country, the king personally steps in to resolve it. That’s how Yaphenon handles things.”

A kind of ritual based on the premise that the strongest in Yaphenon is the king.

The greater the crisis, the more likely the king would personally appear.

“So we just need to wait for the right moment.”

Soon enough, Utor would step onto the field himself.

“Understood, my Lord,” said Cardin, accepting the directive and asking,

“Then what should I prepare in advance?”

“Soundproof Athanacia’s room.”

“Soundproofing… huh?”

Cardin blinked in confusion. But Clay replied with a completely serious face.

“Being sleep-deprived poses a significant threat to our overall strength. I’m counting on you.”

“Ah… Exactly!”

Beaming, Athanacia stepped up in front of Cardin.

“You heard him—our ever-serious Demon King doesn’t joke. Get to it!”

“…Right.”

Pushed out by her enthusiasm, Cardin swallowed his sigh.

“He really has a strange way of showing mercy sometimes.”

He couldn’t quite call it humanity, but as he left the office, that word lingered unspoken on his tongue.

♧

“Lakara was attacked…?”

On her flight back from Hanumeyer to Ezer aboard an airship, Tia replayed the information Selvaro had shared.

A message from one of Hanumeyer’s agents, delivered by carrier bird from afar, contained unbelievable content.

Yuru had attacked Lakara.

And during the assault, she was searching for something.

Yuru, what are you looking for?

Yuru was now officially designated an enemy of the Holy Alliance.

In a way, they were in the same boat—but Yuru was acting alone, without restraint, which made it too risky for Tia to reach out.

If she’s targeting the Holy Alliance, I can’t exactly complain…

Still, from Tia’s point of view—already preparing for war with Yaphenon—Yuru stirring up chaos like this was far from helpful.

They’ll be on alert now.

Yaphenon’s defenses would be tighter.

Tia sighed as she looked out the airship’s window.

She was confused—but she knew what she wanted to do.

Clay…

It wasn’t a thought stemming from her role as Empress of Ezer.

I won’t leave you trapped in another hell.

Her golden hair shimmered with divine radiance as it fluttered behind her.

(End of Chapter)