The Tale of Hero Alice’s Social Death

"Don't ignore me, you bastard!"

Andusia also realized Fugallo's plan, so she immediately appeared before Alice and created a gigantic multi-colored barrier to stop Fugallo's hands that had transformed into large axes. Meanwhile, despite Fugallo's hands-turned-axes carrying tremendous power, they only managed to cause Andusia's Chaos Barrier to tremble a little when they struck it. They failed to do any substantial damage to the barrier, let alone break it.

Andusia was the Chaos Barrier taboo's creator, so she could naturally also use it. Moreover, seeing how it took little to no damage from a taboo-level attack, it was obvious that Andusia's Chaos Barrier was stronger than the one Fugallo previously summoned. It made sense, though, since Andusia would naturally be more knowledgeable about the taboo she created than someone who had just learned it afterward.

"Move aside, Andusia!" Fugallo said with a cold expression. After hearing Andusia's previous words, he could finally determine Andusia's identity—the Ninth Demon King Andusia, the Demon King from a generation before him. "How can you even call yourself a Demon King if you're helping the Hero? Do you not hate humans?"

One of the main conditions for a person to get selected by the Demon King's Power was to harbor hatred for humans. If an individual did not resent the human race, they would never be chosen to become a Demon King.

Meanwhile, as a former Demon King, Andusia must have had a time when she had fallen into despair because of humans and despised humans. Yet, now, Andusia was fighting alongside a Hero. This situation greatly confused Fugallo.

"I did hate humans, but that was long ago. By now, the group of humans I detested the most have long since disappeared in the ebbs of time," Andusia responded with a mocking smile. Then, after transforming her multi-colored barrier into a multi-colored bullet and sending it flying at Fugallo, she continued, "I'm not so tasteless as to vent my hatred on innocent people!"

"It seems words won't get through to you."

Fugallo naturally wouldn't fall into self-doubt because of a few words Andusia said. Even after all these years, his hatred for humans never faded in the slightest.

Immediately, Fugallo used a taboo called Mana Breakdown to neutralize Andusia's mana bullet. Then, his body started radiating a light-green glow before transforming into a gust of wind instantly swept by Andusia's side.

Andusia's current Living Wood body allowed her to mimic the state of her real body. Unlike Alice, Fugallo also didn't get to see Andusia when she still pretended to be a figurine in Marion's house. So, unless Fugallo went out of his way and used special magic to inspect the composition of Andusia's body, it was highly unlikely he would learn that Andusia's body was made of wood.

In such a situation, it was only natural for Fugallo to prioritize targeting Alice, the supposedly weaker link of his two opponents.

"This bastard…"

Andusia was caught off-guard by this sudden development. Based on the spells Fugallo had used thus far, it wasn't hard to determine that he was most proficient in wind-type magic. However, Andusia didn't think Fugallo would transform himself into a gust of wind to slip past her. By the time Andusia reacted and turned around, Fugallo had already swung his hands-turned-axes at Alice.

Fortunately, although Alice was a little low on mana right now, her physique remained. So, even though Fugallo's speed was very fast, Alice still managed to react to his attack and defended herself with the Hero's Sword.

Although Fugallo's hands-turned-axes carried destructive power rivaling Artifacts, the Hero's Sword was a Law-grade weapon. It was an item on par with the Demon King's Power and God's panties. So, Fugallo's hands-turned-axes naturally couldn't break it.

Meanwhile, the instant Fugallo's axes made contact with the Hero's Sword, Andusia finally reacted. Andusia was originally positioned a short distance ahead of Alice, so Fugallo's act of sneaking past her to attack Alice had put him directly behind her. If Andusia couldn't even hit Fugallo at such a close distance, she might as well pack her bags and join a retirement home.

Turning around, Andusia summoned a ball of black light in her right hand. Although she had learned how to use other elements after becoming a full-fledged Demon King, the dark element was still the most familiar element to her as a Demon King.

Dark Sunburst!

Subsequently, the ball of black light separated from Andusia's hand and struck Fugallo in the waist.

Alice had seen this attack before. Luna had used it during their fake fight outside the Elven Forest. At the time, Luna's Dark Sunburst had missed her and crashed into the nearby grassland, resulting in an explosion that created a mushroom cloud. Based on that reaction, it was obvious Dark Sunburst was an offensive taboo with incredible power.

Boom!

Sure enough, even with a Demon King's physique, half of Fugallo's waist instantly disappeared from the resulting explosion. The damage was so severe that his kidneys were erased, and parts of his spine were shattered and exposed. If any ordinary person suffered such a severe injury, they would have died on the spot.

However, thanks to his extraordinary vitality, not only did Fugallo not die, but he even managed to endure the pain he suffered and increased the strength he put into his hands-turned-axes.

Alice originally already had a difficult time keeping Fugallo's axes at bay. So, Fugallo increasing the strength he used immediately caused the axes to move closer and closer to her body.