* * *
The guards didn’t waste the opening.
They forced their trembling bodies to move, guiding the terrified villagers to the inn while shielding them as best as they could.
One of the thorn wolves, furious at losing its prey, turned to chase the evacuating villagers.
“Not on my watch.”
Keeping an eye on the beast near a discarded sword, I quickly acted before it could pounce.
This time, my blade gleamed with sharp sword energy as it cut through the thorns covering the wolf’s tail.
With its tail stripped bare, I leapt down from the tree and grabbed it with both hands.
Technically speaking, this tail was steel, too.
I channeled a surge of energy into the tail, using it as a makeshift weapon to fling the beast wildly.
The thorny spikes collided with the other wolves, scattering them like debris.
A few wolves were thrown so far they barely twitched before collapsing lifelessly.
Some struggled to rise and began to flee, but I decided not to give chase.
This wasn’t a method I could keep up for long—after all, it wasn’t real steel.
Tossing the thorn wolf aside, I ended its struggle with a clean slash to its neck.
There were already plenty of corpses, yet the area still teemed with beasts.
It’d be great if the Hero could sweep them all away with one decisive move.
He seemed distant, unfocused.
Was something wrong?
‘What am I thinking?’
It was absurd to worry about the Hero of all people.
Still, the thought lingered.
With no distress signals coming from elsewhere, I headed toward the inn.
Evacuating alone wasn’t enough; someone had to stay behind to protect the people.
I ran, driven by that thought.
Just as expected, the area near the inn was a mess.
The beasts, drawn to the abundance of prey, surrounded the building while pale-faced guards desperately tried to hold them back.
To make matters worse, the third group of villagers had just arrived, attempting to reach the inn.
But with the beasts clustered near the entrance, they couldn’t open the door.
Chaos and panic reigned.
‘This is fine.’
If I used the sword energy I’d been conserving, I could clear a path easily.
Non-enhanced beasts might be feral with hunger, but they weren’t reckless enough to throw their lives away… most of the time.
Then it happened.
Without me doing anything, the beasts hesitated.
Their growls quieted, and they retreated slightly, creating a path on their own.
It wasn’t me. It was him.
Simply by walking toward them, the Hero sent the beasts into a panic.
The sheer weight of his presence—his existence—was a threat that these creatures couldn’t withstand.
The strongest man in the world had arrived.
“Is it over already?”
The Hero was here.
A single human approached, and the beasts quailed in fear, their instincts screaming at them to flee.
In the eerie silence, even the air seemed to hold its breath.
To some, this might have been impossible to believe, even if they’d known about it intellectually.
Moments later, the inn’s doors flew open, and the villagers rushed inside during the brief lull.
There was nothing more for me to do here.
“It’s done.”
I smiled as I spoke.
The Hero nodded and turned away. From here on, it was his stage.
“We’ll fight too!”
“We’re the town guards—it’s our duty!”
The guards, now gathered near the inn, clutched their weapons and stepped forward.
It was admirable, if foolish.
These were the same men who had been paralyzed with fear not long ago.
Of course, they didn’t yet understand.
Anyone who hadn’t witnessed Zerbin Batista’s full power might think that cooperation would help.
But that only applied in normal situations.
“Unnecessary.”
The Hero’s curt reply cut through their resolve.
“Why do you think I evacuated everyone?”
As he spoke, he drew his massive sword—a blade so large that even he needed both hands to wield it.
Sword energy flared violently along its length, blazing like fire.
In a single leap, he closed the gap between himself and the retreating beasts.
His elegant purple hair and leather cloak billowed as he swung his blade, releasing a storm of sword energy.
It was like a force of nature—a divine punishment delivered by a wrathful god.
The beasts were torn apart, their remains painting the ground red.
Even after dispatching countless foes, the Hero landed lightly, unshaken.
Watching him, one could only believe he was truly destined to save the world.
“Amazing…”
“My god…”
The guards’ voices trembled with awe and disbelief.
Silently, they retreated into the inn, realizing they were no match for such power.
Their focus shifted to tending the wounded and calming the villagers—an entirely sensible choice.
While most of the beasts had fallen to the Hero’s overwhelming might, a few lucky ones had escaped unscathed.
Those remaining stragglers were quickly herded into a clearing.
The Hero’s second strike ensured there were no survivors.
Had this been an open plain instead of a village, even that second strike wouldn’t have been necessary.
Such was his overwhelming strength.
‘Time for cleanup.’
Though most of the beasts were obliterated, a few intact corpses remained.
If left unchecked, the demons might later use resurrection magic on them.
Best to finish them off now.
It was simple enough—just separate the head from the body.
I handled the remaining corpses with ease.
The Hero approached, his armor spotless and his breathing steady despite the battle.
“What are you doing?”
Huh?
Wasn’t it obvious?
Why was he asking about something so basic?
Surely, he knew better than anyone the importance of making sure the beasts couldn’t revive.
“Could it be that you’re annoyed because I meddled with something you already took care of? Sorry if I hurt the hero’s pride, but honestly, it didn’t seem like you were considering that while fighting…”
There were noticeably more monsters today whose heads hadn’t been separated from their bodies than usual.
To be frank, it really seemed like I didn’t know a thing.
‘…’
No!
Of course, I wouldn’t know!
“Ah, haha. Double-checking? Or call it a finishing shot. You know how those monsters are annoyingly hard to kill.”
There’s no way I could know!
This is a time when there weren’t any demon attacks yet!
No way the demons would be using resurrection magic either!
‘Ack!’
I didn’t look strange just now, right?
Why did I suddenly confuse this with the time before regression?
Maybe it’s because I just woke up and my head’s all muddled.
Also, the fact that a monster attack like this is so rare during peaceful times made the delusion feel even more real.
No, wait.
Attacks like this never happened during peaceful times.
This kind of ambush only started appearing shortly before the demons invaded.
I never knew exactly when, but apparently, it’s already happening now with less than half a year left.
Damn it.
Zerbin was giving me a strange look.
Well, considering I’d never acted like this while traveling through the forest before, it made sense.
Still, the situation during a monster attack is different from normal.
I hope he just lets it slide!
“But you didn’t need to do that. I mean, it wasn’t me who caught them—it was you. No way they’d still be alive. You’re amazing, as always.”
I tried to change the subject with a bit of flattery.
Of course, my admiration for Zerbin was completely genuine too.
Zerbin looked at me silently for a moment.
My heart was pounding.
What else could I say to explain myself?
This Zerbin probably hasn’t experienced an ambush like this before.
Maybe he’d understand if I said I was just double-checking because the monsters seemed different from usual!
“You too.”
Me?
What about me?
I was so anxious from acting weird that I was bracing for the worst.
“…Good job.”
Whoa.
My heart nearly stopped from the suspense.
But when I heard those words, I couldn’t help but smile brightly.
He said I did a good job!
Zerbin told me I did a good job!
* * *
