"Sword Hero, sir, the Bow Hero-sama will never be controlled by the Shield Demon."
Among Itsuki Kawasumi's companions, the one in the flashiest armor—a "knight in shining plate"—stepped forward and rebuked Ren Amaki.
"Because the Bow Hero-sama is justice itself. An evil Shield Demon can't harm the Bow Hero-sama in the slightest with any so-called Brainwashing Shield. But if you, Sword Hero, sir, refuse to fight… then I have no choice but to suspect you've already been controlled by the Shield Demon's Brainwashing Shield."
Ren's eyebrow twitched.
"Oh? And what are you trying to say?"
He'd disliked that full-plate guy in Itsuki's party for a long time now—the one who looked like the protagonist of Ghosts 'n Goblins.
Because when Itsuki's companions addressed Ren, it was always "Sword Hero, sir." But when they addressed Itsuki, it was "Bow Hero-sama."
Whether it was Chinese—xiansheng versus daren—or Japanese—-san versus -sama—it was the same idea.
The first could be used for anyone. The second carried solemn respect—almost reverence.
Ren kept his usual cold expression, but he wasn't stupid.
This guy had been ranking Heroes into tiers for a while now, acting like Ren wouldn't notice.
And that speech just now? Blatant provocation. Nobody was swallowing that.
"So you want to test whether my sword is sharp?"
"Then please, Sword Hero, enlighten me."
The knight snorted. He didn't even tack on "sir" anymore—he addressed him flatly as "Sword Hero."
"Are you looking to die?"
Ren drew his sword and charged.
...
While the Sword Hero's side and the Bow Hero's side erupted into a brawl, the knights charged Kiriko's group at the same time.
"Kill the Shield Demon!"
"Don't spare the Heretic Witch or the fake Spear Hero either—they're all in on it!"
"Kill them all! Leave none alive!"
The knights surged forward, chanting with fanatic zeal.
BOOM!
Without warning, a white dragon dropped from the sky and smashed into the front ranks.
The soldiers beneath it didn't even have time to scream before they were turned into tomato paste.
The white dragon whipped its tail, sweeping more than a dozen soldiers away in one blow.
A swipe of its claws split several men open, killing them on the spot.
"Archers! Fire—fire!"
"Use magic! Do something!"
The faster thinkers shouted orders. Some soldiers snatched bows from their backs; others hurled spells at the white dragon.
But in the middle of that storm of arrows and magic, the white dragon flashed with white light—and became a petite little girl.
Kanna's sudden transformation made most of the spells miss entirely. The arrows still rained down a heartbeat later—only to punch into the knights behind her instead, dropping their own men.
"[YOL-TOOR-SHUL]!"
High above, the green dragon unleashed a blast of searing flame.
A golden pillar of fire fell from the heavens, igniting the ground—and the knights with it.
A few soldiers were lucky enough to be outside the breath's range. Some of them dropped their weapons and ran, screaming for their lives.
Others raised bows at Tohru in the sky or tried to cast magic.
But their attacks were as feeble as the Imperial soldiers at Helgen trying to fight Alduin.
The battle ended quickly.
From start to finish, only three on Kiriko's side had actually fought—Tohru, Kanna, and Gabriel. Everyone else didn't even move, and the entire knight detachment was wiped out.
And because Ren had come to his senses before the lines fully met, Kiriko didn't lay a finger on him or his companions.
As for Itsuki and his party—with Naofumi Iwatani's help, they were all subdued.
"Sword Hero, you have made a mistake—a grave mistake. You are walking further and further down the wrong path, sinking deeper and deeper…"
Even bound hand and foot and stripped of his weapon, the armored knight wouldn't shut up. He glared at Ren, eyes full of contempt.
For some reason, compared to the Shield Demon, the Heretic Witch, and the fake Spear Hero, this guy seemed to hate the Sword Hero most.
"Shut up."
Ren's face stayed icy.
"Sword Hero, you dare treat the righteous Bow Hero-sama—and we who serve Bow Hero-sama—like this! Once the king hears, he will never forgive you! The righteous men of this entire nation won't let you go either!"
"I said shut up!"
Ren slammed the hilt of his Legendary Sword into the knight's face, sending blood spraying.
Ignoring that side, Kiriko crouched in front of Malty with keen interest.
"Come to think of it… this makes the third time, doesn't it?"
Malty knelt on the ground, tears spilling from her eyes, cheeks faintly flushed—pitiful to look at.
"Zero Hero-sama, please don't be angry. Anger is one of the seven deadly sins. In hell, it is punished by being dismembered while still alive. So for Zero Hero-sama's sake, please—stay calm. You must stay calm."
"Calm? Of course I'm calm."
Kiriko wasn't just calm—she almost wanted to laugh.
"Th-then… then please, Zero Hero-sama, don't think about taking revenge afterward. Hatred only breeds hatred. When will vengeance ever end? Only… only mercy can break the chains of hatred."
Whether that was actually a saying in this world, or whether [Language Comprehension B] was polishing it for her, Malty's sermon flowed out without a hitch.
"I heard that in this country's faith, the three Heroes—the Spear, the Sword, and the Bow—who were once summoned and saved this world from the Waves are worshiped like gods. Is that true?"
Malty didn't know why Kiriko was asking.
But after her eyes darted around, even she—who treated lying like breathing—didn't see any point in lying about this. So, unusually, she nodded.
"Then you believe that after death, you return to the gods' side?"
Malty's eyes shifted again. Still seeing no reason to lie, she nodded once more.
"I see."
Kiriko stood.
Then, with a single stroke, she cut Malty's head clean off.
Kiriko flicked the blood from her blade and slid it back into its scabbard.
"God can decide whether to forgive you. I'm only responsible for sending you to meet him."
No matter how miraculous this world's healing magic was, there was no way they were reattaching a head after that.
This wasn't Zombieland Saga, after all.
---
T/N: HUH???? SHE DIED JUST LIKE THAT
T/N2: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3 do u think itd be better to do it earlier in the week to make u guys wait more for the bonus chapters
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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