[The Hero
We were operating as a mobile strike force, flanking the demon army that had attacked the fortress.
At first we'd been fighting a defensive battle from atop the fortress, but we judged that staying put would only lead to a slow, grinding defeat, so we decided to strike out.
We could still fight, but the other units were reaching their limits.
With that in mind, we attempted to break through the demon army's lines.
If everything went well, we could push straight through and reach the demon commander.
If we could take down the commander, we might be able to turn the tide of the battle.
A demon shouted something in the Demon language as it charged at me.
I can't speak Demon, so I have no idea what it was saying, but I split the demon's body in two along with its incoming sword.
I pressed onward without breaking stride.
The demon in front of me frantically raised its shield.
Without slowing, I swung my sword in a horizontal slash aimed at the shield.
The shield and the demon behind it were both cleaved clean in half.
Every demon that charged at me was cut down in a single stroke.
Before long, the demons began to falter.
"Get out of the way! I won't chase those who flee!"
I shouted, injecting a sliver of hope into my words.
But not a single demon broke and ran.
"Hey, Julius, I don't think speaking to them in the Human language is going to get through," Hailins pointed out calmly.
Despite being on a battlefield, I felt a flush of embarrassment that left me slightly uncomfortable.
"Still, it seems to have worked as a threat," Hailins added.
Looking around, the demons had us surrounded but were visibly hesitating to attack.
"They're scared witless of Julius's ridiculous strength."
"If they'd just back off now, this could be resolved quickly."
As I muttered that, the ring of demons parted.
From the gap, a single demon stepped toward us.
"You're the Hero, aren't you?"
"Going out of your way to ask in the Human language — how polite. That's right. I'm the Hero. The Hero Julius Zagan Analaito."
The demon man gave a single nod and slowly drew his sword.
"I'm Blow, Seventh Army Commander of the Demon race's forces. Hero — let us settle this fairly, one on one!"
"Very well."
We locked eyes.
Both the surrounding demons and my companions held their breath, watching the duel between me and the demon general.
Blow moved first.
A diagonal downward slash.
Matching his timing, I swung my sword as well.
Our blades crossed.
Despite striking with full force, I couldn't cut through Blow's sword.
With no other option, I used brute strength to send him flying.
"Hey, that demon actually blocked Julius's sword?"
"That demon is plenty monstrous."
Blow had been knocked back and lost his footing — I pressed the advantage with a follow-up strike.
Blow apparently judged that blocking with his sword would be unwise, so he dodged my slash.
But dodging alone wasn't enough.
I unleashed the holy light that had been wreathing my blade.
The holy light surged after Blow as a slash carrying the force of impact, even bypassing the sword he'd tried to use as a barrier.
To my surprise, Blow actually managed to block this too, using his sword as a shield.
Blow reset his stance.
I wrapped my sword in holy light once more.
Simultaneously, I deployed ten Holy Light Spheres.
"Julius is getting serious now."
"That means the opponent is the real deal, huh?"
The Holy Light Spheres orbited around me.
I sent commands to each and every one.
Then I launched them all at Blow.
Every sphere moved according to my will.
Even if the target dodged, the spheres would pursue relentlessly.
Blow appeared intent on meeting the incoming spheres head-on.
The first Holy Light Sphere collided with Blow's sword.
In that instant, the sphere erupted, scattering destructive light in every direction.
Blow took the full brunt of the impact and was sent flying.
The remaining spheres detonated without mercy on top of him.
I stood with my sword raised, scanning the surroundings.
The demons stood frozen in shock.
My companions, on the other hand, looked completely unsurprised, as if this were the only possible outcome.
"…Not… yet…"
The voice pulled my gaze back.
To my astonishment, Blow was getting to his feet despite blood streaming from wounds all over his body.
And those wounds were healing before my eyes.
There was no sensation of magic being cast, so it wasn't a healing spell.
He must have been using a Skill — either mana restoration or spirit-force restoration — to heal himself.
"You should stop pushing yourself. You already know the difference in our strength."
"I haven't lost yet! If I go crawling back like this, I won't be able to face my brother!"
So this man had a brother.
I have a brother too.
But if anything, I feel more like Shun's big brother.
As an older brother, you'd want your younger sibling to come home safe rather than push themselves too hard.
That's how it should be.
"If you have a brother, that's even more reason not to die here, wouldn't you say? Pull back your forces. I won't pursue."
"I can't pull back!"
Blow charged.
I brought him down, smashing through his incoming slash without mercy.
The power of holy light tore into Blow's body relentlessly.
And yet Blow stood up again.
Again and again.
Until finally, it came to an end.
Blow's healing stopped.
"It's over."
"Not… yet… I… haven't…"
"It is over. I warned you. You ignored that warning, and you were defeated."
I walked calmly toward Blow.
Slowly, I raised my sword and brought it down.
"Damn… it… bro… ther…"
His final, broken words were spoken in the Demon language.
But somehow, I understood what he meant.
A bitter feeling welled up inside me.
But mercy has no place on the battlefield.
The demons fell silent.
From among them, something stepped forward.
It was white.
That was the only way to describe it — a white girl.
And her closed eyes slowly opened.