Chapter 27
No One Is Born a Hero (12)
“…It doesn’t look good.”
If you keep going in that direction, there was the expedition team’s campsite.
Looking at the state of things, some had already arrived and then some.
Could the injured professor stop all of those things?
No, had he even woken up? Had he already been taken down, or was he holding out?
With a churning heart, I stared blankly in that direction. The smell of burning monsters stung my nose. It was nauseating.
‘…Should I save them?’
I only saved Camilla Guinevere because she’s necessary for the future, and Ian Gardwin because Ethan was watching.
Then what about the other meaningless people?
It would take quite some time for the Imperial Knights to come and rescue them.
Since the incident started earlier than expected, it might take even longer than I remember.
If so, the students left at the campsite are definitely doomed.
They were people who would have died anyway if things went according to fate.
Should I save them even if it means taking the risk of dealing with the Gigantic Arachne, even facing the unknown Rimos Therion…
What are those people to me? And.
‘…Who am I to do that?’
My head already knew that the right choice was to pretend to escape and go explore the curse during that time.
It’s probably just because it’s the first time I’m experiencing ‘this moment’ again that I can’t judge coldly. I pulled myself together.
There’s no such thing as a person who can save everyone.
If such a person existed, they’d be a hero.
Yes, a hero.
I raised my head, filled with complicated thoughts buzzing around.
I could see Ethan Behemoth overwhelmingly clearing out the airborne monsters.
Kwagwagwang!!!
Every time his sword drew a heavy arc, winged monsters fell, spraying bodily fluids.
He was literally fighting like a madman.
There must have been an acid-spitting monster, as his armor was in tatters, incomparable to how it was slightly melted earlier.
He swung his sword with his short hair fluttering, and occasionally stretched his neck long and raised his head to take a deep breath. That sight seemed almost insane. And that’s why it was beautiful.
Unknown blood dripped from the tip of his sword that he momentarily let droop.
‘…Are you still holding out?’
Just counting the fallen monsters by hand, it had already exceeded both hands in that short time. He must have used up all the elixirs he had, too.
He would have thrown himself in without sparing his body, but there’s a limit to human endurance.
Yet Ethan was holding out.
‘How?’
The question was quickly answered.
It was because of me.
Ethan put strength in his thighs and leaped, mounting a winged monster, then gripped his sword with both hands and stabbed it precisely where the core was located.
On top of the falling monster, he thrust his hand between the broken armor pieces, grasped the monster’s core, and drank the concentrated liquid.
‘And he called me crazy.’
Then, the bright red exposed wounds started to heal.
It’s probably impossible since he’s too far away, but for a moment, it felt like our eyes met.
‘You’re the crazy one.’
As soon as Ethan finished recovering, he leaped towards another monster charging from the opposite direction.
To think he’d fight like this after using up all his elixirs.
Rushing in recklessly to kill instantly, recovering with the core extracted from what he killed, then charging in again without regard for his body….
I can’t deny it’s the most efficient method in the current situation. But I was curious about one thing.
‘…Why go to such lengths?’
Thanks to Ethan Behemoth, the monsters that should have occupied the air couldn’t fly to the expedition team’s campsite as their path was blocked, and they were just circling around Ethan Behemoth.
Despite it clearly being a terrifying situation where he seemed to be hunted, Ethan was smiling.
‘…Hah.’
I lowered my head to check on the Gigantic Arachne’s movements. It was still a bit far off, seemingly unaware that a corner was burning as it had been playing at destroying the ravine all this time.
…I took out two bottles of elixir from my pocket and placed them in Ian’s hand.
“Here, Ian. Can you carry Camilla to the campsite?”
“…That’s….”
“After the flames die down, other monsters will gather. Run through that path before then.”
I gestured towards a distant forest path that seemed untouched by the monsters. He hesitantly grasped the elixir bottles, then looked at me with wavering eyes.
“Then what about you?”
“…I’m not alone.”
Though I don’t believe it.
I gestured somewhere towards the sky where Ethan was carrying out a massacre, and Ian Gardwin made an “Ah” sound as if he understood.
“…Monsters, the lot of you.”
“The monster is Young Lord Behemoth. Not me.”
“No. You’re not human either.”
Ian nodded with a smile. His cheeks trembled slightly, betraying that it was a forced smile.
It must be hard to bear. I watched him silently for a moment, then patted his shoulder.
“Enough, let’s go quickly.”
“…Right.”
He pretended to trust me and Ethan, but he still seemed uncomfortable about fleeing first. His steps were slow as he carried the unconscious Camilla on his back.
Finally, as he seemed to be moving along the side path, he suddenly stopped and asked in a trembling voice.
“That giant spider monster… how can you possibly deal with it?”
“Me?”
Aren’t you expecting too much? When I asked back, he shook his head awkwardly and mumbled.
“…No. I don’t think you can do anything about it… But I can’t leave you alone with no way out either.”
“Of course, I’m going to do something about it.”
I quickly intercepted. Such unnecessary worry. I was just teasing.
As I smiled slightly, Ian opened his eyes in surprise.
“What?”
“Didn’t you see me taking care of the smaller spider monsters?”
It’s only the first time in this timeframe, but I’m a regressor.
I know things inside out that nobody else knows, and I’ve internalized the most efficient ways to move in my head and heart. So.
‘If I wanted to pull out, I should have done it long ago.’
Now, I have no choice but to face it myself.
Honestly, it’s certainly pushing it at my current level, and it’s not something possible with optimism alone, but.
What people fleeing this situation need is…
…A thread of hope, I suppose.
My eyes met Ian’s.
He nodded once, and I nodded back.
“As soon as you reach the campsite, please call the Imperial Knights. There should be a summoning scroll in the advance party’s tent.”
“Scroll…. Alright. But how do you know that?”
If it were Ethan Behemoth, he’d be sharp enough not to ask and just do it well. It was a bit annoying, but I answered.
“Ethan told me.”
‘I guess it’s okay to drop his name a bit.’
When Ethan Behemoth’s name came up, Ian seemed to understand easily.
“Ah, I see. Then I’ll get going!”
“Be careful. If you encounter monsters, don’t try to fight them, just run as fast as you can. If it seems impossible, wake up Camilla.”
Ian nodded as he adjusted Camilla on his back, then quickly ran off down the side path and disappeared.
If nothing goes wrong, those two should be able to survive.
I hid my body in a crevice between rocks and caught my breath before the monsters could gather again.
‘…Is it possible?’
These aren’t monsters that spawned and reproduced locally here and there. They’re monsters that came directly from the demon realm.
This was one of the representative signs among various omens of the world’s destruction. The opening of a gate connecting to the demon realm.
The gates to the demon realm, which would open sporadically in unexpected locations, would spew out monsters en masse before closing.
Every time I regressed, I had organized advance parties to send in a few times, but no one had returned before I ended my past life.
The monsters spewed out by this passage were similar yet different from the monsters so far. The biggest difference was that they were much more ferocious and powerful than ordinary monsters, and they were gigantic.
The regularity of the gate’s opening location hadn’t been figured out even right before I ended my past life.
‘But as for that very first start, undoubtedly.’
The passage first opened in this training expedition site.
Even if it had opened before, it had never caused as much damage as this time.
The lower-level monsters that were originally scheduled for the students to subjugate were all killed by the beasts that came over from the demon realm, and even the academy’s elite knights, professors, and students were swept away.
This time, it’s impossible not to be noticeable.
Kirrrruk….
Above me, and a bit farther away, the Gigantic Arachne stretched its long, sturdy legs as if stretching, perhaps satisfied after destroying enough of the ravine.
I took a deep breath while looking up at that scene, holding my breath.
‘They said the entire ravine collapsed after this incident.’
About half of the ravine still remains. So the Gigantic Arachne’s destruction won’t end here.
If so… now, while the ravine is less collapsed, is the opportunity.
The Gigantic Arachne was indeed gigantic enough to deserve the modifier “gigantic,” but it was still lower than the half-intact ravine.
If I could collapse the remaining ravine all at once…
‘There’s a possibility.’
It’s just a mere possibility, a slim chance, but.
‘If I give up, even that possibility won’t exist.’
🥀
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