Episode 6: The Hero Takes His Own Life (6) – A Certain Village’s Tragedy

　While some villagers and I were exchanging words, the demons were closing in on the village, some of them ran away in a panic, while the hunters, bows in hand, hid behind fences and sandbags as they fired their arrows.
　They are free to take whatever action they want, and I neither approve nor demean any of their actions.

　―――――As it turned out, though, all of those actions were for nothing.

　The hunters who attempted to intercept them were quickly killed by a hail of arrows fired by goblins and other armed demons, leaving their entire bodies covered in arrows.
The stationed knight who stood on the front line to forestall the invasion of the village was fighting hard, but was beaten to death by a large troll with exceptional power  ―――perhaps a rare species. The knight was then swarmed by demons and died before he could scream out a final desperate cry.
　After those who tried to resist were killed, the residents who dropped their weapons and fled in the chaos were finally one-sidedly overwhelmed.
　Although some had tried to leave the village, it was already too late, and a separate force of demons had surrounded the village to block their retreat, making it impossible for them to escape.
　The only thing those trapped in the village could do was to run, hide, and eventually die.

　The demons did not allow any of them to escape, and they were relentless in their search for hidden people, killing them all with great care.
　The most common reason for demons to attack people is for predation, but this was a slaughter just to kill as if people should not be allowed to exist.
　Some were mutilated and toyed with until they died, others were tortured in such a way as not to die, and a few were devoured in a normal way. Of course, some were killed effortlessly, like insects, in various ways.

　In the midst of all this, Porcas, who had run away without Mireille, who was heavily pregnant, was captured by a demon in the form of a giant tree with a human face and was brought back to the village.
　As if in punishment for running away, his body was meticulously stabbed all over, missing all the vital points, making him look like a bloody sack full of minced meat.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUU!! IT HUUUUUUUUUTS, HEYY YOUUU, SAAAAAVE MEEEEEE! YOU'RE A HEROOO, AREN'T YOUUUUU! ! "

　However, I answered him as I put a bottle of liquor in my mouth and gulp it down while staring him down.

"Isn't that what you decided to call me all on your own? I've never called myself a hero."

……Ah, alcohol tastes good today. Since I let Alberic die, no matter how much I drank, it just tasted like water.

"MONEY, I HAVE MONEY! MONEY... GOLD, I'LL GIVE IT ALL TO YOU! PLEASE, SAVE MEEE! I DON'T DESERVE THIIIIIIISSS! I WANT TO LIVE!! "

　Of course, I ignored such pleas.
　When Porcas stopped responding, perhaps because his spirit broke down in the absence of salvation and in pain and despair, the demon boringly skewered Porcas from head to crotch.
　His body, motionless after a series of convulsions, was hung like a crucifix from the branches of a tree demon. Could some of the other bodies hanging around be those who tried to escape from the village? I don't know.

　Oh yeah, I remember Mireille abandoning her baby early and hiding somewhere.
　Perhaps because with a baby in tow, she would be exposed by its cries, she did not hesitate to leave the child on the ground and run away when the demons began to invade the village and look for a place to hide.
　I wonder to what extent it is all about self-importance. I don't know if it's just her true nature that came out when she was cornered, or if she was born this way.
　Incidentally, the baby abandoned on the ground was preyed upon by a passing wolf-type demon.

　And the trashy woman who abandoned her own child to survive on her own is now rolling around with only the upper half of her body after a large monster ate her lower half!
　Her final moments were miserable, as she was discovered hiding, screaming and incontinent, when she was ambushed by sandworms from underground, which swallowed her from the chest down and slammed her into the ground and walls with a shriek, leaving even her prized beauty a mere shadow. To top it all off, she asked me for help, but I silently responded with a fart.
　……And at the last moment, her body was devoured while she asked Alberic for forgiveness and help.
　Only the upper half of her body, her face stained with despair, was left in its place, and the sandworm returned to the ground, perhaps satisfied with having eaten Mireille's lower half and fetus, but as I watched, I thought, ah, karma really does come true, and stirred my drink.

　During the carnage, I used my Heavenly Knight skill to put up a protective barrier and only took down the demons that still came at me in self-defense.
　Many dead villagers around me came up to me to ask for help and were killed by demons, but even when I saw them, my heart remained steadfast.
　In the beginning, the monsters were heading for me, but when they understood that if they didn't touch me, they wouldn't be killed, they avoided me and went around killing villagers.

　As I was thus standing on the sidelines of the massacre in a noticeable area of the village, a demon, probably the commander of the herd, spoke to me. His red eyes glowed behind his shroud, suggesting that he was either a wraith-like demon or an Assassin class of some kind. Whatever it was, I think it was a reasonably strong demon.

『……I assume that you are quite skilled. Will you not stop us? 』

　I wonder if this demon understands that if he fights me, he too will be in danger, and I can sense in his voice that he is listening to me and trying to figure out my intentions.
　I guess he is prepared to have to deal with me himself if I show hostility, maybe he is a more mature general than I thought.
　But well, such things were trivial to me, so I responded honestly.

"I won't stop you. I'm just here to see what happens in this village."

　I guess he was amused by my words, so while saying "Is that so...? " the demon nodded after giving a slight look of thought.

『Understood, in that case……You can watch the slaughter of the army that follows our Black Dragon King, Hroboros-sama, from a special seat! 』

"Thanks."

　He turned around and gave more orders to slaughter to the demons, while I expressed my gratitude. I'll have to remember that these demons are led by Hroboros.
　And perhaps because of this exchange with the commander, no demons attacked me after that, and I was able to relax and watch the village slowly perish.
　Over the next few hours, the inhabitants of the village were all equally reduced to mere lumps of meat, both young and old.

　I took one look at the village after the demons had left, and…… laughed at the fact that I couldn't feel any emotion when I witnessed it all. ……Maybe my spirit is already broken, but I just haven't noticed it myself.
　I remember Roger saying on the trip that revenge is not for the sake of the dead, but for the sake of the living to feel better.
　Now I understand a little more what Roger meant when he said that, if I had to do it or not, it would be better to take revenge. It was unforgivable that the fiancée who betrayed Alberic, the cuckold, and the inhabitants of this village should live in peace and enjoy their lives, so I decided that the fact that they died like garbage was what these guys deserved.
　I was just a little concerned about the divergence between what Mireille looked like when I saw her at the start of our journey and what she looked like now. ……They say that young people at a certain age change based on the people they associate with, but what is this disgusting vibe that seems to cling to my skin? Well, it's all over and done with, and in fact Porcas and Mireille were such a hopeless bunch that it's too late to start thinking about it now.

　Now that I have finished witnessing the end of the village, I must hurry back to the royal capital. ……Those demons will be heading for the royal capital, scouring villages and forts along the way, so it will take a few more days for them to arrive. I have some things to do before they reach the royal capital.

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