The Hero vs. The Sage

We hurried into the depths of the ruins. Ruti had not explored this deep, but the

defensive clockwork golems weren't functioning, and there was nothing to get in our

way. The corridors were filled with an eerie silence.

"H-hey, little missy," Godwin called out to Tisse pathetically. She spared him just a

single glance. "I'm just gonna get in y'all's way, right? Wouldn't it be better I went

outside to wait?"

"And you'd have me wait out there with you?"

"I mean, it's not like I can defend myself… I'm beggin' ya here. I can't see myself

surviving if I stick around with you guys."

"There isn't any place safer than with us," Tisse declared flatly.

Godwin slumped in disappointment, but he obediently followed, not showing any sign

of trying to run off into the ruins by himself.

Finally, we reached a vast hall of some sort. Magical lanterns were hanging from the

ceiling, and three elevators stood ready to carry passengers deeper underground. At

one point, a sign hung above them, but there was evidence that it had been forcibly

torn away.

The tables and chairs around the hall had all been destroyed, as if a fit of rage had

struck the wood elves who had made it this far. Ancient elven furniture was

extraordinarily sturdy, so it wouldn't break without the use of magic or skills. I guess

the appliances must have really bothered them. Perhaps they'd seen something here

that set them off?

A clank issued from one of the elevators. A force field was engaged as ancient elf magic

from time immemorial activated, accompanied by the sound of an elevator sliding up

toward us.

"Shisandan." I started to draw my bronze sword, but before I could, a gleaming silver

longsword appeared in front of me. Ruti was holding out my trusted old sword,

Thunderwaker.

"You held on to it? I was sure you would have sold it."

"I would never do that. It's your sword."

I was a bit hesitant to take the weapon. It was a symbol of my time with the Hero's

party, totally at odds with how I was currently living my life. Still, I grasped its hilt

firmly. If Rit was ready to return to adventuring one last time to get her revenge, then

I could go back to being Gideon for a bit, too.

"Thank you." I kept my words of gratitude short and performed a single practice swing

to reaffirm my feel for Thunderwaker. It was entirely different from the bronze sword

I used in Zoltan. The Weapon Proficiency: Longsword skill that remained dormant

whenever I wielded my bronze sword activated again, and I could feel myself

becoming one with the sword. "All right."

The elevator would soon arrive. There was another clank as the brakes engaged, and

a single solid door slid open. What appeared was a man in armor with a shotel at his

waist.

"It's been so long, my cute little disciple."

It was Gaius, the head of the royal guard in Loggervia and Rit's master.

"Shisandaaaaaan!!!"

Rit rushed forward with both shotels drawn.

"Wait! Something's off!"

Ruti's warning was too late, though. Rit was already swinging one of her swords at the

figure standing in the elevator.

"?!"

The Gaius standing in the elevator didn't so much as twitch as Rit charged. Her blades

caught nothing but empty air.

"An illusory decoy! His real body is…"

Shisandan was invisible, standing behind Rit as he drove a sword toward her back.

Surprisingly, Rit was smirking. If she knew an attack coming from behind, it didn't

matter whether she could see her enemy or not. Just the sensation of menace in the

air was enough for Rit to catch Shisandan's blade with the shotel in her right hand.

"I figured you would try that. There's no way I'd fall for such obvious provocation." Rit

was still the same skilled fighter she had been during her adventuring days. Her left

shotel sped toward Shisandan's legs.

"Red!"

"Got it!"

I brought my sword to bear on the Asura demon from behind. I'd realized Rit's plan as

soon as she'd started running, and I had moved closer so that I could strike Shisandan

when the moment was right. We didn't need words. I could understand what she was

thinking.

Shisandan's invisibility ended when my blade met one of his, revealing the imposing

figure of the Asura demon's true form. His legs were spread as he blocked Rit's strike

as well.

"Tch." Shisandan made a displeased sound.

"What now, Asura demon? You set a trap for Rit, but only got yourself flanked," I said

"Then I guess it can't be helped! Heartstone! Unleash all your magic power!"

A torrent of water sprang up all around us.

"An undine's magic?!"

Rit and I were knocked back by the water. Thankfully, I controlled my landing with a

roll and immediately sprang back to my feet. Rit was knocked into one of the elevators,

but she was quickly back in a fighting stance, too.

Shisandan took a breath to regain his composure.

Just a little bit more, and our swords would have reached him. However, his desperate

maneuver should have exhausted all the power in the magic item he'd used. Plus, he

was still caught between the two of us. We still had the advantage.

Still though, are those wood elf swords? Seems odd for a demon to use such things. And

those four still in the sheaths at his waist are bothering me.

Rit and I both kicked off the ground, unleashing another attack. However, no sooner

had we done so than an uncomfortable premonition struck me.

"Magic?!"

I hastily switched to a defensive stance.

"Paralyzing Flame!"

One of the facades in the room disappeared, revealing a wall just behind it.

Creating a hidden space by casting an illusionary wall right in front of the true one, huh?

Poisonous flames erupted from the ground, racing toward Rit and me. The spell could

stun you on contact. Neither Rit nor I had any resistance to paralysis. Rit could try to

fight it using her spirit magic, and I could tough it out and resist because of my

blessing's high level, but that would only work if the enemy was at a similar level. It

turned out our new opponent was the pinnacle of human mages; his magic would be

nigh impossible to resist.

"Ares!"

The one who had loosed the spell was none other than Ares the Sage. At his waist was

another one of the swords that Shisandan kept at his, for a total of five.

Has he lost his mind and joined up with a demon?!

"Die, Gideon!"

The flames drew closer, but a radiant white shell of light surrounded us.

"Sacred Magic Shield." Ruti cast a spell with her left hand. Trained through thousands

of battles with the demon lord's forces, she had anticipated the possibility of Ares

betraying us and had remained where she was standing, at the ready. "This is your last

chance, Ares. Surrender now, and I can still let you walk away," she cautioned.

"There is still time, Ruti. Please just say that you will continue the Hero's journey

together with me," Ares replied, seemingly oblivious to her statement.

Both quickly began to work new spells.

"Gargantuan Storm Javelin!"

"Sacred Punisher."

A tempestuous black javelin and lightning that brought divine judgment took shape.

The Sage and the Hero's greatest spells clashed, and the aftermath was enough that

Shisandan, Rit, and I all had to stop fighting for a moment. The tremendous impact

was enough to send cracks through the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"So we're equal in magic," Ruti murmured.

Neither spell overcame the other. Both dispersed at the same time.

It was hard to say whether Ares deserved praise for matching the Hero or if I should

be dumbfounded that Ruti, a frontline fighter, could use magic on par with a Sage.

If there were more people like Ruti around, mages would be entirely worthless.

This was a battle between two who had surpassed what normal humans could.

"L-leave me the hell out of thiiiiiiiiis!!!" Godwin started running, a look of terror on his

face. "I don't have any dog in this fight! Heroes should just stick to fighting one another

and not trouble themselves with me!"

Someone like Godwin could easily get blown away as collateral damage in this fight.

He had finally had enough and started sprinting for the exit in a panic.

"Wait! Don't run!" I frantically called out to him, but there was no reasoning with him

in such a state.

"Arise, great fangs and grand wings! Come, lord of beasts! Summon Spirit Drake!" Ares

smirked as he activated his magic. Just when Godwin was about to escape the room,

magic power swirled right before him, forming an enormous figure.

"Eek?!" The man fell backward and shrieked as a green-scaled creature took shape in

front of him. The spirit drake Ares had summoned opened its toothy jaws and began

to approach Godwin.

Not good. If I tried to help, however, Rit would be pinned down by Shisandan! I was

stuck!

"Gyaaaaagh?!"

Thankfully, Godwin did not end up becoming fodder for the drake. A throwing knife

pierced the beast's right eye and caused it to recoil and screech in pain.

"As I said, the safest place you can be is at our side, so please just behave yourself."

Tisse had thrown the dagger. Her expression was unchanged as she stood between

Godwin and the drake.

"A-are you sure?! You realize that's a freaking drake, right?!" Godwin asked nervously.

Perhaps the sight of such a small girl opposing the large creature left Godwin feeling

doubtful. Even I had to admit, when one considered scale alone, Tisse seemed the clear

loser.

"Indeed, my blessing is not well suited to this sort of situation," admitted Tisse.

"Th-then—!" Godwin stammered.

"It will take me a full minute."

Naturally, there was no way that Tisse would lose to a spirit drake. The only hang-up

was that, excluding Godwin, she would be the slowest to defeat it one-on-one. The

Assassin blessing had many skills for seizing upon advantageous situations. Fighting

while guarding another was not one of its specialties. Even so, Tisse was far stronger

than the highest-tier spirit beast.

There was a powerful confidence in her words, leaving Godwin speechless as he

watched Tisse in awe from his seat on the ground.

So far it's going according to plan…!

Ruti was alone now, just as Ares wanted. With her comrades distracted, she was facing

off against Ares by herself.

The feeling of Ruti's hostility focused solely on him was like an icy dagger in the heart.

Yet at the same time, he felt an odd sense of exaltation.

Ruti hasn't made any real moves yet. She wants to protect that Alchemist, but now he

and Tisse have moved toward the exit. With them spread out like this, it will be difficult

for her to guard everyone from my magic. In which case, she should charge in with her

sword. She obviously knows I could use a spell on Gideon before she gets in close. But if I

did that, I wouldn't be able to protect myself, and she will assume that I want to keep

myself safe.

Ares's right hand touched the Sacred Avenger.

But that is actually what I want. If Shisandan is to be believed, if I draw this sword and

it touches her body, the Hero blessing will be enhanced. Then she should realize that

working together with me is the most effective way of achieving her destiny and will

become a nonfactor in this battle. If Ruti is the Hero, then it will be impossible for her to

turn against me!

So long as Ruti didn't intervene, the rest were little more than annoyances. If it had

been Danan, Theodora, and Yarandrala, Ares would have been warier, but he was

facing the dropouts Gideon and Rit and the placeholder Tisse. Ares was sure of his

victory.

Rit and I were attacking Shisandan from both sides.

He's stronger than the last time we fought.

Even though we had the advantage of flanking him, once he was able to steady himself,

he managed to continue deflecting our combined barrage. The demon was not the sort

of opponent who would go down quickly, but we couldn't afford to be taking our time,

either.

I was worried about Ruti. She was facing off against Ares alone. Normally, Ares would

have no hope of winning, but none understood that better than him. Undoubtedly, he

had some sort of plan.

"What are those swords you and Ares are carrying, Shisandan?" I demanded.

"Oh? I should have expected as much from you, Gideon. Worried, are you?" Shisandan

seemed genuinely impressed. "You'll find out soon enough," he appended with a grin.

The next instant, everyone in the room felt the chill of death approaching. We forgot

our respective battles for a split second and instinctively looked over at Ruti.

"Martial Art: Great Whirlwind."

Using the tremendous strength of her blessing, Ruti swung her sword with great force

and speed in a spinning slash. A shock wave raced, leaving deep gouges in the walls.

Perhaps because of the Hero's strength, the cut she loosed did not have any effect on

us, but her enemies were consumed in a whirlwind of strikes.

"E-eeeeeeep!" Godwin screamed as the spirit drake's head was severed and rolled

toward him before disappearing in a burst of light.

"To think she had grown so strong," Shisandan exclaimed.

All six of the elven blades he had used to defend himself shattered, and his lower two

arms were hanging limply, drenched in blood.

"Agh, ahhh…"

Ares had managed to escape uninjured. From the looks of it, he had hurriedly

defended himself with the sword at his waist. However, the weapon had been

shattered into pieces, leaving just a broken hilt in his hand.

"Th-that's impossible." Ares's voice was quivering.

Was that blade his trump card for dealing with Ruti? I wondered.

Up until that, Shisandan had remained composed throughout our exchange, but now

his expression was tense. After taking a short breath, though, the demon's placid look

returned.

"Ares, I'll deal with Ruti. You keep going."

"Huh? Ah. Right."

"I hadn't counted on her breaking the sword, but I had expected you to fail. It will be

fine." Shisandan stomped his foot down with a thud.

"What's this? Not looking so hot now, are you, Shisandan?" This time, I was provoking

him. It would be nice if he would let that take him out of his groove, but there was no

way he would be that easy an opponent.

"Indeed, I have to admit that your sister is a truly dangerous being. All the more reason

though that she cannot be allowed to become anything other than the Hero."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Shisandan and I stared each other down.

"Watch out!" Tisse shouted. "Something is coming from below!"

"Below?! Not good! Rit! Run!"

"Huh?"

I was about to dash over to Rit, but Shisandan stood in my way.

"Out of my way!" I swung Thunderwaker down at the demon standing there with two

wounded arms and all his swords broken. Unfortunately, he met my slash with a

radiant longsword he drew from one of the scabbards at his hip.

"Wha—?! The Holy Demon Slayer?!"

For an instant, my attention was drawn to his sword. It was no more than a fraction of

a second, but that moment of lost time was irreplaceable.

The floor of the elevator Rit was in burst upward.

"A second spirit drake?!"

A spirit drake wearing full-body armor had burst into the cramped elevator, mouth

wide as it menaced Rit. Off-balance, Rit kicked against the wall, forcing herself to

remain standing as she slashed the drake's face with her shotel.

Even in such a situation, Rit should have been able to fight off the drake. When she

saw its rider, however, she went stiff.

"Y-you?!"

"Holy Chains."

"Wha—?! Nrgh?!"

Rit's body was bound by radiant metal links. It was an extraordinarily powerful

clerical art that not even Rit could escape.

"Theodora?! Why?!"

The woman atop the spirit drake ignored Rit's cry and leaped out of the shaft, her

spear at the ready. Sensing this new trouble, Ruti dashed to the elevator. Theodora's

spear and Ruti's blade clashed, and the two of them came to a stop.

"Why?" Ruti asked. She seemed unable to believe what she was seeing.

"For the sake of this world. Hate me if you will. I will slit my stomach in atonement

when this is done. But right now, your sacrifice is necessary for this world!"

Ruti hesitated at the words. Though she was superior in strength, Theodora was still

managing to hold her back.

"Why me? Why must I be sacrificed for the world?"

"Because you are the Hero."

"I never asked to be! Countless other people dream of becoming a hero and saving the

world! So why does it have to be me?!" Ruti steeled herself, ducking beneath

Theodora's swipe and stepping firmly in toward the Crusader with a thrust aimed at

her armored torso. Ruti's attacks were mighty enough to pierce dragon scales, but

Theodora twisted her body and dexterously avoided a direct hit. There was a metallic

screech from her armor as Ruti's sword scraped past.

Just like Danan, Theodora was a master of her style. There were not many people on

the continent capable of evading Ruti while wearing armor.

"If you don't fight, an untold number of people will die." Theodora drew her polearm

back. Short blades adorned each side of the spearhead, and Theodora was using them

to aim for Ruti's back. Ruti ducked and, without even looking, knocked the incoming

slash aside using the armored gauntlet encasing her hand.

"What?!"

It was an absurd defense that did not exist in any standard style of swordsmanship.

Only one with superhuman physical abilities could pull it off. Even Theodora could not

react to such an unpredictable maneuver. Her stance broke from the excess

momentum of swinging her spear. Using that opening, Ruti moved out of range.

"Why do I have to sacrifice myself to save the lives of countless people I've never even

met before?"

"Because that is God's will."

Both of their voices were wrung out and strained.

The Hero would have had no trouble with suffering for others, but Ruti was the one

fighting now. She far outclassed Theodora. The only reason they were fighting on

remotely even terms was that Theodora's words had dulled Ruti's prowess.

"Dammit!"

I wanted to dash over to Ruti in order to take her place fighting Theodora. It pained

me not to stand in front of my sister and shield her from the woman's biting words,

but…

"Rit!"

Rit was still in the elevator, bound by Theodora's magic and grasped by the spirit

drake's claws.

"Heh-heh-heh, two people to be saved—your lover and your little sister. It must be

difficult to decide, Gideon."

Shisandan's tusked mouth warped in laughter. The Asura demon was still staring me

down. If I turned my back and rushed to Ruti, Shisandan would easily finish off Rit,

and if I wanted to save Rit, I would have to get past him. Despite possessing no

blessing, Shisandan was strong. Even fighting together with Rit, we hadn't managed to

get through his defenses.

I unleashed a storm of feints and slashes, but he easily parried my blade with the holy

sword he was wielding. Strong didn't begin to describe this creature. While two of his

arms were disabled, something had changed the moment he'd drawn one of those four

blades. The aura around him had swelled, and now he seemed entirely different.

I had no clue whether what he held was a real Holy Demon Slayer, but there was no

doubt it was an exceptional magical sword. If I met it head on with Thunderwaker, my

weapon wouldn't come out unscathed.

While I was struggling, I glanced over at Theodora.

"This is reality. Sir Gideon is one of the finest swordsmen in the world, but without the

Hero, even he is unable to save his love. Humanity needs you to fulfill your destiny."

Ruti's expression was racked with pain.

Goddammit! My jaw went tight.

I was on the verge of losing myself in rage at the thought that my struggles were

making Ruti suffer.

Yet just as I was about to snap, there came a thunderous slam from the elevator. Still

bound by Theodora's chains, Rit had kicked the spirit drake's head back into the wall.

"Who asked you?" Rit cried, leveling a seething gaze straight at Theodora. "What gives

you the right to put my life in the hands of the Hero?!" She was furious. Vehemently,

ferociously enraged.

Still staggered, the drake tried to clamp down on Rit again, but she kicked its head

straight up. The beast's head slammed into the ceiling before slumping back down.

The elevator floor had been left in poor shape after the spirit drake had crashed

through, and there was hardly any sound footing. With her arms bound, Rit could not

use her swords or magic. That hardly seemed to matter to Rit, however, as she turned

to stare Theodora down.

"But it was the Hero who saved your homeland, was it not? Are you not proof yourself

that the Hero is necessary to save the world?" countered Theodora.

"You're wrong!"

"How?"

"It wasn't the Hero or the Guide or a Crusader who saved Loggervia or me." Rit struck

the drake's head a third time with her foot. Broken teeth went flying. "It was Ruti, Red,

and you, Theodora! You're the ones who rescued us!"

"…A distinction without difference."

"It's not the same at all! A hero isn't some class of blessing. It's how we describe

people! Loggervia wasn't saved by the mere presence of a blessing! It was because

you—all of you—urged us to stand back up. That was what delivered Loggervia from

evil! I thought you at least would understand that much, even if Ares can't!"

"I am merely a servant of Almighty Demis… What other choice do I have?!" demanded

Theodora.

"Anyone who would force another to bear the fate of the world against their will is

wrong, and if that's really the will of God, then God's wrong, too, and I'll say it to his

face if I have to!" Rit screamed.

Both Ruti and Theodora froze in shock at that.

"Fascinating. Humans truly are fascinating," Shisandan murmured as he locked swords

with me. "That's it precisely. A hero is not merely born. Only those who strive to be a

hero are worthy of the title. And yet God, in his foolishness, cannot even comprehend

that much."

"What…?" I managed through clenched teeth. Strangely, it felt like Shisandan was

expressing genuine admiration for Rit's statement.

"Alas, though, we are enemies." The Asura demon lifted a leg.

"Rit! Look out!"

Shisandan dexterously kicked a fragment of one of the elven swords lying on the

ground at her. It was a precise shot, stabbing straight into her left thigh.

"Argh!"

Crimson liquid seeped down her leg and stained the ground.

"Finish her, creature!" Shisandan commanded.

The spirit drake's mouth bore down on Rit from above. Her arms were bound, and her

leg was wounded. Seeing that, I finally snapped.

"Rit!!!" I abandoned all defense, loosing an attack with every bit of my power, but

Shisandan just slipped aside, yielding the path to Rit without a clash. Cold sweat

poured down my back.

A trap?!

I had been lured in. I was playing into Shisandan's hands now. Still, I didn't care.

"Thunderwaker! Pierce my foe!"

I dove into the elevator as I thrust my sword, stabbing straight through the spirit

drake's neck and up through its head. Immediately, the beast went limp. No longer

able to maintain itself in this realm, its body faded away.

I grabbed Rit and was about to leap back out when I saw Ares grinning victoriously.

Tisse hurled two knives to interrupt his magic, but he guarded his face with his left

arm, content to let the daggers hit his limb. There was a spray of blood, but the thrill

of his triumph seemed to keep him from noticing any pain.

"This is it! Iron Wall!"

The roof of the elevator Rit and I were in began to creak. Ares had conjured an

enormous lump of metal on top of our elevator. The sound I heard was that of the

tether giving way under a load far beyond anything it could support.

"Run, Red!" Rit screamed.

My Lightning Speed meant that I could get out in time on my own. That would mean

letting go of Rit, though…

Maybe that would have been the right thing to do. Us both plummeting wouldn't help

anyone. I wondered if I would've been able to make the optimal choice back when I

was still Gideon.

"Sorry, Rit."

But I wasn't Gideon anymore. I was Red. Taking up Thunderwaker again hadn't

changed that. Even knowing I wouldn't make it, I wasn't going to let go of Rit.

"Big Brother!!!"

Whatever hesitation had been holding Ruti back vanished in an instant. Theodora's

spear was suddenly cleaved in two. Whirling gracefully, Ruti stepped into a lunge,

thrusting her sword through Theodora's armor.

"As expected of the Hero… This is why I…"

Theodora, one of humanity's greatest practitioners of clerical arts and a true master

of the spear, fell to the ground. She had only held Ruti back a short while, but it had

been decisive.

Before Ruti could reach it, the elevator gave way, and Rit and I were dropped into the

dark.

"I finally win! At last, Gideon loses!" Ares shouted jubilantly.