“Ow…! Damn it!”
Holding his bleeding nose, the Hero dropped to one knee and glared at me with murderous eyes.
I had put a tremendous amount of force into that punch. Yet, despite the impact, he didn’t seem nearly as badly hurt as I’d expected.
That caught me a little off guard.
The livestream chat immediately exploded.
| > That sounded brutal, but the Hero barely took any damage. > He probably threw up a defense buff. > In that split second? > He’s a gloomy bastard, but he’s still the Hero after all. > No way he’s some weakling. > Finish him off, old man! > Think about Satsuki-chan!! > Uh… wasn’t that a really bad move? > The Hero’s definitely pissed now. > To be fair, he did offer a truce first. > This is the beginning of Satsuki’s end… > My condolences. > RIP > SATSUKI-CHAAAN!! |
I’d been hoping—if only by some miracle—that the punch had at least knocked him unconscious. But there was no such luck. Just like the viewers had said, the Hero must’ve activated a defensive skill the instant my fist connected, softening the impact.
Which meant… all I’d really accomplished was recklessly pissing him off and making an already terrible situation even worse.
“…Uh. Sorry.”
“You’ve gotten way too full of yourself, you damn Priest.”
Well… I hadn’t exactly put any sincerity into that apology. Apparently, he noticed. The Hero’s face had twisted into that of a demon.
“I offered you the perfect solution. One where everyone walks away happy.”
His voice was cold enough to freeze the air.
“But if that’s your answer… then let’s put an end to this little farce.”
There was no universe where joining the Hero would make me happy.
Still… losing my temper and launching him across the arena had definitely been the wrong move.
Since I want to buy time, I should keep him talking. Drag out the conversation and bluff my way through negotiations for as long as possible.
“…Ahem. Uh, damn Hero.”
I coughed awkwardly.
“Hero-san. About that proposal of yours… I’ve decided I’d like to give it some serious consideration. So, uhm… could you explain it in a little more detail?”
“…”
The Hero’s expression didn’t change.
“It seems you don’t value your companion’s life after all.”
Why are you getting even angrier?! I’m trying to negotiate here!!
The livestream chat wasted no time piling on.
| > Come on, old man… > You weren’t even trying to sound sincere. > Yeah, that’s just disrespectful. > ‘Damn Hero’ or ‘Hero-sama’—pick one. > At least say, ‘Please tell me,’ properly! LOL. > Just give up on Satsuki already. > Forget this. Hit him with Hell Gate and move on. > This is exactly your problem, Ajiri Daishi. |
…Wait. Were the viewers seriously lecturing me now?
Apparently, there’d been something wrong with the way I’d asked.
But—
This wasn’t the time to be worrying about my manners!
I had to do something.
Anything!
“Fufu.”
I let out a small laugh.
“Too bad for you, you damn Hero.”
No brilliant plan came to mind.
None at all.
But one thing was certain. I had to keep him talking. Even if it was only for a few more seconds, I needed to stall.
So first… I’d act like I still had everything under control.
“…Too bad.”
I smirked.
“The only thing that’s pathetic here is your brain, you damn Hero.”
“The pathetic one is you, you damn Priest.”
W-What did you just say?!
No. Calm down, Daishi.
Stay calm.
First, I needed to figure out what is happening with Satsuki-chan.
And I already knew my next move.
“…Tell me, you damn Hero. Since when did you start believing Satsuki-chan is still hanging from the ceiling of Guild Headquarters?”
“…Huh?”
The Hero frowned.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
To be honest… I had no idea why that line had come out of my mouth.
Even so… Somehow, I could see a scenario where it might actually work.
“Don’t underestimate my companions!”
“Mina-chan, Shion-san…oh and Ryunosuke-kun!”
“…Does any of that have anything to do with this?”
“I can communicate with them anytime, anywhere.”
I folded my arms confidently.
“I just received word from them. They’ve already rescued Satsuki-chan. So don’t worry about her anymore. Just focus on fighting me.”
Of course…
It was a complete lie.
“…Hey, old man.”
“What?”
“You know… only idiots try to bluff.”
“I’m not bluffing.”
“By now you’ve probably figured it out, but my unique abilities are Space-Time Transfer and Surveillance. Being able to see things anytime, anywhere… that’s my specialty.”
…So that was his unique skill.
First time I’d heard of it.
“Then go ahead and look.”
I shrugged.
“At the very least, while you were getting sent flying by my punch, you weren’t watching what was happening over there, were you?”
Naturally… that was pure provocation.
“You seem to be under a misunderstanding, so let me enlighten you.”
The Hero sneered.
“You think if you distract me and create an opening, you’ll be able to pull some—”
Before he could finish his sentence—
Vwooom. A mechanical startup sound echoed through the arena. Then, without warning, part of the arena wall transformed into a massive screen.
The image displayed on it was—
“Well? Pretty exciting, isn’t it? Like something straight out of a movie.”
He grinned.
“As you can see, your lie has been exposed—”
…Huh?
Wait.
Seriously?
“You…”
The Hero’s smug expression froze.
“…Don’t tell me you actually…”
He wasn’t the only one left speechless. I was staring at the screen just as hard.
On it… Satsuki-chan was already lying safely on the floor. Beside her, Mina-chan and Shion-san were bickering over something. The ceiling, walls, and glass windows were heavily damaged, suggesting there’d been a small explosion.
But…
I had absolutely no idea how they’d managed to rescue her.
What mattered was only one thing. The hostage situation was already over.
“Fuhahahaha!”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.
“Your evil deeds end here, you damn Hero!”
The outcome was completely beyond anything I’d imagined. But with the situation turning around so dramatically, excitement got the better of me, and those triumphant words slipped right out.
Still…
That was fine.
Now that I knew Satsuki-chan is safe, I no longer had any reason to hold back.
“I’m going all out.”
Hero, get ready.
I’m going to pay you back for every last ounce of frustration you’ve piled up until now!!
“I don’t care if you apologize now.”
My voice turned icy.
“But I’m never forgiving you.”
『Haha… Well played. That was quite the performance.』
The image on the arena wall shifted away from Satsuki and the others.
A new figure appeared.
The Hero’s… face?
But the Hero is standing right in front of me…
“…So my role ends here.”
『Yeah. In the current situation, you can’t beat him.』
“You mean… even though I’m literally another you? Same abilities and all?”
『That’s right.』
The Hero on the screen nodded matter-of-factly.
『Which is why I went to the trouble of setting up this whole stage. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board.』
The two Heroes—
Identical faces.
Identical voices.
Even the same oppressive presence.
They spoke to each other through the screen as if this made perfect sense.
I, on the other hand…
Couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were talking about.
The livestream chat immediately erupted.
| > There are TWO Heroes?? > Huh?! What the hell’s going on? > So the one in front of the old man is a fake? > How underhanded can this guy get? > So much for fighting fair. > Get it together already, you damn Hero! > You’re taking this introvert thing way too far. > Quit hiding and come fight in person! > What an absolute pain in the ass… |
I was thinking exactly what the viewers were.
Seriously, give it a rest already.
Just how underhanded could this guy be?
At this point I was almost starting to feel sorry for the Hero standing in front of me.
“…You bastard.”
『Haha. That’s a nice look you’ve got there, you damn Priest.』
“I’m never letting you get away with this!”
The Hero on the screen laughed dismissively.
『Won’t let me go? As if I give a damn whether you forgive me or not. Go ahead.』
The seal on Regression is probably another one of his tricks. He’d simply tampered with the displayed data. In reality, I could most likely still use the skill. The important thing now is to get out of here and regroup.
Judging from the scenery behind him, the real Hero is still somewhere inside the Nether-Class Dungeon.
Now that I’d confirmed Satsuki-chan is safe, I’ll return to the checkpoint I set on the dungeon’s first floor with Return. Then gather everyone together and rebuild our strategy from there.
It’ll be fine.
If all of us combined our strength and our wits we could outplay even his dirty schemes.
『Go ahead and use Return if you want.』
The Hero waved dismissively from the screen.
『That arena… and the AI Hero standing in front of you… They’ve already served their purpose. You idiots will have to start all over again from the first floor.』
He grinned.
『But sure…Take your time catching up.』
There are tons of things I want to ask, but for now, escaping is the priority.
I can’t have this place blown up like the Sky Castle again.
…Your complacency won’t last long, you damn hero.
I’ll definitely catch up to you and hit that cheerful face of yours with a direct hit of hellish destructive wind!
…Huh?
I think I saw the figure of a withered old man behind the hero…
『See ya, old man. I’ll go ahead and beat up the damn old man of the Netherworld…』
“Y-you… stop messing around.”
Through the wall projection, I definitely saw the familiar figure of the old man behind the hero, emitting a deep, guttural voice.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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