The army of monsters from the Denest Mountain Range greatly threatened Pialu. It consisted of high-level monsters that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine fighting and was teeming with so many ordinary monsters that seemed impossible to count. Although the city had called for reinforcements from other places, none could be found. It seemed like the destiny of Pialu’s citizens was only death. People raised their weapons out of fear that they or their families could be the monsters’ next meal, but they prayed and prayed that the solution the commander-in-chief told them about was true. After all this heartache, the answer to their prayers was right in front of their faces.
Baaam!
A titan as big as the castle walls cowered like a small child. Since the titan was so big, people could see the scene from well above the castle wall.
“Waaaaaaaaa!”
“Uaaaaaaaaah!”
Every single soldier waved his or her weapon in the air and cheered. One figure was erasing the fear that rose right up to their nose by the second. With just a flick of his hands, Zich mocked the monsters that could’ve crushed them, and the audience felt refreshed to see these monsters losing without being able to put up much of a fight.
Baaam!
There was another explosion, and monsters died in clusters. The soldiers cheered loudly again.
“He really is amazing.” While gripping her staff, Elena sighed watching Zich fight. Even though she had seen the extent of Zich’s powers multiple times since she joined his party, she was still not used to it. Even though it was common knowledge and tended to be the case that a mage’s magic was above a swordsman’s sword in terms of sheer power, Elena knew her magic could never surpass Zich’s attacks. In comparison, Snoc simply shrugged like he was used to this. Snoc had also been one of those in charge of fighting high-level monsters, but when Zich’s monster annihilation began, he returned to the castle walls.
“I think Sir Zich’s strategies and swordsmanship are all amazing, but above all else, I think this is the most amazing part about him. His immense mana just supports his pure strength.”
“You told me that’s the strength Sir Zich has when he completely releases his mana, right?”
“Yeah.”
The two went back and forth like this and continued their conversation; there wasn’t a trace of nervousness from being on a battlefield, as Nowem demonstrated by slouching on Snoc’s shoulders and yawning loudly. Yet, unlike these people watching the battle peacefully, some only expressed shock and bewilderment.
“…What’s that?” Unlike her usually cold self, Pina stared at the scenery Zich unfolded with wide eyes. Pina never thought her mind lacked behind her peers. Instead, even in the magician’s tower where only geniuses gathered, she thought her mind was superior to them all. She was the genius among geniuses—this was her own evaluation of herself. This wasn’t wrong in any sense since she was one of the top minds among the greatest minds. Yet, no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t wrap her head around the sight before her.
“How…?” How was it possible for an individual to display such might and strength? Beyond amazing, it was frightening.
“But it’s a bit strange.” Then, Pina heard a voice beside her and turned her head. She was standing next to Lyla, Elena, and Snoc. The commander had gathered the mages in one place to easily protect them. Snoc had spoken just now.
“Don’t you think Sir Zich’s attacks are a bit dull right now? I don’t think he’s giving it his all. If he did, I think he would’ve defeated the monsters some time ago.”
Hearing this, Pina thought, ‘That’s not even all his power?’ It didn’t make sense. The might Zich displayed currently was astonishingly frightening—how could anyone insinuate that he wasn’t using all his power?
‘Are they bluffing because they are his companions?’ Thinking this, Pina concluded that Snoc was simply a bluffer. Yet, Lyla’s next words made Pina swing her head around and stare at Lyla.
“It’s because he’s aware of his surroundings. Even if he’s some distance away, there are people around, and if he attacks however he likes, they could get caught up in these attacks. Furthermore, he’s fighting near a city. If he changes the terrain more than necessary, it would be a headache for the Pialu’s residents to fix,” Lyla said and smiled. She thought it was praiseworthy that Zich was thinking about his surroundings. This type of behavior was unbelievable if he was Zich Moore. As he said, Zich was thoroughly acting like a hero, and now, there was no way that Zich would become Zich Moore. Thus, Lyla watched Zich fight contently and approved of his actions.
‘….He really is not giving his all?” Pina felt even more conflicted. To Pina, Lyla was a mage with formidable skills, and thus, her words held a completely different meaning and weight than Snoc’s. Next to Pina, there was Chelsea. Her kind mask was completely shattered now as Chelsea watched—no, glowered at Zich.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it,” Chelsea murmured endlessly and so quietly that even Pina couldn’t hear her even though she was standing right next to her. Due to the sound of battle and growing cheers of the soldiers, no one could hear her. However, Chelsea was in such disbelief that she didn’t even think about being heard.
‘He’s that strong?’ Zich was the number one figure who made her rival Lubella (although only by her own claims) into a Saintess. Naturally, Zich was a huge eyesore to Chelsea, and she, therefore, wished for his misfortune at all times. However, she had not imagined that he would have such amazing skills. This was not merely an annoying situation; Zich’s power was an extremely dangerous threat to Chelsea. Her plan to regain her status using Glen had gone totally awry because of him.
‘Can Glen really surpass this guy?’ Chelsea shook her head. She hadn’t been traveling for very long, but she roughly knew Glen’s skills. Glen’s skills could not even scrape the bottom of Zich’s skills right now. ‘Glen is such a useless bastard!’
Chelsea’s mouth felt bitter as she realized that the rope she had grabbed onto to pull herself up was not good enough—no, her competition’s rope was way too tough and strong. It felt like her mouth was full of sand. However, there was nothing that Chelsea could do right now. All she could do was glare at Zich furiously and think about what to do for the future.
Like this, while each person had different thoughts about Zich’s skills, they all watched Zich fight the monsters.
* * *
Bam! Something passed by the soldiers. Considering that it made an enormous sound when it landed, it must have weighed a lot. True to their expectations, a basilisk’s head that Zich just cut off landed near them. The surrounding soldiers quickly moved away from the basilisk’s head. Even though the head was cut off from the main body, it was still terrifying to be near it.
However, Glen did not move an inch even when the basilisk’s head passed him and he calmly looked forward. An onlooker might have thought he was unfazed by his surroundings and was carefully assessing his situation, but Glen didn’t even feel remotely peaceful or calm.
‘How! How! How! How!’ His inner voice was hideously stained with jealousy and pressed down on his heart. ‘What the hell happened!’ His eyes became bloodshot, and his pupils were dead set on Zich as he continued to massacre the monsters.
Zich’s age was different. The sword he was holding was different. The timing was also different. However, Zich’s current state was all too familiar to Glen.
‘That’s Zich Moore!’ Zich Moore was the final chess piece that should have been the final ending for his journey as a hero. However, Zich Moore was also a chess piece that should never have appeared at this time. Had his eyes gone bad perhaps? Glen was in denial as he rubbed his eyes several times. However, the sight in front of him did not change.
Zich was still using the same enormous power that reminded Glen of Zich Moore and was massacring the monsters. Even though Glen was shocked that Zich was wielding a power that he shouldn’t possess at this time, there was another reason why Glen’s mood hit rock bottom.
Bamm! Zich’s frightening attacks swept through the monsters, and the monsters died without even resisting properly. Then, soon after—
“Woooooahhhhhhhhhh!” The people around him cried out in joy and happiness. Glen also heard cheering from across the city walls as well. Whether it was the commander, the soldiers, or the mercenaries, everyone was screaming their heads off. It was a sound that Glen was extremely familiar with. He had received these cheers several, tens, hundreds—no, way more than hundreds of times before. To the Sun Hero, Glen Zenard, receiving people’s cheers was as natural as breathing.
However, people were not cheering for him. Zich Moore, the Demon Lord of Strength and his final enemy, was receiving praises instead.
‘Don’t make me laugh!’ How could people cheer for a Demon Lord? Did that even make sense especially when a ‘righteous hero’ like him was nearby? However, no matter how much Glen gritted his teeth inside his mind, nothing changed. Zich was sweeping the monsters by himself, and people were cheering for Zich, not him.
Bamm! With another explosion, many monsters began dying again, and there was another round of cheers. ‘Shut up! You, useless weaklings! All of you are useless trash that can’t even solve your own problems and just want to leech on others!’
Even though Glen had received cheers as if they were a natural part of his life, now that people were cheering for Zich, he showered insults towards the audience. However, Glen kept these insults to himself. He really wanted to spit out these harsh insults out into the world—he wanted to approach these pieces of trash and tell them he was the true hero. He wanted to pluck out their eyes for failing to recognize him.
However, Glen desperately tried to suppress these desires. If he really carried out these thoughts, he would have to throw away his hero title. Glen really felt as if his insides were churning. However, there was nothing he could do. He could only stand still pathetically as he watched Zich fight and listen to people cheer for him.
Bamm! A behemoth fell and rolled right in front of Glen. People’s cheering increased several folds as it was the last monster. All the monsters that had ambushed Pialu were now gone. Even though Pialu ended up victorious, Glen didn’t join the celebration. Zich climbed on top of the behemoth’s corpse. Then, Glen looked up at Zich, and Zich looked down at him.
“It seems as if we’re both fine.”
Glen had no choice but to reply, “…Yes.”
People began surrounding Zich, and Zich lifted Windur high up in the air on top of the behemoth’s corpse.
“Oooahhhhhhhhh!”
People’s loud cheering shook the air. Glen had no choice but to stand quietly among the crowd, not uttering a single word.