Chapter 188 – The Hero (9)
[Chapter 10 – Section 4] There’s No Grudge, Is There?
The ‘winged human’ that humans depict in paintings or sculptures is completely unrealistic.
And the reason isn’t simply because humans don’t originally have wings.
Body weight.
For a lifeform the size of a human to generate enough lift to fly through the sky, the wings would have to be absurdly enormous.
Alternatively, they would need to flap their wings extremely rapidly, like a helicopter or an insect.
Flap~ Flap~
For these angels to hover gracefully in the air just by elegantly beating their wings like that—the wings they have are nowhere near sufficient.
So what am I trying to say?
‘This is all just fantasy!’
The flight method being used by the angels who serve the goddess and by this new type of Sword Demon has completely departed from reality.
“Hmm.”
What should I call these things?
A higher variant that compensates for the Sword Demon’s vulnerability to aerial attacks.
In exchange, their arms have been reduced in number, but even looking at modern warfare, one can see just how crucial air superiority is.
“What the hell…”
Moreover, the sense of pressure radiating from their bodies far surpassed that of ordinary Sword Demons.
Wing Demon
Since there doesn’t seem to be an official name, let’s just call them ‘winged demons’ for now.
“……”
“……”
Just as I was observing them, they didn’t immediately attack either—they simply stared fixedly at me. This was different from the typical Sword Demon behavior of charging in and slashing anything in sight the moment it appears.
Unlike the Sword Demons whose heads were mere decorations, these ones clearly possessed intelligence.
“Hik! Uuu…”
The patient who had been cradled in the goddess’s soft chest, receiving emotional healing, saw the Wing Demons and began trembling violently in terror.
To feel fear instead of rage toward the ones who murdered his lovers?
For someone whose aptitude was originally ‘novel writer,’ expecting the fierce spirit of a warrior was probably asking too much. He was no different from a herbivore in front of a predator.
“Don’t worry, Hero-nim.”
“Goddess-nim!”
“When you wake up, this will disappear like a mirage, just a nightmare. Think only of happy things.”
“…Yes!”
The hero, whose mind had been driven to the edge of a cliff, clung desperately and blindly to the goddess.
Has his intelligence degenerated? Even an elementary school student wouldn’t act like this.
“Now… then…”
Having calmed the trembling hero, the goddess raised the right hand that had been stroking his head and crooked her finger.
“Yes! Goddess-nim!”
“As you command!”
“Eliminate the enemies!”
The sky opened like a sluice gate, and a large number of additional angels joined the fray.
Their armament: bows.
Pure bows and arrows untouched by any fantasy elements that would render them ineffective against Sword Demons.
Screeech—
Fwoosh! Shashashak!
The angels who drew their bowstrings began firing without any warning.
‘Wow?’
Neither Sword Demons nor I are affected by fantasy elements at all.
So what about arrows shot with the monstrous strength and speed that fantasy grants?
Can we still call this fantasy?
The answer is…
Thud! Thunk! Thud! Thud…!
With a rate of fire rivaling a machine gun, the Sword Demons on the ground fell helplessly. Each and every arrow pierced through skin as thick as iron plate and embedded itself deep inside.
…At that level, even I would feel threatened.
Of course, before I get hit, I’ll shout “Blood God banzai!” at full volume.
“It was worth coming.”
“This will be a little fun.”
They spoke?!
I had thought they possessed intelligence, but I never expected them to actually speak.
Though their voices were cracked like someone suffering from extreme thirst, the fact that they could speak properly was what mattered.
Why?
Because if they can speak, negotiation becomes possible.
Of course—
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting…!
—that only applies if I can make these beings, who are deflecting every single arrow flying at machine-gun speed, recognize me as a ‘threat.’
‘Wow! Is that even possible?!’
It’s not like in the movies where every bullet miraculously misses the protagonist.
Yet the two Wing Demons weren’t dodging at all—they remained perfectly still in midair while blocking every single arrow.
With dazzling movements, like masters of dual-wield swordsmanship!
Even to someone as unskilled in swordsmanship as me, their fluid motions looked flawless.
“Keep shooting.”
“Fire continuously!”
But the angels didn’t give up and continued pouring arrows at the two Wing Demons.
“Human from another world. How long are you just going to stand there watching?”
The goddess glared at me and asked.
“Watching? I’m on escort duty. Their target is the hero, after all.”
“Unnecessary.”
“If you say so…”
According to what the witch said, when Sword Demons are killed by fantasy natives, they are merely expelled from the dream world like me—they don’t actually die.
In other words, they are immortal.
That’s precisely why they can afford to sacrifice so many just to increase their numbers by one comrade.
Which doesn’t mean meaningless sacrifices are acceptable, of course.
‘I need to reduce their numbers.’
The two Wing Demons were certainly a concern, but it was too much of a waste to let the Sword Demons get slaughtered one-sidedly by the angels’ bow attacks.
The regrettable part?
There weren’t enough of them.
It would have been nice if they swarmed like they did back in the historical drama <Palace Maid Deok-chun>, but ever since the Ranuvel patient fled into the sky supported by an angel, no more reinforcements had appeared.
“If that’s how it’s going to be, then I’ll support the ground. I don’t have wings anyway, so staying up here is tough for me.”
“Eh?!”
Whoosh.
I released the ankle of the angel I had been holding onto and began free-falling straight down vertically.
“Take care of things.”
Blink!
The blade tentacle Valentine, transformed into a sword, pierced straight into the crown of a Sword Demon’s head.
Screech…?
Thud!
After effortlessly bisecting the Sword Demon, the tentacle stabbed into the ground and acted like a spring, absorbing the impact of my fall.
“Thanks.”
Blink~
I changed my policy from “save the patients if possible” to something a little more flexible.
Even if the patient ‘Jeong Yong-sang’ turns into a Sword Demon, if I reduce the total number of Sword Demons here by even one or more, isn’t that still a net gain?
Of course, considering the time and effort I’ve already invested in this dream world, reducing their numbers by just one or two wouldn’t make the math work out in my favor.
“Shall we get going?”
The goddess’s interference had thrown my plan into serious disarray, but I couldn’t just sit around complaining.
Screech…!
I swung Valentine toward a Sword Demon charging mindlessly forward.
“Get lost.”
And stop tormenting my ancestors.
Squelch—
With the casual confidence that I could cut through anything, I sliced apart the Sword Demon that had swung its arm haphazardly.
Right now I could simply shout “Blood God banzai!” and end this easily, but…
‘Those two are bothering me.’
The fact that two Wing Demons could think and speak like humans was nagging at me.
So I decided to take them down one by one, carefully.
I wanted the moment this battle ended for them to remain completely unaware of why the absolute number of Sword Demons had instead decreased.
Clang!
If they mistook me—a being capable of severing even the “anything-cutting arms” of a Sword Demon—for a fantasy native, that would be perfect.
‘They’re still just blocking… huh?’
They vanished.
The two Wing Demons suddenly disappeared from midair.
And then the angels’ screams began.
“Kyaa?!”
“Aaah?!”
That wasn’t flight.
It was spatial teleportation.
Every time those wings flapped once, their position changed instantaneously.
“Hah!”
If I had to describe that ability in one word?
Insane.
Sword Demons possess “arms that can cut through anything.”
Which means it’s also possible for them to have “wings that can go anywhere”!
The moment I saw it, I understood.
‘I could probably copy that, couldn’t I?’
In the current state of my country—where the scale of “My World” in the virtual reality game <Molang Fantasy> has been massively expanded to more than five times its original size—I could do it.
As long as I allocate the spare space!
That’s the problem.
“How dare you…!”
The goddess, trembling with rage so intense the sky itself quaked, finally began unleashing her full power.
Wooooong—
She twisted dimensions.
Since she was the one who had pulled a human from another dimension and appointed him as the hero, manipulating dimensions was probably child’s play for her.
That twisting speed managed to catch up to the two Wing Demons who could go anywhere.
However,
“Pathetic.”
“Lacking in learning.”
Even that monstrous ability to twist dimensions was, in the end, just fantasy.
It was less threatening than the arrows.
“You vermin…!”
The goddess, who had been suppressing her emotions because of the hero, finally exploded.
Rumble rumble—
“W-what the… is she insane?!”
Meteorites began falling from the sky like hail.
Even though they had been moved here through fantasy, they were still undeniably real physical attacks!
Those would undoubtedly deliver fatal blows.
The problem was,
“She’s gone blind.”
The goddess, her reason paralyzed by rage, wasn’t considering the ground at all. Or rather, she didn’t care about it in the slightest.
The latter was far more likely.
This fantasy world was nothing more than a model garden—or playground—made solely for the hero.
She may say with her mouth that she summoned the hero to save the world from the Demon King’s threat, but a goddess capable of twisting dimensions didn’t seem like she’d be weaker than the Demon King.
Blink?
“…Yeah. If I stay here, I might actually die for real.”
Even I, who endured missile barrages in the hunter novel <I Became an SSS-Class Hunter>, would be in trouble now—the world’s usage rate had dropped far lower than back then.
I could genuinely die?
Blink blink!
“No?”
Blink!
It seemed I had misunderstood.
“…You want to?”
Blink!
I hated the idea of my ability being exposed to the two Wing Demons because of this idiotic goddess, but there was no other choice.
“Meteors are falling!”
“O God!”
“That god has gone mad!”
“I donated so much!”
“Mom! Mom!”
The ducal territory was plunged into far greater chaos than during the Sword Demon raid.
Frankly, the Sword Demons had been much better. Thanks to me having thoroughly explained their strengths, weaknesses, and countermeasures, the people had been holding them off relatively easily using crossbows and the like.
But meteors?
No answer for that.
“Those two bastards… damn it.”
The Wing Demons that the goddess should have been glaring at were effortlessly dodging the meteors with their “wings that can go anywhere” and simply watching the show.
That goddess was undoubtedly just a stupid setting made solely for the hero. She lacked any god-like wisdom, any sense of fairness; all she had was the pride of an old geezer whose emotions had aged only in her asshole.
‘Senior…’
I miss him.
“Think, think, think…”
I could intercept them like missiles. But just because you cut rain doesn’t mean it stops hitting the ground, does it?
Pointless.
“……”
Wriggle wriggle.
I could see ants that had sensed the disaster fleeing in a line. Some insolent ones even stepped right on my foot as they passed…
“Ah!”
Blades increase in number equal to the number of enemies.
And the standard for “enemy”?
That’s entirely up to my imagination.
‘Mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, termites… ladybugs, spiders, earthworms, dragonflies—they’re beneficial creatures, but since my girlfriend is absolutely terrified of insects and bugs, they’re included!’
And everything else I could immediately imagine as living creatures—I designated them all as ‘enemies.’
Except humans.
I’d love to throw in bacteria and mold too, but my imagination and cognitive capacity were far too limited for that.
Then I checked. Made sure there were no comrades—or rather, no nuisances treated as comrades—anywhere nearby…
“Huuup!”
I drew in a deep breath.
I won’t regret this decision. Even if the outcome deviates from my intentions and expectations.
So let’s shout it with everything I’ve got.
“Blood God banzai~!”
Blink~!
Countless blades surged up like grass, threatening to completely blanket the world.
Straight up to the sky!
The number of meteors summoned by the foolish goddess wasn’t small, but they were nowhere near comparable to the weapons bestowed by the great Blood God.
Thud, thud, thud, thud…
Split, split again, and split once more—the meteors were shattered repeatedly, reduced to ash before they could even collide with the ground, vanishing into nothingness in midair.
“Waaah!”
It was such a majestic sight that even nonexistent faith was naturally drawn out.
However,
Whoosh! Squelch!
Once their task was done, I couldn’t arbitrarily cancel the blades.
Srrrr…
They rushed in straight lines toward the “enemies that were not enemies” I had designated, sliced them apart, and then vanished one by one.
‘This… I’ll have to be careful from now on.’
If I designate carelessly just to increase the numbers, even perfectly fine allies could get caught up.
And the goddess who caused all this trouble?
Thud.
“Hm?”
The goddess’s beautiful head—with her neck and hair cleanly severed—fell right beside me.
“Does our gift please you, disciple of the Blood God?”
“What—?”
A Wing Demon’s voice came from behind me.
“Or would you prefer we call you the descendant of P, or the son of the witch?”
The other Wing Demon asked while sitting comfortably like it was using a cushion on what used to be the beautiful goddess’s flesh.
“How did you…”
“How do you think we knew?”
“……”
I don’t know. But I doubt Senior kindly explained it to them.
“There is no grudge between us.”
“Descendant of P. There’s no need for meaningless attrition, is there?”
“There is a grudge. I nearly died several times from Sword Demon raids.”
The attacks had been far too blatant to call them mere coincidences.
“A misunderstanding.”
“Those ones have no thoughts. They’re just beasts moving on instinct.”
The two Wing Demons—who had been endlessly arrogant in front of the goddess—were now awkwardly making excuses.
Probably because…
“Those wings of yours… it seems you can’t teleport anywhere near me.”
“……”
“……”
The previously relaxed expressions of the Wing Demons stiffened slightly, revealing clear discomfort.
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