“Uhm…Makoto-sama? This direction is where the Demon Lord Castle is…” (Momo)
Momo pulled my sleeve scared.
The human farm is at the back of the Demon Lord Castle, and this giant white castle could be clearly seen even from afar.
The close aides of the Demon Lord are stationed in the vicinity of the Demon Lord Castle.
They are strong, and you would get eaten in the blink of an eye.
That’s why Momo and I had been taking distance from the Demon Lord Castle as we passed our days.
But according to what the boy said before…
The Heroes will be executed.
If Hero Abel is within those people, it is mission failed.
I think the chances of that being the case are high.
According to the Legend of Hero Abel, he gets stronger and stronger in the second half.
Riding the holy dragon that soars the skies, he would go around the whole world, defeat Demon Lords, and began to be called the Savior.
If the legends are true, there should be almost no one who can win against Abel who has become strong.
That’s why if they are planning on changing the past, they would aim for the time when Hero Abel hasn’t awakened yet.
The Demon Lord Bifrons that Abel is supposed to subjugate first.
The Heroes that are apparently going to be executed with this timing.
…It would have been dangerous if I hadn’t been told this.
“Momo, I will be going to the Demon Lord Castle to save the Heroes.” (Makoto)
“?!”
I have told her my objective, so she must have been expecting it to a certain extent, but even with that, the face of Momo stiffened greatly.
“H-How…will you do it…?” (Momo)
“I don’t know. First, I will gather information on site.” (Makoto)
“Do you have any comrades…?” (Momo)
“None. Not a single one.” (Makoto)
“No way… It is im—” (Momo)
Momo was probably about to say ‘it is impossible’, but she hung her head down and went silent.
“I…I…” (Momo)
Of course this would happen.
Momo’s magic proficiency is on the level that she can’t even use magic chantless.
She would be lacking in terms of battle power.
That said, even if I were to tell her to hide somewhere, there’s no safe place in the human farm.
“Want to come with me?” (Makoto)
“…Is that okay?” (Momo)
In the end, the only thing I could think of was to protect her in a place where I can reach.
Most of all, I myself am in a hurry here.
I want to know about the current state of the Heroes that are about to be executed.
“Let’s go.” (Makoto)
“Yes.” (Momo)
Momo and I held hands. I activated Stealth, and hurried to the Demon Lord Castle.
◇◇
“Hmm, can’t proceed any further than this, huh…” (Makoto)
“…It would be difficult.” (Momo)
Right now we are at a slightly elevated hill that’s close to the city near the castle.
The castle is surrounded by moats and walls.
However, rather than calling it walls to protect from outside forces, it is more like it is to delineate ‘from here on it is a special place’.
Also, most around that area are demons.
There’s also elves and dwarves that seem to be the slaves of the demons.
There’s also human slaves.
They would all be beautiful, have great physique, or easy to see characteristics.
(It would be difficult for me and Momo to blend with them…) (Makoto)
I held down my impatient emotions, and concentrated on gathering information with Farsight and Eavesdrop.
The demons spoke loudly and I could easily pick their conversations with Eavesdrop.
The result is that I learned some things.
– Bifrons is currently away.
– The execution will take place when Bifrons comes back.
– There’s 3 Heroes who will be executed (names unknown).
(The Demon Lord being away is the fortune within the misfortune, huh…) (Makoto)
I also heard something interesting.
The conversation of some demons.
“Hey, about the Heroes that were caught and are in the plaza, shouldn’t we execute them at once?”
“You…don’t you know? If you kill a Hero, the next Hero is born, you know? The Goddesses would give Skills to the new Hero after all. That’s why it is better to capture Heroes without killing them.”
“But the Great Demon Lord-sama said personally to ‘Kill the Heroes’, right?”
“Aah, we apparently have to definitely kill a certain Hero… We don’t know who it is, so Bifrons-sama has gone to the Great Demon Lord-sama to confirm.”
“Can’t we just bring the captured Heroes to the Great Demon Lord-sama…?”
“You…saying something like bringing the lowly Heroes to the Great Demon Lord-sama that rarely shows itself…? I won’t be responsible for whatever kind of punishment you would get from that, you know?”
“So scary, so scary. Well, not even we have seen the Great Demon Lord-sama after all.”
“Just listening to that voice makes me tremble.”
“Now that you mention it, it is better to capture the Heroes alive, right…?”
“Yeah, I told you that just now, right?”
“Then, why is the Black Knight Cain-sama killing the Heroes immediately?”
“You… There’s no way Cain-sama can make such rational decisions, right?”
“Ah, right. That personage has several screws loose after all.”
“Yeah… He is a personage that’s as scary as the Great Demon Lord-sama in a different sense.”
It was that kind of conversation.
(I see…)
So that’s the reason why they don’t execute them at once.
But, in the end, I don’t know if Abel is within that group.
Also, the former Apostle of Noah-sama has a bad reputation.
Wonder what kind of guy he is…
I kinda want to meet him, and I kind of don’t…
“Makoto-sama…how was it?” (Momo)
Momo was munching on a fruit that looks like an apple which we found while we were moving around.
Sorry, that’s the only food we got.
“I am thinking about going in tonight.” (Makoto)
“T-Tonight?!” (Momo)
“Yeah, it seems like everyone sleeps at night after all.” (Makoto)
We arrived close to the Demon Lord Castle yesterday.
I have been observing the Demon Lord Castle and the area near the castle for a whole day.
There’s few who walk around at night.
I will create mist with magic, and slip in that way.
There’s lookouts, but they lack any sense of danger and are slacking.
There’s most likely no one who would attack them.
I thought the Heroes had attacked the Demon Lord Castle, but they apparently didn’t even reach the city near the castle.
Will they even be able to win against the demon lord army like this…?
While feeling uneasy about this…I wait for night to come.
“Water Magic: [Mist].” (Makoto)
The sun and the moon couldn’t be seen because of the Pitch Black Clouds.
It is probably 3:00 a.m.
I slowly approach the city of the demons while using Stealth.
If Furiae-san were here, I could use the Sleep Curse.
Well, can’t ask for what’s not here.
We would get caught by the gatekeeper if we were to pass through the gate, so we go over the moat and the walls.
I create a path in the air with water magic, and move by using Surface Walk.
I have been holding the hand of Momo the whole time.
Her face is stiffened from the tension.
(I should have taught her the Calm Skill.) (Makoto)
A point I should reflect on next time.
While I was thinking that, we successfully infiltrated the city.
At the center of the city, there’s the Demon Lord Castle that could be seen even through the mist.
I heard that the execution of the Heroes will be at the front of the Demon Lord Castle.
There’s magic street lights illuminating the streets of the demon city.
Momo and I walked through the backstreets as much as possible.
Detection showed way too many enemies, so I got scared and stopped using it.
I relied only on the danger alert function as I aimed for the center of the city.
Is this how it feels for a terrorist when they infiltrate an enemy camp?
There were demons walking around, but I managed to deal with it with the thick mist and Stealth. We safely arrived at the place that seemed like the plaza.
{Momo…are you okay?} (Makoto)
{Y-Yes…I am scared though.} (Momo)
We hid in the shadow of a building and spoke in a low volume as we checked the state of the plaza.
Momo held my hand tightly, and I did the same.
There’s around…10 monsters as lookouts.
They are gargoyles.
How problematic.
I see a number of cages in the center of the plaza.
I could see people inside of them.
(What should I do…?) (Makoto)
The gargoyles were sitting on the big pillars that are here and there at the plaza.
They have a view of the whole plaza, and it looks hard to do a surprise attack on them.
Hmm, I want to act carefully, but I don’t want to stay long.
What should I do…?
“[Eavesdrop].” (Makoto)
The gargoyles were conversing, so I listened in.
“Hey, the mist today is dense.”
“Yeah, what a displeasing day. My body is getting all damp and it feels bad.”
“Aah, I want to dry my body with an open-fire or something…”
“Totally agree. Want to take a short break?”
“But we will get scolded for that, you know?”
“We are simply gonna be drying up on an open-fire for a short hour. It would clear our minds and it would allow us to concentrate more in our watch.”
…Gargoyles are monsters with will.
So they hate moisture, huh.
“[Mist].” (Makoto)
For now, I will do more of what my enemy hates.
“Ugh! The mist got denser.”
“I can’t take this anymore! I will take a break!”
“Ah! That’s not fair! I want to go too!”
“Oi! Leave someone at the very least!”
“Then you stay, leader!”
“Don’t joke around! I am your superior here!”
The gargoyles left.
It seems they left at least one, but if I take a wide turn, I could arrive at the cage without being noticed.
The gargoyle that fell behind was mumbling complaints and not concentrating on his watch at all.
They are neglecting their job to the extreme, but that’s fortunate for me.
I move slowly through the dense mist with Stealth and approach the cage.
Inside the cage there’s a man who was shackled in both arms and legs, and his body was tied up with chains.
He looked like he was sleeping, but when I got close, he soon woke up.
The man directed wary eyes at me.
“You…are a human?”
The man made a dubious expression.
“I have come to save you.” (Makoto)
“?!”
I said this straight, and the man opened his eyes wide.
“That would help a lot…but this cage is something that the confidant of the Demon Lord, Shuri, created with her darkness magic. It would be difficult to open—”
I didn’t wait for him to finish speaking and take out the dagger of Noah from my waist.
*Clink*
The blade of the dagger made a short sound, and the bars were severed.
“Huh?”
I ignore the surprised man, enter the cage, and cut off the chains and shackles.
I try to grab them so that they won’t make a sound, but it was so heavy I was on the verge of dropping them, but Momo supported me.
“Are you okay, Makoto-sama?” (Momo)
“You saved me there, Momo.” (Makoto)
“N-No problem…” (Momo)
Looks like Momo has more strength than me.
This is sad.
“You…just who in the world…”
I say to the dumbfounded man.
“My name’s Makoto. I have come under the oracle of Althena-sama and have come to save you Heroes. You are a Hero, right?” (Makoto)
I asked.
Hearing this, his face turned serious.
“I am the Earth Hero, Volkh. Thanks, you saved me there. I have comrades in the other cages. Please save them too.” (Volkh)
It wasn’t Abel.
But there’s others.
What about here?
“Got it. Are your other comrades Heroes?” (Makoto)
“Yeah, that’s right… The ones captured over there are the Wood Hero Julietta, and the Lightning Hero Abel.”
“?!”
I pumped my fist inside my mind.
I have successfully made contact with Savior Abel.
“It may not have been explained the best, but it is as I told you…
“Uguo… That felt terrible…” What I saw within my vision was an endless white space.…
It is not like I was certain, but I did think that we might end…
“Eh? It wasn’t that you came to visit me?” (Furiae) “Aah, yeah…you could say that.”…
There may have been cases when I would begrudge my own lack of strength, but…
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View Comments
So that partially explains how Abel got captured. Apart from Setekh being super strong and having petrification eyes, it seems that the enemy have already begun to tamper with history by informing Iblis to capture Abel before he has awakened the Light Hero skill. To remind those who don't know, Abel had both the Lightning and Light Hero skills which is why Geralt was originally supposed to marry Noel.
Thank you very much for the chapter.
When I read Lightning Hero Abel, I sort of imagined an older version of die-hard Geralt from the future lol.
It's cool that Makoto is getting to use his goblin hunting guerilla ninjitsu instead of just flash freezing everything in his path. It's also interesting that he's made contact with heroes who were killed in the original timeline. Makoto is going to make Ira's job so hard.
thanks for the chapter.
step 1 :clear !
Three heroes, and considering they were captured by Setekh, even if they brought non-hero help they can be written off.
Breaking in with unusual method and brazenly when they're not expecting a break in. This would again seem like rushing into danger, but the reasoning is sound. It's pretty hurried, but Makoto is racing against time here.
Either gargoyles are sentient by default or they're just smarter. Considering the monsters about to eat Momo earlier also conversed, it can go either way.
Makoto's knife is overkill as always. It's made by Shuri? Well, it's only made by Shuri, might as well be air for the dagger.
So the Wood Hero is here, and it's not Johnny. I remember Johnny was called a Spring Log Hero, does that mean he's actually Spring Log's first National Hero (probably also its founder) rather than having a Hero skill? Also, does anyone remember who the Earth Goddess is? Has she ever been mentioned at all? I seriously can't remember at all. Or rather, I'm fairly sure neither the Earth Goddess nor her country has ever gotten any extended mentioned, only in passing about Fujiwara buying metals from the country to sell to the Fire Country. Which does make me wonder if the goddess is maybe a patron of the dwarves or something. Are there even dwarves here?
So by now, Makoto has already made contact with agents of the goddesses of the four classic elements. That seems like a checkpoint.
> Three heroes, and considering they were captured by Setekh, even if they brought non-hero help they can be written off.
That's kind of harsh. Remember that Setekh's eyes instantly turned Makoto to stone and it took 3 days for Makoto to recover from it even with Furie's anti-curse skills.
I've actually been wondering about how Makoto is going to deal with Setekh.
I mean, you said it was harsh but you basically agree with me so...?
It's like this : the heroes were spared, and likely un-petrified because of concerns mentioned by the monsters' conversation. There'd be no such consideration for the non-hero help assuming they brought any, they'd just be killed immediately if not just forgotten as a collection of eerily life-like statue. Thus, they can be written off, no saving them from that without further endangering the heroes and thus the mission, if they can be saved at all. And it's not like we know they actually brought any help or not.
As for Setekh, Makoto already had a way to deal with him since Spring Log. Under a heavy mist, the effects of Setekh's eyes can be suppressed since it's apparently based on line of sight. Makoto only got petrified later because he didn't realize Noah's God Armor was wearing while talking with Setekh. Also, it took Furiae something like a week IIRC. Mostly thanks to Makoto's zero RES.
Johnny is not a hero probably if he's a spirit user. To be a hero he would have to be a believer of the goddesses which the spirit do not like. When Eir first descended on Sophia, Makoto said all the water spirits were subdued and silenced.
Per chapter 83, copy pasted :
> “You…don’t you know the Spring Log Hero, Johnny Walker? It is one of the comrades of Abel, you know.”
Read that again, Johnny is called Spring Log Hero. Later on Maximilian was called Wind Tree Hero so I was considering the possibility that Johnny was a national hero like Makoto was, maybe retroactively once Spring Log was established as a nation. This chapter simply gives a confirmation that it's a different thing from Wind Tree Hero.
And there's never anything said about how hero skills are exclusive with spirit use, whether for or against. The case you mentioned has nothing to do with Sophia as an oracle and everything to do with Eir -you know, the literal goddess of water- descending. The only other case we've seen of spirits going hush was Alex, and that's because he's a Demigod descended from Jupiter, not because of him being a Hero.
Thanks for the chapters! Things are getting busy so I can't read them on the same day as they're released, but I finally got a chance to sit down and read the ones I missed. I gotta say I'm loving the current pace.
I wonder if Momo becomes someone significant in the future, and also although I wasn't expecting it until the time travel was hinted at, I can't wait to see how Abel's character unfolds!
Lightning Hero Abel. Geralt being the next savior.
Does anyone remember the 3 great sages? White Great sage, crimson witch & 'The Oz', i think Makoto is the Oz since doesn't seem to have appeared in the war against the demon lord
The Great White Sage is the vampire loli we know and the Crimson Witch Lucy's mother if I remember correctly. But I don't remember when was mentioned The Oz, what else was mentioned about him in the past chapters?
It was mentioned, but only once, and one line alone
I forgot where it is, around wood country arc maybe
My initial theory is that we'll get to meet them as extra story, along with Naia's world travel path, and meeting with Lucy's father
Thanks for the chapter.