I pulled it off…I think, Mister Lord Dark Lord.
Sutcliff stopped the dagger inches from Aki’s thigh and hopped off of her. Then he took a moment to assess the damage he had inflicted on her fragile frame.
The woman lay face up on the ground, blood flowing from the slice in her cheek and the stab wound in her shoulder, her face withdrawn and deathly pale from the poison he forced down her throat.
Sutcliff inconspicuously bit the inside of his cheek over the sorry state he had put her in.
…I definitely went too far to get the job done.
He had been acting on orders from the Dark Lord to awaken the Hero’s slumbering powers. The only way to do it was to mentally corner the always composed, nearly emotionless Hero into such emotional turmoil that he would seek out power with all his being.
So Sutcliff used the woman Heroboy loved to get to him. He didn’t need to know the Hero to know Elias would look back on this moment and blame his powerless self for failing to protect her, resulting in him growing pessimistic about their relationship and eventually breaking it off.
Meanwhile, Aki would hate herself for being nothing more than Heroboy’s weakness.
In short, I just tore the newly formed couple apart. I committed the crime of throwing them back to where they started right after they finally overcame their fears to be together.
I practically stabbed the blade in both their hearts. I’m a real scumbag.
A heavy sigh escaped him. Sutcliff had taken the easiest path to awaken the Hero, but it killed him inside to torment and harass a defenseless woman. Simply remembering her agonized screams made him want to hit himself.
I can never apologize enough, but someday I’ll do everything in my power to make it up to her. Healing her wounds is a start. Sutcliff put his hand under Aki’s back and helped her into a sitting position.
Awakening Heroboy had been a smashing success. With his primary objective completed, curing the secretary’s injuries and poison status took priority. He’d become a true villain if she died on him here.
Sutcliff reached into his robe for the antidote while casting a look at the Hero standing dead still at the giant serpent’s feet.
What kind of expression does he have now that he’s activated the Solar Goddess’s power?
Hero Elias slowly raised his head as if he heard Sutcliff’s silent question. Their eyes locked with the nine-headed serpent between them.
Sutcliff sharply inhaled at the blank facial expression he saw there.
The distinct crest of the Solar Goddess gleaming on his forehead, the Hero vacantly stared at him, not with his clear emerald eyes, but eyes burning gold like the sun. Intelligent life didn’t glimmer there, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking or if he was actually even looking at Sutcliff.
Face utterly devoid of emotion, he merely stared straight ahead. He almost seemed possessed. The Hero’s hollow gaze traveled down, locking instantly on Aki. The next second, he robotically raised the Holy Sword without a word or a wrinkle in his deadpan expression.
HOLY CRAP! He’s coming! Sutcliff’s instincts screamed danger. He switched into a defensive stance with the dagger as his tamed serpent swerved protectively between him and the broken Hero.
Hissing menacingly, the ten heads snaked toward the Hero, snapping their mighty jaws to rip him to pieces.
Not even batting an eyelash, Hero Elias swept his platinum glowing sword to the side as if casually cutting through the wind. Crescent-shaped wind blades blasted forward from his blade and traveled in a straight line faster than the naked eye could follow.
Those platinum blades of light slammed into the magical serpent, severing several heads on impact. Molten black blood spurted from the clean cuts as the cruelly severed heads dropped onto the flower field and rolled into the lake with a thud, thud, thud.
Sutcliff’s jaw dropped amid the serpent’s earsplitting wailing. “Yick. What kinda move is that? Cheater!”
Apparently the Hero was capable of projecting slash attacks from the Holy Sword while manifesting the Solar Goddess’s powers. Sutcliff didn’t stand a chance against the Hero in close-combat—he was screwed out of this life and the next one now that he was capable of long-distance attacks.
Oi, oi. If I don’t give Aki-pie back to Heroboy soon, I ain’t gonna survive till my next meal…!
Sensing a real threat to his life, Sutcliff rushed to pop the stopper out of the antidote vial, but before he could finish, he heard a death cry behind him. Shocked by that ear-piercing, ground shaking roar, Sutcliff turned his head.
A scene straight from hell jumped out at him.
The expressionless Hero was slashing at the snake again and again, dropping bits of flesh chopped off by his excessive slices to the ground in a puddle of gore. Several heads flew with one slash, quickly followed by a second wave that carved into the serpent’s torso. Its regeneration couldn’t keep up with the damage. The volley of slashes sliced the giant serpent to pieces.
Oi, oi, oi…! Words escaped Sutcliff, his face turning paler by the second as he watched the supposed Hero’s brutality.
Heroboy was apathetically cutting the high-level serpent to pieces—he didn’t seem to have a shred of the gentle man left in him from before he awakened his powers.
What the hell happened to him?! Did the power drive him mad?!
Holding Aki protectively in his arms, Sutcliff peered over the mountain’s ledge. He feared the deranged Hero’s indiscriminate attacks might veer off course and accidentally hit her.
I’ll try to beg Heroboy for forgiveness first. I accomplished my mission. I don’t need to make a greater enemy out of him than I already have. Sutcliff took a deep breath and held Aki out toward Elias as a peace offering.
“Heroboy! You can have Aki-pie back!” he shouted. “I wanna explain myself to ya, so if you could lower your sword—”
Elias slowly walked toward Sutcliff, trampling over the serpent’s flesh and guts on the way.
Did he think nothing of the dead? Watching him step through puddles of blood without any visible hesitation instilled Sutcliff with spine-tingling dread.
Hero Elias stopped at the base of the mountain and tilted his head back.
…Yeesh, I’ve seen rocks more expressive than him. Does he even understand me? Is it possible he lost his mind to his first experience activating the Goddess’s earthshattering power?
If he has…if he’s not at the helm of his body, it’s damn possible Heroboy can’t tell the difference between friend or foe.