Say he only drew out those powers to save Aki-pie, and that desire is now pulling the strings while his personality takes a backseat—he’s likely to view everyone but her as an enemy who he’ll indiscriminately eliminate.
As Sutcliff was dizzyingly putting the pieces together, Hero Elias raised the Holy Sword without a word of warning.
He’s going to send out another wind-cutter attack?! Whoa, whoa! Hold up! Your girlfriend is here too, Heroboy!
By the time he thought, I’ve gotta dodge, it was already too late. Blades of wind burst from his downward swing and cut diagonally through the boulders making up the mountain they were on.
Sutcliff lost his hold on Aki as the ground crumbled beneath them.
“Crap! Aki-pie…!” He couldn’t let her fall from this height; it would kill her even if she wasn’t already injured. Feet treading collapsing rocks, he frantically reached for her through the cloud of dust. But she slipped out of his reach and plummeted down with the rockslide. “Aki! Damn it!”
He made up his mind to dive off the side after her, when he saw a flash of platinum out of the corner of his eye.
Heroboy’s windcutter attack! Sutcliff was only able to jump out of the way of the blast because of the blessed physical prowess Shadow Tribesmen were born with. Kicking off the top boulder launched him high into the air and he did a single flip before landing on his feet with catlike agility.
Not giving a single look back at Hero Elias and his Right-hand, he bolted across the flower field into the shadows behind another pile of rocks in order to escape the Hero’s relentless attacks.
Shit! I don’t know what’s what anymore! Back pressed against the rocks, Sutcliff slowly exhaled to catch his breath. I lost sight of Aki. I know I’m who hurt her, but I still failed to heal her injuries and protect her. Damn it all!
He slammed his fist into the boulder. White dust billowed throughout the field from the rock mountain Hero Elias had destroyed in a single hit, obscuring visibility.
Heroboy has completely lost his mind. Mister Lord Dark Lord didn’t say anything about the Hero going berserk because of the Goddess’s power. What the hell should I do, Mister Lord Dark Lord?
Though he was essentially reaping the seeds he’d sowed, Sutcliff gazed up at the domed rock ceiling in search of a way out.
I’m gonna end up buried alive in this cavern, no joke.
Getting the Hero to awaken his powers went well enough. But at the rate things were going, they had plummeted the Hero Party into a worse state than if they didn’t have access to their true powers.
The Solar Goddess’s powers sleeping within the Hero—Sutcliff’s mission would be complete when he explained the nature of those powers to the Hero and handed over the Book of Creation.
“How do I knock some sense back into Heroboy? Is the answer written in that raggedy old book?”
Even if it contained the answers, Sutcliff didn’t have the time to flip through the pages looking. No telling when the Hero would discover his location and attack him.
Unsettling worry sent his heart slamming against his chest.
Only the mindless Hero, Aki, and Sutcliff were in the underground cavern. And Sutcliff was the only one capable of fighting the Hero.
…Thinking ’bout it ain’t gonna get me anywhere. Just gotta do it. Sutcliff drew the crisscrossed daggers from the sword belt hanging from his waist at his back. I don’t stand a chance of winning against the half-mad Hero, but I can’t turn tail and run either.
At least I’ve got skill in swords and magic thanks to being born a Shadow Tribesman. Plus, I can summon magical beasts to my aid. I’ve gotta use these special abilities to my advantage in a fight against the god-class Hero.
I’m the ass who stirred up this mess. I’ve gotta clean up after myself!
Sutcliff poked his face around the boulder and ran his gaze over the field behind him in search of Hero Elias. Gore of the brutally slain ten-headed serpent colored the blue flower field black, the Hero’s windcutter attacks left massive gouges in the ground, and the collapsed rock mountain littered gravel, dirt, and debris everywhere. The magical luminescent garden had become a shadow of its former beauty.
The thick cloud of dust kicked up in the aftermath of the Hero’s onslaught gradually cleared, revealing the shadows of two people. Sutcliff scrutinized the shadow he assumed belonged to the Hero.
The shadows belonged to Hero Elias with his sword arm slack at his right side and Aki nestled against his chest with his left arm, her eyes firmly shut. Aki’s wounds hadn’t been treated nor had he cured her poison status. Much longer in her state and she really was toeing the line between life and death.
But as awesome as I am, I can’t get close to Heroboy… How do I save her? Sutcliff racked his brain as he surveyed the area. That’s when he heard it—several pairs of feet running in their direction. Holy summon monster. Someone’s here?
Wary of the newcomers, Sutcliff held his breath, blending inconspicuously into the scenery with his magic.
The only person he could imagine coming to this goddessforsaken cavern other than Heroboy and Aki-pie was the redheaded Thief he gave the Quest to. Did she make it this far following them?
Whoever it was, setting foot on this flower field was the same as forfeiting their lives. Without his mind intact, the Hero was likely to mercilessly attack anyone other than Aki, whether they be friend or foe.
But Sutcliff couldn’t leave his hiding place to confirm who had come running to their deaths. He’d be pointlessly throwing away his life if he didn’t wait to launch a perfectly timed surprise attack on the Hero.
So he waited and watched with bated breath.
Keeping his back against the rocks, he stole a glance in the direction of the fast footfalls. There he saw a woman—the redheaded Thief—running ahead of two men. He looked past her at the men. His mouth fell open at who he saw there.
One was a Minstrel with pale blond hair. Likely one of Heroboy’s party members. But the other—
“Holy summon monster! What the hell happened here?!” the other man swore at the devastated flower field littered in serpent flesh.
Sutcliff instantly recognized him. That jet-black hair, those robes, his confident, unwavering purple eyes—no doubt about it, he’s Mister Lord Dark Lord’s—
Sutcliff’s eyes bulged and he quietly uttered a name meant only for him to hear. “…Master Leo.”