Not An Enemy You Meet At The Beginning (4)

Spatial transfer.

Using teleportation magic, we escaped the forest.

Our destination was the entrance of a small town.

“You could use teleportation?”

“Yes. I can only move to places I’ve been to before, and it consumes a huge amount of mana, so I can’t use it often.”

“You saved us. If we’d kept fighting back there…”

We would have been wiped out for sure.

Escaping was pure luck.

“This place is…?”

“A nearby town. I visited once during an inspection.”

“Is it far?”

“Fairly. About three hours by carriage.”

That meant at least ten kilometers.

He shouldn’t be able to catch up immediately.

“We lost the carriage right away.”

“At least we’re alive.”

“That’s true.”

Erika and I were especially relieved.

Regardless of our individual goals, staying alive came first.

Arka, on the other hand, was sulking, clearly unhappy about retreating.

Semirena gently tried to calm him.

Now then—what should we do next?

Just as I was about to bring it up, an explosion echoed from within the town.

At the same time, a chill ran down my spine.

“Hey… you’ve got to be kidding me!”

We rushed into the town.

And witnessed the worst possible scene.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

“H-help me!”

“Don’t make a fuss! Try to run and I’ll kill you on the spot!”

“Barbatos!”

I shouted the commander’s name.

Barbatos was attacking the townspeople.

“Yo, Heroes! You’re late!”

“H-how are you here…?”

“You didn’t think you were the only ones who could teleport, did you? I’m a commander, you know?”

“Damn it…”

“Our assumptions were too optimistic.”

Erika muttered, panic showing on her face.

We’d barely had time to feel relieved.

He’d gotten ahead of us and turned his fangs on the civilians.

Men lay bleeding on the ground, children screamed and cried.

The terrified gazes of the townspeople gathered on us.

“Y-you’re the Hero, right!? Please, save us!”

They begged us desperately.

Barbatos grinned.

“Now you can’t run anymore, Hero!”

This was the worst.

He’d taken the townspeople hostage, forcing us into a fight.

At this point…

“We have to fight!”

Arka, the most aggressive among us, raised his greatsword.

He wasn’t wrong.

Was there any choice but to brace ourselves…?

But our opponent was a commander.

The gap in power was—

“Come at me. At least try to entertain me.”

One minute.

We fought for only one minute.

“Come on, is that all you’ve got?”

“Ghk…”

Arka had planted his greatsword into the ground, barely staying upright.

Erika had run out of mana, and Semirena was exhausted from maintaining barriers to protect the townspeople.

I’d taken several hits myself—blood was running down my head.

We were all in tatters.

I knew this would happen.

I knew the gap in power existed.

But still…

To this extent…

“So damn bad…”

This was truly bad.

At this rate, we would all be killed.

Facing death head-on, my body trembled.

I wanted to run away right now.

But Arka stood back up.

“It’s… not over yet!”

“You’re standing again? But you understand now, right? You don’t stand a chance.”

“That doesn’t matter! We don’t fight because we can win! We fight because we have to win!”

“—!”

Arka roared and charged forward.

Barbatos smiled.

“Spirited, I’ll give you that! Fine—I’ll start with you! I’ll toy with you until you cry and scream!”

“I won’t cry! We won’t lose! Never!”

“Arka is right.”

Semirena said, standing up with a gentle smile despite her pain.

At the same time, Erika rose as well.

“I’ll support you. I don’t have much mana left, but—”

She activated a magic circle.

Even though they were exhausted, mana and stamina completely drained—

Why could they still stand?

Why could they keep fighting?

No one was looking at me.

All of them were staring straight at Barbatos.

That’s when I realized it.

Every one of them had a reason to be chosen for the Hero’s party.

They were the kind of people who couldn’t turn away from those trembling in fear and suffering.

Even Erika—despite her awful personality—stood bravely against him.

We were fundamentally different.

From a fake like me.

I could still run.

No one was watching me, and the distance was enough.

If I slipped away quietly, I might make it.

I wasn’t a Hero to begin with.

I’d come to this world by mistake.

I’d only pretended to be a Hero because I was afraid of execution.

But if I died here, none of it would matter.

I’d tried so hard to live—yet if I died now…

“Ooooooo!”

“Holy blessing!”

“Material Bullet!”

The three of them fought desperately.

Their all-out attacks struck Barbatos, but he emerged unharmed from the cloud of dust.

“I’m getting bored.”

“Gah!”

Arka was grabbed by the throat.

A hopeless situation.

Even if I wanted to help, Erika and Semirena were at their limits.

“No matter how tough you are, crush the throat and it’s over, right?”

“Ghk…!”

“Heh! I like that look in your eyes! You still haven’t given up, huh?”

“I… won’t… lose…”

What was wrong with them?

Mission. Role.

Could you really risk your life for something like that?

Could you die for someone else?

I really wasn’t a Hero.

I was a fake.

But—

“Damn it…”

Strangely enough, my body moved.

Even though I knew there was no way to win.

Even though I wasn’t a Hero.

But if I ran now, I felt like I’d stop being human before anything else.

Trembling in fear, prepared to die, I gripped the cursed blade.

—Your resolve has reached me.

“Huh?”

The moment I heard a voice, my body suddenly felt light.

As if I were floating.

“Later, you brave-but-foolish humans.”

“Gah…!”

“Pardon me.”

“—!”

In an instant, the arm gripping Arka was severed.

I caught Arka as he fell and leapt backward.

“Gah! M-my arm…!”

“Cough—th-thank you! Soji—kun?”

“Your courage in facing fear… admirable indeed.”

I gently set Arka down and walked toward Barbatos, still holding the cursed blade.

Even Erika sensed something off about my back as I moved.

“…Soji?”

“Brave maidens, you fought well.”

“You bastard… Hero!”

“The rest shall be left to me.”

He struck a perfect pose with the cursed blade—

Wait.

Who the hell was this!?

Hey!

What’s going on!?

My body’s moving on its own!

“Do not panic. I am not your enemy.”

‘Not your enemy,’ he says!?

“—gozaru?”

Who are you!?

“Well, I cannot recall my name, but my nature is clear… I am a samurai.”

A samurai?

That samurai!?

What the hell was going on!?

Why suddenly—

“Quit muttering! You dare take my arm!”

Hey, in front of you!

“I am aware.”

He lightly dodged Barbatos’s attack and swung the blade at a speed beyond sight.

Thud—an arm fell.

“Gah!”

“The other as well. Now the scales are balanced.”

“Don’t get cocky!”

Both arms regenerated instantly.

That was shocking.

“Well now! Like a serpent from a folktale, are you not?”

“I can regenerate arms all day! You—getting carried away! I’ll kill you!”

He must have been holding back before.

Overwhelming killing intent and demonic power overflowed.

Just standing there was enough to make you piss yourself.

And yet, the samurai possessing my body was delighted.

“How pleasing. Then let us take your head.”

The samurai took his stance.

A unique posture—half-crouched, blade angled diagonally downward to the right.

The focus reached even me.

“I’ll kill you!”

“True Ganryu—”

In the blink of an eye.

So fast that even I, seeing through the samurai’s eyes, almost missed it.

“—Tsubame Gaeshi.”

“—!”

(…Huh? Why am I looking up at that guy…?)

Thud.

Barbatos’s head fell.

Everyone present—myself included—stood frozen in disbelief.

The samurai sheathed the cursed blade.

“Even an aberration was still a living being.”

“Y-you…”

“Oh my, how surprising. You retain consciousness even as a head.”

“…What are you?”

“Well now? I cannot recall my name.”

As Barbatos’s head began to fade away, the samurai smiled gently and said,

“I am a samurai.”

“Sam…urai?”

Leaving behind that question, Barbatos vanished.

“With this, the matter is settled.”

“O-oooh!”

“The Hero won!”

“We’re saved!”

The townspeople rejoiced, overwhelmed with relief.

Indeed, the incident was resolved.

But more than that—

WHO THE HELL ARE YOUUUUUUU!?