Hero's Coffin Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Mela's eyes trembled. Harenir grasped her hand with his left hand, helping her up as if to demonstrate, and once again drew a gentle smile.

"Do you trust me?"

"...Yes."

"Take a moment to catch your breath. I'll handle this."

Where he gestured, there was a space just right for one person to hide, where debris from the rocks had piled up to perfectly block the rain. Mela bit her lip as if hesitating, but when Harenir softly called her name, she finally bowed her head.

Swish! Just then, Harenir cut down a Dium that rushed at them. Though Kalterik and Mela had dealt with some Dium earlier, several dozen still remained. After dispatching one with a single strike, Harenir lightly rolled his shoulder.

There was no awkwardness at all in moving the shoulder that had bled profusely, and no sign of pain could be felt in his movements as he cut down the next Dium that rushed in. Looking at his actions alone, he seemed like someone who hadn't been injured at all. Only after confirming this did Mela hesitantly move her steps.

Kalterik shouted loudly,

"Commander, don't worry! I'll support you well!"

"That's reassuring."

Though it was a situation where only two of them had to face the enemies, there was no fear on their faces. Even though they should have been tired from dealing with many Dium on their way to the center of the Encroachment Zone, Kalterik had rather entered a state of alertness due to excitement, and Harenir was calm as always.

Swish!

The only problem, if any, would be that the tri-horned Dium, the leader of this place, was still alive. They had to prevent the Dium from the bottom of the canyon from reaching where Noi and Mela were, and since that role couldn't be left to Kalterik alone, Harenir joined in.

And the tri-horned Dium at the top of the canyon attacked, making full use of its advantageous position. The Dium endlessly split its four fingers and shot them as arrows.

They had to endure the dark red rain with holy power, and also block the Dium's arrows, which gradually created openings for Kalterik. Harenir naturally took on the Dium's attacks that targeted these moments.

Thud! However, because it was an absolutely disadvantageous situation, they couldn't avoid all attacks, and Harenir pulled out an arrow that had pierced his abdomen, telling the horrified Kalterik that it was alright. The sight of the wound that gushed blood healing smoothly was still marvelous. Kalterik's eyes shone with respect and adoration for the hero, as if he had witnessed a miracle.

The tri-horned Dium shouted as if disgusted,

[Ha! Aren't you disgustingly tenacious after all?!]

"You called me a god, wouldn't you be disappointed if I collapsed from just this?"

Harenir smiled kindly, his eyes crinkling. It seemed as if a verse about truly becoming a god because you called him one might faintly follow. The Dium twisted its lips at the response that could be either consideration or mockery.

[Fine. Then I'll pour it on without even giving you a chance to recover!]

Whoosh! Once again, the Dium spread its arms wide and emitted dark red energy. The rain intensified and wind began to blow. It felt like being in the middle of a storm.

"Ugh..."

He frowned as the rain lashed even where he was standing. He sighed deeply, feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of having to move Noi again. But knowing that the longer he delayed, the more troublesome it would become, he finally grabbed one of Noi's arms and started dragging him, when something appeared before his eyes.

He flinched, thinking it might be a Dium... but was even more surprised when he recognized who it was.

"...Isaph."

It was Mela. It was strange enough that she had come here in an instant from far away, but it was even more bewildering that she had come looking for 'him'. Did she have some business with him? Having never conversed with Mela before, he couldn't possibly guess her purpose.

On the other hand, he felt embarrassed about dragging Noi in such a mess and quietly grabbed him with both hands. It was a meaningless action since only the last step remained anyway, but he tried to make it look better.

But unexpectedly, Mela's gaze had been fixed only on him all this time.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

Hearing such a shocking phrase, he looked at Mela in bewilderment. A favor? He tilted his head as if he had misheard, but her words continued immediately.

"Your goal is to help the Commander and receive a reduced sentence in the future, right? If there's anything that becomes an obstacle to that path, you would eliminate it."

"...?"

"Your ability to handle souls itself is exceptional. I dare not even compare you to other necromancers. I only learned that even the souls of living beings could be detached through you."

It was a flow he couldn't understand at all. She suddenly mentioned his goal, then praised him, and then... even bowing her head.

"So if I lose control... stop me, like you did with the succubus."

"...What?"

"I'm telling you to detach my soul."

It was a request delivered in the most serious voice. At first, he thought Mela was joking, but setting aside the fact that he and she weren't close enough for that, the eyes that looked at him right after were too sincere. They even held a desperate energy.

"The thing I dislike most is burdening the Commander, even more than 'that'."

Slowly, Mela removed the silver necklace engraved with Solnium's emblem from her neck. Then, as if it were natural, she handed it to him, and he received it with one hand in bewilderment.

As if that meant he had accepted the request, Mela thanked him and bowed her head again. Without a chance to explain that it wasn't so, he barely held back a gasp at what followed.

Mela's eyes changed.

The white sclera turned pitch black, and her navy blue eyes, which had been like a cool deep sea, turned red as if filled with blood. He had seen these eyes a few days ago. From the succubus, that 'demon', on the sky island.

Then, as Mela tilted her head back slightly and exhaled slowly, crack— two horns sprouted from her forehead. The eyes alone had been shocking enough, but the sight of horns rising nearly made him faint for real.

Suddenly, things he had brushed past before came to mind.

'Mela is impossible. She doesn't have much holy power.'

[Why is your soul...]

[...What are you?]

'Lady Mela knows a lot about demons.'

Harenir's words, the confusion and slight wariness shown by the first emperor's aide summoned at the historical hall when he saw Mela, and the puzzled reaction of the succubus they encountered on the sky island. Even what Noi had said at the temple a few days ago.

'M-Mela. I thought you would hate that guy more! He's 'that' necromancer! The kind that conducts illegal experiments and research!'

As he recalled Kalterik's words as well, a hypothesis formed in his mind like a flash of lightning. Could it be that Mela had become a demon through illegal experiments? There was also the possibility of being a half-blood, but the hypothesis gained strength from the fact that the shape of the horns was distorted, and the area connected to her forehead was full of scars.

They say that when you see too shocking a sight, you freeze and can't react at all. As he stood frozen in silence, Mela calmly nodded.

[As expected, you seem to have anticipated this.]

No, I didn't.

He couldn't correct Mela, who had completely misunderstood his reaction. Her voice now resonated differently from before, and now swish! Dark red wings even sprouted from her back. He couldn't even gauge how much more he should be surprised.

[I'll try my best to return to being human... but if I fail, subdue me before I become a complete demon and lose my reason.]

"...If your soul is detached, you'll die."

In the past, he had detached the soul of Bart, the voice phishing criminal, and then returned it to his body. But that had been several times more difficult than out-of-body skill, and Bart had been human, while Mela was now a demon. Could he really control a demon's soul? He had barely managed to detach the succubus's soul.

Mela nodded at his words.

[Yes. My comrades won't be able to deal with me, and I don't want to burden the Commander unnecessarily.]

...Hey, then what about me?

Was she saying that Isaph was someone who wouldn't feel any burden at all even if he killed someone he had seen every day for a long time? Ha, really...

It's frustrating that he can't refute because it's such an accurate character analysis. Why am I in this kind of body. Truly bewildered, he finally let out a dry laugh and said one thing.

"...If I kill you, I don't think the hero will advocate for my sentence reduction, unless it's for immediate execution."

Mela's eyes widened at his words. She looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected this kind of reaction. Seeing the demon's eyes up close involuntarily reminded him of the succubus incident, making him tense reflexively, but the red eyes he faced now held a faintly finite light.

As those eyes curved... oh, is she smiling now?

[Hold onto that necklace well.]