The Man Called Demon Lord in Another World Has Returned! - chapter 9
Chapter 9: The Hero Party
Near the entrance of the great forest now called the demon realm, five members of the hero party are battling several golem soldiers.
“Huff… huff… What’s up with these guys?”
“Magic attacks are barely effective.”
“Even when I strike with all my might, it only leaves a small scratch. And it regenerates immediately.”
“Everyone, don’t lose heart. There must be a way.”
“Yuji, I’m casting Stamina on you!”
“Mutsuko, cast it on me too!”
A chilling sensation ran through the entire party, stopping them in their tracks for a moment.
“This is an unprecedented powerful magical reaction. Could it be… has the Demon Lord revived?”
“No way…”
The entire party continues to fight the surrounding golem soldiers, their hearts heavy with anxiety about the Demon Lord’s possible revival.
…
While the heroes thought they were fighting the golem soldiers with all their might, in reality, the golems weren’t fighting at all. They were merely surrounding the hero party, casually deflecting attacks.
At that moment, Fua, who had been instructed by Ain, appears via teleportation.
Fua is a female-type Makinadoll specialized in close combat. She has short, light blue hair and wears a deep indigo bodysuit-style combat uniform. White lines run from her shoulders to her wrists and from her sides to her ankles on her tight-fitting outfit. These white lines seem to emit a faint glow. In fact, these lines aren’t mere decorations but have mana absorption capabilities. Around her waist is a slightly thick black belt, from which hangs a metal rod about one meter long. This appears to be Fua’s standard weapon.
“You seem to be struggling against mere patrolling golem soldiers. Are you the self-proclaimed hero party?”
“Who are you! Are you also one of these golems’ allies?”
The hero steps forward to confront Fua.
“It’s not polite to answer a question with another question. Well, mine was more of a confirmation than a question, so I’ll answer yours. My name is Fua. I’m one of the Master’s close aides, and I’m also in a position to command the golem soldiers surrounding you.”
“So, are you one of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings?”
“Demon Lord? Four Heavenly Kings? I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but you’re the ones who entered this domain without permission and started attacking.
Well, as per the Master’s instructions, I’ll play with you for a bit. Consider it an honor. I’ll hold back to avoid injuring you, but please come at me with all you’ve got. Don’t worry, the golem soldiers won’t interfere.”
“Don’t mock us!”
The hero suddenly lunges at Fua with his great sword. No matter how many times he swings, the sword doesn’t even graze Fua as she narrowly dodges each strike.
Meanwhile, the sage completes the spell he had been quietly chanting.
“Yuji, get out of the way! Gravity. Earth Bind.”
The hero who had been in front quickly distanced himself from Fua at the sage’s voice. Fua herself remains standing still.
Following the sage, the magician’s spell activates.
“Incinerate. Implosion.”
“Sun Ray.” The saint also directs her only attack magic toward Fua.
Various attack spells hit Fua, and a blinding flash of light envelops her.
“Did we do it?”
True to the hero’s cliché flag, when the magical attacks subsided and visibility cleared, Fua appeared completely unharmed.
Still, the hero party couldn’t give up. The holy knight, who hadn’t participated in the attack until now, thrusts his flashy-looking spear with all his might. Naturally, it doesn’t even scratch Fua. In fact, the hero swinging his great sword to assist nearly results in friendly fire with the holy knight.
After several more attacks from the hero’s great sword, Fua seems to grow bored and instead of dodging, she catches the blade with one hand. She effortlessly pinches the blade’s tip between her right thumb and index finger. Then, she lightly twists her hand holding the sword.
Snap! With a light sound, the hero’s great sword breaks about 30 centimeters from the tip.
“If your attacks are too monotonous, they’re easy to read, and your weapon can be taken away like this. Also, if you don’t align the blade’s direction with your swing, swords and katanas get damaged. Normally, a sword wouldn’t break this easily, but it seems you’ve been using it quite recklessly. This fine sword was crying from being handled by an amateur like you.”
“Wha-!”
The hero grimaces.
Fua lightly swings the broken blade tip, asking, “Do you need this? You don’t, right?”
Without waiting for a response, she grabs the broken blade tip with both hands and crumbles it into pieces as if it were made of styrofoam.
“Ah…!”
It was the tragic end of the hero’s holy sword, El Dyne. But the tragedy for the hero party continues.
“By the way, you with the spear, your weapon seems quite damaged too. You don’t need such a defective item, so let’s make it smaller and throw it away.”
Saying this, Fua closes the distance with the holy knight in an instant, snatches the spear from him, and holding it with both arms, smashes it against her raised thigh, breaking it in half.
It was the end of the holy knight’s sacred spear, Balphim.
“Well then, the exit is that way, Mr. ‘Hero Party’ (lol). I finally understand what the Master meant by ‘(lol)’. Thank you.”
Fua points to the north, the epitome of polite rudeness.
“…”
The “hero party” (lol) retreats without a word.