While pressing the side of his stomach, where the excruciating pain came from, Sheto watched the charging Hero. The bleeding had stopped. But he could not move as he normally did.
Indeed, he was right. He had been feeling a sense of joy by pursuing this enemy, who had looked so hopelessly powerful at first. And he had forgotten the true heart of a hunter.
Until the very, very end. When the prey had breathed its last breath and turned into a motionless bag of blood, he could not let his guard down.
However, he had made the Hero use up all of his magic. There would be no support from the god. All he could do now was use what abilities he had.
Realizing this, Sheto frowned a little.
This man, who wielded a god’s power, who trampled over his friends, family and beloved, he was now trying to ‘overcome’ a kobold, the weakest monster.
Quietly, he lowered one hand and touched the earth.
And then Sheto raised his arm vigorously.
At a speed that cut through the air, the ball of silver fur unleashed the river stones, and the barrier protected the Hero.
However, he did not swing his sword. The charge became pressure, and the kobold’s body was knocked back.
The barrier would not allow any enemy to get through, and it blew away the weakest monster like dust. He flew through the air without being able to move at all.
“Cleave him in half, ‘Zephalis’!”
The barrier disappeared, and at the Hero’s command, the sword glowed with the god’s power.
Just then, Koji saw it.
The stone in the kobold’s hand, and the vine attached to it. This line extended from his side, and was being pulled away, along with the monster.
“Wha-”
And then, an immense impact came and shook the Hero’s barrier from behind, causing the divine sword to be knocked from his hand.
“Ahhhhhh!”
“Gah!”
He was slammed hard to the ground, but Sheto quickly got up and looked at the Hero.
Due to the barrier’s reflect, the sword had escaped the Hero’s hand, which had already reached the limit in terms of grip.
And with clang, it pierced into a boulder behind his back.
“Hah…hah…hah…”
While breathing was painful, it was getting better. The pain in his stomach was subsiding.
The blood had stopped flowing, and he could move just fine.
As for the Hero, he looked completely stunned after losing his chance of victory.
“What…the…”
Outside of the armor, the miracle was gone. But there was still a barrier there. And yet Sheto stood up and walked towards him bravely.
“Why did…”
“I, knew from the beginning.”
The Hero looked at him in disbelief. The supposedly invincible Hero took a step back.
“When you people attacked, you, moved differently.”
“Uh…”
That moment when he used the flour. Instead of cutting, he had prioritized closing the gap. And the posture he had showed earlier.
“Hear from Salia. Your wall, triggers even if you crash yourself. The mountain earlier, when rolling, you, didn’t hesitate.”
The vine trap he had set on the ground, there were several other ones around the river. While measuring their distance, lure him in a straight line. However, having to act in a way where he didn’t notice it. That was the hardest part.
“I, was watching, the whole time. Asked Salia. For a long, long, long time, I thought, a lot.”
“Ah… Ahh…
“In order to hunt, you.”
“Arghhhh!!!”
The fist shot out. Sheto dodged it easily, and after slipping around, he gently pushed the Hero’s back.
“Arrrghhhh!”
He fell and licked the dirt. Of course, there would be scratches. However, with a push as light as a feather, the Hero had fallen easily.
“Stand.”
While on the ground, the Hero got up frantically and balled his fists.
Even now, he had armor that made him invincible.
That faith alone was driving him.
“Stop…playing around…”
The kobold was no longer afraid of his gaze. He had looked shaken earlier, but that was gone completely. What had he done just now? Why did it cause him to fall to the ground?
But he could still fight. As long as he wore this armor. No attack would hurt him.
Yes, he just needed to retrieve that sword.
That sword, which glimmered in the sunlight as it stood in that stone, like a legendary weapon.
As long as he pulled it out, he could fight again. He could kill the monster.
“Le-let’s…go!”
And like that, Koji rushed towards the kobold.
Or rather, he tried to.
“Ah?”
Suddenly, the strength left his legs.
And the ground rushed to his face.
“Wh…why…”
With the sharp impact, Koji was face down on the ground again.
“WHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”
How many times had he screamed? The brother, who was known for his beauty, was screeching as his face contorted with rage.
“WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHYYYYYYYY!!”
His voice shook the surface of the mirror. The Hero was dripping with cold sweat as he rolled on the ground.
“Why is he falling!? Why!”
“Brother. You only ever prepared for him battles that he could win. You never wanted to see a losing battle.”
The other side of victory. The shame of defeat. He had been too small-minded to try and see what was birthed from there.
“And what of it!?”
“They worship you in such worlds, because your divine protection prevents defeat in battle. And so there was never a need for you to think of such things.”
“Wh-what do you mean!?”
“Provisions, logistics, supply lines, in other words, things related to the act of ‘sustaining’ a war, correct?”
Said the dragon god. The brother shook his head.
“There is no point in thinking of such things! As long as you are always winning! If you have the power!”
“And when that was not possible, you left the battlefield. And so you do not know the fear of hunger.”
“Hunger!? Don’t be ridiculous! Humans will not die of hunger in three days!”
“Indeed. They usually would not die. But…”
The Hero was shaking and sweating. His face was pale and looked gaunt.
“Sheto. How does it look?”
‘Yes. Finally, stole his wata.’
“Stole, his wata?”
“Yes. This is what we were trying to do.”
When talking of bear hunting, Sheto had spoken of it. Do not let your ‘wata’ be taken when hunting.
“The bear steals what?”
‘Not the bear. The mountain.’
“The mountain takes?”
‘When hunting without eating or drinking. Sometimes, you can no longer move. That is ‘wata-nusumi.’’
Intense exercise and the stress of hunting. It could result in a state of exhaustion. And eventually, it would lead to malnutrition, and abruptly halt the movements of living creatures. And hypoglycemia and calorie deficiency would even drive one to their death.
“They refer to this as having your ‘wata’ taken by the mountain.”
“Ah…”
“On top of that, dehydration from vomiting, lack of essential minerals such as salt, sleep deprivation, and the stress from being in this abnormal situation—all of these factors are now affecting him.”
Surely he would have seen similar things on the battlefield. During a hopeless siege, or when supplies failed to reach the soldiers.
When men fight over diseased rats and cut open the stomachs of others over a grain of wheat. The extreme state of starvation.
But none of that mattered to a god who only cared about glorious victory.
And so he could not notice it.
“From the beginning, we were attacking his very body.”
“Ah…ahhhhhh…”
No matter how strong the armor was, the person inside was just a human. No divine enchantment would change that. And it was forbidden to alter any natural physiological phenomena.
Eat, sleep, excretion. Such things could not be ignored.
“Perhaps it is cruel to suggest he should have noticed such things, Salia. A battle between Heroes is merely a test of strength. Only a monster would use a method like this… Ah, he is a monster, after all.”
“Aye. He is a monster, and so he used such unusual tactics.”
In the meantime, Sheto was walking towards the Hero.
“Wha…what is he going to do?”
“Sheto. Can you see his neck under the armor?”
‘Aye. I can.’
Beyond the mirror, as the Hero panted on the ground, a sparkling jewel could be seen on his armor.
“That is the armor’s core. If you destroy it…”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
The brother shouted in despair.
Salia ignored him while giving the order.
“Place your blade against it, chipping away a part of the carve rune. And I will do the rest.”
“No! Stop this! Stop it, Salia!”
‘So, I just scratch it.’
The Hero had been groaning in pain, but seemed to suddenly realize what was happening.
‘Wh-what are you doing! St-stop!’
“Stop! If you do that, the divine protection on the armor will…!!”
The hatchet pressed against it with a click.
“STOOOOOOP!!!”
‘STOOOOOOOOP!!!’
There was a flash of light.
And in the same moment, Sheto felt the pressure surrounding him fade away.
Bonus chapter courtesy of Photo. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome and thank you too.