I'm Not the Heroine

Chapter 54

“Wow~ If it hadn’t been for you, Hero, how much longer would we have suffered? Thank you so much!”

“You hunters provided a lot of help. I only gave a little assistance.”

“Haha! You’re too modest, Hero! Aren’t you taking all the credit for yourself?”

“That’s right! If you’re that considerate, how are we supposed to compete with the ladies?”

Aswell, carrying monster parts along with the hunters, headed back to the village.

Even as he conversed with them, his thoughts drifted to his companions back in the city.

‘Now that the requests are nearly finished, I should head back to the city.’

Truthfully, he hadn’t intended to complete so many requests for the nearby villages.

But after a conversation with Aria a few days ago, he had been avoiding her, choosing to focus on these tasks instead.

‘...I wonder if she’s still staying up all night.’

He wished she wouldn’t, for the sake of her health.

Yet at the same time, he chided himself—what right did he have to interfere with her lifestyle?

“Well then, since the request is complete... how about it, Hero?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on! You really don’t get it, do you, Hero? It’s time for a drink, of course!”

“A drink after a job well done is a sacred tradition!”

Aswell glanced up at the sky.

The sun was high, nearly noon.

Even though it had been an overnight request, drinking in broad daylight felt a bit awkward.

‘Still, I suppose I owe them for helping...’

“Whoa, what’s that horse? It looks amazing!”

“Yeah, that’s not Hero’s horse, is it? His horse was white, right?”

“Is that a knight’s horse that wandered in?”

Following the hunters’ gaze, Aswell looked toward the source of their attention.

“...Knight Lux?”

There stood the black horse that she cherished so much.

Why was Knight Lux here?

Could it mean she had come to this village?

Aswell quickly scanned his surroundings, but there was no sign of her, either near the village or around Knight Lux.

“Hero, is that your horse?”

“That’s my companion’s horse. But... why is it here?”

Slowly, Aswell approached Knight Lux.

Looking closer, he saw that his own horse, Tempest, was also standing nearby.@@@@

However, something seemed off about Tempest.

The horse stood motionless, as if mesmerized by something...

“...Knight Lux.”

When Aswell met Knight Lux’s gaze, a powerful mental shock hit him.

Knight Lux’s eyes were glowing with a blue light.

But none of the hunters around them seemed to notice.

Only Aswell could sense Knight Lux’s will.

“...”

A brief silence passed.

Then, as the blue glow faded from Knight Lux’s eyes, Aswell adjusted the sacred sword at his side and mounted Tempest.

Seeing the two horses prepare to ride out, the hunters looked confused.

“H-Hero?”

“I’m sorry. I have to return to the city.”

Something was wrong in the city.

Magic.

I loved magic.

That’s why, when I trained under my mentor, I didn’t focus on mastering just one type of magic—I worked hard to learn as many spells as possible.

If there were spells I couldn’t use because I lacked elemental mana, then I would compensate by learning other magic.

I would keep studying and researching until I could create my own spells and techniques.

This dream took form in the creation of the master key.

It’s a staff I designed to accommodate as many types of magic as possible, tailored to my abilities.

That’s what the first form is—[Dream].

But there is another form, one developed to elevate my magic’s power and precision even further.

Its original purpose was to fulfill my mentor’s warning:

----!!!

Clang—!

Rumble...

“Haa... haa...”

The rapid mana consumption made me dizzy for a moment, but I quickly assessed the situation.

Mercadia had been flung backward by Behirastok’s strength, crashing through the dust cloud far beyond the mine.

As for Behirastok, it stumbled, disoriented by the force of Mercadia’s blow, and collapsed onto the mine.

‘It worked once, but I can’t do that again.’

They weren’t stupid.

If it worked, they’d see through the tactic and prepare a counter.

I poured more mana into the robe’s barrier to recharge it and checked that the people in the commercial district had safely evacuated.

At this point, I could deactivate the barrier over the commercial district.

‘Now...’

How should I deal with them next?

In some ways, this was the worst matchup for me.

Against opponents who overwhelmed me physically, my non-combat spells were of little use. The only option was to use their own strength against them.

There was another option, but...

‘I don’t think I should use that.’

Now that Mercadia had descended into the mortal world, if I used that spell, the aftermath could be catastrophic.

Click.

I pulled a modified sky cannon from my subspace and prepared to attack Behirastok.

‘I’m sure Behirastok has a weakness.’

There had to be a way to incapacitate that giant worm, even if only temporarily.

If I could remember it, I could take out at least one threat.

“Charging.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I focused mana into the sky cannon’s tip, unleashing an artificial mana storm.

Just as I was about to fire at Behirastok’s eye, a voice interrupted me.

“You’ve never hit Behir before, but you broke that streak because of her.”

It was a calm voice, different from the lively tone I had heard earlier.

Crack.

Snap.

With eerie cracking sounds, Mercadia reappeared, her expression unsettlingly serene.

“Behir wanted to be loved, you know. I’ve lived for Behir, and Behir’s lived for me.”

“Such devotion.”

I kept my eyes on the sky cannon, ready to fire, ignoring Mercadia’s ramblings.

‘...Gone?’

But Behirastok had vanished.

There had been no tremors, no loud noises. How could something so massive disappear without a trace?

I quickly turned back toward Mercadia, but Behirastok was nowhere to be seen.

“For you to try and break our bond... You’re no fun.”

With that, Mercadia turned away.

It was as if she had lost all interest in me.

She casually sat on a pile of rubble, like she was waiting for something.

“Guess I’ll wait for the Hero. Hmph.”

For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

Then, a line from the original story flashed through my mind.

[Mercadia was a physical fighter, but as a demon, she had her own unique magic. That magic led to the deaths of countless imperial soldiers. It was called...]

“Behirastok, you can eat.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

----!!!

The ground beneath me shook violently, and Behirastok erupted from below.

I couldn’t dodge in time as its mouth engulfed me.

[Eternal Predator. A being that devours even concepts, an endless predator.]

With that, my vision was swallowed by darkness.