Chapter 24 : It’s just a bit shaky

Alios’s shout rang out, and the surroundings fell silent.

Red, who had been threatening everyone, and the citizens who were being threatened by her.

Even I, the very person she claimed to treasure, shut my mouth.

Moments later.

“Did you learn romance instead of manners at home?”

Red scoffed in disbelief.

“You’re the heir to a duchy and a hero! You’re really going to throw all that away for one man?”

“I said I would.”

“You’ve completely lost it while I wasn’t looking!”

Even as Red shouted, Alios moved—as if to prove how serious she was.

She assumed a charging thrust stance toward Red, her blade gleaming with vivid aura.

It looked like she’d stab straight through, hostage or not.

“Hey, Alios!”

You’re not really serious, are you?

I watched, half-doubting.

“Damn it!”

Before Alios could move, Red hastily abandoned the hostage.

If the opponent doesn’t care about hostages, they’re just dead weight.

Red tossed the burden aside and shot up into the air.

She vaulted onto a rooftop, with Alios right behind her.

The two fought fiercely, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

Alios charged, aura-coated sword slashing, and Red blocked it with her arm.

Normally, blocking aura with your arm would be suicide, but Red’s arm had transformed—thick scales covered it, so the aura cut through scales, not flesh.

After blocking the strike, Red transformed her other arm, too.

She extended claw-like blades and slashed—

Alios quickly ducked, narrowly avoiding it.

Even though only one side had aura, they were evenly matched.

Could that be one of the demon powers Red has?

In the original story, demons each had unique abilities.

Looks like Red’s is physical transformation.

“L-Lord Ceres!”

While I was observing the fight, the soldiers approached me, flustered.

“What should we do? Should we assist Lady Alios…?”

“You can’t.”

I cut them off immediately.

They’re fighting between buildings—how could we possibly jump in?

Even I, now much stronger than the average person, wouldn’t be able to intervene.

Sniping with arrows from here? No good.

“Instead, focus on evacuating the civilians.”

A demon had suddenly appeared, throwing everything into chaos.

Some people were fleeing in a panic, while others just stared, frozen, still not grasping the situation.

As I directed the soldiers to evacuate them—

“Ha! Scurrying like rats, are you?”

Red let out a sinister laugh as she spotted the escaping people.

“You think I’d let you go?”

Something sprouted from her body.

Winged, bug-like things descended to the ground— they looked like giant parasitic wasps.

Dozens of these creepy things swarmed the fleeing citizens.

I thought they were all dead— but what happened next was even more shocking.

The people who had been attacked suddenly turned toward me, and charged like lunatics.

“Ceres!”

Alios, who had been ignoring everything not aimed directly at me, was horrified.

“Haha! I know your weakness!”

Red laughed triumphantly.

Looks like those bugs were parasitic and could control people.

Even enhanced their physical strength.

The soldiers tried to shield me, but they were quickly overwhelmed.

Alios rushed to protect me, and Red went straight for the opening that created.

Amid the chaos, I made a move.

I approached the controlled ones.

Just as one lunged at me, I grabbed his outstretched arm— using his own momentum, I flipped and threw him.

“Huh?”

“Huh.”

I heard Red and Alios let out dumbfounded sounds.

I didn’t care—I moved on.

I tripped another one and blocked the path ahead.

When the dozens charging from the front hesitated, I slipped into a blind spot.

Before they could reorganize, I struck from the side—mostly low kicks—knocking them down and subduing them.

Just to be sure, I injected divine power into each one I subdued— they struggled, then went quiet.

Turns out they were just unconscious—alive and seemingly fine.

Could the bugs have melted away from divine energy?

Once the crisis was dealt with, Red’s shocked voice rang out:

“Wasn’t that guy supposed to be sickly? A delicate beauty or whatever!”

“He got treated!”

And got stronger, too.

If I hadn’t gained superhuman physical ability, no amount of skill would’ve let me take down dozens of enhanced enemies.

“Sorry, but targeting me was a bad move.”

“You damn bastard! Why didn’t you just stay a weakling and get captured instead of showing off?!”

…Excuse me?

I couldn’t help but retort.

“Hey, you extra!”

“…Did you just call me an extra?”

Yeah.

You didn’t even have a name in the original story.

No fights.

Just some one-line mention as a demon. If that’s not an extra, what is?

“You arrogant brat! You only survived thanks to Alios, and now you’re acting all high and mighty.”

“You’re alive thanks to me, so maybe check yourself.”

“What?”

“You don’t know, but your life right now? That’s all thanks to me.”

Unintended, but still true.

Not that Red had any way of knowing.

She just looked baffled.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Just know that I’m right.”

“ARGH!”

With her attention on me, Alios seized the moment and landed a critical blow.

A deep slash ran from Red’s chest to her side.

She gritted her teeth.

“You bastards—this whole back-and-forth was just to confuse me, wasn’t it!?”

Not really, but I guess she misunderstood completely.

“RAAAAGH!”

Thinking she’d been tricked, Red snapped— her form twisted into something monstrous.

One arm transformed into a massive whip with multiple tendrils, the other into a grotesque, giant head.

She couldn’t move swiftly anymore, so she descended to the ground— aiming the mouth of her snake-like arm right at me.

“Crap!”

Alios flinched and rushed in front of me.

“Be careful! That’s the attack that hurt my subordinates before.”

The same one that injured your arm in the original?

“She’s charging it longer than last time. It’s going to be bad.”

Alios broke into a cold sweat as Red didn’t attack immediately but kept charging.

It might seem like I could just dodge it, but—
“If you dodge, the ones you knocked out will take the hit.”

Red said that with clear intent.

She swung her whip-like arm around, preventing anyone from getting close.

“Ceres, let’s just get out of the way.”

“Wait.”

I stopped Alios, who was ready to just grab me and run.

Because I’d just thought of something.

That demon seems weak to divine power.

She couldn’t withstand it and revealed her true form.

Even the bugs couldn’t endure it.

Now that I think of it, in the original, there was a scene where Ceres banished demons using divine power.

Maybe, just maybe—I can use divine power offensively, at least against this one.

“Ceres, what’s that stance?”

“Ener—uh…”

“What?”

“No, Divine God Buster!”

I almost shouted a name no one here would get, so I changed it on the fly.

I declared the made-up, flashy name—and divine energy burst from my hands like pillars.

The energy swept through Red—just as she was about to unleash the attack.

“AAAAAGH!”

Her spell vanished, her whole body burned as she screamed.

When it ended—

She looked like she’d been doused in acid. Charred all over.

“I—I won’t let you go.”

She said that, but her actions said otherwise.

Wings sprouted from her back and she fled into the sky.

“I’ll be back the moment I’m healed—especially you, Ceres Hyperion! I’ll—I’ll torture you and devour every inch of your—”

“SHUT UP!”

“What the—?! Did that extra just bark again!?”

“YOU LITTLE—NEXT TIME YOU’RE DEAD!”

With furious parting words, Red fled.

And then—
“The demon’s gone!”

“Hero Alios and Saint Ceres defeated the demon!”

Cheers erupted.

“Amazing!”

“He not only healed the sick but defeated a demon, too!”

Sure, it was all because of us in the first place, but people were focused on the fact we stopped the demon.

Even after I resumed healing, they just kept praising.

“I was so scared when you got taken hostage, but I knew you had a plan!”

“Who would’ve thought the demon would let you go just because you didn’t care about dying!”

“It was all a clever bluff to trick the demon!”

They took care of all the diplomatic mess on their own, with wild assumptions.

Soon, word reached the Queen of Arsen as well.

“A demon, of all things. So that’s where the plague came from!”

“…I don’t think it was, actually.”

“Still, imagine if you hadn’t been here. Unthinkable.”

“Technically, this is our fault…”

“A brave hero and a beautiful saint vanquishing a demon—it’s like a legend come to life! We must throw you a grand party!”

Even when I tried to clear the misunderstanding, the Queen was too excited to hear me.

“Ceres, everyone’s praising you.”

Alios smiled like it was someone else’s problem.

I just looked at her, unimpressed.