The Hero Party had been walking the path of downfall ever since Noah’s declaration of banishment.
Not only did they nearly face total annihilation when confronting Pector of Despair, but they also couldn’t even track him properly.
And while trying to defeat a dragon, they caused half a town to be destroyed.
They couldn’t even actively respond to the invasion of the remnants of the Demon King’s army.
Riding a carriage toward the orc settlement east of the Great Forest, the Hero Party no longer shared the same laughter as before.
“Where on earth did Noah go? Did he die together with the Demon King?”
No, that couldn’t be.
No matter how many times they thought about it or chewed it over, there was no way Noah died with him.
“Since there was no body at the Demon King’s castle, he couldn’t have died, right?”
Without seeing a corpse, it was hard to believe.
Moreover, Pector himself had said there was no body.
Not long ago, Eugene had met Pector again and asked about Noah’s whereabouts.
That was when the Hero Party heard about the events at the Demon King’s castle from Pector.
[Hmph, do you think anything will change just because someone with no will to fight chases me?]
[Where is Noah?]
[Looking back, considering that man always fought me alone, it’s clear what kind of unity you have.]
[What did you say?]
[You’re all in the same party, so why are you asking me about him? There was no body of the one who killed the Demon King in the castle. So, I went to Berta where you were, but it was a waste of time.]
So, they couldn’t yet conclude that Noah was dead.
“Damn it. If this goes on, the party’s going to fall apart. And on top of that, I feel like I’m about to throw up everything I’ve eaten until now.”
Eugene crumpled his face as he looked at the newspaper with an article about the Hero Party.
The headline read that the Hero Party was repeatedly losing battles.
“What do we do now?”
At Siriana’s question, Eugene let out a deep sigh.
“Hah, and of all times, they want us to go on an expedition to the Four Heavenly Kings.”
After Pector of Despair destroyed Berta Fortress to the point of making it nearly impossible to repair, the kingdom, doubting the Hero’s achievements, immediately ordered a punitive expedition against the Four Heavenly Kings.
Naturally, this was also announced to the Great Forest and the Holy Kingdom.
Siriana, who had been personally appointed as the Holy Kingdom’s saintess by Elana, the noble elf of the Great Forest, had no choice but to participate.
Elana laughed bitterly, thinking there really was no solution.
“In the end, this is all our own doing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’ve been pushing that man all this time. He kept getting stronger, while we just stagnated in place.”
‘If only we had prepared for the possibility that Noah would hit us in the back…’
“Are you saying we didn’t grow?”
“Think about it logically. Noah has already defeated the Demon King. What reason does he have to stay with us? Our party was formed solely to defeat the Demon King in the first place.”
The Hero Party was created with the sole purpose of defeating the Demon King.
Now that the Demon King had been defeated, everything was over.
“Ah.”
“Both Siriana and I are in important positions with the elves and the church, so if we don’t capture the Four Heavenly Kings, we’re in danger.”
They were truly bound in chains.
So now, without Noah, the future looked bleak.
“Which means, Noah is even more—”
“Noah? Someone from the Land of Ruin doesn’t have something like honor to protect.”
The Land of Ruin, the most uninhabitable place on the continent.
It was said that after the gods were killed by god-slayers long ago, the curse of the gods caused nothing to grow there.
The land was endlessly dry, no animals lived there, and it was covered in nothing but gray ash.
A place that had once been the center of the world in ancient times, but now everyone avoided.
Yet there were rumors that a small population still lived there.
The people who survived in that cursed land were said to possess exceptional abilities in magic, using ancient magic.
Having survived in that land, some scholars speculated that they might be a chosen race of the gods, publishing speculative papers on the subject.
Noah was living proof of this.
At first glance, it seemed like an honor he could’ve embraced, but Noah had sought his own fame, and it was unknown whether any of his people were even alive.
In other words, unlike Siriana and Elana, who were bound by the honor of the church and the elves, Noah was free.
“That’s true.”
“Besides, he always lamented during royal banquets that once the Demon King was defeated, he would part ways with us. The kingdom knows that’s how it is between us.”
That’s right.
Noah often said things like that during drinking parties.
Noah, who was always humorous and a good talker, was also popular with the nobles of the kingdom.
It must have left an impression.
“And that’s why we’re in trouble.”
“More importantly, Elana… you’re speaking informally to me.”
“Speaking informally? After being so disappointed, what does it matter now?”
“You’re younger than me anyway. I’ve been putting up with you all this time, body and soul, but now that I’ve come to my senses, this isn’t right. Why? Got a problem with that?”
‘It’s all or nothing now.’
“Who’s to blame for all this? The incompetent Hero, of course.”
“You had the nerve to groan beneath me!”
“You, who act all high and mighty from the Great Forest, being treated as the kingdom’s top bachelor… what makes you so special!?”
Elana’s voice trembled with tears as she deeply regretted having given herself to such a person.
Thinking back, it all started from that moment.
When he was showing off in the Great Forest.
Next to him, Noah had been watching with a look of disdain.
She should have suspected something back then.
How could the so-called Hero be weaker than the mage in his own party?
“This isn’t the time to fight. The real issue is what lies ahead. While we were slacking off, that gloomy mage kept getting stronger.”
“That’s true.”
All the while Elana and Siriana were having fun, Noah was steadily growing stronger.
“It’s strange that Noah wouldn’t grow stronger in that situation.”
“We’re barely able to handle even one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Isn’t that mage essentially the one who voluntarily left our party? There’s no need to stay loyal anymore.”
“So, what now?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to recruit someone new at this point?”
Recruit someone new? Easier said than done.
They hadn’t been searching for Noah out of loyalty in the first place.
“Can we find someone as capable as Noah?”
“Honestly, it’ll be tough.”
Where in the world would they find a mage powerful enough to defeat the Demon King?
Even lowering their standards, they’d still need someone capable of fighting the Four Heavenly Kings.
Surprisingly, there weren’t many with the right skills available at the moment.
In fact, compared to the current Hero Party, which had even lost to one of the Four Heavenly Kings, most people were weaker than Eugene.
‘Of course, we did set the bar pretty high.’
If the only requirement were “strength,” there might be room for compromise, but the conditions they were looking for in a mage were way too demanding.
They needed someone who could hold their own in battle, effectively taking on the role of four people alone.
Someone who could cook three meals a day outdoors.
And someone with solid financial sense to manage the kingdom’s funding.
No matter how difficult things got, declaring to quit the party or banishing anyone from the Hero Party should not be considered.
For now, this is the best course of action.
Even though they tried to fix it as much as possible, the reality is what it is now.
With the kingdom’s orders piling up and the Four Heavenly Kings’ invasion continuing, there is no time to train or come up with a way to reform the party as a whole.
“Haa, I can’t help but sigh.”
“We’re stuck, aren’t we? Even if we meet Noah again, there’s no guarantee he’ll rejoin us.”
That’s right.
“What about the Empire?”
“The Empire?”
“There are fewer skilled adventurers in the kingdom since the war is happening here. So, how about the Empire?”
“Well, that’s not a bad idea.”
Though they couldn’t recruit openly because of Noah, they had looked into it separately.
“The problem is how to get out of this situation with the Four Heavenly Kings. Of course, as the Hero Party, we can’t just leave them alone. We need to find companions. We should inform the royal palace about our current situation and recruit more members.”
“Is that our only option?”
“We’re at a crossroads. Either we keep losing and end up ruining our lives, or we take the hit to our reputation and recruit new members. It’s one or the other.”
The gap between them and the Four Heavenly Kings was clear.
Eventually, they would have to defeat them.
They would never be able to do so with their current weakness.
“You’re right.”
“Elana, why are you acting so nonchalant?”
As Eugene scolded Elana for responding as if she were talking about someone else’s problem, she responded with an exasperated expression.
“You think I’m being nonchalant? Is there any other option? Didn’t you see Pector last time? He outright ignored us, as if we weren’t worth his time!”
Disappointed, Pector had left the Hero Party alone after that.
The kingdom itself was no longer under direct attack.
In fact, only the Hero Party kept clinging desperately to Pector.
Of course, while Pector’s attacks had stopped, the unorganized remnants of the Demon King’s army continued to push into the kingdom.
***
Boom!
“What was that sound?”
“It seems something happened to the carriage.”
The carriage suddenly tilted.
Wondering if they were under attack, Eugene stuck his head out and yelled at the coachman.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Oh dear, Heroes, it seems the wheel of the carriage has gotten stuck in the swamp.”
The coachman answered too nonchalantly for Eugene’s taste.
“It was truly infuriating.”
‘How could he be so calm in a situation like this?’
They were near the orc settlement, and something like this happening now was a serious problem.
“Why did you take us through the swamp?”
There had to have been a smoother path.
They’d traveled this road many times before, so they knew it well.
‘Why had the coachman taken the harder route?’
‘And just when we’re running low on funds, we couldn’t even buy a teleportation scroll. Ugh.’
There really was no answer to this.
When Noah was around, he would make teleportation scrolls for them.
But even Noah had eventually said it was a waste to make things for a party like theirs, and he started making them buy the scrolls instead.
He might have already been thinking of leaving the party by then.
“How was I supposed to know there was a swamp here?”
“Do you even hear yourself?”
They were near the orc settlement. “What if they got ambushed?”
“Hero, enough.”
“Elana, are you giving me orders?”
Elana sighed in disbelief.
‘How did I end up following a man who sees this as a command?’
If she had known this was how things would turn out, she would have stuck with Noah and left the Hero as a figurehead.
“The people are already turning against us. Even a lowly coachman needs to be treated carefully now.”
“Damn it!”
All Eugene could do was glare.
But Elana’s words couldn’t be ignored.
Noah’s popularity in the kingdom had skyrocketed.
There were even rumors circulating that the Hero had sent Noah to the Demon King’s castle to get rid of him.
That must be why the coachman was acting so insolent.
“I’d appreciate it if the mighty Hero could help get the wheel out.”
The coachman was clearly provoking him on purpose.
“How dare you say that!”
“Oh dear, if it were Sir Noah, he’d have cut through the swamp with his sword and pulled us out in an instant.”
The coachman wailed dramatically in response to the Hero’s anger.
Even if the Hero wasn’t as strong as he once was, this was too much.
How had Noah managed to charm so many people that even now, they still missed him and resented the Hero Party?
“Let’s pull it out.”
“Yeah, this is where we stand now.”
Eugene’s face turned red, but as Elana and Siriana persuaded him, he reluctantly helped.
‘To think that I, the wielder of the Holy Sword, have been reduced to this.’
It was truly a ridiculous sight.
“Wait, something’s wrong here.”
Elana, being from the forest-dwelling people, could hear every sound in the woods.
And now, she sensed the presence of hundreds of creatures near the swamp.
“What is it?”
“It’s an ambush! Prepare for battle!”
“Kekeke, kuhaha! You fools finally figured it out.”
The coachman’s laughter echoed through the forest.
A sinister aura radiated from his body.
Eugene pointed his sword at the coachman.
“Who are you?!”
“If I kill you here, Lord Zerato will promote me to an officer!”
The coachman’s appearance had suddenly transformed into that of a dark mage clad in a black robe.
“An officer? Zerato? Who is Zerato?”
Listening to him, it seemed like he was someone under one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“A dark mage who’s fallen to the Demon King’s army, huh? Everyone, prepare for battle!”
***
The battle between the orcs swarming from all sides and the Hero Party began.
At first, they fought relatively well.
Even if the Hero Party had been slacking off, they still had basic skills.
Elana was renowned as the greatest archer in her tribe, and Siriana had been appointed as a saintess by the Pope himself when he visited the kingdom.
Hero Eugene wielded the Holy Sword.
They cut down the orcs coming at them from all directions with arrows imbued with the power of spirits, divine energy, and the Holy Sword.
“Aaargh!”
“There are too many of them! How are we supposed to hold out?”
“And we’re surrounded! On top of that, if the dark mage is controlling them…”
The monsters controlled by a dark mage don’t die easily.
Like zombies, they rise again.
That was the problem.
If it were regular orcs, the Hero Party would be able to handle them, but of all places, they had to be in the swamp, against an enemy that had prepared its forces.
“Could they win without taking serious damage?”
‘Maybe it’d be better to retreat,’ they thought, but the damn dark mage had even set up a barrier to prevent their escape.
It wasn’t even just a regular swamp.
The swamp was enchanted with a dark magic spell called “Chains of Darkness.”
It was a trap, and the moment you stepped on it, chains wrapped around your feet, reducing your mobility.
“Our feet are completely tied up.”
“We’ll just have to fight. As long as we hold out until the dark mage’s magic runs out, we’ll be fine.”
‘He’s just a dark mage.
Does he really think he can sustain his magic long enough to defeat us, a Hero Party, when he’s not even officer-level?’
“Look over there! Can we really hold out?”
The dark mage wiggled his fingers, and as if mocking the Hero Party, he pulled out magic stones from his robes to replenish his mana.
“That… that crazy bastard.”
It seemed like this battle was going to be much harder than expected.
The Hero Party missed Noah more than ever.