A pack of demons emerged from the shadows of the surrounding rocks.
　A blood wolf with a body surface that looked like it had been smeared with blood.
　The muscular Orc that had just dropped a huge rock from the cliff.
　Death Spiders, which are poisonous and fly sticky threads.
　It's a nasty monster on its own, but when it attacks in packs, it's a menace. There are only four of us.

But we have no choice.

　I drew my sword from my waist.
　The wagon is surrounded against the cliff.
　The only way to get through safely is to kill them.

"Yes, sir.
I'm going to blow them all to bits.
I'll put an arrow between your eyes at .......

　Your friends are armed and ready to fight.
"I'll take care of all the enemy attacks. I'll take care of all the enemy attacks, you concentrate on the attack.
　As I said this, I leapt in front of the horde of demons.
　The Orcs came screaming at me.
　He swung down the huge mix in his hand.
　But--

Too late.

　Before his mixture could reach me, my sword sliced through his body. With a scream and a splash of blood, his huge body sinks to the ground.
　The Death Spider continued to send sticky threads flying at me.
　My left arm is entangled.
　I yanked my thread-covered left arm into my hand as hard as I could. I cut down the Death Spider that flew toward me, losing its power.
　This time, a pack of blood wolves attacked me.
　They zigzagged across the ground in an attempt to distract us.
　While I was killing one of them, another one tore its body apart with its claws. When I tried to fight back, they were already at a distance.



They're a pain in the ass.

　They're faster than us in simple speed.
　Then we'll just block their movement.
　A pack of bloodwolves came running at me in a pack. They kick the ground and fly. They bare their fangs to claw at my neck.
　I catch it with my left arm.
　Their fangs dig in.

"You can have my arm. You can have my arm, but I'll have your heads.

　If you catch it, you can't duck.
　"You can have my arm, but I'll have your heads.

"Mr. Zeke is attracting the enemy!　Let's do our best!

　She cut into the enemy ranks and slashed down on the pack of demons with great force.

We'll have to do our best!

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea. Her eyes shone brightly as she bathed in blood.

"Uh-huh. I won't give Spinoza a chance to show off.

　Femme's arrows shot precisely between the eyes of the demons one after another. I'm going to get the demon's attention.
　I would draw the demons' attention, and my friends would kill them while I was at it.
　In no time at all, the demons were defeated.
　But...

"d*mn. It doesn't matter how many I kill, they keep popping up one after another. How many demons do they have in their ranks?

　Spinoza clicks his tongue in abhorrence.

...... We're going to run out of steam.
"Huh. I'm out of breath. I'm out of breath.



　Even if we defeat the demon, it doesn't seem to be able to defeat us.
　They can use as many pawns as they want.
　But there's only four of us.
　And we were fighting for a long time in the degraded environment of the Valley of Vengeance.
　We were all exhausted.
　Their limits were fast approaching.

"Guys. Get to the wagon while I draw the demons away. There's no end to the fighting. We'll force our way through their encirclement.
What do you mean, "forcibly breach"?
Don't worry. I have a plan.

　I've got a plan." My friends seemed to believe me when I said so strongly. I stopped the battle and turned back to the carriage.
　I took the attack of the demons in my stride.
　It was a while later.

"Mr. Zeke!　I'm in!
Okay. All right. Let me run.

　After confirming that I was ready, I caught the thread of the Death Spider that flew at me and slammed my body into the ground.
　The impact sent up a massive cloud of dust.
　He turned on his heel, jumped onto the chariot's driver's stand, and drove his horse.
　As if to break through the smoke, the carriage shot out with great force. Leaving the blinded demons behind, it accelerates rapidly.

"Whoa!　We're through the siege!
...... No, it doesn't look like it.
They're coming after us!



　Immediately the demons chase the carriage.
　There were so many of them.
　I didn't think there'd be so many of them.

They're attacking!

　Faster than the carriage was moving, blood wolves and flying demons were catching up. They attacked in an attempt to destroy the carriage.

I'm not going to let that happen.

　I immediately deploy my Iron Shield. All of the attacks on the horses and carriages were absorbed by me.

"Mr. Zeke!　Are you okay?
Yeah. Yeah, physically.
　I said.
But this skill can't be deployed for long. It'll wear off soon. You've got about ten minutes left.
Seriously?　That's not good!
...... We'll try to intercept them as best we can. There's only so many of them. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to try.
"Spinoza. Give me the map.
"Oh, yeah.

　Spinoza was puzzled, but held out the map.
　I look down at the map, which shows the topography of the Valley of Vengeance.

"Seira. Head for this hill. Keep all the demons at bay.
　I asked Seira, who was pulling the reins of my horse.


What do you think? Can you do it?
Huh?　Yes, yes. Yes, sir!　I'll try!

　Seira nodded and pulled on the reins to change the horse's course. She headed for the designated slope. The pack of demons soon followed.
　There was only ten minutes left before the effects of her skills would wear off. Just in time.
　I hope you can hold on to it somehow. .......

"Mr. Zeke!　I can see you now!

　I can see a huge hill in front of me.
　It's so long that it seems to go all the way to heaven. It looks as if it's a path from this hell to heaven.
　At the end of this slope is the site of the Sacred Spring.
　A sanctuary where no demons can enter.
　But there's no way I can escape that far at this rate.
　My skills will wear out and I'll be preyed upon by the demons before I can make it up the hill.

I guess this is the only way.

　After much thought, I came to a conclusion.
　I opened the top of the truck and looked at the demons approaching behind me.

"Mr. Zeke?　What are you going to do?
"You guys go on ahead. I'll take care of this.
What are you talking about?
Hey. Have you finally lost your f*cking mind?　You're telling me to leave you here, aren't you?


"Oh. That's right.
...... So you're trying to stop the demons all by yourself. But I don't think you can take on that many demons.
That's right!　I'm not sure what to do.
But there's no other way.

　I said.

If we continue like this, the demons will destroy the carriage. If we lose our means of transportation, they'll surround us and we'll be helpless.
"Even at .......
My skills will wear off soon, but I can at least slow them down. It's just one hill. I'll make sure they don't get through.
Zeke. Are you going to die?

　Sonia asks me.

"I have no intention of dying, sir. --I'm not going to do it myself, but it's possible that the Queen will have her say.

　You've taken a lot of damage in the battle so far.
　And in this environment. A swarm of demons with no end in sight. Even the dumbest person can see that it's a bad fight.

"If we don't take action, we'll be wiped out. Somebody has to do it. It's just that I'm the right man for the job.
"Then I'll go with you...

　Fam stopped her from continuing with her words with a hand.

...... I think you should take his determination into account here.
I'm sure it's fine.
You're sure about this?



　Spinoza asks.

"Oh. I need you to escort Her Royal Highness. --Well, I'm not worried about your abilities, despite your bad behavior.

　At that moment, Iron Shield's skill expired.
　The carriage will be defenseless.
　--It's about time.
　I'm about to jump off the back of the wagon.

"Zeke.
　Sonia called out to me. She looked me straight in the eye and said in her usual solemn tone.
"That's an order. You must return alive.

　She said it as an order, but her expression was as if she was praying.

"Yes, sir.

　I responded, and looked at my companions. Please take care of Her Royal Highness. I looked at them and they nodded.
　All right. Let's go.
　I fly out of the open top and land on the ground.

　The back of the wagon is moving away.
　On either side are steep cliffs.
　A huge herd of demons approaching from the front.
　So many of them that they fill the entire landscape in front of me.
　I'm standing on a straight road, and a group of demons is facing me.
　Some of them were demons.
　They look almost human, but they have horns growing out of their heads, their eyes are dyed crimson, and their strong purple bodies are engraved with evil symbols.

"Are you going to stand there and hold us back?

　The demon man looks at me and sneers.

Oh.


"Ha-ha-ha!　You're telling me that you're the only one with this many troops?　You're making me laugh!　You'll be dead before you last a minute!
"You'll never know unless you try.
You're a fool. --Oh, well. I'll tear you to pieces as you wish. And after that, I'll kill all your friends!

　The demon man shouted with a brutal expression on his face.

I won't let that happen.

　That's why I'm here.
　It's true that we're clearly outnumbered.
　They've got an army of no less than a few hundred demons. And I'm wounded and alone. It'll be hard to stop them, let alone win.

　But...
　To protect Sonia, the Priestess of Light.
　To protect my precious friends.
　And to protect humanity.

No one will get through here!

　I'll do everything in my power to stop them.
　With all the pride of a gatekeeper.

"Hooray!　Then I'll push through!

　The battle between me and the army of demons has begun.