The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
Thus began the bait operation.
While Luca was feeding false reports to the masked fiends, Yurina and I arrived at the predetermined spot to lure them in and waited for their arrival.
“...Nia.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“It—it wasn’t me who bought it! The underwear from earlier!”
Yurina exclaimed, her face flushing a fiery red.
“Alright, calm down. I didn’t even get a look at it.”
I awkwardly smiled and patted Yurina on the shoulder as she looked ready to cry at any moment.
It was true that I didn’t see the “racy underwear” she had supposedly bought.
Before Ren could even take it out of the shopping bag, Yurina had snatched the bag away like a bolt of lightning.
“I-it’s just... the shop clerk said it was a must-buy! That’s the only reason I got it! I was pressured into it!”
“Got it, got it.”
I stroked Yurina’s back as she sobbed, then glanced around the area.
We were near an abandoned building on the outskirts of a slum.
No one lived in this vicinity, so even if the fight got intense, there was no need to worry.
“Whew.”
“Feeling better now?”
“Y-yeah. Sorry... I shouldn’t be acting like this when we have something important ahead.”
Yurina slapped her cheeks with a sharp sound, then began scanning the surroundings alongside me.
She carefully observed the terrain, tapping her foot lightly against the ground to check its firmness.
To an outsider, she might have looked like she was aimlessly wandering, but this was a crucial part of preparing for a battle.
“This location works. It’s not too open, but not too cramped, either.”
The spot was excellent for a fight against multiple opponents.
With the wall to our backs, it offered a tactical advantage.
“Dale, by the way... what do you think the goal of these masked fiends is?”
“No idea.”
To be honest, I couldn’t even hazard a guess about their intentions.
“Did anything like this happen in your past life?”
“Maybe. But even if it did, I wouldn’t have known about it back then. I didn’t have the means to conduct undercover investigations or even know of any suspicious fiend groups appearing in Valhalla City.”
In my past life, I hadn’t had any connections with Lionel, let alone Professor Elisha.
“Oh...”
Yurina let out a small sigh, as if she had just recalled what kind of cadet I was in my past life.
“It’s hard to believe... that you, Dale, were a bottom-rank cadet.”
“I still am.”
“Ahaha, that’s true.”
Yurina chuckled lightly and continued.
“So you must’ve worked really hard to become this strong.”
“I didn’t do it alone. I’ve told you before, haven’t I?”
Because you were there.
I was able to be who I am.
“......”
Yurina stared at me silently for a moment before smiling faintly.
“Same here. I... wouldn’t be who I am now if it weren’t for you, Dale.”
She gently caressed the sword at her waist as she spoke softly.
“Dale, can I fight on my own this time?”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”
“I want to show you. How much stronger I’ve gotten, thanks to you.”
“......”
Allowing Yurina to fight alone when we didn’t fully understand the masked group’s capabilities wasn’t the wisest decision.
“Alright. You can handle it this time.”
“R-really?”
“But if it gets dangerous, I’ll step in immediately.”
“Hehe, don’t worry. I’ve gotten a lot stronger.”
Yurina clenched her fist with a determined look, then spoke in a quiet voice.
“A-also... if I do well... you have to... praise me again.”
“Sure.”
Her timid question brought a small laugh to my lips.
‘But should I tell her?’
About the possibility that these masked fiends might not be demons, but heroes.
“Hmm...”
After pondering for a moment, I decided against it.
‘Telling her might only hinder her in battle.’
To heroes, demons weren’t just other humans; they were monsters, creatures to be destroyed.
No compromise.
No hesitation.
Thus, wielding a blade against demons came without second thoughts.
‘But if they’re heroes, it’s a different story.’
A battle against humans disguised as monsters was entirely different.
For Yurina, who didn’t yet have much combat experience, it was clear which kind of fight she’d find easier.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
I brushed off her concern and shifted my gaze to Yurina.
Step, step.
From a distance came faint footsteps.
Almost inaudible, as if the intruders had trained to conceal their presence, but Yurina and I couldn’t be fooled.
“They’re coming.”
“...Three of them.”
The timid Yurina from earlier had vanished.
Her sharp gaze turned toward the approaching figures.
Soon, a group of masked fiends appeared from the alley.
Each wore a mask: a wolf, a fox, and a rabbit.
“Halt.”
The wolf-masked leader raised his hand.
Upon spotting us, he furrowed his brows and glanced around.
“...Tsk.”
With just a brief glance, he seemed to realize they’d walked into a trap.
Clicking his tongue, the wolf-masked man turned without hesitation.
“Retreat.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted, engulfing the surroundings and cutting off their escape route.
“......”
The wolf-masked man froze, staring at the blazing fire.
He turned to me, his furrowed brows deepening.
“...Who are you?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask.”
Our gazes clashed in the empty air.
The wolf-masked man let out a deep sigh and spoke in a dry, raspy voice.
“There’s no need for talk.”
He drew a massive greatsword from his back.
The fox- and rabbit-masked fiends followed suit, brandishing their own weapons.
“Straight to the point. I like that.”
I stepped back and glanced at Yurina.
Yurina drew her sword from her waist and pointed it at the masked fiends.
“Valhalla City is a city of heroes.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Her silver aura blazed fiercely.
“It’s no place for demons like you!”
Boom!
A brilliant silver flash.
Yurina charged straight for the wolf-masked man, her sword slicing down.
Clang!
The wolf-masked man raised his greatsword, blocking Yurina’s attack.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
In an instant.
Dozens of strikes exchanged, a clash of auras filling the air.
The ground cracked, and debris from the abandoned building scattered like snowflakes.
“Grrr...!”
The wolf-masked man grimaced, retreating under Yurina’s relentless assault.
"Haap!"
Just as Yurina prepared to swing her sword at the retreating wolf mask—
Crackle!
A blue bolt of lightning surged toward her.
"Ugh...!"
Turning her head, she saw the fox-masked figure aiming a staff in her direction.
Yurina redirected her sword, initially intended for the wolf mask, toward the incoming lightning.
Sun Sword. Fifth Form, Black Spot.
A swirling, silver aura formed a vortex.
The blue lightning shot by the fox mask was sucked into the vortex and disappeared.
‘One’s a swordsman, the other’s a mage, huh?’
Yurina narrowed her eyes, carefully observing the wolf and fox masks.
‘Then the last one must be...’
She turned toward the rabbit mask.
“Hiiyaah!”
With a grotesque scream, the rabbit mask pulled a bundle of needles from their sleeve and hurled it at her.
The needles, their tips glistening ominously, likely coated with poison, shot toward Yurina.
‘An assassin, huh?’
Clang, clang, clang!
With a casual swing of her sword, Yurina deflected all the needles.
‘But... something feels off.’
An unsettling sensation crawled up her spine, like trying to fit mismatched puzzle pieces together.
A nauseating unease.
Whoosh!
Before she could pinpoint the source of her discomfort, the wolf mask’s blade slashed toward her.
“Haap!”
Clang!
With a sharp cry, Yurina parried the blow with her greatsword and scanned her surroundings warily.
Three enemies.
A warrior, a mage, and an assassin.
‘In that case, the one I should target first is...’
Step!
Yurina pushed off toward the rabbit mask, swinging her sword.
“Eek...!”
The rabbit mask, who had been flinging projectiles from a distance, hastily drew a dagger from their waist.
And then—
Whoosh!
Suddenly changing direction, Yurina charged at the fox mask instead.
“...Huh?”
The fox mask, in the middle of casting a spell with their staff, widened their eyes in shock.
They stopped casting and tried to retreat, but Yurina’s sword was faster, piercing the fox mask’s abdomen.
Thunk!
“Gahk! Guh...!”
Coughing blood, the fox mask collapsed.
“Ah... it hurts... so much...”
Blood poured from their pierced belly as the fox mask groaned in agony.
Yurina looked down at the fallen fox mask coldly.
“So, demons do feel pain, huh?”
Those who had forsaken humanity and embraced the power of demons.
They were neither deserving of sympathy nor mercy.
They were no longer human but enemies threatening mankind’s survival.
“Please... spare me...”
“Ha. After slaughtering all those people in the slums, you beg for mercy now?”
Yurina looked down at the fox mask with contempt.
She hadn’t spoken much with demons before, but they were exactly as she had been taught all her life.
The Mad Archbishop, the Archbishop of Desire—every one of them casually took human lives without remorse.
Villains—no, monsters—that needed to be eradicated for humanity’s future.
That was what demons were.
Thud.
The fox mask fell to the ground.
The mask slipped off, revealing the face of a bleeding woman.
Her tear-streaked face and blue eyes stared up at Yurina, whose expression froze.
“...What?”
One distinctive trait of demons was their crimson eyes.
But there were no red eyes here.
“...Wait.”
The unsettling sensation from earlier returned.
The mismatched puzzle piece.
‘Why didn’t they use demonic energy?’
Yes.
If they were truly demons, they should have used the corrupted energy, “magi,” born of demonic power.
But throughout the battle, none of them had used magi.
“They... weren’t demons?”
Yurina’s face paled.
No.
They weren’t demons.
The masked figures weren’t demons but heroes like her.
Not demons, but humans.
Just like her.
“...No... That can’t be. They had to be demons...”
Yurina’s voice trembled as she took a step back.
The realization that the fox mask wasn’t a demon turned her world white.
Her hand, still clutching her sword, shook uncontrollably.
The entrails spilling from the pierced abdomen.
The gaping wound. The fading breaths.
The blood—so much blood—staining her sword.
“...Ah.”
Yurina Helios.
In that moment, she experienced her first kill.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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