Chapter 21 …
Azell, leaping several meters in a single bound, quickly caught up to Aegus in front of him.
“Ugh?!”
“Aaaah!”
He immediately used a careless hand gesture to separate the two father and son.
‘Insane! Truly the final boss!’
That unbelievable divine presence naturally drew admiration from anyone who saw it.
“Mary.”
“Yes.”
Once the two disappeared, Mary leapt off Aegus’s back on her own.
Landing perfectly on the ground, she kicked off the floor without a moment’s hesitation. She was running straight toward me, the only one left.
But the timing was terrible.
“Grab her!”
“Kill that ferocious beast!”
A loud cheer erupted from the opposing side at that very moment.
Aegus, now free of the cumbersome humans, got excited by the sudden noise and surged forward.
That series of events, unfortunately, was enough to provoke the Aegus I was riding.
Grrrrrr…!
“Wh-what’s gotten into you…?”
“Elpis! Jump off now, quickly!”
“W-wait—!”
Before I could even finish saying “just a moment,” my body was being pulled forward.
“Waaait a momeeeent!”
“Elpis!”
I made eye contact with Azell, who had spotted me belatedly, but by then it was already too late.
His wide, handsome eyes clearly revealed his astonishment.
“You—!”
At that moment, the only thing I could do was wrap my entire body around the creature’s neck to avoid falling.
“Elpis!”
But misfortune didn’t end there.
Azell, this time wearing a more urgent expression, reached toward me, but at that exact moment, a restraining arrow flew from the opposite side.
Shhh-!
“Azell!”
Thanks to that, Azell’s fingertips only grazed my sleeve in vain.
Aegus had jumped to avoid the arrow, pushing off the air with force.
Shhh! Tick!
“Hold the formation!”
Wham- Crack!
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-!
“Move! It’s coming!”
Roooaar!
From that point on, a continuous series of incomprehensible roars filled the air.
The two beasts, intelligent enough for organized hunting, attacked the people with fierce momentum.
Yet the result was astonishing.
“……!”
Those who had calmly formed ranks instead waited, as if on cue, to trap us within their encirclement.
The two creatures, visibly enraged with sharp teeth bared, threatened, but no one paid them any mind.
‘So this was their plan from the start.’
Only then did I realize they were not ordinary mercenaries.
‘They came here deliberately.’
Their calm demeanor proved that this encounter was no coincidence.
From here, only one thing mattered.
I needed to find out who exactly they were targeting.
‘Aegus? Or Azell? Which one?’
Given the shape of the encirclement, the weapons they carried, and the fact that no familiar faces were present, it was likely that Aegus was the target.
It seemed we were just accidentally involved, and it felt terribly unfair.
At that moment, a man who had spotted me spoke.
“Captain, what should we do about the person on top?”
“Ah, doesn’t matter. Take care of them together.”
The reply was utterly indifferent.
‘What, is this guy insane?’
The problem was that no one argued against such a ridiculous decision.
Grrk! Grrrr…!
Grrr-rrr!
“We go all at once. Everyone, focus!”
Faced with another life-threatening moment against my will, I honestly felt like I was about to cry.
I was just too angry!
But fortunately, a ray of salvation appeared.
“Stop.”
Someone’s appearance changed the flow of the air.
“Who gave you the right to kill?”
Azell, seemingly using magic, appeared from the air and now blocked my path.
It was the most heroic entrance of my life.
‘Azelleeeell! I knew I could count on you!’
As expected, our reincarnator was the best!
I called out his name, filled with emotion.
“Ah-!!”
No, that was my intention.
“Azelleeeell! So you were there!”
If not for the sudden, unexpected shout from the opposite side…
“Ahhh! I really didn’t expect it! It’s really you, Azell Biotz! Do you know how much I’ve missed you?”
The owner of that bright, out-of-place voice was the same man who had earlier ordered me to be dealt with.
He was waving his arms around as if overjoyed.
I, naturally, was shocked.
‘Azell had a friend…?’
It was the most shocking moment of my life.
“How much I’ve—”
I looked at Azell in surprise, only to hear the man continue immediately.
“Do you know how much I wanted to kill you?”
A moment of silence followed.
“……?”
I froze for a moment, as though struck by a déjà vu I had experienced before.
“……Of all times.”
In response, Azell’s mutter reached my ears.
‘What is this? What kind of development is this?’
Clearly, the real villain should have been on our side, yet every human that appeared seemed far from ordinary.
“So those crazy people on Aegus’s back… turns out it was you?”
Despite the cheerful tone, the man’s voice was full of malice.
‘I’ve never seen a character like this.’
Judging by my memory, he wasn’t a character from the game.
“You’re lucky. The local lord here was whining to have those beast brats taken care of. And yet I get to see such a familiar face!”
Given that this lord was a noble, who in a rigidly stratified society could refer to a noble so casually?
Two possibilities existed:
‘Either a dangerously crazy man beyond control, or an exalted person who can get away with speaking freely.’
Judging by his crazy eyes, he looked like just a madman, yet his attire was excessively refined.
Additionally, the number of minions he brought along suggested the latter was more likely.
While I was gauging his identity, the man’s gaze turned to me.
“Also, I thought you’d live alone your whole life, but here you are, carrying around a pitiful young lady. Did you kidnap her or something?”
One thing was certain: this guy was unpleasant in the worst way.
“Hey, miss. Do you even know what kind of man you’re following?”
He sneered while pointing his blade sequentially at Azell.
“Not sure if she was forced to come or was bewitched by his handsome face, but you’d better separate from him immediately.”
“What?”
“That guy’s a crazy killer. He has no emotions. Killing people without a second thought, acting as if he were some god.”
The man spewed his words full of malice with glittering eyes.
“Madman, demon! Deserving of divine punishment! Look even now! Not a flinch.”
Meanwhile, Azell simply stared silently at his opponent.
“I warn you. If you’re sane, you’d better run from that lunatic.”
“…….”
I ended up in an awkward position.
‘Damn, I can’t argue this.’
It was clearly my turn to argue, yet nothing I thought of could refute him.
Knowing the glorious track record of the dark mastermind, I had no words to counter.
But…
“……!”
Seeing Azell staring at me intently, I knew I had to do something.
‘Should I at least list Azell’s strengths, given how much he’s being criticized…?’
But there was a problem.
‘…Azell’s strengths… strengths… hmm, what are they?’
Nothing came to mind.
‘He’s handsome.’
Yes, handsome. That was certain.
But the problem was, that was it.
‘What kind of strength is just “handsome”?’
If I shouted “He’s handsome!” now, I’d just look like a fool.
I wanted to avoid that at all costs.
So what should I do?
“How about it? As I said, running away now would be the better choice, right?”
I gave up on listing Azell’s strengths.
“I’m not planning to run.”
“Why? Were you really following that guy willingly? Why?”
Meanwhile, the man found my answer absurd.
“Are you sane? Following that monster because you like him?”
I never said I liked him, but that was a huge exaggeration.
“Following a monster that everyone hates?”
It annoyed me that this lunatic was treating a perfectly sane me like a madwoman.
So I answered honestly.
“I don’t hate him.”
“What?”
I didn’t like him, but I also didn’t dislike him.
Even if he was a crazy person wanting to destroy the world,
“I said I don’t hate him.”
Because I didn’t dislike Azell Biotz.
Even as I finished speaking, Azell’s crimson eyes never left me.
