The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

12 – BAD END: Saint (1)

Her hometown, where the only god in this world, she was born and raised from a young age. There was an ancient prophecy passed down in the Sun God’s teachings.

In the distant future, when chaos returns to the world.

A prophecy that says someone stronger, nobler, and braver than anyone else will appear.

That person will become a warrior and seal away the Demon King, regaining control once again.

This was actually a prophecy that had been kept for centuries, and all the people of the continent had always nurtured this dream by listening to this story.

No, one could even say it was not a dream but rather a delusion.

The new hero who will emerge is definitely going to be magnificent!

The new hero who will appear will be stronger and braver than anyone else!

They will be noble and sublime like the prince on a white horse!

It is the kind of delusion that children often have.

They draw the idealistic image of the hero they desire in their minds and expect a finished hero as they please.

Like a traditional fairy tale, children have grown up hearing the exploits of legendary heroes since a very young age.

It was only natural for them to have such expectations.

And the Saint was no different.

No, rather, because she was raised in the church, her longing and expectations for a hero must have been even greater.

Because I believe in the radiance of the Sun God more than anyone else, I naturally believe that the warrior that he prophesied will also be perfect.

That’s why, the first impression of the warrior I finally met was…

“Hello.”

Literally, it was the worst.

Beyond what words can express.

“I’m Luke, the newly appointed warrior.”

He didn’t do anything particularly bad.

He just greeted me politely.

But still, Ulric couldn’t help but feel repulsed.

Because behind him, there were numerous traces of sins overflowing.

The footprints of his crimes that he has accumulated until now and will continue to accumulate in the future.

The saint, in her inadequate way, could see the opponent’s sins, and when she saw the warrior, that inadequate power was at its maximum.

Even a serial killer who killed dozens of people or the boss of a massive criminal organization didn’t possess sins as great as his.

Only the demonic soldiers designated by the goddess were capable of spreading darkness as great as mine.

Of course, there was no choice but to have doubts.

Even if he really drew the Holy Sword and was appointed as the warrior.

Because the first impression was so bad, it was inevitable to doubt.

That’s why Ulric thought that he must have used some kind of magic.

That he was a spy who infiltrated as a warrior using some means. Or a high-ranking officer of the demonic soldiers.

He wanted to believe that, and he did believe it.

Of course, later he realized that those traces of sins were just a mere curse-induced illusion…

By the time he realized that fact, it was already too late.

It was too late.

*

The warrior party was filled with many worries, but nevertheless, the expedition took place.

Since he was already appointed as a warrior in an official ceremony, even if he wanted to back out, he couldn’t.

Of course, it was unlikely that the atmosphere of the team that was forced together would be good.

“I still can’t believe it. Is he really the hero the author meant?”

“There seems to be some misunderstanding…”

When the warrior briefly left his seat, there were frequent discussions criticizing him.

Just like the saint, they also had a certain ability to judge people. They all seemed to sense a bad feeling.

For some reason, a chill and discomfort. In addition to their suspicious appearance, they even had a good reason called ‘the accomplice of evil’.

They had already reached their limit of suspicion and hatred towards people.

After some time had passed, he had already been confirmed as a spy of the demon armies.

“It won’t work. How about trying to psychologically pressure him? Then he might reveal his true colors.”

“That’s fine.”

Therefore, it was a natural result that even such a suggestion came up.

To psychologically pressure and make his true nature come out. Or to urge him from behind to voluntarily leave the hero party.

To push for an immediate resignation.

It was truly a malicious plan, but the women of that time had nothing better.

Just approaching them caused a chill, and there was no one who wanted to be with someone who seemed suspicious in their way of speaking and gestures.

From then on, the hero started to be caught for various reasons.

He was scolded for not being good with a sword, or for the flow of his magic power being weak, or for being given the most difficult task of dismantling.

Even Yuris participated in this method.

When she got injured, she deliberately exerted her magical power little by little to heal the injury slowly.

When she was even slightly affected by poison, she refused purification with the excuse that her magical power had decreased for no reason.

These kinds of days continued for half a year.

Half a year.

*

Half a year had passed.

Yuris thought that the author of the heroes was quite persistent.

Though it may seem trivial, the fact that he continued to endure the unjustified criticism showed that he didn’t quit.

She knew very well that what exhausted people was not major trials, but trivial and constant stress.

Usually, when pressure like this continues, one’s true nature somehow comes out.

But he didn’t. There were occasions when he got irritated, but for the most part, he continued the journey with a light smile.

Because of this, her suspicion grew deeper day by day.

Why? Even though I kept pressuring him, why hasn’t he shown any signs to make me stop suspecting?

You could think that way, but it was different from her perspective.

Something…

[Distorted Curse Activated…]

No matter what you do, the probability of the other person interpreting it incorrectly increases dramatically!

*

…I hid my true nature as much as possible because I thought there was something I had to gain in this party, despite the pressure.

At least that’s what she thought, and she believed firmly that Luke was truly a spy for the Demon Army.

That’s why.

Chyaack-!!

“!!”

The person who had been called a hero was stunned when they were torn apart by the Minotaur.

“…”

It was a moment.

After a series of twists and turns, when he was about to cut off the Minotaur’s two horns and celebrate.

Just when he was finally regaining his composure on his knees.

Whoever looked at it could be sure that we had won.

He seized the opportunity through the gap in his consciousness and quickly swung his axe.

And what remained were the diagonal lines of fresh red blood and the upper body of the hero.

The upper body cut diagonally.

Blood and organs struggling to defy gravity, trying to flow down.

The flesh that had not yet realized it had been cut still writhed, emitting a grotesque posture.

The sight of the exposed vertebrae was quite shocking even to the saint.

No one expected it, and no one reacted to the attack.

An attack that could have been fatal without a doubt struck during a moment of doubt.

Moreover, the hero, who seemed the least likely to die, was the first to fall.

It was only natural that Ulris’ head momentarily froze in the midst of the stunned silence where no one reacted.

In such a silence filled with astonishment.

The hero muttered.

“I─ will─return─ the─favor─ thirty─ times.”

Just a single, faint mutter.

It didn’t come across properly because of the distance.

Excluding that, even if someone’s words reached his ears, his mind was not calm at that moment.

The only thing he could ascertain was that he muttered something.

And because of that, a strange miracle happened.

Crack!

In an instant, the severed body began to revert.

The internal organs that were flowing down below started rising again, and the scattered crimson blood was sucked back into the body.

Injuries that not even a saint could heal, injuries that would not be strange even if they led to instant death, were rapidly healing.

As if time were being reversed.

It took only a second for the warrior who had been cut in half to return with an intact body.

“What?!”

“What did you just do?”

Amazement erupted from all around, but the warrior dismissed them with a single word.

“Let’s deal with the problem in front of us first.”

Even as he said that, his face was filled with embarrassment.

Nevertheless, they followed him, capturing the creature.

It didn’t matter if they asked questions out of curiosity, even after everything was over.

Fortunately, capturing the Minotaur was relatively easy.

In the end, the unexpected blow was excessively powerful, but the action itself was just as obvious as before.

It didn’t take long to capture the Minotaur.

Kwoong!

With the somewhat shocking opponent falling, the warrior, too, collapsed to the ground, seemingly exhausted.

Since his body had been split in half, he might be mentally drained as well.

But the patience of the women was not deep enough to leave it at that.

Moreover, Ulysses, who would have stepped forward for him at this moment, was nowhere to be found.

Kwaaak-

Camilla grabbed the warrior’s collar and lifted him up.

Her eyes were a mix of confusion and irritation.

And afterwards, Adel and Lily stared at him as if questioning, “Hero… What just happened? Weren’t we told that it would be silenced if we cut off its horns?”

“How did that just happen? Even though his body was cut in two… How did he survive?”

“No… This is… uh…”

The warrior’s face filled with bewilderment. His sweat-drenched and weary face showed a sense of distress.

As expected… after she returned to the world.

At that time, she would have stepped forward to mediate the situation. It was apparent to anyone that she looked exhausted, so she might have told the party members to rest for a while.

“Um, can we talk about this later…? I’m a bit tired…”

However, at that moment…

“No, we can’t do that.”

She couldn’t do that.

“It’s said in the books in the church that dark magic contains extraordinary and unconventional spells. And it also defies common sense with its regenerative ability…”

As mentioned before, it is not a single massive trial that destroys a person, but the small stresses that come afterwards.

Just like how a giant tree withstands multiple typhoons, but can be crushed by a small beetle at the touch of a human finger.

The human mind is also vulnerable to constant erosion.

The holy maiden spoke with a face filled with disgust.

“Tell me. Have you used filthy dark magic?”

At that time, his appearance was… he looked like he could collapse at any moment.