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The battlefield was a relief. While fighting, I could forget about unpleasant things. The people of Fraus were also happy as long as I showed them the war results. It was different from my classmates who only came to me to accuse me of killing Toriyama.

Fortunately, my Hero skills made me better at fighting than any of them. It was easy to raise my status, and my abilities were battle-oriented. My only complaint was that doubling my status lasted only a few minutes, and after the effect expired, I became completely immobile.

I’d already used this ability three times in our battles against the Nigel Kingdom. The first time, I was merely testing it out. I held back, which probably made it easier to retreat on my own. But the other two times, I barely escaped with my life. The first time I truly needed it was during my fight against a general from Nigel Kingdom.

In my normal state, I had neither the experience nor the status to defeat him, so I resorted to the ability as a last-ditch effort. The omnipotent feeling I experienced while using it was similar to what I felt the day I killed Toriyama. It made me believe that this world revolved around me.

As proof of this, the general who stood against me fell easily with just a few strikes. The overwhelmingly powerful general, who’d pushed Fraus’ army to the brink, had fallen in just a few strikes. And the more I fought, the stronger I became. At one point, Tsukihara had surpassed me in status, but not anymore. The way I was now, I could have destroyed the town back then without even exerting my full strength.

My party now consisted of myself, Tsukihara, Asahi, and Takuma. Tsukihara was a bit irksome, but at least she didn’t blame me for killing Toriyama. Asahi occasionally looked at me with fear in her eyes, but that was the extent of it. Takuma, on the other hand, was incredibly easy to work with. He followed commands mindlessly as if he had lost all sense of self. Frankly, I didn’t like being paired with my classmates.

Besides, there was no one else who could match me in terms of status. After all, my status had reached this level after countless fierce battles.

My status had reached a level that approached that of the former heroes. Even now, I was told that I was as strong as the strongest A-Grade Adventurers. Combined with my Hero skills, no one could defeat me. I wouldn’t even lose to Toriyama, who’d beaten me to a pulp a bit back.

I had already made up my mind—if I ever encountered him again, I would beat him to death. But for now, I had to push those thoughts aside and focus on killing those red-eyed b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲. Smashing one, slaying another, burning a third with magic.

Asahi, who was standing next to me, tried to whisper something, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t afford to lose to Tsukihara, who was attacking a huge group of enemies from the back using magic.

It didn’t take long before the Demons around us were gone, allowing us to finally breathe a sigh of relief. Just as I was thinking that, I heard a coughing sound behind me, followed by a heavy thud. Feeling uneasy, I turned toward the noise and saw Takuma twitching.

“What happened?!” I asked.
“I don’t know. He coughed and then suddenly collapsed.”

Tsukihara answered, but it didn’t prove to be useful. There were no enemies nearby, so I doubted it was an attack—but just in case, I stayed cautious. For now, we had no choice but to retreat.

“Let’s retreat for now.”

I instructed everyone, and we headed back to where Yamabe was.

◇◇◇

“No way. I can’t heal this,” Yamabe shook her head.

My classmates, who had also returned, gathered around, likely drawn by the sight of our injured comrade being carried in. Amid the growing crowd, unrest spread—perhaps because Yamabe, for once, was unable to cure the patient.

Up until now, we hadn’t lost a single one of us. Although I heard some of us had suffered major injuries, all of them had been healed. So what made it impossible this time?

“Why can’t you heal him?”
“Takuma’s injuries are not caused by an external force. His body is crumbling from the inside out. As soon as I close one crack, another opens in its place somewhere else.”
“Why is this happening?”

In response to my question, Yamabe silently shook her head from side to side.

(What’s going on? Is this some kind of side effect? If yes, what kind of side effect?)

As these thoughts raced through my mind, Takuma’s breathing grew weaker. Eventually, he took his final breath¹.

No one could say anything. Maybe it was because we had just witnessed a death we couldn’t stop, right in front of us. Or maybe it was because he was the first of our classmates to fall in this war.

But… I was sure I would be fine. Thanks to my high status, I was less likely to suffer from illnesses. I likely wouldn’t lose to any side effects.

And even if I was wrong, I was certain I wouldn’t be next.

At that moment, a sharp pain stabbed through my body. It wasn’t unbearable, but it forced a cough out of me. When I raised my hand to cover my mouth, I felt something wet splatter against my palm.

It wasn’t just a stray drop of spit—there was a significant amount of liquid. I looked down at my hand to see what it was.

My hand was covered in red. The moment I understood what it was, I saw my death unfold before me. A death that would tear me apart from the inside out, just like it had done to Takuma. A scream was the only response I could muster against the reality of my impending end².

1. Robinxen: I know technically they murdered someone, but this has to be the first death they’ve had that could theoretically apply to any of them right, that has to have some impact.
2. Robinxen: Oh RIP, enemy weapon? Side effect of summoning? Symptom of the entire world falling apart? It targeted two active combatants in the same group so it could be a weapon or curse, but it could also be because their stats are inflated beyond limits, kind of like how that resurrection magic was described, hard to tell without context. I wonder if this will be left hanging as a thread arc or elaborated on immediately.

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