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――――『War Beast(Senju) Forest』.

It was a dangerous place where many monsters lived, and competition for survival was held every day.

Due to its harsh environment, all the monsters that survived are powerful, and if they go out to the village, there’s a risk that it’ll be destroyed in an instant.

And near such forest, there is a village where people live, and the country adjacent to the forest has regularly organized subjugation teams to protect the peace of its citizens.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to live near this forest.

In such a forest, a single man ―――― S-class adventurer Eust Horazu was asked to, visit the forest.

“Gaaaaaaaaahh!”

“Good grief …… there’s no end”

He is just confronting a monster called 『Crazy Bear』, a powerful being placed in the S class, which was originally a threat at the level where the army of a country needs to be dispatched.

Although it is the Kingdom of Welmburg that was able to annihilate such a group of S-class monsters, the adventurers at the guild headquarters and the soldiers who deal with them every day are just abnormal, and its presence in other countries remained a threat.

The Crazy Bear swings its own strong arms, and the surrounding trees are chopped up in an instant.

However, even in the face of such an attack, Eust dodged with plenty of room without being particularly flustered.

“As expected, it wasn’t simply called a dangerous forest for nothing. All the monsters that assaulted are S-class ……!”

“Gaaaaaaaaaahh!”

The Crazy Bear, who has been overwhelmingly confident in its strength so far, couldn’t fathom the man, who kept avoiding it in front it.

Without loosening its hand to attack more and more which was not hitting him, the Crazy Bear rather accelerates.

However, at the same time, that also lead to severe exhaustion of its physical strength, and the Crazy bear begins to look tired.

“I want to cull out more than usual this time …… it’s about time!”

“Guaaaaaa!?”

To the sword he sung in the blink of an eye, the Crazy Bear can’t cope with it and it easily slashed off its right arm.

The reality confused the Crazy bear, who had never felt threatened by the fact that it was ranked high in the forest.

And, Eust didn’t miss that opportunity.

“Sorry”

“Gua ――――”

When he slashed its neck shortly after its roar, the Crazy Bear became particles of light as it was and disappeared.

“Fuu …… they come forth even if I defeat or knock them down.”

Eust, who took a break after defeating the Crazy Bear, involuntarily sighed.

“It’s usually a job done by the country’s soldiers, but now is not the time.”

As Eust said, most nations already fell in the hands of the Kaizer Empire, and the country to which Eust belongs to was also, occupied by none other than the Kaizer Empire.

Therefore, the formation of their army was also restricted, and in this way, the villages adjacent to this dangerous area are exposed to threats, and in order to prevent it, the Adventurer’s Guild was appointed as a request from the country.

However, only Eust, who is registered in the branch of that country, can complete the request properly, so this request was inevitably received by Eust.

“At any rate, I can’t leave it alone …… I really hate war.”

Basically, adventurers of the guild are not recruited into a national war. There was a request for that, but they declined it.

It’s because the guild doesn’t belong to any country, and exists in a special standing position.

Of course, some patriotic and strong people occasionally participate in the war, but they were not coerced.

Instead, they on non-human threats…… when monsters or natural disasters occur, they were obliged to help them.

Especially if there’s damage caused by monsters, any poor village can request an adventurer.

Originally, if it was a village with scarce funds, there was a high possibility that they could not prepare enough funds to request the guild even if the damage of the monster came out, but the organization called Guild will compensate for it.

Therefore, when the damage of monsters occurred, they’ll be able to request without risk.

In addition, the privileges of being such a guild and adventuring overlaps, making them able to establish a special position in many countries.

However, the request that Eust have currently accepted was to thin out the monsters in the forest before the damage occurs, and in this regard, the country often took the lead, not the adventurers.

Eust, who collected the drop items and took a breather, speaks to the void.

“So …… how long have you been watching?”

“―――― Hahaha, wonderful”

Suddenly, when a darkness appeared in the space, a man emerged from there.

The man deeply wears a hood, and his expression is unreadable.

This man is a 『Deity』 of the 【Demon God’s Cult】―――― the ≪Mirror Disaster≫ Gemper.

Gemper claps, and speaks to Eust.

“First, let me name myself. I’m Gemper. A Deity of the 【Demon God’s Cult】. You must be the ≪Peerless≫ Eust Horazu, right?”

“……”

“Fumu …… you seem to be quite vigilant, but rest assured. I don’t want to fight against you.”

“……What?”

For Eust, the 【Demon God’s Cult】, at the first meeting between the Kingdom of Welmburg and the Kingdom of Demon, further, they aimed at Luthia, the daughter of the Demon King, was no exaggeration to say that they were an enemy.

“What do you want with me? I have nothing to do with you, though.”

“Fuhahahaha! I seem to have been hated a lot again. What, it’s not such a difficult story. I just, came here to solicit you, you know.”

“!?”

Eust opened his eyes to Gemper’s words.

“We are always in short supply of human resources, you see. Especially recently, due to a mysterious existence, I heard that our number is steadily decreasing. It’s alright to grow them from scratch, but I want a person who can be ready to fight. Yes ―――― someone like you ”

“……”

“You may be confused by the sudden proposal, but I want you to feel at ease. You have been chosen, you know, as a member of the new human race!”

“A new human race?”

As Eust tilted his head at the unfamiliar word, Gemper continues, looking somewhat intoxicated.

“Indeed! Right now, the existences that live in the multitude of worlds is not only of Demon God-sama, but also the power of the false Gods who opposed against the Demon God-sama and have had numerous fear which joined him, was brought forth. However, the ruins of the old era sold the Demon God-sama to a false god, and as a result, the Demon God-sama was sealed, and the wreckage of the old era were judged by the world as it please. However, when we make the Demon God-sama descend again, all of which will be cleansed! The remnants of the old era will be destroyed, and a new era by the Demon God-sama will come! I’m saying that he’ll welcome you as one of the glorious new human beings!”

“I see …… in other words, if the Demon God you believe in is resurrected, the people who are living in the present will disappear.”

“Correct. Besides, the Demon God has already been resurrected. All that’s left is to reserve our strength, and suppress the world perfectly to be ours! Now, come under us.”

“I’ll refrain”

“……What?”

With an easygoing attitude, Eust said so.

“I don’t care what you guys believe in, and I’m not interested. But, to erase the people who are desperately living now …… I don’t really agree with that notion.”

“Why? Don’t people just keep on conflicting. It’s not just in this planet. Even at the far ends of the universe and beyond the dimensions, the quarrel continues. Why is that, you ask? It’s easy. Human beings are covered with greed, it’s as if the precious planet that the Demon God-sama created, is treated as their own territory. Everything in this world belongs to the Demon God-sama …… But when the Demon God-sama stands at the top again, all rights of it will belong to the Demon God-sama. In the age of new humanity, such conflicts will no longer exist.”

“But it’s you guys who are the cause of such disputes. You guys are the same as us, still unchanged at the ruins of that old era. Because of you guys, there’s an unnecessary fight going on.”

“No, it’s different. Our deeds are not disputes. We’re just purging those who aren’t chosen. However, because fools who don’t accept it resist, the result is, a conflict. Those who are not chosen, simply have to accept the judgment given to them. That’s what, the deserving end of those greedy chunk of meats.”

“If so, then I don’t agree even more with you guys’ ideas.”

“What was that?”

“At the time you came to solicit me, I am ―――― No, you don’t seem to understand adventurers.”

Eust turned a strong gaze on Gemper.

“We adventurers, live in desire…… The people at the guild headquarters are especially amazing at it.”

Eust who remembered the guild of Terviel, smiled bitterly.

“It’s not necessarily bad to want something. Of course, things that are not good for establishing a human society should be judged, but ……. really, the guild over there, why can’t they be judged? A,anyway, there must be something that people want more or less. I’m just an average person, but I don’t hate this thing called desire. There are a lot of unreasonable things in the world, but without greed, can you say that living in a world where there is nothing makes you feel really alive?”

“The Human beings of this world, once desired it and asked for the protection of the Demon God-sama. What do you say now?”

“…… Certainly, our ancestors chose the easy path, and as a result of that, they were abandoned by the gods. That’s why, we understood living in its truest meaning.”

“I don’t understand. In the end, your words are too beautiful. As a result of being abandoned, they suffered unreasonableness that wasn’t originally necessary. And those who have received that unreasonableness, had resented the world, and hoped for its ruin. That live you said, I say that that was the actual feeling they got.”

“Maybe so. But at least I needed the desire now. So I’m sorry, but I can’t get on with your proposal.”

Eust clearly told him.

In response, Gemper stared at Eust for a while, but then he sighed.

“Haa …… sure enough, you said the same thing as them.”

“They……?”

“The other S-class adventurers.”

“!?”

“They, too, refused to do so, even though they were selected as members of the new human race. For my part, I wish you could become our companion obediently, but…… good grief, adventurers can’t understand. Thanks to that, I was allowed to exercise my strength. As a result, most S-class adventurers have fallen under us.”

“Wha!?”

Eust couldn’t believe Gemper’s words.

If Gemper’s words are true, then most of S-class adventurers have already fallen into the hands of the 【Demon God’s Cult】.

It was very unbelievable to Eust, who knows their abilities well.

“……I would have turned a blind eye to you here, but it doesn’t seem to be that way.”

“Turn a blind eye? You said something funny. That’s a good word for a strong individual to say. It’s not the words for the weak.”

“Really? It’s okay, but you’ll be defeated here ……!”

In order to find out about the S-class adventurers, Eust had to defeat Gemper.

And, Eust is the strongest S-class adventurer with the ability to be called ≪Peerless≫.

Even Eust himself, who is normally modest, understood that, and he didn’t feel like losing.

But ――――

“Haa!”

“As expected of the one said to be the strongest S-class adventurer.”

“Nah!?”

To his amazement, Gemper did not even show a pretense to avoid the attack of Eust, and received it as it was.

As a result, Eust’s sword easily cut through Gemper’s body, dividing him into two.

“What……”

“What’s the matter? Are you finished now?”

“!?”

When he turned his gaze towards the voice in a hurry, Gemper who should have been cut down just now, stood in the place as if nothing had happened.

Moreover, the corpse of Gemper that he cut off remained.

In this mysterious situation, Eust immediately repositions his sword as he calms down.

“I don’t know what kind of tricks you have, but if you can revive as many times as you want, then I’ll just kill you until you can’t resurrect. From the looks of it, your combat is like that of an amateur.”

As Eust said, Gemper’s body bearing are not the movements of a man who is accustomed to fighting, and no matter how many times such an individual revived and how many he emerged, Eust didn’t feel like losing at all.

“Hahahahaha! Certainly, I’m not that good at combat. That’s why I don’t think I can be the opponent of ≪Peerless≫.”

“If so, why don’t you surrender as it is?”

“No way! As your name implies, if there’s no one that can rival you, then I’ll just prepare it.”

“? What the hell are――――”

It was the moment when Eust tried to spin words.

Next to Gemper, darkness gradually gathers.

It takes shape more and more ――――

“That’s…… stupid……!?”

“Now then, ≪Peerless≫-dono ―――― farewell.”

◇◆◇

“Just as I thought, the S-class adventurers would not become our companions obediently.”

Gemper, who achieved his purpose, in order to carry off his new purpose again, had come to another place.

“If that were true, I would’ve had them pledge their allegiance to the Demon God-sama with the other side’s own volition, but …… this method can’t be helped. That’s because, it’ll be easy for me to handle them.”

As Gemper said in his conversation with Eust, he has already made contact with most of the S-class adventurers, and have achieved his objectives.

“Yutis also seems to be replenishing his strength at the command of the Demon God-sama, but we’re still short on hands. I originally would like to assist Destra and Vitor, but …… Uumu.”

For Gemper, it was quite hard to believe that Destra and Vitor were defeated, but if it was exactly what he heard from Yutis, it was highly likely that they had already been killed.

“…… I wonder if he is a threat to us. Even Yutis can’t grasp his true identity …… However, the strongest person in this world are, the ≪Sword Knight≫ and ≪Magic Saint≫, and also the S-class adventurers. However, I don’t think that the S-class adventurers can beat Vitor and Destra. Yutis also said that he planted a seed in ≪Magic Saint≫, but…… was the ≪Sword Knight≫ such a strong being?”

As the mystery deepens as the more he thought about it, Gemper sighed.

“Haa …… whatever. By thus drawing in potential S-class adventurers to our side, we can eliminate threats and replenish our strength at the same time. This will lighten the burden on Yutis for a little bit.”

Gemper, who has been walking for a while, calls out to the person who was waiting in front of him.

“That’s why. You’re the only one left ―――― ≪Thunder Empress≫”

“……”

The Last S-Class Adventurer ―――― ≪Thunder Empress≫ Elemina Kisa Welmburg, confronts Gemper with a severe expression.

“It seems that you were, sniffing around us very enthusiastically, weren’t you?”

“……Yes, correct. I searched for you guys a lot.”

“If so, the story will be quick. How about it? Why don’t you join us?”

In response to Gemper’s proposal, Elemina opened her eyes slightly, and she immediately smiles.

“Fufu…… I know you guys were looking for me, but I don’t know why.”

“Nn?”

“I, am moving in order to stop you guys. Therefore, I’ll also finish you here.”

“Haa …… you too, can’t understand our noble thoughts ……. Well, that’s fine. That extra consciousness is unneeded. You too, will only function as our cornerstone.”

“You can say whatever you want……!”

Elemina said so, and when she wore lightning on her right hand, she slammed it to the ground.

“『Lightning Needle Pillar』!”

Then, sharp thunder pillars were generated from the ground one after another from the position where Elemina put her hand, heading towards Gemper.

This technique was performed at the school competition held at Barbador Magic Academy, it was the same magic used by Roberto, the son of Elemina, but its scale and power were different.

However, even in the face of such magic, Gemper does not break his calm demeanor.

“Wonderful! The one called Eust Horazu and the other S-class adventurers, you guys are worth using as pieces of Demon God-sama!”

“Tu…… Vanish!”

In addition, Elemina also activated a magic called 『Thunderstorm』 that causes thunderstorms to fall from the sky.

And then, Gemper who received Elemina’s magic, in an instant, his body became in cinders.

“……that power, what does that mean”

“――――Haha, are you curious?”

Gemper, who should’ve surely become in cinders, reappeared unscathed as if nothing had happened from behind his corpse.

“Well, if you became our ally, you’ll have plenty of chance to see it in the future. You should fall to us obediently.”

“I don’t know what kind of power it was, but because of that, I intend to win. ――――『Thunder God’s Attire』”

When Elemina wore her lightning armor all over her body, she turned a sharp gaze towards Gemper.

“You have a lot of things to ask, right.”

“Really. I don’t have anything in particular.”

“Tsu!”

Elemina made use the powers of her magic, to attack Gemper.