"If that is your answer, then I will take you on here and now. Let's finish this quickly before anyone else shows up."
Troy faced Oraguth with resolve, prepared to fight as he drew his greatsword from his back.
"You are beaten and bloodied, and you have never fought me before. You have no idea where my limits begin and end, as you have only witnessed me in action before you were granted the power of the hero. Yet you still face me?", Oraguth asked.
"I cannot allow myself to run. Whether the threat is unknown or not, the fact remains that I cannot allow you and those you serve to do as they please with the humans of this world. I will restore everything back to the way it was, and I will shoulder the responsibility of Kyle's death by taking on his burden as a hero.", Troy responded.
At this statement, Oraguth laughed in croaking manner, gripping his spear.
"I see. However, there is another miscalculation which you have made."
Troy stopped in his tracks, glaring around him by moving his eyes alone.
"What do you mean?"
"If you are a hero, then it is your duty to protect innocent civilians. Am I wrong? However.... monsters do not have such limitations."
"What are you talking about? There are no-"
As Troy said this, he turned his head to see a woman.
'Wha- even my bandit's sense didn't catch her! Was I too focused on Oraguth not to notice the woman right behind me?'
The braided woman was covered in blood. She wore overalls with a t shirt that should have been white, however it had been stained completely red, along with her face and hair.
She looked at Troy with a strange smile, as if she was in a trance.
Holding her hands out, she rested them in the air as if there was something below them.
"Hello! My name is Bella! What are you boys doing over here?"
"What..... what are you doing here? This place is dangerous, so please step back, ma'am!"
As Troy turned to shout this at Bella, he heard a whisper in his ear.
"Are you sure there is anywhere safer than by your side? After all....."
Troy quickly swung around, forcing Oraguth to jump back as the greatsword drew an awkward arc.
"You are.... the hero."
Realizing the meaning of Oraguth's words, and recognizing that he had become lax due to the appearance of the woman, Troy slapped himself mentally.
'What am I doing? I can't take my eyes off of him.... if I do, he'll attack me without second thought, or even worse, he'll take the woman hostage.... I.....'
Biting his lip in remorse, Troy felt ashamed.
'The fact that he didn't attack me with that blow meant that he's playing with me for now. I hate to admit it, but if he had attacked just now, then it wouldn't have ended well for me.'
Stepping before the woman behind him to protect her, Troy kept his eyes on Oraguth alone.
"Please don't leave my side, Bella. The one right there is dangerous, so stay behind me."
"Ah? Is that so?"
The woman casually responded without an ounce of fear.
'Wait a minute....'
Troy kept his eyes on Oraguth, but some facts lined up in his mind as he watched the goblin before him, who was now picking his tooth with one of his claws.
'Something.... is strange.....'
"Woman, why are you covered in blood? Are you alright?"
"Ah, this?? I was just choppin' up the livestock real good to prepare a meal for some people! But then they came and told me somethin' crazy was going on out here, so I came to take a look! And would ya look at that! Ya see that, boys?"
The entire city had been burned to a crisp.
Destroyed.
Troy had rushed here, completely focused on Oraguth to the point where he failed to take notice of so many things around him.
"Ah... I see...."
Looking straight at Oraguth, Troy thinned his eyes further.
"Oraguth. Who razed this city? Was it you?"
"Me? Don't be silly. I may be a monster, and something like this is not anything I would hesitate to do, but don't get confused. It was the people of the 4th legion who did this. I merely watched as it happened. Hahaha..... real pieces of work they are. Although I admit that I did light a few torches myself."
At this statement, the expression of Troy was filled with both shock and anger.
"You..... the 4th legion? Are you telling me that the 4th legion... did this? What of the people!? Woman, where is everyone?"
Troy pelted the woman with questions, however he still did not take his attention from Oraguth.
"Where is everyone? Hmm..... shucks, I don't really know! I just came here and didn't really see anyone. Right boys?"
The woman looked down with madness at the air in front of her, petting it as if there was someone or something in front of her.
"Oraguth!! Where have all the people been taken? Tell me!!"
"Where have they been taken? The men were all killed..... and as for the women and children..... hmm.... something about being sold off as slaves? Some real despicable stuff. Looks like you got your work cut out for you, hero."
Troy began to quiver with rage as Oraguth casually brought up such a thing.
"Oraguth..... I misjudged you. You truly are nothing more than a monster."
"Hey mister, what do you think? Aren't my boys just wonderful? Do ya think they'll grow up to be fine men?"
Troy heard the words of the woman behind him, however he could not take his eyes off Oraguth.
"I.... I'm not sure..... what you're talking about."
'Her boys? What is she going on about? Wait a minute..... has she lost her children? Have they been kidnapped just like the others? And if that is the case....'
Troy glanced behind him quickly, keeping one eye on Oraguth to ensure he didn't make any movements, and that was when he saw it.
The face of pure insanity.
The face of a mother who had lost her children, and could not possibly hope to cope with their loss.
The face of someone who refused to accept reality itself, and instead smiled with madness while living inside a fantasy.
'It..... can't be..... her boys..... were they killed?'
"Were your boys taken away from you?", Troy asked. "Forgive me if I am bringing up a sensitive topic, but I must know. If they were, then I will..... get them back for you."
"What are ya talkin about, mister? They're right here."
As Troy heard the woman whisper those words from behind him, a chill went down his spine.
"Don't ya see em?"
She was insane.
A victim of the terrible things that had happened here.
'My..... goodness...'
"Don't tell me..... you can't see em? Hey, mister over on that side! You can see my boys, right? They're right here..... AREN'T THEY?"
The woman's tone became sinister and laced with madness.
"Of course I can see em! They're right there, after all. Ah, but it doesn't look like the man right there can see em."
"Is that so..... sir, you can't see my two beautiful sons right here?"
The woman's tone became deadly, and Troy felt a strange amount of bloodlust.
'This woman.... what is going on with her?'
"Don't cry now Faux..... shhh..... it's alright.... everything's gonna be alright.... don't worry, mama's right here....."
The woman had now bent down to the ground as if she was consoling someone, yet there was nobody.
'What on earth.....'
Troy could not help but look over to the woman at the strange and demented display.
'She.... is beyond madness....'
"I thought you were told not to look away from your opponent. However, I suppose that would be a bit hard with more than one opponent to keep track of, eh hero?"
Troy suddenly felt himself be wrapped in something which tightened to constrain him.
Wires.
"Wha- when did...."
Looking forward, there were now two monsters in front of him.
Standing at the side of Oraguth, a spiderling dressed in a tuxedo stood, strings attached to one of his hands which had wrapped all around Troy's body.
"You called in reinforcements?", Troy asked.
"We're monsters. We don't care about facing opponents one on one. Who knows? There might be even more of us around here."
Troy was forced to put on his guard once again, but he quickly broke free of the wires which constrained him.
"It looks like I'm going to have to get serious here. I won't be holding back, Oraguth."
"Do you mean to tell me that you were?"
The two monsters rushed forth, preparing to meet Troy with an attack head on.
The spider carried all sorts of weapons. He had a bow on his back, darts and a blowgun at his side, and cones which covered his arms like spikes.
Oraguth meanwhile, thrusted his spear forth a number of times.
Troy could not dodge, for the woman behind him would be hit if he were to do so. Instead, he lifted up his greatsword and began to block the blows with it's flat end.
The two began to slice and dice, endlessly attacking with horrible expressions.
Even so, Troy was the hero.
He would not lose to a couple of monsters.
Even if he was weakened after fighting Kyle, even if it was two on one, and even if they called in more reinforcements, he now had a goal.
A fire lit in his eyes, and he began to maneuver his sword about in a way which should not have been humanely possible, blocking each and every strike of the five weapons which were being used to attack him.
"I..... won't lose to the likes of you."
Troy felt himself being pushed back, but he dug his feet into the ground, continuing to block the blows.
"Not when..... I carry the weight of two heroes on my shoulders. How could I lose to two monsters?"
"Then, what about three?"
The spider made this statement as he continued to attack, and an explosive energy filled the air.
The attacks of the two became imbued with magical strength, and Troy found it more difficult to defend against them.
Some slices made it through, cutting into his armor and grazing him.
"No..... it doesn't matter how many join you. I will not lose."
An aura of magical energy enveloped Troy, and his speed increased further.
Explosions of raw power erupted across the landscape with every blow, shaking the earth itself.
Troy matched the continuous attacks of the two, and smiled.
"This is why you shouldn't mess with humans. No matter how weak we are.... no matter how brittle we are..... we will always find a way to overcome."
Troy then took a swing of his broadsword, with excessive speed to the point where even Oraguth and Coran were forced to jump back, ceasing their attacks.
"Are you alright, ma'am?"
Troy was not allowed the luxury of looking behind him, but even so he was determined to protect the woman.
She had gone through a horrible thing, and he would protect her from these two monsters. He would not allow them to take her as a hostage.
"You..... really can't see my boys... ah..... ah... you think.... they don't exist?"
The woman stood up, her hands drooping without life from her body.
She hung her head low and began to crackle to herself.
"Heh..... heh..... ha..... heh... you must be a real piece of work.... to not see what is right in front of you..."
The woman reached behind her, pulling out a knife, dripping with fresh blood.
"What do ya think, boys? Don't ya think that we should show him?"
[Yes, mama!]
[Show him! We're right here!]
[We're not dead like he thinks!]
[We're right here with you!]
"See? You hear that? They're right here.... they're not where you think they are.... they're not among the dead....."
Troy was assaulted by strange voices, filled with confusion as he froze.
'What.... was that? The voices of children speaking?'
However, he was not allowed to turn around, as the spider now shot out an immense amount of webbing, continuously wrapping Troy in a cocoon from the feet upward.
"Such tricks will not work! How many times must I tell you?"
Troy ripped open the cocoon with the strength of his legs, yet Coran did not stop shooting out his webbing as it continued circling around the man, constraining him without end.
Troy could not rush forth, for doing so would be leaving the woman behind him wide open.
He was filled with confusion at the strange voices and insanity which she displayed, yet she was still a person.
She was still someone he needed to protect.
Stab.
[Troy Ladia: HP: 50,000/200,000]
[Bella has scored a critical hit!]
Troy felt a surge of pain as a knife was stabbed into his back and then thrusted out with immense strength.
Coughing up blood, Troy looked back in horror as he saw the woman behind him.
Madness could not even begin to describe her expression.
"HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! COME NOW!!!! I MUST FINISH YOU AND SEND YOU TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD, SO THAT YOU MAY SEE THAT THEY ARE NOT THERE!!!!!"
Troy turned about as the woman thrusted her knife forward at his throat.
Dropping his greatsword with a clatter, he grabbed the wrist of the woman just before the blade could reach his neck.
'What the hell!?!? She has gone mad enough to kill people!?'
Troy found himself struggling to hold the knife back from his neck, and the wound to his back only weakened him as the pain burned away at him.
'It hurts.... it hurts.... I..... am supposed to be a hero.... then why.... why does it hurt so much to be stabbed? I.... am supposed to have hard skin, right? Even if I am not a tank, the stab of a normal woman shouldn't..... harm me. Right?'
The trembling between the two arms increased as if they were arm wrestling, and the blade drew ever closer to the throat of the man.
He looked into the eyes of the woman, and they were dull.
They were blank.
And she held a horrible smile as she forced the knife forth with physical strength that overcame a hero.
"Come on boys.... help me out here..... help me push it a little farther so we can show him...", the woman stated.
[Ok mama!]
[I'll push as hard as I can!!]
The knife then bursted forth, piercing the neck of Troy and tearing into his throat.
"Ugh!!! Blergh!!! Agh!!!!"
Troy could let nothing out but the glubbing sounds of blood as he writhed in pain.
'Why? Why!?!? How..... how could....'
"Humans will always find a way to overcome..... no matter the difference in strength, that was? Yes.... I suppose the human mind is quite interesting.", Oraguth commented.
[Troy Ladia: HP: 400/200,000]
"However, do not get so conceited- hero. It is only through the power which their excellencies have granted this human that she was able to overcome even one of the most powerful."
Approaching the man, Oraguth held his spear at the hero's head, looking down on him with a sadistic grin.
"Let me now explain to you before you die..... the reasons why you lost to us. Number 1."
Oraguth held up a single finger, stepping on the head of Troy.
"You have been deluded by your own premonitions. You claimed that humans hold the ability to overcome adversity, yet you yourself did not believe this within yourself. How do I know this? It is simple. You sensed the bloodlust coming from the woman behind you. You understood well her insanity, and yet you did not so much as attack her. You continued to protect her, and the possibility that she was a threat to you never even registered within your mind. Why was this?"
Rubbing his foot into the face of Troy, Oraguth bend down and looked the man in the eye as he choked on his own blood.
"It was because no matter what you said, you could not shake your premonition that she was a weak, powerless woman. A victim of a crime, and nothing more. You subconsciously labeled her as weak, and believed that even if she were to attack you that she would not be powerful enough to hurt you."
Taking his foot off the bloodied face of Troy, Oraguth held up two fingers.
"Number two. You fell into the belief that due to the weight of your responsibility, there was no way you could be defeated. You believed that due to your own resolve, and due to your own duty as a hero, that those two things alone would allow you to overcome all odds and take victory, even when faced with multiple enemies who are on the same level as you... and while you were injured at that."
The spear of Oraguth then pierced the head of Troy, and he raised it up, ripping the head from the neck in a shower of blood.
"Where is that sense of responsibility now, hero? Are you going to rise from your grave in order to fulfill your duty?"
[Notice: Another hero has died.]
Oraguth walked off with the head on his spear, and Coran merely shrugged his shoulders, closing all four of his eyes as he watched the display.
"I didn't even have to do much, but their excellencies wanted me to come to ensure that you didn't lose. But it looks like you two were able to take care of it quite easily. He was relatively weak compared to what I thought a hero would be like.", Coran stated as he walked over to the body. "As a matter of fact, my fight with that 'strongest man' might have been more of a challenge, though I was alone in that fight."
"Well, he had just fought the other hero so he was at half strength. Even then, he was able to match our attacks together. I can't exactly call that weak.", Oraguth commented.
"True enough. But in the end.... a mere hero cannot face a horde of monsters."
As they spoke, the two then overheard the mad voice of a woman who trembled with insanity.
"See? They aren't there, are they? That's because they're right here with me. Silly man.... why couldn't you see the truth for yourself?"
Looking over, the two saw the woman, furiously stabbing at the headless body.
The number of holes and the amount of blood which splattered were immeasurable, and the woman's eyes were laced with a horrible madness, beyond anything within the realm of reason.
She sliced the man to bits, and then began to mash the bones and flesh with her feet, stomping on the remains until they had been grinded into a fine paste.
"Ah ah.... the livestock were so noisy today..... hahahah..... don't you two think?"
"Yes, they were quite noisy. However, I believe there is even more noise within another area. Come now. There are many more pigs to butcher where that came from."
"Did ya hear that, boys? There's a whole pigpen of livestock!! Let's get going, shall we?"
The woman stood up, sheathing her knife and walking behind the two monsters with a light smile.
"Then, I believe I will take my leave. I don't think my presence here is necessary any further.", Coran stated.
Touching the gemstone on his breast, the spiderlike humanoid disappeared from the sight of the other two.
"Ah.... that one reminded me of the lieutenant....", Bella stated with a light smile, eyes dull of expression. "It's a good thing he became paste for the patties...."
Oraguth chuckled with a nod in agreement, leading the woman forth to the encampment.
"Come now, Bella. It's time to show these pigs what a real monster looks like."
----
After wiping the blood from his armaments and placing them back into the storehouse, Coran headed back towards the schoolhouse with a satisfied expression.
'That makes two heroes down..... however the Indeterminant is a greater problem than any of the heroes he leads. We cannot take on the Indeterminant, so it was fortunate that we were able to catch that hero alone.... even so, to think that he would betray us.... I suppose the heroes truly are devoted to their duty?'
Walking into the school, Coran waved to see Alicia and the children, barely having moved from when he left.
"Coran! You're back already?", Alicia asked.
"Yep. It was a quick journey. In and out. I didn't do much of the work anyways.", Coran replied.
"Dad, was the hero strong?"
"Did you kill him?"
Sitting forward in their seats, many of the children looked towards Coran with gleaming eyes, excited to hear the story of their 'father'.
"Haha.... yep. He was strong, but he's dead now. But I didn't do it alone. You know, it really is strange. Why is it that when the villains gang up on the hero is it considered low and cowardly, yet when the heroes gather together against the overwhelmingly powerful villain it's considered to be 'teamwork and 'friendship' which wins them the fight?"
Coran shrugged, partially murmuring to himself, and waved goodbye as he left the classroom.
'But even if the heroes are resolved to destroy evil..... the fact of the matter remains. Only in stories can the forces of good overwhelm monsters who are willing to resort to anything for a complete victory.'