Chapter 66: What is a ‘Hiro’?

A blonde man who looked like a knight adorned in light metal armour was currently sitting on a log while a fire crackled between him and his companions.His golden eyes, which were more amber if one asked Eel Jr.,  glanced back towards the village nearby that seemed to be well enough. Honestly the slums in the nearby city were worse than anywhere else due to the fact he really wanted to just whip out his sword to wipe out the disgusting beasts  yet the might of the lord kept any thoughts of rebellion away. The only real reason he remembered this area so vividly was actually because of the count Shanta in charge. That man was apparently one of the fabled dragons mentioned in legends yet the young hero doubted if that was true as he gently played with the braided hair in front of his face as he often did while in thought. If he was really a dragon why didn’t he just destroy the uncivilized elves or stupid cultists that couldn’t understand basic science - couldn’t a dragon also deal with those surprisingly hot hobgoblins in the east?Thinking about the time he visited the goblins when he was younger he couldn’t help licking his lips. He believed their king really was a wise man who knew who to choose as allies and who to choose as enemies if he could look past his bias to seek peace with monsters. Say what you want nevertheless their {Orrid Empire} truly was a peace loving nation if one thought about it. Thinking about that he also couldn’t help but also think about the Nymph and Rabbit-Hyena Beastwoman courtesans in that city making him feel quite expectant when he was done with this job.“Young Hero, we are sorry for making you wait like this despite how busy you must be with your own heroic tale…” <Priest>The priest was quite the handsome man yet he had a faint beard growing out which Hiro Tompson thought took away from any appeal he had. Either embrace your andrognous nature to fully take advantage of it or be a manly man that tops everyone he meets. Still, he wouldn’t say that out loud, just smiled at the priest with that same noble charm.He was a proud son of the Tompson Earldom after all.“No, no worries at all. This is something requested from {The Church of Light} who have helped me a lot over the years. How could I see this as anything but part of my job as a hero of our wonderful country? As you said, it's just a bit of waiting, why would I be petty when we all serve the same purpose at the end of the day.” <Hiro>As usual the priest was happy enough with this response so continued on to repeat what their job was.“Right so we’ve received confirmation that someone accepted the quest to deal with the goblins about the old church of {The Dreamer}. The plan on our side is to wait for them to finish up there until the barrier breaks; as it currently is, a member of the {Cult of The Dreamer} is keeping a beast of impressive might sealed. The adventurers will do us the favour of killing the bitch while in return they will die from the beast which we will deal with using your might.We’ll then publicise that {Voluptas} Wastelands launched an attack on the barrier; those brave adventurers helped hold her back but were too weak. Then we’ll arrive and kill the demon as well as the beast. Everyone comes out a winner as you’ll get the equipment made from the bitch while we’ll get rid of the beast safely.” <Priest>Hiro just nodded along with a smile as he looked around at his party. Each one of them was a companion he had earned the respect of (through the advantage of his bloodline then through a close bond) and they had gone through many challenges by now. Among his party members was the large manly large axe wielding with tanned skinned and an equally large member - he was an aggressive berserker in battle & bed. Despite the aggressive nature one would expect from a walking mass of muscles, which he had, he was surprisingly the glue which kept their party together.The young hero actually met the brute in {Goberz Kingdom} which he attempted to recruit due to being a strong C-rank adventurer… One forcefully unforgettable night later and Hiro couldn’t imagine a night without him being fulfilling. Since then every party member was recruited through Hiro’s ‘ability’ but kept through the berserker's ‘power’.They had a sterm sage who honestly looked a little like a girl with long silver hair and beautiful facial features. Often they ended up getting on Hiro’s nerves but they were close enough to share a bed as true comrades. Their healer meanwhile was another priest who always scowled and didn’t get along with them actually. A temp that was replacing their female companions (one a healer and other their sub-tank) after both ended up pregnant while their attackers didn’t feel like picking up their slack.Understandable.Though with the first two at least he was sure he could fix any problem (especially with the old scout who had been hiding in his shadows since youth) plus they had the 5 or so people from the church. Dealing with some beast shouldn’t be a problem as he’d already killed the powerful demon lord Bucucuss so a beast sealed by someone weaker should be no problem. He had only gotten stronger as time went on afterall. Other than that he did have a question.“Not to question the church but are we sure it’s a demon and not some other foolish woman supporting that evil god?” <Hiro>“Well, we’re not actually sure bu-” <Priest>“Oh? Thou dost not need to quander on the existence of a demon lord.” <Demon Lord Moth>Suddenly it was as if all light in the world had abandoned them as darkness filled the entire area while a cold shiver filled Hiro’s entire body. That should be impossible with a common chill since he had protective rings to protect against just about anything weather related. Though perhaps the only thing that was needed to overpower the rings was a 3 meter giant armoured figure radiating such intimidation he wouldn’t dare compare them to the man in front of him.The voice that had a metallic echo under that fierce dragon like mask - a large flaming red cape upon it’s back ruffled in the wind. Black flames came out from those hollow eyes and from between the masks fangs while it glared down at the group. As if it’s height wasn’t intimidating enough the monster had it’s two armoured legs crossed facing down as it simply hovered mid air. It’s arms also crossed in front of it’s plated black chest; clearly it wasn’t a human but instead seemed more like an insectoid due to the nature of its feet & hands as well. Having three digits on each hand as well as feet.Luckily their friendly priest friend from the church was quick to react as he stood up from his seat with a stave at the ready as he seemed to be charging some divine spell as he charged at the creature in front of them!“Demo-” <Priest>“Silence foolish believers of the hairbrained {God of Light}.” <Demon Lord Moth>The monster just casually lifted one of their three digits on their hand as a black beam of abyssal magic punctured right through the priest's head. It appeared like he himself wasn’t even aware of the giant hole in the centre of his face as he stumbled a few steps backwards before tripping backwards over the stump he sat on while talking. One of the templars - swordsmen of the church - reached for his blade to charge. In return the demon lord just reached out fully with it’s right hand where a rift was torn open and from that rift they pulled out a giant blade. Swinging the blade to meet with the templar’s blade it not only did that but even went above and beyond… By slicing through the blade as well as the man behind it… Cutting both in half. “[Pierce the Heavens].” <Demon Lord Moth>The other’ hand’ did the same thing as it pulled out an identical greatsword which it casually poked forward. That casual act caused a skill to activate which continued to puncture through a paladin as well as the templar who he moved in front of to protect… From the otherside of the campsite. Now the only member of the church left was a useless priestess who had had a large belly and eyes devoid of life… Probably be more willing to beg the demon to take her than help them fight it.“Thy truly are as doleful as thine lord; this one needn’t even summon a single servant!” <Demon Lord Moth>Everything happened in the matter of a few seconds; it proved how efficient the church was that they reacted so quickly but also how efficient the being was at murdering them.The young hero really wanted to complain about what this monster meant about summoning a servant and the fact they ‘didn’t even need to’ but when faced in this kind of situation… Well complaints like those tend to be kind of pointless. Who would listen anyway? Still as a hero he wasn’t about to turn tail and run so he stood up himself with his mithril shield rose while drawing his mithril sword.Mithril was practically impossible to get in the {Orrid Empire} unless you happened to be the king himself. The only reason he managed to get such good equipment is ironically thanks to that demon lord he tricked. Shield in front of him he ran towards the demon lord while the magician raised his staff and let out a spear of magic towards the monster's shoulder.“You won’t get to the village, [Heavy Slash]!” <Hiro>“[Magic Missile]!” <Sage>The demon lord didn’t seem to be particularly impressed as it just snorted as it swung it’s left blade to block the spell with brute strength. The mithril sword meanwhile was met with an upward slash from the beast which made his sword art which focused on power seem like a kid swinging a stick. The power from the demon lords counter caused the young hero to literally backflip several times with impressive air - the demon didn’t even seem particularly amused by besting the hero either which made it more insulting.“At least the corpulent chested tart would be able to return a counter of her own at minimum even with this body… Thou truly is a sham of unfathomable proportions.” <Demon Lord Moth>Hearing such a dismissive and disappointed inhuman voice echo from the armour caused him to shiver yet again with wide eyes.“Hmpf!” <Scout>From the shadows lept the scout who rammed his knife into the back of the monsters head… Only for that head to turn around a full 180 degrees to look the old man in the face with a wide open mouth before-*Crunch* The mask closed around the torso of the old man. Swinging his head backwards while the struggling old man screamed in pain. Slowly the man slid further past the mask while swinging his legs. However, after a gush of blood shot out with that powerful crunch the old man went limp before slowly sliding down the demon's mask.Hiro just lay on the floor in absolute horror while looking upon that still floating figure as it casually swung the sword that blocked the magic. With that a blade made of abyssal darkness rushed towards their own priest who only managed to get half a scream out before parting with his head. Before he could even consider his next actions or realise what happened the berserker wrapped his arms around his waist as well as that of the Sage before running as fast as he could towards the village thus away from the demon lord.The young hero just witnessed the demon turn around with a bloodied mask; seemingly amused as it threw it’s two blades to the side only for them to be caught inside of a rift.“That fixes that problem.” <Demon Lord Moth>