Chapter 263 : Hyde

Fwoosh!

The pure white blizzard that filled my vision split vertically and scattered.

Whether my sword strike had split the magic circle's belly, the magic circle that had swallowed me spat me back out.

The humming blizzard subsided, and I looked around at the world I had been thrown into.

In the pure white snowy plains where the snow had stopped, the others were staggering.

They were the comrades who had been swallowed by the Snowman's magic circle with me.

"Heok! Heok!"

"Uweeeek!"

"Sob, sob, sob!"

...None of them looked to be in good condition.

There was a guy who collapsed as soon as he came out, a guy who vomited right away, and a guy who was shedding tears.

A guy who was catching his rough breath with a dazed face, a guy who was standing blankly.

How diverse.

I looked around at them and let out a sigh.

We had somehow succeeded in escaping.

My breath scattered hazily.

I sheathed the sword on which the Snow Branch Blue Flame had bloomed and then asked.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Ah, Devil!"

Before I could finish my words, Linda, who had been vomiting, ran over and hugged me.

"Hey, you're dirty."

I was about to push away the vomiting Linda... but I hesitated.

Her body was trembling slightly.

...It seemed this one had also had a nightmare.

A nightmare that would make even that madwoman Linda tremble.

How terrifying.

Dofang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said.

"Did you solve it, little brother?"

I patted Linda's back and answered.

"That's right."

"How?"

"It was a rough journey. It was by no means easy."

Dofang sighed and said.

"Well, I'm fine. How terrifying, mental magic."

Hud also wiped her reddened eyes and then looked at me.

"I'm fine too."

Schmidt also gave me a thumbs-up with a brave face, saying he was fine.

Since Shushuruta didn't answer, I called her.

"Hey, cat burglar. Are you okay?"

"...Yes. I'm fine."

Shushuruta, who had been sitting down, got up and answered.

There was a trace of moisture on her eyes that she hadn't wiped away.

"..."

Since none of them had lived a smooth life, it seemed they had been hit particularly hard by his mental attack.

It was the natural enemy of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps.

A natural enemy should be beaten to death a thousand times.

With that thought, I looked around...

"Where's the Snowman?"

Come to think of it, the master of the magic circle was nowhere to be seen.

Had he thrown us into the magic circle and left?

If so, it was a big problem.

A situation where I couldn't gauge how much time had passed.

I grabbed the scruff of Linda's neck, who had been hugging me until then, and put her on my back, and then said.

"Gentlemen. We're after him."

Just as I was about to leave in a hurry.

There was one guy who was standing still, disobeying the captain's order.

The demonic swordsman was standing with his head bowed.

He hadn't reacted at all since a while ago.

"Hey, psychopath."

"..."

"Aren't you going to answer?"

"..."

Everyone's gaze turned to him.

My heart sank for a moment.

A bad feeling flashed through my mind.

'No way.'

My hands started to sweat.

It seemed the others were the same, as Dofang muttered.

"No way. It can't be, right?"

The demonic swordsman slowly raised his head.

His eyes were neither the beastly yellow nor the chilling blue.

Somewhere between yellow and blue.

Dark green eyes flashed.

The corner of his mouth rose dangerously.

"Well, it's been a while, everyone?"

The demonic swordsman's third face, Hyde, smiled at us.

* * *

BOOM!

An explosion erupted, and snow powder scattered.

The guys who had dodged the attack quickly lined up next to me.

"Ah... this is a problem."

Dofang muttered with a face like he had eaten shit.

"Of all times?"

Hud also said, as if in disbelief.

The thing I had been afraid of had happened.

The demonic swordsman's third face had awakened.

In the Snowman's nightmare, there must have been an event that had stimulated him.

Perhaps even the Snowman, who had used the magic, hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Shushuruta asked with narrowed eyes.

"Ashuban, who is that?"

"...Hyde."

"Hyde?"

"The third personality that was asleep in that guy's body."

Hyde walked out from between the hazily scattering snow powder.

"How long has it been? Oh? There are some new faces. Are you new members? Nice to meet you? Shall we say hello?"

The guy came walking over, talking nonsense.

His way of speaking was quite cheerful, but he was approaching with an incredibly dangerous atmosphere.

It was a menacing atmosphere, as if he would tear to pieces whatever he could get his hands on.

[The atmosphere has changed.]

The Heavenly Demon muttered with interest.

[He looks quite dangerous.]

...Even in this desperate situation, the Heavenly Demon was incredibly relaxed.

"Master. Can't you help me a little?"

[Hmm? What's wrong with you.]

As he said, I had never openly asked the Heavenly Demon for help.

I would somehow handle it with my own strength, whether it turned out to be a mess or a success.

But the situation was heading for the worst of the worst, even among what I had assumed.

The intended target was to defeat the Snowman here.

But the Snowman had trapped us in the prepared magic circle and headed south.

Even at this moment, he must be closing the distance to the wall.

To make matters worse, in this situation where we had to hurry to stop him, the demonic swordsman's third face had awakened.

It was no different from the number of S-rank magical beasts increasing from two to three.

The Snowman alone was overwhelming, and now I had to deal with this guy too.

I couldn't see any chance of victory.

Hyde was born when the demonic swordsman was captured by the Mage Tower.

The mages who had kidnapped the demonic swordsman to uncover the secret of the demonic swordsman with two personalities in one body.

After conducting various researches that were close to torture, they finally bid farewell to the world with his birth.

Originally, there was one more Mage Tower in Maia, but it disappeared with his birth.

Was it the way of the world that for something to be born, another had to disappear?

And so, Hyde, whose birth was anything but ordinary, tore to pieces all the mages who had tortured him, smashed the Mage Tower, and then escaped, and met the Red Witch, who was heading to the Mage Tower on business.

I don't know the details of what happened after that.

Except that the demonic swordsman had followed Big Sister and had become a member of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps.

So, Hyde was a guy like the incarnation of destruction, born with destruction.

And that guy had awakened now, of all times, in this urgent moment when a war was going on.

...How could the situation get so twisted?

If I could, I wanted to borrow even the Heavenly Demon's hand...

[Don't be so weak.]

The Heavenly Demon snorted.

[To be crying before you even try. And you call yourself my disciple?]

My mind cleared.

The lingering echo that had not yet faded shimmered in my ears.

It was something she had said to me once.

—Whatever happens in your life. You can overcome it.

Tina, who had been trembling from the cold.

Her body, which was growing cold.

The blue sky that had finally closed.

—Every adversity you face is a test that will make you grow one step.

I remember every moment of it vividly.

Her curse, which still held me captive, whispered to me again.

—Life is worth living.

Pfft—

A laugh escaped me.

Yes, then I have to live.

I have to survive, even if I have to twist my whole body, and prove that value.

As my resolve was made, all sorts of methods for it rushed to my mind.

"Why are you all so far away? Come a little closer."

The guy came closer, smiling.

I need time to think.

For that, I shouted at him.

"Shut up! You psychopath."

Hyde stopped in his tracks.

He looked at me with wide eyes.

Regardless. I just poured out curses.

"You pathetic bastard. Why did you suddenly wake up and make a fuss after sleeping all this time? Did you have a scary dream while you were sleeping? Did some scary mages poke you with sharp needles?"

The smile disappeared from the guy's lips.

"You idiot. If you're angry, you should have beaten up the mages in your dream, why are you taking it out on others? Do you want to die? If you're going to be like that, I'll take it out on you too. If you want to take the blame for killing Tina, come forward. I'll follow you to the ends of hell and torment you."

Hyde stared at me blankly and then took a step forward.

"He's coming!"

At the same time as Hud's shout, the guy disappeared.

I, who had been stealthily pushing the hilt of my sword with my thumb, drew the Night Sky Sword like a thunderbolt and countered him.

CLANG!!

My arm tingled.

I was pushed back with just one clash.

"Oh?"

Hyde's eyes widened in slight surprise.

"Get away from the Devil!"

At the same time, a thin needle coated with deadly poison flew from over my shoulder, a purple whip tore through the space, and a golden spear flashed like lightning.

Hyde simply dodged all of it by jumping back.

Then, he stared at me.

"You. Were you Ashuban? You've changed."

"Shut up, you idiot. Are you my lover? The only one who can say that to me is Tina. Are you Tina? No, you're not, you son of a bitch. Tina wasn't as ugly as you."

"..."

"Why are you popping up at this important time and making a fuss? You clueless bastard. Aren't you going back in? I'll consider letting you off once if you go back quietly."

The guy grinned crookedly.

"You've definitely changed. And for the better."

The guy's dark green eyes flashed.

The corner of his mouth rose.

It was an eerie smile.

That the madman said it was good meant it was not good.

I felt very bad.

"Don't treat me the same. Before I kill you."

The guy laughed.

"Try it."

"..."

Hud, holding the purple whip, asked in a whisper.

"Captain. What should we do?"

I hadn't thought that I could reason with him in the first place.

I had thrown away that thought a long time ago.

That guy was the incarnation of destruction, born for destruction.

He was a guy who couldn't stand it unless he broke, smashed, and tore whatever he saw.

Destruction was the purpose and entirety of his life.

A guy who only knew destruction.

A guy who was crazy about destruction.

The only people who could calm that guy were Guston and the Red Witch.

We couldn't be dealing with him here.

Because even at this moment, the Snowman was heading south toward the wall.

But it's okay.

Even if the sky falls, there's a way out.

While talking to him, I had come up with the most plausible strategy.

The most effective strategy is the simplest strategy.

I left the simplest one and erased all the rest.

"We'll split into two groups."

The personnel to stop the Snowman, and the personnel to deal with Hyde.

"Dofang, Shushuruta, Linda."

The three people I had called looked at me.

There was no need to kill Hyde.

No, in the first place, we couldn't kill him.

Because Hyde was a guy who could even face Guston.

Fortunately, one of the people who could calm him was nearby.

We just had to believe Scarlet's words that she would come and help after dealing with the queen of the magical beasts, and wait.

So, it meant that we just had to hold on until then, without having to attack Hyde recklessly.

"You three will deal with that weirdo here. There's no need to attack recklessly. Just buy time until Big Sister comes. Do you understand what I mean?"

Dofang, who had immediately understood my intention, nodded.

"You mean we should just run away appropriately."

"Exactly."

For that, I had put in the nimble Shushuruta and Dofang.

"Linda."

"Yes."

I said, taking Linda down from my back.

"You run around and spread poison."

One of the best attacks you can do while running away is a poison attack.

Because even if the opponent just chases after you, the damage will be done on its own.

"The poison that doesn't hurt?"

"The poison that hurts, the poison that doesn't hurt, the poison that hurts like hell. Don't spare any of it, just use whatever you can."

"Okay!"

How much would Linda's poison work on that monster?

It would be enough if it could slow down his movements even a little.

"The rest will follow me and stop the Snowman."

At my words, Hud and Schmidt looked at me.

"Who said I'd let you go?"

A chilly voice was heard, and soon, a loud roar and an explosion of air came out.

BOOM!

Dofang, who had blocked his attack, shouted.

"Go!"

At the same time, Linda threw something on the ground.

Poof!

In an instant, a thick fog rose and separated this side from that side.

From within it, I could hear Linda's voice.

"Devil! Don't die!"

"Will I die?"

Shushuruta's voice also followed.

"Ashuban! Don't forget the rules of the commission!"

I wondered what she was talking about, and then I remembered a conversation I had with her once.

—Things don't always go as planned. In those times, you have to be able to make a quick decision. What if the commission goes wrong? Then what's the first rule you should follow?

—Hmm... secure the commission target?

—Nonsense. Survival.

—The client's survival?

—What kind of nonsense is that. Of course, it's your survival. Run away before you get into danger too.

A situation where the advice I had given was returned to me.

I nodded.

"I'll keep it in mind."

I immediately ran south with Hud and Schmidt.

"Let's go. To beat up the snowman."

* * *

The wall where the war with the magical beasts was going on.

"Hmm?"

A soldier, who had been busily loading a cannon, muttered, looking at one place.

"What is that?"

His gunner said.

"Why?"

The soldier pointed beyond the wall.

"Over there..."

In the distance, beyond the white hell where the magical beasts had run like dogs.

A blizzard that was unusually fierce, even at a glance, was raging.

The blizzard was so thick that it looked as if only one place had been painted over with white.

The pure white blizzard was slowly approaching the wall.

(End of Chapter)