Profession, Merchant Volume 9 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Finale – The Priestess’s Execution III

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The darkness of the orb went up and up until it was absorbed into the blue of the sky.


I reflexively looked beside me, but of course, the hero’s figure was already gone.


“People! Do not be afraid. You are born human and are guaranteed a minimum of healthy and cultural life and the right to equal political decision-making. The treatment of the people in power must be decided by the majority of the ruled, and it is only outside of humanity that this universal reason and morality is violated. The demon race is the very first of these! My people.”


The eyes of the hero stared into the eyes of the demon lord as he said the last word.


“Originally, heroes were created to defeat and destroy the demon lord, weren’t they? In that case, here. This is the perfect moment. Let’s make the demon lord, the symbol of all evil, disappear forever, along with its entire concept!”


“Fuhahaha, that’s interesting. I guess it’s cool to have a battle in the open air once in a while.”


And so an aerial battle began, with loud cheers echoing through the square.


The hero, not wanting his citizens to get hurt, soared into the sky, and the demon lord followed.


〇●〇●


Whenever she clashed with the hero, the demon lord did so with nimble movements as if to show off the lightness of her body, along with a unique magic that seemed to manipulate space.


Her magic resembles black orbs, and under a clear sky, these dark orbs she creates are so dark that they seem to suck up all the colors in their surroundings, disappearing only to reappear behind the hero the next moment.


But what’s special about these dark orbs is that they seem to be friendly to the demon lord; she doesn’t take any damage even though she’s literally throwing this ball of dark energy in her hand, whereas it was so hostile to the hero that just touching it would rip his clothes or his surroundings apart in one fell swoop.


You might think, “What an eccentric spell. But it won’t do any good if he gets close!” but from time to time, she would also resort to physical attacks, swinging her beautiful hair and lunging forward with horns so strongly built they didn’t match her beautiful face.


This versatility gave her a cunning aura, where you couldn’t predict what she was going to do next.


The hero, on the other hand, did not move around in the air – I know, it was a strange way to put it, considering how active he was when he fought the fake hero earlier – but instead, he stayed in one place and resisted with his amazing reflexes.


His sword, though it looked as if he didn’t move it, showed signs of use from time to time when the demon lord attacked, and although its movements were invisible to the naked eye, it emitted lightning bolts to intercept when necessary.


As always, he was tough as nails, able to withstand even the slightest hint of attack, as if to embody the persona of a battle king.


The scene is filled with excitement when the hero goes on the offensive and discouragement when he goes on the defensive, so it looks like an away game for the demon lord, but they probably don’t have the luxury of worrying about such things.


The two sides seem to be extremely close in strength, and it is clear that whoever slackens off even a little will lose, which makes for an extremely frustrating development.


A battle between a hero and a demon lord.


While everyone in the square looked up to the sky, transfixed by the battle that was sure to attract everyone’s attention, I suddenly looked down.


I wondered how the girl who had been the center of attention until a few moments ago was doing.


In truth, I probably didn’t need to or shouldn’t have looked down.


But I did it anyway.


Because I had realized.


Now, all the consciousness here is not on the ground, that is, not on the cross.


Even if someone were to release her here and take her out, it is not impossible that no one would notice.


No, the possibility of being found and ganged up on and beaten is surely greater.


Yes. It should be greater. Therefore, it shouldn’t be unlikely.


But when I saw the way to the cross, the way between the crowds, I started to run.


I don’t know why.


I had the feeling that the demon lord’s words earlier had pointed out some of my ugliness, and perhaps that was what had lingered in the back of my mind.


In my memory of the past week or so, have I not taken for granted the happiness, the stability, the life that I have enjoyed?


I don’t know if I am a citizen of Andersen or not, and I don’t remember saying that the girl should be executed, and although I assumed that the girl should rightly be saved, I assumed that someone else had to do it – because I was afraid of losing what I had already earned and had.


With this in mind, I was determined to be a spectator to the end.


But alas, all those thoughts came to an end today. All because of that beautiful lady who calls herself the demon lord.


Because of her speech, I am no longer able to maintain the attitude that I am just ‘me’ and that this is good for this ‘me’.


Should I be impressed? After all, she was doing what a demon lord would do perfectly – that is, she was misleading people in a way, and in the end, I was being completely fooled.


As I thought about this, I reached the foot of the cross.


〇●〇●


“You… why…”


When the girl’s eyes met mine, she mumbled as if she was trying to force her voice out.


Her blood, dripping from the crucifix and the thin, mannequin-like white slender wrists almost made me lose my sense of reality.


“I’ll help you now.”


Although I said that, the nail that had dug into her thin wrists was driven so deeply into the cross that, just looking at it, it would take a lot of effort to remove it.


On the other hand, on closer inspection, the nails had been driven in haphazardly, as the board showed signs of splitting at the back.


Was it a novice who did this? I don’t know.


But whatever it is, I am grateful. Because it means it is possible to remove the nail if I apply a bit more pressure.


“Don’t. They’ll hurt you if they find you.”


The girl’s eyes look at me, sharp but vulnerable as she says this.


What a compassionate and admirable priestess.


Even to someone like me, who has nothing to do with her, she is able to look at me wistfully, as if she were looking at a lover she has been in love with for a very long time.


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