Volume 4 Chapter 24 Regret
Clang!
As their weapons clashed, Dahlia and Skull quickly put some distance between them.
Seeing Dahlia glaring at him with anger, Skull suddenly realized something.
"Ah, I remember now. You're the hero from the east who invaded the Forest King's Army's invasion zone before, aren't you? It's been a while."
"──!"
Dahlia's fury only grew as she observed Skull's mocking tone.
Though it felt like she might leap in anger, Dahlia held herself back and readied her sword.
Skull, further teasing her, let a smile creep onto his skeletal face.
"Back then, I let you go on a whim, but to come back to this place shows quite the nerve. And to reach this base without being spotted by anyone, it seems luck is on your side. However, you should already be weakened by my curse."
"..."
A cold sweat trickled down her temple.
Feeling that he could see through her weakened state, a tension surged within Dahlia.
Yet, she didn't let her fighting spirit fade, continuing to point the tip of her sword at Skull.
"To come to the invasion zone again in that condition, especially alone, is beyond brave and can only be called reckless. I had heard that humans are the rare beings in the biological world that commit 'suicide', but to think even that hero would engage in such foolishness."
Dahlia's veins bulged as she was indirectly reminded of the suicidal act being emphasized.
She understood that without it being said.
However, she absolutely hated the idea of being cleaned up by Aroze and the others.
So, she thought she should take down Forest King Gálu and the spirit king Vamph before they did.
Of course, she didn't think she had a chance of winning.
Even back then, when her level had reached its limit, she couldn't even stand up to the executives.
(Even so, I'm...!)
Dahlia decided to go all in, even if it meant she might die.
She thought it was better to die fighting than to live on in shame.
Naturally, Jostum opposed this.
He understood her frustration, but said that if she challenged them in her current state, she would definitely face death.
However, Dahlia decided to go ahead with the plan without telling Jostum anything.
It was nothing more than a suicidal act.
Fully aware of that, Dahlia wore a faint smile.
"I have no intention of dying without a fight. At the very least, I will take you down with me..."
"It seems you've forgotten the memories of the time I toyed with you. As a reward for making it this far, I'll personally make sure to be your opponent again."
Watching that exchange, the boy monster... who seemed to be the spirit king Vamph, took a small book from his pocket and sat on the altar.
"Skull, try not to make too much noise. I get distracted when reading."
"I'll do my best, but I hope you'll forgive me if I get too excited and start shouting."
At Skull's line, Dahlia sharply kicked the ground.
"Hah!"
With the momentum of her leap, she swung her sword down at Skull.
But he easily blocked the blow with the staff in his hand and deflected her following kick with just one arm.
"Clack, clack! So light! Is that all you've got, Eastern hero Dahlia!"
"──!"
Fueled by her provoked anger, she continued to swing her sword.
However, due to being reduced to level 1, there was not a trace of the power she used to have in her sword strikes.
It was hard to believe she was a Rank 1 adventurer awarded the title of hero.
Her slashes were weak, lacking sharpness and weight.
Even though she had already been overwhelmed in perfect condition, there was no way she could win like this.
...She knew that even before coming here.
"Hah... hah... hah...!"
Still, Dahlia thought she couldn't just stay cooped up in the town like that.
The pride of a hero wouldn't allow it.
If she had just rotted away in that starting town...
She would have surely just been watching Aroze and the others who became heroes from the sidelines.
She absolutely didn't want to lose like that.
She hadn't come here to lose.
She returned to the battlefield because she hated losing continuously.
As long as she was fighting, she wouldn't lose, so she would keep fighting.
She haven't lost yet...!
"U... aah!"
As if to reassure herself, Dahlia continues to swing her sword.
However...
"Clack, clack!"
Dahlia's stubbornness was dismissed as if it was being mocked.
The monster in a skeletal form waved his staff, sending the sword flying.
Right after, a sharp kick stabbed into her abdomen, causing a surge of intense pain.
"Ugh──!"
Blown away by the impact, she sprawled out on the cold ground like a rag doll.
In a body that hardly contained any divine blessing, the monster's strike felt unbearably heavy.
"Gah...ah...!"
Looking down at the suffering Dahlia, the skull toyed with his staff.
"Even though your basic combat skills were lacking, do you really think you could win after being weakened as well?"
"...!"
With tear-filled eyes, she looked up at the skull.
Despite having no expression due to his skeletal form, he seemed to be filled with intense rage.
"You only came here seeking a place to die. That's the only way I see it. It's extremely unpleasant that someone like me or Sir Vamph was chosen as your counterpart..."
As black emotions seeped through, Skull's voice grew low.
Upon hearing this, Dahlia grimaced, her hands and feet trembling slightly.
Feeling immense fear from the intimidating presence of the Spirit King's Army executives.
"You are not even worth dying. To think that you are considering finding relief in death is so foolish, ridiculous, and petty. I will not grant you death. Instead, I will make you endure greater suffering and feel intense regret."
With a creepy smile, Skull raised his left hand and chanted.
"[Cursed Hand]"
In an instant, a pitch-black mist enveloped his left hand.
Seeing that, Dahlia gasped.
"Haha. You might recognize it as well. This is my cursed power."
It was the same as when she had received the curse of level reduction before.
She realized that by having touched that hand, she had come to bear that hated curse within her.
Bringing that hand closer, the skeleton whispered quietly.
"Now I will cast a curse on you again. The effect is 'Living Corpse'. You will become a being that devours human flesh, a cursed existence that cannot even die, wandering this world for eternity."
"..."
A curse to become a living corpse, merely seeking to devour human flesh.
The hand imbued with that curse slowly approached her face, and Dahlia secretly clenched her teeth.
Where did she go wrong?
She rose to become a Rank 1 adventurer at the youngest age and had desires for the title of hero.
She was expected by many around her, and her future promised her glory.
However, she and her party have failed.
They could not stand against the Forest King's Army at all, and in the end, they were sent back to the starting point.
Where did she go wrong?
What was wrong?
What caused things to turn out like this?
'Aroze. You're no longer needed, so just get out of here.'
...No, she knows.
It was probably back then.
She chased away a man who would have been a hindrance to her interests and reputation.
It's not an exaggeration to say that her defeat was sealed at that moment.
She can't believe that just because he was there, the outcome of the battle with the Forest King's Army would have changed.
However, she has a vague feeling that if he had remained with the party, something might have changed.
If she hadn't kicked her out of the party...
If she had even slightly listened to his words...
If she had chosen the path to continue growing alongside him...
Would her future have changed at all?
"Experience your own foolishness, and savor the despair and regret to the fullest!"
As she shed tears of repentance over her late regrets...
The evil curse of Skull reached straight out toward Dahlia.
"[Accel!] "
In that instant──
"A silver flash" darted into her line of sight at a blinding speed.
"Huh..."
That light was the shadow of a person holding a small knife.
Quickly slashing at Skull, who was poised to cast a cursed hand, he followed up with a kick using his right leg without taking a breath.
Skull, having sensed the danger in advance, narrowly dodged the blade.
However, due to the consecutively delivered kicks, Skull was struck in the abdomen and was sent flying backward.
As Skull's skull face showed a hint of anger, the person who interrupted them directed a cold gaze her way.
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?"
"..."
It was a young man with silver hair, dressed in a plain black coat and a white shirt...
He was Aroze Fullō, the Trainer she had kicked out of the party.
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