Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~ Chapter 50.2: Cockatrice’s Garden

Big Sis Kenya took care of the rearguard as we advanced, making sure no one attacked us from behind.

She was the fastest person in Teseshia. As long as she fought in an open space, no one would be able to match her in speed.

Big Sis Kenya swung her spear, throwing the Goblins around her in all directions.

There was also Madia, who used flash magic to temporarily blind the Goblins. That move helped us a lot.

Leylia-san was ahead of us, smashing Goblin heads with her mace.

「GOBLIN BEGONE!!! 」

「As usual you’re the first to charge towards the demons, Leylia-san.」

With her being a priestess of Rena, it was only natural for Leylia to feel intense hatred towards demons.

Her feelings were born of a demon attack she suffered a long ti ago. She felt that Angel-sama had answered her prayers by giving her the power to exterminate demons.

As a healer, she should have been a rearguard.

But off she went, charging ahead of the vanguard. Thankfully, Nora-san was there to cover her back. She skillfully used her bow and daggers to dispatch of any Goblins that ca too close.

As far as I knew, those two had been comrades even before eting us. They had such good coordination that even their breaths were synchronized.

It was mostly thanks to them that we were able to advance, but so others also did their best. Naly, Novis.

He defeated one Goblin after another with his swordplay and fire magic. As expected of the one hailed as the Hero of Fire.

「That’s amazing, Novi-kun! You seem even stronger than before.」

Madi cheered Novis and gave him an appreciative look.

Yeah, he was strong. As I watched Novis’s movents, I wondered if he could be that much stronger than before.

Novis had been a gifted child. On top of his talent with magic, he had a keen instinct for swordplay. He learned magic with Madi’s mother and swordplay alongside with my father.

I wasn’t cut out for swordplay. I lacked the most basic quality for swinging a sword: pure strength. No matter how much I trained, I couldn’t gain any muscle. As a result, I couldn’t swing my sword properly.

My father died in a fight against a demon. If he hadn’t left his magic sword, I would have never considered becoming a Freedom Fighter.

After my father’s death, my mother remarried and I left the house. I didn’t want to live with her anymore. My foster father seed like a decent man, but I only had one father and that was enough for .

I beca a Freedom Fighter, just like my father, and worked with Big Sis Kenya. During that ti she was working with Novis, who was already a Freedom Fighter.

Novis was famous for being a magus warrior.

Not long after that, Madi joined us. Then, by the ti Leylia-san and Nora-san joined our group, Novis had already been nad Hero of Fire.

Our paths slowly separated. He’d receive nad requests and gradually gravitated away from us. eting him again after a long ti made realize the difference between us. He had beco so much stronger.

His talent made jealous.

「What’s the matter, Shizufae? Did you fall in love with again? 」

He probably noticed that I was looking at him because he was grinning.

「Haaa?! What the hell are you talking about, you fool? 」

How could he think I was in love with him?

Others may praise him and call him Hero but, to , he was just a brat.

He was just a brat who constantly teased when I was younger. Even after I grew up, he still teased . No matter how much ti passed, Novis would still be a brat.

I wanted him to be a gentleman... Like Reiji-sama.

[TL: Oh god, not another Shirone...]

I rembered what happened last night.

Truthfully, I wanted to speak to Reiji-sama, but I didn’t dare approach him. Sage-sama’s glare was too vicious. My ti with him was cut even shorter because of the arrival of the Pashipea Princess.

Such a loveable man... Of course, he wouldn’t get close to a girl like . I wouldn’t even look good if I stood too close to him while he was surrounded by those incredibly beautiful ladies.

Anyway, we managed to push through the Goblins.

Even I could easily deal with those Goblins, and I wasn’t even strong.

The problem was the sheer number of them. As we moved deeper into the labyrinth, we found many crumbled Goblin statues.

It was definitely the work of those foul Cockatrice.

If we fought with the Cockatrice, we’d have only a slim chance of winning. It would be better if we could avoid them completely.

The number of broken statues was staggering. The Cockatrice must be hiding nearby.

Suddenly, a loud cry rang out.

「KOKE――――――――!! 」

The noise was followed by many Freedom Fighters calling out in alarm.

Big Sis Kenya was the first to identify the source. It seed like she could already see the enemy because of her height, which helped her see farther than most people.

「Crap!! Run, it’s the Cockatrice!! 」

I had seen a Cockatrice before, from far away.

I had never seen one so agitated.

They rolled around, enraged while spewing a grey mist. That mist was the Cockatrice’s poison, capable of petrifying a person on contact.

Maybe the sudden Goblin invasion enraged them.

The Cockatrice noticed us and they made a beeline in our direction.

We ran, of course, but Madi tripped and fell on her face.

「KYAAA!! 」

「MADI !! 」

Novis imdiately turned around and took a stance between Madi and the crazed Cockatrice. I took the opportunity to help her up.

「GODDAMMIT!! 」

Just us two against all those Cockatrice...

Novis swung his sword, ready to protect Madi and . At the sa ti, Big Sis Kenya used her spear to push away the Cockatrice, while Nora-san aid her arrows at their heads.

「HHAAA!!!」

Then I noticed the Cockatrice’s beak opening wide.

I shouted as loud as I could.

「EVERYONE GET DOWN!!! 」

The Cockatrice let out the gray mist poison.

Thankfully, we had Novis wit us. He erected a wall of fire, which kept us safe.

「FIREWALL!!」

Novis, seeing how the poison couldn’t make it over the wall of fire, laughed.

「Hehe, how’s that?! 」

However, he didn’t notice the danger right behind him.

「OH NO!! NOVIS, RUN!! 」

I scread, but my warning didn’t reach him in ti.

The Cockatrice charged through the wall of fire. Their resistance to heat made them a poorly matched opponent for Novis, a user of fire magic. Their tough feathers made physical attacks almost useless, and that included sword strikes.

A Cockatrice’s weakness was water. They really hated water, so rainy days were the safest days to explore the labyrinth.

Just then, Novis was sent flying by a Cockatrice’s ramming attack.

「KUH!!!」

「Are you okay, Novis? 」

I rushed toward Novis, and the Cockatrice imdiately followed .

「HOW DARE YOU TO DO THAT TO NOVIS!! 」

Big Sis Keyna readied her spear and Madia used her magic to block the demons’ eyes.

「Darkness!! 」

We were safe for a while.

It would take the Cockatrice so ti to build up enough venom to petrify soone else. Thus, we ran away at the first opportunity.

We had Nora-san covering our backs as I headed toward Novis with Leylia-san beside .

「Sorry, that was my fault.」

Novis’s voice trembled.

When I looked at his right leg... It was pale white. He got hit with petrification venom when the Cockatrice ramd him.

「Leylia-san, anti-venom!! 」

To my surprise, Leylia shook her head.

「I can’t cure this with my healing magic... We’ll have to drag him along as we retreat.」

「Understood!! 」

I imdiately pulled Novis up, ready to bring him out with Leylia-san, but he disagreed.

「What are you doing?! You two leave in this place and save yourselves! 」

「THIS FOOL!! AS IF I’M GOING TO LEAVE YOU ALONE IN THIS PLACE TO DIE!! 」

Madia’s magic over the Cockatrice wouldn’t last for much longer. We had to leave imdiately. And just as I thought about it, the magic lost its effect and the Cockatrice that had been blinded beca enraged.

The mont it was us, I knew we were done for. I lanted that we couldn’t get out in ti.

「KUE―――――EEEE!! 」

I thought that was the end.

Suddenly, soone leaped over us and swung their sword at the Cockatrice, relieving it of its head.

「HA!! 」

... It was Reiji-sama.

Reiji-sama ca to save us!

When he saw , he let out a refreshing smile.

「Are you alright, Shizufae? 」

「Reiji-sama!! 」

「Wow, that cockatrice was killed in one hit... This person is truly the Hero of Light-sama.」

Madia muttered under her breath.

As I looked at the headless demon corpse, I had to agree with her.

Then Sage-sama arrived.

「Are you okay? You look like you’re hurt.」

Saint-sama approached Novis, who laid on his side. She touched his petrified foot, and it shone with a faint light for a mont.

This translation is stolen content. Read at original site wordexcerpt(.)com