I hate being wed in a fantasy world!

Nessy looks at her somewhat lover, Raques, who clearly is relieved that the ranger just passes by as he said. She was also glad that this wasn't the group of four they were supposed to attack. The White Mare told their boss, Wrecker Ianos, that there will be a group of four passing by this forests and they will carry an important insignia, something for a political struggle.

The Wreckers are a semi-successful bandit-group, though their number has been bolstered a lot during the last few weeks. Mostly because of the barbarians that are much, much worse than even the hardiest and vilest of bandits and now several people that fled the farmsteads and deserting soldiers have joined.

Raques takes her hand, maybe to calm himself down, maybe for her. Nessy doesn't know, but that simple fellow has a similarly simple mind, a warm bed, and while they're in some sort of relationship, he doesn't mind it too much, if she sleeps with other men, as he does the same. Of course, it's mostly outside their group, as enforcing her will on those muscular but then power-stripped farmers is a thrilling power-rush.

Nessy grew up on a farm as well, which was attacked by bandits and went through the whole program herself when she was fourteen or so. She recovered, was married off, and during the first night, things went bloody for her husband, when he tried to be the forceful one.

The one who dominates wins, even if a knife is needed. She fled, and was picked up by the Wreckers, joined them, trained with them, exploring her potential and now she's a new officer, with all the new people joining.

Raques served in the Déjuma army and deserted when the barbarians came. He's a new recruit, but an able fighter. Not under her, at least in the chain of command, though definitely during sex.

Nessy loses herself in her thoughts, as she thinks about how to fuck the brains out of Raques later, the cry of a sparrow sounds through the ranks. The sign of the scouts that their prey is here. Two noblemen, one an heir, the other the family's priest, the personal hunter, and the aged bodyguard. A small group travelling away from the trading routes to not be ambushed by their enemies. Tough luck they knew about this and hired the White Mare, which led to the Wreckers.

The Wreckers will ambush them and they're free to kill them, though if one of them is hot, Nessy would like to keep them, especially given that they could use some slaves for the winter.

Nessy looks over the bush to take a look... no, none of them were particularly hot. The bodyguard was old enough to be her great grandfather, the old priest the same, the hunter is very non-descriptive, and the young noble was just so-so.

“Seriously?” Says the bodyguard, as the maulers, their big guys, came from their hiding. “What is this?”

“This is an ambush, gramps.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Fifty-two,” says the hunter, which makes Nessy feel a chill, as this is exactly their number.

“I'm seriously not in the mood for this, so all fifty-two of you: Pack your things, scram, and don't waste my time.” He isn't angry, he rather sounds... annoyed?

Well, that new mauler—was it Paun?—just swings his mace, which is about to hit that oldtimer. Then Paun explodes, as the geezer has stabbed him with his strangely vibrating sword in a blink.

Nessy becomes pale, as now all of the maulers are on the ground, several with separated limbs, crying in pain and terror, as several bones and armor pieces have torn through them.

“Eight.” However, the vibrating blade of the geezer isn't finished, as he kicks up limbs and people and thrusts his blade through them, creating deadly shrapnel shots that transform bandits into corpses at best, and whining, limbless pictures of misery at worst. “Nineteen.”

Boss Ianos is shouting something, but then his head falls off, as the bodyguard continues his count and uses the head as another projectile. Pieces of skulls pierces through Raques' torso next to Nessy. However, he still stands and shouts. “Run!”

Nessy does exactly that, but then she feels how Raques enters and leaves her body, or at least his armor and bones did. She falls, has lost a leg and an arm, she painfully tries to quiet her crying, hoping that they'd think that she died right here and now.

“Fifty-one,” says that monster while picking up a stick and throwing it like a dart between the trees. “Fifty-two.” He swings his sword once, removing all the blood with that motion, and then he sheathes it. After that, he shakes his arm. “I can feel it up to my spine.”

“I'll use my magic, Sir Gottfried. [Heal]!” ...Gottfried... GOTTFRIED!? Nessy used to hear stories about a legendary warrior with that name, who dwells in the far Kingdom of Feuerberg! Able to cut a mountain into two, split the sky, and who has single-handedly ended four wars!

Unable to hold it in, quiet whimpering comes from her, but the four seem to be too occupied to notice. “A bit better. Enough for Stupid Disciple #1, though she's almost back to her form.”

“What are you planning, Sir?”, asks the nobleman. “If you like, I can separate them next time.”

“Leave that to me, Mageling. Keep your eyes open for more surprises, we had far too many today. Give me a second to straighten my back, then we continue.” Ah, they're leaving. Nessy is so glad. She will survive, she will- “First though... Twenty-one are still alive. Time to end their misery.”

She won't survive.

―○●○―

“Now that wood!” They may be small, but the woods keep on coming, a sign that we will soon be at the great forest, which will give us enough space and time to kill Meldorn! I use the sight of a bird again, scanning our surrounding, though these stupid birds just don't fly the way I want! “Shit! They're coming!” Their movements may be like a usual march, but somehow they cover much more distance than us in our jog. “Ara-san, bog that wood after we get into it!”

Ara-san chugs another MP-pot. “My stomach hurts again.” She's really looking kinda blueish.

“Rine, cast [Delay Poison] on her, maybe it works against overeating.” It may be somehow poisonous?

“Yes. [Delay Poison]!”

“It doesn't help.”

“Just bear with it then!”

“Arako, take this pill.”

“Thanks, Momo.” In cases like these, having medicine is a lifesaver, especially as it works immediately on heroes. Though it will only calm down her stomach, not the fact that she has drunk way too much liquid.

We enter the woods and adjust the course slightly. I don't know how it looks on the other side, as the stupid bird hasn't look that way, but if the map Oro'hekk made for us is correct, we should be close to our destination. Maybe half an hour?

Following us will be messy, as Ara-san makes the terrain marshy, while circumventing the wood will make them lose time. Every minute counts!

Ara-san begins to slow down without any apparent reason. “We have been set up,” she says in a dry tone. “Kenta-kun, make use of your right.”

My right? Ah... “I told you so.”

Of course Kyou-san doesn't know what we mean: “What is it?”

“Correo?” I ask Ara-san.

“Worse...” She points in a direction which showcases a squirrel... a squirrel with a panda-pattern. While her face remains almost the same, the trembling in her ears shows that she's about to panic.

“It's like before, just a scout. So let's ---prepare for a fight. I hear a stupid voice.” Shit, shit, shit! I hate it!

Sounds of breaking branches accompanies our foes. The laughing grates at my ears, as one of my most unreliable one-time allies comes through the forest. The white hair in twintails, red skin, big body, a whole lot of muscles, and a big club in her hand. “Katakata! Bro! Sis! Lynxy! You're all here.” It's Correo's oni.

Without hesitation, Rine and I charge at her, and she smiles while swinging her club. We both jump to the side to evade it and its stupid air-current that accompanies it, however: “[Exorcise]!” Kyou-san shoots her cone of light.

“Oh,” the oni says, just before she begins to yell in agony, as white flames engulf her body. “Uaaaah! No, I'm over it, it doesn't hurt, so-”

She should have better begged. “[Exorcise]!”

“UUUUUUHHHHH! DEMONS!”

Suddenly, several demons spring out of the bushes... strange, I didn't notice them, and even Ara-san hasn't. These demons have different forms, some canine, some humanoid, some insect-like, but all of them with fangs, horns, spikes, and other demonic traits.

“[Exorcise]!” The light shines on some of those demons and- does nothing!? “Why!” Even the caster is complaining about it!

Rine cuts through some of those demons, making them dissipate in midnight blue smoke. I feel some questions coming up, but also the dread of what's behind us.

However, the oni has recovered from the spells, she's tough and dangerous, and she swings at me, but I hide behind a tree, which she just cleaves through with her metal bat. Yup, definitely stupidly strong.

“Monster pass!” I shout out, only seeing confusion at my party-members. “Monster train! Heck, just make them fight him!” I admit that this isn't what we usually do, but we also seldom have the opportunity to do so. “[Whirlwind]!” My [Skill] pushes the demons away from Kyou-san, then I press my spear into her hand. Then I grab her at the back and knee pits and lift her up: “Retreat!”

Rine jumps onto a branch, Ara-san changes to [Acrobat] to do the same, while I—too heavy with Kyou-san on my arms—just desperately run through the demons, though I immediately found a gap in their formation, or whatever that is what they have.

“HEY! IGNORING ME!? [ONI FIRE]!” Good thing she aims at Rine, who is too fast to be hit by that at this distance, as I would definitely not be able to evade that. “COME BACK! I WILL----AH!” The oni is about to follow us and then she turns around. I can see Gottfried, who stares her down. “You look strong! Oh, I can feel your stare on me! Stay still, OK?” She swings her club, but Gottfried evades it, only his eyebrows are slightly moved by the wind that attack creates.

Well, pass successful, I guess. The oni is a match for Rine, so she may buy five minutes or so, maybe even longer, as she regenerates from attacks and brings some serious power into the mix. Though Gottfried's party has a priest, so maybe the oni will be exorcised instead?

I just have to be thankful that the oni will most definitely die here, which finally puts one of my enemies to rest. I guess next will be Yoshimura and Hoshibashi, as I haven't seen them since the Red Rock Canyon, so they most likely regrouped to make an attempt here...

We leave the wood and then something strange happens. Red, yellow, green, blue, and violet light shines from behind, creating large shadows of trees over us.

...this isn't good. “What's that?!” I ask while putting Kyou-san back to her feet, she can now walk on her own, after all.

“This is the [Prism Strike],” Rine says in awe.

“...does that mean, Gottfried can cut light!?” I mean, a prism breaks light into its spectrum, so a prism strike would be...

“Maybe? Though it's weaker than before. The last time I saw it, it had seven colors.”

…

… … …

Ah. Ah. Ah.

My mind was just blown away, and from what I can see in Kyou-san, it's the same for her. I feel Ara-san tugging my sleeve: “We need to move on.”

“Yes...” I take my spear back from Kyou and start running. Fast. The girls follow me, we need to get to that forest.

Suddenly, I see the ground between me and the girls opening up, then a violent wind follows, wallowing up the dirt. A flying sword-slash? Why is the air around the created fissure so strange? It's somehow flickering.

“Careful, Kenta!” Rine warns me. “The air still remembers the slash, so everything that touches it, will be cut! With this, Instructor can even divide the sea!”

What the- To prove her claim, I pick up a twig and throw it into the air. The twig instantly is cut several times... Which means that I better not try to jump over that fissure... So I won't be able to get to the girls, I'm on my own for now.

Breathe in. Breathe out. “Run as fast as possible. We'll meet up in the forest, it has to be right beyond that hill!” This is more wishful thinking than anything else, but that's all that's left. I run with all my might.

I haven't underestimated Gottfried. That would mean that I could have estimated him at all. I was just an idiot, assuming stuff that I didn't even understand. As strong as Luuto? No, this guy would mob the floor with the hundred-years old alfr hero with ease.

Even now I can't even imagine the gap between me and Gottfried. Heck, even Rine can't imagine it, she has claimed so before, and we just jumped into conclusions.

Suddenly, all of this shitty fantasy world seems to have changed... if Feuerberg has a Gottfried, and still summoned heroes to defeat the demon king... how strong is he? How much must I grow? When I started and got my first few levels, I thought that level 100 would be enough, but I'm level 61 and I don't even come remotely close to Gottfried...

Will 500 do it?

Wait, if one country has a Gottfried, does it mean other countries have their own? If Gottfried is Feuerberg's finest, what about the second strongest? How strong?

Why do they even need heroes!?

Suddenly, my mindset shifts from existential crisis to business. Guess the hero-system has intervened, as it also changes our mind, basically bringing us to a state where we can continue, despite the odds.

I don't know whether this is a blessing or a curse, at this point.