Hero Party After the Nuclear War

Chapter 17

Hanbae's movement was swift.

He knew better than anyone, even better than Dante, that his cybernetic prosthetic would be strained.

Just now, in front of Eris, it looked like he lifted it effortlessly, but that was purely due to the stat boost from his Servants and the power of the cybernetic implant. Lifting that sword with the strength of a pure human was nearly impossible.

But now, completely cornered, the only thing Hanbae could rely on was the hope that the Holy Sword of the Hero would choose him, that its true power would awaken, and so he reached toward that heavy, heavy hope.

[Loki: Transformation Magic = Depth Bite.]

At that moment, the magic of Loki, Dante's Servant, exploded forth.

The magic called 'Transformation Magic,' which had been hidden by Mirage Blade and had not been used until now, allows the summoner to perfectly mimic one of the skills possessed by a Servant during combat.

The skill just 'mimicked' through Transformation Magic was none other than the physical skill 'Depth Bite' of one of his main Servants, the Phantom-type Leviathan. Just as the jaws of the beast, emerging from the deep abyss, were about to swallow Hanbae whole—

Hanbae barely managed to grab and swing the Holy Sword in time. He narrowly blocked Depth Bite with the Holy Sword. But no matter how skilled an assassin or ninja he might be, it's hard to come out unscathed from a Servant's magical attack.

Unless, of course, there's one variable.

The moment Hanbae gripped and swung the sword, the complex mechanical functions of the rusted and immobile Holy Sword began to glow red and move.

The sword, rusted and pathetic like a piece of scrap metal, regained its original form from 200 years ago in the blink of an eye.

And that wasn't all.

From the now fully activated 'Holy Sword,' a wave of Maso began to pour out, filling the surrounding air, similar to—or perhaps even greater than—the Maso released from Dante's summoner when he summoned Loki.

Dante and Eris, who were present, stared at Hanbae with wide eyes and expressions of complete confusion. Of course, the meanings behind Eris's and Dante's shock were slightly different.

In Dante's case, it was because he never imagined that the Hero's Legend, passed down only as a myth, could be true—especially in the form of that rusty piece of scrap metal that had been corroding for 200 years.

In Eris's case, it was because the Far Eastern-style ninja who had come to assassinate them was able to awaken the Holy Sword without much difficulty.

Kkigigi—Kkigik!

The Holy Sword and Loki's 'Depth Bite' clashed violently and canceled each other out.

In that moment, Hanbae thought this might be his last chance to turn the tides. Before Dante could use his next magic, and simultaneously to buy time until he could summon a new Servant, he desperately thrust the tip of the Holy Sword fiercely at Dante.

Dante belatedly tried to defend himself by pulling out his trusty multi-purpose knife, the machete, but it was already too late.

Just as a small dagger cannot possibly block a massive greatsword, their blades clashed mid-air, but Dante's machete, overwhelmed by the difference in weight class, was sent flying far back, and the Holy Sword of the Hero pierced straight through the center of Dante's chest.

"Guh...!"

Since Loki, his Servant, had already been summoned, any damage should have been transferred to Loki. However, just before the Holy Sword pierced Dante's chest, Loki's summoning was suddenly 'canceled.'

"What...!?"

Fwoosh.

"Dante!! Why...!!"

So why, at that moment, did Dante cancel the summoning of his Servant? Why did he have no choice but to withdraw the powerful Servant, Loki?

The reason only emerged from the summoner after the Holy Sword had already stabbed into Dante's gut.

[Warning: Due to the forced summoning of your 'Divine Spirit-type Loki,' your internal Maso level has deviated 189% from the normal range. Summoning is forcibly canceled to preserve the user's Vitals.]

"... Sh...it."

With the Holy Sword embedded in his abdomen, Dante cursed and collapsed to his knees, legs giving out. But he couldn't fall over.

Because the Holy Sword Hanbae had driven in pierced right through Dante's body and lodged firmly into the wall behind him. Like a frog pinned to a dissection board, Dante was fixed to the wall, eyes losing their light as he collapsed.

For someone like Raven, a Silver Rank summoner who could enslave and control the Divine Spirit Loki as a Servant, it was a pathetic end. At the very moment he could've tilted the tide of battle with his tactics and seized victory, his body gave out and he made a fatal mistake.

In the end, he wasn't a hero or anything like that.

He was just a regular mercenary.

"Hoo. Haha..."

Hanbae let out a dry laugh, relieved that he had somehow managed to reverse the situation, and then glared at Eris.

"Don't tell me... even this is just another illusion that bastard showed us."

Saying that, Hanbae grabbed the handle of the Holy Sword lodged in Dante's body and tried to pull it out. But for some reason, the Holy Sword, now glowing even redder after soaking in Dante's blood, didn't budge.

"Huh... what is this."

He kept pulling the sword, trying to finish Dante off for good, but it wouldn't move, as if it had been fixed there by some unknown force. Even with the power of cybernetic tech, the Holy Sword wouldn't move at all.

Instead...

Click. Clack... Clack.

As blood began to be absorbed into the blade, the internal mechanisms of the Holy Sword started whirring busily.

Then, in Dante's eyes—which had lost their light and should have been dead from a fatal wound—life began to return.

"Damn... it... hurts like... hell, f*ck... this thing...!"

Eris was utterly horrified.

The Holy Sword hadn't activated because it had chosen 'Hanbae.'

The true user the Holy Sword desired... was someone else. It was none other than the pitiful little mercenary, the half-human, half-demon currently being stabbed by the sword... Dante.

Clunk.

With eyes burning with murderous intent and vengeance, Dante gripped the handle of the Holy Sword embedded in his body. Then, using the power of a half-human, half-demon—without even the support of a Servant's stats—he pulled out the sword that even the cyborg ninja couldn't extract.

Swoosh—as the blade slid out of his body, blood gushed out. Yet, as if being forcibly drawn by the power of the Holy Sword, Dante casually slung the massive sword over his shoulder and glared resolutely at his enemy, the one he had to defeat.

[Summoner reaction * * * confirmed.

Suitable user authentication * * * confirmed.

Fairy reaction * * * confirmed.

Vitals check * * * danger.

'Demon infection' detected in the body.

Operational judgment normal * * * confirmed.

* * *

Holy Sword: S-24 Liberator. Activating.

Welcome back, Hero.]

"Wai...!"

[Dante: Burst Stinger.]

Gripping the handle with both hands and steadying his posture, Dante slid forward and mercilessly drove the blade into Hanbae's abdomen.

"Guh... HUUUAGH!!!"

Crack!!

Even though the blade was stabbed into a 'human' body, the sound it made was that of machinery shattering. With the massive sword embedded in his body, Hanbae, whose eyes showed barely any trace of humanity left, glared fiercely at Raven, the one who had brought him down, and shouted.

"There's no way the Hero of Legend could actually... actually exist...!!!"

"Yeah. I don't believe in legends."

Dante roughly kicked Hanbae away, pulled out the Liberator, and raised the Holy Sword high.

"But... I believe in the truth."

Slash!

The slash from Dante's greatsword embedded itself into Hanbae's neck, and his head rolled across the ground like a ball. But no red human blood gushed from his severed neck. Instead, there were only tangled wires and wildly sparking circuits. It was a clear sign of how much he had forsaken his humanity.

"Haa... haa... huff."

Dante dropped the Holy Sword: Liberator and collapsed on the spot, spitting out blood. He had been stabbed in the abdomen by a greatsword. The fact that he had been able to move at all in that state was nothing short of a miracle.

"Dante!"

Despite being gravely injured herself, Eris desperately crawled over to Dante. As she did, Dante coughed up dark red blood and waved his hands weakly.

"... Eris. I'm really tired right now, okay? So... I'm just gonna nap a bit. Keep watch for me... alright?"

Uttering what was practically a final will, Dante succumbed to the drowsiness overtaking him and collapsed on the spot. Eris, unable to let the newly reborn Hero who had awakened the 200-year-old Holy Sword die just like that, frantically searched for a solution.

"Dante...! Dan... te..."

* * *

How much time had passed?

Just when the concept of time began to fade from his mind—

Dante, with his stomach burning in agony and overwhelmed by dizziness, gagged and slowly forced himself up.

"Uwaaaah!!! Cough... cough..."

"Th... thank goodness..."

When Dante opened his eyes, he found himself... in the cargo bed of his truck, Elizabeth. Somehow, he could feel the softness of a mattress beneath him.

"Are you awake?"

"I feel sick... what did you feed me?"

"I didn't feed you anything. But I'm really... glad you're alive."

"Wait... how did I survive?"

"I used your summoner a bit... instead of sacrificing another Servant, I restored my Michaellis. Michaellis has magic for healing and recovery. Somehow, I managed to return your pierced organs and broken bones to their original state... somehow."

"If you had something that good, you should've used it on yourself when you first got hurt."

Grateful to have returned from hell alive, he leaned diagonally against the truck bed, breathing heavily in and out.

"I'm a Fairy. I'm the Hero's guide. My healing blessing can't be used on myself. It can only be used on the Hero recognized by the Holy Sword."

In other words, the moment Dante was recognized by the Holy Sword: Liberator, Eris was finally able to use her blessing on him for the first time. The only problem was that the all-important Holy Sword wasn't right next to Dante at that moment.

"Where is the Holy Sword?"

"I couldn't bring it. Only the Hero can lift it. Now that it's activated as a Holy Sword... I can't move it with my power.

Anyway, since the certification of suitability is done, the Holy Sword won't choose anyone else or be stolen. For now, you should rest and recover slowly here, and once your body stabilizes, you can go back in."

And Eris, after hesitating a little... added a small title.

"Master."

"What?"

Dante couldn't hold back his laughter at the little title 'Master' that Eris had added at the end.

"Puhaha! Master, she says, Master. What am I, a slave? Why would you use that word? Forget it, forget it. Ah, my stomach... it hurts."

As his wound reopened from laughing and blood started to seep out, Dante let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a groan, then leaned against the truck bed.

Anyway. I never expected it. The Master... I heard you inherited the blood of a Demon. The Hero and that Holy Sword were created to destroy Demons. So how... were you even able to draw the Holy Sword?

Don't tell me the Demon blood you inherited is so powerful that it could suppress the power of the Holy Sword with your own strength. Is that it? Or...?

When Eris looked at Dante with hopeful eyes, Dante figured they were close enough now that he could just say it, so he gave a small laugh and shook his head.

"No way. If you thought I inherited some great Demon bloodline, you're seriously mistaken. I was born in the slums, in a corner of the red-light district."

At Dante's words, Eris realized too late that she had asked something she shouldn't have and swallowed nervously.

"Didn't you think it was weird that my Charisma Stat was so high? My mother is... a 'Succubus.' And my father's probably some nameless thug who spent a night in bed with my mother, a Succubus selling her body in the red-light district."

"Ah... uh... hmm."

Not knowing what to say, Eris lowered her head, fidgeting in front of the Master she was supposed to serve.

"Don't worry about it. I don't get why everyone gets all gloomy whenever I talk about this. Let's eat something warm, get some rest, and then go retrieve the Holy Sword."

"...Yes, Master."