My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

"Really, how did it end up like this?"

I muttered as I moved to dodge the fist coming at me.

By rights, I should have been resting to recover from walking through the forest.

I should have been snug in a futon, sleeping warmly.

And yet here I was, behind the target building.

And standing in front of me was a loli-looking figure raising a fist to attack—

I wanted to look up at the sky.

Someone give me a break.

Everything's been developing too fast; I'm reaching my limit.

Right after we arrived and were given a one-sided introduction, a small fist came down.

At first glance it looked like a frail, powerless punch, but I'd just watched it send Kyousuke flying.

That I could dodge on instinct was likely the result of past experience.

The punch missed its target and, with its momentum, gouged the ground.

Seeing the cracked, hollowed earth made my face twitch.

I can't talk—maybe I'm no better—but the Human race's strength is unbelievable.

Noah widened her eyes at my light dodge.

"Oh... It seems she outmatches the hero over there. Interesting."

Seeing her lick her lips in a belligerent way sent a chill down my spine.

The air around Noah changed.

I listened to the 'danger sense' alarm and my gut, and ducked my head.

In an instant, Noah's fist passed over my head from behind.

The tips of my hair were cut off and fell to the ground.

The sound of air cutting through made me catch my breath.

Am I the only one who feels like she's trying to kill us for real?

If that connects, everything might be over.

"Hey, you old bitch! You trying to kill him!?"

Even Crow, sensing the danger, hurried to intervene.

Noah raised an eyebrow at that.

"Trying to kill? How foolish my child speaks. Of course I'm trying to kill."

Intense killing intent began to radiate from her small body.

A chill ran through my limbs and I started to shiver.

Noah's ability is probably greater than Crow's or mine.

None of us here could match her.

Someone made a sharp intake of breath.

"Otherwise, they'd just repeat what happened to the predecessors. You haven't forgotten, have you? Those people were praised so much, yet only you and the former Hero reached the Demon King's presence. And in the end, they were taken out by nothing more than the Demon King's adjutant."

Noah asked quietly—what's the point of the hero? Why go to Demon Clan territory?—then swung her fist straight at me.

I arch my body back and the fist passed right under my nose.

"That's why I'm here. You've done well to get this far. But I won't let you go past here."

The resolve in her eyes showed the resemblance of parent and child.

She was much like Crow when she asked me to kill Gram.

"I won't let young people be wasted dying for the Demons anymore."

That line grated on me.

Until now I'd been avoiding her one-hit-kill attacks, but for the first time I caught that fist.

I jolted and turned toward Crow, who had been my focus.

"Whatever she is—Crow's mother or whatever—stop lecturing without knowing anything about our situation."

We have our reasons.

That's why we came this far.

Whether this path is right I don't know.

Even though levels are visible, I don't know if we can stand against the so-called Demon King.

Even if we meet Mahiro, I don't know if the magic circle he makes can send us back to our original world.

Even if we return safely, the time flow may not be the same as here.

I don't even know what the Special Skill Commander Saran mentioned is.

Thinking it over again, it's full of unknowns.

We may already be straying from the shortest route as we grope our way forward.

But even so, we must keep moving.

"No matter what your generation says, I and we will move forward. If our current strength is insufficient, we'll grow from now on. Thank you for your concern. But we don't need it."

I won't accept my family being dead without my knowledge.

Saying that, I unclenched the small fist that had fit in my palm.

"Everyone—! Lunch is ready!"

Hosoyama's voice came from inside the building.

I had wondered where Kyousuke, Nanase, and the others besides the hero were, and apparently they were preparing lunch inside.