My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

“Crow!!!!!!”

Two magic circles floated in the air as if to finish off Crow, who had collapsed but was still breathing.

One of them I charged at in an instant and cut apart with the “Night Blade God.” The other—

“What do you think you’re doing, willful girl.”

A purple flame shot from Lattice Nail, breath ragged and eyes teary, and snuffed it out.

Judging by Lattice Nail’s stats, she probably had little combat experience. Even though she’d likely traveled other continents alone for decades, her profession level and skill level were lower than mine and the heroes’, which suggested she’d avoided fighting. If she revealed her far-superior stats in a real battle, people would realize she was of the Demon Clan, so she must have tried to stay out of it.

So when Lattice Nail attacked Mahiro, who was far above her in rank, she instinctively sensed the death bearing down on her from the killing intent pointed at her and began to tremble uncontrollably. Still, her amethyst-like eyes fixed fiercely on Mahiro and then on the Demon King behind him.

“I won’t let anyone be killed in front of me. That’s my justice.”

“Justice? What are you talking about. You can spout justice and all that, but in the end you’re just a coward who can’t stand to see people die. Besides, this one’s already dying. What you’re doing is only prolonging his pain.”

“Even so!!! Even if that’s true, I won’t let anyone be killed in front of me!!”

Lattice Nail’s scream echoed through the audience chamber.

While Mahiro and the others’ attention was diverted to Lattice Nail, I carried Crow and retreated to the back of the audience chamber near the doors where the heroes were. With Crow injured, the two of us left here couldn’t beat them. Now then, how to withdraw from here.

“No matter how you explain, I can’t accept it! Even if it were my mother I’ve longed to see with all my heart for a single glance, there’s no way one person can balance out thousands or tens of thousands lives! Human or Demon Clan, no matter how miserable or despairing, one person’s story must not be ended by someone else! Killing others for the sake of the dead is monstrous! If that could balance the scales, then what are we living for in this world!?”

Purple flames rose from Lattice Nail. With the crackling blaze, the air around us seemed to thin and breathing grew difficult.

It was already too late, but I hurriedly gave Crow first aid to buy him a little more time.

“Is that your choice, Lattice Nail?”

The Demon King’s calm voice addressed her.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and then looked straight at her father.

“I’m sorry, Father. I can’t accept your way of thinking. If you insist on carrying it out, I will do everything in my power to stop you. Because I don’t want my father to be called a butcher! Besides, have I ever once listened to anything you told me?”

At the end she spoke to her parent in her usual bright tone, severing ties.

For a moment the Demon King’s face contorted as if in pain, but he erased it the next instant and for the first time directed killing intent at Lattice Nail.

“Very well... I understand. It pains me to tell you this when Misty is resurrected, but I will have to say your daughter is dead. ...Mahiro.”

“Understood.”

Mahiro raised his hand. We bent low, feeling the prelude to a magic circle’s deployment.

DOOOOOOOOM!!!

Just before Mahiro’s hands met, a great sound echoed and the whole room—no, the entire Demon King’s Castle—shook.

“What the…?”

Mahiro and the others seemed surprised as well; Mahiro abandoned forming a magic circle to attack us and rushed toward the Demon King.

The thunderous noise of the castle shaking grew closer.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but we’ll use this chaos to escape!”

The heroes and Kyousuke took Crow, on whom I’d finished some emergency treatment, and shouted to Lattice Nail and the masters. Night (Yoru) sprang lightly onto my shoulder.

Then, in the next instant, the wall beside the audience chamber blew outward. Debris scattered as if to split us from the Demon King’s party. Through the gaping hole in the wall, a wyvern-like pterosaur poked its head in.