"Ugh....."
There was no need to show mercy to this guy. After all, he was nothing more than a pathetic fool who summoned the Demon King out of his own greed to become a king. He summoned the Demon King by his own will and even used his own people as sacrifices for the revival—what a piece of trash. I made sure to crush his arms and legs to prevent any chance of resurrection before turning to the hero.
The hero stood there, holding the Demon King's severed arms, observing his condition.
- "Noooo! To fail... to fail at resurrection...!"
"Rest in peace, Demon King!"
- "This can't be...! I was supposed to create a paradise where demons could live in peace! Evangeline... I promised her...!"
The hero's sword mercilessly pierced the Demon King's throat as he spewed his sentimental story. Black blood shot up into the sky like a fountain, staining the ceiling before dripping back down to form a dark pool. I instinctively pulled the hero back to avoid the blood—it just felt gross.
- "Ugh... This is... unbearable...! I... I won't die alone...! Hero... Is that... the person you love?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
I forgot all about my Lucius cosplay and cursed at him. Maybe it's because he's a demon, but I had no filter. Black energy began to swirl around the Demon King's body, and he shouted:
- "Die! You won't escape from here!"
A black arrow of death shot toward me like a projectile. Just as I was about to block it, the hero pushed me aside and yelled,
"Watch out!"
What's so dangerous about it? It's just a level 30 destruction beam. Even as I was knocked back, I cast a protective spell on the hero.
[Protect]
Defense and magic resistance increased.
*Fzzzt!*
"Aaaagh!"
The hero screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground. The black energy pierced through him. Something's wrong. This is supposed to be a level 30 attack?
- "Kehahaha... Writhing... in pain... Die... Hero... I... for Evangeline..."
I rushed to the fallen hero. A gaping black hole had torn through his abdomen. As the Demon King died, the evil energy around us began to fade, but the hero's body was now overrun with it.
"Heal."
I used my healing spell to save him. The wound seemed to close, but then the hole reopened, and his insides began to rot black. It was a truly horrifying magic.
"Ugh... Hack... Cough..."
Damn. I knew this was an NTR situation, but seeing the hero die like this left a bad taste in my mouth. It seemed like the Demon King's final desperate attack—an instant-kill move. The hero couldn't even speak, writhing in pain as he died. His blood turned black, and his face went pale.
If I left him here, I'd naturally witness the NTR outcome. But I couldn't do that. Not only had he saved me, but the Demon King's minions were crawling down the hallway.
Just because the Demon King was dead didn't mean the monsters in the castle would vanish. Given the path we'd fought through, I had to save the hero so we could escape together. Alone, I'd struggle to handle the ambushes.
Healing didn't work. But escaping this castle alone was impossible too. There was only one option left. I pulled out the forbidden potion from my bag. I wasn't sure if it was meant to be ingested or applied, but it probably worked both ways.
I poured half of it on his wound and shoved the rest into his mouth, which kept spewing black blood.
"Ugh...! Gah! Agh!"
The hero seemed to reject the potion at first, shaking his head, but eventually swallowed it. I grabbed my mace and glared at the approaching minions. Now, I had to buy time.
*Sizzle!*
The sound of flesh burning filled the air, and smoke began to rise behind me.
"Gurgle...! Ugh! Aaaagh!"
The hero writhed on the ground, screaming as if his body were being seared by fire. I couldn't afford to look back. The hero was down in one hit, but I had to take out two of these minions each. I smashed an elite goblin's ribs with a side swing and crushed an arc zombie's skull with a downward strike.
How many heads had I crushed?
"Aaaagh!"
The hero let out a final scream and fell silent. I turned to check on him. He lay sprawled out, gasping for breath. I sighed in relief and turned the last minion into mincemeat.
I slumped down amidst the monster corpses, catching my breath. After a moment, I walked over to the hero and held out my hand. He stared at it, still gasping.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah... Yeah... I'm fine..."
I glanced at the spot where he'd been hit by the destruction beam—the wound was completely healed. Definitely a forbidden potion. It even cured his rotting body.
"Thank you for saving me."
"It's thanks to the potion Princess Erina gave me."
The hero stood up and bowed his head. I waved my hand dismissively. Then I noticed something odd. Why was he suddenly speaking in a girl's voice?
"Hero?"
"Yes?"
I forced his face up to examine it. Something was off. He was definitely prettier. His face was originally handsome, but now it was strangely beautiful. His host-like hairstyle had also changed to a short bob.
"Status window."
Name: A.A.
Class: Hero
Level: 47
Stats:
Strength: 162
Agility: 139
Intelligence: 98
Luck: 120
Traits:
Hero's Will
When incapacitated, 80% chance to nullify the effect.
Unwavering Resolve
Can rise once more even after exhaustion.
Counterattack
Deals 3x damage on counter.
Gender Change
Due to side effects, your gender has changed.
"What the hell?"
"Priest?"
The hero looked at me with confusion. I glared back, equally baffled.
What the hell is this?
"Hero, is anything... off?"
"Huh? What... Oh? Wait... Huh...?"
Hero A.A. seemed puzzled by my question but soon realized something was wrong. She touched her face, muttering, "Huh? Huh?" before feeling her body.
"My... muscles..."
A.A. felt her arm and said that. Then she sighed again, noticing her once-toned abs and pecs had softened. She glanced between her legs, cautiously lifting her pants to look inside.
"Oh..."
Of course, there was nothing there. I'd already confirmed through the status window that she was female now. Hero A.A. let out a despairing sigh and slumped to the ground. But I had no time to sympathize with her despair. Monsters were still emerging from the mansion, and we needed to leave with proof of the Demon King's defeat.
I held out my hand to A.A. and said,
"Let's go, Hero. We'll figure out the rest later."
"...Yeah. You're right. I was careless. Let's just get out of here first."
The hero seemed to forget her despair, quickly regaining her composure and taking my hand. A soft, unfamiliar texture enveloped my hand. Together, we slowly made our way out of the mansion, now overrun with monsters.
Once outside, we saw the monsters that had gathered due to the Demon King's presence slowly dispersing. The hero readied her weapon but sighed as the monsters fled. From now on, things would be a bit more relaxed.
The return journey was far more leisurely than the trip here. While going to defeat the Demon King had been a daily battle of life and death, now it felt more like a safari theme park, casually observing monsters.
"Oh, Hero. Look over there—it's a goblin."
"Yeah, it is."