I Became a Raid Boss

Eric is not a devout believer of the Edel Church.

He believes that the goddess Edel exists and watches over the world of Silia, but he’s not pious enough to prioritize religion over other matters.

Eric’s thoughts have remained unchanged since he was very young and now, as an adult—

There was a time when Eric fervently prayed to the god.

To the point where he nearly vomited divine fluid…

No, there were days when he didn’t stop rolling even after spitting out that divine fluid.

“O Edel, if you have pity on me, please let me land just one blow… just one hit…”

Back then, as he was mercilessly rolled around by Kana, who was the vice-captain at the time, Eric prayed to be granted the strength to reach the demon.

Naturally, that prayer was not answered, and thus, Eric never succeeded in his disgrace.

Even trying to grit his teeth in stubbornness to land just one hit had its limits; despite training harder than ever, with no hope in sight, Eric, who was once rebellious, gradually turned into a meek lamb.

In the end, until the moment Grasis fell and the Crimson Aegis disbanded, Eric never managed to touch Kana even once.

“A person can’t surpass a natural disaster.”

A vast and sturdy fortress wall.

That was how Eric viewed Kana.

No one would dare to bring it down, regardless of who came.

Even though he thought that—

“Apparently, it’s not a crime for a woman to transform. Seeing her image change each time, it seems the once sweet-faced captain was a girl after all.”

‘With a joke like that, she must have some strength left.’

Would a cold remark fly at him?

“….”

“…”

“Is that so.”

As Eric awaited Kana’s reaction, he was met with innocent eyes gazing back at him and abandoned his expectations.

It’s easy to hide expressions, but controlling the emotions held in one’s eyes is no simple task.

Thus, having such eyes obviously meant that she had neither noticed what Eric said nor recognized him at all.

“To begin with, the captain isn’t someone who would hide her emotions, anyway.”

Swish.

Eric drew the sword that had been asleep in its sheath.

‘Speaking of which, I have used this sword for quite a long time.’

This sword was chosen by the captain, after all.

The thought of facing the captain with a sword like that brought a pang of guilt…

“Taking it up is something, though.”

Eric let out a dry laugh.

“When I heard that demons appeared suddenly, I worried once again about the war breaking out. When I heard about the demons’ appearance, I thought, ‘No way.’ As you know, Captain, pink hair and pink eyes aren’t common.”

Still, he thought it wasn’t true.

The captain said she was going to the Holy Kingdom only to appear as a demon.

It wasn’t even funny enough to dismiss with a drink.

So when Eric first saw Kana, he had no choice but to doubt his own eyes.

“When I was so reckless back then, the captain taught me that the sky was high. At that time, I resented her, but now I think I owe my life to her since then.”

So, that gratitude.

I will return it to you.

“Don’t approach too closely. Attack from a distance.”

“Yes!”

The mana swirling around Kana looked ominously powerful from just a glance.

A mana that would instantly steal one’s life if touched.

Even Eric, who had fought many monsters, hadn’t seen mana that strong before.

Falling back his subordinates brought from Ordo, Eric gathered blue mana and prepared for battle.

“It’s going to sting a little.”

With those words, Eric charged.

Towards the revered captain.

*

“…Cough, cough!”

Blackened blood fell to the ground, producing a disgusting sound.

“Captain!”

“…Don’t make a fuss.”

Spitting blood isn’t a normal state.

Noticing his condition, Eric halted the rushing subordinates.

“Really… you’re incredibly strong, you know?”

As Eric wiped the blood from his mouth and raised his head.

Despite the dusty, ragged appearance of Eric, a clean girl without a speck of dust was looking down at him.

“…Hoo.”

Looking at it, it seemed like a fierce battle unfolded.

However, what Eric experienced wasn’t a fight but one-sided violation.

Initially, he tried to subdue her without inflicting much damage, but the moment he swung his sword, he realized how arrogant he had been.

Just approaching draws him bite by bite by the thick mana.

The sword Eric wielded with all his might got blocked by the mana, unable to even touch Kana’s skin.

Kana merely stood still, watching Eric’s attempts without ever trying to evade or block his attacks.

Those innocent eyes, witnessing whatever was happening in front of them, mercilessly scraped away at Eric’s pride.

“No, isn’t this honestly a foul play? What am I supposed to do if a strong person like you learns strange techniques?”

Yet, even if his attacks were futile, he couldn’t retreat.

If Eric backed down now, there would be nobody to stand against Kana, and if that happened, Kana would step into the city without any hindrance.

That city was Eric’s hometown, where numerous people resided—Ordo.

He could certainly flee and start evacuating now, but…

‘Would everyone really comply with the order?’

Having encountered many human characters in his knight life, Eric didn’t think so.

Miraculously, even if everyone evacuated, how long would they have to stay out of the city?

A day? Two days?

…Maybe they wouldn’t return to the city for more than a week.

There’s no way a city could harbor supplies and places for everyone to stay for days on end, meaning they would have to take refuge in another city, and even in another city, that many people could be managed easily.

What about the economic losses during the days that the city was paralyzed, and the administrative efforts to resume operations?

Just thinking about it gave Eric a headache, prompting him to halt his thoughts.

To be honest, he also wondered if it was even necessary to think about such things.

After all, it would eventually become a place where no humans could live due to mana.

“So, Captain, wouldn’t it be better to turn back now?”

“?”

“Even if you act cute, there are things that are unacceptable. You know I’m not someone who can be sweet-talked by your cuteness, right? So why do this?”

The way she tilted her head was cute.

But beyond that cuteness, the fear imprinted on Eric was immense.

Just as no one would be swayed by a monster that eats humans trying to act cute, Eric wasn’t enchanted by Kana’s actions either.

Swish.

Feeling his ragged breaths stabilize, Eric stood up.

Within Eric’s blue eyes was the black mana.

Mana.

The mana that enveloped Kana is the problem.

Because of that mana, his sword couldn’t touch, and merely walking posed a threat to other life.

If rumors swirling around were to be believed, perhaps this is how the demon king would appear.

Chuckling.

“A demon king, huh.”

If it were to invade the empire out of boredom, then it wouldn’t be an absurd imagination.

But Eric didn’t know.

Even though Kana hadn’t invaded, she had done something similar.

Eric brushed off his thoughts as silly, shaking his head.

‘Ways to pierce through the mana…’

Ironically, the moment that thought crossed Eric’s mind, it was the girl before him that surfaced.

Among the swordsmen Eric knew, Kana was the strongest, so it was only natural for Eric to think of her when searching for a solution.

A master swordsman was like a bible of swordsman.

Recalling the swordsmanship that Kana exhibited while hunting monsters, Eric soon shook his head.

Just because he knew the answer didn’t mean he could follow through.

If he were to train endlessly and reach a higher level, that might be another story. But at his current level, he couldn’t execute such swordsmanship at all.

“But… maybe just a little, just a tiny bit…”

Mimicking that same swordsmanship might just be possible if it was a clumsy imitation.

After all, if he couldn’t retreat anyway, he might as well try something.

There’s no way to keep shooting arrows forever to stop her from getting closer.

His blue eyes contained a resolute light.

“Sssssss-”

His breath sank heavily.

From Eric’s lips, a shallow breath misted out like fog.

Reflected on the sword raised to eye level was the form of the pink girl.

Could he truly reach her?

—No.

That was already a wrong thought.

“I will definitely hit.”

Crack!

Eric’s most refined strike.

He weaved it with that final hit stored in his memory, overcoming the wall that stood in his way.

Whoosh!

A blue aura surged from Eric’s body.

In that moment, he forgot all the swordsmanship he had practiced countless times till now.

Subordinates, trees, roads, rocks.

Everything that entered Eric’s eyes turned blue.

In a world coated in blue, the only figure with color was—

The moment Eric recognized it, the world was drawn into a tiny point.

That which swallowed everything finally engulfed even Eric’s consciousness, and—

“…Hah.”

After what felt like an eternity, when Eric regained his senses—

The world that had been bathed in blue returned to its original state.

The leaves were green, the rocks were dark, and fallen leaves scattered messily on the ground.

Everything appeared just as Eric remembered it, but—

Eric knew.

“…How about that?”

That his strike had reached Kana.

Hiss—

A red line traced over Kana’s cheek.

As her small hand reached up to wipe the wound, droplets of red blood streamed down her fingers.

“…Ah.”

As the droplet trickled down, the pink eyes slowly turned to Eric.

The sparkling light in her eyes faded, darkness settling in.

“Didn’t I say it would touch?”

Eric grinned.

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