Hero Party After the Nuclear War

Chapter 9

"Thank you."

"It's nothing."

While finishing a late meal in front of a nearby noodle street vendor, Raven comforted Eris and, driven by curiosity, casually asked her a question.

"By the way, what's that shotgun on your back? Is it just for show? When guys like that show up, you should be ready to draw and fire immediately."

"I never imagined the city's security would be this bad."

Not knowing how to use chopsticks, Eris almost drank the noodles with a fork as she replied to Raven.

Two hundred years ago, in the era she lived in, there were robots in charge of security and law enforcement organizations called police, as well as ways to quickly contact them when an incident occurred.

"That aside. Are you going to be okay? From what I saw, he seemed to be a public official with some standing in this city. Is it really okay to just go around shooting like that?"

"Guys like that usually have power but are nobodies. It doesn't really matter. Proof is, no one's come to arrest me yet, right? Maybe if I'd killed someone important in the Shogunate. But since I just killed some nobody, they all just screamed, 'Murder!' and moved on."

Adding that the guy had started it first, he nonchalantly swung his legs and asked Eris.

"You said you were the Hero's fairy, right?"

"Yes. That's right."

"I just got a new request. They brought up the legend of the Hero."

As he carefully wiped the pistol he had just fired with a handkerchief, he asked her—she, the 'Fairy' who had once served as the Hero's aide two hundred years ago.

"What kind of request did you get that made the Hero come up?"

"It was a request to retrieve the weapon the Hero used. The 'Holy Sword', I think. It's the weapon used to defeat the Demon King. I said I'd retrieve the Holy Sword for now, but I figured I should ask you what exactly it is."

"The Holy Sword?"

Eris blinked and shook her head.

"It's probably... impossible."

"What, are you doubting my abilities?"

"No, that's not it."

Shaking her head, Eris blew on the noodle broth and sipped it with a spoon. Flustered by the heat, she fanned her mouth, then paused for a moment before beginning her explanation, knowing how important this was.

"You know what kind of being the Hero is, right, Dante?"

"A war weapon created to defeat the Demon King. I heard something like that in a song once while staying at an inn near Britannia."

Hearing such a description from the viewpoint of a 'Demon', Eris couldn't blame Dante for thinking that way, so she shifted her explanation.

"To defeat the Demon King, Magi-Tech and other human magical research institutes developed what you could call a super soldier.

The first problem is... the weapon the Hero uses was also made by Magi-Tech. The Hero is trained specifically to destroy demons. So naturally, their opponent is limited to 'Demons' only.

In other words, Magi-Tech embedded security mechanisms in the Hero's gear, including the Holy Sword, to prevent it from being seized and used by demons. Dante, you said you have some demonic blood, right? So if you try to retrieve the Holy Sword by force, the sword's own security magic will activate."

"If there's a first, then there's a second too, huh."

When Dante asked, Eris raised her middle finger next to her index finger and said,

"The Holy Sword has its own built-in artificial intelligence. It can choose a master that suits it. This acts as a second security mechanism that prevents others from using the sword recklessly, and sometimes it's used to assist the Hero in battle."

In short, putting all this together, the Holy Sword has special mechanisms that prevent demons from touching it, and even if the first layer of security is bypassed, the second layer with AI makes it highly unlikely to be retrieved.

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

"If you do get the Holy Sword... what do you plan to do with it, Dante?"

"Deliver it to the client."

Seeing Dante answer immediately, Eris fell into thought. The Holy Sword holds immense power, and if used properly, it could save this world that's become a wasteland.

But if that power is used in the wrong hands, the future of this wasteland would surely be even worse. As the Hero's fairy, should she help Raven retrieve the Holy Sword?

But considering the kindness he had shown her so far, rejecting Raven's request for help right here would feel heartless.

Though he's a trigger-happy lunatic who acts as both outlaw and deliveryman, firing his gun like life means nothing to him—

Still, he'd never shown that savage, wild-dog-like nature to Eris. He only drew his gun when there was a reason.

Eris looked between the city built in the middle of the harsh wasteland and Dante beside her, expertly using chopsticks to eat noodles, and finally made her decision.

"I'm basically the Hero's fairy. I honestly don't know whether you'll be able to draw the Holy Sword with my help, Dante. But I can't just sit back and watch the Hero's weapon—something as powerful as the Holy Sword—fall into the hands of someone with evil intentions and be misused."

"So you're saying you won't cooperate?"

Surprisingly, Dante didn't get angry or argue with Eris for refusing to help him now after receiving his help.

He just stared down at his reflection in the empty noodle bowl with a somber look, waiting for her next words.

"I'll help you draw the Holy Sword. And I won't interfere with handing it over to your client. But I have a duty to monitor and supervise it to make sure it's not used for evil. To ensure it ends up in the hands of someone righteous. When this request is over... we'll probably have to part ways."

As Eris said this, Dante stroked his chin in thought. She would help him draw the sword and wouldn't interfere with delivering it to the client.

Seeing that she didn't even bring up the 120,000 yen reward for this request, she must genuinely mean to return the favor for the help she received, working for free.

Even if it's a bit of a loss to lose a magic user he met during his travels this early, at the very least, she's earned back the cost of the canned food she ate.

"Alright then."

Dante took off his black half-gloves and grasped Eris's hand.

"Help me draw the Holy Sword. In return, I'll take care of your living expenses and protection. Sounds fair enough, right? I'm counting on you."

"Once again, I'm in your care."

Shaking Raven's hand up and down, Eris smiled. It was questionable whether such a soft-hearted woman could really survive in this wasteland tainted by Maso...

But that wasn't Dante's concern.

"We'll depart in a week. Until then, we'll restock here. And you should brace yourself. According to the client, phantoms and zombies appear near that place."

"Okay."

* * *

"Mr. McKinsey."

A few cybernetic samurai with robotic arms and legs, presumably McKinsey's subordinates, entered the room of the hotel in Neo Kyoto where he was staying and knelt before him.

"Ah. So, you're here?"

Swordsmen who held demons within them—Demonic Samurai. Called 'Onimusha' in the local language, they knelt before their employer McKinsey and pledged their loyalty.

"If you came all the way up to Neo Kyoto Tower to report, I assume you've found something."

"Hai! There was a commotion involving firearms in Kyoto's marketplace. Rumor has it someone shot and killed a street thug who claimed to be a Shogunate samurai."

"That sounds like Raven. He's an outlaw. You came to report something so expected?"

"The important part comes next. Karasu currently appears to be traveling with a woman.

We don't have exact information on her identity, but after contacting Raven's Logistics and reviewing Karasu's previous data, we found no record of him having a companion, aside from the fellow Karasu member 'Beatrice.'

In other words, this unknown woman seems to have joined him after his last client's ruin investigation. We don't know why she's traveling with him now."

"I see."

McKinsey muttered to himself with a sinister smile.

"The underground lab of Magi-Tech. The Death Stalker he sold me one-sidedly was just a guard around that place. What it was really protecting... was the Hero's 'Fairy', it seems.

I thought they went extinct 200 years ago, but to think one still exists in original form. That bastard Raven. How dare he cross me, someone who works directly under Holy?"

"What should we do?"

When the samurai asked, he paused to think. He currently had six Onimusha employed as his personal guards in Neo Kyoto. All six were enhanced humans, boosted by cybernetic tech and implanted with Spirits—magic users.

No matter how skilled Raven is, even as a Silver Rank, he's no match for sheer numbers. Plus, Dante now has to protect the fairy he picked up from the Underground Ruin, making him even more disadvantaged in a fight.

"Assassinate Karasu. But don't let it be traced back to me. I've just handed him a request to retrieve the Holy Sword, after all. And strip that woman he's with and bring her to me naked.

I thought I finally got a capable Raven, but now I'll have to find a new one to retrieve the Holy Sword... Damn it. This is a pain."

"Hai. Understood."

The Onimusha rose from their positions and disappeared below Kyoto Tower.

As night fell, he looked out over the sea of neon lights from the rooftop of Kyoto Tower, seething over how he had been betrayed by a mere Wanderer like Raven.

"We'll see. Does a simple deliveryman really think he can stand against power?"

* * *

"The important thing is your breathing."

Dante adjusted Eris's stance in front of a row of glass cola bottles, holding a cheap AK he bought at the marketplace's gun shop, and spoke.

"Press the stock tightly against your shoulder. That way, you'll feel less recoil. Try not to close your eyes when pulling the trigger. If you do, you'll have to realign the sights."

"Okay."

"Your muzzle keeps dropping. Put more strength in your arms. Since it's your first time, aim at each bottle over there one at a time. Don't rush. Once the target enters your sights, hold your breath."

Bang!!

The bullet she confidently fired unfortunately grazed just past the glass bottle. The bottle toppled from the shock, but it wasn't a hit.

"Nice try. Better than before. Alright, aim for the next one right beside it."

Bang! Bang!

The second shot missed again, but the third successfully hit the target.

"I did it!"

"Well done! Not bad at all—for a beginner."

"Can I see your skills once, Dante?"

Maybe she was weak to compliments. Eris giggled and asked, and Dante picked up three nearby bottles and placed them back on the platform.

"Shall we?"

Without using ACS, he drew his M1911 pistol—not with his right but his left hand—from the holster and rapidly fired three consecutive shots.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dante's shooting passed in an instant.

The three .45 caliber rounds that sliced through the air all pierced the centers of the glass bottles, shattering them to pieces.

(Agility check successful.)

"...Amazing..."

Not with a rifle, but with a pistol. And not even with his dominant right hand, but his left. Despite that, Dante still hit every target. Witnessing his astonishing marksmanship, Eris looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

"You have to stake your life on every single shot. How would you know if the enemy's bullet won't be in your forehead the moment yours misses? But if I pierce their forehead first with my first shot? Then it won't happen."

He casually said that and reloaded his pistol. And at that moment, Dante quickly sensed through the Summoner that a suspicious group was approaching his position.

And the very moment he realized that 'group' harbored hostility.

A small metallic sphere rolled toward them in an arc, coming to a stop in front of them.

"Eris! Get down!"

"Y-Yes?!"

Paaang! KWAANG!!!

In a split second, Dante pulled Eris into his arms and threw himself to the ground. In an instant, a crimson explosion erupted, scattering sharp, fragmented shrapnel all around. At that moment, the Servant he had summoned, the 'Heroic Spirit-type Skaark', let out a scream and vanished.

"Goddamn, you cousin monkey bastard Japs with no damn manners!"

Cursing, Dante checked on Eris and asked,

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes. I think... I'm okay."

"You can't die. If you're not there, pulling out the Holy Sword becomes a lot harder."

"...I know that. Did you really have to say it like that?"

"Hurry and get out of here. I'll handle this place."

He grabbed the M4 slung on his back and prepared for battle. Then, summoning a new Servant, Jack O'Lantern, he glared at the ghostly cyborg samurai who had provoked him.

"So you wanna fight, huh? Let's see who wins, you bastards."