The Hero’s Mentor is a Demon (King) Witch

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“Wow, so it was really just the remnants of the Demon King’s Army.”

A shocking fact.

The old man who introduced himself as Shax was indeed, as expected, a human from Asydia.

“Master?!”

Lucius stepped in front of me to protect me.

Shax had been aiming his shotgun directly at me, with powerful magical bullets scattering inside, locking onto me.

An attack precisely targeting my upper body.

The magical bullets were not just one or two.

“Tsk.”

I jabbed my staff into Lucius’s side to extend a shield.

The black shield, protecting me, Lucius, and the four of us, blocked the shotgun’s pellets along with the attacks from other skeletons.

Tududu.

Countless weapons were being blocked and fell to the ground.

“Split Formation. Engage the ambush individually!”

As the enemy reloaded, I immediately lowered the shield.

Tuh—!

Lucius dashed forward first, unsheathing his sword.

Though he had fidgeted with the ring earlier, I had yet to send a signal for him to pull it out.

“Uh, w-what?!”

“Don’t dawdle, fight!”

“Ah, yes! Yes!”

Morzen, who hadn’t grasped the situation, pulled out his gun and fired magical bullets at the approaching skeletons.

The skeletons, advancing with spears and swords, collapsed to the ground as their spines shattered from the magical bullets.

Pabababat!

The one who dispatched the enemies the fastest was none other than Rosmas.

Without the slightest hesitation, she unleashed a flurry of arrows at the skeleton archers, and they began to fall one by one.

And then—

“How amusing!”

My opponent was Shax.

To be precise, Lucius and I had to face that necromancer together, but Lucius was stuck dealing with the skeleton soldiers.

“What are you so worried about?”

“…….”

Shax taunted me, aiming the shotgun at me.

Though my staff was pointed at him, I could not focus entirely on him.

“You seem to have some skill with magic, but I’m sorry; this world isn’t that forgiving. Heh heh.”

“That’s what I should be saying, you trash from the Demon King’s Army.”

It’s not that the Demon King’s Army is trash; it’s that the Demon King himself is trash.

Thus, it has no bearing on me.

“…Impudent girl. How dare you speak so casually?”

“You’re from Asydia, right?”

“Yes. I am indeed from Asydia. And Asydia does not forgive those who speak carelessly about the Demon Lord.”

Click.

The magical bullets began reloading again.

Firing multiple rounds with a single shot….

‘Wait a second.’

Just now, the way the mana entered the barrel…?

“Damn it…!!”

Tuh—!

I erected a wall in front of me again.

The wall that sprang from the ground blocked all of Shax’s magical bullets, but—

Kwah—!!!

The wall exploded.

I ran toward Morzen, who was within the blast radius, grabbing her and rolling on the ground.

“Ugh…?!”

“Tsk. What a pity. I could’ve landed a good hit.”

Shax’s tongue-click echoed throughout the cave.

At the same time, the skeletons let out sounds, as if mocking us by clacking their jaws.

“To avoid explosive fire, how unfortunate.”

“You… what kind of necromancer are you?!”

Morzen shouted in anger.

Excluding the use of undead, his attacks were on a different level than typical necromancers.

“I am a necromancer.”

“That’s correct. What you just did was dark magic.”

Right.

It is indeed dark magic.

“Corpse Explosion.”

“Oh, you’re quite knowledgeable. To notice that is a keen insight that’s too precious to kill.”

“I figured it out from the first shot. Your bullets are… corpses.”

Corpse Explosion.

A spell that literally explodes parts of a corpse; during the war 500 years ago, we fought by blowing up actual corpses.

But how is that coming from a shotgun?

That’s because the bullets he fires are anything but ordinary.

“Does that shotgun shoot bones?”

“Exactly.”

The shotgun Shax held had a very wide barrel.

To understand the mechanics of how its bullets fly, I would have to dissect it, but these innumerable skeletons are both his summoned creatures and—

“Bones may look soft, but they are surprisingly powerful?”

They are bullets.

“It’s good to process and shoot, but pulling them out like this….”

He plucked a skeleton’s finger from beside him and inserted it into the magazine.

“If I shoot something that looks like a bullet, I can kill enemies as many as I want.”

Click, click, click.

A bizarre twisting sound echoed from within, and Shax aimed his gun at me again.

“It seems you know a bit about us, but who are you, and where did you come from?”

“What’s it to you?”

“I want to find out where such an impudent girl came from. The one who dares to casually say the name of the Demon Lord and even curses him, that’s you.”

“…….”

I’m the one who can curse him with my name, so why is he so angry and making a fuss?

“Is calling the Demon Lord’s name a crime?”

“No. There’s nothing wrong with calling the name of the great Bel Phegor. But what did you say again?”

“Son of a bitch.”

Bang!

He pulled the trigger without warning.

I swiftly extended my staff—

Kaang!

The bone bullet shot by Shax ricocheted off something.

“Are you okay?”

“…Oh.”

It was Lucius.

Lucius had angled his sword to deflect the bone bullet, sending it skyward.

“Impressive, huh?”

“Thank you, Master.”

Jealous of how I had deflected Rosmas’s arrow last time, he rapidly and efficiently deflected Shax’s bone bullet.

Speed, stamina, strength—the body showed its power as the Hero of the Holy Sword, but at the very least, the fact that he deflected the enemy’s attack at the right timing was certainly a commendable achievement.

“You… whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Click.

Shax plucked another skeleton’s finger.

“Whether it’s a finger or a toe, or if not, I can shoot its spine.”

“Why shoot the bones of the dead instead of your own?”

“…You impudent.”

Shax’s expression twisted.

“Oh. Is it too old to take anything but bone dust?”

“You talk too freely for someone with a hole in their mouth!”

“Then is it stuck if the mouth is closed?”

“You impudent!”

Shax burst out in a rage.

His shotgun was aimed solely at me.

That’s a good thing.

The fact that his attention is fixed on me means he won’t notice the movements of others.

“Even though I thought I would leave behind some form, it seems it can’t be helped! I will definitely kill you!”

“That’s something we should be saying.”

Three, two, one.

“Haaah!”

Without need for me to speak, Rosmas, filled with mana, knelt on one knee and shot a wind arrow toward the ceiling.

“What?!”

Since his attention was drawn to me, Shax didn’t notice.

That was a clear blunder, and the wind arrow shot by Rosmas turned into a circular cloud as it ascended to the ceiling.

“Arrow Rain!”

Pabababat!!

At the same time, countless wind arrows began pouring down from the cloud.

The arrows raining down from all sides crushed the skeletons’ spines, preventing them from rising again.

“…Hah.”

“Great job, Rosmas!”

“…Hmph.”

Rosmas smiled gently at Lucius’s heartfelt admiration.

Perhaps it was the first sincere compliment Lucius had ever given Rosmas while they had been talking until now, right?

Or not.

“This—this reverses the tide! Demon Shax! Surrender your weapons and submit!”

With the tide turning, Morzen, filled with bravado, aimed his gun at Shax.

Though the size difference between the small pistol and the shotgun was several times greater, the tide of battle was far more in our favor.

“Hmm, surrender, you say.”

Shax’s gun was still aimed at me.

“How ridiculous. You think I should surrender to those who barged into my home?”

“Because you’re from Asydia.”

“Hah.”

Shax laughed, as if unable to believe it.

Because of that laugh, I couldn’t let my guard down.

“Do you think I’m at a disadvantage right now?”

“Well?”

“I’m not at all at a disadvantage.”

Creak, creak.

Somewhere, mechanical sounds began to resonate.

“I was already winning from the very beginning.”

Soon, parts of the cave wall began to blur.

Like a dark curtain, the darkness that appeared to be a wall faded away, revealing what was inside one by one.

“What the…?”

“…Automatons? No, how can there be so many automatons…?”

Different from the Killing Spiders, another type of automaton was sprawling about.

Each one pointed a gun resembling a shotgun at us, each accompanied by a skeleton behind them.

Those skeletons would undoubtedly not only handle those killing machines but also serve as ammunition.

“If I just move my finger here, you all will be annihilated.”

“…….”

Morzen’s face turned pale, and Rosmas instinctively glanced at Lucius.

And Lucius looked at me, seeking permission.

Now is the time to demonstrate the power of the Holy Sword—

No.

‘I must not rely on the Holy Sword.’

The Holy Sword is truly a last resort.

Thinking of using the Holy Sword just because things got a bit tough is childish.

It’s one thing for Lucius to do that, but even the other companions must not rely on the Holy Sword.

One could say that if you save it, it can become trash, but using the Holy Sword when there are other sufficient countermeasures is excessive.

‘It seems I need to show my power a bit.’

Just a little, I’ll reveal my original powers.

“Lucius. Rosmas. Come to me for a moment.”

“Yes, Master.”

“What are you going to do…?”

“It’s simple.”

I relied on Rosmas, extending my hand to Lucius.

“Rosmas, just trust your body to me for a bit. Understood? Lucius will….”

I held onto Lucius’s hand tightly.

“From now on, something a bit scary is going to happen. Still, you trust me, right?”

“…Master.”

Lucius gripped my hand firmly with a face full of conviction.

“I believe.”

“Good.”

Possession.

I sent my consciousness into Lucius’s body.

And I sensed it.

Indeed, this body.

‘It’s so good.’

It’s perfect for me to possess and use.