This was the scene: a plain littered with debris. Small bushes and large rocks had been uprooted, leaving the gravel road unrecognizable. The place was crowded with sobbing figures, all surrounding Astrid. Eídal, for his part, sat pathetically. In the distance, Pía remained lying on the ground, and Adriano had vanished.

Astrid clicked her tongue and looked at Eídal. Reflexively, he straightened his back.

"Why does it have your face?" she asked, not waiting for a response and continuing, "Haah, whatever. Hey, you! Eídal, right?"

"Y-yes!"

"I'm going to show you why this isn't for someone like you."

Like a child being scolded, Eídal shrank his neck. Suddenly, a third of the sobbing figures surged forward. Another third, like moles, burrowed into the ground. And the last third ran back toward the plain as if fleeing.

Then, while extending her spear with her left hand, Astrid spoke:

"I'm going to confess something to you. I don't consider myself a good person, you know? So, I never understood why I was chosen as a hero. To be honest, in moments like this… In moments like this…" She extended her spear to the left, as far as her arm allowed.

"Haah, haah, haah. Because~… moments like this quicken my heart~."

Her cheeks glowed with a slight blush. The following words sounded as if whispered directly into the ear:

""Death"."

A skill was unleashed, and the world turned white. A white so pure that it even eclipsed the sun itself. Astrid swept her spear sideways, as if clearing the horizon. The gentle motion of the weapon barely touched the air. But… when the tip of the spear passed, imaginatively close to the figure of a sobber, its worm-like head was severed.

Yes, without even touching them, the mere act of sweeping the spear through the air beheaded all the fallen. The grotesque sound of blood: "Glu! Chap!"; of heads and bodies collapsing to the ground: "Zas! Plaf!"; along with the grunts and moans: "Grrr! Hii!", composed the symphony of hell.

One by one, regardless of distance, speed, or position in the line, the sobbers were decapitated solely by the trajectory of the spear. In the end, both those who attacked and those who attempted to flee left their heads on the battlefield.

'Is there really such a difference just from wielding her spear?!' Eídal thought, having to witness the grotesque massacre firsthand. 'Maybe… the true potential of a hero lies hidden in their weapon.'

But the aftermath of the attack didn't stop there. In the next instant, the earth split apart. The ground trembled, and from its cracks, bursts of light filtered through, the same white light from earlier. Debris, corpses, severed heads—everything was lifted and destroyed, like an explosion sweeping it all away. Surely, that attack also eliminated the sobbers who had tried to escape underground.

Eídal hurriedly covered his head. For a moment, the thought crossed his mind that this would be his end. Only when the light and tremor ceased did he fearfully open his eyelids:

"Am I still… not… dead?—he wondered—. Is this…? Everything is on fire!"

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The vivid image of hell: some corpses scattered here, a few limbs there, and puddles of blood everywhere. And as if that wasn't enough, the gruesome scene was illuminated by a massive curtain of flames.

'Yes, this must be hell,' Eídal lamented. 'And she is its mistress.'

One hundred and twenty-three enemies, but of those 123, none survived. In the blink of an eye, all were killed, ripped from this world by a single person: a beautiful woman he would have to kill. Her name was Astrid, the heroine of this world. Her elegant figure moved gracefully amidst all that destruction.

Emerging from the smoke and flames, Astrid dragged a large bundle with one hand. It was the cart driver, who had been swallowed by the sobbing figures. He appeared to be unconscious. In her free hand, Astrid held a pack of cigarettes. Pulling one out, she placed it in her mouth. Suddenly, the tip of the cigarette glowed and ignited. Astrid took a deep drag and exhaled white smoke, marking the end of the battle.

It was such an incredible sight that even Eídal felt goosebumps rising on his skin.

After a few short seconds, it began to rain from the sky. It wasn't normal water but rather a mixture of blood, fat, organs, and teeth, all black in color. The fire caused the entrails to emit a foul steam.

At this point, he could no longer contain his emotions.

That's when a monotonous, soft male voice resonated directly in his head:

[Alpha system surpassed], it said, though no one besides Eídal seemed to hear it. [Emotions released. System loses use number four, as the user's emotions are now impossible to contain for the thorcam].

It was the thorcam [contain emotions]. Like his imaginary screen, this thorcam also had a voice that warned the user about failures in emotion containment. In other words, the emotions were so intense that he could no longer bear them and ended up shutting down.

With this, he completed his fourth use of this thorcam. Only a few seconds passed before the side effects of its use (discomfort, dizziness, and vomiting) hit him all at once.

◇◆◇

And in a moment…

"Ugh! Buagh! Buaagh! Buaaagh!"

The side effects hit him all at once. Now he felt not only a terrible sense of dizziness but also nausea. Remember, the more a thorcam was used, the more intense and severe the side effects became. So, in this case, having used the thorcam a total of four times, Eídal experienced not only dizziness but also intense vomiting. These symptoms would indeed continue to worsen with the ongoing use of the thorcam.

"Buagh! Buaagh! Buaaagh!"

Sitting in his own urine and soaked in all kinds of fluids, unlike Astrid, Eídal presented a deplorable image.

"I'm truly pathetic," he thought. "H-how… am I supposed…?! How am I supposed to fight against that?!"

The thought pierced his chest. The outcome of the battle had been clear. In that case, how could the most pathetic of beings defeat the greatest of heroes? Eídal had to accept it. It was simply impossible.

◇◆◇

Just when Eídal was feeling defeated on the floor, a male voice called out to him:

"It seems to be over. Although, again, the damage outweighs the benefits."

When Eídal turned, he was left breathless.

"… A-Adriano?" It was all he could whisper.

There, standing and covered in dirt, was the same blonde man whom Eídal had thought was dead. How had he survived? And where had he been hiding? More questions piled up in his mind. Another voice spoke beside him:

"I told you! Everything will be fine." It was a feminine voice.

"… Pía?"

The same boisterous girl. Beyond being dirty and covered in scratches, she seemed to be okay. Somehow, that brought joy to Eídal's heart. Suddenly, footsteps stopped nearby. It was Astrid. She carried the cart driver under her arm like a sack. The man's light breathing was a sign that he was still alive.

Astrid didn't look directly at Eídal but, facing the horizon, said:

"You're definitely pathetic. Haah, whatever. Do you see it now? This isn't for you, kid."

Pía averted her gaze as if to downplay it. Instead, Adriano tilted his head as if saying, "It was inevitable." There was no way to stop Astrid's harsh statements:

"You understand, right? If you stay with us, you'll just be a burden."

Eídal cringed at those words. There it was. They were saying it again.

"… A useless person?"

"Yeah, a useless person."

Eídal's heart tightened. It was the end of his one-sided battle against the heroine.

"I understand… I'm sorry."

"I hope so. Let's forget all this."

At Astrid's last words, Eídal reflexively nodded:

"I'm sorry…"

An apology that wasn't directed at the heroine but at his family.

Leaving him behind, Astrid walked away with her group towards the city.