Chapter 4.

It’s already been five years since I was summoned to this world to slay the demon lord. I went through all sorts of trials and tribulations along the way. I made many friends and companions throughout my journey. I also overcame my inferiority complex thanks to the bonds I built with all the people throughout my long journey.

Everything was all for the sake of bringing an end to the threat known as the demon lord.

At first, when I came to this world, I was tossed into the dungeon below the city to grind my level up using the Star Cleaving Sword. I spent a full two years there before I finally made it to the 20th floor, but I was warned by everyone to venture no further until I raised my strength in the outside world. I only reached level 30 by the time I reached the 20th floor.

Thanks to the cheat like secrets hidden within the Star Cleaving Sword I was able to learn the skills of any enemy I slayed with it. Whether it be elemental type resistances or immunity to status conditions, they were no exception to the absurd abilities granted by the Star Cleaving Sword and I’d long maxed them all out.

Any magic ability I came across, I easily learned through the sword’s magic decomposition and analysis ability. Any sword technique I witnessed in battle was easily replicated through the very same analysis ability that belonged to the overpowered sword. The sword spirit could even trigger an enraged berserk buff condition in which all my stats were raised by 500%.

It was only around the time right before I left the dungeon that I met the person in my party. They became my first trusted comrade that I strongly believed would certainly share life and death with me. A priest, he was a true hidden talent among talents. His ability to heal and buff left me awestruck. Buffs and healing spells from him were 50% more effective compared to any other priest I had teamed up with before. Of course I wouldn’t let a great talent like him escape so easily in a world where I could die from the slightest bit of carelessness.

By the time I finished up with my training in the dungeon, the two of us were sent over to the Magic Academy to learn all sorts of advanced magics. With such cheat like abilities, I somewhat felt like I had surpassed the inner demon in my heart known as Saikyo Tensai. I was unrivalled amongst my peers and I could fight demons several levels above me thanks to all the life hacks bestowed by the Star Cleaving Sword. Within the short span of two years, I graduated early and I departed the academy at the top of my class at level 40.

My second party member came along with me from the Magic Academy. It was someone that reminded me a lot of myself in the past. A person also known as the eternal second place ever since I showed up at the academy. She always worked diligently to defeat me, but by graduation she never won once. She was a cute half elven girl who was renowned in her homelands as a descendant of an elven hero and human. She was a very powerful mage whom I could not let my guard down around. By graduation she’d mastered all elemental magics thanks to her high affinity with magic. Her supply of mana was only second to my own.

It was only thanks to my larger supply of mana that I defeated her in the Magic Academy's annual tournament two years running.

The last member who joined us was brought up and raised as an assassin. Shortly after we departed from the academy we stumbled across an underground organization that focused on raising child assassins. He was the top assassin brought up by the organization and he had racked up quite the impressive kill count without a single failure to his name. Every mission he partook was completed perfectly without a hitch. It’d already been a year since he first joined our group when he was fifteen. Now at sixteen years of age, by the standards of my previous world, he was a complete hottie who girls went crazy over.

I was truly living the dream in another world. I had two hot guys in my party along with the cute elf girlfriend that some could only dream of having. However, if I had to voice a complaint about my situation, it was that what should have been my harem of hot guys and gals took a strange twist.

Sure, there was a hot priest and assassin and I even had a cute elven girl in my party to dote on... but... the guys only had eyes for her instead of me! I know I’m not that attractive, being the dorky glasses girl swinging a sword around loser that I am. I also recognize the fact that it’s also because I need to pose and dress as a male thanks to a certain idiotic king, but isn’t this too much?! Shouldn’t they have at least gotten some sort of vague idea that I was actually a girl after all this time? Am I that unfeminine? Did I actually ooze with testosterone?

No matter how defenceless I made myself appear when sleeping next to either one of them when we took turns keeping guard while we were out in the wilderness, they just fell asleep like logs and didn’t pay me the slightest bit of attention. Well, of course, right? Because of the king I’m passing myself off as a guy. Of course that’s how things are, what can I really expect?

But to add insult to injury, whenever it’s my turn to to keep guard outside the tent at night, do they really think I don’t notice the shenanigans they get up to all the time? Do they really think I can’t hear her stifled heated moans? They really have the gal to believe I can’t feel the scorching fire in the tents from their passionate trysts in the midst of those oh so cold and lonely nights when I’m pouting all alone outside keeping guard?

What’s worse, she’s a two timing slut and the guys are completely oblivious to it all! If you thought the reason she followed me was something convenient like she fell for me, sorry to burst your bubble. She actually just had the hots for the priest in my party that I picked up and tagged along with me to the academy. Well, at first she did come onto me as well under the impression I was male, but I flat out rejected her at the time. I’m a straight girl, no matter how attractive a half elf you may be, at the end of the day I like guys.

When the assassin kid joined, I thought even someone like me might have a shot at romance in another world. However, as though she were venting all her grievances with me, either because she was always treated as second best when we were compared; or maybe it was just revenge for flat out rejecting her back then, she even laid her hands on the fifteen year old kid without the slightest bit of hesitation. I even heard their first night together, the sounds of him calling out “big sis, wait! I’m going to…” I can still remember it as plain as day. I definitely got NTR’d hard.

I really regretted thinking she was ever cute or thinking of her as someone I could dote on. In the beginning, I somehow let it go when it was the priest, but when it was clear she did it just so she could feel some sort of superiority over me, I was infuriated. It was at that point I really couldn’t wait to finish up this nonsense with the so called demon lord. The sooner I killed him, the sooner the idiotic party disbanded.

Since I couldn’t vent on the party members as it would affect our ability to coordinate together, I unjustly transferred all the blame towards the demon lord. Wasn’t it his fault that I was summoned here? Wasn’t it his fault that I needed stupid party members to fight him? Wasn’t it because of him I had to suffer through all these injustices?

Thus, in my fifth year in this world, I was determined to bring down the demon lord. My patience could no longer put up with their passionate trysts at night every single day. I really thought I’d lose my sanity if I heard them going to town even one more time.

Yet, although I had such a resolution, when I finally arrived at the demon lord’s castle after slaughtering a path of carnage to the gates. The moment I broke through the gates, what I happened upon was… a funeral. There was a grave that said, “here lies the demon lord who died of a heart attack.”

The climactic battle I had built towards for the last five years of my life suddenly turned into a complete joke. The snickers of the elven girl still rings out loudly in my ears at night whenever I try to sleep. When I think about it all now, haven’t I just had horrible luck my entire life?

Even when I was given some cheat like sword, even when I was no longer second best, aren’t I always coming out on the bottom every time? Sent to another world just to act like a male, gathered hotties, but they have no interest in me, and lastly, I trained my butt off only for the target at the end of the journey to pass away from natural causes right before the final climactic battle?

My bad luck naturally didn’t end there though. When I finally returned to the kingdom after a months long journey, I had my audience with the king and I was provided an opportunity for a reward. When I asked to be transported back to my world, they first had the nerve to accidentally let a slip of tongue escape before correcting themselves just like our first meeting. He actually slipped up and mumbled to himself about how my contribution towards humanity was too low and it would be a waste of the taxpayer’s money.

The king covered up his blunder by once again stating there was no known way to send me back. The princess then declared that we would be betrothed to one another like it was the greatest reward I could ever be bestowed with as compensation for their inability to send me back.

Of course, I flat out rejected the proposal. I was straight after all. That was probably the biggest mistake I made though. The moment I rejected her, she whispered something to the king. Thanks to my heightened abilities over the last five years I was able to distinguish every word she said.

“Since she’s refusing to remain shackled to the royal family and act as our tool of slaughter, we should just send her down as another sacrifice, shouldn’t we? We didn’t get any sorts of blessings or benefits after the last person we sent down recently. We really need to confirm whether it was just the sacrifice somehow being insufficient. She didn’t really do anything useful in the end either way, right? It’s also already been spread that the demon lord died of a heart attack as well. The populace, rather than remembering her as a hero, would only remember her as a waste of their money if we don’t at least recycle her, right? Also, if the royal family wants to break free of them, we need to get as many benefits through sacrifices, don’t we?”

The king had the nerve to immediately nod his head like he also had the same train of thought. The fact that he looked over to his daughter with a look of approval in his eyes enraged me even further.

Now that just about brings me to my present situation. Just like five years ago, I’m surrounded by guards. The only difference this time being, I have a powerful weapon in my hand along with an abundance of combat experience. I also have powerful party members at my side who I could share life and death with… probably… no, definitely. We may have our differences, but when all’s said and done we’ve still shared the same tent, eaten the same food, and relied on each other over the years. I just need to believe in the bonds I’ve formed with my comrades. Yeah… believe… I need to stop letting negative thoughts preoccupy my mind.

While I slightly wavered internally due to trust issues and prepared to break through with my party, something unexpected, or maybe I should say expected happened. The priest and assassin who were at my sides suddenly latched onto both of my arms before they tossed and pinned me down on the ground. They simultaneously kicked the Star Cleaving Sword towards the guards who skillfully restrained it before they forcefully severed my connection to the sword spirit.

A familiar enchanting voice that soothed one’s soul rang out from behind me when all this occurred.

“Your majesty we have restrained the hero who has been plotting against the kingdom with thoughts of rebellion.”

I didn’t want to believe it, but it was the sound of the elven girl who I had known for the past three years.

“Rina, Seth, Kurotsuki, what is the meaning of this?!”

“How dare you spout our names with that blasphemous mouth of yours, traitor of the noble and prestigious human race?!”

When I heard her ingratiating words towards the despicable royalty in the room, I felt painful pangs of heartache course through every stretch of my body. This sudden betrayal was far too much. It was too unfair. I did my best to blend in with everyone since I came to this world. I really did. I tried to get along with everybody, including her after I rejected her advances. Sure the two of us didn’t get along that well, but I always thought it was just on the level of a healthy rivalry between comrades. I never thought I’d be outright betrayed the moment things turned south at the drop of a hat like this. It was only now I realized just how weak and feeble I was. Without the Star Cleaving Sword I couldn’t use the vast majority of my strongest abilities when I was restrained and isolated like this.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“You, what are you-“

Shing.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

When I heard her walking over from behind me, I grew extremely nervous about what she was plotting next. The moment I heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed, I trembled with anxiety towards what was to come. A moment after I heard the sound I was forced to let out a scream of utter agony from the stinging pain in my right thigh. She’d lodged the sword directly through my right thigh from behind. I did have pain resistance maxed, but this sword seemed to completely nullify my resistance to pain.

“Do not kill her.”

The king casually said as such which left me slightly hopeful, but that half elven whore followed up quickly. She certainly wished to leave me without the slightest path of escape.

“Your majesty, this is not going to kill a hero. This is just to make sure she has no strength to escape, retaliate or kill herself. We can’t have her committing suicide after all. You can’t let your guard down when it comes to heroes and their desire to die with their heads held high. Besides that, the only thing we need to make sure is the sacrifice’s mana is conserved for when they are sacrificed, right?”

“Umu, that is true. You may proceed.”

What followed next was my left thigh.

“Gaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Tears formed at the ridge of my eyes, but I didn’t want to show weakness and beg for my life in front of this disgusting party full of traitors with the despicable king and princess in tow. I’d fought and slaughtered an untold number of demons over the past five years, but when I thought back over it all, I realized the demons were far more humane than the disgusting creatures in this room.

From then on, she proceeded to methodically pierce through my two upper arms and went on to slit the tendons near my joints so I couldn’t move a single muscle. During the cruel mutilation process, I continually let out agonized wails from the excruciating pain that threatened to drive me to madness. Anytime I was cut I’d let out curses towards every single person within the room wishing disaster to befall each and every one of their descendants.

However, it was like every curse I uttered went in one ear and out the other. I didn’t get a single response from them except for cold detached eyes filled disdain and mockery like I was some sort of clown. How can humans be such vile beasts? Is this just a side show for them to pass some time? What did I work so hard for the last five years for? Who have I been fighting for? Actually, who have I really been fighting against? Aren’t the real demons right before my eyes? All for the sake of some stupid blessings they’re treating me like some sort of animal they can butcher for their own gains?

Where is the fairness in all of this? Hah! Fairness?! What kind of delusional crap am I spouting?! From the moment I was brought to this world, there was never any fairness! The humans of this world only care about themselves. No, that’s probably incorrect, I’ve met a number of good humans as well over the last five years. It’s just the ones with the power to oppress and reign over others that are completely corrupt in this world. To them, only the people born in this world were considered real humans. Us summoned heroes from other worlds were probably nothing but convenient tools easy to manipulate and control by threatening us with death if we resisted even slightly.

“Haha. What’s wrong hero? You can’t scream out anymore? Did I go too far by cutting your vocal cords? But your curses were getting a bit annoying to listen to. I always did find your voice to be rather unpleasant, there were times where it sounded way too girly to be a man’s. It’s a shame I can’t bask in your screams of agony anymore, but oh well. Anyways, aren’t you too incompetent for a hero? You really are incredibly useless without that sword of yours, aren’t you? Really, if it wasn’t for that stupid sword of yours I wouldn’t have been second best for all this time. I’ve really been waiting quite some time for the moment where you slipped up you know. In a way I’m really thankful towards you for messing up right at the end and declining the princess.”

I wanted to say something, but I was unable to say a thing thanks to my vocal cords which were cut at some point. This really was too much. The ground all around me, died crimson, completely stained by my blood. For some reason my wounds never closed up even with my high self regenerative abilities either; it definitely had something to do with the sword she used. It was likely a cursed sword that weakened regenerative abilities and nullified resistances. However, even though I thought I would just die like this, the priest, Seth, who restrained the left side of my body repeatedly restored my health, but he did nothing to heal the wounds.

Whenever my consciousness was on the verge of fading, he casted a buff to regain one’s clarity of mind. It was truly despicable, shameless and unforgivable. Why did I have to suffer through this humiliation and torture? Are there no gods in this world to correct these disgusting animals?

Finally putting an end to things, the king calmly spoke out.

“Enough. Guards, take the fallen hero away and toss he- him into the pit.”

“““““Yes your majesty.”””””

“You three may stay.”

While I was dragged by the collar like a dead dog out of the room, I left a long trail of blood in my wake. I saw the half elven girl as I was dragged backwards and passed by her side. However, she didn’t look anything like the girl I remembered. Rather than someone cute to dote on, she now appeared to be a seductive vixen. She simply smiled complacently at me once, clearly happy to see me gone before she turned away and never spared me another glance. It felt like I was something she’d rather never see again in her life.

I was of course startled by the sudden turn of events and wondered whether she used illusion magic the entire time to appear cute like a little sister people would dote on to make me let my guard down around her. Had she really been plotting against me from the moment we first met?

Everything was far too much for me to accept at this point in time. I didn’t have the time to think about it either. When I saw the faces of the priest and assassin in my former party, their eyes were vacant and blank like they were puppets who only knew how to mindlessly follow orders.

Did that slut do something to them to control them like this?

“Princess, please forgive your half elven slave for not showing proper courtesy towards her master.”

What?! When I looked over to the princess, she simply nodded her head towards the half elven whore in acknowledgement. So she was the princess’ slave since the beginning?! I really couldn’t bring myself to believe the events that transpired before my eyes. There were far too many things that didn’t add up. The information felt too contradictory, unless everything from the very start was really orchestrated by the princess the entire way. The crappy marriage she’d brought up at the start of everything was all just a sham to get me to lower my guard. It was all just politics? My heart sunk even lower. My entire body felt ice cold. I wanted to be put out of my misery. This disgusting world was too malicious.

“Your majesty, on account of apprehending the traitorous hero, this pitiful half elven slave pleads to serve the country along with the two comrades I’ve enslaved on the princess’ orders. The three of us desire to become the swords of the kingdom to vanquish and eradicate all the wretched demon spawn out of existence. Your highness, with me belonging to the princess and these two fully under my control, you need not worry about any sort of betrayal.”

You bitch! First you betray me, now you want a reward for it?! You’ll willingly submit your life to royalty who may shower you in glory one moment, but have your head rolling on the floor the next?

If I somehow survive, I promise you, I will definitely slaughter each and every one of you!

“It’s true, we could use this as a cover up for sacrificing the hero to ease the citizens minds. As you wish, let it be known to the people, the 45th summoned hero fell to the whispers of the demons and conspired to assassinate none other than, I, the king. The three valiant heroes Rina, Seth, and Kurotsuki filled with valor foiled their despicable plans and saved the life of I.”

Every word the king spoke while I was dragged away were like grains of salt poured into each of my open wounds. I couldn’t even grit my teeth or clench my fists in frustration as all those muscles had long been slit to prevent me from doing anything to retaliate. I suppose they didn’t wish for me to even be capable of biting my tongue and bleeding. They definitely wanted to ensure I had no form of control over my own death.

I couldn’t even use wordless incantations as the pain from my wounds prevented me from concentrating. Like a broken doll I was incapable of doing a single thing. There were no miraculous twists like in stories where the hero awakens to enlightenment while on the verge of death. Nor would my trusty sword I’d been together with from the beginning break free and miraculously save my life. My connection to the sword spirit had already long been forcefully severed by the guards when they restrained it and took the sword away.

Five years ago I was just a normal high school girl living a peaceful life in her homeland. For five long years... FOR FIVE LONG YEARS! I had bathed in the blood of my enemies and tempered my will into a thick sheet of steel! For what! FOR WHAT I ASK YOU! Even with a tempered will like mine, that will could not help but shatter from the despairing situation I was presented with. There was no hope for me in this world, none at all. The so called companions I once believed to be comrades I could share life and death with turned out to all be traitorous swine. It broke my heart. It completely shattered into millions of microscopic pieces. Everything I’d done since I came here was all a lie. A joke. A JOKE DAMN IT! I was just a pawn on a board for the royalties amusement

When I finally came to a stop, the guard let go of the back of my collar. I collapsed with my back to the ground. I faced the sky, my head dipped slightly over the edge of what I presumed was the pit I’d soon be tossed into. It was the same pit from five years prior where I became the master of the Star Cleaving Sword. The same pit I’d seen the two enchanting blood moons. It’s been five years since then, but it was without a doubt the exact same pitch black abyss I remembered from that day.

At first I wondered why they didn’t just toss me in, but the guard’s following words answered my questions.

“Hey guys, let's do that game again.”

Game?

“Eh? That again? Don’t you get tired of doing things like that?”

“Don’t act like you don’t enjoy it.”

“Well, it’s not like we hate it or anything.”

“Good. What’s our wager this time?”

“Thirty meters or greater and we’ll buy you lunch.”

“Any less and you’re treating all of us.”

“No way, that’s too unbalanced, I have too much to lose compared to all of you.”

“How about this, in addition to you all treating me to lunch, the five of you also have to fork over one gold coin each.”

“How about if you break your record and reach forty meters we do that?”

“Deal.”

I heard one of the guards as he walked away from me further into the distance before he came to a stop.

Forty meters? What are they even talking about? It was only after a minute where I waited anxiously in silence that I finally understood. I heard the sound of the guard in the distance when he sprinted towards me, his armour jingled about noisily as he rapidly closed the distance to the pit where I laid lifelessly.

The next thing I knew a strong force landed between my nether regions. The strong force propelled me up into the air above the pit.

If I really were a man, I’m sure I’d never be able to have descendants in the future, those were my honest thoughts. Thankfully I wasn’t and he didn’t have boots that nullified pain resistance.

I was sent flying a solid forty meters from the edge of the pit when I understood the meaning behind their wager. It was to see how far he could kick me to my death.

I made sure to engrave the bastard guards face into the deep recesses of my heart in the event, as unlikely as it may have been, I somehow lived to see the light of day. If reincarnation exists and I reincarnate, I’ll surely remember to hunt you down in the future. It was really the definition of kicking a defeated dog when he was down. Purely to add insult to injury. All for the sake of stripping me the last dignity I had as a human. I was not even allowed to die in peace, instead I was used as part of an idiotic bet between guards for the sake of their next meal.

I absolutely hate this world! I truly despise it all! There may still be some good people in this world, but the humans in this kingdom's capital are all surely the bottom feeders of society. It’s just a cesspool of filth and garbage. It would really be best off if this kingdom fell into ruins! I curse this wretched kingdom to have each and every one of its citizens die the most excruciatingly and painful death conceivable to man!

While I fell further and further into the endless abyss, all sorts of negative emotions filled my mind as the last line in my heart had been crossed.

I’m no hero, I’m just a weak innocent girl who was dragged into some nonsensical world filled with nothing but trash. Why couldn’t someone strong and capable have been summoned rather than me? When I thought back to the world I lived in up until five years ago, a certain figure flashed through my mind. Why wasn’t it someone like him instead? With the type of person he was, I’m sure he could have accomplished something great in this world. He was far more suitable than someone like me.

He was someone who I never understood no matter how I tried to wrap my head around him. He was someone who never got close to anyone, but always somehow effortlessly towered over everyone around him. Someone who was always at the top without needing to put in the slightest effort. Someone who could do everything by himself.

Why did someone normal like me get summoned here rather than that prodigious delinquent? If it was him, he could have surely made it to the demon lord before he died of a heart attack. He definitely would have become a sword to cut away and eliminate the corrupt and filthy vermin from this world as well.

‘You really think so?’

When such final thoughts flowed through my head, a voice I thought to be a figment of my imagination while on the verge of death sounded out at the back of my mind. Without thinking much about it, I inadvertently answered back with confidence, ‘definitely, if it was him.’

That was the last line I thought to myself before my inevitable death.