I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

Even knowing that the girl before them was, in truth, a monster, humans are, after all, visual creatures. Add to that a surplus of misplaced compassion, and you have a dangerous combination.

When a beautiful young girl gazes at you with teary, pleading eyes, it takes an extraordinary amount of resolve to strike her down. Few could muster the will to do so in such a situation.

At that moment, the monster, disguised as a girl, spoke again. Her voice was ethereal, hollow, and haunting, piercing the ears of Nero and her companions.

"So much pain… I'm sorry… It's all because… I exist in this world…"

With a faint, fragile smile, she continued.

"It's all because… I'm a monster… Because… my life… is a burden…"

"For the first time… I've spoken to humans… like this…"

She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, as though in prayer.

Then, as if surrendering to her fate, she raised her head and closed her eyes, baring her neck.

"Thank you… I'm so glad… to have met you all…"

"If… I could be reincarnated… I wish… to become human…"

"To be friends… with you…"

At this, Yunyun began to cry.

"She said she wants to be my friend! She said she wants to be my friend! Waaaah!"

For all her intelligence, Yunyun often lost all sense of reason when it came to matters of friendship.

It seemed that Alice and Yunyun had decided to spare the monster disguised as a girl.

Was it that those with kinder hearts found it harder to harm her?

But as the girl-monster stood there with closed eyes, ready to accept her fate, Nero—

With a single slash, she severed the monster's head and reduced her body to ash.

Did anyone really believe Nero was a merciful or kind person?

She was Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus—the infamous tyrant whose life was painted with conspiracies and poison.

The one who poisoned her mother, drove her mentor to suicide, mercilessly slaughtered any noble who opposed her, and whose hands stained countless roses with blood.

As they dug into the ground beside the monster's remains, Nero and her group unearthed a skeleton, dressed in tattered clothing. It was clear that the girl-monster had lied about everything.

"Alice, Yunyun, look closely. This creature is not the harmless being you believed it to be. Every word it spoke was a lie," Nero reprimanded.

"Your moment of mercy could have led to more travelers falling prey to this monster, sacrificed as its food. Can you bear the weight of such deaths on your conscience?"

Nero scolded Alice and Yunyun harshly, hoping they would learn from this mistake.

This creature, known as a Blissful Maiden, was a heinous monster that preyed on human compassion.

Legends spoke of adventurers who, after slaying one of these creatures, were haunted by guilt for the rest of their lives.

Blissful Maidens lacked any means of direct attack. Rooted to the ground, they could not move and instead lured victims with their fruit. These fruits contained neurotoxins that did not satiate hunger but blocked sensations of hunger, fatigue, and pain, leading victims to slowly weaken and die in the Blissful Maiden's company.

Because elderly adventurers often sought these creatures for a comforting death, they were named Blissful Maidens.

In the depths of the forest, it was said, there existed a far more dangerous variant—the Blissful Queen—whose lair was considered a sanctuary for those seeking death.

The guild was desperate to eliminate such monsters, but despite numerous requests to slay the Blissful Queen, no adventurers who had accepted the task could bring themselves to complete it after encountering her. This left the guild in a perpetual quandary.

Nero and her group learned all this from guild staff after returning to the guild.

But for now, they had only just emerged from the forest.

"Once we cross this plain, we'll reach Axel," Nero said.

"I've never walked this far before…" Alice murmured.

The plain stretched wide and open, offering little cover. Even the massive frogs were scarce, deterred by the presence of a Demon King's general.

In the distance, Axel's city walls came into view.

"Nero, look! There are so many people over there!" Alice exclaimed.

Nero, with her sharp vision, saw more clearly than Alice. A large group of familiar faces—adventurers they had seen at the guild—were gathered near Axel's gates, each armed and ready for battle.

It was a scene reminiscent of the Great Cabbage Migration.

In the crowd, Nero spotted the protagonist group—except for Megumin.

Megumin stood at the forefront of the crowd, conversing with a figure clad in pitch-black armor.

Although she could see the distant scene, Nero couldn't hear their conversation. Her skill Clairvoyance didn't come with Eavesdropping.

"That looks like a Headless Horseman," someone remarked.

The figure wore dark armor, cradling its head in its arms. Its mount was an undead warhorse.

Indeed, it resembled the Headless Horseman from ghost stories. But—

"Wasn't the Headless Horseman supposed to ride a wolf named Hessian Lobber?" Nero queried.

"The Headless Horseman doesn't ride a wolf! Besides, this one is Beldia, not Hessian Lobber—one of the Demon King's generals," Alice corrected.

Because the royal capital often clashed with the Demon King's army, Alice was well-versed in information about their generals, particularly those who had already appeared.

But if this was truly a Demon King's general… what was Megumin talking about?

Could it be that she had finally decided to put her dream of unleashing an explosion spell on the Demon King's castle into action?

---

"No matter what, you refuse to stop using your explosion magic near my castle, correct? Very well. Though I have fallen into darkness, I was once a knight and have no interest in striking down the weak. However, if you continue to disrupt my peace, I will take measures of my own," the Headless Horseman declared.

"It's not our fault! You're the one loitering around, making it impossible for us to do our work! But your days of arrogance end today! With so many of us here, including experts in dealing with undead, your defeat is inevitable!" Megumin retorted, brimming with overconfidence.

"Is that so? From my perspective, not a single one of you looks capable. In fact, I could kill you here and now, and none of them would be able to stop me," Beldia sneered.

A menacing aura radiated from him as he raised his left hand, pointing at Megumin.

"I hereby declare your death! You shall perish in one week!" he proclaimed.

There was no doubt—it was a curse.

And it was unavoidable.

Once the declaration was complete, the magic had already taken hold, leaving no time for Megumin to react.

Though Megumin couldn't respond in time, someone else could.

"!!!"

Megumin felt herself being yanked back by her collar. She stumbled and fell behind.

When the spell finished, Nero stood before her.

"Nero!" Megumin exclaimed.

Black energy faintly shimmered around Nero, and fear gripped Megumin's heart.

Her eyes grew hot, and she instinctively bit her lip.

Why…

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