I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

“...What the hell?”
Someone murmured that, reacting to the noise and tremors that seemed to shake the entire underground.
“An earthquake? No signs of one were reported.”

And sure enough—it wasn’t an earthquake.
—...!
Earthquakes didn’t send out shockwaves this rhythmically.

...!!
Nor did they escalate so gradually.
This was more like... something unimaginably heavy slamming into the ground above.

Sensing something was off, one of the seated figures jumped to their feet and quickly operated a nearby device.
A live feed appeared in front of them—likely showing the surface above their hideout.
A desolate wasteland with not a single structure came into view.
And within it—something immediately caught the eye.

Someone muttered its name in disbelief.
“...The Hero?”
Gray Chasefield, Guardian of Humanity.

That woman was sprinting toward them with blazing fire in her eyes.
...And she looked furious.
With each step she took, her body launched meters into the air. It wasn’t so much running as it was leaping with every stride.

And with each furious leap she took toward them—
The earth and heavens shook as if struck by divine wrath. Building frames and magical reinforcements groaned under the weight of her presence.
“...My God.”

Someone whispered it without meaning to, overwhelmed by the sight before them.
A walking miracle. A one-woman army.
...And humanity’s strongest.

Seeing that spectacle, it was impossible not to understand why she carried all those titles.
“Did you... get yourself captured on purpose to bring the Hero here?”
The owl-masked figure asked.

Carlyle nodded desperately and shouted,
“That’s exactly it! So you’d better listen to me from now on—because I’m the only one who can help you people!”
...It might’ve sounded ridiculous, bringing that and then offering “help,” but Carlyle was being completely sincere.
He really was the only one who could help now. Because what they were facing was a person who, if things went even slightly wrong, could turn everyone here into ground meat...!

“Help?”
The owl scoffed at the word.
“We don’t need help. We’re more than enough on our own.”
Because they were Pale Moon.

The pride in his voice was unmistakable.
“We might not be able to win in a fight. But we can hold her off long enough for everyone to escape. Even if it’s the Hero.”
There was enough confidence in that voice to be convincing. And to be fair, they probably hadn’t built their defenses half-assedly.

They hadn’t earned the top spot in the underworld through card games. Their individual combat power must’ve been substantial.
But—
“That’s what you think.”

Carlyle remained skeptical.
And rightfully so.
“Because that’s the Hero, you morons!”

And the events that followed did not stray an inch from proving his point.
***
As chaos began to unfold within the hideout—

On the screen, the Hero met their gaze.
She was staring straight at the center of the camera—as if she knew exactly who was watching her.
Come to think of it, hadn’t Carlyle done something similar recently?

Wow. That guy must’ve been scared shitless.
[Well... considering it was me on the other side of the screen, maybe that’s why.]
Yeah, true.
While he was having that thought, Gray opened her mouth in a flat, detached voice.

“Hand over the one inside.”
As always, she skipped buildup and cut straight to the point.
“Then I’ll let you live.”

“......”
“......”
The voice, carrying an aggression that clearly defined “let you live” however she pleased, made all the Pale Moon members underground exchange glances.

“Do we fight the Hero?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then stall for time. Throw everything we’ve got at her.”

To be honest—
Considering the aura Gray was exuding, they deserved some credit for keeping their nerve.
One of them operated a device underground, and immediately, various weapons emerged from every direction of the hideout.

Military-grade bombardment gear, magic-core cannons, enchanted talismans from the Far East...
...Were they planning a war or something?
[Even I don’t understand this one.]

The level of armament was beyond belief for a mere underground base.
These were the kinds of defensive assets you’d expect in a mage tower. No wonder they’d been so confident.
And all of it was now aimed directly at the Hero.

In an instant, a bombardment capable of turning the wasteland white with firepower rained down on her position.
“Y—”
The moment she saw it—

A thick vein pulsed on Gray’s forehead.
She was absolutely livid that they had ignored her warning and responded with hostility.
Her mouth opened wide.

“—You rude little shits────!!”
And she unleashed the Breath of Ruin.
The moment the Hero screamed—

A massive sandstorm erupted around her.
Though to call it a sandstorm wasn’t accurate—her scream, unleashed at full force, tore through several kilometers of land like a bomb had gone off.
—!

And caught in that storm, the barrage, the spells, the bombardments—everything—
Crrrrunch—
Was twisted and crushed like brittle twigs.

“......”
“......”
Everyone underground stared, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» speechless.

“What kind of technique was that?”
“I... detected no particular magic usage. She’s only reinforcing her body.”
“So she just... yelled really loud?”

“...In theory, yes.”
In theory—meaning even the speaker knew how absurd that sounded.
“......”

“......”
Everyone was stunned into silence.
Even Carlyle—who was more familiar with Gray’s insanity than anyone else.

She let out a big “RRAAAAAH!” and everything designed for urban warfare just vanished like candles in a gale—how could anyone not react like this?
“S-She’s in-fucking-sane—”
“—Don’t just stand there, throw everything we’ve got at her! Empty the vaults! Use the artifacts too!”

“But those are all our retirement funds—!”
“If we die here, retirement won’t matter! Focus!”
“We need time to use them! We’ve got to somehow stop her from approaching—!”

The panic in their screams said it all. What they’d just seen was something utterly beyond reason. Even the calmest among them had been reduced to desperation.
And as always—
Humans in chaos were prone to making the worst possible decisions.

“Then let’s use him! Isn’t he the one she’s here for?!”
Someone pointed straight at Carlyle.
“No, wait, hold on! That’s seriously the worst idea—!”

Carlyle turned pale instantly.
It wasn’t fear for his own life.
It was because he could already predict how Gray would react to that.

“Use him. Tell her we’ll kill him if she gets any closer!”
But once again, Carlyle’s warning was completely ignored.
Someone set up a camera in front of him and began broadcasting.

The feed showed Carlyle tied to a chair—relayed straight to the Hero.
“Come any closer and we’ll slit his goddamn throat—!”
And just like always—

Carlyle’s warning proved right on target.
“......”
...Oh, fuck.

Even from far away, Carlyle saw the bloodlust in Gray’s eyes on the monitor and instantly knew:
It’s over.
“You fucking maggots.”

And then—
—The entire landscape—
Seemed to compress.

That’s what it felt like.
As if the entire visible world collapsed downward under her presence.
“—Kuh, cough—!”

“G-Gah—!”
Everyone in Pale Moon gasped at once.
Even though they weren’t the direct target—

Just seeing it was enough for everyone nearby to collapse to their knees.
Even though it was only through a screen.
...They’d realized exactly what kind of monster they were dealing with.

“When someone talks to you, you’re supposed to listen, huh?”
And as soon as those words fell—
The pressure she radiated condensed into a single point.

The overwhelming force that had seemed to crush the entire world focused in her hand—
And the ground itself twisted.
“—Huh?”

One of the members underground blurted out that confused sound.
He must’ve realized too late what she was doing.
No one could blame him.

Because what followed was nothing short of inhuman.
The ceiling above began to bend.
Dirt and debris fell into the room.

And then—
“Uh.”
Someone made that dying-animal sound.

“U-U-UUUUAAAAAHH—!”
People screamed and were tossed around like dolls. The entire room tilted violently.
Only then did they begin to understand.

—The underground hideout itself was being ripped out of the earth.
Gray, having spread her magic outward, was now lifting the entire base—built deep underground, the size of a building—into the sky.
Thousands of tons of weight—dragged up without breaking a sweat. In just seconds.

“......”
Jesus Christ, she’s a monster.
That was all Carlyle could think as pandemonium broke loose around him.

People were thrown about, screaming, trying to grab onto anything to keep from flying.
—THUD.
A massive crash echoed as the hideout hit the surface.

And in a single leap—
The Hero descended directly onto their position.
One wall crumpled like cardboard, and Gray burst into the room, Holy Sword strapped to her back.

A thick vein pulsed on her forehead, and her hand gripped the sword’s hilt like the angel of death had arrived.
...Which, frankly, wasn’t far off.
“Who’s dying first?”

“......”
“Line up. Whoever wants to die quickly, I’ll make it painless.”
“......”

Is that really something a Hero should say?
Everyone in the room was probably watching their life flash before their eyes...
“Miss! Miss! You can’t kill them!”

That fate might’ve come true if someone hadn’t suddenly leapt between Gray and the crowd—still tied to his chair, flailing like a fish.
Carlyle had rolled into position just in time, throwing himself between them.
Gray narrowed her eyes.

“Hey.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Who told you to get kidnapped like an idiot?”

“......”
“You’re my subordinate. If you let yourself get handled by trash like this, it’s just embarrassing, you know?”
“......”

...Wait, that’s what she’s mad about?
Not worried about him?
...Well.

To be fair, he’d kind of expected that would be her reason for coming.
[...Haaaaaaaaaaaaahh…………]
The Holy Sword let out another long, strange sigh, but Carlyle ignored it.

“......”
Gray stared down at him for a long moment, then sighed and scratched her cheek.
She nudged at the floor with her boot, clearly uncomfortable—like what she was about to say was more awkward than all the insanity she’d just unleashed.

“...You’re not dying or anything, right?”
“......”
“...Are you seriously hurt?”

...Touched.
Even a young lady like her worried, at least a little.
He shouldn’t let her worry, then. Carlyle smiled brightly and replied:

“Oh, no, just a few bad wounds.”
“...You call that just a few wounds?”
“Yes. These people didn’t treat me all that harshly, really.”

At that, Gray’s eyes scanned Carlyle’s body.
He was in nothing but underwear, covered in blood.
Bruises all over. Clear signs of a harsh beating.

Her eyes narrowed.
...Well, it was Gray.
She probably wouldn’t react much just because he was hurt. It wasn’t like this was the first time.

She didn’t seem like the type to care—
“...Fucking bastards.”
But when she suddenly reached for the Holy Sword again, angrier than before, Carlyle nearly had a heart attack and clung to her for dear life.

“Miss, Miss! You said you wouldn’t kill anyone—!”
“Message retracted. None of you are dying peacefully now.”
It took quite a while before Gray finally calmed down.

Miraculously, no one died.
...No one died.