I Was the Scout for the Hero’s Party

“Hey, you crazy bastard!!!”

That madman finally did it!!

Immediately rushing out of the thicket, we dashed toward Roymen, who was swinging his weapons while surrounded by Living Armors.

Through the Living Armors who were collapsing after being hit by his flail with a heavy “whoosh” sound, I could see Roymen facing Depal with the whip in his other hand.

“Lady Alexis! Please hold back those Living Armors near the hero’s party! Robin!!! Come and join in!!”

“Yes..! I’ll try!”

“Coming, Senior!!”

Robin and I, deflecting blades coming from all directions, squeezed through the Living Armors and quickly reached the scene where Roymen and Depal were engaged in fierce combat.

“Hmm..!! If you obediently follow His will, there will be no more pain! Evil being!”

“Urgh…!! Such a brute..!!”

Though Roymen was driving Depal back with his whip while shouting loudly, he couldn’t block all the blades of the Living Armors attacking from all directions, and blood was already flowing from his body.

“Damn, this is maddening.”

While stabbing my short sword into the back of a Living Armor’s knee as it tried to attack Roymen from behind, I shouted:

“Hey Roymen!! You’re fucking insane!!! Pull back and treat your wounds first, then heal the hero and her minions over there!!!”

As Roymen nodded at my words, I let go of the short sword stuck in the Living Armor’s knee, grabbed its helmet, and twisted it hard.

With a cracking sound, the Living Armor’s body collapsed as the helmet separated, and simultaneously Robin, clutching claws and a dagger, squeezed between Roymen, who was trying to retreat, and Depal.

-Clang!

“Die, inferior beings..!”

“Ugh…!! Senior!! Please help a little!!”

Damn it, because of that fanatic bastard Roymen.

If we had carried out a quiet ambush, we wouldn’t have had to fight so crudely.

I burst my muscles, which were contracted to their limit due to the urgent battle situation, pushed Roymen back, and rushed toward Depal.

-Screeeech!!

The short sword and Depal’s spear blade meshed exquisitely, creating a strange sound as they scraped against each other.

After blocking Depal’s spear for a moment, I lowered my posture, allowing the spear blade to slide off as the force applied to my short sword increased to a certain degree.

With the sudden disappearance of the obstacle, the spear blade cut through the air with a whoosh, naturally causing Depal’s body to tilt to one side.

“Robin!!!”

Robin’s kick, which penetrated the gap without missing the opportunity, precisely targeted Depal’s knee, causing his posture to collapse as he knelt on one knee.

Robin’s dagger struck like lightning at his nape, but that attempt was thwarted by the attack of another Living Armor swinging its sword.

“Damn it…”

Though specialized in person-to-person combat, I couldn’t produce very meaningful results in this situation, surrounded by enemies in heavy armor.

I could win by targeting the joint gaps in the armor, but Depal and the other Living Armors weren’t fools who would honestly take attacks aimed at the seams of their armor.

Quickly grabbing a smoke bolt from my bolt case, I glanced toward Maya, who had been incanting a spell until just now.

Maya seemed to have had her spell interrupted by a Living Armor’s attack, as she was now intercepting the Living Armors, leaving Depal to us.

“This is fucking…”

Even the Living Armors, perhaps directly created by Argyle, were still moving perfectly fine with just slight cracks after taking direct hits from Maya’s magic.

Did they enhance their magic resistance?

I turned my gaze back to Depal.

“You really came prepared. These scarecrow bastards don’t fall even when hit by magic.”

“You… Hadn’t you severed ties with the hero?”

“That’s none of your business, Maya!!!”

While Roymen and Isabel were healing the rest of the party, we needed to buy as much time as possible.

I showed Maya the smoke bolt and gave her a signal with my eyes.

Maya, who had been staring at me blankly after seeing my signal, quickly nodded, and I loaded the smoke bolt without hesitation.

If Maya was perceptive, she could use her specialty wind magic to contain and maintain the smoke.

As the perceptive Robin saw my movements and quickly distanced herself from Depal, I rapidly raised my crossbow and fired the smoke bolt at Depal.

“Austin…?”

Hero Yoo-jung recalled Austin, whom she had vaguely seen through the spreading smoke, regardless of the blood-covered priest who was healing her.

She wasn’t mistaken. It was Austin.

Since Austin had left the party on his own, the hero had thought that if she met him again, she would ‘firmly correct that unacceptable mindset of his.’

But now, meeting Austin again, the emotion seated in her heart was not anger, but a subtle mix of joy and sadness.

What exactly was this strange feeling?

Isabel approached the hero, who was sitting blankly, unable to understand her emotions, and shone the light of healing on her with a bitter smile.

“…Hero.”

“Isabel, I…”

“How about we resolve the problem at hand first..? Keep old emotions buried in your heart for now.”

…Yes. Isabel is right.

Hero Yoo-jung, now fully recovered and full of strength again, gripped her holy sword.

“…Right.”

Though she didn’t know what this emotion was, she just wanted to have an honest conversation with Austin, sharing her inner thoughts.

Although it might seem shameless and ugly to suggest talking now, she resolved to throw away her pride.

“Because I’m the hero.”

Rising with a firm grip on her holy sword, the hero immediately rushed to Adrienne, Gracey, and Maya who were facing the Living Armors.

Isabel and the already unconscious Max were being protected by the female knight who appeared to be Austin’s companion, so she needed to deal with the Living Armors that weren’t trapped in the smoke first.

…My vision is blocked.

I can’t see anything.

Depal simply stared straight ahead with his spear gripped tightly in the smoke where he couldn’t see anything, then closed his eyes.

If you can’t see, feel with your body.
If you can’t feel, listen with your ears.

But.

“…Indeed, this is no ordinary situation.”

I can’t feel anything.

Neither the waves of magic, nor the trembling of breath that would have become rough from fighting Living Armors, nor their movements that would be tearing through the thick smoke.

I can’t feel any of it.

Have they become ghosts?

…When I realized that man had left the party, I should have immediately targeted the hero.

It has become a poison to have continuously attacked human supply units to lure in the hero’s party without Austin.

Depal quietly chewed on his anger at the current situation where he could do nothing, and slowly opened his eyes.

What came into view was still the gray smoke of the fog obscuring his vision, and his left hand dangling loosely, tattered from the exploding bolt.

Although he had barely caught the bolt aimed at his neck, he never dreamed it would explode the moment he caught it.

-Clink clink!

In the smoke where only the clanking sounds of Living Armors could be heard, another bolt came flying, tearing through the air.

Hastily turning his body to avoid the bolt, he couldn’t avoid the second bolt that rushed quickly from a completely unexpected angle.

“Kha…!”

The bolt that pierced through his collarbone and tore into his flesh was unbearably painful.

Although an artificial human, Depal, being Argyle’s first creation, was a failure that was infinitely close to human, possessing the sensation of ‘pain’ and ’emotions’ that a doll should not have.

Bacchus, who had emotions despite not having sensations, was also a failure, so it wasn’t a particularly concerning aspect.

The only fear was the anxiety about an unguaranteed future in which failures like himself would someday be replaced.

…Indeed, emotions were something one should not possess.

With the pain penetrating his collarbone and useless random thoughts rising to the surface, Depal shook his head and readjusted his grip on the spear.

Now he must focus on the battle.

-Clang!

He blocked the thrust of a short sword that suddenly penetrated the gap with nearly miraculous, strange body movements and spear techniques.

However, as soon as he blocked the short sword, he would not be able to block the sharp dagger coming from the right, cutting through the smoke and aiming for his ribs.

If he can’t block, he can only dodge.

Just as Austin had let his spear slide earlier, Depal let Austin’s short sword slide backward and barely avoided Robin’s lightning-fast thrust.

While obscured vision is an equally bad condition for everyone, it’s not for those two.

The wounds from his pierced collarbone and torn hand were slowly recovering due to the regenerative abilities unique to artificial humans, but that didn’t mean he could retrieve the blood that had been spilled on the floor.

The smell of blood.

That was serving as eyes for those two hunting hounds.

After exchanging several blows, the hunting hounds once again concealed themselves in the thick fog.

“Ugh…. Ptui!”

Depal, gripping his spear, suddenly spat out blood that surged up through his throat.

As the dark red blood-mixed saliva hit the ground with a splat, Depal barely avoided a bolt flying at his forehead and a throwing dagger violently aiming precisely at where his lungs were located, his eyes bloodshot as he readjusted his posture.

When would the smoke disappear?

The fact that the smoke hadn’t dissipated despite a considerable amount of time passing was surely the work of a mage.

Just then, a new presence abruptly appeared behind Depal.

“Here you are.”

Crushing a Living Armor’s helmet in his hand with a crunch, Priest Roymen glowed his red eyes ominously and stared directly at Depal.

“Today, I will uproot the ugly root that denies Him.”

“…Blinded by faith. Foolish priest.”

As Depal turned the head of his spear to pierce Roymen again, he barely avoided the thorny whip flying from Roymen’s side, letting it just graze his side.

“…This is maddening.”

The hunt was not over yet.