Apostle vs. Hero

「You… Who are you…?!」

　The Hero said so.

　While everyone else couldn’t help but keep their mouth shut in the face of the white girl standing in front of them wielding overwhelming power that could be said to be equivalent to a natural disaster, he moved his trembling lips and squeezed out these words in a hoarse voice.

　His throat wound up withering dry at once just from putting together those few words. He couldn’t put together a second line. No, if anything, perhaps he should be praised for being able to put together those words.

　That was just how divine and overwhelming the white girl in front of them was.

　As for what was overwhelming, it wasn’t her『prowess』. Such a thing wasn’t something that could be grasped simply by standing face to face. Then『intimidating air』? That was not it, either. No, that was partly true, but what Nagi and the others understood at a glance was the overwhelming difference in『existence』. You could call it『rank』. Her rank was simply in another league.

「You are right… I’m late to introduce myself. As I’m not very well versed in worldly matters.」

　Then, the white girl said so to Nagi and the others, who were cornered mentally as well, in a nonchalant tone of voice, not caring about such things.

　She straightened her posture slightly, stared fixedly at Nagi and the others with her dayflower-colored eyes, and opened her mouth. And then, still showing no expression on her face, she began to introduce herself.

「My name is Stella… A second-rank『Apostle』 Stella. Pleased to make your acquaintance.」

　She told them her name was Stella. She also said that she was second in the ranking order. It was unknown what kind of rank it was, but she called herself an『apostle』.

　It made Nagi and the others understand, even if they didn’t want to, the fact that there were beings above her and that she had deviated from the realm of humanity.

「… In these situations, aren’t you supposed to introduce yourself back when someone introduces themselves to you? Or I wonder if it’s just my misconception….」

「!… Y, yeah… I’m Serizawa Nagi, the Hero.」

「Serizawa Nagi… I see, well then, Hero Serizawa… I shall hereby purify you.」

　Upon hearing Nagi’s name, Stella once again held up her pale lightning spear. Even as they caught their breath at that mass of lightning, from which they could sense a torrent of overwhelming power, Nagi and the others quickly held up their weapons.

　And then, before Stella could make a move, Nagi opened his mouth. They couldn’t fight without knowing who the girl in front of them was, what her purpose was in confronting them and what this purification was. After all, as the other party was overwhelmingly stronger than him, depending on the reason, there was a possibility that they would be able to settle it even without having to engage in a battle.

　Even though during the case with Kitsune, he swung his fist at him without properly listening to what he had to say, Nagi seemed to have learned to grasp the situation to some extent.

「P, purify… Just what do you mean by that?」

「Ah… Come to think of it, that boy asked me the same thing.」

「… Boy?」

　Nagi bought time by prolonging the conversation. After all, the more time they had, the more they could think of a way out of this situation. He wasn’t very good at exercising ingenuity. That was why he would buy time for Cecil, Sieg, and the others to think of a way out of this situation. This was what Cecil told Nagi after they left the Grandile Kingdom.

　If we run into an opponent stronger than us, please do so, she said.

　As he put it into practice, perhaps it worked, Stella came on board with the conversation.

「Yes, before I came here… When I dropped by the place called Grandile Kingdom, I met a boy with one eye missing.」

「! D, don’t tell me… Was it, Kitsune-senpai?」

「I didn’t ask his name, but… The demon he was with called him『Kitsune-kun』, so I think he’s probably the boy you’re thinking of.」

　Nagi’s eyes were wide open upon knowing that Kitsune had also met the girl in front of them. No, it wasn’t just Nagi. Cecil, as well as Finia and Lulu, had their eyes wide open at the astonishing revelation.

　That『weakest adventurer』, Kitsune, had met the opponent that they would not be able to match even if they were to work together. It was only natural that they would be curious about what happened there.

「Did you, fight?」

「Yes.」

「Kitsune-san is… Is Kitsune-san safe?!」

「You’re… An idea-type fairy, I believe? … Yes, he should be alive for the time being.」

　When Finia stepped forward and asked Kitsune’s safety with a pale expression, Stella replied, still with a blank expression on her face. And then, upon hearing that answer, Finia breathed a sigh of relief. Lulu, too, was relieved.

　However, Nagi had other things running on his mind. Of course, it wasn’t that he felt disappointed that Kitsune wasn’t dead. He simply was astonished at the fact that Kitsune had survived the fight against the girl in front of them.

　Even though he didn’t feel like losing, even if the he from back when he was in his former world were to fight against Kitsune, he just couldn’t understand why and how Kitsune was able to survive against her.

「Let’s get back to the matter at hand… The arrival of visitors from another world to this world has ended up creating a spatial distortion in this world, and I am here to purify the cause of that distortion, the otherworldly people. Simply put, I am here to remove you from this world and restore the equilibrium of this world.」

　Then, to the astonished Nagi, Stella confronted him with an even more astonishing fact.

　In other words, she was saying: 『I’ve come here to kill the Hero, who is an otherworldly person』.

「I don’t get, what you mean by that…! I just want to defeat the demon lord and save the people!」

「I couldn’t care less about such a thing. If I have to put it from my point of view, your very existence is harmful to this world. Besides, I have felt it from when I took a look at you for the first time, but… You, are you really a『Hero』?」

「!?! W, what do you want to say…!」

　Nagi was shaken. Not for being told that he was harmful to this world. But for being asked: Are you really a『Hero』?

　Because that was what Kitsune had told him too.

　—Which part of you is that of a『Hero』?

　—You, are you really a『Hero』?

　He was told the same thing by two different people, Kitsune, who was similarly an otherworldly person, and Stella, who made him feel an overwhelming difference in rank. Why he was told that he was no Hero, even though he earnestly wished to save people as a Hero, that was what shook Nagi’s heart the most.

「No… Other than you, I have also faced several Heroes who have been summoned in the past, but… I feel that there is a large difference between you and them. Like, in your fundamental nature.」

「Na, ture…?」

「Let me see… The Heroes I have met in the past didn’t『try to save people』. However, you are different. You are『trying to save people』… Simply put, yes… You are『trying to be a good person』, I should say.」

　The one who saved people was a Hero. That was what Nagi thought, but was it mistaken? What was the difference between the Heroes Stella had met in the past and the current one, him? Nagi didn’t know, he didn’t know the answer to that question.

　Stella said. You were not a Hero, you were a man trying to become a Hero. Then what was a Hero? What was it that made a Hero a Hero? Nagi didn’t understand.

　There was no way that a tiny boy, just a high school student who gained a little bit of power, was told he was a Hero, and decided to be a Hero to live up to the expectations of those around him, could possibly understand.

　Because a Hero wasn’t such an easy existence to be.

「Well, such a thing doesn’t really matter. I am only here to purify you, an otherworldly person.」

　Facing the shaken Nagi, Stella spun around the pale lightning spear. As if stating that the conversation was over, Stella closed her mouth.

　And then, the moment Stella’s pale lightning gave rise to a frictional sound in the air and made a high-pitched sound, it expanded. Then a flash of light like a comet was shot out from its tip. That flash strike, fired at the speed of light, loomed toward Nagi, who was still mentally shaken.

「Nagi-sama!」

「!?」

　But just as it was about to hit Nagi, the comet strike was blocked by something. It was a barrier that Cecil had deployed.

　However, the barrier was shattered, either because it was an improvised barrier, or the destructive power of Stella’s strike was simply too overwhelming, or both.

　Nevertheless, although it failed to block Stella’s strike, the barrier seemed to succeed in deflecting it, and the trajectory aimed at Nagi’s heart was diverted and shot through Nagi’s left shoulder.

「Aghh… !… !?」

「… Be quiet, I’ll heal you now.」

　Stunned and unable to evade it, Nagi fell on his knees to the ground, holding down his shoulder.

　There, Finia approached him and activated her healing magic. It wasn’t that she had relaxed her guard around the Hero, but she had said she would cooperate with them in battle, and Finia was not so coldhearted as to let someone die in front of her eyes, even if it was the cause that pulled her part from Kitsune.

　And then, Finia’s healing magic immediately closed up the wound on Nagi’s shoulder. Although not completely healed, the pain receded and it had recovered to the extent that it could be moved somewhat.

「… It might be a light blow, but I never expected you would be able to survive it.」

「Why, thank you….」

「Then next time I will go at you a little more seriously. If you want to do something, go ahead.」

　I’m being looked down upon, or so he thought. Before thinking about Heroes whatnot, Nagi switched his thoughts to face the threat to his life.

Pulled out his newly purchased sword, he immediately deployed the『Ray of Hope』. That was because he thought first of all, he had to do something about that lightning spear.

　However, in spite of the fact that the『Ray of Hope』 had been activated, the lightning spear did not disappear.

「Wha… That spear… Is it, not a skill?」

「Hmm… It seems to be a power that restricts the power of this side, is it not? … You seem to be in a wonder as to why my spear hasn’t disappeared, but… This is not a『power』, it is a『weapon』 of this kind.」

「…!」

　Stella’s spear was a weapon for killing gods, the『God-Slaying Lightning』. It was not a skill, but a weapon manifested using the magical energy contained within her body as an apostle. Therefore, it couldn’t be erased using Ray of Hope, which disabled skills.

　Even if that wasn’t the case, Stella’s status far exceeded that of Nagi. So even if he were to seal her skills, it held no meaning.

「Besides, this is a weapon for burying God… 『God-Slaying Lightning』. You will not be able to suppress it with ordinary power.」

「…!…!」

「Well then, in order to maintain the equilibrium of the world….」

　It was not just Nagi. Cecil, Sieg, Sylphy, and more or less, Finia and Lulu were also getting ready to fight.

　Facing them was the white apostle.

　Stella spun around the pale lightning and quietly announced.

「I shall — purify you.」