Chapter 8: Reliable Companions! At Last, a Four-Person Party Is Formed!

Having lost their companion Senpu, Yario and Sereteen had no time to wallow in grief. They continued their harsh journey to defeat the Demon King.

They had already crossed the mountains and were now walking along an animal trail through the middle of a vast grassland.

“Just the two of us doesn’t feel very reassuring…”

“Hmm! That’s true…”

The other heroes were probably traveling in parties of four or more.

Ideally, a party should have a good balance of close-range and long-range fighters, along with members capable of handling offense, defense, and healing. Having companions who could cover all those roles made traveling safer and gave them a much better chance against powerful enemies.

“Oh! We meet again!”

Just as another animal trail merged with theirs, another group of heroes appeared.

Strangely enough, there were only two of them as well. Perhaps it was fate.

“You’re Yario, wielder of the Holy Sword Absolute!”

“Y-You… You were there back then too!?”

One was a tall man carrying a holy longsword on his back.

Beside him was a fat middle-aged man carrying a holy axe.

They had both been present when the heroes gathered in the Kingdom of Ryuhazoma.

“Log-log-log! I’m Choho, a reincarnated hero and wielder of the Holy Sword Nagaken!”

“Ono-ono! And I’m Ono Tasuke, a transferred hero and wielder of the Holy Axe Maputatsun!”

After Yario and Sereteen introduced themselves as well, the four firmly shook hands and became companions.

Their party now had four members.

At that moment, a massive horde of bull-men came charging out of the forest on the opposite side, brandishing halberds.

Dust billowed into the air as the earth shook beneath their feet.

“A-Aren’t those Minotaurs!?”

“Yeah… They’re among the stronger classes of monsters. Unless you’re a highly experienced adventurer, you wouldn’t stand a chance against one!”

“And there are so many of them!”

Yario drew his holy sword, but Choho and Tasuke merely grinned.

“Log-log! These things are nothing!”

“Ono! I’ll wipe them all out!”

Choho confidently drew his holy sword.

The blade of the longsword was almost absurdly long and gleamed brightly.

Like Yario’s weapon, it was probably a Holy Sword possessing some special ability.

“Behold! The power of the Holy Sword Nagaken!”

Choho pulled the sword back horizontally and swung.

The blade suddenly expanded, becoming even broader than a butcher’s cleaver and gaining enormous apparent weight.

With a single sweep, dozens of Minotaurs were sliced cleanly in half at the waist.

“Gyaaah!”

Even their halberds were severed along with them.

Its cutting power was incredible.

“W-What unbelievable offensive power…!”

“Yario! That’s not all! When the blade expands, it still feels exactly the same weight to the person holding it!”

In other words, only the enemy had to suffer the crushing force of its tremendous weight.

“Wait! There are still plenty left!”

Many more Minotaurs continued charging forward.

Tasuke stepped up with a fearless grin.

“My turn!”

Despite his heavy build, he dashed forward with surprising speed and swung down his Holy Axe.

A Minotaur instinctively raised its halberd to block.

“Fool! Take this! The Holy Axe Maputatsun!”

The moment the axe struck the halberd, an explosion erupted.

The axe smashed straight through and continued all the way downward.

“Gugyaaaah!”

Even the Minotaur’s powerful body was split cleanly in two, spraying blood as it collapsed.

Yario and Sereteen could only stare in amazement.

“The Holy Axe Maputatsun creates an explosion at the moment of impact, greatly increasing its power! There is nothing this axe cannot cleave in two!”

The two reincarnated and transferred heroes possessed terrifying sacred weapons with extraordinarily high offensive power.

Yario trembled.

But it was from joy at having such dependable companions.

And so, the Minotaur army proved no match for Yario’s new four-person party.

“Gyaaaah!”

Before long, the entire horde had been annihilated…

“Heh heh heh! Is that all you’ve got?!”

They turned around.

Another young man was approaching with a fearless smile.

He too drew a holy sword.

“I am Zeros, a reincarnated hero! Wielder of the Holy Sword Perfect—the sword that can’t cut anything!”

He raised the magnificent, flawless blade, not a single chip visible along its edge, and smiled provocatively.

Yario was shocked.

If their weapons were swords that could “cut anything,” then this man possessed a sword that “couldn’t cut anything.”

Two completely opposing abilities had finally met.

“What do you mean, a sword that absolutely can’t cut anything?!”

“We’ll show you that ability is nothing but a bluff!”

Provoked into a rage, Choho and Tasuke charged forward.

Choho raised the Holy Sword Nagaken.

Tasuke raised the Holy Axe Maputatsun.

Yet Zeros’s confident smile never wavered.

He calmly raised his own Holy Sword to defend himself.

“Useless! Useless! This Holy Sword that ‘can’t cut anything’ allows no amount of offensive power to pass through it!”

Zeros proudly held the sword horizontally in front of himself.

The broadened blade of Nagaken came crashing down toward him, intending to split both Zeros and his sword in two.

“Shut up! I’ll cut that holy sword of yours in half along with you! Die!”

The blades collided with a tremendous impact.

Yet the Holy Sword Nagaken came to a complete stop against Zeros’s weapon.

Even that massive, heavy blade had been perfectly halted.

“Onooooo! Then how about adding my Holy Axe as well?!”

Tasuke brought Maputatsun crashing down on top of Nagaken.

An explosion erupted as he tried to force both weapons through.

The combined offensive power of two sacred weapons was beyond imagination.

And yet…

Zeros’s Holy Sword remained completely undamaged as it held back both attacks.

“I-Impossible!?”

“Even against the combined power of two sacred weapons, it doesn’t have so much as a single chip!?”

“Precisely because it is the Holy Sword that ‘can’t cut anything’… it is invincible!”

Zeros flashed them a fearless grin.