I looked at the black hole in the sky silently.
Monsters were pouring out from it.
'Crap, I guess they failed. I have to do this alone.'
The legendary hero party.
A group of five people powerful enough to destroy cities without problem, and the hero leading them all.
'I should at least try.'
Today I would attempt to finish what the hero started.
[Activating skill: Perfect step(S)]
I quickly ran towards the black hole.
On the way demons appeared in front of me and tried to stop me.
"G%$^$#@$@!"
"Ugh, stop talking you despicable beasts."
[Activating skill: Weapon aura(S)]
*Swish!*
*Splitch!*
One demon down.
Another few thousand left.
'This is gonna be a pain.'
"A%#@$%#$#$!!"
A nearby demon screamed gibberish at me and some purple energy started to accumulate.
'Ugh, I guess I can't stop it.'
I glared at the countless demons with an unexplainable emotion.
Before I knew it, I had made a road of monster corpses.
'Ah, why am I here?'
Why was I trying so hard? What purpose was there to my struggle when the world was destined to end?
[You have zero mana!]
[Tip: If you don't have any mana try resting or drinking a mana potion!]
"Shut th- cough!"
*Thud.*
I fell to my knees, barely holding on to my sword that had become too heavy to wield while gritting my teeth.
"H#$$^$ %$%#^^$."
'Guess I'll die.'
One demon looked at me and raised its sword arm.
*Swish!*
'Huh?'
As the sword arm was falling down, light appeared from somewhere.
'Ah, who's the fool?'
Someone was trying to save me. Perhaps it was a healing spell, maybe it was a barrier, not that it mattered.
A circle was drawn on my eye and I lost consciousness.
*******
"Ugh, what happened?"
My head hurt and my body was heavy. But it didn't seem that I've died just yet.
"Ah! You're awake! Thank the goddess...."
I looked around slowly and saw who was talking.
"You.... why did you save me?"
She was a woman roughly in her thirties with some rough looking robes, along with about two others all siting near a campfire.
She flinched in response but still decided to answer.
"Because... I don't want humanity annihilated."
It was a good reason, however it was a horrible response.
'This woman, I don't think she's human. She doesn't have green eyes nor long ears, so she's probably not an elf. She's not short. She could be a demi-human or... half demon.'
However I didn't need to be wary. After all, I had already given up.
"Oh? The other guy's alive? I thought he would've died of a cold! Hahahaha!"
From the campfire a man approached me.
He had a big build and he had a big shield on his back.
'He was probably a tank before the world came to shit.'
"Ah, please don't be mean."
The woman said trying to mediate.
"Who even cares, the world is ending as we speak, let him do as he wants."
The last person near the campfire said while throwing around a knife.
'He looks youn-.'
A strange thought went through my head and I flinched.
"Hey…. How old are you guys?"
The woman flinched while the two men looked at me confused.
"Uh, I guess we're introducing ourselves. I'm Kaoru and I'm twenty three."
The one at the campfire said as he stopped toying with his knife.
"Alexis, and I'm twenty nine. As you can see, I'm a tank, or at least was one before the world decided to end."
"I'm thirty two, my name is Natalia. I'm a mage."
'So it was true.'
I sighed loudly and started introducing myself.
"I'm thirty three and my name is Marcel. I wield a sword…"
I was the oldest one here….
Despite taking a shot of instant depression I looked around.
The cave was big, and there was no smoke coming from the campfire so we didn't need to worry about suffocating.
"Oh, I almost forgot. We have food."
Natalia flicked her wrist and food appeared.
"Oh, thank you."
'A rank 7 specialist type mage or rank 8 generalist.'
She was powerful, however I had never heard or seen her.
'Probably due to her not being human.'
The man with the dagger, Kaoru, also silently looked at Natalia.
But no one said anything.
I accepted the food and started eating slowly.
"Now then, what happens after this?"
Karou asked while chewing on bread that seemed newly made.
Silence descended upon us.
'I guess I'll just silently pass away.... I've done all that I could have already.'
With only the cackle of the campfire the emptiness seemed to grow larger than before.
"Let's fight."
Natalia said quietly, almost as if whispering.
"Yes, that's what we should do. I became an adventurer so I could protect my comrades."
It was Alexis. He was clenching his fists.
"Huh, I guess that's a good idea. What do you think?"
Karou asked me while sipping some soup from a cup.
'What do I think?'
I briefly thought about why. Why did I even decide to fight at that time? Why couldn't I join the hero's party?
"I'm weak. I don't even have time to become stronger. I still have many regrets."
Natalia looked at me with a concerned expression, Alexis bit his lips and Karou sighed.
"That's why I'll fight. So the strong get more time."
I looked at my greatsword with a name engraved on it.
[Mountain cleaver(A+)]
Effects: Durability(S), Sharpness(B), Determination(A+), Persistence(A+)
Description: A sword made in hopes of it one day being capable of cutting mountains.
Linked weapon(S+): Increases its power with the user.
Creator: Khine
'I still can't bring out its full potential.'
Made by a madman, the blacksmith that could destroy thousands of demons in a day, only taking a scratch worth of damage.
"Now that I think about it, that greatsword is incredible."
Natalia said as she took out a staff.
[The tower staff: Starlight(S+)]
Effects: Magic enhance(S), Mana optimization(S), Mana regeneration(A-)
Description: A staff created by an archmage that wished to reach the stars.
Creator: A
"Wow, I never expected to see a tower staff in my life."
Alexis said while placing down his shield.
'So she had that tower staff….'
I had met its previous owner. He was a timid mage that only wished to be free.
'So this is what came from that wish.'
I moved on to the shield, there was no need to dwell on the past.
[The castle shield(A+)]
Effects: Weight control(A), Effect resistance(A-), Inflict effect(B+), Barrier creation(A), Attention whore(A+), Restructuring(A).
Description: A shield that is capable of defending a castle by itself.
Creator: ...
'It's a good shield.'
It was a two handed shield made solely for defense and meant for someone who would stand their ground no matter what.
We all looked at Karou, more specifically his dagger.
"Ugh, do you guys have no concept of privacy?"
"Well, since the world's already ending outside… does it even matter anymore?"
I asked while picking up my great sword.
'I'm almost completely healthy, what a waste.'
Thousands of people are dying and here I am, not doing anything.
*Schlit.*
A dagger was imbedded into the ground.
[Dragon fang: Scarlet blood(S+)]
Effect: Durability(A+), Bleed(S+), Rotting(A-), Paralysis(B+), Sharpness(B-), Poison(B), Swiftness(A+).
Description: Forged from a dragon's claw many years ago… No more information is available.
Creator: …..
This weapon was incredible.
'I've never even heard of this weapon before. It's an S tier among S tiers.'
I looked at it in amazement before realizing something.
'The ground is mostly fine…'
Even with all those debuffs the cave barely suffered any damage, only having the knife inside.
"It's certainly an incredible weapon. But I feel like I have to address something. Where are we Natalia?"
Natalia didn't answer, so I took a guess.
"Let me take a guess, your demonic domain."
The unique ability of high ranked demons. Personal domains often referred to as demonic domains.
'This one is different though, due to her being able to manipulate space.'
"Huh? Wh-where did that come from? I simply found t-this cave while carrying you all to safety!"
An obvious lie, everyone caught on.
"Yes, and I trust you. But we don't know your abilities."
"You know my abilities! I can heal and use spatial magic!"
She was panicking, but everyone looked relaxed.
"Thanks for the soup."
*Fwhip!*
The dagger flew through the air and landed in Karou's hand as he placed down the now empty cup.
"Let's fight, everyone. We all came here for a reason. So, let's give it one last try."
Alexis said as he gripped his shield and looked at us.
"Yeah, let's create a plan. I at least want to take down a few thousand demons before I go down."
I said as I explained my skillset.
"I can use high tier Aura and my speed is good. With my weapon I can dispatch many demons in quick succession, although I can last roughly 25 minutes."
Next was Alexis.
"I can't move that fast, however I won't die for at least 30 minutes. I can also attract demons with my shield."
It was Karou's turn.
"I can definitely move fast, I can quickly target the vital spots of the demons to make it easier to kill them. But if I get hit once I'm out for at least 5 minutes."
Lastly it was Natalia's turn.
She was shaking slightly and looked at us confused.
"Why? Why are you guys telling me this?"
I, along with Karou sighed.
"Marcel trusts you and I didn't get poisoned. We have to make a plan to raid that void one last time at least."
"Agreed, we all ate the food you gave us and none of us are poisoned. We have to know your abilities so we can plan properly."
Natalia looked conflicted.
"Agreed, I can't accept it if I die pathetically."
Alexis chimed in and Natalia sighed.
"Alright, fine."
*******
The sword was heavy and my breath grew weary.
'I guess it'll end like this.'
"Marcel! Get up!"
[You mana is being restored!]
A desperate voice echoed through my head.
"Crap, I can hold on for two minutes on my own, so get yourself together damnit!!"
*Sclit!*
I heard a dagger being inserted into the monsters' eyes and necks.
"FOLD."
*Zi- Boom!*
I heard deafening explosions from all directions.
*Swish!*
A giant axe was falling.
'This is how I'll die, while fighting.'
*Thunk!*
But something stood in the way.
"We're almost there! Just a little more!"
'A little more? Yes, it's not over just yet!'
I forced my body to move and swung my sword.
[Activating skill: Aura blade(A+)]
My greatsword illuminated the darkness.
[Skill: Aura blade(A+) has turned into Enhanced aura blade(S)!]
I was at my limit.
"You…"
Within the sound of explosions I heard someone muttering something.
But I just looked at the black hole.
"I'm almost there…"
I could fight what killed them. I could get my revenge.
"-!"
I heard someone yell something but couldn't make out what they said.
"TELEPORT!"
A clear voice. It was the half demon.
*Zip!*
Like that, four people disappeared from the world. Never to be seen again. Never to be recorded by historians nor noticed journalists.
******
My vision cut off until I felt something on my chest.
"….Huh?"
I was so exhausted that I barely even realized what happened. Only instinct remained.
*Clack.*
Something fell. I caught it before it fell further.
It was warm to the touch and wet.
"Ah."
It was Natalia, whose dark blood was on my hands.
"Ugh, it seems that you're alive… cough."
She coughed out dark blood and looked ahead.
"We made it. To the black hole. The others…."
I looked around, still dazed barely hanging on to my consciousness.
It was a black castle filled with nothing but darkness. No enemies, no threats in sight. Just a large empty castle engulfed in darkness.
'Karou's left leg is gone and Alexis has lost and arm.'
Karou's agility was completely obliterated and Alexis's weight distribution became void.
I looked at my arms and legs.
'I still have my limbs…. However mana won't even gather anymore.'
It seems I've lost the ability to use mana.
"Natalia… I'll, get going now…. I have to find what killed them."
I moved past Natalia in my broken state.
*Thug.*
She held me back. I looked into her eyes silently and my eyes widened slightly.
*Rumble.*
Karou stood up while gripping his dagger.
"Huff, I'm not dying yet. I'm coming with you."
*Thunk.*
"Ugh, I will at least die before you."
A heavy shield was lifted and Alexis stood up.
"You, you're not alone. We're fighting together you fool."
Yes, that was it.
"Yes, that's right, LET'S STRUGGLE UNTIL THE END!!"