"Who are you?"
Hero Eligion's voice trembled as he spoke.
Of all those present, Hero Eligion was the most astonished by Agetha's appearance.
That's understandable.
After all, Noct and I knew about it in advance.
"I'm Agetha Tsubaki. Despite appearances, I am the real hero."
"What are you talking about? I am the hero."
"You merely possess a portion of the hero's abilities. Technically, you can be considered a hero's apostle."
Agetha says this.
The phrase 'hero's apostle' strikes a chord in me.
Warrior Gorgano used to refer to me in that way.
Certainly, since I also have the hero's skills, it makes sense. Both I and Hero Eligion might indeed be the hero's apostle.
"This is unbelievable. There's no way I can believe—"
Hero Eligion couldn't finish his sentence because Agetha had delivered a powerful kick to his abdomen.
Sent flying, Eligion crashed forcefully into the dungeon wall.
Agetha's assault didn't stop there.
She punched Eligion's face with full force after he collided with the wall.
As a result, a large hole appeared in the wall, and Eligion's face sunk into it.
Agetha was overwhelmingly dominating.
This is the difference in power between a true hero and a hero's apostle.
Even so, Agetha didn't let up on her attacks.
Once again, she raised her fist to strike.
Hey, this is going too far. Weren't we supposed to avoid killing Hero Eligion? Shouldn't I stop Agetha right now? Such thoughts crossed my mind.
"〈Save〉."
It was Hero Eligion's voice.
The moment his voice was heard, his figure blurred.
Instantly, multiple images of Hero Eligion appeared.
I've seen this before. When Hero Eligion defeated the Demon Lord Zoga, he used a similar phenomenon.
Unlike me, Hero Eligion's power as a hero involves repeatedly experiencing short periods of time.
Hero Eligion repeats the scenario until he wins.
Because images of him from different moments linger like afterimages, he appears to split into multiple people.
"Unfortunately, what you can do, I can do too."
The moment Agetha said this, her figure also split into multiple images.
Then, the duplicated versions of each clashed. Gradually, the images of each other faded away until finally, only one Agetha was left standing.
"I don't think he's dead yet."
Saying this, Agetha grabs the unconscious Eligion by the nape of his neck and rolls him onto the floor. Indeed, Hero Eligion seemed completely knocked out.
"Kiska!"
Agetha, with what seemed like a jubilant voice, ran towards me, then enthusiastically hugged me.
"I missed you so much!"
While saying this, she pressed her face against mine.
"You know, it's embarrassing to do this in public."
Saying that, I grabbed Agetha's shoulders and gently pulled her away. Assassin Noct was watching us.
"Yeah," she replied while stepping back from me.
"So, does that mean, if it's not in public, it's okay to do this?"
Saying so, Agetha had a provocative look with a teasing gaze. I didn't understand what Agetha meant by "this kind of thing." What was she referring to?
"Don't tease me too much."
Saying that, I rubbed my temples.
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Hero Eligion was unconscious, but he was still alive.
"I decided to make him faint just in case, because if we're going to defeat the Holy Knight Canaria, he would undoubtedly get in the way," Agetha explained.
Certainly, Hero Eligion seemed to have a strong trust in the Holy Knight Canaria, and despite explanations of Canaria's potential betrayal, he didn't seem entirely convinced.
"So, what's next?"
"Next, we'll deal with the Holy Knight Canaria and the Warrior Gorgano. They're probably waiting in ambush for us together, so I'd like to cooperate to defeat them. By the way, is it okay to kill these two, Kiska?"
Agetha confirmed with me.
"Well, yeah."
There wasn't much choice about these two. Honestly, to avoid Noct getting labeled as a traitor, it might be better not to kill them. However, I had assured that she would handle it, so it would be better not to overthink.
"Well then, shall we go? Noct, can you carry this guy?"
"Understood."
Noct nodded in a low voice and lifted the unconscious Hero Eligion onto his shoulders.
Then, we headed towards the location where the Warrior Gorgano and the Holy Knight Canaria were likely waiting.
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