WE TRIED TLS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

Chapter 172 | Next Time (5)

Pandemonium forced themself to smile as horror spread throughout their body. The death of the Skyflow Tiger, which had consumed Moby Dick? That was so predictable that it wasn’t even surprising.

What shocked them so much, however, was the power that Wrath’s vessel had displayed in this fight.

> [I thought it would have at least joined forces with the Hero…]

What was that? Wasn’t that practically the same as taking the thing down by itself?

> [I don’t know if this is the right thing to do.]

It had been proven that this beast couldn't defeat Gretchen even after gaining the power of a Great Demon. So, was it right to take the risk and try to smuggle out the corpse?

“Should we withdraw?”

> [No.]

The correct answer was ‘yes.’ If even something with that much strength was no match for it, someone like them, who was weaker than that, would surely be killed without even being able to resist.

> [We’ll begin.]

They didn’t even expect this to give them the power to defeat it. They just hoped this would make them strong enough to retreat when they next faced it.

Swiiish.

Right next to Pandemonium, a group of people dragged countless crates and poured their contents over the ground. Gold, silver, and countless jewels covered the ground.

And all of them melted in an instant, becoming a single mass of molten lava.

> [Next time will be different!]

A gigantic hand rose from the lava, crushing those about to finish off the Skyflow Tiger.

* * *

Even after the Demon Knight suddenly collapsed, the chaos didn’t subside.

A colossal hand made of fire appeared, crushing them.

The incredibly heavy lava poured all over the hastily created barrier, adding to the burden.

“Just what is happening?!”

However, she couldn’t recklessly create a Sanctuary because of the Demon Knight. He had already collapsed from poison, and if he were subjected to Divine Power on top of that, his life would be in danger.

“A-a Demon…”

“Don’t move!”

“Madam Archmage!”

“Almost done!”

Fortunately, the barrier that would filter out the Divine Power was almost complete. The Inquisitor weighed how much power she could safely use.

“It’s coming!”

Berserk, who had been sitting around looking disinterested, immediately reacted. The Inquisitor, sensing the approaching Negative Energy, also opened her eyes wide.

Claaang!

“…!”

They were too late. The golden barrier shattered, causing the lava it had been holding back to come crashing down on them.

“O Almighty God!”

While some corrupted things had managed to invade, that was of lower priority. While she might survive getting swept away by the lava, the others would obviously die.

As such, the Inquisitor concentrated on creating a new barrier instead of dealing with those intruders.

Although the ceiling was lower than before, the new Divine Barrier successfully blocked the lava once again.

“How dare you! Berserk is protecting this place!”

In the meantime, Berserk was fighting the intruders who had emerged from the lava.

The Inquisitor wondered how she could fight in this narrow space with such a long weapon as her halberd, but Berserk’s skills were still exceptional. She managed to hold off the enemy.

“A… Demon…!”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

The Demon Knight tried to stand but collapsed back to his knees, coughing up blood in the process.

> [For a mere mortal, you're quite impressive. But in the end, you’re still nothing but a mortal.]

“Keuk!”

> [Is this still not enough?]

“…!”

On the other hand, Berserk continued to fight relentlessly.

However, after battling fiercely, she was struck by her opponent’s kick, sending her sliding across the ground.

Although she somehow managed to tough out the blow and tried to charge at her enemy again, the ground before her burst open, spewing lava.

Her advance was momentarily halted.

“I have to step in…!”

“Inquisitor, it’s done!”

Fortunately, at that moment, the Archmage completed the protective barrier.

The Inquisitor’s eyes lit up.

“…Don’t… worry about me!”

“I’m sorry, Demon Knight!”

Just then, she was granted permission to act.

The Inquisitor chose to forget temporarily that this could potentially hurt the Demon Knight. She couldn’t afford to let a Demon of a similar caliber to Moby Dick just slip away.

“O Lord, please hear my prayers!”

Divine light descended upon the land, incinerating the lava and Purifying the impure.

Boom!

The hand that had been pressing down on them was completely blown away. While the forearm remained, it was of little importance. It couldn’t hold them back any longer.

> [Tsk!]

However, while the intruder was clearly shocked by that, it didn’t stop moving.

The enemy quickly shook off Berserk, who was trying to charge at it again, by kicking the ground.

The intruder grabbed the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse with one hand while gathering a mass of Negative Energy in the other to deal with Berserk and the golden barrier.

“Not so fast!”

She couldn’t let it escape. As the golden barrier started to crack, she rushed forward, conjuring yet another massive barrier.

As the intruder tried to break through the barrier, she realized another application of her power she hadn’t thought of before.

A barrier that could prevent things from coming in from outside could also prevent things from leaving.

“I won’t let you go!”

> [Hoh.]

She then ran next to Berserk, raising her mace. The Inquisitor’s green eyes locked on to their opponent.

What appeared to be a violet-haired woman was gathering Negative Energy in their hands.

> [Pathetic.]

However, that Negative Energy wasn’t aimed at her or Berserk.

“Ah!”

The intruder’s true targets were the Archmage and the Demon Knight

“No!”

She quickly moved to block the attack, hoping to make it stop for a moment. Clang! The enemy smirked as it took Berserk’s strike.

Boom!

“Keuk!”

It wasn’t the lava getting shot at them but the lava erupting from the ground that pierced through the Archmage’s barrier.

Although the Archmage quickly summoned some water to block it, the damage had already been done.

The moment the barrier shattered, Divine Power struck the Demon Knight’s body. The Inquisitor reflexively tried to withdraw her power.

“I said, don’t worry about me!”

The Demon Knight, a fierce look in his eyes, raised the Zweihänder he had been using to support his body.

“What?!”

A powerful surge of Demonic Energy shot out like a flash, striking the intruder’s shoulder. The impact caused it to drop the torso of the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse, which it had been barely holding on to.

> [Keuk!]

“Cough!”

But that was all. Whether due to overexerting himself or the Divine Power, the Demon Knight completely collapsed, coughing up blood.

After seeing that, the Inquisitor had no choice but to withdraw her power.

The Demon Knight, blood streaming from every orifice in his body, looked like he could die at any moment, so she couldn’t risk it anymore.

> [How naive. If it were me, I wouldn’t have stopped.]

However, that very action led to their decisive defeat.

Their enemy, pouring lava all over Berserk, broke the barrier again and dashed behind her. Though the lava falling onto them from above had been Purified and was no longer a threat, there was no longer a way to catch their opponent.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Even covered in lava, Berserk gave chase. However, this intruder seemed to have prepared well.

Blocking the path just outside the barrier were three more fiery hands, identical to the one that had tried to crush them earlier.

Those lava hands barred Berserk from moving ahead. Even though she was the type to simply endure any damage thrown her way and just continue fighting, this was a challenge even for her.

In the meantime, the intruder was getting further and further away.

Thankfully, no one had died, but they had let it steal a part of the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse: the head, which contained most of the Demonic Energy.

* * *

WE TRIED TLS

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“Berserk, you!”

“Damn it! I lost it!”

After several attempts to track them down, Berserk finally lost sight of them entirely and admitted defeat. It was understandable that she would vent her frustration at the opponent she’d let slip away.

Her entire arm, shoulder, thigh, and part of her face had been burned by lava that spattered on her, her skin even sizzling under its heat. Despite that, Berserk didn’t even mention being in pain. It was as if the lava burning her body meant nothing to her.

Both the Inquisitor and the Archmage, whom the lava hadn’t even hit, were significantly more shocked and flustered.

“T-treatment.”

There was no denying that she had lost it. She had to accept that.

With that in mind, she grabbed Berserk with trembling hands and started healing her wounds. The heat dissipated, and the burned flesh regenerated.

After the treatment was finished, the Inquisitor’s gaze naturally shifted to her surroundings.

“Cough.”

She could see the fiery hands and the flowing lava surrounding them, splattering in all directions.

The forest, already poisoned by the Skyflow Tiger’s corruption, was now also set ablaze.

“This is bad…!”

If they didn’t burn this place with sacred flames, that poison would spread in all directions and soon reach the nearby cities of Ednium and Camborough.

It might even reach the Great Forest, which was only separated from this place by the mountain ridge.

“I-I will Purify the area.”

If they didn’t act quickly, the suffocating fumes would kill them before the poison could, though. In any case, they couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

She clenched her eyes at the sight of the Demon Knight still coughing up blood. Divine Power began to radiate around them, shielding them from the corrupted flames.

The fire and toxic fumes gradually subsided.

“That thing… was definitely a Demon, right?”

“Damn it, damn it!”

It seemed the Archmage had formed a new protective barrier to let the Demon Knight breathe more easily while also using a healing spell to stabilize him.

She thought over the events that had just occurred. Honestly, there wasn’t much need for speculation.

That enemy just then was clearly a Demon comparable in strength to Moby Dick, and its goal had clearly been the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse.

“At least no one died. It’s also fortunate that we didn’t lose all the remains.”

The Archmage was right. It was definitely good that no one had died.

Berserk and the Inquisitor might have been fine, but had that thing deliberately targeted the Demon Knight, he most certainly would have died.

“…Although, they might have kept him alive for a reason.”

“What do you…?”

“Thinking about it objectively, if the Demon Knight had died, the only thing holding you back, Inquisitor, would have disappeared as well.”

“…!”

…Was that what the intruder meant when it said it wouldn’t have stopped if it were them? Was this some type of exchange? The Demon Knight’s life in return for the Demon’s?

No, perhaps this wasn’t even an exchange. The Demon Knight was the host of a Great Demon.

Wasn’t that thing forcefully sustaining the Demon Knights’s life? If it just used its power…

“Are you doing fine?”

“…I’m fine.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s not your fault we lost it.”

“Berserk isn’t angry because of that…!”

What if she had just done it? Could she have really taken that gamble in that situation?

After all, Demons weren’t beings worthy of trust. She didn’t regret her choice.

She didn’t regret it.

She didn’t.

She didn’t regret it…

“Enough.”

The Inquisitor gritted her teeth as she watched Berserk collapsing to the ground.

“Let’s go back for now. We can’t leave the Demon Knight like this…”

Right, it wasn’t Berserk’s fault that the Demon escaped.

It was no one’s fault but the Inquisitor’s.

“I-I…”

“…?”

But just how could this happen? It wasn’t like before, when she had overused her Divine Power and her body had reached its limits. She clearly had plenty of energy left.

How could she have allowed the enemy to escape?

How could she, whose duty was to punish all Demons, let this happen?

“I…”

That was absolutely unforgivable.

This was her greatest failure.

“Hey, what’s going on?!”

It was her indelible shame.

“Ah, you!”

“I saw smoke rising all of a sudden, so I came, but what is all this? Why is everything charred??”

“Perfect timing. A wizard skilled in healing magic and someone knowledgeable about poisons… No, actually, you can take care of that.”

“Huh?”

The Inquisitor’s sight blurred against her will as emotions welled up within her.

Crying wouldn’t help in any way. She knew that, but she was just so frustrated that she couldn’t hold back her tears.

It was just so unbearable for her that she couldn’t even heal the Demon Knight who had fallen due to poison, and even worse, that she had lost the enemy he had risked his life to capture.

“This… Dammit! It’s bleeding poison! Did he get bitten by a snake?!”

“I didn’t see him get bitten…”

“It’s probably the White Serpent Flower that the tiger bloomed. Berserk has seen it before. Back in Berserk’s homeland, many people died because of that flower.”

“White Serpent Flower? Shit, shit.”

Unlike her, who could only mess everything up, the troublemaker quickly identified the cause and started taking appropriate measures.

“Damnit, Mister Knight, if I hadn’t gotten the antidote in the Great Forest… Seriously…”

In the dry air and sticky swamp-like area, the troublemaker worked with his hands as fast as he could.

He fed something into the Demon Knight’s mouth and injected something into his arms and legs.

“…Alright. Quickly use a healing spell now. There’s a high chance that his blood will pool and form blisters, but a spell should take care of that, right?”

“…Will he… survive?”

“The antidote was administered in under thirty minutes, so… he’ll probably live. Even if you take your time with the healing spell, this poison isn’t fast-acting. Plus, Mister Knight isn’t an ordinary person… Adding in the healing magic, I’d say it would even be more difficult for him to die.”

And finally, this incident had reached its conclusion. The Demon Knight would live.

Although there was nothing she could do to ensure that.

“More importantly, could you try to weaken the Divine Power a little? Mister Knight probably wouldn’t admit it, but honestly, it’s not really helping him here… Iron wall?”

That feeling of helplessness finally brought out tears as small as chicken droppings from her eyes.

“I’m…”

“Inquisitor?”

“What the? Why are you crying, Priest?”

“I’m useless…”

This wasn’t the only problem.

The guilt she felt for evacuating early during the battle against Moby Dick.

The helplessness she felt for not being able to do anything to persuade others to hunt down the Skyflow Tiger.

The despair she felt for not being able to help at all in the early stages of this subjugation due to her sluggish body, and the harsh reality that she couldn’t even aid in the final battle due to Berserk.

Or perhaps this was all just her inferiority complex and perceived lack of ability that had been piling up since way before now finally erupting.

It wasn’t all that important now that all her grief was finally spilling out.

“I’m not worthy of being the Hero…”

Sorrow overtook her like a fever, squeezing out every last teardrop from her tear ducts.

“Wh-wh-what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Inquisitor, if you’re talking about what just happened, no one could have expected something like this. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“Priest, don’t cry.”

Her companions tried to comfort her, but their words didn’t really reach her heart. It was the same old thing she had always heard others say.

However, she couldn’t tell whether they were speaking the truth or merely some empty words to console her.

To her, they sounded more like the latter.

“I’m unworthy…”

“Inquisitor…”

She wished someone would have just reprimanded her, like back when she was studying at the Temple, telling her she wasn’t even qualified enough to cry. If that happened, maybe she could have held back her tears.

However, the Archmage and Berserk were just too kind, and their kindness only made her feel worse.

“Someone like me…”

“Shit, what the hell are you even talking about?”

“Hic.”

At that moment, the troublemaker unexpectedly let out some crude curses.

“Are you mocking me right now? Are you shitting me? I couldn’t even participate in any of the fights because I didn’t have the skill to do so…!”

It was only natural that the outburst of the troublemaker, whom she had been secretly envious of, would stimulate her frustration.

“Y-you at least figured out where the Great Demon was! You even had an antidote for the Demon Knight with you! On the other hand, I-I’m just getting in the way all the time…!”

“That’s just this time! You’re usually always fighting side by side with Mister!”

“Just look at this situation! How is this fighting side by side? I’m no help to the Demon Knight!”

“Shit, you’re seriously off your rocker! You have the power to stop Mister Knight whenever he goes berserk, and when he needs help in a fight, you can actually help him!”

A torrent of curses she had never heard in her life spewed from his mouth. However, if someone were to ask whether she was bothered or offended by them, well, not really.

“The Demon Knight can fight without me!”

“He can fight without me! Don’t piss me off by stating the obvious!”

“Y-you’re the one pissing me off! Why are you twisting my words and kicking up such a fuss?!”

“I-Inquisitor, language.”

“Have you finished running your mouth, you damn iron wall?!”

“How about you, you idiot! Troublemaker!”

On the contrary, the more insults she heard him say, the more she felt her sorrow brought on by her helplessness and frustration boil over.

“Do you have any idea how it feels to always be left behind, forced to wait for you guys in the rear?! It’s totally miserable, that’s how!”

“And do you know how it feels to want to help but only be a massive burden instead, and rather than supporting him, just causing him to collapse like this?!”

No. These words had always been inside her.

Their shouting had just caused that volcano filled with these emotions to finally erupt.

“Damn, how the hell would I know that?! I never even got to stand by his side or have a chance to talk to him!”

“I can’t stand by his side or talk to him either!! I’m no different from you!”

All that frustration and anger she had never properly expressed was pouring out like a waterfall.

“And in these kinds of situations, I-I feel like my judgment is always wrong…! You’ve always been helpful to him, but I just keep messing everything up…!”

“Dammit, what judgment call have I made that was so right, then?! And for your information, I recently almost got killed because I couldn’t open my mouth!”

“Well, now that you mention it, you idiot! Why did you decide to keep your mouth shut when you were about to be killed?! Did you not trust me, you troublemaker?!”

“No, damn it, why are you shifting the topic?! And it’s not like I didn’t trust you! It’s just that I… I’m not worth trusting…!”

“Why would you not be worth trusting?!”

“Sh-sh-shit! You’re not just an idiot who is only in the way, either!”

The Inquisitor and Deathbringer, who had been yelling at each other, eventually found themselves on the verge of tears. Their emotions overflowed as they laid their true feelings bare to each other.

“I’m useless…”

“Stop spouting nonsense, idiot. If you’re useless, then I’m even more useless…”

“You’re useful… I’m not…”

“Stop whining like that… I-I, even this time…”

“You even what… Sob.”

“Damn, Mister Knight is definitely disappointed in me. That must be why he isn’t even talking to me… Sob.”

“Kuh, what are you talking about? He never gets disappointed… He never holds any expectations in the first place… Sniff.”

“Damn it, you’re the worst, you iron wall…”

At that moment, the Archmage, who had been silently listening to the conversation, instructed Berserk to gather the others here while she opted to just focus on treating the Demon Knight.

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