Volume 1. Chapter 15. From Coward to Hero: The Day Everything Changed.

Cini grew furious upon hearing the demon king Neii's words. He stood up and grabbed his clothes with rage.

"What are you planning? Tell me now!"

"I told you... I no longer have the intention to fight. Now take your filthy hands off my clothes... Rage of the hero".

The demon king Neii stared at Cini with a murderous desire.

Cini released his grip, sat back down, and tried to calm down.

"If you have no intention, how did you know this?"

King Ligt wondered how the demon king Neii obtained such information.

"Not like Dorf, nicknamed the disaster. I am nicknamed the observer. It sounds boring, but it's interesting, at least when the darkness comes."

The demon king Neii drank another cup of fruit extract, making Cini even more annoyed.

"We should return soon before the demon king Dorf's army reaches the city."

Mansa got up from the chair and advised his three friends.

"Come on, before it's too late."

Rii nodded in agreement with Mansa's suggestion.

"I can't assist because it could cause problems for Norf City in the eyes of the union."

King Ligt felt useless even though he had great power.

"No need to worry, king, as long as you are still on our side. That is more than enough."

King Ligt rose from his chair and nodded after Mansa forgave him.

"We wish you the best, all heroes. Please save our world from the grasp of the ancestor."

King Ligt entrusted them with the mission to save their world.

Surprisingly, a teleport circle appeared near them, realizing that the demon king Neii was helping them because he heard the snap of his fingers.

"It would be a shame if that woman died because I want to see that darkness again."

They entered the circle without wasting time and returned to the Leindorf forest.

"Come on, we must tell the guild master about the attack on this city."

They nodded at Vail's words and immediately ran towards the guild.

Elia, who was in the guild, was surprised to see them return so quickly and was curious when Mansa asked Elia to call the guild master.

Elia invited them to the guild master's office. Their arrival made the guild master curious.

"What...?!"

Everyone downstairs heard the shocked voice of the guild master after being informed of the attack on Norf City.

"Elia, how many S-rank adventurers are there in this city?"

The guild master wanted to calculate the number of forces before calculating the impact of the disaster.

"Including Nita, Sara, and Erik. There are eight S-rank adventurers in Norf City."

"We lack sufficient strength to defend this city."

"Don't worry, guild master, we will help."

The guild master was happy to hear Mansa's words, saying he wanted to help the adventurers protect Norf City.

"Elia, can you ask all the adventurers to gather at the guild?"

"Sure, guild master."

Elia came out of the room, taking dozens of marbles that would be used as information balls.

When the spell was given, dozens of marbles in Elia's hand shot to all city corners. Those who got the marbles immediately realized the danger, but just two came to the guild.

They gathered at the guild, totaling forty people.

"What happened? Why did the guild master give an emergency signal?"

One of the adventurers was curious.

At the same time, the Guild master came down from the second floor with four young men. One of the adventurers was surprised to see the hero in Norf City.

"Is everyone gathered?"

The guild master wanted to ensure Elia that all the adventurers in Norf City had gathered.

"Of all the adventurers, only they are in this city."

Elia told the other adventurers they were not in the city.

"Guild master, what happened?"

One of the S-rank adventurers asked curiously. His attire was that of a true swordsman. His companion was also of the same rank and was a spearman.

"I got news from the hero that the demon king Dorf and his troops are heading to this City."

Hearing the Guild master's words surprised them.

"The guild will issue an emergency request. Anyone can reject or accept it. The reward is worth one hundred gold pieces, and for anyone who…"

The guild master stopped speaking. Everyone's expression seemed reluctant to deal with the demon king of disaster.

"Guild master... leave this to me."

"Vail."

The guild master wondered what Vail wanted to do.

"Everyone, listen to the story of the three of us."

"Before meeting Una, we were nothing but cowards—running away, thinking only of ourselves."

"As a result of that cowardly act, people who should have felt happiness instead died at the hands of the demon army."

They listened to Vail's words with their heads lowered.

"We know that fighting the demon king of calamity is ridiculous, but here... now we are with the hero Mansa…"

"With the Guild master, with the people who placed their hopes on our shoulders. Our sins may be unforgivable, but that incident opened our eyes to our cowardice."

Elia was amazed by Vail's words.

"I'll come!"

Hendrik's exclamation surprised them all.

"Hendrik?"

They were all confused about why the once cowardly Hendrik had decided to fight against the demon army.

"This city is the only place I have lived and the only memories I have with my two friends."

"If I can kill that demon lord, they will forgive me for what I did."

Hendrik stepped through the crowd to stand near the guild master and face all the adventurers.

"You called me a coward for running away and letting my friends die… but look at yourselves—aren't you even more afraid than I ever was!"

Hendrik's words only made things worse—at the worst possible moment. On Delgram's orders, one of the soldiers came to the guild and asked all adventurers to get ready.

"Erik!"

Mansa ran towards the city gate in the west, where the city soldiers gathered. Erik turned his head because he heard Mansa's voice calling his name from behind.

"Hero, how did you get to this city?"

"Leaving that aside, where are Nita and Sara?"

"They helped Cindy to bring Una to a hiding in the middle of the city."

Erik said that the two helped Cindy carry Una, who was still unconscious, to the city bank.

"Mr. Hero."

Noticing Mansa's presence in the city, Delgram approached.

"Mr. Delgram, we—"

"Demon troops are visible!"

The soldier who was monitorin' cried. He saw hundreds of demon troops—almost as many as the city's population.

"Hero, we need your help."

"I understand, Mr. Delgram."

Delgram nodded after getting an answer from Mansa.

"Form a defense formation!"

"Prepare a defense formation, don't let the demon troops enter the city!"

One of Delgram's subordinates repeated his sentence and added a few sentences.

Everyone was so scared under the city tower. A child's cry made the atmosphere even more chaotic. Cindy was near Una and guarded her.

The demon army broke through the front lines when war broke out, forcing Vail, Rii, and Cini to unleash their powers to fight off the monsters that entered the city.

"Their numbers are too many if it continues like this. The city will be filled with demon beasts."

Vail complained because the demon beasts kept coming.

When they started to get overwhelmed, an attack killed the demon beast.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Said one of the adventurers, arriving with the others one by one.

"Everyone...?"

Rii did not expect all the adventurers who previously refused to come to help.

"After thinking it over, we realized we were fed up with Hendrik's ranting. So, after knocking some sense into him, we decided to join the fight."

Said one of the A-rank adventurers.

"Leave these demon beasts to us,"

"Thank you, we appreciate your help."

Cini, Rii, and Vail ran to the front lines to help Mansa. Handing over the demon beasts in the city to the adventurers.

Besides, the demon king Dorf watched their struggle in the sky.

"So it was your doing, Neii, hiding the other three heroes from us. It's considered a betrayal, especially since you also helped them to return."

Dorf's sharp gaze was fixed on the three heroes running towards the front lines to help the hero Mansa.

"Change of plans because there are four heroes in Norf City. That means I will deploy the demon army five times to exterminate them without exception."

The demon king Dorf snapped his fingers, and dozens of teleportation circles appeared—unleashing swarms of winged demons.

"The second wave is coming!"

Delgram warned if the demon army received help from demons that had wings and flew in the sky.

"Adventurers who can use magic, it's time for you to appear!"

The guild master asked the adventurers who could use magic to attack the insect-type demon beasts.

All adventurers who can cast spells attack the insect-type demons flying in the city's sky.

The people hiding trembled with fear. The sound of explosions from attack magic and the groans of the demon beasts made the atmosphere creepy.

"Why are they endless?"

Mansa began to reach the limit of swinging his sword, as did Erik and the others.

One by one, the soldiers fell, and the winged demons carried some away. And most were slaughtered in horrific ways by the demonic beasts.

"It seems I pushed them too hard."

The demon king Dorf was disappointed with the strength of the heroes and his troops, who were overwhelmed by the demonic beasts and his troops.

The front-line defense slowly collapsed, and Delgram shouted for everyone to retreat into the city's heart.