The one with the worse skill

I jumped high and swung my sword down at Owen, who parried it with his scythe. Contrary to his looks, he was able to keep up with my physical abilities, whose stats far surpassed those of an average person. He skillfully wielded his weapon and did not shy away from attacking.

Whenever I fought a demon, the fight would end in a heartbeat without the demon even having had the chance to launch an attack at me. And yet, this old man stood almost on equal footing with me.

"I suppose a general is indeed a cut above the regular demon."

"What an honor to hear that from the almighty hero." Owen responded with a chuckle.

Still, I couldn't believe that I would take so long to kill one demon. It irritated me...

Then, he swung his scythe once more at me, however, Sophia jumped between us and blocked that attack with her giant shield. Following her, Jean emerged from the side and attempted to strike Owen down with his sword.

Unfortunately, Owen dodged the sword effortlessly by jumping back.

"Emerge from the deaths."

"Hieek!" Zera squealed as if a shiver ran down her spine.

"W-what's happening now...?"

Harald stepped back as he nervously watched the hands that crawled up from the soil.

"Everyone! Watch out for all sides!" Jean shouted.

It was not just in front of us. We were in the middle of the strange emergence of things that came from below.

"Skeletons?!" Sophia remarked while being taken aback.

That's correct. Surrounding us was a group of weapon-wielding skeletons.

"It's not often that I've to make use of my skill, but against the hero and her party I can't take it too easy."

"H-how can they move?!"

"Try to calm down, Zera. His skill allows him to summon and control the corpses of the people he killed. But he won't be able to control such a big number for long, so don't be intimidated!" Jean stated with a fierce gaze.

"I understand. You're still intending to do that... You fool..."

I managed to perceive Owen's lamenting words roughly, but at the same time, the ground below us shook again.

"He's summoning even more?!" Sophia yelled.

And soon, the small group of skeletons turned into a full-fledged army. It was an army full of dead people he killed with his own hands. Again, it irritated me...

"This senile bastard...!" Jean muttered while clenching his teeth.

"I will make a path."

"?"

I pushed Jean and Sophia aside, holding my sword tightly.

The obstacles in front of me were no demons. At some point in time, they were humans — No. They're still humans. And now they were used by a wicked demon. It disgusted me.

"I will give you all a proper death."

I felt the power flowing in my body. No matter how much I disliked my skill, it was useful. After all, it allowed me the chance to kill the demon who treated dead people's bodies like tools.

"..."

I took a deep breath.

"!"

And in a flash, I jumped into the horde of skeletons and unleashed my sword, wiping out dozens of them at once. Bones and weapons flew in the air as I continued my march towards the general.

I sensed cold and hard bones clinging to my body. Swords that scratched me. Spears that tried to dig into my flesh. Teeth that were attempting to rip off my skin. However, I moved forward. One swing took out 13 skeletons. The next one 20. Then 32. And following that...

With only bones in my vision, I quickly lost count and how long it would take me to get to Owen.

"I was called a monster by those who witnessed my skill, but I have to wonder now..."

Before I realized it, Owen's scythe was right in front of my face.

"Just who is more of a monster between the two of us?" he said sternly.

I finally reached him.

"Harald, go heal her first!"

I heard the voices of my comrades who were behind me and still fighting off the skeletons. Regardless of that, I didn't bother looking back or wasting more time worrying about them. The destiny of my sword was before me.

And while some skeletons were still clinging to my arms, I took one step forward and swung my sword with everything I had.

Owen, too, held his scythe behind his head before swinging it at me.

"Guah!"

With the scythe still in his hand, the whole arm flung up when my sword tore it off his frail body. Blood gushed out from the spot where his right arm was previously attached.

"Kill her!" he screamed at his army.

"A-Alice, watch out!

Like a wave, the skeletons tried to bury me under them.

"Ugh...!" Owen groaned, holding the open wound tightly with his other hand.

That was my cue. I will finish you.

Ignoring the trivial injuries given to me from behind, I launched my sword like a spear into his chest, twisted it and then cut through him. However, he still had enough life in him to scream in pain. In other words, he was not dead yet. Thus, I took another step towards the falling old man and delivered the final blow.

Jean's faint voice was ringing in my eardrums as I embedded the sight of my blade slicing off the general's head like butter.

"..."

The forest turned quiet again once the army of skeletons disappeared instantly due to the death of the man who called himself one of the three generals.

"Argh!"

Probably because I was relieved, I immediately felt the pain I had received but chose to ignore back then.

"There are no threats for now." Jean confirmed exhaustedly.

"Will she be alright, Harald?"

"She may look like a bloody mess right now, but there's nothing to worry about if I take care of her."

"Alice!"

"Hey, Zera! Don't hug her so tightly! She's my patient!"

My gaze slowly wandered to Zera, who was hugging me while smearing my dirty and bloody clothes with her snot and tears. I wanted to pat her head, but refused to do so because I had no strength left to lift my arms anymore.

Despite being in one of the most dangerous places in the world, I tried to enjoy the quietness while my party was bickering with each other as always.

"H-hero!"

Sadly, that silence was disrupted after just a few seconds. The king's personal army returned after being told to flee from the scene and it seemed like they were unharmed.

We explained what happened — from encountering Owen, the fight, his skill, his death and most importantly, the existence of at least two other individuals on his level: The so-called three generals.

"W-what an unpleasant discovery...!" the general muttered in shock.

It sure was. It was also safe to say that those generals were dangerously close to the Demon King in terms of power.

"Thanks, Harald, but that's enough for now. You need to save up your energy for now."

"Don't be stupid! You're still a wreck, you know?!"

"He's right. You should take care of yourself."

"!"

The peaceful atmosphere was no more when the one I was looking for suddenly popped up in front of us.

"You...!"

Now wearing clothes, that white-haired scum flashed an innocent-looking smile at me...!

"I-i-is that the D-Demon King?!" the general stuttered with his face turning awfully pale.

My party and I readied ourselves for combat. I might not have recovered completely yet from the previous fight, but as long as I could hold Teufelsjaeger, I was fine to go.

"So you killed Owen, huh...?"

He looked at the headless body of his former subordinate, however, he didn't really sound deeply affected by his death. Rather than that, he was indifferent.

"Thanks for showing up. You spared us the trouble of looking for you." Sophia said.

She tried to appear smug, but just like the others, she was nervous.

"I'm not here to fight you guys. I just want you to turn back." the Demon King stated seriously.

"And why should we listen to you?" Zera yelled furiously.

"You're not in a state where you could take me down. You're just risking your lives foolishly for a losing battle. So accept my generosity and lea-"

"Leaving is not an option for me." I cut him off.

His eyes looked at me as if he expected me to say it.

"Alright, hero. How about you leave if I manage to beat you in a one-on-one?"