Vol 2: Chapter 17: One Trouble Goes By, Another Comes

The Saint and the Hero of Salvation

One Trouble Goes By, Another Comes

"Ah... ahhh, my arm aaaah! My, my right arm aaaaah!!!"

A man's scream echoed through the deserted, dimly lit, quiet, dead-end corridor of the slums. There, the hero Hayato was screaming and clutching his right arm... no, what was left of it.

"I'm sorry, I was listening to what you were saying. I got so angry that I used too much force and accidentally cut it off."

The hero Aleph spoke while looking down. It wasn't the voice of a man who was depressed because of his childhood friends. It was a cold voice, as if he'd been mocking him from the start.

Perhaps the pain from his cut right arm had just set in, as Hayato's face was contorted in pain as he stepped back to put some distance between him and Aleph.

Aleph raised his head and slowly approached Hayato. Fear rose in Hayato's heart.

"Wait, Aleph... No, Aleph-sama!! I surrender, that's right, I surrender! I've lost! Let's end this now. You win. I'll also give back the childhood friends I stole from you! I'll also remove all the charms from other women. I promise!"

Hayato begins to plead for his life as hard as he can to the approaching Grim Reaper Aleph. Even after hearing that, Aleph's expression doesn't change. Hayato's horror only intensifies.

"It's not a bad deal! All of your childhood friends loved you... They probably still love you now. Yes! That's right! Of course, Chris belongs to you too...! You will regain the bonds and love with your four childhood friends, create a harem, and continue your journey to save the world! Isn't this a good thing? A truly happy ending, right!?"

In order to calm Aleph's anger, Hayato comes up with a list of endings that the man would like. All he can think about is how he can survive this situation.

But Aleph's progress did not stop. If anything, his anger only grew.

"Wait a second! It's true that I did make a move on your childhood friends! But it's not all bad. Thanks to all the teaching I did, Aria and the others feel amazing, you know? They tighten up nicely, and it feels amazing! I'm sure you'll be satisfied too! I'm sure all three of them will be happy to serve you, since they love you so much!"

It was no longer clear whether he was begging for his life or trying to provoke him.

Hayato was so panicked that he didn't even realize what he was blurting out.

"Hey, Hayato. I've been thinking about something."

Aleph stops walking and speaks to Hayato.

"Wh, what's the matter, Aleph? No, Aleph-sama, what's wrong? If there's anything you want to ask, please just ask..."

Hayato finds hope in Aleph, who has stopped walking, and tries to curry favor with him as much as possible. However...

"Just having left arm is unbalanced, isn't it?"

The words that were spoken were not words of hope.

Aleph slashes at Hayato with lightning speed, but Hayato doesn't notice that he has been slashed.

"Eh...? Aleph, what are you talking about?"

Just as Hayato was about to finally respond to Aleph's question...

--The nasty sound of "plop" was heard again.

The sound came from Hayato's left direction, and when Hayato turned his attention towards the sound of something falling...

His left arm was lying on the ground.

"...Huh...Eh? Hey, why did my left arm fall over..."

Hayato, unable to grasp the situation, muttered in a silly voice. He had already lost both his arms.

"Ahh... Ahh... Aaaahh! My, my left arm! My armmmm!!!"

Hayato screamed again. If he screamed like this, someone would normally notice him, even if it was a back alley in the slums.

However, no one heard Hayato's screams. Aleph had already cast soundproofing magic around the area, so no one would hear him no matter how loud he cried.

"Oh, you look good, Hayato. You look even more handsome than before."

Aleph smiles brightly and speaks to Hayato. Having lost both his arms, Hayato naturally has no time to listen to such words. He just cries over the fact that he has lost his left arm.

"You must be tired from crying so much. Sit down for a bit and calm down, Hayato!"

Aleph spoke soothingly, but contrary to his words, he began to prepare Arondight and slashed it to the side.

--Hayato's body shook and fell backwards.

It wasn't that he was staggering, but that he was physically unable to stand, because while his body had fallen, only his feet were left standing.

When he ooked at himself, both of his legs had disappeared from the middle of his thighs down... No, it was still standing. Just his legs.

His thigh, where a large blood vessel runs, was severed halfway through, and he nearly lost consciousness due to excessive bleeding.

Anticipating this, Aleph immediately ran over to him and began chanting healing magic. He possessed the powers of many heroes and could use simple healing magic.

The severed leg... no, the wound in the thigh, which should have bled profusely, was closed. Aleph also heals the amputated areas of both shoulders.

This saves Hayato's life, but as a result of his warped body being repaired, his arms and legs will never be reattached. At that moment, he becomes nothing more than a caterpillar.

"Phew, that was a close call Hayato. Your life is no longer in danger. That's a relief."

Aleph speaks gently to Hayato with a look of accomplishment on his face, like a doctor who has saved a life.

"...Just kill me. Kill me, Aleph! Something like this...can't be called alive...uuuuu"

Hayato is in despair and begs Aleph to kill him, but at the same time, he can't stop crying at the relief he feels for being alive in this condition...

Even in this condition, he still didn't want to die.

"Don't push yourself... Hayato. You look like you don't want to die. But that's okay. Live. You may not be able to survive on your own anymore, but there are good things in life."

Aleph comforts Hayato with a refreshing look on his face. He says nice things, but it's not the kind of thing you'd want to hear from someone who put him in this state.

"Are you not going to kill me?... Because I've become so miserable, you've decided not to kill me?"

Hayato asks Aleph what he really means, as he is sure that he will kill him. Although he is practically dead in human terms, he still has life.

"Yeah, I thought about killing you, but I decided not to. I'm satisfied now. You can live your life however you like."

"I see, since you put me in this state... I definitely won't thank you..."

Even now, when Hayato thinks about his own condition he feels like going mad, he stare at Aleph in an angry gaze. 

"There's no need for that. See you, Hayato. I've forgiven you, so I hope you come back from here alive."

With that, Aleph turned his back on Hayato and walked off towards the entrance to the dead-end corridor.

Hayato, who was left behind, looked at his condition once again and felt pessimistic... but at the same time, he was also happy that he had survived. He may have lost all his limbs, but he had at least survived...

But the despair isn't over yet.

The sound of footsteps, tap, tap, heralding doom, was approaching Hayato. Hayato was once again overcome with anxiety.

The figure was small, and it was clear that she was still a child, but the gazes that looked at him were filled with intense murderous intent.

Furthermore, in her hand she was clutching a small knife that she had been carrying for self-defense...

Eventually, the person stops in front of Hayato.

Hayato screamed when he saw the person walking towards him.

--There was the girl, Reno, with a crazy smile on her face.

It was a disaster of his own making.