# 170. The Hero Party Without Uncle (3)
A man exploiting people's hatred and anger.
After wandering through the entire city, Hare was able to spot the Hero Party hiding in a room.
"...So what that man said back then was true."
"What...? What's wrong with me...?"
"...Just, that's all."
Luna's face was haggard from lack of sleep.
She's probably using as many people as possible the same way she did with that warrior.
Hare approached Luna, who was nodding off drowsily, and said:
"Luna, I think I found the Demon King."
"De, Demon King...! Where is that bastard...!! I'll kill him right now...! He's spreading weird rumors about me...!!"
"...How did you know about that, Luna?"
"Saten told me!"
Then that makes sense.
There's no way Luna could have figured that out on her own.
Hare checked on Luna's condition after not sleeping all day.
She kept closing her eyes, trying to fall asleep.
However, she couldn't sleep, reacting to every single sound coming from outside.
"If I mess up, I'll go back again... No... I can't go back again..."
Luna muttered something, but Hare couldn't quite understand it, so she decided to get to the point.
"Luna."
"Yeah?"
"I know you're sleepy, but let's go to the desert. First, let's catch the Demon King..."
You can sleep then if you want to.
Got it?
"...Okay."
Luna desperately wanted to sleep right now but held back.
Because right now, Hare's words were right.
"Catch the Demon King quickly... And get rid of it before the rumors about me spread more..."
Then.
I'll finally be able to sleep comfortably.
By Uncle's side after he comes back to life.
Luna, who had experienced the deaths of her party members multiple times due to her carelessness.
She walked forward with anger toward the Demon King while looking at a faint hope.
The Demon King sat in his seat, waiting for them to come.
He knew they would come to him eventually.
And he expected the process to take quite a long time.
"However... my prediction was wrong. You Hero Party members are quite competent."
"Who are you to judge me...! After deceiving people...!!"
"I deceived people? No, I merely gave them opportunities."
He gave vitality to soldiers trapped in boredom and started a war.
Through that, he gave soldiers the opportunity to harbor anger and hatred and find meaning in life.
"And I gave the desert warriors an opportunity to resent you."
"Why...?"
"Because there's no better opportunity to release pent-up emotions than resenting and being angry at others. Isn't that right, Hero? Since you came here killing the people behind you."
A middle-aged man.
Wrath, the Demon King, moved his cigarette-holding fingers toward the far side of the barracks.
There lay soldiers from the neighboring country of Mabel, collapsed on the ground.
Luna shouted in protest at his words.
"What are you talking about-!! When did I kill those people-!! They're just lying down-!!"
"No, those guys are dead."
As Wrath spoke, red energy rose into the air from the soldiers' bodies.
An ominous feeling emanated, a feeling of not wanting to get close.
Soon after, that red energy mercilessly pierced through the soldiers' bodies.
Wrath only laughed madly at the sight.
"Ha, haha-!! Hahaha-!!"
"Why is that Demon King laughing at people dying?"
"...I don't know either."
"Ha, haha-! If you don't understand the meaning of my laughter, your moral compass has already been destroyed. However, unfortunately, you're not the Hero."
As he said, unlike Hare and Saten who expressed doubt.
Luna's expression was rotten with anger.
"You killed them, Hero. You knocked those people out and left them alone, so they died. In the end, it's all your fault."
"Shut up...!! What, what do you know...!!"
"After living for over 400 years, you can tell what kind of person someone is just by looking at their face. I know you well. Both the Hero and the Holy Sword are the same."
Flinch-
At Wrath's words, Luna's Holy Sword moved.
From that movement, Luna could tell.
*The Holy Sword's Hero Party... was defeated by that man...*
And that means he's that strong of an existence.
If I'm not careful, I might have to repeat time again.
*If it were before, Uncle would remember me but...*
Now I'm alone.
I have to repeat time that no one acknowledges.
A sense of despair that felt like it would break her knees dominated her body for a moment.
However, Luna, as the Hero, had to stand up.
"Let's go, guys. Let's defeat the Demon King."
To bring peace to the world.
To see Uncle again.
Thus, the Hero Party began their battle with the Demon King of Wrath.
I gave up counting.
If only I hadn't known numbers, it wouldn't be this hard right now.
What am I fighting for, and why am I here?
"World peace... and Uncle...?"
No, I don't really understand world peace.
Will the world really become peaceful if we kill all the Demon Kings?
Look, even the Demon King is saying this now.
"I don't know what this Hero's ability is, but you can't beat me. Unlike the others, I've been in this world for a long time. I have many forms and use those abilities for the world."
Mainly for those empty-hearted, hollow ones.
"There are those who aren't satisfied no matter what they do. Even using other methods, their hearts aren't fulfilled. For them, anger is the best solution."
"So you're saying you're benefiting society right now...?"
"...Luna, stay still. Ah, Uncle said not to listen to the Demon King's words."
"Shut up...!! What do you know about me...!!"
Countless deaths and rebirths.
Luna's body was tired and her mind was exhausted, so she couldn't make proper judgments.
She didn't have the strength to think about what was right or wrong.
That's why she decided to listen to the Demon King's words once.
"Demon King of Wrath... you said you're helping society...?"
"That's right, I'm practically helping society and receiving compensation."
"And that's the power of people's anger...?"
"Exactly. It's a symbiotic relationship. I also need humans to survive, so I don't want destruction."
Because anger requires people to exist.
"If you don't touch me, I won't touch the Hero Party either. We can resolve this with words without fighting. This can be seen as an opportunity."
"..."
Luna found herself agreeing with those words without realizing it.
Actually, he was giving them an opportunity.
An opportunity to persuade with words even though there was a difference in skill.
Luna, who had actually experienced his words, knew this well.
However.
"I understand what you're saying, but... that's absolutely not possible..."
"Why? Why are you trying to become a foolish person?"
"Because I need Uncle..."
I need Uncle who acknowledges me.
Otherwise, we're all the same as dead people.
Wrath chuckled at Luna's words and spoke bluntly.
"So you're choosing to be a dependent existence rather than an independent one?"
"...You're right, it is dependence. So hurry up and die. I want to see Uncle quickly."
Luna shouted this, drew her Holy Sword, and stepped forward again.
As she said, the Demon King of Wrath wouldn't die easily.
He was the strongest Demon King they had encountered.
Luna grinned as she looked down at the pooled blood.
"...Finally killed him."
Anger was reflected there.
Whether it was Wrath who had been acting superior, or Luna reflected in the blood, she didn't know.
But what was certain was that anger existed there.
"Finally killed him... This bad guy... Every moment I talked with you-!! It all made me sick-!!"
Crack- Crack-
Luna struck down at Wrath with her Holy Sword.
His power, which had accumulated and utilized the emotion of anger, was strong.
He suddenly amplified the Hero Party's anger while constantly chattering and touching their emotions.
In the futures Luna had repeated, Saten's emotions had run wild and she had attempted self-destruction.
"...Damn trash- how dare you speak of Uncle with that mouth-? You need to die-! One more-! Time-!"
Luna kept striking down at the Demon King's corpse.
While being disgusted by Luna's appearance.
Hare and Saten approached Luna and grabbed her shoulders.
"Luna..."
"Let go-!! What do you know-! To stop me-!"
"That's not it... we need to eliminate the Demon King... if you keep striking like that, there won't be any flesh left..."
"...Right, you were always like that. I'm sorry."
You had no interest in me, only in Uncle.
Anyway, Uncle is the only one who remembers me.
"...No, now even Uncle is gone."
At those words, Luna stopped her Holy Sword and waited for Estia to wake up.
Only after an hour passed did Estia open her eyes.
Luna ran to Estia, held out her Holy Sword, and said:
"Estia. Infuse Divine Power into this place right now."
"Di, Divine Power...? But Luna, where is this...? I was with Uncle-"
"Stop talking and just infuse Divine Power-!!"
"O, okay... why are you being so cranky..."
Drowsy Estia muttered and infused Divine Power into the Holy Sword.
Without a moment's hesitation, Luna approached and placed the Holy Sword on Demon King Wrath's flesh.
At that moment, the Demon King's body was purified and disappeared from the world.
Only then could Luna feel somewhat relieved.
"Finally won't have to hear this guy's voice... noisy trash... kept spouting nonsense...!!"
"But Luna, we didn't fight for that long, so it's not 'kept,' is it?"
Saten's fundamental question.
At that sound, Luna's eyes sharpened as she said:
"...You don't know. The only person who would understand is Uncle anyway-"
Luna, who was about to speak, closed her mouth and quickly left the war barracks.
And she muttered into the air.
"...Only Uncle, but Uncle shouldn't have left. That's why I hate Uncle. When I meet him again, I'll ask. Whether it's my fault that he left."
It's probably mostly my fault.
But I'll still ask.
Because that's how I'll decide what to do with Uncle.
Luna, filled with hatred and anger, muttered this and departed toward the final Demon King.