Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Helmios apparently knew the man dressed as a clown who had appeared out of nowhere.

It seemed that the man wearing the clown mask was Kyubel, a Demon Great General.

(Whoa! There's a Demon Great General out there.)

"It's been a while since I've seen you, Hero Helmios."

Then he bowed and curtsied in a joking gesture as if he were a clown.

However, Helmios glared at Kyubel, a Demon Great General with such a light demeanor, with the hardest look I'd ever seen in my life.

"What are you doing here?"

He then asked why he was here in a low voice, which was unthinkable for a normal Helmios.

"It's okay. I'm not going to fight against a Spirit God. I let you live the other day as well, didn't I?"

"You, you!"

Helmios' right hand which was holding the hilt of his sword grew tighter.

"So what did you come here for? Depending on your answer... you know. Haha."

The Spirit God Rosen, who had changed into a lion-like figure, interrupted the conversation between Helmios and Demon Great General Kyubel.

(Oh! Spirit God~ . Go, go, go.)

I decided to borrow the authority of the Spirit God.

"Like I said earlier, as the Commander-in Chief of the Demon King's army for this war, I'm just investigating the reason why we were defeated. That's really all! I'd be boned too if I fought a Spirit God."

"Hmm? You can try and see if you can get away with just bones. Haha."

Spirit God Rosen in the form of a lion bared his fangs and showed a maniacal face, provoking the Demon Great General Kyubel.

(A Demon Great General and Commander-in- Chief of the Demon King's army? At last, there's even a leader of the Demon King's army. Does that mean Razel was just an executive?)

I thought about the organizational structure of the Demon King's army.

I wondered if it was possible that Demon General Razel, whom we had miraculously defeated at the very last minute, was not even an executive.

"Scary, scary. But then again, Razel had a lot of potential. It's a pity that he was killed. In the end he couldn't throw away the most important thing to him like I told him to."

He was pitying Demon General Razel, who had become a pile of ashes, gradually flying away and disappearing in the wind. However, although he was wearing a mask and I couldn't see his expression, I felt like he was looking at Demon General Razel like a broken toy, and didn't feel any kind of compassion.

""...""

We were on full alert because of the sudden appearance of the one that Helmios called the Demon Great General Kyubel.

He turned his gaze to the ashes of Demon General Razel, without regard to our attacking stance.

(Is he strong enough to afford it? Oh, he looked at me.)

"So, one of you is Allen. Allen, please raise your hand."

""...""

"Huh~. Don't be afraid, please come out."

No one responded to him, including me.

Kyubel, the Demon Great General, thought it was strange and shifted his gaze to everyone present.

(Clown? Clown? Hmm... no choice.)

"Allen... died."

While everyone was silent, I spoke up with a sad expression.

"What?"

Demon Great General, Kyubel, looked at me and froze.

My friends somehow knew that something had started, so they resisted the urge to say, "What?"

"Allen sacrificed himself to defeat Demon General Razel for us. ...There's not a shadow of him left."

I showed the huge hole as a sign of a mortal struggle between Allen, who sacrificed himself and Demon General Razel.

I spoke as if I were a boy who had lost everything.

"What? Are you lying? Allen died?"

"Yes. ...Demon General Razel was too strong. We have no more hope. Are you satisfied now?"

(Oh? Can you do it? Forget about Allen.)

"Of course not! You're Allen. You're the only one with black hair! I am afraid you have already started to strategize how to defeat me."

With both hands raised to the sky and stomping on the ground, Kyubel, the Demon Great General, gave me a full-on tsukkomi.

(Really? This is the guy who planned the invasion?)

If you know what I look like, don't bother asking, but I understood the position of the Demon Great General Kyubel within the Demon King's army.

"..."

I stared silently at Kyubel, the Demon Great General, wondering why and how he knew about me.

"Mm-hmm, but that's okay. So this is how you are, Allen. We lost this war mainly because of you. Some Demon Generals may come to kill you again, but when they do, please play with them. That's really all I have to say today. Bye~"

With a wave of his hand and a "Bye~", Kyubel slowly disappeared from underneath his feet, as if he were becoming invisible.

(My face has also been revealed? Well, it can't be helped.)

With the disappearance of the Demon Great General Kyubel, a silence descended.

"Allen, what are we going to do?"

"Huh? That's right. Anyway, let's go back. I've already reported the battle situation, but let's report directly as well. Helmios, let's go back together on the way back."

I had left 1 B-rank Ellie in Tiamo.

I'd already sent word to the Queen and her Generals that we had defeated Demon General Razel.

In that way, my friends and I with the help of Helmios and Spirit God Rosen defeated Demon General Razel.

After receiving the news of the defeat of Demon General Razel, the Queen informed all the cities and places of refuge of Rosenheim's victory.

More than two months of painful war had come to an end.

There were a few remnants of the magical beasts, but the elven army was more than enough to wipe them out.

And on the morning of the day, three days after the defeat of the Demon General, my friends and I were in the hall of the building where the Queen was living in Tiamo.

The Queen wished to thank us on behalf of Rosenheim.

(There are a few Elders here who didn't play an active role in the war.)

The Queen and her Military Generals weren't the only ones present to thank us, the elders in charge of internal affairs were also present.

Since Nest City was going to be attacked, we moved several elders, including the eldest, to Tiamo.

Thanks to that, the elders were able to arrive in time for the official victory report by Helmios and me. The elders were also participating in this event for political reasons.

"First of all, I would like to thank you on behalf of Rosenheim. Thank you very much."

"There's still a lot left to be done. So, I'm sorry that we can't stay until the end."

Helmios was also there, but the Queen spoke to me, and I answered her.

(I have to leave immediately.)

I hadn't explained Fortenia's condition to the Queen.

All I told her was that Demon General Razel was very strong and the battle was fierce.

I needed to leave Rosenheim as soon as possible.

"What do you mean? We will definitely repay you for defeating not only the magical beasts but also Demon General Razel and returning the elves under the World Tree."

"Oh, about that, Demon General Razel was defeated by Hero Helmios. Please do not forget about this point."

I told them that thank Helmios, as the reason for Demon General Razel's defeat.

(Actually, Helmios crushed two of Demon General Razel's 3 hearts. So he deserves the most credit.)

The Generals and elders were buzzing with noise, wondering if this meant that Helmios would get the credit for defeating Demon General.

I stared at the Queen.

I've already talked to Helmios about giving him full credit for the defeat of the Demon General Razel.

(Well, the Demon King's army may have found out about me, but there's not much to be gained by being famous in the human world over here.)

I didn't want us to be hailed as Heroes.

So, if our popularity hindered us from going to the S-class dungeon, it would be us who would be in trouble.

Demon General Razel was too strong. It was a miracle that we won.

And I didn't think we had any chance of defeating that Demon Great General Kyubel.

I knew when I came to Rosenheim that I had a lot of work to do.

I found out how weak I was. And to grow stronger I needed to be able to move freely. It was never about position or honor to me.

Seeing me, the Queen looked back at me with a troubled expression, saying, "Your name is already well known in the human world."

"That's just like you, Allen. Ha ha."

When she said that, Spirit God Rosen fluffed up from Sophie's shoulder and moved to the Queen's lap. After being a Spirit God, I could see him on Sophie's shoulders as much as I saw him on the Elf Queen's lap.

Apparently, the Spirit God Rosen had two forms: Flying Squirrel when he was Spirit King, and Lion when he became a Spirit God. After the Demon Great General was gone, he stayed in his Flying Squirrel form, riding on Sophie's shoulders.

"No, I'm going to receive the greatest reward of all, which is the promise I made to the Spirit God during the war. All of my friends will have 4-star Talents."

"You're trying something cheeky. Well, you saved my cute elves so it's fine. Haha."

Spirit God Rosen didn't deny that he could raise someone's Talent up to 4-star.

He had only said that 4-star was the maximum that he could give someone to and that he could only raise 1-star at a time.

(There's one more thing I want. Don't turn this one down either.)

I wanted one more reward from Spirit God Rosen.

"Thank you very much. But I can't stop thinking about what the Spirit God said before, "This boy has helped me a lot and taken deeds off my shoulders many times."

"Eh?"

"Haha? What does that mean?"

"No, it's no big deal. But I can't wait to see what the Spirit God has in store for me in return for my assistance."

After I said that much, everyone seemed to understand what I was trying to say.

Allen was there to demand a "seconds" of thanks, in addition to the Talent change the Spirit God had promised him.