This is the story of a magician and an elf girl.

"Drink!"

"Bang!"

The adventurer who knocked a hellhound away with one blow rammed into their camp with terrifying brute force, and during this gap, the adventurer who served as the vanguard used a skill to chop off their heads.

"Clap!"

But just before the hellhound's head was cut off, the head flying in the air released the evil fire condensed in its mouth like a bomb.

"Oops..."

"!"

@Bang! "

Hot steam and flames attacked the adventurers' heads. They were nearly burned, but when they came to their senses, they found that the adventurers who served as tanks had already deployed a barrier. At the same time, Jack shouted at them, "Don't be careless! Kill them for sure! Keep your distance as soon as you self-destruct! Tanks, remember to protect the fighters!"

"Yes! Master Jack!"

"Got it! Be careful!"

Jack, who said that, actually knew that these clones of the hellhound were no small fry. Each of them possessed the power to kill people and terrifying skills. If you were not careful, you would suffer a great loss.

“Swoosh, snap!”

Jack broke the neck of the first hellhound with his bare hands and threw it towards the second hellhound. He jumped up with his amazing leg strength, stomped the hellhound attacking from behind into the sticky sand, and smashed its skull with another punch.

Jack, reflected in countless bright red eyes, defeated the enemies in front of him one after another: "Come on... just a bunch of beasts... let me tell you that the power of us adventurers is not just this."

“Hoooa ...

"Bang!"

While his tough elbow hit the hellhound's nose directly, Jack raised his knee from below and immediately destroyed the opponent's jaw and spinal nerves. He held the corpse in his hand and swung it casually, hitting a hellhound, and fell to the ground from above due to centrifugal force.

"boom!"

After dealing them a fatal blow, the two hellhounds on the left and right immediately attacked him. Jack took a step back and did not confront them head-on. He just let the two of them hit each other's heads and then waited for an opportunity to chop off their heads with a knife.

"Drink!"

“Huh?!”

“Gah!?”

But just as Jack killed the two bodies, the fifth hellhound that attacked him from behind had already opened its bloody mouth and aimed at his head.

“Snap.”

Unfortunately, Jack's invulnerable armor was completely impervious to swords and guns. Even if the blunt fangs of a hellhound wanted to pierce it, it would be impossible even if the sky fell.

"In the way!"

"Gah-ow?!"

Jack, who smashed its head with one punch, also knew that other adventurers were different from him. They would be killed once their defense line was breached. They would not be able to block even attacks that Jack could not predict - therefore, he had to work harder than anyone else and stand at the front line so as to protect everyone.

Is it really?

Can you do it?

For some reason, he heard the true words in his heart again.

A surge of murderous intent was like a spring that ignited the world of the mind, and the surface of the water where bubbles were rising began to fill with steam.

"Jack, you understand, right?"

"…What is it…Goddess…?"

"Before, you were able to fight rationally because Linnae used the power of the dryad to absorb too much magic power from your body, which indirectly suppressed the number of times you could use your power. Once you used that armor... you consumed your physical and mental energy... Now you will definitely... "

"No... I swear... I... will never lose to myself again..."

"Well... we believe in you too... so you have to believe in yourself too, understand? Jack?"

『…Ahh…』

Frankly speaking, Jack didn't fully grasp his situation - he was a descendant of Hercules, the heir to an armor cursed by an invulnerable lion. The more powerful the force, the more powerful the counter-effect. Whether it could be suppressed depended entirely on the user's will and mental strength.

The more he wanted to protect someone, the higher the possibility that Jack would lose control. No adventurer now could suppress him after he went berserk. One could only hope that the situation would not deteriorate to the point where Jack's beast-like brutal power would be needed.

"Wright! What's going on?"

"Not bad, leave the rest to me! You just need to take care of the three o'clock direction!"

"Okay... Wendy! How about six o'clock?"

"No problem! Youzi and I are fine!"

Even if they said that - Jack knew very well that they didn't have the energy to focus on others. In this situation, just taking care of himself was exhausting, not to mention that he had to take care of several times more people than himself.

This also made Jack gradually realize that his invulnerable armor was indeed an indispensable fighting force in the war. He finally understood what Xiaobi had said before: "Jack... you are very powerful... that is an indisputable fact. No matter how you deny everything you have done... you are still a descendant of Hercules... the heir of the invulnerable armor - the only thing that can hold you back is your self-confidence."

"……I……"

"You are the type who is good at encouraging others, but not the type who will encourage yourself. Once you lose confidence, your desire to protect will collide with your killing intent, and the curse will erode your consciousness in an instant. You must remember that the only one who can control yourself is yourself."

Jack knew very well in his heart that he must not lose control here. Last time, he had no idea what he had done, and he couldn't tell whether the person in front of him was an enemy or a friend. It was too late to regret when he took action.

But can I protect myself alone? With so many people, and so many enemies... I still have to keep my sanity and common sense to fight...

"Master Jack..."

"Shit... This is not the time to be in a daze..."

Jack took another step and jumped towards the adventurers who came for help, throwing the spear on the ground at the same time.

"Clap!"

The hellhound with a pierced chest fell to the ground and let out a sharp wail. The adventurer who turned around and beheaded it with a single blow immediately returned to the team after thanking Jack, and Jack also shook off his evil thoughts and moved forward again.

Even without her here... I... this is all I can do...

"Youzi... come on!"

"It's... a sudden rain of arrows..."

As for Wendy and Youzi's side - although Youzi, as an archer, has learned the skill, the outline of the arrows she released did not change in size, and the number was only less than twenty or so. The hellhounds attacked by her were only slightly injured. If this skill was released by the elf girl, then even if she had to fight against a hundred hellhounds, she could accurately shoot through their heads.

Youzi, who had to re-evaluate his own strength and realized that he could not kill so many hellhounds, was encouraged by Wendy behind him: "It's okay... Youzi-chan... Look, the others attacked the hellhounds as soon as they showed their weakness. If it weren't for your cover, everyone would have been burdened..."

"But... if it was the master... facing so many monsters... he should be able to defeat them with just one strike..."

"Youzi-chan...you are not Ms. Linna...you are just you...don't force yourself - her strength...and her hard work...that is something we cannot imitate or emulate...you should know that very well."

“Yes…”

Although saying that would at least alleviate the feeling of powerlessness and frustration in my heart - but to say that my efforts could match that of the elf girl who could fight the phoenix in such a short time, that would be a fantasy.