Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 143

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Chapter 143 – Hope for Life

“This is… a little bad…”

“…..”

I know that even if you don’t say it, it’s not a little bit at all.

That was my honest opinion.

How many larvae are there?

Looking at the ants crawling out with the sound of the membrane being torn open, I could immediately imagine that the queen ant had done something to force the larvae in this room into active mode.

What should I do in this situation?

I try desperately to think of an answer in my head, but my hands shake, and I find myself reaching out to grab Ril’s leg.

I don’t want her to leave.

I don’t want her to leave me.

As long as Ril is here, the queen ant’s attack won’t reach me.

From Ril’s movements so far, I can tell that she doesn’t have any long-range attack methods if her skill is Moderation.

However, there is no time to switch skills.

If she withdraws her split body and then changes and brings out another one, it will take at least 10 seconds and probably 15 seconds based on past experience.

Will I be able to protect myself in that time?

“(…..)”

If it’s just the larvae, it’s not so bad, but once the target is just me, I can only see a future in which the queen ant will kill me.

Then… Ril will take care of the queen ant.

I have no choice but to do something about these ants that are coming like countless waves.

At the very least, I have to do something about the ants that are coming towards us. Otherwise, I won’t be able to see any hint of a solution.

“Ril, go. Go and take care of the queen ant. I’ll manage on my own for now.”

“…..”

“If you don’t do that, we won’t be able to do anything about this situation, right…?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Then I’m definitely going to go and take down that fancy one. Loki has become strong enough here. You should be able to protect yourself, right?”

“…Yes. I’ll do my best to fight. I don’t want to die.”

“Okay. But if you really think you can’t handle it, use Divine Communication to call someone out. You should be able to use it by now.”

“Huh? What’s the point of calling…?”

“…Well then, I’m going.”

“…..”

Is that what Ril is saying?

After I die, they will try to revive me without any time passing.

Is that what you mean?

There is no guarantee that it will work the second time.

That is what Feeril warned me about.

So even if I am not allowed to die anymore…

Ril, surrounded by a swarm of ants too numerous to count in the swirling dust and stagnant air, inched closer to the queen ant.

After taking a deep breath, I crawled out of the hole I had made, thinking that the chances of the queen ant changing its target to me were slim.

“(Oh no, there are so many Leviants…)”

It was a monster I wanted to avoid if possible.

If it used Call to Assembly on me, the young ones that were scurrying around in my field of vision would all change their targets to me at once.

If that happened, there was nothing I could do.

I know that, but―it’s strange.

Once I’d made up my mind, I somehow felt calm.

Is it because I was shown Ril challenging the queen ant by herself?

Or is it because the experience of dying once brought me something?

Or is it because I have already been enlightened by the harsh situation?

“(It doesn’t matter. If I don’t do it, I’ll definitely die. Even if I do, there’s a high probability that I’ll die. Then at least…)”

“I’ll die after fighting as hard as I can.”

I muttered to myself and then attacked the nearby black exoskeleton of a soldier ant larva.

・

・

・

If I cut one, I’ll get five.

If I cut five, I’ll get thirty.

If I cut thirty――

“(They are like cockroaches…)”

My thoughts and actions are completely different.

Even though I am already surrounded by ants covering my field of vision, I grab the swords in my hands and swing them around blindly.

There’s no need to aim.

Ants would climb on top of ants, and more ants would climb on top of them.

If they try to rip off my skin by closing in on me from all sides like a wall while I’m swinging my sword around, it will hit some of them, and the ants will be cut down by themselves.

A huge level increase and a huge amount of skill acquisition.

Thanks to these two points, I was able to use the short sword I had been using from the beginning to cut down the ant larvae.

When the ants got too close to me, and there was no room to swing my sword…

“Countless whirlwinds, kill all the ants around me.”

“(…It’s black again.)”

A large number of ants are cut into tiny pieces in front of my eyes, and a pause is created.

This has happened five times already.

The area around me is piled high with countless corpses, and I Leap over them to find a new place to fight.

Still, the number of ants doesn’t seem to have decreased much.

I looked around for a moment but couldn’t see any significant changes in the battle situation in the center of my field of vision.

There was a huge black mass.

I could tell that Ril was still fighting because pieces of ant meat were being thrown from that mass.

But I also understood that she hadn’t reached the queen ant yet.

“(Will I take the risk…?)”

This thought flashed through my mind for a moment.

The young ants started to swarm around me again.

I was still lucky that Leviant’s Call to Assembly didn’t work in this situation, so I didn’t want to call the ants swarming towards Ril over here.

I let out a sigh.

I gripped my sword tightly with my fingers, which were about to fall off, and swung it at the approaching ants.

・

・

・

“(How many more do I have to defeat before I can see the end… how many more do I have to defeat… Ril…)”

It opens its jaws wide in front of me, and as it bites into my legs, stomach, and arms, I swing my own arms around.

The back is a wall of mud.

I didn’t want to be in this position, but the pressure made it impossible for me to escape.

I only have enough magic power left to cast another level 4 wind spell.

Immediately after I swung my arm sideways, the young ant in front of me shot acid from its mouth and splashed it on my face.

“You’re not listening… you idiot!”

――My leg was taken again.

I knew that without looking.

It hurts… my whole body hurts…

They’re taking my fingers… they’re taking my skin…

But my hands can’t keep up.

My face? Will they take my nose this time?

“…Y-you’ve got to be kidding meeeeee! Countless whirlwinds!!! Kill all the ants around me!!!”

With eyes filled with rage, I watched as the ants that had tried to bite my face and the ants that had bitten my stomach and legs were torn to pieces.

Then, I looked at the black mass in the middle.

“(I can’t use area magic anymore… What else can I do?)”

I sat down and couldn’t get up, so I leaned my back against the wall and looked up at the sky.

In my field of vision, several leviants were flying around as if they were watching over me.

Many factors have led to this situation.

However, there is only one cause that cannot be resolved.

It’s because Ril has brought Moderation.

There is no means of long-range attack or area attack.

There is no choice but to rely on physical strength and sword power to crush the enemy in front of you.

Even though I’ve calmed down to a certain extent, it’s obvious from the scene in front of my eyes that Ril can’t handle it.

The many leviant larvae in the air are probably partly to blame.

They’re all protecting the queen ant, who is the boss, by surrounding Ril, so Ril is blocked even more than I am.

“(If Ril can’t defeat the queen ant, I’ll end up dying… If I die, there’s no way I can be revived… I can’t die… I can’t die… But my hands…)”

――I don’t have any.

I knew that from the beginning.

But I didn’t want to make that choice.

I’ve been holding back, holding back, holding back…

But if I die and the resurrection fails, all this patience will be for nothing.

“There’s nothing more stupid than this…”

The words I didn’t want to say slipped out of my mouth.

I gently closed my eyes, and fighting the pain that was making me feel faint, I looked at part of the status screen.

‘Skill points: 878’

I’ve been saving up all those skill points to acquire Spatial Magic or to level up when I can.

There’s no point in saving them if there’s no way out, so as I quickly scan the skills, I end up focusing on one in particular.

“(Is this all I have…?)”

A skill I had no intention of using.

In fact, it was a skill I had never even used.

However, this is the only skill I can see that has the potential to break the current situation.

Hah…

I gritted my teeth and muttered to myself.

In exchange for my desire to live, I convince myself.

“(Please increase the level of Berserk as much as possible…)”

If the battle had started at a different time, there might have been other options.

But I don’t have any magic left.

If that’s the case, all the magic-type skills will be gone, and even if I put skill points into most of the combat-type skills, I won’t be able to use them.

That’s why I made this decision.

I have no choice but to rely on this skill to improve my abilities without consuming magic power.

“(I can’t believe I’m spending all my skill points on this useless skill that I’ve never even used…)”

The pain and sadness almost made me cry.

‘Berserk Lv.3 has been acquired.’

‘Berserk Lv.4 has been acquired.’

‘Berserk Lv.5 has been acquired.’

‘Berserk Lv.6 has been acquired.’

‘Berserk Lv.7 has been acquired.

‘Berserk Lv.7 has been acquired.’

‘Berserk Dance has been unlocked.’

“…..”

I’ll think about the unnecessary things after I survive and look at the details of the Berserk skill that I’ve increased as much as possible.

Berserk Lv8: Once used, all normal attack actions receive a limited correction of 290% of the stats. However, until the time limit expires, you cannot perform any actions other than normal attacks on surrounding creatures. Time limit for use: 8 minutes. Magic Power Consumption: 0.

“Haha…”

A dry smile naturally escaped my mouth.

The time limit for its use, which seemed impossible to lift due to the level increase, has been extended to 8 minutes.

However, it is limited to normal attacks and has a power of 290%.

With this…

…Even I, who cannot even hold a weapon, have gained a sufficient means of attack.

Well, that’s good.

I muttered as I stared at the black mass in the middle.

“Call for Assembly.”

At that moment, the young ants stopped moving, and all turned to me.

That’s right.

I’m the one who called them here.

So gather around me.

At the same time that the young ants began to move strongly, I noticed that the leviant above me was flapping its wings in a nervous, irregular way.

“(Even if you try to call them back with Call for Assembly, it’s probably useless… You’re level 5, and I’m level 7…)”

The skill details don’t say anything about overwriting.

The only thing that is explained is the range of its effect.

First of all, it’s a monster skill, so the situation where it would be overwritten by a non-kin is not something that was originally intended to happen.

However, common sense tells me that the effect should be applied to the one with the higher skill level.

And judging by the way they are pushing towards me without changing direction, I can say that my guess was correct.

“What are you doing, Loki?”

I could hear Ril’s voice calling from far away.

But if Ril was chasing the ants here, it would be pointless.

So I took a deep breath and, still dazed, called out to Ril as loudly as I could.

“Ril! While I’m drawing them in, quickly defeat the queen ant!”

That is the best I can do right now.

If she doesn’t defeat it soon, I’ll be cornered at some point.

At a time when there is no way to attack a wide area, there is no way to avoid being cornered.

“(But this should open the way to the queen ant… please, Ril.)”

While muttering these words in my heart, I slowly muttered the name of the skill and made my final decision.

“――Berserk――”

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