Thanks to the continued pressure on him when he was already exhausted, I was finally able to get an answer.
He vaguely claimed that he had sacrificed something important to somehow save his life.
I don't know what ability he used, but it was quite a convincing story, so everyone seemed to believe it for now.
Well, he couldn't have healed such severe wounds without paying some price.
But they only believed it provisionally. No one trusted him completely.
*Hmph, lies.*
Among the Hero's curses was the Curse of Distortion.
This curse made people interpret even truthful statements incorrectly.
*He must have used some trick. And it was only exposed because of some unexpected incident.*
That's why the Saintess couldn't help but think that way at the time.
The battle back then had been quite perilous.
What if another party member had been in the Hero's place?
What if the Minotaur had chosen to charge instead of swinging its axe?
It could have resulted in an even more serious disaster.
If Camilla or Lily had been the target, they might have died instantly.
In other words, he could be seen as someone who endangered a teammate's life by making one bad plan.
So while the party members partially accepted his explanation, none of them trusted him completely.
The only reason they had any trust at all was because he genuinely appeared to be in pain.
"Cough! Cough!"
After his body was split in half by the Minotaur, his condition had visibly deteriorated. He looked strangely gaunt compared to before, and dark circles had formed under his eyes.
The Hero, who should have been stronger than anyone else, had suddenly become unhealthy.
At that time, the Saintess thought:
*Hmph, so there really was some price to pay?*
Seeing how gaunt he'd become.
*Still, I can't let my guard down. I never know when he might try something.*
In any case, since his strategy had already failed once, it was inevitable that his influence would diminish.
At least the unprovoked attacks against him for trivial reasons decreased somewhat.
After all, the party members weren't cruel enough to relentlessly criticize someone who appeared to be in pain.
Above all, since they had already entered the castle, they couldn't send him back even if they wanted to.
Getting caught coming and going from the Demon King's Castle would be disastrous.
So they left him alone for now.
The party members seemed to take that stance. Neither bothering him nor showing him any kindness—a state of isolation.
The Saintess watched him warily.
Perhaps all the party members had thought about this at some point:
If the Hero were to betray them, when would be the most effective time?
They were currently inside the Insect King's castle.
In other words, there couldn't be a more optimal time for him to reveal his true nature.
Any single action could lead them all to their deaths.
And among all possible moments, the absolute best timing would be:
*If he's going to betray us, it would be best during the fight with the Four Heavenly Kings.*
She thought that would be the only time.
The battle with the Four Heavenly Kings would surely be more intense than any other.
That's when he would reveal his true intentions.
Still, the Saintess was confident. It wasn't confidence born from simple arrogance.
Among the Four Heavenly Kings, the Insect King Valkan was particularly vulnerable to holy power.
He used Dark Magic, specifically the vile Insect Arts.
Even a slight touch of her holy power would likely send him fleeing like a moth caught in flames.
In a way, she and the Insect King were perfect counters to each other.
So she was confident. Even if he betrayed them.
And so the journey continued.
They wandered through the castle, which was like a maze, heading toward the chambers where the Four Heavenly Kings resided.
Of course, they couldn't avoid encountering insects along the way.
"Kyaah! C-cockroaches in swarms!"
"Saintess, it's problematic if you scream like that every time we meet insects. How will you handle them later?"
"Hero, be quiet. We'll manage just fine on our own."
"..."
Though quite disgusting and repulsive, they could adapt as time passed.
Occasionally the Hero would offer suggestions, but most were ignored.
After all, he already had a record of endangering the entire party with the Minotaur incident.
"Cough! Cough!"
As they continued their exploration in this manner, the time for the decisive battle finally arrived.
"So some cowardly rats have found their way to my chambers."
After several days in the castle.
Finally, the Insect King Valkan had discovered our presence.
"Tsk, it's unpleasant that the Goddess's spawn entered without permission, but this works out well. I'll gladly make you food for my children."
A chilling voice echoed throughout the castle, and the surrounding environment began to change.
Kikikigik!
The passages were blocked as insects swarmed in from all directions.
Centipedes, scorpions, grasshoppers, cockroaches, and more.
Numerous venomous insects and pests surrounded them from all sides, blocking the party's path.
As if to prevent them from approaching their king.
"Hiiik! Swarms of insects are coming out!"
"Everyone, prepare for battle! We'll charge straight through! Full speed ahead to the audience chamber where he is!!"
They fought valiantly nonetheless.
They cut down, burned, and purified with holy power the insects that flew at them from nearby, clearing a path.
When passages were blocked, they broke through with physical force, and flying insects were defended against with the mage's barrier.
Their only target was his neck.
Until this point, the Saintess had been confident.
Although the insects were disgusting, her holy power was definitely effective against them, and she still had plenty of it left.
All the while, she didn't forget to keep an eye on the Hero, Luke.
She was certain that someday they would reach the Insect King and take his life.
But this determination gradually scattered as time passed and the battle dragged on.
Her holy power was abundant, but so were the enemy's forces.
No matter how many they killed, the insects kept coming endlessly.
"Haa... haa... damn, these insects are never-ending!"
"They're coming! Block them!"
"Special specimen. Everyone, focus!"
Moreover, the deeper they went, the stronger and more unique insects appeared.
It was only natural that the difficulty increased.
"You're holding up quite well. But it seems you don't have much left."
Eventually, there were casualties.
"Ugh..."
"Lily?"
The team's mage finally collapsed.
The cause was exhaustion.
The continuous running, the mental concentration required for preparing spells, and the poisons sprayed from all directions.
All of these had continuously tormented her, leading to her exhaustion.
With her relatively weak stamina, running while chanting spells—it was a natural outcome in a way.
And because of this, the party quickly began to face danger.
With the bombardier who had been continuously sweeping away insects gone, a huge gap had formed in the team.
"Lily, wake up! Oh no, what should we do?"
"Give her to me. I'll carry her. Camilla, you'll be busy swinging your sword."
From that point on, the insects' offensive became intensely fierce. No matter how much they cut, purified with holy power, or shot down with arrows, the insects quickly approached.
Once one person fell, it wasn't long before the next was affected.
"Cough..."
Next, Camilla, who was at the front line, succumbed to poison and collapsed.
"Ugh!"
Then Adel, who took a body slam from a special specimen, was sent flying.
It wasn't long before those who had fallen to the ground were engulfed by insects.
Crunch, crunch.
A chilling sound, like insects gnawing on flesh, swept through.
She found this situation quite confusing.
*How on earth...*
What was happening?
There had clearly been no mistakes in the battle itself. Everyone had fulfilled their assigned roles, and it was true that her holy power was super effective against the insects.
Yet why had it turned out like this?
All the party members had been overwhelmed by insects, and somehow she alone remained amidst millions of them.
The reason was simple.
There were far more insects in the castle than they had imagined. So overwhelmingly many that they could easily ignore advantages like her holy power.
Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.
The skin-crawling sound of insects crawling on walls continuously echoed.
Insects were approaching in real-time from all directions—front, back, left, and right.
"Hii, hiik."
Her face turned pale at the horrifying sight.
The other party members who had fallen to the ground were already covered in insects.
And she could easily guess that she would soon meet a similar fate.
She had prepared herself, but her legs trembled at the thought of an end more horrifying than she had imagined.
That's when it happened.
With a grip, someone grabbed her waist.
She looked to the side with a startled sound.
"Huh?"
The Hero was there.
The Hero who spread more sin than anyone else. The Hero whose very presence triggered her instincts to sound alarms.
The Hero whom all party members thought was the mastermind.
Ironically, he was the one who remained by her side until the end.
He was gripping her side with a fierce frown.
"Tsk, if you had just listened when I tried to talk, this wouldn't have happened. Damn..."
As if he was displeased with the situation itself. Instead of his usual smiling face, his expression was full of irritation.
He spoke to the Saintess.
"Let's go again."
"W-what? Where...?"
"Where else? We need to go cut off the Insect King's head."
"But what about the party members...?"
"How can we take care of them in this situation? They won't die immediately from the insects, so let's just leave them. Of course, they'll have some flesh gnawed off..."
If you didn't like that, you should have listened from the beginning.
With that final mutter, he shot forward.
Bang!
His body rushed forward as if cutting through the air. The Saintess was dragged along, tucked under his arm.
The Hero spoke while taking care of her.
"From now on, continuously spread holy power around us. That's more important than buffs. Ah, you have enough holy power, right?"
"Huh? Yes. For now..."
"Ha, you always ran out when healing me before, but fortunately you have some this time."
He sneered with sarcasm.
It was a complaint he hadn't made before, but she could only listen silently.
She spread holy power around them as he instructed.
Like fireflies in darkness, the glowing holy power surrounded the Hero and the Saintess.
Insects attracted by the light rushed in, but they couldn't cross the curtain of light she had created and simply collapsed.
"From now on, I'll increase the speed. Hold on tight."
"Ah, understood..."
From that point on, the Hero began finding his way.
Trusting in the curtain of light that burned everything around them, he fearlessly plunged toward the insects blocking their path.
This opened a path, and he quickly ran along it.
The destination was the same as before—the audience chamber where the Insect King resided.
After wandering like this for about 30 minutes, they finally reached the place where the Insect King dwelled.
"...Hooh."
A chilling voice, like metal being scraped, echoed.
The Insect King Valkan's voice was hoarse, as if he had vocal nodules.
"Indeed, even a rotten fish still has some value. A Hero is still a Hero, I see."
His body wasn't visible. It was completely wrapped in what looked like a cloak and bandages.
She couldn't even see his eyes, and all she could perceive of the Insect King was his chilling voice and the ominous magical energy that filled the surroundings.
"To break through my children and reach here. And after losing your comrades, no less. Still, you seem better than the previous Hero."
Gulp.
She swallowed and reaffirmed her resolve.
If they could just capture the Insect King, it would be over.
If they could capture him, humanity would be one step closer to peace, and they could save their comrades who were engulfed by insects.
She drew upon her holy power and prepared for battle.
Ironically, the only one she could rely on—she who had no direct combat power—was the Hero she had so despised.
"Yes, what need is there for words when you've come this far? Come. I shall personally show you what despair is."
"You've always annoyed me every time I see you. Couldn't you fight with something a bit less fucking disgusting?"
And so the battle began.
*
...And I'll tell you the result first.
Just as the world doesn't bend to one's will no matter how much they desire it, and just as reaffirming one's resolve doesn't easily change the course of battle.
Reality was terribly tragic.
That's right.
"Cough!"
"Hero!"
The Hero was defeated.