Flillian, I want to live.

Although both the bishop and Erica told her that she was qualified to draw the sword, when the sword of the brave that she had finally seen after going through so much hardship really appeared in front of Monica, she hesitated.

What should I do if I can't pull out the Brave Sword?

To be honest, Monica hadn't thought much about this problem before. After all, in the words of the bishop, drawing the sword of the brave seemed to be a trivial matter, as easy as going out to buy vegetables and returning home.

However, when Monica saw the scene of Livale drawing the sword just now, she suddenly realized why heroes of all ages, even the brave Sinmeier, had never drawn this sword.

Monica gently touched the hilt of the Sword of the Brave with her fingers. She tried hard to feel some resonance from this legendary holy sword bestowed by the goddess to mankind, something like what she had read in fantasy novels. But unfortunately, she felt nothing except a cool touch.

Perhaps at this moment, Monica had already noticed something, but the arrow was on the string and had to be shot, and she seemed to have no choice.

"Hey--"

Monica used both hands to tightly grasp the hilt of the sword, and then lifted it up with force.

thump--

As Monica sat down on the ground due to excessive exertion, the Sword of the Brave in front of her was still quietly inserted on its stone platform.

Not moving at all.

"Ahaha, my hand slipped..."

Monica smiled stiffly, saying something that was meant to comfort herself. She stood up from the ground, once again grasped the Brave Sword in front of her, and after shaking it left and right and twisting it a bit...

"Huh? Huh?"

How Monica wished that the sword of the brave in front of her could loosen a little.

However, the Sword of the Brave has never shown any mercy to anyone who tries to pull it out.

Monica is no exception.

It seems that this guy is not a true hero either.

Philen, who was standing by, looked at Monica, who was like a broken doll and was unwilling to let go of the Sword of the Brave. Unlike most people, Philen was not too surprised when he learned that the Brave Sinmeier had never actually drawn the Sword of the Brave.

Because as Gutel once taught her, a truly strong person does not need external help.

It is precisely because he was able to defeat the Demon King without the Sword of the Brave that Xinmeier became a truly great brave man.

At the same time, in the Northern Kingdom, in a small town in the Alte Forest.

"Big brother."

A young monk with brown hair and wearing a monk's uniform was holding an envelope that had just been delivered by a messenger and was stamped with the bishop's wax seal. He walked up to the priest who was treating a child who had accidentally sprained his ankle in the church.

"It's a letter from the royal capital. It looks quite official."

Although as a low-level monk, the young man was not qualified to open the letter written by the bishop himself, he still tore open the beautiful envelope in front of the priest and took out the letter inside.

“Zain, what did the Bishop say?”

After treating the child, the priest pushed his glasses that were hanging down from his nose with his hand, turned his head and looked at his brother who was over thirty but still out of touch.

"They say they used an ancient ritual to select the hero chosen by the goddess, and asked the hero to obtain the sword of the hero in the Sword Village of the Xuevia Mountains. We will first receive him, and then escort him to the magic city of Oisaster to perform the ceremony."

Zain glanced briefly at the letter from the bishop, then raised his head and summarized to his brother who had raised him since he was a child.

"Is that so? He's clearly a hero chosen by the church, yet he's being sent to the magician's lair. Is that a show-off? Or a provocation? The new bishop is really showing off his edge."

The priest reached out his hand, took the bishop’s letter from Zain, and sighed.

"I heard that the bishop is very ambitious. It's said that whenever the Pope comes, he will invite him to watch the ceremony together. But, speaking of this, don't you find it strange, brother?"

Zain didn’t care about who was brave or not, but after reading the message in the letter, he keenly noticed one thing.

"Strange? What's strange?"

The priest asked casually while calculating the expenses of hosting the brave group in his mind.

"If there really was a ritual in ancient times that could select a hero recognized by the goddess, why didn't the chosen hero draw the sword of the hero?"

Zain stared into his eldest brother’s eyes and said with some trouble.

"Eh……"

Zain’s words stunned the priest.

"You mean, that ceremony isn't actually about selecting true heroes?"

The priest followed Zain’s logic and continued to speculate.

"However, I heard that the Bishop did preside over some kind of ceremony. If this wasn't a ceremony to select a brave warrior, then what was it?"

Zain stroked his chin with his hand and muttered to himself thoughtfully.

At this time in the sanctuary, Monica, who had been holding the Sword of the Brave and was unwilling to let go, began to experience some changes in her body.

"Hu-hu-"

As her spirit gradually collapsed, Monica's complexion became worse and worse, and her breathing became rapid.

She had to draw the Sword of the Brave, but after trying just now, she was sure that she was not as talented as the bishop said.

It seems that they have fallen into a dead end. Without the Sword of the Brave, their companions will sooner or later die at the claws of the Mountain Lord, and no one can contend with the powerful demons in front of them.

It's all over.

"Roar--"

A strange roar suddenly came from Monica's throat.

"It doesn't matter to you, right?"

Noticing Monica's abnormality, Philanthropy wanted to reach out to comfort her, but she suddenly and rudely slapped his hand away.

"Oh I got it."

On the other side, Livalai, who had been observing Monica with great interest, seemed to suddenly realize something and showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"What happened to her? Are you causing trouble?"

Philen stared at the smiling Livalai warily.

"I didn't do anything. It's just that the child found herself again. I thought there were no such exceptions by now."

As Livale spoke, he turned to look at Monica, whose body was shaking violently.

"Uh……"

At this moment, Monica was covering her forehead with her hands, looking very painful.

puff~

With the sound of skin being torn, a sharp horn emerged from her forehead.

Chapter 118 Where's Dad?

For Monica, father is a very unfamiliar word.

Because she has never seen her father since she was born.

Monica was raised by her mother. Although this situation was not uncommon on this land plagued by wars and disasters, Monica was still curious about her father.

According to her mother, she and her father met on the northern plateau, which is now blocked due to the rampant demons.

"That guy is an incredible man."

Although Monica knew that her father was a heartless man who abandoned her pregnant mother and never came to visit her, whenever her mother recalled Monica's father, a playful smile would always appear on her face, which was inconsistent with her current identity as a housewife.

However, this is all Monica knows about her father. After all, no matter how much she asks, her mother will not tell her more about her father.

I really don’t know what’s so special about that man. From Monica’s perspective, her father is just a simple rotten guy.

However, it was not until today that Monica finally realized that her father might not be an ordinary person.

From childhood to adulthood, Monica has always been unable to integrate into the group. Except for her mother, she has an innate aversion to other strangers. She originally thought that this was simply because of her introverted personality.

"Uh...ah——"

Monica's hair, starting from the roots, changed from the light yellow color inherited from her mother to a blood-red color.

Monica's mother once mentioned that the father who abandoned her and her also had long bright red hair.

"What is this?"

Seeing Monica transformed into a demon-like being with his own eyes, Philen looked at Livale, who seemed to understand this, with shocked and incredible eyes.

"She is the child born from the union of a demon and a human."

Livale, who is considered an old man even among the demons, revealed the truth behind it.

"Humans and... demons?"

After hearing Livalai's explanation, Philen turned around and looked at Monica, who had just completed the transformation and was gasping for breath with her head down.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Monica raised her head, her mind blank as she looked at Philen beside her, only to find that Philen's face was full of vigilance, staring at her as if he were some alien or monster.

"Ms. Monica, you..."

Philen said hesitantly as he looked at the girl in front of him who had just grown a sharp horn that only demons had.

"I...what's wrong with me..."

Monica seemed to realize that Philen's eyes were always on her forehead, so she stretched out her hand and touched there somewhat confusedly. Then, she immediately grasped the pointed horn that had just grown.

Even Monica, who wasn't very smart, now understood why Philen had that expression.

"Welcome to our world."

Livalai's big hand fell on Monica's shoulder. He grinned, revealing a warm smile as if he was looking at his granddaughter, and spoke to Monica in a friendly attitude that was completely different from Philen's.

"Are you kidding me..."

Monica twisted her shoulders hard and shook off Livale's big hand.

Even though she had been staying at home as a loner and aloof for the past decade, she could not accept the fact that she was expelled from the human race and became a demon.

"If you want to blame someone, you can only blame your boring father who was so bored that he gave birth to a child with his prey~"

Livale spread out his hands and said to Monica innocently.

"The Forbidden Son..."

Philen recalled a record of this in a forgotten ancient book that Gutel had collected in order to understand humans.

Hundreds of years ago, when demons were wreaking havoc on this continent, there were cases where demons forced human women to bear their children in order to infiltrate the human world.

Children born to humans and demons appear to be no different from ordinary humans on the surface. Although they will instinctively reject contact with humans and often behave in a withdrawn and unsociable manner, if there is no acquired stimulation, apart from being more sensitive to magic, they can also live their lives as ordinary people.

However, if someone actively guides them or they are subjected to great stimulation, the demon blood in these forbidden children will awaken, and their bodies will mutate, turning them into half-human, half-demon monsters.

The existence of such unstable factors in human society naturally caused great panic. In order to deal with these minions of the demons, the church created a ritual that can identify the forbidden children.

Under the guidance of the goddess, the outliers among humans were quickly eliminated. After this trick didn't work, the demons naturally gave up the meaningless task of creating offspring with humans. The forbidden child and the original ritual became forgotten legends.

Philen often read these mysterious ancient books that Gutel got from somewhere as legends for fun. Demons do not have human emotions, let alone human desires. Having children with humans as prey is as incredible as having a love affair with a hen that will be used to make soup tomorrow.

However, the forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. It seems that there are also perverts with unique tastes among the demons.

Philen couldn't help but wonder what kind of existence Monica's demon father was.

"what--"

Monica squatted down with her head in her hands. She probably understood her situation, but she couldn't accept this fact.

"It's not that bad, right?"

Livale spoke to the hysterical Monica in the tone of an experienced person.

"Of course it's not good!"

Monica raised her head and yelled at Livale.

"My life is over!"

For Monica, it is no longer a question of whether she can continue to be a hero. With her current condition, if she appears in the royal capital, she will be immediately killed on the spot by the guards.

"Isn't it because you yourself seek strength that your body responds to you?"

However, Livale's next words left Monica silent.

"You cannot pull out the holy sword, and your prayers to the goddess go unanswered, but the demon blood flowing in your body gives you the power you desire."