I don't want to be a heroic spirit

"So...so scary! Someone please save me!"

"Run!"

"Mom! I want to go home!"

Roars, cries for help, and wails came one after another, intermittently.

The sword fell, bringing up a large amount of blood.

With a slash of the sword, a raging fire surged.

The soldiers here are just miscellaneous ones, and Nero can kill several of them with just one sword.

But this is only for Nero... After all, this is the Demon King's Castle, and the monsters are stronger than those outside.

Even if the demon sword hero Mitsurugi Hibiki came, it would be difficult for him to be surrounded by these miscellaneous soldiers. If it was Kazuma who was here, it would be basically certain that he would have to report to Eris.

At this time, a rather majestic female voice sounded not far away.

"Don't panic! There's only one enemy! Surround her! Don't let her leave!"

Nero's eyes narrowed.

Because she found that... after the woman spoke, the commotion around her disappeared.

The surrounding soldiers were no longer afraid of her. Some of those who had run to the periphery picked up their weapons again and surrounded this side without saying a word.

not right...

Chapter 353 Shortcut

The chandelier hanging overhead, emitting a faint light, became the only source of light in this dim hall.

Nero was surrounded by a group of monsters and looked up at the woman who had spoken earlier.

The other person was standing at the exit, with long black hair reaching his shoulders and a teardrop mole under his left eye. He was wearing a very religious white robe and a white cloak, looking like a priest serving a god.

There is no doubt that this is a...

"A beautiful girl!"

Nero's eyes sparkled with stars.

Especially that teardrop mole...makes it even more charming.

"Hmm... It's a pity that she's from the Demonic side, an enemy. Otherwise, I could get intimate with this beautiful girl who is especially to my taste... I love getting intimate with beautiful girls the most!"

Nero sighed, feeling regretful.

Nero's voice was not small, so the priestess not far away could naturally hear it.

The priestess seemed dumbfounded. In the middle of a battle, the enemy suddenly praised her as a beautiful girl or something...

"It's not impossible."

Nero looked up and saw the priestess smiling and saying to him, "As long as you join us, join the Demon Sect, can't you be with me?"

Now it was Nero's turn to be stunned.

"Hmm! Your suggestion is indeed very tempting." Nero nodded in agreement, then changed his tone, "But why didn't you come to me? When it comes to charm, I am confident that I can't lose to anyone!"

"Don't you think this is a bit unfair?"

The charming smile on the priestess's face changed, and her tone became a little impatient.

"Okay, enough joking. Even if you really want me to join you, you should at least show me that you have enough power, right?"

She raised the corner of her mouth. "If you die here because you are weak, it will be useless even if I agree to join you, right?"

"Hmm... what you said makes a lot of sense."

In the dim environment, pairs of scarlet eyes stared at Nero. The demon warriors who had forgotten their fear were all looking forward to tearing that beautiful figure into pieces.

As the priestess waved her arm, her loud voice echoed in the hall.

"Go ahead and tear her apart."

The next moment, the solemn atmosphere was shattered by murderous intent.

Everyone's shouts were highly unified at this moment.

"For Lady Celestina!"

Apparently, the priestess' name is Celestina.

Nero thought so silently in his heart, but his hands did not slow down at all.

The black and red sword that was taller than her was as light as a branch in her hand. The extremely fast slashing attacks that were beyond the ability of the naked eye to distinguish were interwoven into a deadly magic web around her.

Nero jumped out of the encirclement, and the next moment, some of the monsters shattered.

Blood spurted out and pieces of flesh fell to the ground.

It was a very shocking scene, but the monsters around him all turned a blind eye and kept their eyes on Nero's figure.

Their eyes were still bloodshot, and not much rationality could be seen in them.

There was only murderous intent towards Nero and admiration for Celestina.

"Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

"For Lady Celestina!"

“Long live Lady Celestina!”

Looking at these monsters who looked like fanatics, Nero's expression became a little complicated.

“Are all people who have a connection with religion like this?”

Nero thought of the Axis cultists in this world again... and on the way to the Demon King's Castle, Nero passed by the Axis cult's headquarters, Alcanretia, and inevitably had some dealings with those lunatics again.

"...Tsk."

Nero showed a disgusted expression as if he recalled some bad memory.

The sword blade drew a semicircle in front of him, and the next moment, a wall of fire more than two meters high blocked the monsters.

However, an astonishing scene appeared. The monsters seemed to have not seen the wall of fire at all and stepped over it resolutely.

Weak monsters like goblins, skeletons, and ogres would be burned to ashes the moment they touched the flames. Only a very small number of trolls managed to cross the wall of fire after paying the price of having their entire bodies burned.

Nero frowned slightly as he casually swung out a sword beam to kill a seriously injured and dying troll.

"I'm almost fed up with it..."

Because there was only a fire wall in front of Nero, some monsters began to try to bypass the fire wall and attack Nero from other angles.

But Nero no longer planned to play.

Seeing Nero again, the monsters that had already bypassed the wall of fire became extremely violent and rushed towards Nero with their weapons raised without any hesitation.

The red skirt as bright as a rose danced in the wind, and Nero slowly raised his foot... and then stepped down heavily.

"Oh!"

A huge force surged into the earth, and cracks covered the ground.

Countless brick and stone fragments were violently shaken up, and the monsters were also blown away by the violence, becoming dizzy.

Time seems to be infinitely stretched.

Four seconds.

Only four seconds had passed.

It took only a short period of time for the ground to be cracked by Nero's foot and for all the debris and monsters that were blown into the air to fall down.

Nearly five hundred monsters were all killed.

Celestina's pupils constricted as she stared blankly at Nero, who came towards her with a sword.

Behind Nero, blood, broken bones, and severed limbs painted a picture of hell.

Especially with the dim light above the head, the atmosphere is immediately created.

Although they were just a bunch of miscellaneous soldiers, Nero was able to eliminate them so quickly that Celestina shuddered.

Especially when Nero came over, she was so scared that her legs went weak.

Standing in front of Celestina, Nero opened his mouth.

“You…”

"Sir! I am willing to surrender!"

Nero barely uttered a word when Celestina immediately fell to her knees and begged for mercy.

The kneeling was so standard.

Celestina cried out with uncontrollable tears, "Sir! Hero! Please spare my life! I, I, I... I am willing to join you! I... I can even lead you to fight the Demon King! Please don't kill me!"

Nero did not expect the other side to surrender so quickly.

"Hmm! It seems like you hold a high position in the Demonic Empire. Is it really okay to betray the Demon King like this?"

"That's absolutely fine! Anyway, the relationship between the Demon King and me is purely a business one. The Demon King promised me to preach among the demons, and I will help the Demon King command the battles... As long as you, the Brave One, are willing to spare my life, I, I, I... I can take you to a shortcut that will lead you directly to the Demon King's room!"

Celestina said that the Demon King's room was on the top floor, and it would be very difficult to attack directly there.

However, Celestina seemed to know of a shortcut that could lead directly to the top floor. This shortcut was created to facilitate the cadres to report their missions to the Demon King.

Nero touched his chin, thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Okay, take me there."

Chapter 354 Disguise

"Is this the shortcut you mentioned?"

"Yes! That's it."

Celestina spoke seriously, her words brimming with confidence.

But... Nero felt that this thing was unreliable no matter how he looked at it.

A red button with a note saying "Do not press" on it.

...This suspicious atmosphere is about to overflow.

"My dear hero! I absolutely did not lie to you, and I would never dare to lie to you!"

Celestina raised her hands to the sky in surrender, as if she was afraid Nero would suspect her and kill her. She said in a panic, "There's a magic circle behind this button for teleportation. While it won't take you directly to the Demon King's room, it will reach the same floor. That way, my brave hero, you don't have to conquer the other floors."

Nero actually didn't really want to fight it layer by layer.

Not to mention the energy spent, it is also a waste of time.

If it takes too long to defeat the Demon King, Alice, Youyou and the others might get worried about me... and there's a possibility that they might find out I'm in the Demon King's Castle from some clues and chase me.

And...it doesn't matter even if it's a trap.

Nero has enough confidence to face any kind of trap with ease.

Moreover, this Demon King's Castle is so complicated. Wouldn't it be too inconvenient if I had to walk through a maze-like passage every time I went upstairs?

And this teleport button Celestina mentioned... probably has the same effect as an elevator, right?

"Okay, then I'll trust you this time."

Nero raised his hand and pressed the button with his white fingers.

The scene before my eyes changed.

The place where Nero and Celestina were before was an aisle, and the button was in a very inconspicuous corner.

Then, after Nero pressed the button, she found herself in a small, dark and damp room.

A place without any lighting feels like a ghost might appear at any time.

"...No, I'm a Heroic Spirit. My status is higher than that of a ghost, right? So I don't need to be afraid of ordinary ghosts, right?"

Nero touched his smooth chin, thoughtfully.