One-way traffic

But what about him now?

A powerful monster may not be terrifying, but a monster that never underestimates its opponent is what truly inspires fear.

Accelerator is indeed the strongest, but he has already learned valuable experience in the past few battles.

No matter who you're fighting, you can't let your guard down, even if it's just a bunch of monsters with brains as small as natto.

The battle between the world's most powerful superpowered individuals has come to an end.

He lightly stomped on the ground, and an invisible force extinguished all the surrounding flames, leaving Subaru and Ram behind him with expressions of shock.

Ultimately, mere shock is no longer enough to describe their direct experience.

Even Natsuki Subaru, who had already witnessed Accelerator's power, couldn't help but gape with his mouth agape.

Then, he spoke in a way that was hard to believe.

"Pfft—!! Damn it, I opened my jaw too wide and a bug flew into my mouth! Ugh, ugh, ugh—"

"...Forgive Ram for speaking frankly, but Barus is indeed a person who is very good at ruining the atmosphere."

Accelerator turned around and walked over to them.

The Warcraft horde has been completely wiped out by him... at least for now.

He glanced at the children lying there behind the two of them.

"Are the kids all alright?"

"Don't worry about them, we took excellent care of them while you were away. Ouch, ouch, ouch—!!"

Even though Subaru Natsuki tried to get up in a cool manner, the pain all over his body prevented him from standing up.

And so, Natsuki Subaru, lying on the ground, could only passively receive healing magic from Ram.

He sighed helplessly.

"And another thing, you're way too slow!"

"You think I have a way to accurately pinpoint the location of these damned monsters? But it would be faster to just kick up the entire forest and the mountaintop together."

"Hey... if that happens, not only us, but the entire city of Lugnica will be blown away!"

Natsuki Subaru let out a soft groan of pain.

"But thankfully, everything is alright now. All the children who were captured by the monsters are safe and sound. It's all thanks to you, Ichijo."

"That's right. If you hadn't been working so hard to be the punching bag for those monsters, those brats probably wouldn't even have an eyeball left."

"Ugh—that's why everyone says not to use such scary words, ouch ouch ouch!! Can't you treat poor Subaru Natsuki a little more gently, Ram-chan!"

"It's because Barus messed around by himself, he deserves it."

"I'm so unwilling to accept this..."

And so, Accelerator walked up to Subaru Natsuki.

He glanced at him with a somewhat frivolous look.

To protect kids who were practically strangers to him, people he'd only met a few times, this guy was willing to risk his own life.

Although he does have the ability to travel back in time even after death, even knowing that he has this ability, how many people can actually face death head-on?

Natsuki Subaru is an ordinary person, just a very ordinary high school student.

However, after arriving in this other world, this ordinary high school student finally found something he wanted to do in order to survive.

That was him; he found what he wanted to protect.

"Well done."

"What…?"

Natsuki Subaru looked up in astonishment, only to see this scene.

Accelerator's lips curled up slightly, as if in praise.

"While you may not be a saint, you're still much better than those bastards who would sacrifice everything just to survive."

"Let's just call them a pretty bad gang."

After leaving those words, Accelerator turned and walked towards the group of children without looking back.

"What is this?! I don't want to be a villain! I want to be a hero! The hero who wins the heart of the beauty—it hurts so much!!"

"So I've already said it, Barus, if you move around during treatment, you'll only hurt yourself."

"Is it...not ready yet, my dear sister..."

Natsuki Subaru collapsed to the ground in utter displeasure, forced to accept Ram's healing.

However, there was one thing he didn't know.

Although it sounds a bit vulgar, it is indeed a common form of praise.

To this day, the number of people who can truly get this kind of evaluation from Accelerator can be counted on one hand.

He may not be considered a villain, but he is indeed capable of fighting to protect something.

That alone is enough.

only.

"A hero, huh?"

Accelerator has no idea what he's thinking.

After muttering the word briefly, he shook his head, putting it all behind him.

Then, he quickly noticed something.

"—Hey, I'm talking."

He turned his head and looked at Natsuki Subaru, who had just recovered.

"These are the only five kids you rescued?"

--What?

Subaru and Ram were taken aback.

He got up without hesitation, completely disregarding the pain in his body.

One, two, three, four... five.

There were only five children.

"No...no, no!"

"Where did Petra go?!"

The other two immediately stared at each other.

One child is missing.

"Damn it... Could it be that the monster kidnapped her when it overturned the earth?"

"Don't worry, Barus."

Ram also immediately stood up and looked at him seriously.

"Lamu has a unique ability of the demon race called 'clairvoyance,' which allows him to search by observing the vision of nearby animals."

"Really? Then let's quickly find out where Petra is!"

Natsuki Subaru urged him on impatiently, and Ram immediately unleashed his power.

That was a powerful secret technique that only their demon race could use.

In an instant, the demon girl's gaze changed.

There are high places, low places, and views above the river.

These were all within the field of vision of the wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards in the vicinity, and what Ram did was to communicate with them to a certain degree through his spiritual senses.

until a certain moment.

"found it."

"where is it?"

"About 800 meters ahead."

"Eight hundred meters...?"

Natsuki Subaru's expression immediately turned to surprise.

While he could probably run there without any problem, what about the time it would take to get there?

Can we really guarantee that Petra will be safe and sound during this period?

"Damn it... I have no choice but to grit my teeth and go for it!"

Subaru Natsuki made the decision that Petra could not be left there under any circumstances.

"Ram, which direction are we facing?"

"We can find it by following the outer edge of the forest, if the eagle's vision that Ram shared is correct."

"Very good, then hurry up—"

"Stop thinking about it, both of you stay here."

Before Natsuki Subaru could finish speaking, the being beside him said this.

Accelerator replied indifferently.

"That brat was captured, which means they wanted to take her hostage. So the coward behind it all is still alive?"

"What are you talking about, Yifang?! How could I possibly stand by and watch Petra get captured at a time like this?!"

Even as Natsuki Subaru shouted anxiously, the first-place person's expression remained unchanged.

He said this.

"Whether you leave or not is up to you, but what about these kids over here?"

Natsuki Subaru froze on the spot.

He could indeed go with Accelerator, but what about the children here?

Stay here? Don't be ridiculous. Even without magical beasts, if some ordinary wild animals came, these defenseless children wouldn't have a chance of surviving at all.

Moreover, it's not enough for him to stay alone; he and Ram must stay together to take care of them.

Only Accelerator can go and rescue Petra.

"Even without that brat, I would still go and settle accounts with that bastard."

The number one villain, as if announcing his own declaration, spoke softly with his back to the moonlight.

“I already have enough grudges between me and that bastard. I’m a villain, and if that guy dares to do something as despicable as taking a kid hostage, he must be an absolute villain as well.”

"This is a battle between the two villains, and this feud was destined long ago."

Facing Natsuki Subaru, who was already standing there in astonishment, he continued to blurt everything out.

"So, good-for-nothings like you should just stay here obediently. Everything else is something that I, the villain, should do."

That was a dividing line.

Subaru and Ram both seemed to see that the being in front of them was intentionally separating them from the others.

On one side is light, on the other side is darkness.

For him, this inevitably meant a battle in the darkness, which was where he belonged.

Natsuki Subaru didn't know what to say.

Anger? Joy? Or sadness? None of the above; it was a very complex feeling.

Even he himself didn't know how to express it.

The darkness in Accelerator's world far exceeded their imagination.

“I understand, Yifang.”

So, since we can't understand it, we can only trust it.