Volume 5: PROLOGUE

───[Forest of Grace].

It is a forest where you can receive all kinds of natural blessings and collect several precious wild plants.

However, the blessings are not limited to the plants and trees but also affect the monsters. The monsters that live there have gained their mighty power from eating the precious wild plants and growing up there. Although it is not as dangerous as the [Great Devil's Nest], it is still designated as a dangerous area.

Although it is a place overflowing with such monsters, there is actually a reason why it is only designated as a dangerous area.

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"Phew… I'm sweating like crazy today."

A man sits on a stump in the Forest of Grace and wipes sweat off his face. He looked like a farmer in his straw hat and his overalls, and the sight of him wiping sweat off with a towel on his shoulder made him look like a middle-aged man who could be found anywhere.

However, he was clearly different from the average middle-aged man in several ways.

That is, the chopped down trees around him and the monsters' corpses. And a supermassive ax, as tall as a middle-aged man, is propped up against a tree.

"But… the trees here grow even if they are cut down. And even if you hunt the monsters, they will still spring up no matter how many times you hunt for it… That's how strong the power of nature is, but it's hard to imagine a blessing that's too strong…"

This middle-aged man who sighed while mouthing that was the factor that kept [Forest of Grace] a mere dangerous area, and the guardian of humanity who was bearing the title of "Axe Saint."

"Well, that's fine. If I cut down a bit more trees and thin out the monsters a bit more, those monsters won't even appear in the surrounding villages."

It was at that moment──that he picked up the ax that was propped up against the tree and tried to get up from the stump.

"Huh!"

Suddenly, intense killing intent was directed at him.

After receiving that killing intent, the Axe Saint instantly shifted into a fighting stance and held the ax up without a second thought.

"What? This killing intent is…"

However, he had never encountered an existence in the [Forest of Grace] that could emit such an intense killing intent towards the "Axe Saint."

"───You've been in a place like this, huh, Axe Saint?"

"Huh! You are…"

Then, a man appeared from the depths of the [Forest of Grace].

That man had red dreadlocks and a black shirt with a large gap in the chest and a white jacket on top of it, and his muscles, which is trained and condensed to the extreme, could be seen through the shirt.

He emitted a wild air that reminded one of a beast, and his sharp golden eyes were staring straight at the "Axe Saint." And this man was the one who was showering the Axe Saint with powerful killing intent.

"What the hell are you doing here? ──Fist Saint."

The man called "Fist Saint" smiled at the "Axe Saint's" reaction.

"Don't be so wary."

"What the hell do you think you're talking about, throwing a temper tantrum like that at me?"

"Calm down. I'm just here to──kill you."

"What!"

The "Axe Saint" received the words of the "Fist Sage" and immediately raised the ax in his hand.

"Tearing Scream!"

Then, as he slammed the ax into the ground with great vigor, a large ground crack emerged from it and reached the feet of the "Fist Saint."

But…

"C'mon, is this all you can do?"

The Fist Saint looked bored, and then he easily dodged the attack of the Axe Saint.

"──Well, even I can do that, too!"

When the Fist Saint lightly smashed his fist into the ground, a sharp crack in the ground extended to the feet of the Axe Saint, faster than the Axe Saint's blow.

However, the Axe Saint managed to avoid the attack and shouted at the Fist Saint.

"Kuh? What do you mean when you say you're going to kill me?"

"There's nothing to it. However, I'm going to kill you. That's all."

"Nothing, you said!? You are also the one who is bearing the "Holy" title, and this is what you're doing…"

"Aah, "Holy," huh? So what about it?"

"Wha!?"

The words of the "Fist Saint" made the "Axe Saint" loss for words.

"I'm not interested in the role of a "Holy" or anything else. It's just that I wanted to fight a strong fellow, and that's why I became a Holy."

"Then why do you want me, the same "Holy" dude…"

"What do you mean? Someone as good as you and I are the Holy, right? So why not fight?"

"…I can't keep up with your fighting habits. Besides, I've recently started to see the "Evil" movement. And now, I don't have time to fight among friends…"

"By "Evil," you mean this power?"

A black haze suddenly erupted vigorously from the "Fist Saint's" body.

"…What?"

It was the very power of the "Evil" that the "Axe Saint" spoke of. In the situation where that power was overflowing from the "Fist Saint's" body, the "Axe Saint" could not keep up with his understanding.

"How can… you have that power…"

"It's all about getting stronger and stronger, you know?"

"Huh! You betrayed us…!"

"Well, is that what you think it is?"

The Fist Saint said that without any offense, the Axe Saint was speechless.

"I don't care what it is. I'm here to kill you. That's all there is to it.

"…Now that you've betrayed us, I have a reason to kill you too… You're the only one I can't let go."

"I love the look on your face now. Come on, man, bring it on."

"──[Tearing Sky]!"

The Axe Saint swiftly swung a huge ax on the spot, and a huge vacuum blade flew towards the Fist Saint.

However, the Fist Saint dodged everything without difficulty.

"What is it, after the ground, is air, huh? But… aren't you joking when you say you're the Axe Saint with just that one?"

"No, you're done."

"Huh?"

The Axe Saint's attack didn't just split the ground and air. The vacuum blade that the Fist Saint was supposed to have dodged gradually increased in size and attacked the Fist Saint from behind again, trying to cut him in half.

"Sigh! It's only a mere tracking ability, don't get too carried away with it. I can just avoid that thing again──."

"Do you think I'd let you do that?"

"Wha?"

In the next moment, the Axe Saint swung the ax in his hand and threw it at the Fist Saint.

The attack's momentum was so great that it scattered a new vacuum blade, blocking the Fist Saint's retreat for certain and cutting him down between the vacuum blade and the huge ax.

"Hey, hey, the escape routes aren't just left, right, and front, you know?"

Yet, "Fist Saint" tried to dodge those attacks by leaping up into the sky.

But──.

"There's no escape for you anymore."

"Woah? …Wha!?"

Amazingly, the Fist Saint had been guided into a position where he could straddle the first earth crack by the Axe Saint attack. And from that earth crack, a super high energy light poured out.

"The [Tearing Scream] isn't just a technique that tears the ground. It's a technique that causes the earth to scream."

The rush of light was so tremendous that it burned the surrounding trees and the ground. The vacuum blades and the ax that were supposed to have been avoided were still tracking him, so the Fist Saint, who had lost his escape by being in the air, had no way to deal with it.

"Y-youuuuuuu!"

"For wanting to fight the strong, you let your guard down too much. ──[Heaven's Prison]"

As soon as the Axe Saint muttered the name of his technique, the vacuum blade, giant ax, and rush of light swallowed the body of the Fist Saint at once.

The "Axe Saint," staring at the torrent of light, frowned.

"But… I didn't expect someone from the "Holy" to handle the power of the "Evil"… this is going to make the others──."

"──What do you think you're done with?"

"Huh!"

Axe Saint opened his eyes and turned his gaze in the direction of the voice and saw the figure of Fist Saint standing there unharmed.

"No way… you're completely, with [Heaven Prison]…!"

"What a disappointment. You're not worthy of the "Holy" title."

"What did you──gahaahh!?"

The moment the Axe Saint tried to speak, a large amount of blood poured out of his mouth.

"What, is…?"

There was a huge hole in the Axe Saint's chest.

"You attacked me so weakly that I killed you."

"If you kill me… the strongest and most powerful of us "Holy" beings… the Sword Saint… will destroy you… Prepare yourself…"

"Die quickly, you small fry."

"────"

The Axe Saint collapsed on the spot and convulsed violently. Watching that figure with cold eyes, the Fist Saint kicked away the Axe Saint, who had already become a silent corpse.

"Ah, this is so boring. I got the power of the "Evil" people, and I was able to fight with the "Holy" people. That's supposed to be fun."

"──I told you not to do anything of your own accord, didn't I?"

"Huh?"

Right next to the Fist Saint, a black haze suddenly gathered, forming a human-shaped silhouette, and a voice emanated from it.

"Whatever I do is up to me."

"You think that excuse will be accepted? You are only borrowing the power of us, "Evil." And even though it's a coincidence, that power certainly fits you perfectly. That's why you should be careful──."

"Shut up!"

The Fist Saint interrupted the black haze and randomly slammed his fist into the haze. The blow was tremendous and not only blew away the surrounding trees and the ground but also wholly obliterated the black haze.

"I don't take orders from anyone. And if you think that the power of the Evil is yours forever, you've underestimated… me too much."

The Fist Saint turned his back to where the black haze was.

"I'm going to do as I please."

Then he quietly walked away from the [Forest of Grace]

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──So that's the end, huh?

At the [World's Disposal Ground], where the Evil resides, the black haze's main body that had warned the Fist Saint earlier muttered bitterly.

The main body was even denser and blacker than when it appeared near the Fist Saint. It was covered in an evil haze, making it impossible to confirm its exact appearance.

"Looks like I've misjudged his abilities."

The Fist Saint is no longer entirely out of the hands of the Evil.

"Since he is one of the few experimental bodies that were able to conform to the power of the Evil, it was a mistake to underestimate the control of the power we gave him. There's no choice… Since it's come to this, I'll have to make him disappear…"

Even as an Evil, he had no use for a piece that didn't listen to him and decided to dispose of the Fist Saint easily.

"It's a bit of a hassle, but it's a small price to pay for the future plan. There's no way to get rid of him. That means we need to let our shards of the Bow Saint who is still alive to find a new host for it…"

The Evil spoke to himself and then quietly disappeared from the place.