''Haha!　Come on, get some more, you guys!


    Can''t you just shut up and fight, Dad...?


    It''s been a few minutes since my dad got over the wall.


    My dad and I are still fighting demons, back to back.


    It''s still much easier to fight than when I was alone.


    As I was defeating the demons on the ground, another night bird flew in.


    ''''Dad!''''


    ''Oh!　Go Eric!


    I signal to my dad and then jump and slash at the night bird rapidly.


    After cutting about three of them at once, I fall according to gravity.


    When I was alone, this dwell time was the most dangerous, but--.


    ''''-- Your opponent is me!


    Thanks to my dad firmly attracting the demons to the point where I jump and land, I can defeat the night birds of prey without any problems.


    And after landing, I immediately go to cover my dad.


    My dad isn''t all-powerful, either, so he''s been attacked several times while attracting them from earlier, and he''s bleeding.


    I slash the goblins and kobolds behind my dad.


    ''Dad, are you getting tired?　You''re allowed to rest.


    ''I''m telling you, Eric!　I can still do it!


    That''s good to hear.


    We talk like that with our backs together and then quickly move on to fighting again.


    We''ve been fighting for another hour or so.


    The number of demons is visibly decreasing.


    If you''re not caught off guard anymore, there won''t be much to be done.


    But--I''m feeling a little uncomfortable after getting here.


    It is true that the number of demons is high.


    It''s enough that two people can fight for an hour and finally annihilate them.


    But the strength of the demons isn''t that great.


    There are a few strong demons that appear, but only a few, and they can be killed with one swing of my sword.


    If I had a large sword, I could kill my father with ease.


    I assumed my dad''s strength wasn''t that strong because he died in this pack in my past life.


    However, seeing my dad fighting now, it''s enough to make me feel like I can fight him alone if I have a large sword.


    I don''t know how much of a difference in strength there is between my father and the other hunters, but if I''m alone, these demons won''t get me if I''m not careful.


    And yet, in my past life, my father was dead, and everyone in the village had no one left alive except me.


    When I think about it now, that''s strange too.


    When we were attacked by this number of demons, I thought we could all die, but it''s hard to be wiped out when my dad would have stopped us from getting there.


    Something - am I missing something?


    Eric!


    What?


    As I''m sinking into my thoughts, I''m a little slow to react to the demon attacking me from behind.


    I don''t think I''ll make it in time - but just in time, my dad hits that demon and blows it away.


    ''Are you okay!


    Bad dad, thank you.


    ''Don''t let your guard down, Eric!　We''re almost there!


    Yeah, I''ll be fine.


    For now, I''ll just think about killing the demon in front of me--.


    I thought that and moved to stop thinking and simply swing my sword faster.


    -- How long had it been since we started fighting?


    My father and I have already been killing demons breathlessly.


    The number of demons that existed in the hundreds is now so large that you can count them with one hand.


    I put all my strength into my tired body and wait for them to attack me.


    The Katella Monkey, a monkey monster with sharp claws, swings at me with its claws, trying to tear me to pieces as I stop.


    I duck the attack with minimal movement, keeping my movements as I ducked and slashing the monkey from the body.


    The katera monkeys behind it also don''t stop moving and slash their heads off in a flowing manner.


    I had cooled down a bit after my dad arrived and decided to take him down by waiting for him to attack me and fight back instead of attacking him myself.


    If you move on your own, you''ll be tired of moving to pick him up, so waiting is more physically efficient.


    My dad doesn''t have that kind of skill, though, so he''s moving to hit them himself.


    And my dad punched the last one demon and blew it up.


    ''Yes!　Did you see that, you bastards!


    I see my dad screaming in victory and I know I''ve finally beaten him too.


    ''Dad, good job,''


    ''Oh, and Eric!　It could have been a close call if you weren''t there!


    ...on my part. It would have been a disaster if my dad hadn''t been there.


    In fact, I haven''t taken a single attack since my dad arrived.


    That''s how much easier I felt in a fight and mentally.


    ''I see!　Well, this is a victory for the father and son duo!


    My dad points his fist at me.


    He looks exhausted, but his face has a very nice smile on it.


    In my previous life, my back and stern face was the last thing I saw in that smile.


    I clenched my fists, feeling a sense of accomplishment, just like my dad - and then I clenched my fists.


    ''''-- You can''t taste the victory drink yet, can you?


    --Just as I was about to meet my dad''s fist, a low voice sounded from right next to me.


    ''''--Ha?''''


    I felt the killing intent from the man who made that voice, and I quickly stepped back to brace myself - but my dad was a little slow to react.


    ''Oraa!''


    What?


    My dad got kicked out and blown up by that guy.


    And at the end of the blow up was the wall I had built.


    My father crashed into the wall with his momentum - the wall broke down and disappeared in a cloud of dust.


    "--Oh, old man!


    I look at the one my dad was blown up against and scream.


    That wall was hardened with the best magic I could muster right now to prevent the demons from breaking it.


    I wonder how hard my blown-up father could break that wall, how powerfully he was kicked, and how fast he crashed into that hard wall.


    ''''-- Can''t we just sit on the sidelines?''''


    While I was screaming at my dad, the guy who kicked my dad off was in my pocket.


    ''-- Don''t lick it,''


    But -- I had read that action, so I flashed my sword at the neck of the man in my pocket.


    --Die.


    ''d*mn--that was close, that was close. Just in time.


    However, that guy ducks my sword with a paperweight and moves away from my space while coming up to my bosom.


    This guy.........is fast.


    I should have started moving completely faster than him, but after seeing that, he reacted and just barely avoided it.


    In my past life, I had experience in returning a surprise attacker, so I did that this time too, but I couldn''t kill him because he was faster.


    I could see that guy from a distance.


    I could tell from his voice that he was a man, a little taller than me.


    He has black hair and wears it all backwards.


    He''s wearing black, gorgeous looking clothes and is all black.


    He''s grinning like he''s making his bad guy face even worse.


    ''You''re strong, dude. You''re a hell of a lot stronger than that guy you just blew up.


    I huff as the man tells me, and I look again at the spot where my dad was blown away.


    I can''t see my dad because the wall made of dirt has collapsed and there is still a cloud of dust in the air.


    I want to run to my dad''s place, but if I do that, this man won''t sit back and watch.


    ''''You........who are you?''''


    Me?　Well would you understand if I showed you this thing?


    When he said that, the man closed his eyes once and opened them.


    Then the eyes, which had no particular features - turned bright red.


    The part that was black earlier turned bright red and changed to a color reminiscent of blood.


    ''''Those eyes - a demon race?''''


    Thank you.


    The man replies with a grin.


    There are various races living in this world.


    One of the characteristics of the demon race among them is that their eyes turn red when they control their magic power or in battle.


    ''''You knew it well. The one from this rural village.''''


    Yeah I know all about you guys.


    In my past life, I fought against you demon tribe many times.


    Many demon tribes are belligerent, except for a few.


    Especially since the king of the demon tribe''s country was so belligerent, he would wage war against the countries of various races.


    I''ve seen many such wars, so I know the demon race.


    And that''s not the only reason I know about you guys.


    --It''s because the woman I love, Irene, is also a demon.


    "What''s a demon like you doing in a small village like this?


    ''It''s none of your business but I''ll tell it to you as a gift from the dead.


    Well that''s gratifying.


    The Kingdom of Begonia is located near this village. My country is planning to destroy the Begonia Kingdom, which is near this village. So we will use this village as our base of operations, and we will be ready to attack.


    I see...


    So, this guy''s country is the land of the belligerent demon race.


    And he looks like he loves to fight.


    "I was ordered to destroy the village. "I was ordered to destroy the village, and I was going to have a demon do it. We''ll have a little fun.


    I knew you''d be belligerent...


    He was just like I thought he was.


    So, in a previous life, this guy was the reason my dad died and not everyone in the village survived.


    He killed my father, and he killed everyone else in the village.


    But - I don''t like it.


    "If you''ve been listening to me, you may think you''ve won, but I have no intention of losing at all.


    I point the sword''s cutting edge at the man while hitting him with the killing intent.


    ''''Ha ... how can you say that with such a battered body?


    ....


    ''That''s why I came out now. If you were in tip-top shape, I might struggle too, but you''re a wreck from fighting a demon earlier.


    It''s frustrating, but the man is right, my body is stained with the blood I''ve shed.


    My arm, bitten by the demon, is throbbing, and the blood hasn''t stopped yet.


    ''I''m smart enough to know better. You have to weaken the enemy before you can fight them. And finishing them off from the weaker side is also an ironclad rule of hunting.


    Who are you calling weak?


    I heard a man yell from behind me in response to his words.


    I turned around and saw my dad almost coming towards me with blood pouring from his head.


    His eyes weren''t dead and he was glaring sharply at the man.


    ''I thank you, you!　Because of you, I--I can fight with a great sword!


    My dad comes up to me, carrying a great sword on his shoulder.


    You were able to go for the great sword you left behind when you went over the wall thanks to that guy blowing you up.


    ''''Dad.......can you make it?''''


    "You''re not going to fight by yourself!　I''m still going strong, Eric!


    --Our rock-solid dad, that''s for sure.


    Don''t die, Dad.


    ''Who are you talking to?　I''m the man among men!