Kiraware Yūsha ni Tensei Shitanode Aisare Yūsha o Mezashimasu! - CH 137

[The Hated Hero Saves the Protagonist]

“Raul! What happened?!” I approached as I called out to the collapsed Raul.

Maybe he heard my voice? Raul slowly got up.

Thank goodness.

It seemed he was conscious at least—right then…

“Gr… grrr…”

“Raul?!”

…it was the same.

He let out a beast-like growl while slightly trembling.

It was exactly the same as when he went berserk during our mock fight.

Damn it!

Why now of all times?!

Raul aspired to join the knights.

If Raul were to go berserk and cause an uproar here… the Order of the Knights’ evaluation of him would instantly plummet… I got to do something before that happened!

“S-something… got to do something…”

I racked my brain, but—nothing came to mind.

In the meantime, Raul, having stood up, turned around.

His eyes… they had not a shred of reason in them.

“R-Raul…”

What do I do!

At this rate, Raul might not be able to participate in the match, and worse, he might cause an uproar and be kicked out of the academy.

That was one thing I couldn’t let happen.

But… what was I supposed to do?!

“L-Lord… Barrett…”

“?! Raul?!”

His steps were unsteady, but Raul definitely said my name just now.

He was conscious.

He could still be saved.

Desperate to do something, I approached Raul—when Raul, for some reason, pointed to his nape.

“F-from here, something is…”

That was all Raul could say before his consciousness slipped away again.

With a low groan, he approached me with unsteady steps.

Most likely, the next time he regained consciousness… Raul would attack me.

“Kh!”

Clamping down my frustration at the fact that I couldn’t come up with a way to help Raul, I moved behind Raul. The thing Raul tried to say at the end. The hint should be on his neck.

With that in mind, I tried checking his nape, when…

“! This?!”

There was a small letter on Raul’s nape.

Was this—some sort of curse mark?

In any case, if I erased this, I should be able to draw out Raul’s original consciousness.

“Well, there’s only one thing I’ve got to do, then!”

Raul was still not fully awake and moved slowly.

…No, maybe Raul’s mind was stopping himself from going berserk. Maybe he was fighting desperately somewhere no one could see.

“Hang on, Raul. I’m going to save you!”

I drew out the Holy Sword and immediately pour mana into it.

Without giving it any element, I just pour in as much mana as I could.

To cut off the curse trying to control Raul’s mind and body.

“Grr… graa! Graaa!”

Gradually, he became more ferocious.

When it seemed like he was not going to last much longer…

“Here I go!”

After steeling myself, I brandished the Holy Sword.

The berserk Raul noticed and lunged at me.

Strangely, I didn’t feel the pressure I did back then.

Was this the result of my training? Or was it the result of the experience of fighting a wyvern, toughening up my guts?

Either way, it was convenient for me.

Thanks to it, I could fully concentrate.

As Raul lunged at me, I side-stepped then—taking advantage of the momentary opening—I slashed and tore off the curse mark on Raul’s nape without damaging his skin.

“Ugh… where is this…?”

“! You’re awake!”

“Lord Barrett? What are you—ugh!”

It seemed that though the curse mark had been erased, it still left some aftereffects.

Even so, it no longer messed up with his mind, and that was what mattered.

Right then, a loud cheer erupted from the venue outside.

“Looks like the second match is over.”

“O-oh no! I’m up next!”

Hurriedly, Raul said, “If you’d excuse me!” and ran off. It seemed he had no memory of what happened just before.

But that was good.

This way, Raul could fight without worry.

—Now then, it’d be my turn next.

I’d learned a new use of the Holy Sword just now, too. With this, I could start searching for the true culprit for real.