CHAPTER 60: OUTNUMBERED BUT NOT OUTMATCHED.

Ash landed perfectly on the ground, his gaze immediately scanning the terrain while ignoring the three individuals in front of him.

Cracks and fire still burned on the ground from the aftermath of the explosion caused by Echidna’s magic. Not that Ash paid them any attention, to begin with.

After looking around for a while, Ash refocused, ignoring the three individuals not too far away from where he was.

Soon, after scanning the entire place, he laid his eyes on her. She was lying unconscious somewhere in the woods.

"Aisha!" he called out, his voice attracting the attention of the hero, Isaac, who didn’t waste a single second checking who had shouted.

Before Ash could take a single step, a notification appeared.

[Notice: The slave Aisha is currently exhausted due to her acquiring a unique skill. The longer she retains her physical form, the more strain she will receive. However, it is nothing life-threatening.]

’Is that so? That’s a relief, then.’

Finally, he could focus on the three in front of him without having to worry about whether Aisha was safe.

His eyes moved from one person to the other until, eventually, they landed directly on Isaac. Both of them locked gazes. It didn’t take them long to recognize each other.

Their eyes widened in shock, slowly revealing the rage underneath.

"Ash!!!"

"Isaac!!!"

They both yelled at the top of their voices.

While Isaac reached for the blade strapped to his back, Ash clenched his fists, coating them with obvious dark energy. Upon seeing the dark energy, a hint of fear touched Isaac’s face.

"H-how are you still alive? No, we all knew something strange was happening back then, but I didn’t think you would still dare to roam about so freely. Are you seriously working for the Devil King now?"

Ash raised a brow.

’I expected him to be more surprised at the fact I literally came back from the dead. This means they knew I was alive. Just what did Raphael say to these people?’

Immediately after, he glanced toward Aisha. ’I can’t concentrate if she is just going to lay there like that. Sigh, I guess I have no choice.’

In the blink of an eye, Ash moved past Isaac, walked toward Aisha, and then carried her in his arms like a princess.

Isaac stood there, frozen in shock. How was this "weak" Ash Grimore able to move so fast? He was never this fast.

Looking directly at Aisha, Ash asked, "Are you alright? You’re only this weak because you completed your revenge. You should awaken a unique skill soon."

Aisha, barely able to open her eyes, smiled softly. "I am glad. W-were you proud?"

"Yes. You did well," Ash replied. "In the meantime, I’ll take you away from your physical form so you can rest up."

"Y-yes, Master." Aisha closed her eyes, falling deep into sleep. She had made sure she didn’t fall unconscious until Ash found her, and now that he had, she could finally rest as she intended.

Ash sighed as soon as Aisha had fallen asleep in his arms. He could feel the multiple glances from behind, different emotions in them, along with their murmurs.

"No way, that is Ash Grimore, the one the hero claimed was working with the Devil King."

"That’s him! You’re saying we are face-to-face with one of the Devil King’s elite generals?"

Their voices went on.

"Come, Aisha. Your master calls you forth."

[The skill ’Slave King’ has been activated.]

Immediately, a bright golden light enveloped Aisha’s entire form, and in the next second, she had transformed into a silver sword.

Ash held the blade by the hilt, then finally turned around to look at his potential opponents.

[A slave’s weapon form is dependent on their will. The will to fight for her master resulted in the form of a silver blade, capable of slicing whatever it touches.]

’Slices whatever it touches. Neat trick.’ Ash inspected the blade for a while, then looked directly at Isaac’s terrified face.

"Okay, what was it you said? I was supposed to be dead? Well, I can’t hide the fact that it is somewhat true. I mean, you guys did lure me into the forest with the sole purpose of ending me," Ash uttered with a serious look on his face.

Isaac frowned even more. All he was told to do was retrieve an elf. Who would have known he would run into an old friend who had supposedly come back to life?

"Oh, so now you’ve come for revenge, just like the Devil King said, huh? You hate us that much that you would stoop so low as to work with a person who nearly destroyed the entire world?"

Ash sighed. "Again with that... If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that you can’t always judge from one angle and expect the full story. That said, I am not here to convince you of anything."

He spoke with a calm voice, placing one hand on his waist with an almost confused look on his face.

"You know the strange part about this? I always imagined that when I ran into any of you bastards who killed me, I would be too pissed to understand anything. Well, actually, I am pissed, but I am surprisingly controlling it as well."

Isaac noticed the faint red glow in Ash’s eyes right after he spoke those words.

"Oh, I get it now. The Devil King was the one who saved you, right? Haha, and now you think you are some tough shit because you came back to life? You seem to forget that I am a Hero. To hell with you, I might as well just kill you one more time."

’True, Isaac is stronger than a Gold Rank in all classes. No job has ever superseded the jobs under the special ’Hero’ class. Makes me wonder... am I strong enough to fight him now?’

Ash tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade.

"What’s wrong? Scared that I am finally fighting back? Hey, want to know a secret?" Isaac had a devious look on his face.

"Remember how you were always running after Elsa like a lost puppy? Yeah, Elsa told us all about how you cried about wanting to return to your world... all while she was busy taking our dicks in her mouth, hahah!!"

Ash didn’t flinch at the comment, but it was clear it was slowly getting to him.

"That hoe legit told us everything, including how you were so much of a pussy that you couldn’t even lay a single finger on her, hha! Imagine falling for a girl like that. We all got to hit it except you. How does that make you feel? Worthless, right? Right?!"

Ash gripped the side of his face, a weird grin spreading. "Honestly, just how stupid was I back then? Ah, right. It doesn’t matter. That Ash is dead."

Slash!

Ash whipped his blade to the side, his gaze now dark and terrifying.

"Congratulations. You made me mad. Draw your weapon. I want to know how strong a wannabe hero can be."

Isaac frowned, fuming.

"Wait, Sir Hero, we can help."

"Yes, let us help you."

The two party members Isaac brought with him flanked both sides, more than willing to lend their support. This made Isaac grin, as it gave him a huge edge in the fight.

"Ash, it’s 3-on-1. I feel sad, but surely you can understand why they say fight smart, not hard. These two are both Gold Ranks, the best of the best given to us by the king. The girl beside me is the greatest mage in the entirety of the capital."

Ash narrowed his gaze at Isaac’s comment, taking notice of how the girl was indeed dressed like a mage.

However, not even a second later, another voice echoed from the sky.

"The greatest mage in the entirety of the capital? Sorry to burst your bubble, but no one outmatches me when it comes to magic."

"Echidna Kimberly will not stand around and have my title insulted like that."

Ash looked to the sky, and there was Echidna hovering, her grimoire floating right in front of her.

Then another voice echoed from the opposite side, this time a man’s.

"Ash, man, you need to stop hoarding all the fun for yourself. 3-v-1 is so unfair. Allow me to handle the toothpick-looking dude at the side. That should be cool, right?" Kelvin smiled, arms folded and back resting on a tree.

"I wouldn’t call him a toothpick. He’s a Gold Rank Warrior, one of the King’s personal guards," Isaac corrected, frowning at the interruption.

Kelvin chuckled, pushing off the tree. "Warrior, guard, toothpick—same difference when you’re about to get your ass handed to you, buddy."

Echidna, still floating, directed a sharp glare at the mage beside Isaac. "And you, ’greatest mage,’ why don’t you entertain me? I’d love to see what kind of amateur tricks you think are worthy of that title."

Isaac’s face contorted in a mixture of anger and confusion. His backup had just been matched, turning his perceived advantage into a fair, yet highly threatening, confrontation.

"You two... why are you helping him? He’s the enemy! He works for the Devil King!" Isaac yelled, his voice laced with desperation.

Kelvin rolled his eyes. "Chill out, dude. We just don’t like three-against-one odds, especially when the one is Ash. Seems unfair to you guys, honestly."

Ash, however, hadn’t taken his eyes off Isaac. A slow, chilling grin spread across his face, the faint red glow in his eyes intensifying.

"Looks like we’re back to where we started, Isaac. Just you and me. Draw your weapon." Ash raised the silver blade—Aisha’s transformed body—pointing its tip directly at the hero.