Brainwashed Then Woke Up To Find My Childhood Friend a Hero

20. Interlude Part Gora

Gildia’s fist sent my daughter flying.

With that single blow, she lost consciousness and collapsed.

I carried my fallen daughter on my back, trying to endure the situation. The guards and Gildia attacked mercilessly from all directions, each strike potentially fatal. I desperately sought a way to save my daughter, but the attacks grazed me, increasing my wounds and breaking my concentration. In that moment,

“Don’t move.”

At Gildia’s command, my movements froze for an instant.

Then Gildia’s fist sank into my abdomen.

The accumulated fatigue and damage from before…

—

I kneel.

A moment of silence descends.

“Finally on your knees, are you?”

Gildia’s voice rains down upon us.

The weight of it remains unchanged, looking down upon us.

Then Gildia points and declares,

“That girl was to be executed today, so it makes no difference if she is dealt with here and now.”

I despair at Gildia’s words; it is precisely because he adheres to rules and justice that I know this is not a bluff or a threat, but the truth.

Clack, clack, clack.

The sound of Gildia’s heels echoes.

In tandem, my heart begins to race.

Pain fades away as fear envelops me.

With each step that draws closer, it feels like I am walking to the guillotine.

I sense the arrival of absolute death.

In that instant,

the ceiling collapses.

What meets my eyes is Elg, shrouded in dark magic, cradling the demon girl. I let out a foolish sound, caught between relief and shock.

“What?!”, “Whoa?!”

Gildia seems to feel the same, as Elg descends between Gildia and us.

I speak, whether from gratitude or confusion.

“Elg… you…”

Why are you here? Before I can voice it,

Gildia’s oppressive presence dominates the scene.

“You…! Do you even understand what that girl is?!”

Gildia shouts with a voice that reverberates through the ground, his eyes narrowing in a mix of urgency and anger.

I turn my gaze to the demon girl.

Amidst her purple hair, two prominent black horns stand out, and her red eyes seem to see right through me…

As Elg gazes at her in the same way,

“Daddy?”

Wha—Daddy?!

I am filled with a mix of surprise and confusion, a whirlwind of emotions. In any case, I convey the situation about Gildia.

“Watch out, Elg! That’s Warden Gildia!”

Elg, on high alert, takes a stance, his body radiating a dark aura. The guards, upon seeing this, take a step back.

Only Gildia remains unchanged, standing tall in place. Then he opens his mouth.

“Dark magic, a dark knight, huh?”

Huff.

Gildia’s sigh echoes ominously.

“I heard a man associated with dark knights was imprisoned, but to think it would be a dark knight himself.”

Though Gildia seems exasperated, he assumes a combat stance.

In that moment, I feel the same overwhelming pressure emanating from Gildia as before. The fear I felt earlier resurfaces slightly, but I relay to Elg.

“Hey, Elg, buy some time for Gildia. In the meantime, I’ll take out some guards.”

I convey this succinctly. I figured it would be better to leave it to Elg, who is in better shape than I am, to buy time.

Elg, turning his back to us, replies.

“Leave it to me.”

In that moment, I felt a sense of relief wash over me.

Elg, glaring at the enemy, activates his skills.

“[Holy Armor] [Saint’s Smile]”

Instantly, the overflowing dark aura envelops Elg, forming a temporary dark armor around him.

Seeing this, Gildia utters a single phrase.

“[Eliminate Gora]”

So that’s how it is!! I realize he intends to leave me, the wounded one, to the guards while he deals with Elg.

The guards, enhanced by the order, charge at me. I use body enhancement to create distance from Gildia while striking a few of them, but the reinforced guards don’t fall easily; they rise and come at me again. I carefully keep my grip on Ayla while fending off the guards.

In that moment, a thunderous sound erupts.

I hear something flying overhead.

It happens twice; I understand that Elg has likely been blown away, and Gildia is chasing after him.

With Gildia’s pursuit, the guards’ coordination falters slightly, allowing me to strike, throw, and evade the attacking guards.

As this repeats, my stamina begins to wane, and my movements start to show signs of fatigue. Seizing the opportunity, a guard swings a baton at me, the curved strike landing squarely in my abdomen, but I endure it.

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“Hah! That doesn’t hurt at all!!”

I draw back my fist with all my might and slam it into the approaching guard, smashing him against the wall. The sight of one of their own taken down causes the surrounding guards to back off a bit.

This is my martial skill, [Charge Counter].

—

Charging up the attack I firmly recognized,

I channel its power into my fist and release it.

My fist, combined with the stored attack, can unleash tremendous force.

“Come on! Bring it on!!”

It’s not a technique I can easily use, but the guard, feeling the threat of being taken down in one blow, keeps his distance while trying to probe. However, the guard, as if saying this is pointless, lunges at me.

In response, I gather my energy for a counterattack and take down several of them.

Seeing this, the guard hesitates slightly.

But since the counterattack leaves residual damage,

At this rate, I’ll be worn down.

Having used my one-hit kill technique,

The guard keeps his distance, but I’m nearing my limit too.

Suddenly, I find myself kneeling; it seems fatigue has built up too much, and my legs are trembling.

Seeing this, the guard intensifies his assault.

I struggle to stand, bracing my trembling knees to protect Ayla, but I can see the Resistance rushing in from behind the guard.

The Resistance attacks the guard from behind.

Perhaps seeing our situation, their momentum is fierce,

And the guard, lacking the luxury to focus on us, responds to the Resistance. A few of them break through the guard and approach us.

“Gora-san! Are you hurt!?”

“Ayla-san! Are you okay!?”

One of the elite members of the Resistance and a slender man approach me and Ayla, worry etched on their faces.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you.”

I utter words of apology.

“That’s not true! You held on until we got here, and that’s more than enough!!”

Their words give me a bit of confidence.

“Well then, I can’t show a pathetic side now.”

I rise from the spot, turning towards where Guildia and Elg went.

“Where are you going!?”

The slender man calls out.

“I’m heading to where the new ally is; they’re holding Guildia back.”

—

The elite were taken aback by this, and the thin man seemed to have an inkling.

“Are you talking about Elg!?”

He mentioned Elg’s name.

“Do you know him?”

When I asked, the man nodded.

In that case,

“Protect Aira for me; I have to help Elg.”

With those words left behind, I headed toward where Elg was fighting.

Then, an incredible sound echoed, and I quickly realized it was Elg battling Gildia. I ran a bit closer, and I could hear Gildia’s voice.

“Well, good.”

“I’ll say this: they must have already escaped, right?”

What?

I crept closer to Gildia.

In response, Gildia raised his voice.

“They trust no one but their comrades, and they ruthlessly cut down everything else.”

I couldn’t help but smirk; yeah, that might be true.

After all, Elg is one of us, and I trust him. That’s why I’m here to help.

“And so they built something called a resistance, allowing them to rebel against us.”

I couldn’t hold back any longer and lunged at Gildia.

“Hey.”

Gildia instinctively turned around, but I had already drawn back my fist.

Boom!

Gildia was slammed against the wall with a satisfying thud.

“Gora!!!”

Elg knelt, calling my name.

I called out to Elg with a hint of sarcasm.

“You look pretty beat up.”

I reached out my hand to Elg, laughter bubbling up despite the situation.

“You too.”

Seeing that, Elg laughed as he grabbed my hand.

—

“I have power.”

We instinctively jump back at the sound of that voice.

In an instant, a crater forms in the ground.

“Hey, are you serious?”

I punch Gildia with all my strength, surprised that he’s still conscious.

He’s already battered and bruised, one eye seemingly blind, but the other burns with a fierce determination directed at us.

“You filthy scum… how dare you face me!”

Gildia glares at us with his piercing gaze.

We exchange a brief glance, and then we dash forward simultaneously. At the same moment, Gildia moves as well.

I reinforce my body and tighten my fist with resolve. Elg skillfully wields his shield, gripping it like a knuckle duster.

We strike at the same time, but Gildia thrusts both fists forward, countering our attack.

A deafening roar.

“Ugh!”

I let out a cry as I recoil.

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Elg is sent flying, his shield tossed aside.

“Tch!”

Gildia clicks his tongue in annoyance.

We’re all thrown back, creating some distance.

I catch Elg’s eye, and in an instant, I understand his silent message: “We’re pushing through, right?”

“Let’s go, Gora!”

I respond to his call.

“Leave it to me, Elg!”

Hearing that, Gildia braces himself.

I feint with a wide swing from above, aiming to land an uppercut from below, but he easily dodges and retaliates with a flurry of strikes at lightning speed. I absorb a few hits with a “Charge Back” technique, using that power to cross my fists in front of me and tackle him.

Gildia can’t fully evade it and is sent flying. But he quickly closes the distance again, unleashing a barrage of attacks on me. Meanwhile, Elg rushes past us to retrieve his shield.

I grasp his intention and move faster than Gildia, blocking his path.

“You’re not getting past me!”

—

I raised my fist, ready to strike Gildia, but he deftly dodged and landed a series of blows to my abdomen. I endured various attacks, from punches to knife-hand strikes.

I tried to retaliate with a “Charged Counter,” swinging my fist back, but Gildia deflected it and slammed me to the ground. I was momentarily disoriented, my face hitting the ground, and my consciousness blurred for an instant.

“Ha! You worthless piece of trash!”

Hearing Gildia’s voice brought my awareness back, and I stood up. My eyes caught sight of a pitch-black shield. Elg was throwing it, but Gildia exaggeratedly dodged. Reflexively, I caught the incoming shield and hurled it at Gildia. Yet, he evaded that too. However, Elg seized the opportunity and unleashed a slash.

“This is the finishing blow!”

“What!? I’m not done yet!”

Gildia took the full brunt of the slash that burst forth from the shield. He was sent flying, landing on his back in the hallway.

“W-what… a weakling…”

With that, Gildia rolled his eyes back and lost consciousness.

I had done it. I wanted to express my gratitude and joy to Elg, but he collapsed to his knees.

“Hey! Elg! Are you okay!? Stay with me!”

In my panic, I lifted Elg, but he was unresponsive.

—