We quickly rushed to the main gate.

My enhanced physique allowed me to get ahead of Kazuma and the others.

"Oh, just as I suspected. This guy's here again."

Kazuma muttered as soon as we reached the gate.

Indeed. It was that Demon King General again. The headless horseman, or Dullahan, as Kazuma called him.

Like before, the other adventurers were already at the gate when we arrived. Most of them were pale and looked uneasy. That's not a good sign.

As I got closer, I saw why the other adventurers were troubled…

"Are those- are those zombie knights?"

"Zombies? No, those are undead knights."

"What's the difference?"

No, seriously. What's the difference between those two again? I'm pretty sure they're both dead people that came back to life.

The headless knight quickly spotted us and roared.

"Why didn't you come to the castle, you inhuman–!"

Kazuma walked in front of Megumin and confronted the headless knight.

"Well… You invited us to the castle, but that doesn't mean we must go. And what do you mean by 'inhuman'? We stopped casting explosion magic, so why are you angry?"

The knight, clearly furious, looked like he wanted to throw his head to the ground but decided not to and instead shifted it to his abdomen

"Stopped casting explosion?! You say it stopped?! Stop lying to me! That crazy Crimson Demon girl is still visiting every day!"

"Huh?"

After hearing that, Kazuma and I turned to look at Megumin.

She averted her eyes immediately.

"… Did you do this? I told you not to, but you still went?"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! It hurts! Stop! No, listen to me, Kazuma! I was satisfied with casting explosion on an empty plain not so long ago… But after I knew the charm of attacking a castle with magic, my body changed and I could only accept big and hard things…!"

She replied while fidgeting with her staff...Is everyone in Kazuma's group a pervert? First it was the girl, Darkness, then Kazuma, and now her. Maybe I should distance myself from them...

"Don't fidget around while saying that! And you can't move after casting your spell, so that means you have an accomplice! Who in the world…"

Kazuma pinched her cheeks while saying so. This time it was Aqua's turn to look away.

"It's you, right–!?"

"Wahahaha–! That Dullahan was the reason we can't get any good quests, so I wanted to vent some of my frustration! I was lectured by the store owner every day because of him!"

Hearing the three banter amongst themselves, the headless knight seemed to get even angrier than he already was.

He stomped his metal foot angrily as he shouted:

"I'm not furious because of the explosion magic! Don't you all have the will to save your comrade? I might be this way now, but before I was executed because of unjust reasons and morphed into a monster, I was an honourable knight. Where I stand, that Crusader who was cursed while protecting her companions was the classic model of a knight, but you abandoned her…!"

Just as he said that,

Darkness, who lagged behind because of her armour, quietly made her way to Kazuma's side.

The knight's head locked eyes with Darkness, who was blushing because of the compliments.

"… Err, hey…"

Darkness looked a bit guilty, timidly lifting a hand in greeting…

"… What- what's up with this–!?"

Seeing her, the knight yelled in surprise.

I couldn't see his face behind the helmet, but he must have had quite a shocked expression.

"It's been a week since Darkness was cursed but she's still alive. He must be really shocked, right, right? That Dullahan must have thought that we would head to the castle to break the curse and was waiting for us in vain, huh? He didn't even know I broke the curse in no time after he left, right? Puhehe! This is hilarious! Super~ funny!"

Aqua pointed her finger at the knight and laughed nonstop.

I still couldn't see his face, but judging from the way his shoulders were shaking, he must be quite furious.

But since she broke the curse, Kazuma's party had no reason to visit his castle.

"… Hey, you there! If I get serious, I could kill every single person in this town! Don't think I'll keep letting you off! As an undead, I won't ever tire! You bunch of rookies won't be able to even scratch me!"

Aqua's taunt pushed the knight's patience to his limit. He seemed to be quite serious.

Before the headless knight could do anything else, Aqua extended her right hand and shouted:

"I'm the one who has no reason to let you off! I won't let you escape this time! How arrogant for a mere undead to act in this manner! Disappear, Turn Undead!"

A bright, white light emerged from Aqua's outstretched hand.

Even though he saw Aqua casting a spell, the knight didn't flinch.

He seems quite confident of himself.

The gentle light which came out of Aqua closed in on the headless knight …!

"You think a Demon King's General wouldn't be prepared to fight priests? Too bad. Including me, all the undead knights in this band have received the protection of the Demon King. We have a very high resistance against holy spells- Ahhhhhh–!"

After getting blasted by the magic, black smoke started emerging from the knight.

The Demon King General that was so confident was smoking all over. He was shaking and couldn't even stand properly, but he still put on a strong facade.

Aqua shouted when she saw this:

"Hey, hey Kazuma! This is strange, it's not working!"

No, it looked pretty effective to me, he was screaming 'Ahhh–' so loudly…

The knight took unsteady steps and said:

"Hmph… Wait for me to finish! I am Beldia, a Demon King's General, Dullahan Beldia! With this armour that was enchanted by the Demon King and my own powers, Turn Undead from a normal priest won't work on me!… It shouldn't work at all…"

He was probably trying to tilt his head.

"… Never mind. Because our diviner was raging on about a strong light descending near this town, I came here to investigate… In the beginning, I thought it was too much of a hassle and considered destroying the entire town…"

The newly dubbed Beldia held his head with his left hand and pointed his empty right hand towards us.

"Hmph, you're not worthy enough for me to do it in person… Go, my brothers! Let them know what hell tastes like!"

"Ah! That guy was scared because Aqua's spell was unexpectedly effective! He's planning to use his minions to attack us while he escapes by himself!"

"T-That, that's not it! This was my plan from the very beginning! A Demon King's General is not a weakling who escapes on his own! You wouldn't fight the boss at the very start. Of course, you would need to defeat the underlings first, that's the tradition since ancient times-"

"Sacred Turn Undead–!"

"Yahhh–!"

Beldia was interrupted by Aqua's spell.

A white magic circle appeared at Beldia's feet and shot a light straight to the heavens.

Beldia's armour was fuming black smog, and he rolled on the ground as if he was attempting to put out his fire.

Aqua said in a panic:

"W-What should we do, Kazuma!? This is strange! My spell isn't working at all."

Looking at the way he was screaming his head off, I thought it was effective.

"Damn, damn you…! Let someone who's talking finish! Enough! Hey, my brethren…!"

Even though smog was coming from all over his body, Beldia stood up slowly and lifted his right hand…

"All the people in this town… Kill them all!"

He cut his right hand down as the cue!

(lXl)

Zombies...or undead knights according to Kazuma. Depicted in movies as reanimated bodies of the dead.

Modern zombies wore normal clothing making it easy for people to attack them but the zombies here wore tattered armor and cracked helmets, giving them some form of armor to protect against attacks...

Then again, I still have my enhanced strength, soooo...

"He just punched through that undead like it was nothing!"

"Priests! Get the priests here quickly! He's holding them off for now!"

"Someone go to the Eris church for holy water, get all that you can–!"

The adventurers shouted as I plowed through groups of zombies with ease.

"Oh, God! That is so disgusting! What the hell was I thinking?"

Turns out punching a hole through zombie results in rotting innards splattered all over you. Great, just great. Washing my clothes is gonna be such a pain in the ass.

Although I managed to kill groups of zombies, Beldia continued to summon more. As the horde of zombies got larger, so did the numbers of zombies that got pass me. The other adventurers behind immediately formed a line to intercept them.

"Everyone, form a line! Don't let them get into town!"

"Wah! There's too many of them!"

"Crap! They're breaking through!"

"Help! We need help over here!"

Screams echoed through the air as the zombie horde kept on attacking us. Though I managed to kill groups of them, for every one that I kill, two more seemed to take its place.

For some reason, even though I killed so many zombies, the horde kept heading towards the town, outright ignoring me. I need to stop them. Quickly.

"Hey, zombies! I know you guys love brains, so why aren't you attacking me? I literally have an IQ of over 250, you guys seriously want more? Talk about having high standards, sheesh."

"What is he talking about?"

"I don't know! Just keep fighting!"

The two other adventurers beside me said whilst fighting off two zombies.

I webbed one of the zombies they were fighting and swung it towards the other one, sending both of them to the ground. The two adventurers rushed towards the zombies, finishing them off.

Unfortunately for them, several more zombies appeared and lunged at the two.

This is bad! There's too many of them! At this rate, the zombies will break through!

Every single adventurer were fighting as hard as they could. But as if to mock our efforts, Beldia laughed loudly.

"Hmph, hahaha! Come, let me hear your screams… Of… Despair…?"

… As he was laughing,

"Wah, wahhh–! Why just me? I-I'm a goddess! A goddess, so I always do good deeds!"

"Ahhh! How, how sly! I'm the one who always does good deeds, so why are all the undead knights running over to Aqua…!"

Aqua shouted as she ran away from the zombies that chased her while Darkness exclaimed with a perverted expression on her face.

For whatever reason, the zombies completely ignored everyone else and instead chased after her.

"You, what are you all doing!? Don't just chase that priestess, cover this town with the blood of the residents…!"

Beldia shouted in panic when he saw the situation.

I wonder why they ignored us. Did she have a bigger brain than most people here? Do these zombies even like brains?

Although, now that most of the undead was focused on her, I can help the other adventurers take out the remaining zombies.

'Attack the Dullahan.'

"Oh, God! You scared me! What are you doing?! People can see you!"

Venom's head sprouted from my shoulder as I quickly used my hands to hide him.

'They'll be too focused on the undead knights to notice me. The Dullahan is what you should be focused on. If we did manage to destroy every undead, he summoned, he'll only keep summoning more'

"Fine. I'll go beat him up, then. You should probably hide now."

'Don't forget to use me.'

"I thought you didn't want people to see you."

'Good point.'

Venom retreated back into me as I focused on Beldia who was standing on top of a nearby hill. At this distance, I should be able to get to him in a few seconds.

I was about to sprint towards him when Kazuma suddenly ran past me, dragging along a wailing Aqua, with a horde of zombies behind him.

As soon as he reached the outside of town...

"Megumin, do it now–!"

"What a wonderful situation! I'm grateful, thank you Kazuma…! I'm Megumin! The elite mage of the Crimson Demons, wielder of explosion magic! Demon King's General, Beldia! Behold my power! Explosion–!"

The crimson eyed girl named Megmin raised her staff and pointed it at the horde, sending a giant explosion and obliterating the entire zombie horde.

"Woah..."

I looked at the crater left by the explosion.

"Woah! That's awesome, girl with a screw loose!"

"The Crimson Demon girl with a screw loose took all of them out!"

"So aside from your weird name and loose screw, you're great when it's time to perform. I'm impressed!"

The other adventurers cheered.

Kazuma was carrying her on his back as she grumbled something inaudible.

This was way better when you're on the other side of the explosion.

I looked back at Beldia and saw his shoulders tremble.

Was he angry that all his zombies were wiped out?

… No.

"Fuhahaha! Interesting! That's interesting! To think my minions would be wiped out in a novice town like this! All right, I'll keep my promise! I'll personally handle you all!"

Beldia lifted his great sword and charged at us!

Lots of armed adventurers surrounded Beldia at a distance, approaching him slowly. I stayed behind to protect Kazuma and his team, which was probably his primary target.

When Beldia saw this situation, he held his head in one hand and his sword in the other and shrugged happily…

"… Oh–? The targets I prioritized should be those two over there… But… Hmph, if you all somehow manage to defeat me, you will get a hefty bounty… Come, novice adventurers dreaming of getting rich instantly. Charge at me at once!"

When they heard him talking about getting rich instantly, the adventurers who were closing in started discussing among themselves.

And then a man who looked like a warrior…

"Hey, no matter how strong he is, he doesn't have eyes on his back! Surround him and attack!"

An adventurer on the flank of Beldia shouted before charging.

"Hey, the opponent is a Demon King's General. How can such a simple tactic take him down!?"

Kazuma tried to warn him as he drew his sword.

"Just buy us more time! After hearing the emergency broadcast, the ace of this town will rush over! If that guy's here, the Demon King's General will be done for! Hey brothers, let's go together! Aim for his blind spot! All at the same time!"

Facing the man who shouted this as he attacked, Beldia tossed his head high into the air with one hand.

… The ace of this town?

Taylor mentioned someone named Mitsurugi as the ace of the town. Was that guy referring to him?

As I was thinking about this, Beldia's head was high in the sky and looking downward. I could shoot my web and yank his head down right now.

Wait...why'd he throw his head in the- oh no.

"Wait, stay back…!"

"Wait!"

Kazuma and I both shouted at the same time as I sprinted as hard as I could towards them.

Beldia seemed to have eyes on his back, dodging the attacks of all the adventurers.

"Huh?"

That was the sound the adventurers slashing at him uttered.

I wasn't sure which adventurer it was.

Beldia dodged all the attacks easily, and wielded his greatsword in both hands…

Normal people wouldn't have seen it in time. Even if they did, they wouldn't have had the time to react. Thankfully, I had my enhanced senses to fully comprehend what was happening.

The two of the adventurers surrounding him had their arms stretched out while the other adventurers' arms were at their side in an offensive position. They were so focused on attacking they didn't have time to react as Beldia lowered his sword in a horizontal position and sliced outward.

"Eh?'

Beldia exclaimed in surprise as his blade hit thin air. The adventures he was going to kill now lay on the ground with a strand of webbing stuck to their backs.

Thanks to my spider powers, I managed to pull every single one of them out of harm's way. Now, it's time to deal with this guy...

Beldia caught his head in one hand and stepped back.

"Impressive. Not that many people can move fast enough to evade my strikes..."

He remarked, steadying his blade with one hand while using the other to put his head in front of him. The adventurers I saved quickly scrambled to their feet and gathered behind me. I couldn't see them, but judging from the murmurs behind me, they're probably going to help me out, right?

"Wait...there's something about you that seems familiar...It doesn't matter! Since you pushed your friends out of the way, I assume you want to fight me on your own?"

"Not really, no. I could still use some help here, guys...guys?"

I looked back and saw that everyone had already backed as far away from me as possible.

Quietly to myself, I crouched down, preparing for the inevitable battle.

"Fine, I'll fight you by myself!"

"Hmph. When I came here, I expected to fight the crusader. Maybe I'll fight her after I kill you!"

Beldia tossed his head in the air as he ran towards me and slashed his sword. I jumped to the side to avoid the blade while shooting a web towards his head. If I could just reach his head, I should be able to finish this fight in a few minutes.

Before my webbing could reach his head, Beldia slashed his sword upwards, cutting my web.

"Did you think that you were the first one to go for my head?"

"It was worth a try."

I really thought that was going to work. I guess it's back to fisting...wait, no. That's not what I-

Before I could finish my thought, Beldia charged once more, thrusting his sword in my direction. I easily evaded it by flipping to the side while using my webbing to web his foot into place. If I can immobilize him, I might be able to nab his head.

Following my momentum, I circled around him, shooting several webs at his armor's joints, severely limiting his movement.

Beldia, realizing what I was doing, immediately went on the defensive, using his left hand to rip my webs form his foot while using his right hand to block my webs.

Surprised by how easy he ripped out my webs, I looked at my web shooters to see a small, black dot on it.

Ah, so I was using Venom's webs instead of my own...no wonder I haven't run out yet.

Beldia jumped back, catching his head and throwing it towards the air once more.

Aha! A weakness! His head's still affected by gravity, which meant there's a small period of time where he has to catch his head.

Beldia charged once more, swinging his greatsword at me. I jumped up, avoiding his attack, before using my webs to launch myself towards Beldia, bending my legs in the process. As expected, I was blocked by his sword. Using my momentum to my advantage, I used his sword as a makeshift jumping pad and launched myself into the air, shooting a webline towards his falling head.

"Oh no, you don't!"

A loud voice yelled. A familiar tingling sensation erupted from the back of my head, warning me of danger. Heeding its warning, I quickly used my webs to pull myself towards the ground, away from his head. A gush of wind blew past me as Beldia's sword grazed my face.

Beldia immediately ran towards his head, catching it and his sword at the same time.

"Impressive. In all the years I've serve as the Demon King's General, I've never seen a being with your speed and reflexes. Just who in the world are you?"

Beldia asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Me? My name's Peter. Peter Parker."

"Very well 'Parker'. You may have a weird name, but you are a strong opponent..."

"Thanks, you're not half as bad yourself."

"I came here expecting to fight the crusader from last week but instead I ended up fighting against you...Parker!"

Beldia, adapting to my strategy, held his head near his waist and lunged at me while thrusting his sword. Shooting two webs toward the ground near Beldia's feet, I used the webs to propel myself underneath Beldia, jumping up behind him and kicking his back as hard as I could, sending him flying through the air.

He swiftly landed on his feet just in time to see me lunging at him, fist raised and aimed for his head.

Beldia shifted his body just in time for me to miss his head, but not his body.

"Gah!"

Beldia exclaimed in pain as he backed away. A huge crack and dent had formed on his armor from where my fist had connected.

"I-Impressive. To think someone is strong enough to damage my armour from a single punch..."

Beldia proclaimed. The confidence in his voice earlier was all but gone. His body returned to his earlier stance.

Maybe I can web him up. Venom's webs didn't seem to be as durable as mine, but what it lacked in quality, it made up for in quantity.

I pointed my web shooters towards him and let loose.

Beldia saw my webs and sidestepped them easily. He was fast to cut my web in half when I tried to go for his head earlier; makes sense that he would be fast enough to dodge them. He started running to the side, trying to get behind me.

I twisted my body towards him and started firing my webs rapidly in short bursts. Beldia dodged most of them easily while using his sword to cut those that he couldn't.

As soon as he got close, He raised his sword over his head with one hand.

In response, I dodged to the side to avoid his- Shit!

I suddenly felt hard, cold metal hit my ribcage as I was sent flying towards the town's wall, breaking concrete and sending dust flying everywhere.

Beldia used a feint on me, making me think he was going to hit my from above and hitting me as soon as I dodged...clever.

"Hmph. You were a worthy foe, Peter Parker..."

Beldia remarked. He had had lowered his guard and relaxed his damaged body before facing away from me, Hollywood style.

"But I am a Demon King General and you are just a simple- GAH!"

As soon as Beldia turned his back, I rushed towards him and kicked him in the back, sending him flying through the air.

He barely managed to keep his hold on his head as he jumped to his feet and shouted:

"How the hell are you still alive?! No human can survive getting hit hard enough that his body breaks concrete upon impact!"

"Yeah, well, I'm still here aren't I?"

"Grr...I suppose I'll have to rectify that!"

Beldia sprinted towards me once more, but this time, so did I. Jumping into the air, I webbed Beldia's sword and pulled, hoping to separate the sword from its owner. Beldia's arm was yanked forward, but he didn't let go of the sword. Taking advantage of the momentum, I pulled myself towards him instead while extending my legs to try and kick the cracked spot on his armor. My foot hit dirt as Beldia jumped back, dodging my attack. He thrust his sword towards me as soon as I landed, forcing my to backflip away from him. As soon as I dodged his strike, Beldia rushed forward, slashing his sword at me in fury.

"Why. Won't. You. Stay. Still?!"

Beldia shouted in exasperation as I dodged each and every single one of his attacks.

I dodged one of his attacks by rushing forwards and jumping into the air. Beldia's sword hit empty air as I twisted my body sideways, kicking his side and knocking him back a few feet.

"How...how are you...you..."

Beldia tried to ask me in between pants.

"What, is that it? You barely even hit me; is that all you've got?!"

"Tch. It looks like I underestimated your abilities, Parker. It's clear to me that I'm fighting a losing battle..."

Beldia stated, straightening his damaged body.

"We will meet again, Parker, and when we do, this town, along with that priestess, will be destroyed!"

"Take as long as you need! You can even take all year if you want!"

Beldia went back on his horse and rode away as I shouted after him.

I straightened my clothes as I looked behind me. Everyone looked at me in shock as I spoke.

"Well, I don't think we'll have to worry about him anymore...right?"