She shifted with a slow, swaying motion.
Standing there in the heart of the downpour, she looked somehow lonely. There was a fragility to her, a sense that she might vanish if I so much as blinked. I could hardly believe this was the same person as the Hero who had possessed such a noble spirit, never faltering no matter the circumstances.
Yet, the woman before me was the reality. Burdened by her mission, she had lived a lie.
“Those are my true feelings. Tell me—are you disappointed?”
“Hardly. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you are the True Hero.”
I replied instantly. She looked at me skeptically.
“...What makes you say that?”
“Your methods differ from mine, but you have reached an ultimate conclusion. I cannot deny your convictions.”
She truly desired World Peace. While her vision differed from the one I held, it was undeniably a path toward a better future. In a manner befitting the name of Hero, she had sought to change the world as it was.
“Your faith in humanity is genuine. Even after they executed you out of sheer greed and selfishness, you never abandoned those hopes.”
She was disillusioned with the world—as much as I was, perhaps even more so. And yet, despite that bitterness, she still believed in humanity’s future enough to complete the Demon King Subjugation as their Hero. Such a feat would be utterly impossible for any ordinary person.
Moreover, her execution was no unexpected tragedy. She had factored in even her own life as a necessary sacrifice. Even now, returned from the grave, her resolve remained untarnished.
Hers was no blind justice. She understood the world’s inherent purity and corruption alike, yet she had remained true to her convictions. This was a facet of her character that even I, the Sage who had served by her side, had never known.
I took a step forward and offered her my gratitude.
“Hero. I am glad I could hear your true heart. Truly, it brings me joy.”
“Dwight...”
She murmured my name in surprise. It might have been the first time I had ever seen her make such an expression. Even as I noted that small discovery, I continued.
“I sought a different path because I believed your way was flawed. But I was the one who was wrong! Entrusting the world to the people and leaving them to their fate... that, too, was a valid answer.”
A world that needed neither Hero nor Demon King. A world where people moved forward as they were, even if they occasionally clashed and wounded one another along the way. That was her ideal.
The first step toward True World Peace. I found myself captivated by the prospect of such a future. It was far more beautiful than the World Peace I strove for.
A Demon King, as an Absolute Evil, can provide nothing but eternal terror. To be an Immortal Threat is a far cry from true happiness.
Her expression vanished as she asked a question that pierced the very heart of the matter.
“Now that you have heard my true heart, what do you intend to do? Will you cast aside your own ideas and choose destruction?”
“The World Peace you envision is magnificent. It is beyond comparison to a world under the absolute management of evil. Though I have fallen to this wretched state, my reverence for you remains unchanged.”
I spoke the words from the bottom of my soul, conveying every ounce of the feelings that had welled up within me. Once I finished, I quietly raised my sword.
I channeled a massive quantity of Magic Power, wrung from every fiber of my being, into the blade and unleashed it toward the heavens as a Beam.
A Jet-black Light pierced through the clouds. The resulting shockwave tore through the overcast sky, sweeping the clouds away in a single, violent stroke. Before long, the rain ceased, and the night sky came into view. A sea of stars glittered around the moon.
Silence rushed in to fill the void left by the fading rain. She stood there in a daze until the wind blowing past brought her back to her senses.
Under the pouring moonlight, I leveled my sword and made my declaration.
“—And that is precisely why I must surpass you.”