Chapter 19: The Lifted Veil

I stumbled, rolling across the floor to land behind the ogre.

Normally, I’d stab or slash from behind, but I knew it was impossible to pierce an ogre’s hide with my meager strength. So, without being greedy, I threw my weight into shoving him.

Considering the ogre’s size and power, I put absolutely everything I had into it. So much so that my own body bounced back. Honestly, I thought my shoulder would shatter.

Whether my desperation reached the heavens or not, the ogre’s body tilted forward.

I pushed myself up from the floor, standing a step back to assess him.

A cliff edge was right in front of him. If he fell, victory was mine.

His upper body was already completely over the edge. He’d fall headfirst at that rate. Unless he fell feet first, there was no way he could climb back up in that position.

…That’s what I thought, but this damned ogre.

Somehow, even like that, he turned his body and grabbed my ankle!

“Shit!”

Damn it, I hadn’t accounted for the ogre’s arm length.

My body plummeted, and my vision spun.

The shrinking clouds told me in real time that the sky was getting further away.

And then.

Wham!

A heavy impact reverberated through my entire body.

“Ugh.”

My insides felt like they’d been churned.

I fought back the rising nausea and pushed myself up from the ground.

Thunk.

…Thunk?

Oh, right, I was holding my dagger. But did the ground always feel like this?

Steadying my wavering vision, I looked around.

Demons surrounded me. And not far away were the Hero and the Demon King.

…Huh? Wait, what the heck?!

Even worse, the guy beneath me was the ogre from before. The spot where my dagger landed as I tried to brace myself was none other than his neck.

“Even an ogre can be stabbed if you put your weight into it… but that’s not the point!”

Am I in the middle of the enemy camp right now? And did I just kill their comrade in front of them? Is that what’s happening?

Perhaps due to my sudden intrusion, everything was silent.

Even the Demon King was silent. I figured I had to escape before they snapped out of it and started moving.

My survival instinct pointed me toward the Hero, of all people.

The light radiating from his body was ominous, like he was about to self-destruct, but I had nowhere else to go.

The demons surrounded me, so I’d die no matter where I went. And going to the Demon King was out of the question, wasn’t it?

Not only was he half-dead already, but the Hero looked ready to blow. He was my only lifeline. My expression hardened at the absurd situation as I carefully walked, trying to keep my legs from shaking.

Reaching the Hero’s front was quick.

The Hero’s eyes had been wide since I’d fallen, and as our gazes met, a hollow laugh escaped him.

He moved his lips as if to say something… but I couldn’t hear a thing.

“Is he too weak to speak?”

There was no need, but I was curious about what he wanted to say, so I kindly grabbed his shoulder and leaned closer.

Then, mixed with his ragged breathing, a faint voice trickled into my ear.

“You are… truly…”

“…?”

That was it.

What? That’s the end? What on earth did he want to say….

“!?”

It was then that I felt the change.

The stream of light emanating from the Hero’s body poured down on me.

Initially confused, it didn’t take long to understand what he was thinking.

“He wants to transfer his power?”

He was giving up even his self-destruction, his only chance to kill the Demon King.

Instead of joy or gratitude, I felt a pang of sorrow.

It was impossible to intentionally transfer the Hero’s power.

The closest option was to scatter fragments of his power across the continent.

Who would become the owner of these fragments was unknown. The Hero’s will meant nothing in that scenario.

Sure enough, I felt the Hero’s power pass right through me.

It didn’t settle or linger for even a moment. Like water through a net, it flowed unimpeded, crumbling into lightless fragments like burnt ashes before vanishing into the distance.

It would probably spread across the entire continent.

“Feels like I’ve become a lightning rod.”

Receiving the Hero’s power yet being unable to store it, simply letting it flow through.

“…How foolish.”

The Hero must be feeling it too, yet I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t give up.

The power he was desperately pushing faded, and along with it, the Hero’s body slumped against me.

His end was approaching.

“Ah, our eyes met.”

He offered a faint, comforting smile.

In that instant, a compulsion to say something seized me, but until the flowing power abruptly stopped, until all light vanished, until his body went limp, I couldn’t utter a single word.

The indescribable feeling held me for a moment, then a strange sensation from the Hero made my expression harden.

“…He’s dead.”

My only lifeline.

I checked again, but there was no breath. His pulse was completely still.

A forgotten fact surfaced in my shock-numbed mind.

The silence that had descended when I fell. That silence….

“……”

“……”

…was still going on.

No sooner had I realized that than the gazes pouring in from all directions began to feel intensely uncomfortable.

I hesitated before slowly standing up. The eyes watching me also slowly rose.

Ah, I wish I’d stayed ignorant.

My body stiffened with tension as those countless eyes followed my movement. Especially the Demon King’s.

M-My legs are shaking, right? No, my hands are shaking too.

“It’s not my imagination!”

This was dangerous.

I knew very well, from my pre-arrival studies, that showing weakness in front of the survival-of-the-fittest demons would get me devoured.

That’s why I had to leave this place as quickly as possible.

“Cough.”

Trickle.

Blood gushed from my mouth.

I’d been holding it back since I landed here.

“Damn it, why now…!”

I bit down hard on the tender flesh inside my cheek.

I knew I’d taken a considerable impact when I fell, but I’d been holding up surprisingly well, so I thought I was okay. Who knew it would come out now?

To put it extremely, I wanted to trade out this damned body.

And the Hero’s slumped body was so heavy.

“I need to escape, but this is just baggage. Should I just ditch him and run?”

As I seriously contemplated it, the Demon King’s tightly closed lips slowly parted.

“You, your name?”

What was his intention?

Was he saying he’d find me and kill me if I ran? So don’t even think about it? Or maybe he intended to find my family and threaten them?

Either way, the chances of surviving an escape were extremely low. So, it didn’t matter whether I gave my name or not.

More importantly, family, my family….

“…Deon Hart.”

The white hair fluttering in the cool breeze tickled my cheek. I brushed the annoying strands aside and smiled faintly, touching the corners of my eyes where my red irises resided.

Alright, I gave you my name, so go ahead and do whatever you want.

I had steeled myself for the worst, but the words that came back were unexpected.

Words I couldn’t even imagine, things I thought were impossible.

“Would you consider joining the Demon King’s army?”

For the first time in my life, I received a recruitment offer from the Demon King.

I wasn’t happy. It was called an offer, but there was practically no choice involved.

I knew what would happen if I refused.

But I wouldn’t be swayed by such threats!

I readjusted the Hero’s constantly slipping corpse in my arms and boldly declared my refusal in front of the Demon King.

“I hate paperwork!”

…It was a very roundabout way of putting it, but it was still a refusal.

I’d heard that even the corps commanders were suffering from paperwork. I had no intention of being stuck here doing paperwork.

“Then don’t do it.”

“……?”

“Hmm, what high-ranking position doesn’t involve paperwork….”

Huh? Excuse me?

“Well, if there isn’t one, we can just create one. How about the commander of the 0th Legion? Does that sound good?”

W-Wait a minute. Are you crazy?

The commander of the 1st Corps practically acts as the Demon King’s proxy. You’re telling me to be the commander of the 0th Legion? My skills haven’t even been proven yet!

“Don’t worry about objections. Anyone who saw that just now wouldn’t dare to oppose it.”

It was then that I realized.

Something was seriously, seriously wrong.

Ultimately, the more I refused, the higher the offered position became. I had no choice but to accept the initial offer of commander of the 0th Legion.

***

Wham!

When Deon Hart fell with a heavy thud, the Hero was stunned beyond words.

If it weren’t for the sword lodged in his abdomen, he might have jumped to his feet.

Because the result had already been decided.

The Hero had failed to kill the Demon King and was now only waiting to be killed by him.

A Hero who couldn’t kill the Demon King had no value.

All the treatment and honor the Hero received stemmed from being ‘the almost unique human capable of killing the Demon King.’ If he couldn’t kill the Demon King, all of that would naturally be revoked.

Simply put, the Hero, having been defeated by the Demon King, was now a human not worth saving.

“But why?”

He could have just run away.

Why would he deliberately come to this place of death?

Deon Hart had a duty not only as a ‘comrade’ but also to report the results of the battle to the Empire.

Therefore, instead of barging into this obviously deadly situation, quietly leaving would have been much more beneficial.

Yet, he had intruded into the heart of the enemy and was now confidently walking this way.

“Ha, haha.”

A hollow laugh escaped with his ragged breaths.

Could he have developed camaraderie in that short time? Is that why he came to retrieve the body?

—While facing the Demon King?

Perhaps it was the sword in his abdomen, but a strange sensation bubbled up from his lower abdomen, swirling around his heart.

Unable to articulate the feeling, he could only move his lips for a long time. Perhaps finding it frustrating, Deon grabbed his shoulder and leaned closer.

Encouraged by this, the Hero made a reckless decision.

“You are… truly…”

A person who was, contrary to his public image, recklessly kind and loyal.

If the next ‘Hero’ were to be born, I hope it would be you.

He began pouring out all the power he had gathered for self-destruction, intending to transfer it to Deon.

The Hero, of all people, knew that intentionally transferring the Hero’s power was impossible.

Even so, this person, whose fate after his death was obvious, could only find salvation in this.

Having boldly crossed the line set by the world, the Hero called out to the world that was observing this situation.

“World, are you watching?”

It would be watching. The ‘Hero’ was a being directly chosen and empowered by the world.

So, it would be watching and would know.

“This is entirely my own decision.”

Therefore.

He knew nothing.

I would bear the full cost of defying the world’s will.

“May the wrath for this action be directed solely at me.”

The world, weighing the gravity of the sin, delivered its verdict.

In an instant, the Hero bit his tongue against the terrible pain. A scream that couldn’t escape reverberated deep within his throat.

Pain as if sharp objects were digging into his muscles and piercing his bones. Pushing his power in that state made his head ache as if it would shatter.

It was likely the world’s warning and punishment, but he ignored it. He swallowed the blood that welled up, pushing his power even harder despite the soul-crushing agony.

“Please. Even just a fragment….”

He couldn’t leave such a person to be killed by the Demon King. So please, grant him the power to resist.

But his desperation ultimately failed.

All the power that had poured towards Deon simply lost its light and spread from him out into the continent.

Like birds passing through clouds, they passed effortlessly through his body. Not a single fragment remained; they rode the wind, the sunlight, and vanished into the air.

“…So, it’s impossible after all.”

Looking at the bigger picture, there were no losses.

He had crossed the line, but in the end, the Hero chose to ‘transfer’ his power in exchange for his ‘life.’ Having received the ‘life’ as payment, the world had to fulfill his purpose of ‘transferring’ the power.

So, the power that had vanished like that wouldn’t be归属 to the world but would remain on the continent, like the power of other Heroes who had chosen ‘transfer,’ creating another ‘hero’.

But then, Deon Hart….