Being sent back to the real world felt like time itself was reversing. I woke up to find myself laying on a soft bed. The bedroom I was in had paintings of heroic looking knights all around the place. The floors and walls were made of a polished wood, and the bedsheets that I was laying on felt as soft as silk.
I must be in the cabin right now.
The door to the bedroom I was staying in suddenly swung open and Shana walked in while carrying a tray of food with her.
"Hungry?" she asked.
I felt the intense rumbling of my stomach fully bring me back to reality and aggressively nodded my head.
The food on the tray was small steak, some colorful fruit, and a cup of blue-colored tea.
Shana watched me with a smile on her face as I dug in to the delicious food. The small steak was thick and juicy, the fruit was really sweet, and the tea had the right combination of sweetness and bitterness.
"Thanks for the meal." I said to Shana.
"I'm happy to see that you enjoyed it," Shana said. "So, I take it you were successful in conquering the demon."
"Yeah, I guess I was."
"Was it that easy?"
"It's not that it was easy. The demon said that there was simply nothing that could drag me down further than I already am."
"You really think you're that much of a lost cause?"
"I guess so."
Shana had an obvious sadness in her eyes.
"There's still so much more that you can do with your life," Shana said. "Do you really think that you deserve to die?"
"I killed Leonna, I tremble at the sight of gore and murder, and almost every living soul in this world wants to kill me. I have to be their human shield and take the Army if Darkness with me to hell. If I don't at least do that, then everyone will die."
"You really do care about this world huh."
"No. I don't give a shit about this world. It could die off for all I care; however, without this world and it's people, Xylvia, Dusk, and Ray won't be able to live happy lives."
That's right. I don't care about this world anymore. Why should I? A world filled with friendship, love, and adventures forever turned against me. If I could, I'd leave it behind and take my party with me, but that isn't possible right now. I don't even know if Gleam would be able to do that right now, or if she would even comply with my suggestion. Which is why I have to save this world. The same world that gave me everything I could ever want...and the same world that took all of that away from me.
Before Shana could say anything else, Gleam came into the room with a serious look on her face.
"Can you walk?" she asked.
I got off the bed and walled a few steps with ease.
"Yeah." I said.
"Alright then. Let's go."
"Where are we going?"
"We're heading east. The Army of Darkness has a city up there that they inhabit, so I want you to test your powers on them. If you can, make sure that every single one of them is eliminated."
I guess it's finally time.
I don't know if these so-called "True Powers" will work, but I might as well try. I can't back down now. I have to do this for my friends. I owe them that at least.
Gleam teleported us about thirty minutes away from the city, so that she didn't get spotted, and we started walking.
"How long was I out for?" I asked Gleam.
"Three days," Gleam said. "And you talk a lot in your sleep."
"I found it kind of cute." Shana said.
"What did I say?" I asked.
"You mentioned a lot of things," Gleam said. "But you mostly mentioned Leonna and your parents."
That does make sense. After all, they were people that I loved and cared about so much. Maybe if I hadn't have chosen to live in this world, then maybe my parents wouldn't have had to die. And I wouldn't have killed Leonna either. Even if I were to have never met her, she would at least have been alive.
"'I should never have come here in the first place." I said.
"I understand your way of thinking," Gleam said. "I understand why you would say that, but if you hadn't stayed here, then the Army of Darkness would've had a much greater chance in killing us off. And Leonna probably would've still died."
"Just please stop feeling guilty for yourself," Shana said. "It wasn't your fault. The Army of Darkness is responsible for all the demonic negativity in this world."
They both may have had truth in their words, but nothing can deny the facts: I was the one that lost control, and I was the one that killed Leonna.
"Ok, we're here," Glean said. "Hiro, pull your hood up and try to remain calm when you approach the guards."
Before we teleported, Gleam gave us our game plan. It all relied on me. I needed to infiltrate the city, get into an open area, and unleash my powers. If what Gleam says about these powers is true, then it should be enough to wipe out this entire town.
I pulled my hood up and walked over to the front gates of the town. The entire town looked to be surrounded by walls built at least sixty feet high I counted at least fifteen guards standing on top of the walls.
I greeted the two guards at the front gates.
"State your name and business." One of them said.
"Hiro Satomi," I said to them. "I'm here to meet my girlfriend."
"SCAN INDIVIDUAL: HIRO SATOMI" the other guard said.
This gave me a felling of nostalgia from when I has first arrived at this world. The familiar blue magic circle appeared and a bright light shined in my eyes, which didn't blind me.
Once he finished scanning me, he nodded his head and the other guard walked up to me and did a head-to-toe pat down.
"Any weapons that I should know about." the guard asked.
I pulled back a part if my hood to reveal my Devil's Blade. Gleam coated it in dirt and mud to make it look like it was an old worn out sword.
The guard, luckily, didn't pay too much attention to it and proceeded to finish patting me down.
"Ok, he's clean." the guard said after he finished patting me down.
"Very well then," the other guard said. "Enjoy your stay. And if you're planning on joining the war, then sign-ups and training room information will be handed out to you by one of our volunteering civilians."
"Thank you for letting me know." I said.
And with that final exchange of words, the guards signaled to the ones up top to open the gates. They turned the cogwheels and the gates opened up. When I walked into the town I was surprised by what I saw.
All of the people...looked like ordinary people.
Gleam never told me about this, but I guess that demons don't look as obvious as I pictured them to be.
Putting aside my useless video game knowledge, I walked over to an open area of the town and unsheathed my sword. Then, I opened my mind to the demon and let all of the sadistic thoughts run through my head. The thoughts combined with my will to kill every single demon in this world sent an overwhelming surge of power through my entire body. The power coursed through my flesh and blood, my veins, and even through my bones.
Once I felt my power fill my entire body to the brim, I unleashed it all into the sword...and swung a strong horizontal arc swing.
SLASH! FWOOSH!
The sound of flames flickering brought me back to reality. After I swung my sword, all sounds were gone and my vision was nowhere. When my vision and hearing returned to me, however, I could see the entire town burning in a jet-black flame. Screams were heard from a distance, bodies with blood and entrails were scattered all over the place. The blue sky was replaced by a red crimson. The same sky from that castle that Xylvia was being held in.
"So this is what it means to be a demon." I said to myself.
"HIRO!"
The familiar voice of someone shouting my name sent shivers down my spine. A fearful thought ran through my head and I slowly began to turn around.
What I saw was something that I both longed to see, but also made me regret turning around.
Her hair was a dark brown while her eyes were a bright green. She wore golden armor and black shoes with a long silver sword.
And tears were pouring out from her eyes.
"Leo...nna...?"
She smiled.
"Yes, it's me. Please, don't let the demon control you."
I looked behind me to see huge jet-black wings of flames sticking out of my back. The dark flame armor was back on me again. Hands made of black flames that looked like claws, black pulsing veins, small flaming black horns. It all matched the definition of a demon.
"I'm sorry," I said to her. "I couldn't...control it. I'm just...too...hopeless..."
I started to cry, but Leonna shook her head.
"I'm not talking about you!" Leonna said, her tone sounding a little more desperate.
"Then...what are you...talking about?"
Suddenly, Leonna's face shifted into utter fear and she started to tremble on her feet.
Leonna raised her hand and pointed...
"T-That...d-demon..." she said.
I turned around to see a blunt object strike me on the head.
Glass?
The impact didn't hurt me. It was the liquid that splashed onto me that burned like hell.
But not even that was what hurt me the most. What hurt me was the fact that I knew the person that struck me with the liquid.
"Sorry about this," she said. "But I need you to help me with my own goals. I'm pretty sure that you'll go along with it either way. How do I know this, well...it's because you're nothing but a waste of space that will do anything if it means being loved. After all...it is what you long for."
Tears filled my eyes as my conscious faded from me. The last thing I saw was a crying Leonna running away.
At least she's safe. I'm so happy to know...that I didn't kill her. But why...? Why are you doing this?
Please tell me. Why did you hit me like that...Gleam?