Chereads / The Hopeless Hero (Draft) / Chapter 63 - Hope Will Rise

Chapter 63 - Hope Will Rise

"W-What the hell is happening?" Xylvia asked, her voice trembling.

The sky was blood red. The grass and fields were a jet-black. The town that we were in was in rubles and the sun looked like it was going through a supernova.

"There's no telling what she did," Xylvia said. "She has both your sword and my powers, so she might even be able to destroy the gods."

"You've mentioned your 'powers' once before when we were in that torture room," I said. "Exactly what kind of powers were they?"

Xylvia turned to completely face me, her serious look turned way on.

"I have powers from one side of my family," she said. "My mother was a normal theriantrope, but my father is a demon"

"...What..."

Xylvia...is half demon?

"It turns out that my father didn't leave because of another girl," Xylvia continued. "He left because the other sins said that if he didn't cease contact with us, then they would kill him as well as my mother and I. My father left us alone to protect us, but you already know what happened next."

"Did your mother know about him being a demon as well?" I asked.

"She knew about him ever since she met him. But, as it turns out, he's more than just a demon. He's a sin."

"You're father is a sin?!"

Xylvia nodded.

"My father may have ceased contact with my mother and I, but he never left this world. In fact, he was always with me, but in the shape...of a blade."

The shape of a blade... The blade of a sin...

"Are you talking about...my blade?"

Xylvia nodded.

No way. All this time, I had been wielding Xylvia's father this entire time. The voices in my head...were from him?

"H-How do you know this?" I asked.

"Gleam told me whenever you were captured. I heard her in the other room talking to someone. I just thought that she was talking to herself, but it turns out that she was talking to the sword the entire time. She found out everything, probably, through means of torturing him or planning to torture me. And as for how my demon powers were awakened, that happened because I lost my virginity."

"I...I'm sorry about that." I said, stupidly.

"Well right now we have bigger problems than that. Gleam has both of our powers and her own sin as well, so destroying this world won't be an issue for her."

"Neither will destroying you."

The echoing voice of the fake goddess sent shivers down my spine. And turning around to see her hovering thirty feet in the air didn't help at all.

"I've finally finished off this entire world's population, so all I have left to do is kill you two off now. Then, finally, I'll be able to get my revenge on the gods."

"Wait...what do you mean 'finished off the entire world's population'," I asked, completely shaken. "Y-You're joking right. Please tell me you're joking."

"If you're worried about your friends then you shouldn't worry. I didn't see any of their bodies on the floor, but I guess if you look harder then you'll find them underneath the pile of corpses."

It's happening again. I'm losing more people that I care about. Why? Why can't it just stop. It's so annoying. Like a repetitive joke overused in a bad comedy. Only this isn't a joke anymore. It's a never-ending nightmare that loops over and over again. I need to stop. I need to wake up. I'm done fucking around.

Fuck this bitch. Today, she's going to die.

"You're...dead..." I gritted through my teeth.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" Gleam asked, sarcastically.

"Hiro?" Xylvia said, a little concerned.

"YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!!!" I screamed.

BOOM!

A jet black fire exploded on top of me and consumed my entire body. I felt a surging power flow through my veins as my strength felt satisfyingly stronger. And before I knew it, I found my sword, Xylvia's father, firmly grasped by my own hands.

"It's about time you stopped being a pussy." said a normal, non disembodied, man's voice.

"Well sorry that it took me so long." I said with a smirk.

"You should never let those sadistic thought control you. You should just let them flow through you, then use them as your own weapon. Only then will you have the true powers...of the Sin of Wrath!"

I leaped off of the ground at high speeds and slammed a fist straight at Gleam's jaw.

CRUNCH!

After a satisfying crunch, Gleam went flying to the ground in a, literally, ground-breaking slam.

Gleam got back up to face me, her jaw hanging by a hinge. But she fixed back into place with the help of a little healing.

"That actually hurt like hell," she said. "But that won't be enough to kill me."

"You tricked this entire world into a massacre. Families. Friends. Loved ones. You slaughtered all of them. All for some stupid revenge plot!" I screamed at her.

"A WHINY BRAT LIKE YOU WOULD NEVER UNDERSTAND THE PAIN I FELT THAT DAY," Gleam screamed back. "I LOST EVERYTHING!!"

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT FEELS?!! I lost friends. I lost my family. I lost my sanity. I lost myself. I've been betrayed, toyed with, tortured, persuaded, alone. I've felt pretty much every single pain out there. So don't you dare...DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT PAIN FUCKING FEELS LIKE!!!"

That got Gleam to shut up.

"All this time, you've been plotting to destroy this world. You were the person with the hood on weren't you?"

"That's correct." Gleam said.

"That day when the hooded person showed up and announced an invasion, how were you able to be at two places at once?"

"I used an illusion."

"What about when you let Leonna and I infiltrate that castle and rescue Xylvia. How come you didn't just take her powers there?"

Gleam didn't respond to that last question.

"You could've had a demon assault her, then you could've taken her powers easily. Then you could've just taken my sword away and destroyed this world. So why didn't you do that?"

Gleam still didn't respond.

"Is it because it wouldn't work with a demon? Is it because she would've ended up corrupted? Or is it because you've grown attached to her?"

"N-No! I haven't grown attached to her you prick!" Gleam argued.

"She lost everything when she was just a kid, and you pitied her because it reminded you of yourself. You didn't want her to become like you, so you raised her yourself."

"SHUT UP!!!"

"YOU WANTED HER TO HAVE THE LIFE THAT YOU COULD NEVER HAVE!!"

Gleam stopped arguing, then sighed.

"You're right," she said. "I have grown attached to her. I've always treated her like my own daughter. Smiling when she plays. Scolding her when she messes up. Helping her through the tough and confusing moments in a girls life. I've always been there for her."

Gleam started to let a few tears stream down her face.

"Which is why I must be the on to kill her."

Gleam steadied her sword towards me.

"You're never going to change your mind are you?" I said to her.

"Its either me or all of you who dies. I didn't want anything scarring to happen to Xylvia. I wanted her to live a pleasant life. I wanted her to experience friends, love, and happiness during her final moments. I thank you for granting Xylvia all of that. If you want that life to continue, then you better try your hardest to kill us."

Us?

"Gray!" Gleam shouted.

Suddenly, the man dressed in leather black came charging at me with his sword. I was able to react to him just in time before my head was sliced off.

"Have you gotten stronger since our last fight?" Gray asked me with a crazy smile.

"More or less." I said.

Then, out of nowhere, both Karen, the girl who betrayed me, and Akito, Karen's boyfriend, came swinging there swords at me.

But what I saw after that was even more horrifying.

"Taking on all three of us might be a little too easy for you," Karen said. "So how about we invite the entire Army of Darkness."

Demons. Corrupted humans, dragonmen, and a bunch of other different species. There had to have been thousands upon thousands of them marching right behind Gray and the others.

I saw Gleam chasing Xylvia out of the corner of my eye.

"Wait-!"

WHAM!

Gray's sword caught my back and caused me to tumble down. Karen, Akito, and the entire Army of Darkness was starting to get closer to me, there weapons ready to strike.

What now?

SHINK! SPLLCH!

The sound of a sharp weapon slicing through flesh was followed by a loud screech and a demon tumbling down lifelessly.

When I turned around, my eyes met probably the most motivating moment in my entire life.

"Don't worry Hiro," Leonna said. "You're never alone."

Leonna, Dusk, Ray, Commander Zeigal, and thousands of Army of Light soldiers and citizens from different species were holding weapons, ready fight.

"You guys..." I barely muttered.

"You ready to give them hell?" Leonna asked.

"We're right behind you." Dusk said.

"I'm ready if you are." Ray said.

"Lead the way!" Commander Zeigal said.

Tears streamed down my face as my eyes couldn't look away from the beautiful sight of everyone ready to fight by my side.

"If you guys insist, then how's about I start this massacre with a battle cry?" I asked sarcastically.

"Go right the fuck ahead." Leonna said.

I put a smirk on my face, got up on my feet, and steadied my sword.

"You ready Wrath?" I asked.

"You've taken care of my daughter, protected her from danger. This is the least I can do for you."

"Alright then. Let's do this."

And with a few final words of motivation, I pointed my sword at the evil facing us, and charged.

"CHARGE!!!"