It was evening in the fairy village, and Albert was resting peacefully on a bed.
"His body is recovering well. Your magic reached to the depths of his wounds," I said
to Esta after completing a thorough examination.
"Then why isn't he opening his eyes?"
"It's just a matter of energy. He fought hard and fiercely against Van. I'm guessing he
gave every bit of strength he could to keep going. He needs time to rest."
"I see… Thank goodness." Esta breathed a sigh of relief.
"You did well to notice, Ruti."
"Mhm."
Van's movement had been sudden. He and Lavender had headed off without any sign
or provocation. Yarandrala, who'd been watching them, didn't get an indication they
were headed for Ruti or us. All she could do was inform Esta of this development. She
never noticed that something was off about Van.
Esta pursued Van after that, and they wound up fighting.
Fortunately, Ruti had noticed something odd about Van's behavior and followed him,
too. In the process, she ran into Undine, who was protecting the fairy dragon
Kurukururu, and helped her from the shadows, forcing Van and Lavender to retreat.
Once the immediate threat was gone, Undine and Ruti took Albert to the fairy village
for protection while Esta returned to Zoltan to inform us of what had happened. Once
everyone was caught up, we all headed to the fairy village.
Ruti, Esta, and I were in the room with Albert, but everyone else was on guard,
watching the village.
"It was just intuition," Ruti added. Perhaps she'd subconsciously recognized
something amiss in Van because of her Hero blessing and called it intuition.
"Well, you were right."
"Yes. If not for you, I don't know what I would've done," Undine said with a smile.
"I had to stay hidden and couldn't use any magic unique to the Hero, so it helped that
you were there, too, Undine," Ruti replied.
"Hee-hee. Let's call it good teamwork, then."
Undine cheerfully held Ruti's hand and patted it. Ruti looked mildly annoyed.
"Umm…"
"Hmm?"
There was a voice. A small dragon poked its head into the room.
"Kurukururu."
"Is Mr. Adventurer okay?"
"The woman in the mask here healed him, so he'll be fine. He's just tired," I answered
brightly to put Kurukururu at ease.
"Come in, Kurukururu. Go see your hero."
At Undine's beckoning, Kurukururu's butterfly wings fluttered, and the fairy dragon
landed on Albert's pillow.
"Thank you, Mr. Adventurer. Thank you."
Kurukururu put its head on Albert's cheek and offered words of gratitude over and
over.
There was no denying that Albert had saved the creature's life.
"I always knew Albert was a hero."
Back when he was Zoltan's B-rank adventurer, I believed he had the potential to be a
hero. To witness it bloom at last was a happy moment.
"That's right, Albert is a hero… While I…"
"Esta?"
She left the room.
Maybe I should talk with her…
"Esta."
She was peering out the door's window in the next room. Beyond the pane formed of
water, fairies flitted around Rit, playing with her. Looking closely, I spied Mister Crawly
Wawly riding one of the fairy dragons. He held a small twig like a lance and wore a
walnut shell for a helmet with a sharp look on his face… just like a fairy knight of
legend.
"Heh. What an interesting spider. I never really paid much attention to him before,"
Esta remarked with a smile. "I see things far more clearly now than I used to."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"I think so. But today is the first time I ever lost myself in rage." Esta's expression
turned pained. "I had considered the possibility that Albert might end up fighting Van.
All I ever intended was to heal Albert, beat Van back, and then retreat. That's all. But…
Albert was far more grievously wounded than I could have imagined… When I saw
him on the verge of death like that, I…"
"You couldn't stop yourself?"
"I was terrified."
Esta changed positions so no one outside would see her, then removed her mask.
There were tears in her eyes.
"I was terrified of losing Albert. Even now, the thought of it is heartrending. I tried to
kill you to force Ruti to continue being the Hero… but this is more frightening than
anything else."
"You're scared?"
"Yes. Scared that I will make another mistake eventually. And that the next one might
be impossible to fix…"
"Then do you think you can forget your feelings for Albert?"
Esta's shoulders trembled. "…What would you do?"
"In my case, the question would be if I could forget about Rit… Well, the answer's easy
enough." I smiled. "There's no way I could forget. These feelings are more precious
than anything. I might worry how to deal with the emotions on occasion, but I can't
forget them."
"Yeah… I suppose not." Esta's expression softened, and she broke into a smile. "I don't
think I'll be able to forget, either."
"That's a good thing, isn't it? That emotion comes from the heart. It's entirely separate
from things like Divine Blessings."
"A feeling separate from blessings… Heh. I've become a pretty terrible cleric. Perhaps
it's because I met all of you."
"Even Cardinal Ljubo enjoys the company of women."
"Don't lump me in with him!"
We both laughed.
A thought occurred to me. "Speaking of…"
"What?"
"We both found our first loves pretty late."
"Sheesh… And here I was wondering what you'd say."
"What? What? Something fun?"
We laughed again, and the fairies outside gathered at the window, curious about what
was happening.
Mister Crawly Wawly, still riding the fairy dragon, leaped into the air happily when he
saw Esta grinning.
Ljubo angrily paced around his rented room in a tavern in the heart of Zoltan.
"What's going on? What happened to my Hero?"
When he heard that Van had attacked Albert and gotten into a fight with Esta, Ljubo
was at a loss.
He'd planned to wait for the Hero to grow, to raise Van before engaging the demon
lord's army with the church's forces, to arrange things optimally.
Ljubo's goal lay beyond the demon lord's defeat. He would become the most powerful
man in the church, the highest ruler on the continent, and claim the seat of the church
father.
The cardinals selected the father. Ljubo's backing was weak, so he presently had no
hope of winning. That would change if he was a comrade to the Hero who slew the
demon lord.
Once Van succeeded, no one would bar him from becoming God's proxy.
Where did I go wrong?
"I can still fix this."
Even if he had to abandon Esta, this could still work out, so long as he had the Hero.
"Right, what about adding Danan and Gideon to the party? They're both trash that
can't keep up with the Hero, but they should be sufficient as temporary members to
tide us over."
Ljubo felt that solution was satisfying. And no sooner had he decided as much than
there was a knock on his door.
"Cardinal Ljubo."
"Van? What is it?"
"There is something I would like to report."
"Report?"
Ljubo was worried about what else might have happened as he opened the door.
Outside the door were Van and Lavender, packed up and ready to leave.
"Van, what is…?"
"I've decided to leave Zoltan."
"O-ohh! You've finally come around?!" Ljubo nodded with a broad smile. "That is a
wise decision. I can find you countless other enemies to raise your blessing level.
Losing Esta is unfortunate, but I have a lead on some replacements. Just leave that to
me."
Ljubo was in high spirits, but Van didn't react to what he was saying at all.
"We're going to Undine's lair."
"What?"
"I will kill all of the fay there. Esta, Gideon, and the rest of them are there, so I will kill
all of them, too."
"Van… What are you saying?"
"If I do that, the ancient elf creation will surely appear, and I will kill it. If it doesn't
come, then I will destroy Zoltan until it does. Once it's dead, I'll leave Zoltan."
"Calm down, Van! You're the Hero!"
Ljubo desperately tried to explain the proper path for the Hero. And Van replied this
time, in a way.
"Agh…"
Heat bloomed in Ljubo's stomach. Looking down, he saw his clothes turning red.
"Argh, Van… Why…?"
His body shuddered, and he fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
Van held the replica holy sword Ljubo had gifted him. Blood dripped from its blade
onto the floor.
"I don't feel the impulses of the Hero anymore. My blessing no longer tells me what I
should do."
With the last of his strength, Ljubo looked up at Van. The boy's expression was hollow.
Ljubo understood things had progressed far beyond the point where he could coursecorrect.
"So I will do the last thing the Hero asked of me… I will kill that girl… and all the evil
in my way."
Ljubo could no longer answer.
Van observed the growing puddle of blood. Lavender leaned gently against his cheek.
"Van… I will always be on your side."
If Van continued like this, he would be destroyed. But Lavender was resolved to
support him. Because she believed that was what love meant.
An hour later, at the fairy village.
Everyone gathered to discuss our next move while Albert rested.
"Van is coming."
The others nodded when I said that.
"Undine has put up her barrier, but Van and Lavender will break through."
"Indeed. Lavender is a greater fay than I."
"Greater than the archfay of water…"
Undine ruled over one of the four great elements that made up the world. Someone
with a higher blessing level might be stronger than she, but to be a greater fay… I could
only think of a handful of possibilities.
Rit raised her hand. "Undine?"
"Yes?"
"What exactly is Lavender?"
Undine seemed a little bit troubled by the question. "I thought it best not to reveal that
child's identity if she kept it quiet, but I suppose the time for that courtesy is long
behind us… Yes, I will answer you."
Rit and I leaned forward in anticipation.
"Her true nature is calamity."
"Calamity?"
"Lavender's real name is Ketu, the archfay of calamity. Most of our kind are part of
nature and possess a demeanor that fosters life. However, Ketu is a being that knows
only pure destruction and power."
Ketu, the archfay of calamity. I'd never heard of such a creature.
"Archfay of destruction have rampaged across this world since its birth. However, they
were wiped out by dragons and ancient elves. She is the only one left. By the time of
the wood elves, she had retreated to the depths of a jungle and hidden her power from
others."
"So that's why there are no records of her in the kingdom's library," I said.
She was a being from myth. The legendary Hero and a fabled fairy.
"Really? She's actually that big a deal?"
Danan was getting more excited while I was growing worried.
"…Let's focus on the immediate issue," Tisse said, turning to me. "Van and Lavender
are coming to attack. What will we do?"
"This is my third time negotiating with Van. It's time to settle things."
"Negotiating? He is coming to kill Undine! I do not think there's much room for talk!"
"That's true. This will definitely turn into a fight…"
I looked at Danan and Esta. I still remembered the first time I'd met them.
"I fought both of you once, before you joined the party."
The two of them looked surprised but quickly smiled as they recalled those old battles.
"And Rit, you fought Ruti in the colosseum."
"I suppose I did. I was completely overwhelmed, though…"
My bout with Danan had taken place during a martial arts tournament.
To locate a demon that was hiding in a town, I'd joined a tournament while Ruti and
the others searched other places nearby, including the local lord's castle. I'd fought
Danan in the championship, and afterward, we battled the demon together. That was
the impetus for him to join the party.
The fight with Esta had been at the Last Wall fortress. The demon lord's armies, wary
of Ruti, had manipulated a cardinal into declaring her a heretic posing as the Hero and
sentencing her to execution. Esta, who was a holy knight of the church and spearfighting instructor, stood against us as the weapon of the church. However, through
that battle, she came to understand Ruti truly was the Hero. She disobeyed the
church's orders and worked with us.
"Compared with Danan and Esta, my picking a fight with Ruti to damage her
reputation sounds kind of petty," Rit admitted.
"It doesn't just sound petty. It really was."
"Guh." Rit slumped at Ruti's merciless remark. "Ugh, so harsh."
"It's payback for everything you said back then."
"When you put it like that, I suppose I have no right to complain."
Rit and Ruti grinned.
Despite fighting in the past, the two could now talk and smile together without
reservation.
"You aren't seriously going to suggest we can reach an understanding with Van by
fighting him, are you?" There was a hint of reproach in Tisse's voice. "That's a bit
optimistic."
"True, if it was the old Van, then nothing would change by our battling him. But there's
a chance of getting through to him now."
"A chance? It sounds like he's on a rampage."
"That's right. He's running wild. The Hero who should not waver or doubt himself has
lost control."
Van's faith in the righteousness of Divine Blessings had caused all sorts of problems,
but to attack Albert, his own comrade, to get at a weak fairy that hadn't harmed
anyone, went beyond the Hero's role.
Van was acting outside the boundaries God had set for the Hero.
"He's lost. My words have a chance of reaching him. It's possible we can change his
extreme views."
"But…," Tisse objected.
"I trust Red."
"If it goes wrong, I'll step in. Please, leave this to Big Brother."
Tisse let out a little laugh at Rit and Ruti's remarks. "Then I guess I have no choice but
to trust him, too… All right. How do you intend to fight him?"
"About that… I have a favor to ask of all of you."
"Hey, you only need to ask!" Danan said.
"I'm going to settle things with Van in a duel. If Lavender tries to interfere, I want you
to stop her."
"A duel? That's crazy, even for you."
"Van is strong, and there are no absolutes in combat, so I won't say I'll definitely win,
but… I'm going to win."
"Whenever you talk like this, things always work out." Rit squeezed my hand. "Leave
Lavender to us. We'll stop her no matter what."
"Thanks. I'm counting on you all."
Okay, it's time for the final battle!
Dark, heavy clouds filled the sky.
"Scatter."
Lavender wore a nasty smirk on her face.
Countless lightning bolts, tornadoes, and sandstorms pummeled the area around the
lake where Undine lived.
The torrent of energy was so powerful that even Undine's barrier guarding the lake
shattered in an instant. Cracks spread along Lavender's body as it strained against the
enormity of her gathered magic power. It didn't appear to hurt her at all, however. It
was as though the chains fettering her true nature were coming free.
The storm settled, and the dust cleared.
"Hmph… The one from before is here."
The lake was entirely unscathed, as though nothing had happened. Ruti's Sacred
Shield had warded off Lavender's destruction magic. Rit, Tisse, Danan, Yarandrala,
Esta, Ruti, and I stood before the village, all watching Van.
"I finally found you." Van beamed when he laid eyes on Ruti. "It was quite the
roundabout path, and I have become confused… but I am sure that if I kill you, I will
be able to return to being the Hero."
"…"
Ruti answered Van with a cold gaze. She had no interest in speaking to him.
"I am the Hero… Do you have nothing to say to me?" Van wanted her to reply. The old
Van wouldn't have cared.
"Van." I spoke instead of Ruti.
"Gideon, I finally understand."
"…"
"She is Ruti the Hero!" Van shouted.
Van had reached Ruti the Hero at last.
"This is the fate that Almighty Demis has set before me! To become the true Hero, I
must defeat the one who has grown old! Van the Hero will inherit the strength that
Ruti the Hero has gathered and then save the world!"
Van was growing agitated, but his outburst struck me as hollow.
I walked toward him. "Van, come clean."
"Gideon, what are you talking about?"
"You don't know what to do. Not as the Hero, not as a devout believer, and not as the
human named Van. You're lost and compensating by making up an excuse to explain
what you're feeling."
"That's not true at all!"
"It is! If I'm wrong, then tell me what the Hero inside you wants!"
"It's telling me to defeat Ruti!"
"Wrong! You don't feel any such impulse!"
Van raised his sword and leveled a tremendous murderous intent at me.
"As the Guide, allow me to lead you through your doubt."
My expression remained firm, despite Van's rising power.
"You made me this way. It's all because I talked with you."
"I know."
"It hurts to be unsure. It's like I'm losing myself."
"I know."
"So… I won't speak with you anymore. I'm going to kill you to make this pain go away."
"Van, you've grown up in a small world. A world of faith with no room for doubt.
However, it's natural for people to question things during their lives… If you are the
Hero, then don't flee from the pain of doubt."
"…!"
"Did you think we never wavered during our fight against the demon lord's army? We
doubted ourselves every step of the way. 'Is this really enough?' 'Can we really trust
our judgment?' We felt the creeping tendrils of apprehension time and again. And
regret ate at our hearts, too. Still, the Hero must not run from their doubt."
"But Ruti the Hero never faltered!"
"Ruti wasn't sure, and she struggled. Yet she stood firm anyway, and so the stories
claimed that Ruti the Hero never wavered."
"I don't believe you! The Hero doesn't falter! That's the role God set for us!"
"You're wrong. The people who fought alongside Ruti didn't take heart because of her
Hero blessing. It's because she stood firm against her doubts!"
"She endured?"
"No matter how painful it got, she never fled. She pushed forward with the strength of
her will alone. That's what people call courage."
Van's face twisted with rage.
"Courage? The Hero has Immunity to Fear… Isn't that enough?!"
I removed my cloak and grabbed the second bronze sword I wore beneath it. I tossed
the weapon to Van.
"What are you doing?"
"Van, I challenge you to a duel. Take the blade."
"This is a cheap bronze sword."
"This battle is between the Hero and the Guide, a battle of blessings. Let's fight on
equal terms. If we do, I'm sure it will resolve your doubt."
"…If the Hero wins, it means I no longer require the Guide."
I held up both hands, showing that I had no magic equipment.
"I understand." Van cast aside his holy sword. Then he removed his armor and
removed his enchanted rings and amulets.
"Now it's fair."
Van picked up the bronze sword I had given him and assumed a stance.
"All right." I drew my own bronze sword and stood ready.
"Van! Don't let him trick you!" Lavender shouted as she flew around.
"Stay back, Lavender."
"Rit!"
The fairy found herself faced with the sharp end of a shotel.
"Don't get in my way! I'll kill you!"
"Don't interfere with their fight. The two of them agreed to settle this with a duel. We
don't have any right to stop them."
"Shut up! Shut up! Everyone who gets in the way of my love should just die!"
Lavender's eyes shot wide, and cracks spread from them across her entire face.
Even at a distance, I could tell the giant being restrained within was breaking free.
However, Rit didn't budge.
"I won't allow anyone to get in the way of my love. Whether it's a legendary fay, the
demon lord, or God himself. If they threaten our love, I'll face them just like I am you."
Rit had always been the sort of princess who'd sneak away from the castle to be an
adventurer. And seeing her gallant figure at that moment, I fell in love with her all over
again.
Rit and the others trust me. I should focus on Van.
"Let's finish this, Van."
"Don't expect me to show mercy if you stop at the last moment and admit defeat."
"I don't. This is a real duel, one that will only end when you or I can't move any longer.
If you stop at the last second, I'll use that opening to cut you down."
"Good!" Van moved first. "I won't stop until I release this anger!"
He disappeared.
A martial art!
"Swallow's Approach!"
Van closed the distance between us in an instant and brought his sword down. His
bronze blade clanged as I deflected the blow.
A glow enveloped his weapon while our swords pushed against each other.
Trying to break my sword by empowering his.
"Hahhhh!"
"You've stepped in too far!"
I beat Van's sword to the left. His blade was impatient. Van's desire to cut me down
was too strong. There was no mind controlling his weapon.
"Kh!"
My sword bit into Van's shoulder.
There was a spurt of red blood, and he grimaced for a moment.
Ordinarily, he would've been protected by armor, but this was a battle without such
equipment. The best chance to strike changed depending on the situation, and Van
couldn't deal with that.
"You're weak when it comes to defense."
I aimed attacks for spots usually protected.
Van's fighting style already disregarded defense, and he knew nothing of protecting
himself without armor.
His attacks relied on the Divine Blessing God had granted him. There was no humandeveloped method behind his form.
"Gahhhh!!!"
His body was stained red from spilled blood. My sword had cut into his skin dozens of
times, yet he remained standing. The Hero wouldn't lose heart so quickly.
"Judgment Lightning!"
Magic, at this range?!
"Ughhh!!!!"
The lightning scorched my body, but I held on to keep from passing out and thrust my
sword.
"Argh!"
It landed!
My blade pierced Van's right shoulder while he was occupied casting the spell. The
bronze sword tore through muscles and reached bone.
"Uwahhhhh!"
Van's face twisted. His right arm would be useless now.
I'd like to follow that up, but…
"Hahhhh, hahhh…"
That spell had taken its toll on me. My feet were heavy, and I fell to one knee. I
somehow managed to slash upward from that crouch, but Van had already moved out
of range.
"You aren't getting away!"
In this state, it'll be bad if I let him get away to fire off more magic!
I poured strength into my unsteady legs and chased him down with Lightning Speed.
He should be reaching his limit. The next blow will decide it.
"Stoppppppp!!!" Lavender screamed. The black fog erupting from her body was
forming into a giant figure.
"Get away from Vaaaaan!"
The dark mist grasped for me, but I was completely focused on Van.
"I won't let you!"
"No you don't."
Rit and Ruti cut into Lavender's arm.
They would stop her.
"Hrahhhh!!!" I roared as my sword came down.
"…Martial Art." Van's eyes opened, and he looked at me. The bronze sword in his left
hand released an odd sound.
Not good!
"Great Whirlwind!!!!!!"
We're going to hit each other at the same time!
If I continued my strike, I'd deal Van a mortal blow, but his skill would rip through my
torso.
He's willing to sacrifice himself for a sure kill… Gh!
"Gahhhhh!!!"
I pulled back my sword and defended against Van's slash.
My sword shattered, and blood erupted from my body.
"Red!!!" Rit screamed from somewhere I couldn't see.
The broken blade fell to the ground with a clatter.
"I win!!!" Van shouted.
Blood poured from my chest, and my body was quickly losing strength.
Lavender laughed triumphantly. "What now, Rit?! If you don't go help, your lover will
die!"
"Red." I could tell that Rit was looking at me. "You can do it! Don't lose, Red!"
Heat and strength returned to my body.
Van had dropped his bronze sword to lay his left hand on my arm.
"This is the end! Healing Hands Mastery: Reversal!"
This was Van's trump card, a skill that pushed all his damage onto someone else. It
was the embodiment of Van's ideal Hero, one who could overcome any situation.
Van's body glowed with the power of the Hero's blessing.
"I win!"
However…
"I was waiting for that."
My body glowed with the light of Healing Hands, too, while the light of Van's ability
disappeared.
"Skill nullification?!"
Skill nullification was a technique whereby two instances of the same skill clashed and
nullified each other. There weren't many opportunities to use it in practice, though.
For the phenomenon to work, the skills had to come from the same blessing. In other
words, a Mage's Fireball and a Sage's Fireball could not nullify each other.
This trick offset a blessing's activation before it manifested physically.
"I had Ruti imbue me with the power of Healing Hands beforehand."
That meant I could only pull this off once, but that was all I needed. Van, so sure of his
victory, had dropped his sword. He'd never even thought to protect himself.
"It's my win!!!"
I plunged my broken bronze sword down at him. It ripped deep into his body before
he could react.
"Kuh… Hah…"
It was a heavy wound. Blood poured from it, and Van collapsed.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a match between the Hero and the Guide alone…?" the
boy asked.
"Obviously, that was a trick. We both wielded bronze swords, but I have more
experience using one, and I'm more accustomed to fighting without armor. This was
never an even battle. This was all so I could defeat you."
"Dammit… That's dirty…"
"Van, you seem to be operating under a fundamental misunderstanding. You lost
because you were preoccupied with thoughts like 'because I'm the Hero' and 'because
he's the Guide.'"
"I don't understand…"
"This was a battle between two people: between Van and Red. Our Divine Blessings
are just one part of us. You wound up like this because you didn't understand that and
only paid attention to the blessings."
"…Dammit, dammit, dammit."
"Van, has the doubt cleared?"
"Huh?"
"That emotion right there is what led you astray."
"What, this anger?"
"The anger is just a symptom. It's not the cause. I'm talking about the reason you feel
angry."
"I…"
"You're frustrated, right?"
"…!"
Van stopped moving.
His eyes widened in shock. I could see the energy he'd gathered to fight wither now
that he finally had his answer.
"The impetus was the connection between the roles of the Guide and the Hero, but
when we were fighting seabogeys at the beach, you felt like you lost to me. You realized
you would've failed to save that single child by yourself. When she offered her
gratitude, you felt undeserving… That's when the frustration formed in your heart."
Van had never experienced frustration before.
Intense, fiery emotions were foreign to him because he'd spent his entire life in the
secluded world of faith. He couldn't come to terms with something he didn't
understand. So that frustration simmered in his heart, becoming a pain that refused
to leave… until it finally exploded.
"Frus… tration…?"
"Reflect on it in your dreams… Let's talk again when you wake up."
Van's body slumped.
Has he finally passed out?
"Hahhhhh…"
I let out a deep sigh and sat on the ground.
"Argh, this hurts. I'm gonna die… Fighting the Hero is exhausting."
My wound stung.
Van's self-sacrificing attack had been dangerous. Had he used anything other than a
bronze sword, I would've died.
The Hero really is strong. Even with everything lined up in my favor, it still came down
to the wire.
"Big Brother!"
"Red!"
I sensed Ruti and Rit rushing over to me.
We'd already discussed what to do next, so I could leave it to them.
"Van, knights can be pretty nasty." I smiled at him. "This battle is actually a draw. It just
took longer for me to collapse, is all."
I'd planned out all sorts of tricks, but the biggest of all was aligning things to make a
draw seem like a win.
I really don't ever want to have a fight like this again.
My consciousness faded from the blood loss.