"Astar!!! Astar-kugh cough Ast—", a dying voice rang out from the cold darkness of the Forbidden Woods.
Leaves swayed to the shifting winds as though shaken by the sheer emotion carried by the wallowing screams.
"Hehahah…", golden armour that pierced through the black abyss. Blood splattered across the metallic platings, a small dagger drenched in blood held firm in his hands.
"You really thought I wouldn't see through your little rebellion?".
"What-keugh, are you talking about—?".
"—You know exactly what you did, scum!", the man in armour, referred to as Astar, almost immediately held his dagger against the neck of a man bruised and bloodied.
The clouds parted revealing a bright moon. The rays of light illuminating another figure stood further away than the other two.
"Gallahan, to think you would be in such a pitiful state like this, the once trusted companion of Astar, now held in chains".
"Sevenna… you b-itch".
"Hmm? What did you say?", her hands grabbed the man's long hair, smashing his head against a stone pillar where one of the chains was tied to.
A splatter of blood stained the grey rock. Gallahan fell to the floor. A foot now pressed against his head.
"Astar… please… please", tears ran down his face.
"If not for Sevenna and the others, how much longer would you have played me? You think I'm a fool?".
"I— I didn't…".
"Come Astar, it's about time we prepare for the final battle".
"You're right… Gallahan, I once truly thought of you as my brother".
The two walked into the distance, their silhouettes blending into the dark surroundings.
"Astar!", a woman with short blond locks, pushed herself against the bloody Astar.
"Hannah… you wouldn't leave me right?", his face sunk at the memory of his dearest comrade.
"Of course, I'll always be with you, you're my husband after all".
Astar smiled, he shook off the unnecessary thoughts that had flooded his head.
"Where's our son?".
She lead him to a small room decorated with paintings of cute animals.
"He's sleeping, shh", she playfully held a finger against her lips.
Astar walked toward a small crib, a baby laid sound asleep within.
His face filled with joy, soon turned grim.
"Tomorrow we set out…".
"Right".
"I won't be back for a while".
"I know".
"I really want to stay with the two of you".
"I know", her smile remained still as though she were confident in something.
Her hands stretched out towards him, another embrace followed.
"I know you'll slay the Demon Lord, and I know you'll be back soon".
"Yeah, you're right", he bit his lip as though trying to keep his worry away. He didn't wish for his wife to feel anxious with him.
The journey took 11 nights, but they were finally in front of the walls of the black castle. The abode of the Demon Lord.
"Sevenna, Heron, Dash, Jerome, Misha. We made it".
The 5 of them nodded acknowledging their names as they were called.
"If not for you, I would not have been able to do this. The Demon Lord is our final challenge, World Peace, safety, joy, everything we wanted will become real. So what I'm trying to say is, no matter what, I've got your guys' backs".
"Haha", a hearty laugh erupted from Heron, he pulled everyone together into a large group hug. Multiple groans of discomfort sounded out but no one complained. The mood was bright, and their morale as high as the heavens.
"The Gods watch over us", they all chanted, pushing the doors open.
It didn't take much longer for them to navigate the long corridors. A pair of patterned doors stood tall and unmoving.
This was it, they could feel it, Astar stepped forward pushing the door open.
A massive hall presented itself. Long pillars supported its large structure on either side. A red carpet stretched itself from the entrance up to a flight of stairs that lead to a black throne.
"Brave warriors, welcome to my Castle, let us begin our battle!", a gigantic figure clad in silver armour with dark accents laid comfortably against the dark throne. 5 large horns stuck out of its head, small magic incantations swirling around them. His voice so loud, it sounded as though he were next to them.
It pulled out a large sword, almost as tall as the Demon Lord himself. But he was still too far away for them to notice his size. That was until he stood up, approaching them.
"Monster…".
A giant.
The fight was ferocious and unending. It was as though the world held its breath in anticipation for the outcome.
The Demon Lord, wasn't called as such for no reason. It was as though they were challenging a God. A being so powerful, if any of them were to fall behind, heads would be sent flying.
But… on the second morning, the head of the Demon Lord was held in their grasp.
Astar was covered in wounds, but the joy of getting to see his family once again somehow held the pain away.
"We did it", Astar fell to his knees, a tear falling to the ground. Even though he couldn't feel the pain, it still affected his body. He could barely move.
Sevenna walked towards Astar, picking up his sword that had fallen beside him.
"We certainly did, such a shame it was at the cost of our Hero's life".
"—?".
A sharp blade pierced Astar in the back.
"Seve—nna?".
A sharp sound of pierced flesh and a stream of gushing blood that followed its removal.
Astar fell to the ground, "Heron, help…".
Heron's foot stepped on Astar's outstretched hand, "Pitiful".
Astar had never seen Heron with such an expression.
"Jerome? Misha?", Jerome looked away, but Misha's eyes widened. Biting her lip, she too looked away.
"Sevenna, what are you doing—keugh!".
An arc of crimson blood splattered across the floor.
"DASH!", Astar screamed, but that seemed to be the last of his strength. His eyes soon felt heavy. "My family…".
Astar seemed to be daydreaming at this point. The smile of his loving wife and baby boy. Why would they? I thought we were comrades…
"We better be on our way", Sevenna looked towards Jerome. "What's wrong? You're not getting second thoughts are you?".
Jerome bit his lip and clenched his fist.
Sevenna clicked her tongue, "You wanted this, we all wanted this, there is no 'Heroes', only the 'Hero and his party'. We did this for us!".
"Well it's been done anyways, either you are a part of this or…", her eyes stared towards Dash who had already died by this point.
"You're right, let's go".
"Misha?", Sevenna looked at her as though to ask her is she also had a problem.
"Let's go".
Sevenna smiled.
The doors of the castle closed shut.
The party had already left.
…
…
…
"Demon Lord!?", a small cry erupted from a little imp stood behind the throne.
"Human…", it's eyes soon landed on the Hero's corpse, a smile crept on its face.