Heroes and villains. Two sides of the same coin, yet so greatly differ.
How did it began?
*GURURURURURU*
"W-what is that?"
A round, golden stage appeared after the death of a wizard who supposedly had lived for a thousand of years.
*TICK…TOCK…TICK…TOCK*
A long needle moved in a circular motion on the golden stage that could hold around 20 people standing on it with ease. Two shorter arms, barely moved slightly towards the opposite side of the other. The pattern on the stage is a dark crescent, complementing a bright waning gibbous moon.
And that was a 100 years ago.
It was later found that the criminals mostly had a marking on their wrists. All of them were inhumanely strong. They even seemingly to express the powers never to be seen before such as moving things with their minds, levitation and super speed. A single villain could easily wipe out a whole troop of the strongest army in the kingdom, the Royal Knights.
During the chaotic era, what seem to be a miracle occurred. A teen boy single handedly killed the most notorious villain at the time.
"Th-the tyrant had been beaten!"
"...A hero! A hero had saved us!"
And that was when the system of villain and hero created.
****
"HURRAYYY!"
The people cheered, the surroundings was lively. Confetti in the air, lights everywhere and I was the main attention, which I hope I am not.
*My cheeks are getting numb too quickly today.*
I raised my hand, head held high. The pure white uniform nicely placed on my body and fake smile on my face. Walking to the stage step by step and finally reaching the throne, I kneeled and bowed my head down.
The king gazed down with dignity. With fairly thick hair, he looks younger than he is. King Julian IV, one who had reigned for over 30 years. Also the one who repulsed me the most.
"You had done yet another great job. As expected of you."
*As expected, huh?*
"You flatter me too much, your highness."
Use me as you like but I don't have the strength to face the mentally challenging conversations now.
"However, people had started to get concerned on a particular villain that had been running around freely, as of lately."
The king cleared his throat before continuing.
"It is rather disappointing that the admirable heroes of Devontae had to take such a long time over a single villain."
"….apologies, your highness. We'll do better next time."
"Perhaps I should prepare another reward for you, that is for repeating the same words the most!"
"…."
Snickers heard from the crowd that was watching at the time. Maybe they had been waiting for such a ridicule.
As if not caring, the king continued,"I'm simply joking, you understood that, right? Haha!"
"….yes, your highness."
After that, the ceremony proceeded. The king granted me yet another medal, which I take as a simple ornament, or worse, the symbol of ownership. As I stepped down the stage, I caught a glance towards the other heroes standing right at the bottom. One of the youngest approached me meekly as I got down.
"Leader…"
"Yes, Vincent?"
The boy hesitated before shaking his head and looked away. I already understood his reaction. He must be worried of the mockery by the king. He is quite soft, after all.
"It's fine, don't think too much about it."
A blonde girl in her early twenties scowled and said threateningly, "Maybe we should just destroy this country."
While shaking my head slightly, I straightened the wrinkles on her forehead. Claire is the absolute opposite of Vincent. She's rather straightforward and harsh. However, deep inside she is just a very honest and warm child. I do wish to be her once in a while.
"No, Claire. Remember your responsibilities."
"Alara had protected it throughout her life, how could you even thought of destroying it? Are you a villain now?"
The most senior in our group joined in with a smirk. Elonzo, the red-headed man with a pyrokinetic ability. Contrary to his power, he is a very relaxed guy, one that you can imagine living in the country side, growing cattles and live in a cottage with a small garden. Maybe if he wasn't a hero, he would be just that.
Feeling the eyes glancing over and over in our direction, I said, "We shouldn't be gathering here, let's greet the other attendees."
The Devontae Kingdom is blessed with five heroes at the time. Another one is Melissa, who is currently on a mission in Arlos. She is a fanatic of mythical beings, seems like she found something interesting there for her researchers. Despite that, her fighting ability is undoubtedly excellent as the others, especially when it involves monsters.
The moment we dispersed and joined the crowd, I was approached by a few young nobles.
"Miss Alara, do ease us on the tales of the latest battle you had!"
"Yes, we want to hear it!"
The ladies gathered around me with excitement. Even the gentlemen are listening from afar. I used to think that they are just innocent ladies but experience told me otherwise. I wonder what will they really do with the info? Twist it around? They sure love to over exaggerate things.
"It wasn't such an exciting story, I'm afraid that it might bore you young ladies." I smiled politely.
"Oh, no. How could the story of a hero ever not be exciting? Was the villain so incapable that it would be so?"
The ladies snickered. Getting the gist of it, I remained calm. Perhaps they wanted to say that the achievement isn't so spectacular to be accepting a reward and honour.
"I'm just glad that I may put the people slightly at ease by performing my duties."
It's fine. It's just words, I've faced it for years. From the mere age of 15, now I am 27. I've listened to harsher things throughout my 12 years as a hero, especially people who were not satisfied with the lavish treatments for heroes. But then again, it was just a show put down by the king. To announce that his kingdom owned the heroes, and the heroes are all ready to protect the land, like a freaking lap dog.
*Ah, this will be yet another long day.*