text: As I lay motionless in my own pool of blood I finally understood what I am. I am no Hero. Just another fool who got used by the people. When I transmigrated I thought my life would not be that boring after all. But after defeating countless Demons only to find I just killed an entire tribe in their own home. killed the Tyrant King only to realize he was the beloved King that sacrificed his life so that his people may live. After a long and hard battle, I defeated the Demon King. Only to find out she was never my enemy, to begin with. I wish I could've known the truth sooner but I was too wrapped up in my fantasy of being a hero. So when I was betrayed by the same person whom once I called a friend, I understood the fragility of my fantasy. When I was stabbed by the woman to whom once I promised my heart, I felt the reality catching up to me. When the Demon King whom I always considered my enemy show me pity and kindness, I tried desperately to deny such reality. She tried to show me the light, tried to remove the blindfold that kept me in my fantasy. Only to be brutally slain in the name of justice. Only to die in my arm with a smile and sadness. It was then my reality finally hit me. I am not a Hero. My vision was getting darker. Maybe it was my fate after I left my original world. From the corner of my eyes, I could still see the lifeless body of The Demon King. A ruler who was doing her best for her people only to be framed and killed for Human kinds greed. A woman who tried so hard to save a fool only to be slain for that fool's own mistake. As I closed my eyes full of regret I hear a voice. "It seems he is finally abandoned. Hehehe took longer than I thought. Maggots got the short end of the stick. Just like in the past. Poor thing. Such is fate. He trusted others too much. Dying with regret." An erratic voice. It echoed in the empty throne room. I opened my eyes to see. A dark erratic smoke in the shape of a human. "Oh! You're not dead yet. Hehehe truly pathetic. Waiting for death like an insect. At least you're alive. Your will is astonishing. He possesses a greater will than us. Maybe you can change it." It continued to speak in many voices. Until something suddenly held me by the throat. "Wait be gentle. Hehehe not a chance. Maggot get the hell up. Why are you not saying anything? You can do it. He shouldn't have the strength to fight back. Don't die." I was thrown at the wall at the back. ' The dark smoke was not intangible. It grabbed me by the hair and kneed me in the stomach. I have nothing to live for. Suddenly felt my entire body burning and I felt a bit of strength coming back to me. I opened my eyes only to see a rusted blade coming at me. I instinctively dodged it. My entire body was screaming as the muscles burned and bones clashed against each other. I clenched my teeth to bear the pain. "Please bear the pain. Hehehe Good. The little maggot has a bit of fight left in him. Your posture is wrong. I believe in you. Focus or you will lose that strength. Sense it." It launched at me as it stopped talking. It looked like a cloud of black smoke that was welding a rusted sword. I tried to dodge but my body refused to listen. With the last bit of strength, I summon the sword that was lying on the ground. It took three swings at me. I managed to block all three of them. But I can feel the pain course through my body. It attacked me relentlessly. I parried some, blocked some, and some skipped my guard and hit me. But I could never counter or attack. Soon I was in a sword fight with the black smoke. After some time the smoke stopped attacking. I wanted to attack but before I could lunge at it, it spoke again, "Did you notice? Hehehe blind idiot. Maggot do I need to point it to you? Calm your breathing. Give him a break. Try and counter. You're not sensing it." I was confused. Its speech patterns were erratic. The voice was distorted but felt like several people speaking one after another. But suddenly all of them shouted in unison. "Feel and sense it. You can do it." It was then I noticed. My wounds were healing. My fatigue is gone. Although my clothes were tattered I was fine otherwise. Before I could speak it attacked me once again and said in the same unified voice, "Learn, improve and adapt. Never hesitate." I didn't understand. The attack kept getting fiercer and fiercer. Until I finally realised. Each time I cross the blade my moves were becoming sharper and more efficient. The sword technique that I learnt from them was invented by the first hero and used by all the next successors. But it was incomplete. Like it was missing a piece. Yet now I can feel the piece slowly filling up. By the time we crossed blades more than thousands of times, I was already attacking and countering. I also realized that the more we fought the more the back smoke dissipated. By the time it fully dissipates we crossed the sword more than ten thousand times. The sun on the horizon set a long ago. The night was filled with the sound of battle. The sky slowly brighten up as the black figure slowly came into the view. It was then I finally realize what was beneath the smoke. His face was familiar. It was the first hero. He looked at me with a gentle smile for a second I could see his face overlapped with the Second hero. Her hair bit looked like the third. Then it dawned on me I was looking at all of the seven heroes at the same time. "So you have finally noticed." All eight voices came at the same time. They all were my predecessors. They spoke again unified. "Betrayal was the only reward we got after we got to the end of our journey. All we ever wanted was peace, adventure, to go back, to become a hero, to find love, to create a better world, to belong. Yet in the end, we were denied of it by them." I felt a tinge of pain in my chest. They gaze over to the horizon. "We are the heroes of the past, just a mere echo of their existence. We are the malice of the departed. We are their wish, their hope and their regret. We are the proof of their journey, their pain and their suffering." They looked at me with warmth and love and said, "But today we will take that malice including yours, we will take that regret including yours and fade away for eternity. But we will grant you our hope our wishes and our last proof of existence." They extended their hand to reach my face, "So please, avenge us, fulfil our wishes, live your life to the fullest." I watch as the hand crumble before reaching me. The last echo of the heroes of the past fades away with a bright smile full of hope and contentment. A small light was cast on my soul that made the world look a bit brighter. I stare at the rising sun that was bringing a warmth I have never felt. Like waking up from a nightmare, the world looked brighter and much more vibrant. Yet I can feel the loneliness as the silent breeze touched my face. I slowly walked back to the Demon King and gently lifted her body. I found a place that no one should disturb to bury her. I looked at the mangled body with red hair and two small horns came out from the side. I gently moved the hairs from her face. She shouldn't have paid for my mistake. I gently lowered her body down to the grave. I saw a few drops of water fall on her face. I look around but there was no rain. Yet the droplets felt non-stop. She was a foolish woman. She could've killed me when she had the chance. She could have saved herself. Yet she tried to save this worthless fool of a hero. Holding her lifeless body all the memories came rushing in. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." I have made a mistake. I weakly left her body in the grave and buried her. I put a gravestone and wrote, "Even if no one ever remembers your name, I shall never forget. I cannot forget. You're the woman who tried to show me the light. The one who until the very end stood by my side. Even if the stars die out I shall never forget your name, Anaesthesia." I looked at the sky. I heard that Miracles exist in this world that are caused by the Universe itself. Not even the Divine itself was powerless against it. So if the Miracles truly exist I wouldn't mind seeing you once again Anaesthesia. Unbeknownst to anyone a change occurred. The scattered light of a soul condensed by itself. It was a miracle that was bought by the wishes of the blessed one. The soul that was dead reformed once again in the world. ... After the Defeat of the 73rd Demon King, The Daughter of King Modus Princess Neila married the Magus Hero Kyrus. After the killing of the Fallen Hero along with the Demon king peace once again regained over the human land. But it only lasted three years. Civil unrest and rebellion caused the Largest Human kingdom to break off. Countless misdeeds of the King, Dukes and Nobel started to surface. Soon it was revealed the history of betrayal of the Royal Family. How they betrayed every hero. How they used Demons for their gain. Rumours of the sightings of the Fallen Hero spread throughout the continent but in the end, none were confirmed. Princess Neila and Magus Kyrus were stripped of their power and exiled. Soon they vanished from the public view and were never to be seen again. In just seven years humankind went from being one of the largest dominating species to one of the most fragile species. Their Kingdoms were either broken from within rebellion or conquered by other races. The battle was bloodless as almost all the novels mysteriously surrendered to the invading forces. What was more surprising was that the Elves or Orcs no matter who conquered, chose peace over bloodshed. The rumour of a man draped in cloaks manipulating everything surfaced many times but everyone scoffed at it. After a few more years, Gods have stopped responding to the prayers. It is revealed that The Statue of the Human God of Light and Justice one day crumbled mid-prayer and the priest lost their power. The summoning circle was obliterated. Fortunately, none was killed. Elves, Orcs and other races have stopped any kind of war. It is rumoured that their God has sent divine intervention to tell them to stop all war. In the end, humans have turned into nomadic species. As the world entered into a new era. An era of peace. ... "Mom tells me a story please." "Yes yes, a Story." A boy and a girl said in unison. Their mother smiled a little and asked, "Which story would you like you to hear?" The boy and girl smiled cheerfully and said, "The story of the 'Hero and the Demon King'." "Haven't you heard it like a hundred times now?" The mother said with a little sigh. "We want to hear it again." Seeing how they were very persistent she decided to tell the story again. The Story of how a human was summoned and became a hero. The kids became excited when Hero beat someone. Sad when Hero was defeated. By the time Demon king came into the story, the kids fell asleep. She smiled a little and tucked them nicely. "Honey I'm home." A sound rang out. Her smile got wider. She almost ran to him and hugged him tightly. The man ran a hand through her red hair and hugged back her tightly. She felt his embrace and snuggled a little in his arm. "We have enough food. You don't need to go out to hunt every single day." She said with a pout. He gently kissed her forehead and said, "I won't go tomorrow then." She hugged him even tighter. She then spoke, "Thank you." Then man shook his head and said in a shaky voice, "It is I who should say that to you. You sacrificed everything for me yet all I did was..." She quickly put her finger on his lips and said, "It's not your fault. Besides am I not with you now at this moment?" The man looked at her. He can never forgive himself for what he did but she forgave him that easily. She wasn't even angry, to begin with. This is why he was more heartbroken. He didn't deserve such kindness. She hugged him tightly. She knew her husband blamed himself for what happened to her. But she wanted him to forgive himself. So she said what she wanted to tell him for a long time in a gentle voice, "I never lived for myself. When I was crowned I was stripped of my free will. I always did what benefitted my race. But you showed me a different world, a different life. You taught me how to laugh. You taught me how to love. You taught me that I have a choice to decide who I want to be." She rested her head on his chest and felt his heartbeat and said in a tender tone, "You saved me. So no matter what I will never leave your side. I will always love you forever and ever. After all..." She rested her head on his chest. "...you're my hero." She can hear his heart beating faster, she could feel his body shivering and his rough breathing. He uttered nothing more than three words. But all his feelings were contained in that one sentence. "Thank you, Anaesthesia." ...