Frieren: Demon of Domination

In the cave where the Hero's Sword was housed, before the statues of Agusheed and Flamme—

Himmel, exhausted and collapsed on the ground, was thinking back over the battle,

Murmuring 'What a monster...' and 'Truly humanity's strongest' as he sighed helplessly.

A complete and utter defeat...

Neither the Escald Sword Style nor the Hundred Dragon-Slaying Strikes posed the slightest threat to the Hero of the South.

It felt as if his every move and technique had already been seen through in advance.

Even giving his all, he had only barely managed to make the Hero of the South use both hands—

Should I say the old man is worthy of being Mr. Agusheed's disciple,

Or should I marvel at his past achievement of defeating the entire Northern Plateau defense line in one year?

Such a convincing defeat...

By rights, the strongest Hero of the South should naturally be the first to draw the sword—

And similarly, he was the most likely human in history to draw the Hero's Sword.

At least that's what Himmel believed now.

Regarding this possibility, the blue-haired hero felt no jealousy whatsoever.

On the contrary, if the Hero of the South could truly draw the Hero's Sword—

Then Himmel would be genuinely happy for him from the bottom of his heart.

It's just...

Recalling his childhood promise to a certain alcoholic monk...

Himmel couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He looked up at the Hero of the South standing before him, smiling down at him,

Helplessness and embarrassment appearing together on his face.

"Old man..."

"Can I cheat?"

"Even though I lost, could you let me draw the sword first?"

Cheat?

Looking down at Himmel's face that clearly showed he was genuinely convinced of his defeat—

Having already seen the next moment's future,

The Hero of the South, fully understanding this junior's reason for wanting to cheat, reached up to stroke his handsome mustache.

Without feigning boredom because he had already seen the future—

On the contrary, the Hero of the South followed along with the future he had seen, crouching down and asking softly:

"May I ask the reason?"

The reason...

Before answering this question, Himmel turned his gaze away.

He quietly looked at the Hero's Sword replica that had been easily knocked down by the Hero of the South,

The scene from long ago at the monastery vivid in his memory.

'I say... Himmel...'

'Don't spend all day immersed in unrealistic fantasies—'

'With a fake Hero's Sword, you can only become a fake hero, right?'

The alcoholic monk's youthfully ignorant stubbornness made Himmel chuckle softly.

"'Someday, I'll obtain the real Hero's Sword and defeat the Demon King'—"

"I once made such a promise to someone."

"Though that's the case, what I just said was only a joke."

"I'm not someone who goes back on his word, old man..."

This junior is indeed quite good.

In both strength and character.

Whether in the future or present, he truly deserves the title of True Hero—

No disappointment, much less jealousy...

If it weren't for the fact that Mr. Kraft is still alive,

He would definitely be able to draw the Hero's Sword himself...

"Since it's because of a promise to someone else..."

"Then as your senior, I'll reluctantly yield to you this once."

Yield?

Regarding the Hero's Sword?

Under Himmel's quite surprised gaze,

The Hero of the South, having achieved an unsurprising victory, slowly stood up after smiling—

"Himmel..."

"If you're not afraid of not being acknowledged by the Hero's Sword..."

"Then you draw the sword first—"

The Hero of the South's words, which could be called either magnanimous or confident, made Himmel pause.

Then...

Witnessing once again the Hero of the South's character that completely matched his strength, he shook his head with a wry smile.

Really...

Someone like the old man...

Even if he drew the Hero's Sword, it wouldn't stir up the slightest bit of jealousy.

Himmel instinctively wanted to refuse,

But the Hero of the South had already pulled him up from the messy ground

And given him a firm push toward the Hero's Sword.

The old man really is worthy of being Mr. Agusheed's disciple...

In not giving people room to refuse, he's really quite similar to Mr. Agusheed...

His gaze resting on the somewhat rusty-looking blade of the Hero's Sword,

Himmel, who had grown up hearing the legends of this sword, couldn't help but swallow.

To say he wasn't nervous at this moment would be false.

To say he wasn't afraid or anxious now would also be impossible.

But things had come to this point—

Himmel didn't hesitate much, nor did he plan to delay any further.

After one last glance back at the smiling Hero of the South...

The blue-haired hero exhaled a long breath.

He extended his hand forward—

For the first time grasping the cold hilt of the Hero's Sword in reality rather than his dreams.

—

The current Himmel cannot draw the Hero's Sword.

The Hero of the South, who could see the future and had already received Agusheed's explanation, was crystal clear about this point.

Just as Agusheed had said,

While the previous hero Kraft still lived, it was impossible for anyone to draw the Hero's Sword—

Neither Himmel nor the Hero of the South himself could break this inevitable future.

And the reason the Hero of the South hadn't stayed to attempt drawing the Hero's Sword after subjugating demons at the Village of Swords was also this.

Regarding this result he had long known, which hadn't changed in countless futures,

The Hero of the South had once been disappointed too...

After all, everyone believed only drawing the Hero's Sword could save the world.

And what boy hadn't dreamed as a child of wielding the Hero's Sword to save the world?

But now—

The Hero of the South, who would soon head to the Northern Plateau to face death, felt only calm about this.

Yes...

Calm.

When his Future Sight had grown to where he could see the end of the thousand-year human-demon war,

When he learned the Hero's Sword wasn't a necessary factor for saving the world—

The Hero of the South's filter regarding this sword had already been removed.

So naturally he wouldn't have any special emotional fluctuations anymore.

However, regarding the unknowing Himmel...

The Hero of the South was rather curious about his reaction—

This was precisely why he had yielded the priority of drawing the sword to Himmel.

"In the countless futures I've seen..."

"After discovering you cannot draw the Hero's Sword, you have over a hundred different emotional reactions..."

"So in this final reality influenced by my teacher—"

"What kind of reaction will you have?"

Muttering this question, the Hero of the South watched Himmel slowly tighten his grip on the hilt,

Then gradually apply upward force.

As if influenced by Himmel's strength, or as if sensing someone's arrival,

The crushed rock at the very bottom of the Hero's Sword trembled extremely faintly.

And it was this brief anomaly that made the Hero of the South, watching all this, widen his eyes.

Wait...

Just now, for that instant, did the Hero's Sword react?

What's going on?

The Hero's Sword being drawn... I've never seen such a future...

Witnessing this future that had never appeared—

Personally seeing the Hero's Sword's blade tremble imperceptibly, the Hero of the South fell into surprise.

"How is this possible? Teacher clearly said..."

PAT—

His thoughts were interrupted by a large hand placed on his shoulder.

And looking back—

Seeing Agusheed, who had appeared behind him at some unknown time...

The Hero of the South seemed to find some kind of answer—

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