Hero’s sacrifice

Right after the hero kicked his party out, all the girls walked away from the borders of the Demon King’s fortress. Silence lingered during their walk, casting a pall over their spirits.

“Aghhhh! That damn Leo! To think his ego would be so big that he'd kick us out of the party just like that.” 

Rine, the beast girl of the Cat Tribe, who was also the hero’s childhood friend, annoyingly complained in anger.

“There was nothing we could’ve done if Leo looked down on us. After all, he is strong enough to be graced by the goddess as a hero.” 

Cordella tried comforting her comrade, whom she had always relied on since she joined the hero’s party. However, what came out of her mouth was something she unconsciously believed was true. 

They were so weak that the hero had to take care of everything, leaving them with no achievements whatsoever.

“Now that I think about it, we were a burden to him all along. He never saw us as companions in the first place. So this was bound to happen at some point. Or that's what I think.”

Lastly, to vent out her frustration, was Divlia, the half-dwarf tanker. Her voice was usually weak due to her introverted nature, but now it had become weaker from the way the hero treated her.

“Ughh! Don't remind me. Just thinking about that makes me want to punch him in the face.” The red-haired cat girl gritted her own teeth in frustration.

After they had walked far enough, the group of girls rested somewhere near the woods. They were still lost in their thoughts about the events that had happened so far.

They knew how bad Hero’s reputation was and how badly he treated everyone without mercy. 

Even when some poor villager asked for help, the so-called hero wouldn't budge without demanding money like a villain — despite knowing that the villagers could barely make it through the day with just a piece of bread.

Most nobles and kings of different kingdoms despised Leo for his villain-like behavior. He disrespected everyone, including the kings and nobles who supported him. Some of the girls had figured that once the hero accomplished his mission, the king was planning on poisoning him for his behavior.

In conclusion, everyone hated the hero to the core. Including his own party members who were supposed to help him on his journey.

All of the girls sat down near a safe spot, their eyes filled with sorrow.

“What should we do now?” Cordelia asked, her silver armor reflecting her defeated expression. “We can't just go back and announce that the hero kicked us out of the party and went to defeat the Demon King on his own.”

“We’ll just wait until Leo loses. No, I hope he loses! Even if he’s the hero, he won't even be able to go past the front lines. There are just too many of them to be faced head-on.” Rine speculated.

Even though she was a musclehead, the red-haired cat girl was trained under the guidance of the most accomplished martial master, one who had mastered every conceivable weapon. Even if the hero saw her as useless, she was still educated in the arts of battle.

“No… it's impossible for Leo, the hero, to lose…”

Covering her own face with her knees was Elena, the high-elf who always looked up to the hero. Until now, she hadn't muttered a word, so naturally, all of the girls looked at her.

“What do you mean that jerk can't lose?”

“It is written in the prophecy that the demon is always bound to lose to the hero, no matter the outcome. Even though I’ve come to realize that prophecy can't always be true... It has still been proven by legends and tales that the Demon Lord has always been defeated by the heroes.”

Elena was the oldest of the group, so she knew that she couldn't easily burst into emotions. However, she was inwardly crying every time she recalled the harsh words of the hero.

Everyone decided to rest for a bit until they could clear their minds. They knew that if they wandered in their current condition, they would be vulnerable to any wandering demons.

Minutes continued to pass until suddenly, a powerful gust of wind swept by, followed by a loud explosion.

*BOOOM!!!*

Everyone was startled, so they didn't waste time getting a hold of themselves. They thought that some demons might’ve been causing a ruckus somewhere, so they scanned their surroundings.

“Just what was… that?” Rine’s cat ears flinched in the direction of the explosion.

“Demons? But we’re way too far from the fortress.” Cordelia assumed.

As everyone was trying to think of their next move, a sudden gasp was heard.

“Agh…”

It was Katie, the hero’s slave. She had fallen to the ground, almost panting in pain.

“K-katie!? What happened? Are you okay?”

“Katie!”

Concerned, everyone looked at Katie, trying to understand what happened to her.

“Nn… My s-slave seal—”

The young girl held her own chest in agony as she spoke to everyone. 

“That damn Leo! Don't tell me he commanded you to do something…” Rine quickly assumed this was Leo’s doing, her fist gripping in rage.

“—It's gone.”

But what the young girl said next left everyone shocked.

“Huh?” 

“Wha..?”

“The seal is gone.”

How can the seal be gone? Was the question that immediately popped into everyone's minds. 

A slave's seal was a difficult magic that only high-level magicians understood. Since a slave's seal has the capacity to control another living being, the complexity of the magic was very high.

And the one who controlled the seal of this little girl was the same scumbag hero that everyone hated. 

Until now, all of the girls have been keeping Katie near her at all times. They couldn't allow her to be the hero. Just imagining what the hero would do to such a young child made everyone's blood boil.

That's why, the moment Katie showed reactions from her seal, Cordelia checked her condition with the highest appraisal magic she had. And to her surprise…

“...the seal has been fully lifted.”

Everyone looked in awe and confusion. 

A slave's seal was not something anyone could take lightly. So why would Katie's seal suddenly disappear like that?

“What is going on…? Why did the seal…” Rine thought out loud.

The only logical answers to that would be if the slave was a high-grade magician or if the hero himself had lifted it.

But the hero wasn't here, so everyone was still confused.

Cordelia helped Katie get up and cast a full healing spell on her. In no time, the little girl was able to gather enough strength to speak.

“...everyone. I need to tell you something. The hero gave me a command prior to getting here.” Katie confessed while struggling to swallow her saliva.

“I knew it! So the hero really did something to you! That person can't show mercy even when he's not around!” Rine cursed the hero with all of her heart, despising even the fact that someone like him was her childhood friend.

Even the rest of the group, almost as if they suspected what the hero was planning, remained with hardened expressions.

“N-no!! That's not it!”

But everyone’s attention shifted back to the young girl.

“My master never did, nor was he planning on doing anything bad to me. He was, in fact, helping us out all along. I couldn't talk about this because my master gave me the command to not speak about it to anyone. But now that the seal is gone and the Demon King is dead, I can finally say this! MY MASTER IS THE KINDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD!!!”

“....”

Everyone looked discombobulated at what Katie was saying. 

The hero acting on his own to help them this whole time? Just what sort of joke was this?

“H-hold on, the hero was helping us out all along? And what do you mean that the Demon King is dead? It hasn't even been an hour since Leo, the hero, departed.” Elena inquired with a look that almost seemed distrustful.

“T-that's right! There’s no way that jerk of a hero would be kind. I'm sure the slave’s seal is still active, and that jerk is simply playing with us. I'm sure he’s even laughing right now, thinking about our reactions.”

“He's someone who doesn't care about anyone.” Divlia added.

“He's an awful person, on top of making fun of everyone.” Cordelia spat out as she continued checking the condition of the little girl.

But no matter how many layers of magic she used, Katie was completely clear. So in no time, her desperation was becoming apparent.

“Stop it already!!! If you don't believe me, then I can prove it to everyone. Miss Cordelia, can you check what commands have been placed on me?”

Without wasting any time, the silver-armored mage cast her magic in front of everyone.

“~Command Recall~”

And in an instant, a list of two commands had been placed previously on the little girl. 

Everyone was expecting a list full of awful deeds that the hero had done. But instead, only two commands had appeared.

“...Just what is… this?” Rine’s shoulders dropped in utter confusion.

“No way… there must be a mistake…” Cordelia added as she continued checking for any abnormalities. 

But no matter what she tried, the words did not change. They didn't want to admit it, but whatever Katie was saying seemed to be true.

“But how can this be….?” 

“...Why would the hero act that way if he was so… kind?”

Cordelia and Elena said this in disbelief as they tried to find a logical answer to it.

Nothing made sense to them or the hero’s actions. 

Up until this point, they all thought that Leo was a hopeless scumbag that would never change. He was a despicable and evil man who knew no kindness.

“It doesn't make sense. Why did he treat us so harshly then?” Rine’s head was spinning, trying to make sense of this.

“Was he perhaps cursed?” Divlia assumed with a concerned gaze.

“No, that's impossible. I would’ve known if the hero was cursed.” Cordelia rebutted.

Everyone was left pondering about what was just revealed. A placate sense of inability and confusion settled among the heroines.

Something inside them wanted to believe that the hero was indeed kindhearted. But the harsh way they were treated and the stress that the hero had caused them still lingered inside them.

“H-huh? No, this is not…” Katie suddenly couldn't summon an end to her sentence.

Concerned, everyone looked at the little girl, who was just looking at the screen that showed the commands placed on her.

“Katie, what's wrong?” Cordelia inquired with a worried look.

“Why isn't there a command for the release of my seal?!” It was almost as if she was about to break into the verge of tears, Katie said.

The rest of the girls' expressions quickly twisted back to those of brief confusion as they looked back and forth.

They had almost forgotten that Kaite was no longer a slave. And they wanted to believe that the hero had made a command that would release her. But now that they were realizing this, there was no such command.

So how was the seal lifted?

The only natural answer to that would be the death of the owner.

Everyone’s face went completely pale, and their bodies almost froze in shock.

Katie’s lips trembled before looking in the direction of the explosion.

“N-no, this can't be true! I h-have to go back to master!”

Rine reached out and grabbed Kaite before she could run away.

“H-hold on, Katie! You can't go into the demon’s territory like that. It's too dangerous!”

“NOO! Let me go! I need to go and see my master!”

Rine’s grip was powerful, so even with all her strength, Katie couldn't budge an inch.

The girls looked at one another before deciding to head back to the fortress. They knew that the hero wouldn't die so easily since they had seen his boundless strength with their own eyes. That was the reason they all felt competent in the first place when compared to him.

After forming a quick strategy, they sneaked back to the borders of the Demon King’s fortress. But as they got closer, they noticed something was wrong. It was quiet—way too quiet.

They slipped through a gap in the walls and finally managed to sneak inside. But what they saw beyond the walls left everyone speechless; their eyes were completely wide open in astonishment.

Everything inside had been completely ruined, almost as if a natural disaster had occurred in a span of an hour. Hundreds of demons’ mutilated corpses were lying all over the place.

“...what is this…?” Rine looked around as a variety of emotions flitted across her face.

“...Leo did all of this?” The silver-armored mage asked in astonishment.

They knew that the hero was strong, but to cause this much destruction? This was beyond their expectations.

“I can feel Hero’s mana lingering around the ruins.” Elene confirmed everyone's suspicions with widened eyes.

As a high elf, her connection to the spirits granted her sensitivity to mana. And thanks to that, she could feel the intense power that this whole place had experienced.

Everyone continued heading towards the main castle, where the Demon King was supposed to be. But as they continued heading to the center of the fortress, they realized something.

“...W-wha?”

“...is that?”

””!!!!??....””

“Yeah. That's the main castle.”

Divlia, followed by Rine, Katie, and Cordelia, breath hitched as the realization soon hit what had happened. And to confirm their doubts, Elena lastly spoke with barely any emotion on her face.

“...or what's left of it…”

What was in front of their eyes was nothing else but a massive crater, leaving no signs of any castle.

There were clear signs that the battle between the hero and demon king had occurred here. 

But the main question was… Where was the hero?

“M-master?!!”

“?!”

Katie, without waiting for any of the girls, slid down the crater while calling out the hero’s name. Everyone tried stopping her but couldn't due to the crater that made the little girl slide downward. In the end, they had no choice but to quickly follow after her.

As Katie descended down to the center of the crater, her eyes quickly spotted something buried underneath the dirt.

“Master!!”

She could recognize the hero’s clothes, so she knew that she had to pull him out of the ground.

With an almost desperate expression, Katie dug through the dirt, her fingernails almost bleeding from the force, trying to get the hero out.

“Master, I'm here! I'll get you out! S-s-so, please hold on a little longer!!!”

She continued digging desperately all around, but no matter how much she dug, there were no signs of a body. Deep down, Katie, the once-cherished slave girl, knew that the hero wouldn't be found. But with tears on her face and fingers painted with dirt and her own blood, she hoped that sooner or later her savior would be there.

“M-Master…ugh… Master..Sniff Master….”

“Katie!!”

Sliding down the crater were Rine and the rest of the girls, who approached the desperate little girl.

"Katie, what are you….!?”

They seemed a little concerned about the reason behind the little girl’s reaction. But once they saw the hero’s empty clothes, they had a hunch about what was going on. Different sorts of emotions were going through each girl.

“Everyone, Master needs help! He’s stuck underneath! We need to save him!”

Everyone felt their hearts shatter at the desperation of the little girl. They were concerned about Katie to the point of momentarily overshadowing their worries about what might have befallen the hero.

“Why are you looking at me like that?! Why aren't you helping me?! Master is still alive! ”

“...Katie.”

Everyone looked at one another before Elena got closer and looked at the remaining clothes of the hero. Using the power of the spirits, she couldn't sense any life forms. It was almost as if the hero, together with the Demon King, had perished with no trace.

Even Cordelia, since a while back, had been spreading her mana through her silver armor, but no matter how much she scanned, there was no one alive.

Kaite, who couldn't accept such reality, continued crying as she kept digging nonstop to the point where her fingers were being torn apart.

“Just what happened here? No, why would Leo do this….?”

Rine thought out loud, almost not wanting to come to terms with herself, but her question quickly changed when she recalled what Katie first said about him. Was Lea actually helping everyone out all along…?

Without even realizing it, Rine fell to her knees as she tried sniffing out Leo’s body. But no matter how much she tried, her childhood friend couldn't be found.

She did mention it would be better for the hero to be dead, but in her heart, no matter how much she hated him, she could never wish him that.

Cordelia kneeled on one knee and cast recovery magic on Katie’s injuries.

“Sniff.. Master…. Sniff… Master is….”

"Let's take care of these cuts, okay? You've done enough already."

“...No… but Master… Sniff, Uhnn… Master is…. Waaaaaaaa!!!”

Not knowing how to comfort the crying girl, Cordelia hugged her and let her cry her heart out. Deep inside, she was feeling mixed emotions of pain, confusion, and uncertainty.

The whole fortress was turned into ruins, and both the hero and the demon king were nowhere to be found. The outcome was apparent to everyone. But many questions remained in their minds.

Once the crying girl calmed down, all of the girls attempted to get some answers from her.

“Katie… Can you tell us the truth… about why the hero acted that way? Nothing makes sense to us…” 

Cordelia tried comforting the girl so she could finally talk after she had calmed down.

With a runny nose, Katie finally began to talk.

“I don't know much about the reason for his behavior. But I do know that he secretly helped everyone. Rine… Leo was the one who found and introduced you to your teacher.”

Rine’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden confession.

“Cordelia… Master was the one who invented your armor in order to fix your mana deficiency.”

“....No, I'm sure that my brothers…”

“...Do you really think that your brothers, who aspired for the king's position, would want to help you? Master secretly made it look like your brothers gifted it to you.”

“....no way.”

Cordelia looked at her own armor, recalling the face that the hero made. The moment she wore the silver armour for the first time, she was made fun of by the hero. That was when she used magic for the first time and tried attacking the hero. But now, seeing this from a different perspective, it almost looked like the hero was checking whether her armour worked.

“...Divlia… Master was the one who made your family kick you out of your house.”

“....?!”

Almost taken by surprise, Divlia's eyes flinched.

“He would sometimes mention to himself about you and how your parents were planning on selling you as a sex slave because you lacked talent as a blacksmith. So Master paid your parents beforehand and took you to the hero's party.”

Divlia gripped her own finger while her face resisted showing any emotions.

“...Elena. Master didn't talk much about you.”

Elena's brows raised upwards, almost with uncertainty and defeat.

“But he did say that out of everyone, he felt most comfortable when he was around you.”

Elena understood the meaning behind those words. 

In past records, the hero had always relied on a high elf. And in most legends, they would get married.

Elena had spent hundreds of years with that dream of meeting the hero. Ever since she was young, her wish was nothing else but to spend her life time with the hero. 

But the hero of this generation was different, and the reality was far from what she had dreamed of. Or thats what she had come to accept.

That's why, when she heard Katie’s words, she couldn't help but let her tears roll down her cheeks.

“....Master also requested that I give everyone these letters once my seal is lifted.”

Katie grabbed everyone’s attention as she pulled out of her magic storage several letters. Each envelope bore a name carefully addressed to every girl.

All of the girls grabbed the envelope with their own names and began reading.

Rine quickly ripped the envelope open and began reading what was inside.

Katie’s eyes trembled as read the way the letter was written. The way that it was written felt so different from the usual attitude he had. She felt as if the old Leo had returned.

Katie’s hands trembled as she read through the letter. She wasn't sure what to think anymore, and tears were beginning to swell on her eyes. And in not time, she could no longer hold back.

“T-that dummy! W-why couldn't he just apologize to me in person?”

She couldn't understand his actions, but the fact that he would apologize like this still pissed her off. But deep down, she still cared about the same childhood friend.

Next to Katie was Divlia, who seemed to be smiling as tears welled up on her face.

Divlia's eyes widened to an extent. Her heart was beating as she recalled all of the awful things she experienced in the past.

‘So that's why he wanted me to join the party…’ Divlia immediately assumed.

The dwarf girl crumpled the letter with all her might. And from her usual expressionless face, tears began forming in her eyes.

Next to Divlia was Cordelia, who had her hand over her mouth and her breath hitched.

Even though Cordelia had already read the letter, she couldn't help but go back and forth, almost not wanting to miss anything. She couldn't imagine the hero talking like this, so she was caught by surprise. But deep down, she felt sorrow that she wasn't able to respond to this letter.

Next was Katie, whose tears were rolling down nonstop while reading the letter given by her master.

Tears continued rolling down Katie’s cheeks, wetting the letter.

Katie cried her heart out once again as she finished her letter. 

Frasuration? Betrayal? Those were some of the emotions that she felt at the moment.

Her master was no longer by her side, and she knew that no matter how much she would cry, he would not comfort her.

The last one who was still staring at her own letter was the high elf, Elena.

Her eyes remained still on those words; her eyes welled up. She couldn't muster the courage to continue, so she forced herself to read.

As she read the last few words, she let out a sigh before muttering with a bitter smile on her face while looking at the starry sky.

“Why couldn't you just say that to me in person… the fact that you loved us?”

The hero was dead, leaving behind only his clothes and sword, which he used to kill the demon king. All of the demons were brought almost to an end thanks to him.

The world was finally at peace, not knowing the good deeds that the hero had done. The girls knew that even if they tried to justify his actions, no one would believe them. 

But right now, they didn’t care about the world or their opinions. They simply wanted to meet the hero one last time and apologise to him for the cold responses he received. 

They regretted not having seen past his facade and not having offered comfort during his moments of solitude.

All of the girls were broken, crying as they were staring at Leo's clothes while holding their envelope close to their hearts — hoping that somehow their feelings would reach him.

But no matter how long they stayed in that spot, nothing changed. The hero had made the ultimate sacrifice for their sake and for the peace of the world.

* * *

Observing the unfolding scene through a translucent screen was the nameless Demi-God, watching as the girls mourned their fallen hero. 

A smile appeared on his face as a thought came to his mind.

“I wonder if he would've changed his mind if he were to see this.”

With a sigh, he removed his blank mask as he continued watching the screen. Behind that mask, the nameless Demi-God had a bitter expression.

“...He was a fool until the very end. That guy… seriously…”