The Heroes Who Executed Me Are Obsessed With Me

Ch. 1



The Demon King was dead.

Evil that had once gripped the world had been vanquished. But the real problem began after the ending.

“Clay, you conspired with the Demon King and deceived the entire world.”

Evidence had surfaced, revealing that someone in the Hero's Party had been in contact with the Demon King.

And that someone... was me.

“Many trusted you, but because of your vile schemes, countless lives were lost. You must take responsibility for your sins.”

Delivering the sentence was none other than my childhood friend—Tia de Mezelef, now the Empress of the Imperial Nation of Ezer.

With both arms bound behind my back by magic-sealing rope, I knelt at the base of a platform. Above me, sitting atop the throne that towered over the stage, was Tia.

She had only recently come of age, and traces of her youthful innocence still lingered on her face. But her blue eyes had lost their light, faded and dull. Her long blond hair, slightly unkempt, swayed in the air.

She must have been tormented over this. The Holy Nation Alliance, rulers of the continent, must have pressured her to carry out my execution. She had no excuse strong enough to save me.

If only she had trusted me.

Once the evidence was deemed irrefutable, every single member of the Hero’s Party turned their backs on me. Tia included.

Everyone accepted the claim that I had been conspiring with the Demon King.

Even if it wasn’t me…

Someone had to be the Demon King’s informant. We’d faced far too many crises at suspiciously convenient times. It was no wonder they believed the evidence and turned against me.

Once I was gone, the real informant would smile and continue wreaking havoc. But that no longer concerned me. All I could do was let out a hollow laugh.

“...Sentence.”

Tia’s lips trembled as she spoke my fate.

“I sentence the criminal, Clay, to death by hanging.”

The crowd gathered around the execution platform erupted in jeers.

“You bastard! Because of you, our whole village was wiped out!”

“Do you even realize what you’ve done?!”

“Even in hell, remember what you've done and suffer for it!”

Stones flew from the crowd. A few struck my head, but I didn’t even flinch. I just stood still as the soldiers yanked me to my feet.

They turned me around and dragged me toward the gallows. Tia seemed like she wanted to say something, but I no longer cared.

I had fought for this world, and this was the reward I received. Looking down at my bare upper body, I could see the deep scars left by torture.

Among them were several Sealing Circles etched by priests, designed to completely suppress my power. They’d gone to extreme lengths. My body was a wreck.

Death seemed like the better option. I had nothing left.

“…”

The noose tightened around my neck, and the crowd’s stone-throwing intensified. The bruises joined the rest of my wounds, painting my body in fresh shades of pain.

I took one last look around.

Among the furious crowd, I spotted my old comrades from the Hero’s Party.

Yuru, the mage.

The small-statured girl was hunched over, not even looking my way. Only the tip of her blue hair poked out from under her wide-brimmed hat.

Nael, the beastkin warrior.

Her fluffy dog-like tail hung low, her eyes locked onto mine. She looked both furious and filled with despair.

Yelena, the elven archer.

She had once followed me out of the Forest of the Unknown with nothing but trust. Though said to be older than she appeared, she never revealed her true age.

Her long white hair fluttered in the wind, and her green eyes stared at me, unreadable.

How lonely.

I never imagined my end would come with such an empty heart.

Swish.

The noose slipped firmly around my neck. Laced with shards of enchanted glass, it cut into my skin the moment it tightened.

“Ghk—!”

The pain stole my breath. The people watched, hurling only curses in return. Darkness surged within me as I looked back at them.

“Fine. Let’s see how well you all do.”

Blood vessels bursting in my eyes, I glared back through the pain.

“I’ll be watching from the other side to see just how great things turn out.”

The soldiers stepped back from me.

The end had come.

One of them gripped the lever that would drop the platform beneath my feet. The crowd’s screaming seemed distant now, like muffled noise from underwater.

Slowly, I turned my head to face my childhood friend—my judge.

“Tia, I…”

At that very moment, the lever was pulled. The floor vanished beneath me, and my words were cut short. My neck snapped like a broken puppet’s.

The last thing I saw was Tia, her eyes tightly shut.

Clay.

A hero chosen to lead a party formed to defeat the Demon King who had risen in the western lands of the continent of Pandéa.

Wielding a Holy Sword forged by the dwarves, he had won countless battles and become known as a veteran warrior. But in truth, he was exposed as a traitor who colluded with the Demon King to bring ruin to the other nations.

Some claimed it was all a setup by the Holy Nation Alliance, fearing Clay's rising power. But those who voiced such opinions were arrested for blasphemy and all executed.

And so, Clay’s name faded from memory.

Bang!

In a tavern in Ezer…

Yelena, the elven archer, sat alone, downing drink after drink. The sound of her cup slamming onto the table drew the attention of everyone around.

“Um, miss… I think you’ve had enough. Maybe it’s time to stop…”

Bang!

She slammed the cup down again and stood up abruptly.

Leaving some coins behind, she stumbled out of the tavern.

“I’m sorry, Clay. I’m truly sorry… for letting it come to this…”

Muttering the same words over and over, she disappeared into the night.

She wasn’t the only one living like a hollow shell.

In an underground arena filled with shady gamblers…

Nael, the beastkin warrior, stood on the fighting platform.

“Raaaaaghhh!”

She had just smashed her latest challenger and roared in fury. The crowd went wild.

Her strength, once known throughout the Hero’s Party, remained unmatched.

“More! More!”

Another challenger stepped up. Grinding her teeth, Nael stomped the stage and roared again.

The crowd cheered, raising their arms in response. None of them saw the agony in her eyes.

While that was happening, Yuru, the mage, had locked herself in the depths of the Blue Tower, where she served as the Tower Master. She surrounded herself with spellbooks, using them like a wall.

She wasn’t reading them. She had already mastered every magic passed down in the Blue Tower long ago. Her studying had stopped—not because she already learnt everything, but because her heart was trapped in chaos.

And at the center of that chaos was the death of Clay.

Was he really the Demon King’s informant?

The interrogation revealed the presence of demonic mahic, something that could only belong to someone in contact with the Demon King.

The evidence was undeniable. She had to accept it.

Yet her tears wouldn’t stop.

“Why did you do it, Brother Clay…?”

Her confusion turned into resentment. But within that resentment… lay an aching longing for him.

And she wasn’t the only one mourning like that.

Crash!

Thunder roared as rain poured down outside the royal palace. Tia stood by a window, watching the storm.

Still lifeless, she suddenly flung the window open and stepped out onto the balcony. The heavy rain soaked her golden hair.

She regretted shutting her eyes at his final moment. She should have at least watched it through to the end.

Even if she could go back… she wasn't sure she would have had the strength to keep her eyes open.

“…You were the one who was wrong.”

Rain wasn't the only thing trailing down her cheeks. Hot tears fell from the corners of her eyes.

As they all struggled with the weight of Clay’s death in their own corners of the world—

Crack!

A bolt of lightning struck not a grave, but some desolate stretch of wasteland.

“Ugh…”

From a shallow pit in the dirt, a hand shot out, clawing through the soil above.

“Mmph! Hrk!”

Someone buried alive thrashed about, pushing away the dirt until their face broke through the surface.

“Puhah!”

Coughing and spitting out mouthfuls of soil, the figure—who had certainly been executed—blinked in confusion.

“…What the hell?”

Somehow, Clay had come back to life.

Unaware of the storm that would soon sweep through the lives of his former comrades.

(End of Chapter)


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