This World Needs a Hero

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HEL SCANS

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The Prologue.

The Hero died.

But the victory celebration continued, because no one knew the truth.

“The triumph of the Human Alliance!”

“The Demon Lord fled without a fight?”

“What a time for peace! Raise your glasses!”

“Hero! Congratulations on the great victory.”

Admiring gazes directed at me. From the highest position, observing the scene, I closed my eyes.

A sudden wave of fatigue hit me.

“You.”

The sharp and firm voice pierced my ears at that moment.

“To appear here, what is your motive?”

Cold, sunken golden eyes stared at me.

Euphemia Cecilia.

That was her name. The ruler of this vast empire and, as of today, the only one who shared a ‘secret’ with me.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Motive? It’s exactly as it appears.”

“How dare you show up here…?”

But the conversation couldn’t continue.

Ted! Ted! Ted Redeemer! The savior of humanity! The banquet hall erupted with thunderous cheers.

As the sound of people searching for the Hero filled the air, the Empress bit down on her lip skeptically.

“Fine, I’ll play along with this farce for now… but you’ll need to give me an explanation.”

“Thank you.”

She quickly rose from her seat with a surprisingly formal smile.

With that single movement, the bustling banquet hall fell into an instant silence.

In front of the aristocrats with shining eyes, she shouted loudly.

“Raise your glasses, everyone! Today is the day humanity is liberated from long-standing suffering! The victory of the Great Human-Demon War belongs unequivocally to us humans!”

A massive cheer echoed in my ears.

The Empress, who downed her drink in one gulp, turned to look at me. Her cheeks and eye sockets were flushed.

“Yeah, we can’t have the protagonist missing from an event like this.”

From somewhere in her slender arm, an unexpected strength emerged.

I couldn’t resist the Empress’s handshake. When I regained my senses, I found myself in front of the balcony.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared at me intensely. The size of the cheers was incomparable to before.

“Whoah!”

“It’s the Hero! Ted Redeemer!”

“The savior of humanity!”

“Look over here just once!”

“Ted! Ted!”

Dizziness overcame me.

But separate from that, my lips moved on their own, delivering a rehearsed line.

“…We will ultimately prevail.”

.

.

.

Everyone was joyous.

It was expected.

The Human-Demon War.

It was a victory report from the war that decided the fate of the races.

Toasts overflowed, lively songs were sung, and people hugged each other tightly.

On their faces, there sparkled expectations and hope for a brilliant future.

I stood at the centre without moving.

Except for the tightly clenched fist, I would have looked like one of them.

* * *

Jedo Kyros.

A nearby hiding place.

I deactivated numerous security devices and entered. Passing through a narrow and long corridor, a square-shaped room came into view. It had been a space I had lived in for the past few years, but today it felt unfamiliar.

…I bowed deeply.

“I’ve come.”

In the centre of the room, there was a comfortable chair.

He was sitting there as usual, relaxed, as if looking into a mirror.

Same face.

Same height.

Same attire.

I released the polymorph.

Sshhh!

A strange sensation pierced through from my toes to the top of my head. The sounds of bones crackling filled the hiding place.

The Hero Ted Redeemer disappeared, and the doppelganger ‘me’ took his place.

I stood before him, tidying up my appearance.

When I looked at him in the mirror, the face reflected back, straightened and rigid like iron, was chilling and cold.

I proceeded with the customary report after performing my role.

“I went through the banquet party successfully and there was no suspicion about my identity. Although the Empress seemed a little tired, she still handled it well.”

However, there was no response.

The Hero still sat in that same position.

I continued.

“I know you do not like these gatherings, but it would have been good for you to attend today in person. Everyone was joyous. I’m sure you would have felt proud.”

There was no change in his expression.

No hint of annoyance or even a forced smile.

Suddenly, a wave of intense, warm emotions welled up my throat.

“…It still doesn’t feel real.”

I reached out my hand.

The face it touched felt hard and cold, as if it was made of metal.

“But it still needs to be done.”

Thud.

The Hero’s head fell, as if he nodded in agreement.

However, there was no will behind that movement.

A sudden surge of emotions flooded in.

Despair, disappointment, loss.

And fear.

Perhaps the reason I couldn’t run away was what he had taught me over the years.

“Don’t worry.”

His teachings.

The legacy he left behind.

They would guide me.

Toward the unfinished mission he left behind.

“I will become the Hero in your place.”

I closed the Hero’s eyes. It was the first day since the Hero’s death.

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HEL SCANS

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