The next day, Aric stood outside in the training grounds of Ronal Village. His body still ached a little, but his determination to grow stronger was greater than the pain.
Arian stood across from him with a calm smile. His silver hair gleamed in the light as he raised his hand, gathering mana.
"Today we'll see how much you can control both your light and dark mana," Arian said. "If you lose control, I'll stop you immediately."
Aric nodded. "Alright. Let's do this."
The training began. Aric stretched out his hand, summoning a ball of light. It flickered and cracked with unstable energy, almost bursting in his palm. Then, with his other hand, he pulled out dark mana. The shadows twisted unnaturally, fighting against the light in his other hand.
"Focus," Arian instructed. "Don't let them touch. Keep the balance."
Sweat ran down Aric's forehead. He was breathing heavily as he tried to control both energies. The light wavered, the dark hissed, and for a moment he thought they would explode. Then, with all his focus, he pulled them back into his body. The energy vanished.
Aric fell to one knee, panting. "Damn… it's harder than I thought."
"Of course it," Arian said, helping him stand up. "You can improve fast. But you must understand, Aric—what you hold inside is dangerous. Light and dark mana can destroy each other if you lose control. Yet… for some reason, they live inside you together."
Aric stayed silent, his eyes looking at his hands.
He remembered the words the Demon Lord had said back then. That expression on his face… he knows something. He knew I had dark mana before even I did.
Aric clenched his fists.
Later that day, while resting under a tree, he asked Arian something that had been bothering him. "Why were you at the place where I fought the Demon Lord? Why appear then?"
Arian looked up at the sky for a moment before answering. "I was investigating. The secret organisation is made of both humans and demons. No one knows their leader,—only that he's a demon. They've been kidnapping humans, demons, even Demohyu like us. When I sensed strange mana activity near where you fought, I went to check. That's when I saw you."
"The secret organisation…" Aric muttered. "So they were the ones behind the disappearances."
"Yes," Arian said. "They're dangerous. And the Demon Lord knows something about them—at least that's what we believe from our investigations."
Aric lowered his head, deep in thought. If even the Demon Lord knows more about this, then the truth must be bigger than I thought.
Meanwhile, far away in the human realm, Tristan opened his eyes. He was lying in a soft bed, wrapped in white sheets. The sound of church bells rang faintly in the distance.
"You're awake," said a knight standing beside him. "You're safe in Elmoria now."
Tristan's memories came rushing back—the fight, the Demon Lord, the commanders, Aric…
"Aric!" Tristan shouted, trying to sit up. "Where's Aric?!"
The knight shook his head. "We only found you. No-one else."
Tristan clenched his fists. His chest hurt, but he forced himself to stand. "I need to report to the emperor… I need to tell him everything."
And so he did, after he recovered of course. When Tristan finally stood before the emperor, he explained what had happened—the fight, the Demon Lord, Aric's struggle, and the moment he had lost consciousness.
The emperor listened carefully, his face serious. Then, after a moment of silence, he spoke.
"You survived against a demon commander and even stood in the presence of the Demon Lord. Very few could claim such a feat. From today onward, Tristan, you are officially a hero."
Tristan's eyes widened. "…A hero?"
"Yes," the emperor nodded. "Aric… may be dead. The disappearances you mentioned trouble me. Someone is taking both humans and demons. We do not yet know who or why. But you survived. And for that reason, you shall carry the title of Hero."
Tristan lowered his head. "…Yes, Your Majesty."
But in his heart, he wondered. Is Aric really dead? Or… is he still out there somewhere?
---
Five years passed.
In those years, Aric had trained every day under Arian and the other leaders of Ronal Village. He had grown stronger—much stronger. His sword skills sharpened, his control over fire and wind improved, and his mastery of both light and dark mana grew to a level even Arian was surprised by.
His body had changed too. His hair had grown longer, reaching past his shoulders. Horns had appeared on his head, sharp and curved. His face had matured, his eyes colder than before. He no longer looked like the young commoner who became a hero.
"I've changed," Aric thought as he looked at his reflection in a small pool of water. "I don't even look like the same person anymore. My teeth and claws have gotten sharper, not to mention the horns on my head."
The world outside had changed as well.
Kail, the cheerful boy who once traveled with him, had become a hero. The people praised him as the light of the Empire.
Aric's grandmother… had passed away. She died from a heart attack, after Aric was announced dead. When he heard the news, Aric stayed in his room for days, silent. She had been his last family. The only reason he had once fought as a hero was to protect her.
Now that she was gone, his purpose had changed.
And the Demon Lord—surprisingly—had attacked less and less. The demons whispered among themselves, wondering why. But no one dared ask. The Demon Lord's silence and strange behavior left everyone uneasy.
Aric learned all of this through the Demohyu network. Because some Demohyu looked like humans and others like demons, they could move between both territories without being noticed. Unless someone was S-rank or higher, no one could tell the difference. That was how information flowed.
The secret organisation had also moved during these years, but little was discovered. Only one thing was certain: every member wore something on their wrist, a mark of their identity. And their leader, a demon, somehow commanded both humans and demons together. How this was possible, no one knew. Although there were rumours that the leader was human too.
Aric's thoughts often returned to this. If I want answers… I'll have to face them myself.
On the morning of his departure, Aric stood outside with his sword strapped to his back. His horns glinted in the light. Around him, villagers gathered to see him off.
Three figures approached him.
The left hand of the village leader and the third in command, Arian stood on the right, smiling softly. To the left was a woman in her thirties, strong and calm, who had trained Aric in dark magic. Her name was Mari, she was the right hand of the leader of the village and second in command of it. And in the middle stood a tall man in his forties, the commander of the village, carrying an aura of authority.
"So, you're finally leaving?" Said the commander, Ronalis.
"Yes, sir," Aric replied firmly.
"You've grown well," said Mari. "Remember the training I gave you. Don't let your dark mana consume you."
"I won't," Aric nodded.
Arian crossed his arms. "So you're going with that plan after all."
"Yes," Aric said. "For five years, I've trained, not just to fight the Demon Lord—but to uncover the truth about the secret organisation, about my mana, and about myself. My grandmother is gone, so there's no reason to serve the Empire as their hero anymore. I'll follow my own path now."
The villagers began murmuring, some wishing him well, others looking proud.
Ronalis stepped forward and placed a hand on Aric's shoulder. "Then go. Seek your answers. You are no longer the boy who came here wounded and lost. You are one of us—a true Demohyu."
Aric lowered his head respectfully. "Thank you… all of you. I'll return when I've found what I seek."
With that, he turned, walking away from the village. The villagers waved, calling out their goodbyes. Arian, Mari, and Ronalis watched him leave, their expressions a mix of pride and worry.
Aric didn't look back. His path was ahead.
This isn't about being a hero anymore, he thought. It's about finding the truth—about myself, about the organisation, and about the Demon Lord.
And so, after five long years of training, Aric set out once more into the world, but this time his adventure would begin in the demon forest, not the Empire.