I entered the mansion with a stern face.
Never rush and maintain an appropriate stride. As if I was just taking a look.
Those who see my back will probably think that I am going in for confirmation. I aimed to be seen that way.
'... Hyung.'
My hyung's head might be in there. Maybe it isn't
But either way I'd be swayed. I have no intention of showing anything like weakness to the demons. Moreover, if I was found to have diverted the troops for such a private matter, I will be quite tired in the future.
I wandered around the mansion accompanied by only one person.
"... Where is it?"
It must be in the office, after all.
I can start by checking the office and, if not there, open the doors to all the rooms. In general, the office is distinguished by the appearance of the door, so it should not be difficult to find.
While climbing the stairs and scanning the hallway, Dan, who had good eyesight, seemed to have discovered something and called out to me.
"Master, I think it's over there."
"Ah."
Found it.
I walked quickly and approached the door. However, contrary to the momentum that made me feel as if I would open the door at any moment, I did not hastily place my hand on the handle.
'Because it could be a trap.'
Stand slightly out of the way in front of the door in case someone inside suddenly attacks you. Dan was also standing behind me, and myself, holding a dagger in one hand and nodding my head, opened the door.
For a moment, a cool wind passed by us.
"..."
"There's no one."
"... I know."
I answered blankly. my gaze had already been fixed on one place for a long time.
The Duke's office was nothing special. The only difference from the office I knew was that there was a communicator and a wooden box on the desk.
The communicator was not even in sight. I froze the moment I saw the box.
'It's that box.'
There's something important in there, whether it's my hyung's head or something else just to tease me.
I took a step inside as if I was fascinated.
"Master?"
"... Wait here."
Because I can't even imagine what my reaction would be when I check inside the box.
Although Dan is one of the few people who I can show a disheveled appearance to, there are degrees to that. I showed my unsightly side once or twice, but my minimal defensive instincts and last remaining pride were shouting that this was not enough.
Dan opened his mouth to retort, but I didn't listen and closed the door.
The noise outside was blocked and a quiet room welcomed me. I turned around, walked very slowly, and stood in front of the box.
'...'
I looked down at the box with an expression that even I couldn't understand. I could smell the vivid smell of blood. They Duke said they had cast a preservation spell. If so, this box would contain his head in the same condition as that day.
I slowly reached out and grabbed the lid of the box. After a short deep breath, I opened the box.
'Ah...'
I stopped.
I closed my eyes and opened them to stop my shaking gaze. With my eyes fixed on the box, I struggles to make a sound.
"Hyung... you're here."
Was it because he saved something like me? Was he being punished for saving someone who deserved to die?
A person who sacrifices his life to save one person should be an object of respect... so why is he like this?
I didn't cry. There was no anger.
Because I was already tired of being madly angry and crying when I found out the truth. Moreover, since the cause of this was not anyone else but myself, I had no right to dare express my feelings about this situation.
Above all, I didn't want my feelings to be revealed to the Duke, who was connected to the communicator and was watching my reaction with bated breath, so I suppressed my agitation and spoke with an indifferent voice.
"You crazy bastard."
Fortunately, my voice only trembled very slightly and was mostly dry.
A soft laugh came from the communicator, as if he had sensed that this party knew the connection status of the communicator due to the clear swearing.
"What are the importance of principles in achieving a goal?"
"... Where is the rest of the body?"
The honorific was thrown away.
Already all my patience has been used up to hold on to reason. I no longer had the luxury of using honorifics for a guy like him.
"It looks like even that body is gone. But you were wrong. All I have is his head. There's no way I could have something that's heavy and takes up a lot of space. It's not even a good thing."
There was a time gap between Dvelania taking the head and body, so it was somewhat believable.
Even if the Duke had it anyway, there was no way he would give it away. I spoke naturally.
"... I didn't have any military history, so why did you call me here? Was it just to kill time? What would you do if I didn't come?"
"No, you would have come. And you did. Also, to the question of whether I am doing this to save time, the answer is yes. That was the intention at first."
"..."
"But when I thought about it, I realized there was a better solution."
At that moment, I felt as if the Duke on the other end of the communicator was smiling.
I opened my mouth to say something about the strange sensation running down my spine, but before I could, the Duke spoke first.
"I can just kill you."
A low voice rang ominously. As if it was a signal, I felt a sense of being watched that wasn't there before. I quickly turned around to look behind me, checked the other person, and hurriedly wrapped the box in my arms and crouched down.
"For Salvation."
A poor man carrying a bomb was running towards me.
There was no need to be shocked. In an instant, all kinds of thoughts crossed my mind.
As someone who is sensitive to presence, I think I thought about all kinds of things, from the wonder of not noticing an ordinary poor person in a quiet room until he came at me, no matter how careless I was, to the possibility of facing him with a dagger drawn, or of avoiding the body first, and so on.
... When I came to my senses, I realized that my body had reacted first.
"...! ...!!"
I vaguely heard the sound of the door opening and Dan's voice. But it was already too late.
Someone overlapped the body from behind. And.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
There was an explosion.
***
In my fading consciousness, I strengthened my arm holding the box and recalled the statement I had made not long ago.
'I feel like fate is telling me to hate the world.'
As expected. Laughter flowed out.
'Look at this, they won't leave me alone.'
Even the poor abandon themselves and try to kill me. It has been a long time since I realized that the bastard was a member of the Church of Salvation, but my mind, shaken by the truth I had already heard from the Duke and the head of Cruel I had seen in person, seems to be unable to accept this situation rationally.
I'm just angry about everything.
Even unconsciously, when I thought about what made me so angry, all kinds of people came to mind.
The bystander Emperor. The Duke who was the culprit behind everything and played with my hyung's head. Just like the Duke, perhaps even more, the Demon King who is the culprit and treats me like a toy... Yes, that demon bastard.
'You must have had a lot of fun playing with me.'
Did you think I was such a fun toy when you were betting with the Duke?
As the thought of the Demon King came to mind, my consciousness flowed to the point where I branded the Demon King as an object of revenge.
And the moment that thought turned into a decision.
'... I'm going to kill him.'
A dazzling light burst out.
***
By the World's standards, it was just a while ago, and by human standards, it was a long time ago. The World paid attention to a person who was dragged into the Eight Year War.
If he had just been dragged out normally, there wouldn't have been anything noteworthy. However, the Demon King was behind the situation in which the human being was thrown into a cruel world.
The victim of a bet made by the Demon King and his contractor. This was such a situation that makes one a candidate for a hero. The next hero has already been appointed, but if he fails, it is enough to make him the next hero.
If we were to examine the reason for this conclusion, we would go further back in time and look at the ratio of the number of times the Demon King and the hero killed each other.
Although the hero and the Demon King have a death-and-kill relationship, looking at all of the time, the Demon King kills the hero more often than the hero kills the Demon King.
Why? After a long analysis, the World came to an answer.
A hero must have a strong will to kill the Demon King.
Just because he is a hero, he does not have much strength to kill because people are asking him to kill the Demon King.
The World has observed humans for a long time and realized the power of their emotions. Especially love and revenge. It is more intense and powerful than anything else. That human being, Deon Hardt, would be enough to become a member of the team that can kill the current Demon King, who has a tough life.
It's a new attempt. Even if he fails, he can't without even trying. Shouldn't we at least collect data?
So it's difficult for him to die. At least, he has to live until the outcome is decided, whether the next hero kills the Demon King or is killed by the Demon King.
As a hero candidate, it doesn't matter if his body I weak. After all, if he receives strength and becomes a hero, he will have health that exceeds the standard.
However, the problem is that it is difficult to keep one's limbs intact until one becomes a hero.
That's why the World granted a rare blessing. Even though he was a weak human being, his protection was strong.
As if the World's efforts paid off, that young and weak human survived on the battlefield. And the moment the next hero died at the hands of the Demon King, the world immediately nominated that person as a candidate.
He was not born as a hero right away. Physical modifications must be carried out to make it easier for him to accept the hero's power, and above all, he did not yet have a 'desire for revenge against the Demon King'.
To the World, one human life is literally just a moment.
It was no problem to wait until that human learned the truth and harbored a desire for revenge.
And now.
When Deon Hardt listened to the Duke's words and branded the Demon King as a target for revenge, and the moment his next thought turned into a decision, the World shook with joy.
If things really went according to plan, what the World has long since longed for will finally come true.
All preparations were finally completed.
It was the birth of a brilliant hero.
***
When the former warrior died, he tried to hand over his power to me. Even though he knew it was impossible, he foolishly tried to pour his strength into me and ended up dying. The power infused by the hero passed through this body and spread to the world. It was truly unfortunate and despairing that no remnants of him remained in my body.
... I thought so.
They say that someone's strong will sometimes goes against the will of the world. I think I am the proof.
The hero spoke in a black world where there was nothing.
"My will to save you became a flame and settled inside you."
The person I faced now was part of that will and body.
The hero's power did not remain in my body, but it seemed to leave a trace elsewhere. And looking at what I am facing now, I can see that it has also had an impact.
"I unintentionally saw your past and watched everything that happened afterward. Oh, all I can see is the situation; I have no way of knowing what you were thinking or feeling at the time, so you can rest assured."
I don't feel assured at all.
The hero showed signs of being uncomfortable, but perhaps because he was influenced by me, he shamelessly pretended not to notice, unlike the person I knew.
"You lived a life that I cannot dare to put into words. I thought that maybe my wish for you to live was too selfish."
Selfish is right.
There is a past that can be forgotten and overlooked, and there is a past that cannot be overlooked. The past I have is the latter.
My past affects my present, strangling me and controlling me like a puppet by strings, so there is no way for me to be happy in this life. It would be better to die early.
Oh, I guess he's already dead since he got hit directly by the explosion.
"You will live. Because the World has chosen you to be a hero."
... What?