A Hero’s Welcome

“What does it take to be a hero?”

In the landscape of blood, rust and endless despair a shining pillar loomed over the piles of rott. A warrior of opulent golden brilliance who stood tall head up high wielding a hefty serrated bladed lance.

The man took off his helmet as his weary eyes looked towards the chaos of the battle ahead. He was someone no older than 30 but war has waged away at his complexion to nothing but a stoic statue of pure stillness.

“The answer is simple, it is duty. To the throne and the greatness of the Holy Kingdom of Aliissia. I Edman Alguia, the legendary hero and sworn protector of humanity shall vow to eradicate all demon filth. Until the demon king stops his last breath then so can I.”

***

The streets of Kaimhuyt were flooded with crowds who stormed through the streets waving flags and spraying bundles of flower petals into the air. It was a large festival celebrating the arrival of a convoy of heroes.

They waved towards their adoring fans as they slowly marched towards the city centre.

“LIM! LIM! WAKE UP!”

“Huh… Go away… I’m still….”

“There’s no time for that LIM!”

Estra shook Lim trying to force him to wake and when that didn’t work she dragged him out and propped his face against the window.

*Squeeze*

His face pancaked across the glass window.

“Look! Look! Isn’t this amazing! I’ve never seen a human festival before!”

Estra jumped with glee like a spoiled child.

“Let's go! Let's go!”

Lim slowly woke up as his eyes adjusted to the heroes on horseback. He suddenly reeled backwards pushing Estra violently away as he jumped to the ground.

*Thud*

“OW! Watch it, Lim! What was that for?”

“Shit! Shit! SHiT!”

“Lim?”

Lim huddled under his own shell with hands that held onto his head.

“What's going on?”

“...”

Lim did not answer but at that moment something clicked in Estra’s mind. She remembered these harrowing words: ‘Story goes that the kid was hiding out in Irudia when a bunch of “Heroes” came in. The Dashing fellows said something about trying to capture....’

“NO! It can’t be!”

Lim silently nodded in agreement but with a pause he decided to run out of their room.

“Now Wait! You’re not thinking clearly! Don’t be rash!”

*Bang*

The wooden door buckled open as Lims stormed down. Estra was not far behind as he pleaded to him.

“Where are you running to? They will catch you if–”

***

“Oh my….”

A golden hero Edman had walked into the inn as he and Lim locked eyes. Estra was not far behind as she closely examined him. He had a striking short white hair and piercing silver eyes but all those features paled to his weapon of choice. She found the serrated lance peculiar, it was split into thousands of horizontal lines that made up the larger blade. A weapon that had fit the description of Lim’s wounds.

‘IT WAS YOU! WASN’T IT!’

“I thought you were dead.”

“NOT DEAD ENOUGH!”

Estra screamed out.

“Lim no!”

Lim ran towards him prompting the man to jokingly laugh.

“Hahaha… Come on, are you kidding me!”

Lim leapt towards him with a ball of concentrated energy in the palm of his hands.

“Don’t blink!”

“Huh?”

*BWOOOM*

A crackle of thunder erupted as Edman flew out of the tavern and into a fruit stall nearby.

*BAM*

He laid there under the rubble of bark and fruit juice that coated his fine gilded armour. The crowd stopped to look at him with heavy mummorings and gossip, they saw his sorry state as the dust settled revealing the hero in an embarrassing state.

Edman grinded his teeth in annoyance.

“You’ll pay for that ELF!”

***

*Woosh*

Edman disappeared as he dashed towards Lim at breakneck speeds.

“Lim!”

Estra jumped to Lim’s side using her bladed feathers to block Edman’s bladed lance. He reeled backwards from the impact, shocked not from missing but that there was a demon in front of him.

His simple annoyance now turned into full rage with white eyes that glared with dangerous intent. A demon was at the heart of Kaimhuyt, what blasphemy is this?

“A demon?”

Estra’s bladed wings unfurled as her golden eyes glowed pale with a tongue that licked the tip of the sharp fangs. Her movements were abnormal and ghoulish with her only goal being one thing.

[His Death!]

“Cycle 1!”

Estra clapped her hands together as a heavy thud echoed out.

*Clap*

A black liquid mass swirled itself into existence as a concentrated orb of red energy illuminated brightly.

“SHIT!”

*BWOOOM*

A crackle of thunder erupted as Edman flew out of the tavern and into his throne of wood and fruit juice once more.

*BAM*

The proud knight sat there with arms apart as he looked on to the bickering and mocking laughter of the crowd. He gripped onto his weapon tightly with anger filling not purely because of the demon that stood before him but the humiliation of this whole ordeal.

“I hope you're ready! Beast!”

Edman got up running towards Estra, blade in hand ready for a decisive attack.

“Release!”

The lance was stopped only inches away from the pair. Edman’s own shadows had grabbed the weapon as arms from below slowly pulled him down. Harrowing screams of the dead beckoned him.

Estra held Lim close by her side as she spoke softly to him.

“Hang tight.”

*Swissh*

*Wooosh*

Estra flapped her wings flying up high in the air.

“No you don’t! AAARERRGHHHHH!!!!”

Edman screamed out using his sheer strength to tear apart the shadowy hands. He grabbed his lance and transformed it into a bladed whip. The weapon homed in on Estra swerving erratically in response to her evasion attempts.

*Stsss*

Obsidian blade rained down onto the lance but it did little to stop its advance.

*Clink*

“AAARRRGHH!”

The bladed whip zoomed in, slicing one of the wings at the stem causing Estra tumble down hurtling towards the ground.

“Cycle 2!”

*Vrrrrr*

*Wooosh*

Space around Estra warped with purple mist causing her to teleport to a nearby roof.

*Crack*

Estra held onto Lim tightly as they crashed into the roof of the building. She got up slightly bruised and headed towards the hole in the wall.

Lim walked over to her side and pleaded to her.

“Let’s go please? It's enough Estra, let's get out of here! Please, I don’t want to lose you!”

“I can’t not after what he did to you.”

“Estra….”

“HE KILLED YOU LIM! AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME I WON’T LOSE!”

Lim fell to his knees with teary emerald eyes that saw someone different. The kind woman that he knew was changing before his eyes and it was all his fault. A sickness of shadowy crimson light was slowly spreading around her body with a portion already on her face.

“That's not what I’m worried about! I know I should have listened. If we had hid away then none of this would have happened. I was angry, I was stupid I know but please I don’t want to lose the kind and loving Estra that I fell in love with… so let's go?”

“...”

“I don’t want people to die for my sake and my foolish anger.”

“I’m not doing this for you. This is for me!”

“Estra plea–-”

“STAY!”

Lim reeled back at the sight of Estra and her all consuming rage.

“I will burn this whole city down before they could even get to you! Not again! Never again!”