Chapter 15 The Real Strength and The Real Heroes

A few weeks later, training grounds. 

The clash of steel echoed across the palace yard.

Rein watched from the upper walkway, hiding in the shadows of a stone column. He wore a loose shirt. Below, Aura moved across the sand floor of the training ring. Three instructors, including Commander Kael circled her—grown knights with years of experience—and they couldn’t touch her.

She parried, dodged, and countered with quick strikes. Her footwork was elegant, her sword like a part of her body.

“She’s… stronger again. And I’m still up here… watching. Hiding.”

Rein's fist clenched at the steel railing, crushing them.

“Damn it. I was proud of my fireballs, my magic… my sword tricks… but in the end, they meant nothing.”

One of the knights tried to feint, Aura didn’t even blink. She flowed past him like water, tapped the flat of her blade against his back. Match over. All four men lowered their swords and gave her a respectful bow.

She returned it, humble as ever. Still quiet. Still soft-spoken. But Rein could feel it from here—her presence. The way the others watched her. Whispered. 

"That girl… she’s not normal. I want that strength. No... I need it.”

He stepped back from the ledge, turned, and walked away.

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A few weeks later.

Aura moved like a true warrior—graceful, precise, unrelenting. Five Hero cadets surrounded her, but none could match her pace. She moved between them, her practice blade tapping shoulders and ribs with control, not cruelty. One by one, she tagged them out until only one remained, and even he was drenched in sweat and hesitant.

Then she paused, sword tip resting on the stone. Her eyes flicked to the second-floor balcony.

There he was—Rein.

He stood there quietly, half-shadowed by the marble column. Watching. Just like he had every day for the last few weeks. Always at a distance. Always silent.

Aura gave the final cadet a nod, signaling the end of the match. Then, wiping a bit of sweat from her face, she turned and lifted her hand—half wave, half shy greeting.

Rein flinched, as if caught doing something he shouldn’t. But after a moment’s hesitation, he raised his hand and waved back. A small one. Awkward. But it was something.

Aura smiled faintly, then pointed to the training yard and motioned with her hand—Come down.

No words. Just a simple gesture. An invitation.

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Rein stepped into the yard slowly, his hands in his pockets, shoulders sagging. His eyes still carried the weight of everything he’d lost, everything he wished he could’ve done.

Aura didn’t greet him with cheer. She just looked at him quietly for a moment, then said, “You know… I thought you were never gonna come down.”

Rein looked away.

 “Didn’t want to get in the way.”

“You’re not in the way, Rein. Let's talk, come, to the park.”

As they walked, Aura broke the silence with her gentle voice.

“I’ve seen the way you look at me. Like I’m someone from a world you’re not part of anymore. But that’s not true. You’re still here, Rein. You’re still breathing. You’re still you. I know it hurts. I know it feels like there’s this huge hole inside you where your heart used to be.”

Rein’s head dipped lower.

“You think being strong means never failing? That strength means saving everyone, no matter what? Then what am I, Rein? I was strong. I killed that monster. But I didn’t save them. I was too late.”

She clenched her fist. 

“Being strong isn’t about always winning. It’s about getting back up. Even when you’re broken. Even when you’re scared. Even when the world says you can’t. Because real strength… real heroes… they don’t fight because they’re strong. They fight because someone needs them to.”

They reached the small park. Aura sat next to Rein on the stone bench, beneath the quiet branches of a slender tree. 

"Rein... it's okay to fall down. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel lost. I’ve cried, too... When no one could see. I’ve wanted to scream and throw everything away. I’ve felt like I didn’t matter. That my pain didn’t matter."

She leaned forward slightly, her voice growing stronger.

"But you know what I learned? Life doesn’t wait for you to be okay. Pain doesn’t ask for permission. It just hits. Hard. And unfairly. And it doesn’t care how strong you are. It knocks you down anyway. But—"

She looked right at him.

"What matters is what you do next. You stand up."

Her hand clenched into a fist in her lap.

"Even if your legs shake. Even if your heart is still broken. You get up, Rein. You fight. Not for revenge… but to protect what’s left. To make sure no one else feels that pain. To stop it from spreading."

He looked away, voice quiet.

  "What’s the point…? The monster who killed my parents is gone. There’s no one left to fight."

"That’s not true, Rein. The king told me everything... that the monsters who attacked us were sent by the Demon Lord. This wasn’t random. It was war. A slow, creeping war. The Colossus, the horde—they weren’t the end. Just the beginning. The demon plains are crawling with his armies, and he’s gathering strength to strike again."

Rein’s hands twitched.

"The Demon Lord commands them. He’s still out there. Weak, maybe, but alive. And when he regains his strength, he’ll send more. He’ll destroy more villages. More people will lose everything—just like we did, Rein."

She leaned closer, voice quieter now, sincere.

"The last Hero fought him… and fell. But not before wounding him badly. The King believes there’s still time to finish it—to end this for good before the Demon Lord rises again. The king said if the Demon Lord was gone, none of this—no pain, no loss—would have happened. The innocent wouldn’t have suffered. We all want peace, but peace without someone to stand up for it is just a dream. It needs heroes who don’t give up, who don’t stop fighting even when it’s hard."

Aura looked down at her hand, then back at Rein.

"You don’t have to carry all this alone. I’m here. And I’m not giving up. Not now. Not after everything. And I won’t let you give up either. You can be angry. You can cry. But don’t stay broken. Please, Rein… if you can’t live for yourself right now, then live for them. For the ones who can’t. And when you're ready—" she reached over and gently touched his hand, "—stand with me."