Prologue: Is This The Hero That Was Prophesied?

The sound of footsteps echoed in the prison corridor. A guard walked with a plate of food in his hand, passing several other guards who looked at him worried. The guard himself felt uneasy. But it was his job to feed this particular prisoner.

He stopped in front of a cell guarded by two armed guards. The sound of metal then rang out as the cell door slowly opened. The sweat on the warden's face poured even harder, especially when he finally came face to face with a girl with both her hands cuffed by chains to the wall.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Then he turned back to the girl.

“Hey, dinner is here,” He said, bracing himself.

The girl didn't react. Her face remained down, covered by her long brown hair. The warden then crouched down, put her plate on the floor, then picked up a spoonful of food.

“I know prison food isn’t as good as what you’re used to. But hey! At least this will last you until tomorrow.” He held out the spoon. “So come on. Open your mouth--”

“Get out of here!”

The warden was surprised when the girl suddenly opened her mouth. Not to accept the food, but to say something he didn't expect. The girl lifted her face and showed a serious expression. She looked into the warden's eyes, while the warden himself remained silent. He thought it was just her usual attitude of always refusing the food given. But this time it felt more like a warning.

“Someone is coming here to release me. And he has no intention of leaving any of you alive,” the girl continued. “So, go now. You don't have to waste your life here. There's still a bright future awaits you.”

The warden went silent. It turned out that his guess was right. The prisoner in front of him was no ordinary woman. He should have known that from the start. This girl had no strange criminal history to be thrown into prison. She was locked up on purpose because the demon lord himself threw her in, as if he trying to prevent her to go somewhere.

The warden was silent for a moment. But then he stood up with his face raised up and glanced at the girl with confident eyes.

“Thank you for the offer. But, no. It is my duty to guard this place,” he said. “To be able to serve the demon lord to the end is the greatest honor for me.”

The girl gave him a look of despair. She knew that her attempts to convince anyone in this place were futile. Those who had devoted themselves to the demon lord, their entire minds seemed to have been manipulated by the trickery of his charisma.

"Besides..." the warden continued. "I won't remain still if your friend comes. I will definitely defeat him--"

Slashh!

Blood spurted into the air. Suddenly the warden was silent. His eyes felt like they were floating in the air and falling to the floor. His consciousness suddenly faded quickly. However, for a moment, he could see his own body still standing in front of the door.

Splatt...!

A head rolled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood, until it finally stopped in front of the girl. The warden's headless body finally collapsed, revealing a man with a katana standing behind him. The man then swiftly slashed his sword again, cutting through the chains that bound the girl like he was cutting butter.

“I thought you were going to be late,” the girl greeted. “Good job, Gin.”

Gin glanced back at the warden's head as he sheathed his katana. His face was blank, as if unaffected by the fact that he had just beheaded someone. However, he felt a pang of pity that made him stare at the corpse a little longer.

“Did you see his face just now, Master Cyndi?” Gin asked.

Cyndi nodded. “A confident face. He believes he’s doing the right thing. But we can’t blame him,” she said. “I tried to convince him to leave. But he was adamant about his job. Such a shame from such a good man.”

Cyndi bowed before the warden. She touched him with her hand and instantly the head was burned to ashes. Then she put her palms together while closing her eyes, praying for him.

“But this is the best we could do,” she continued. “Eventually, we have to meet him again on the battlefield. And in the end, we will still kill each other.”

Cyndi stood up. She stretched her body and walked slowly out of the room.

"Sacrifice is inevitable in this war. But, it is for the greater world," she said.

It could be seen she's clenching her fists as she walked away. She was upset, but she knew she couldn't do anything to stop it. That's why she was on a mission.

“Now, let’s find my equipment first. It should be in the confiscated room.”

*   *   *

Gin leaned against the wall, waiting for Cyndi to change in the dressing room next to him. He folded his arms, trying to relax as he waited. Even though he had killed most of the guards in this fortress, he kept his eyes open, not letting down his guard one bit.

When Cyndi spends too much time in the cubicle and it gets too quiet, he starts to worry. He knocks on the door, trying to make sure she's still there.

“Master, are you still in there?”

“DON’T PEEK!”

Cyndi's harsh reply almost made Gin jump in surprise. At least he was relieved to know that she was still in there.

“It’ll be finished soon, I think…” Cyndi continued in whisper.

Gin just sighed. He returned to his position. Just when he thought things were going too smoothly, a man suddenly appeared from the end of the hallway.

He was dressed neatly. A white shirt with a tie covered by a black suit like a butler. His hair was black and quite long, covering part of his face. Even so, the expression on his face was still clearly visible. Smiling widely, as he walked slowly and casually towards Gin.

Gin immediately moved away from the wall and stared at the man warily.

“Are there any guards left? I think I finished them all off.”

The closer he watched the man approach, the more he felt uneasy. The atmosphere around him became heavy.

“No. Something is strange.”

He immediately prerpared himself. His hand was ready to grab his sword.

“Stop!” he shouted. “Stop now! Or--”

Swooshh! Crackk!

Gin, with his quick reflexes, managed to dodge the sudden attack. He barely realized what had just come at him. As his mind began to catch up with the situation, a sai had landed on the wall behind his head.

When he tried to turn back to the man, he suddenly jumped close to Gin's face. One of his hands was ready to stab Gin's face with his sai. At that close range, it was impossible to avoid.

“He's fast!”

In a split second, Gin thought of a way out of the situation. He quickly reached his left hand out in front of his face.

Stab!

Although his face was safe, the sai managed to stab Gin's palm. Blood poured from his hand. But he immediately took advantage of the opportunity.

With his other hand, he pulled out his sword to slash the man. The man immediately tried to retreat. However, with his left hand still caught in the man's sai, Gin immediately pulled the man to prevent him from escaping.

“Kinzoku Sword Technique: Quickdraw!”

A lightning-fast slash struck the man. He tried to stretch his body to prevent the sword from hitting his vital organs. Although he managed to avoid it, his hand that had been pulled by Gin failed to escape.

Gin fell to his knees, gasping for breath. In his left hand, he still had the sai and the man's severed hand. He glanced at the man standing a few meters away with blood pouring from his shoulder blade.

“This sword technique…” the man finally opened his mouth. “So, you’re the Kinzoku brat who’s always with Cyndi?”

Panting, Gin pushed himself up. He quickly let go of the sai that was stuck in his hand.

“I have thrown away that name,” he replied. “Now, I fight for a better world.”

“How pathetic.”

The man walked around Gin, trying to get closer to him while trying to adjust the distance. Gin raised his sword again and prepared his defensive stance.

“If you want to be a hero...” the man continued. Slowly from the base of his severed hand, a new, fresh hand grew. “...then die like one!”

Gin was shocked when he saw it. He realized that the man in front of him was one of their greatest enemies. An enemy who had always been at odds with their path to saving the world.

Without thinking too long, he immediately took a stance to attack. However, when he was about to take a step, the man suddenly chanted a spell.

“O' Cold Soul: Frozen Cairn!”

A cold wind blew through the hallway. Gin held his sword at the ready, ready for the incoming attack. But when he tried to move, his entire body was frozen by the ice, which felt like it was penetrating his spine.

“He’s trying to paralyze me. I have to attack him before I freeze completely. It’s now or never!”

Gin did not give up. He took the initiative to finish this as soon as possible. He pulled his sword out of its sheath.

“Kinzoku Sword Technique: Quickdraw.”

Slash!

He swung his sword. But it was too late.

Freeze!

His sword stopped right next to the man's face. The blade was frozen, coated in a hard mass of ice that also stopped his movement. He failed. His whole body was unable to move, other than breathing and watching the man grin in front of his face.

“D-damn it…”

The grin on the man's face grew wider. After successfully paralyzing Gin, he snapped his fingers. Ice spikes appeared from all over the walls around them, ready to strike towards Gin.

“It is an honor to remember you, Gin Kinzoku.”

He was about to snap his fingers once more, sending the ice spikes hurtling towards Gin. But suddenly a fireball came flying towards him.

Fabrio immediately turned and jumped back to avoid it. The fireball exploded, destroying the ice that filled the room and creating a thick vapor that blocked his vision. When Fabrio landed on his feet, he saw that Gin had been gone from his ice shackles and was standing behind Cyndi, pointing her magic staff.

“Master…” Gin breathed out in a breathless manner. “Forgive me. He... he's too strong.”

“No. You did a great,” Cyndi replied with a smile. “You deserve a thumbs up for surviving him this long.”

Cyndi looked back at the man. They both exchanged glances. From that look, it could be seen that this was not the first time they had met.

“I didn’t expect you to show up here, Fabrio,” Cyndi said softly. “Long time no see. The last time we met, you hadn’t been promoted to general.”

Fabrio grinned. “Last time we met, you weren’t a bad girl who disobeyed her father.”

Cyndi tried to ignore Fabrio's comment. “Fabrio 'Iscariot', I heard that from the guards,” she replied. “I congratulate you on your promotion. So, can you let us through now?”

Fabrio rubbed his face. His smile slowly faded, as his gaze became serious.

“You know what you're doing, right?” he asked.

Cyndi returned his gaze, equally serious. Then nodded slowly. Seeing Cyndi's confident face, Fabrio sighed.

“You were one of us. One of the greatest, in fact. But suddenly you betrayed us and decide to become a traitor,” he said. “Enough of this. Stop this game.”

“I'm sorry, but I can't,” Cyndi replied.

“Why?”

“It has to be.”

Fabrio folded his arms. “Is it because of the prophecy?”

Cyndi was shocked. “You know about it?"

“I know more than you think, Cyndi,” he replied firmly. “If the prophecy is true, then the day of arrival should be near. And at the same time, you escaped from prison. It was all too easy to read.”

"How much do you know?"

"Too much, that makes me end up with more question."

"Does father know about this?"

"I doubt it. But sooner or later, i know he will."

Cyndi was silent, still staring at Fabrio. Her gaze seemed to say she had no intention of changing her mind. That was her commitment, and it frustrated Fabrio.

Fabrio massaged the bridge of his nose. “You should have known the consequences of the prophecy, and still chose to do it?”

Cyndi nodded firmly. “Yes, and it was meant to be.”

“You don’t have to do it,” Fabrio replied again. “You don’t have to play the hero.”

Hearing that, a small smile crossed Cyndi’s face. “It’s not whether I should do it or not. It’s because I have to,” she replied. “Besides, I was never meant to be the hero.”

She looked at Fabrio with eyes that were soft, but also firm enough to make her ambition shine in front of the man.

“The real hero has yet to arrive.”

[To be continued]