The Holy Sword Ascalade

As I walk towards the Demon King’s castle, I feel at ease. Even without the holy sword, the proof of the hero, I feel at ease. I don’t know why. I don’t need to know why. Things will end as they should, and that’s all there is.

As I reach the gate, I find two monsters waiting there. It’s two goblins, large for their kind, standing about as tall as my stomach. They hold something covered in fabric between them, both of them making sure to touch as little as they need. They look at me for a while in silence. I suppose it makes sense, what with a mysterious human carrying no arms, his shirt only scraps covering one half of his chest, appearing before them. I don’t know whether they could recognize me as the hero, but it doesn’t matter if they’re only goblins.

If nothing else, in their hesitancy, I can tell they know I’m strong.

“You… your eye… you must be the same kind of demon as His Majesty!”

I put my hand to my remaining eye. I had forgotten about them. It seems I’m lucky. My eyes are a bright red, the same color as the devil race to which the Demon King belongs. For the first time, it seems I’m lucky that I’ve been mistaken for a devil.

“What are you doing out here? The celebration’s already started.” It hasn’t been long since I last spoke to my comrades, but I hardly remember how to do it.

“I was stationed to monitor the perimeter of the castle in case the invaders attempted to flee.”

“I guess we did hear something like that,” the goblin turns to his companion. “We did, didn’t we?”

“We did, we did. Something about the hero’s allies getting away.” That’s good. It seems they got away after all.

“I exterminated those pests. Down to ash.”

“Wow, that’s incredible, Sir Devil!”

“Actually, Sir Devil, may we ask you for a favor?” The other goblin glares at him.

“Out with it.”

“You see, we were given the great honor of hiding away the holy sword, but holding it has made us quite anxious, you see.”

“I see.” It’s a ploy to keep the next hero weak. It seems the Demon King fears the same thing I hope for. “Very well. I shall accompany you.”

“Oh, thank you, Sir Devil! We’ll keep hold of the damn thing. No need to risk your life, after all.”

The Holy Sword Ascalade, the sword of the hero that can be wielded only by the hero. They were right to be so cautious of it. Demons are beings of shadows. They’re the antithesis of Ascalade, a blade made of a shard of the sun. Just its mere presence could eradicate any trace of a demon, if the conditions were right. Even the Demon King fears it. In this world it’s the only thing that could kill him. That’s how important it is. I can’t allow it to be lost.

I’m not running from my destiny. The real hero will need it once he’s born.

The goblins begin walking off towards the forest. I follow right behind them, towering over them. I don’t know why I don’t just kill them and be done with it. I’m waiting for something, but I don’t know what it is. All I have is the feeling that the time is not yet right.

They take a step inside the forest. I duck beneath a low hanging branch and follow them. The forest feels more peaceful now. I imagine it to be because the demons lurking in the forest have all returned to the castle to celebrate my death.

“Fie! Have all the louts of this forest made themselves sparse!”

“Please have mercy, Sir Devil! It’s a time to celebrate! His Majesty’s rule will be long once we get rid of this thing!”

“But… I think there’s another platoon in this forest still. They’re looking for that hidden village, I heard.”

“I heard the village is hidden with magic. Maybe we could hide this thing there? That way nobody could ever find it.”

I stop for a moment. It’s short enough that it looks like I was just matching the pace of the goblins. It should have been obvious. If I was thinking about anyone else, I would have realized. Of course they would want to destroy that village. They want to destroy everything. There isn’t enough time to wait for a new hero to be born. Everybody will die if I try that.

There really is no other option. We need to find a way to kill the Demon King now. We have no choice. And for that, we need Ascalade.

And yet, now is still not the right time to kill these goblins. I don’t know why. I keep waiting. And we keep walking through the forest. At last, I find the reason why.

The trees shimmer and twist, distorting until the illusion disappears. Behind the veil is the hidden village of the Demon Forest, burning down as demons hound the people. There are all sorts of demons, a mixed platoon unlike any I’ve seen. And they’re well coordinated, easily overpowering even these villagers even without the proper strength.

It’s something I didn’t want to think about. I was ignoring it. I didn’t want to see it. I had already decided it was too late. I was going to go along my way once I had Ascalade in my hands. I would have left them to die. I’m a failure of a hero, after all, so I had decided I was too late to save them before anything else.

But they’re right in front of me now. Close enough to reach out and touch.

I put my hand at the hilt of the cloth covered sword. The goblins begin to panic.

“Sir Devil, take your hand away! You’ll disappear! You’ll disappear!”

“I am the great hero Dust.” As I speak, the ground beneath me begins to rumble. “Rise at my name, O Child of the Sun, Ascalade.”