The Hero's Night

Night comes quick enough. The soldiers are all asleep, leaving only me and Zero. I don’t need to sleep, but Zero does. That’s the difference between the hero and a normal person.

“Go to sleep, Zero. I’ll wake you if there’s trouble.”

“At least try a convincing lie. I’m not sleeping.”

“You said that we’d leave tomorrow morning.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m already accompanying you to your death. What’s a sleepless night to that?”

“You need to rest.”

“I rested yesterday. And when was the last time you slept properly?”

“It was when we set up camp before our raid on the Demon King’s castle. But the hero has to be sturdy, so I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t lie. It’s such a beautiful night, after all.”

“It was the last night I was home.”

Zero goes silent. He’s slack-jawed. He doesn’t know what to say. I don’t know what he expected I would say. I was the hero after all, even if I turned out to be a failure in the end.

“I haven’t been able to sleep since then.”

“It… It’s our fault, isn’t it.”

“It isn’t a problem. I stayed awake to protect all of you, but I did it on my own. It’s not like you ever asked me to do it.”

“We never asked you to do that.”

“Even if you told me not to, I still would’ve done it. And besides, even though we all should have been safe because of Ascalade, I still would’ve been too worried to sleep.”

“We weren’t that weak.”

“That’s not it. It’s Alice. Even though we’re looking at the same moon, I can’t do a single thing for her anymore. I can’t save her anymore. She’s too far away, even though we’re under the same sky. I wouldn’t be able to sleep thinking about that.”

“So even a hero thinks about stuff like that.”

“Of course I do. But I’m lucky. I never could have forgiven myself if I fell asleep in peace like that.”

“Dust, you…” It seemed like Zero wanted to say something, but he trails off and it disappears. I can tell. Even when he starts talking again, I can tell it wasn’t the same thing. “Dust, you’re dooming her to that for the rest of her life if you die.”

“I’m not. Wanting to save her is my own selfishness as a man. She’s stronger than me. She can live without me. I’m the useless one. It shouldn’t matter whether I’m still there with her or not.”

“That sort of resolve…” Zero looks out towards the forest’s edge. “…You should just throw it away, Dust.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. I don’t mean anything at all. I’m tired. That’s all. So I’d like to apologize too. You’re the only one who didn’t have a choice. I chose to be here, but you have to be here. I feel a bit sorry for you. It’s like what that soldier said.”

“The most unfortunate thing is that I couldn’t kill the Demon King in the end. In the end, I wanted to be a hero. If it meant that I could protect Alice, then of course I would become a hero.”

“You’re so annoying.” Zero goes quiet again for a long while. Even though we’re talking so much, I can’t think of something to say. “I’m tired, so punch me awake if I start saying something stupid. Do you really think Alice is still safe?” I’m taken aback by his question. It’s not like him at all.

“She is. I’m sure of it. I can feel it. I already said it. She’s looking up at the same moon as me.”

“Between demons and bandits, plenty of towns bigger than yours have been completely destroyed. I’m not saying that something happened. I don’t have a way of knowing that. But… do you have the resolve to keep going even if something did happen?”

“I don’t need to.” That’s all there is to it.

“All I’ve been able to think about these past few days is whether my engagement is still intact. For all I know, it’s been broken off this whole time.”

“If there was that much at stake, why did you choose to come with me?”

“Because I believed in you. I chose to believe in you. That’s why I’m still here too.”

I don’t understand how he’s still able to believe in me. Even I think I’m being pathetic. Somebody like him should know better.

“Just go to sleep for now, Zero.”

“Fine, fine. So pushy! But that’s what made me believe. You’ll be able to do it, I think. I think you’ll be able to protect Alice.”

“Thank you.”

Zero lies down to sleep. It’s good that he’s gone to sleep. He’s putting up with me, so he should rest while he can. Even though the demons will return tonight, I would rather him sleep.

There are shadows at the forest’s edge. Demons, all of them. One figure towers over them, and I can sense from his strength that he must be the leader. More than that, he must be one of the Seven Princes of Evil.

His silhouette is different from either the other Prince I’ve already fought or the Demon King himself. He has four arms and two swords at his waist, along with long horns the length of Ascalade.

I just have to fight and win. That’s what Zero told me.

My body has more or less recovered by now.

I appear at the horde of demons near the forest’s edge. None of them seem too worried. They shouldn’t be. I’m just a lone human. The hero is already dead. There shouldn’t be something that could defeat them, especially not with one of the Seven Princes of Evil with them. I draw Ascalade and fill it with power, and that alone is enough to vaporize most of them. The Prince pushes past whatever demons remain. He puts two hands on either of the long hilts of his swords and begins to draw them out.

“Sunrise Overture.”

With a single flash of light like the breaking dawn his head falls from his body and he turns to shadow. The rest of the demons follow right after.

It’s a beautiful night, after all. I don’t want to spend all my time fighting. All I want is for all of them to get a proper night of sleep. The soldiers, Zero, and Alice too.