The Corrupted Former Hero

“Leif, prepare a distraction,” Charlotte whispered.

“Understood, Captain!”

Leif took his wand and his sparkling Magica dust out of his bag.

“What should I do?”

Charlotte whispered even more softly.

“Of course I can do that! If I can create a dragon, I can do that easily!”

“Perfect!”

Charlotte, a little worried, turned to Zoe.

“Zoe, how are you feeling?”

“I’m alright.”

“Could you prepare a card for the hero?”

“Leave it in my hands!”

“Miss Alysia… I need you to cast your storm spell.”

“Alright.”

“Mister Gerald and Prince Arthur… with me!”

“Understood!”

Charlotte turned her arm into a crossbow and lunged at the hero.

Gerald and the prince followed her.

The hero attacked them with his arm as well.

He tried to hit Charlotte with that ball of thorns.

Charlotte jumped back.

“Electrica Magica. Thunder.”

Gerald fired cannonballs lit up by lightning.

The hero simply hid behind his root-like skin.

“Light Magica. Divide Light.”

A celestial light shone on his sword.

He launched thrust after thrust at the hero.

The hero simply dodged them.

Out of nowhere, Charlotte leaped toward the hero.

She reached out her hand to touch him.

He barely had time to react.

The hero vanished right before their eyes.

Charlotte stared straight at the floor. She finally figured it out.

He appeared behind them.

The hero tried to whistle again.

“Don’t let him whistle!”

Arthur lunged at him, ready to cut off his arm.

The hero dodged again.

The hero transformed his infected arm into a trident.

It clashed with Arthur's sword.

A duel began.

“You’re pretty good with a sword, you brat, but let me remind you that I'm the hero.”

The hero swung his trident, made of wood and roots, with all his might.

Arthur lost his balance.

Without a second thought, the hero thrust it into his chest.

Frightened, Arthur jumped backward.

He looked at his hands. He was trembling.

Zoe’s protection had worked, but he had just lost it.

“One more and you're dead.”

Gerald fired another burst from his cannons.

They did not affect the hero.

“Is that a joke?”

Charlotte jumped again.

The hero disappeared and reappeared.

“Is that all?”

Charlotte placed her hand on the ground.

Thousands of roots shot out of the ground, trapping him.

“Alysia, now!”

“Understood.”

The hero tried to break free, but every time he broke a root, another one grew back.

“Pure Aqua Magica. Upside Rain!”

A cloud formed over Bastion. Little by little, it absorbed and blended the three different elements.


“Gerald!”

“Yes! Pure Magica. Lightning from above!”

The hero kept trying to free himself from Charlotte's roots.

The hero twisted his root-like limbs to protect himself from the attack.

“Prince Arthur!”

“Understood!” he answered immediately. “Pure Light Magica. Divine Light!”

His sword once again glowed with a heavenly light.

With great agility, he cut through several of the roots and branches covering the hero.

He exposed much of the hero’s still-human form.

As a last resort, the hero tried to vanish, but this time it didn't work.

He tried again.

He turned to look at Charlotte.

“I put up a barrier beneath you... You can't escape to those underground tunnels.”

The hero's eyes filled with rage.

“Now!”

Alysia and Gerald unleashed their attacks, which ultimately merged.

A storm carrying gas, water, ice, and now lightning surged toward the hero.

There was a huge explosion.

“Will that be enough?” Arthur asked.

“No.”

The cloud of steam created by the attack began to dissipate.

The hero's silhouette grew faint.

He began to scream.

“I'm going to finish you off, Charlotte Armelier! I'll put an end to everything else, too!”

The hero's silhouette continued to twist and contort to the point where he no longer looked human.

The roots seemed to move around him.

Finally, the cloud disappeared.

The hero stood up. He was made entirely of roots and bark. There was no longer any human part left in him.

“Look, Charlotte Armelier... You did this to us... but that's okay... It's the next step in evolution, far from any pain!”

His voice was completely distorted.

The hero kept changing.

The roots gave rise to strong branches.

One of them turned into a scorpion's tail, completely sharp, and oozed the same greenish liquid as before.

Another bunch of roots grew from his back, like an eagle's wings.

Finally, he lost his human form. Several branches grew until they became a crocodile's snout.

Everyone was paralyzed with fear.

Gerald tried to shoot his flintlock cannons.

The hero dodged it.

He caught Gerald with his hands.

The hero flew a short distance and slammed Gerald into the ground.

He lost Zoe's protection.

The hero let out a scream that echoed throughout the town.

His hands turned into thin branches that looked like claws.

He attacked Zoe again.

This time, Alysia stepped in front of her.

He struck both of them, sending them crashing into the wall.

They lost their protection.

Before he could do anything, he wrapped Leif up with his scorpion tail.

He finished him off by whipping him against some rubble.

He lost his protection.

Finally, the hero turned toward Charlotte.

She tried to touch him, but it was in vain.

The hero grabbed her by her left arm. He lifted her and slammed her into the ground.

Charlotte lost her protection.

Charlotte's arm tried to fight back.

The hero flew again a short distance away and slammed her into the ground again.

That time, without the protection, Charlotte felt the full force of the blow.

She lost consciousness for a few seconds, but her own will brought her back to her senses.

She was too weak to move.

“You're just a substitute... What made you think you'd accomplish anything?”

The hero grabbed her arm and began pulling on it hard.

Charlotte felt a sharp pain.

It grew sharper and sharper.

“Don’t worry… You won't need it.”

Charlotte broke out in a cold sweat.

All she could do was grit her teeth.

Suddenly, something hit the hero.

He turned around.

It was Sybil.

She had thrown a piece of debris at him.

“L-leave h-her alone.”

The hero let go of Charlotte.

He clutched his head as he screamed.

“Oh, Sybil... you're just a damn experiment, and yet... you betray us.”

Sybil ran and stood in front of Charlotte to protect her.

The hero no longer dared to attack her and began to scream in pain.

“You can’t do this to us… You can’t…! Not now!”

Charlotte stood up and looked at the scene.

The hero ran back and forth, with his hands on his head.

She clenched her fists and shouted. “This is our chance!”

Even though she was still in pain, she used the roots of her hand to grab him.

With great effort, she pulled him down to the ground.

“You won’t beat me! We’re the chosen ones!”

The hero attacked Charlotte using his claws made of branches.

Charlotte dodged them.

“And you’re only a replacement!”

Alysia stood up... and began to conjure her storm once more.

“Zoe… can you help me?”

“Leave it in my hands, Alysia!”

Zoe handed Alysia a card, and it glowed gold. She took a deep breath. She focused... This time, she didn't think about killing, but about protecting and helping.

“Pure Aqua Magica. Upside Rain.”

“You seem calmer, Alysia.”

“Bastion?”

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes...”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Let's do this together, then... I'm right here with you!”

“Yes!”

Zoe threw a card at the hero.

It began to glow purple.

Next, Alysia unleashed her storm.

It struck the hero.

His body, made of roots and bark, was injured and splintered.

He turned to look at them.

Before he could attack them, he took two cannon shots to the back.

It was Gerald.

The hero began to burn as if struck by lightning.

He tried to fly away, but Arthur appeared immediately.

With his sword enveloped in Light Magica, he cut the hero’s wings.

The hero launched an attack at him.

Arthur dodged it.

With agility, he cut off one of the hero’s legs.

Despite all that, the hero was still alive.

The roots that made up his body began to regenerate rapidly.

Charlotte ran straight toward him.

“The others are irrelevant to us.... By killing you and that strange Magica of yours, we'll be able to survive.”

Charlotte didn't stop. She was about to put her hand on the hero.

The hero was way too fast.

His claws pierced right through Charlotte.

“Charlotte!” Zoe screamed.

“I won.”

Charlotte stopped. She looked at herself.

The hero's claws were piercing right through her.

In a split second, Charlotte vanished into a shimmering dust.

“What?”

The real Charlotte leaped into the air toward him.

The hero was about to escape using his underground tunnels.

But out of nowhere, chains of purple fire trapped him.

They began to burn him.

He was completely immobilized.

Charlotte finally placed her hand on him.

“Pure Magica. Nullify You.”