Epilogue

Three months passed since the Great Clash.

Great Clash. That's what they called the battles at the southern and northern fronts that decided the fate of humanity itself. On that day, demons and cultists attacked in unimaginable quantities. Never before had humanity scene an invasion of such scale. The battles were intense and the fighting never stopped for multiple weeks straight.

But a few days after the Great Clash began, something strange happened. All the cultists and demons lost their dark arts and other special powers gifted to them by the Demon Lord. Only later, did people realize that it was because the Demon Lord was slain.

Still, despite not knowing the cause for the demons' weakening, humanity didn't miss this chance and pushed back against demonic forces. The fighting was brutal and millions died, including multiple hero candidates, but in the end, humanity was victorious.

And now, three months later, Royal Capital Paladea of the Rauford Kingdom finally celebrated. It was the day of the Hero Festival—celebration to commemorate the new Hero.

***

"On this day, we commemorate two Heroes guided to us by the Goddess."

Holy Cardinal Ramus's solemn voice resounded through the surroundings.

"Armed with the Goddess's Blessing, they slayed the vicious Demon Lord, bringing peace to humanity. Such holy duty always requires the greatest of sacrifices. And for hero candidates, that is no exception!"

The further he spoke, the more his voice took on a grandiose tone. He spread his hands wide as he lifted them into the air.

"And for that, they deserve the title of Hero! And as long as the Goddess's favor is with us, we will continue to carry on their memory forever and ever! Let us honor the Alan, the Prismatic Hero, and Zephyrus, the Storm Hero!"

The crowd exploded in a cacophony of applause and celebratory screams. Festive mood filled the Royal Capital. Then, once everyone settled, Ramus, spoke once again.

"And please, let us welcome a member of their party—a Saintess of our church—Luciella, the Provident!"

After the Grand Clash, Luciella was the only one from Alan's party who returned safely. She said that the two hero candidates, Alan and Zephyrus who had regained his Blessing, slayed the Demon Lord together, and both of their seals activated. Cardinal Oliver of the Radiants attested to her words. That was how people learned of their heroism. 

Following Holy Cardinal's words, a beautiful woman with silver hair got up at the stage. Her beautiful ornate robes, combined with her unearthly looks brought out a sense of awe and amazement from the crowd.

"Hello, everyone," she begun. "On this beautiful day, I would like to talk about two of my dearest friends—Alan and Zephyrus."

Her blue, silvery eyes looked over the crowd as if confirming that her words would be heard by everyone.

"They are brave and inspiring men who exemplified the best of humanity. Truly, I know no one who deserves the title of a Hero more than those two."

Her face was downturned in an expression of sadness as she spoke of them. But then, her expression shifted as her eyes glanced to the side.

"Which is why—there could be no one more fitting to stand on this stage but those two!"

"What!" Holy Cardinal Ramus exclaimed in shock, but no one noticed it. Everyone was too preoccupied with Luciella's shocking statement.

"Apparently," she added, "splitting the burden of the Sacred Seal is just enough to keep the Blessing bearers alive. That's how they lived to see the tale."

Then, she shifted herself from the center of the stage to the side as if saying that her part was over. 

Following that, two young men appeared from the backstage and walked to the middle of the stage. As they did, they waved to the crowd with smiles on their faces. 

The first one was a blond-haired guy with a rebellious attitude. Even as he walked, his movements and his smile were stiff. If you knew him well, you could easily tell he was forcing himself (and not very successfully at that). In the middle of his stiff greetings, he noticed a certain ranger smiling smugly at him in the crowd and it pissed him off. Still, he continued waving and smiling.

The second man had brown hair and a bit of a baby face. He looked like a pretty average guy that you could find anywhere, but his smile was downright perfect, and he fit the image of a 'people's hero' so to say. He felt like the most perfect fir for this stage.

Of course, those two men were none other than Alan and Zephyrus. After killing the Demon Lord, they no longer possessed their Blessings. Or rather, it was more accurate to say that their Blessings' powers were all spent on the Demon Lord's seal. Even more so, they lost an incredible amount of life force. They survived, but compared to before, their mana, holy arts, and anything you could imagine was significantly weakened. Even their bodies were not as strong as before.

But they survived. If only barely. And fortunately for them, the future they wanted to build didn't require only brute strength. From now on, they were going to change the world. Slowly, but surely, one step at a time.

And the first step to that was changing people's understanding of Heroes. The idea that true Heroes had to die. That was the first stereotype they were going to eliminate.

After that, they were going to win the hearts of people. Luckily, they were in a perfect position to do so. They were the only Heroes who had slain the Demon Lord and survived. No one was more fitting for this role.

This was not the end of their journey. Now, no longer in a world filled with nothing but strife and armed with tools that were perfect for the occasion, they were going to fight once again. This time, on a battlefield that was quite different than the one they got used to. All for the beautiful future they envisioned.

All to reach the beautiful starry sky.

And maybe in the future a day will come, when the skies will no longer be unreachable. That was the hope they would pass on to the future.