Princess’ Request (Part 5)

300 years ago.

The past.

A certain memory flashed back in my mind like an old video tape playing right in front of me. It was a distorted video yet for me, it was perfectly clear. I could even feel my senses tingling as if I was right there in that scene. But that’s because I am in that scene. A memory of my past. One of my pasts, exactly. Honestly, it was something I’d rather not recall. Despite that, it continued to play.

The smell of blood.

The sound of blades echoed through the starless night.

I looked around the once-lively land and saw no sign of a person. That is because it wasn't people that inhabited this land anymore, it was demons; the ruthless and most evil being in the world.

Meanwhile, I carelessly defeated one demon who was standing in my way. Blood gushed out from its body until it was nothing more than dust as it dissipated into the air. Though because of that, other demons were alerted and as expected, I was surrounded.

I was alone.

And yet I fearlessly faced these demons which would’ve taken ten or more soldiers to defeat even one of them. Normally, a normal person would’ve died right there. Yes, a normal person that is.

I let myself be surrounded by these monsters on purpose.

Why?

That’s because that way, I could defeat them all at the same time. I wouldn’t need to run around and hunt them off like rats.

Just like that, I defeated them all one by one. There was no feeling behind my swings and strikes. It’s as if I was possessed by something.

No, rather, I was empty.

Yes. I have nothing left anymore.

Nothing to lose.

Nothing to gain.

But despite all that, I continued to fight. It’s like I was driven by something. That’s because I still have one goal. A purpose given to me right after I long lost all hopes. Which is why I fought and fought and fought.

And after that, I would finally finish that goal.

But what would happen right after?

The moment I finished my work, I had nothing left again. That was something I couldn’t do anything about. Once again, the person who they call a hero was lost in his own world. Unfortunately, the demons wouldn’t give me a moment of reflection.

The cold air of the night caresses my cheeks as I slashed off the remaining demons.

The smell of blood entered my nostrils.

That was where the video ended. The end of a certain memory from the past. I was then suddenly pulled back to reality.

◇◇◇

“That’s one.”

I cut off the goblin archer’s head who was standing on top of the tree branch. It looks like my intuition was correct; someone was controlling these goblins. Though, I don't know what and where.

Regardless, I need to finish off the remaining goblin before they shoot another one of those poisoned arrows towards Alyss-san’s direction. I listened to the sound of the wind as I jumped off the branches. Sensing the slight disturbance in the air, I kicked off one of the branches then boosted myself towards the enemy.

An arrow was shot in my direction. The moment it was in my range, I quickly slashed it with my sword, accurately splitting the arrow from its head in half. As I did, I lunged at the goblin who was about to shoot another one and struck it in one swift slash.

“There’s two remaining.”

Now that I was on top, I could sense the remaining goblin who was hiding behind the shadows of the trees.

Without wasting any time, I hunted down those goblins. Perhaps sensing the danger, they immediately, both at the same time, shot arrows at me. Those arrows were tipped with poison. It would be bad if one of those even touched my skin.

I slipped through those arrows with a turn and quickly made my way towards one goblin located above. I struck it with my sword and sent its body plummeting to the ground. I jumped off the branch I was standing on and struck the last goblin.

The goblin tried to run but it was too late. I split its body from above without hesitation. Blood gushed out but turned into dust right after.

I took a breath as I swept off the blood from the sword.

“Now, the problem is where their leader is hiding... “ I went further into the forest yet there was no sign of their leader. I tried to locate it but came up with nothing.

It wasn’t normal for goblins to attack like this which is why I surmised that there must be someone stronger who was leading them.

“Well, I better go back to the group first.” I can’t leave the group any longer than I have. Especially considering that one of them is injured.

With that, I hurriedly returned back to the group. When I returned, I saw Lisa-san lying on the ground, sweating profusely. Alyss-san was beside her worried while Rion-san and Raiz stood nearby on guard.

Raiz let out a sigh of relief when he saw me. “Dude, don't rush off like that.” He was calm but I could tell from the brief change of his expression that he was worried.

I felt bad for acting rashly like that so I apologized. “I’m sorry.”

I went to check on Lisa-san’s condition and as expected, it was not good. Alyss-san could do nothing but watch. She was holding Lisa-san’s hand tightly, not letting go. A certain scene from my memories briefly flashed through my mind. It overlapped with the scene right now.

“...”

For some reason, the slightest pain tingled within my heart.

Raiz then asked a question.

“How about the flower?”

The Alyssia flowers we picked are known to cure any illnesses. But does that include poison? So much time had passed already since the time Lisa-san was shot. The poison’s probably spread throughout her body by now.

Alyss-san shook her head. “Alyssia flowers can only cure illnesses. And even if we try to right now, we’ll still need to process it for it to be used... “

Alyss-san turned anxious. Raiz also bit his lips at frustration.

“There’s no use... the poison has already spread by now... “ Lisa-san weakly muttered.

“...”

I watched quietly as I came up with solutions. That was when I realized something.

I went closer to Lisa-san and kneeled beside her. I took out my hand and pressed it against Lisa-san’s shoulder where she had been struck. The arrow has been already removed and the wound was covered with a piece of cloth.

Alyss-san watched dumbfoundedly as I held out my hand against the wound. “...Hiro-san?”

I closed my eyes.

Soon, essence engulfed my whole body. It was enough that it was clearly visible to the naked eye. Alyss-san and the others widened their eyes. Lisa-san was about to say something but stopped when she saw what happened next.

Light covered my hands. It was a mysterious light. Not like any light that came out when casting magic. Soon after, light particles started floating around us.

“...What is this...?” Rion-san wondered.

Perhaps this was their first time seeing this. That was to be expected. That’s because it isn’t something that humans could use.

A circle formed on my palm.

Alyss-san stared at the sight in surprise and barely managed to mutter what was on her mind. “...Is that... a magic circle?”

Based on what I’ve read in the books, a magic circle only appears on spells that are extremely difficult to use. Not only that, but those that use magic circles are said to be a powerful spell, one equal to the divine’s power. However, no one had ever seen nor been able to use such power, thus it was regarded as fantasy.

And right now, I was performing that very same fantasy.

Raiz couldn’t believe his eyes that he instinctively rubbed them. I heard Rion-san swallow his breath as he waited in anxiety of what would happen next.

I continued to cast the magic. Unlike the ones I used before, this particular magic requires an excessive amount of my essence and focus.

That was when the magic circle on my palm emitted light and as it did, Lisa-san widened her eyes in surprise. A gleam of light returned to her eyes. I removed the bandage on her shoulder to check.

As I expected, the wound was gone.

“This is...” Lisa-san muttered.

Then Alyss-san gasped, her hands against her mouth. “Healing magic...”

Everyone else was surprised, mouth agape.

That’s right.

What I used was healing magic.

It was something I have learned during my time as a hero. To be more precise, I acquired it when I became the hero. A magic that transcends human knowledge.

However, this was the first time I had ever used it.

In this world, healing magic doesn’t exist. That is, those that inhabited this world can’t use that kind of magic.

Why?

That's because God had prohibited it. Imagine a world where healing magic is common. No matter how much a person is injured, they will be healed. That means war would last much longer.

As far as I knew, this magic could heal any injury and illnesses. With enough essence, this magic was effectively limitless. The only limitations are resurrecting the dead. Thus god prohibited the use of healing magic, especially for those that are greedy.

But why can I use it?

That’s because God herself gave it to me.

That was the moment I became the hero.

When I finished healing Lisa-san, she stood up easily like she was never poisoned at all.

“Lisa...!” Alyss-san went up to Lisa-san’s while letting out a sigh of relief. Rion-san and Raiz were also relieved that Lisa-san was now fine.

We still haven’t finished the quest.

So many things happened that we still haven’t finished what we came here for. As I was thinking that, Alyss-san grabbed my shoulder.

“I... I have a request.”

Hm?

As I pondered what she meant, she then answered my doubts.

“Please, heal my mother!”