Chapter 0 (Betrayed by the Protangonist)

For the greater good, I will become evil.”

“Prologue”

Have you ever heard of the story of the hero and his companions adventuring to conquer the Demon King? Most of the time, yes. But have you ever heard of the story of a human who betrays her own companions for the greater good? She allies herself with her own mutual enemy just to stop the hero? That sounds interesting.

Beautiful roses bloom in the light as if spring has arrived, yet the petals wither and a malicious aura blooms around them. The sounds of battle are heard in the canyons. Every stomp they make leaves a crater.

“YAAAAH!”

The hero, who is the main character of my story, is fighting his own allies, or rather, he’s fighting me.

Yes, I am currently fighting the hero and his companions.

“Just why... ugh.”

The hero coughs up some blood; his wounds are all over his body. Even though he is concealed in mithril armor, the wounds are still visible.

On the other hand, I have lost my left arm and both of my eyes have gone blind. If you take a look at my situation, I am at a disadvantage. Well, I expected this much pain, but it’s more than I anticipated.

“Ugh.”

The enemy puts his hand on his mouth and coughs up a lot of blood.

“Why, Sora... Why must you do this?”

The hero asks strongly and looks pitifully at his own enemy, who used to be his friend.

“Hero, you are really foolish. Why, you ask, you say...”

A new figure appears; it has horns on both sides of its forehead and is wearing dark armor.

“Demon King...” Sora looks at the figure as he reveals his identity.

The Demon King turns to Sora and looks at him with pity.

“Sora, how did you end up in such a state? Are you not strong enough to defeat my Demon Generals?”

Doubt is evident on the Demon King's face as he turns his gaze to the hero's party. A holy light aura envelops them—it is the priest who has already created a holy barrier for them.

“I really don’t get it. Why have you allied yourself with the Demon King!?” the hero shouts and glares at both figures.

“You have to step back. If you don’t, I will kill you myself,” Sora, who appears to be in a weak state, warns. However, a mysterious black aura envelopes him, and his black hair turns into a silky white.

“Transcended Form!? That’s impossible!”

The priest, named Flora, shouts, surprised by the sudden change in Sora.

“Hmm, Transcended Form, you say... I heard that it is a form materialized by using one’s own life force. However, it’s still incomplete,” the Demon King remarks, appearing to be quite disappointed.

“Sora, if you use that, your body can’t withstand it!”

The hero appears to be angry. Sora and he used to be best friends in the past; they were as close as brothers.

“I don’t care either way. I am already at my limit. I can only stop you with this last strike,” Sora declares.

The hero changes his stance, bends his body down, and a smoke envelopes Sora’s surroundings.

As he breathes heavily and unsheathes his sword, the surroundings suddenly turn white, and he quietly says,

“Sword Technique, Last Memoir.”

All the surroundings are gone. All of it has become white, as if they are in a different place.

They can only see each other's faces in this pure white space.

“What is happening...?”

“Where are we?”

[You are in my realm, Heroes of Earth.]

As they turn their heads towards the voice they hear, they see a woman whose light robe envelops her entire body. She lowers her hood, and the sight of her face surprises them.

“Goddess??”