Requiem Of A Failed Hero

“Aaarrgggghhhhhhghh!!!”

The ant entered a frenzy and now was in a deep exchange with Jarvis who was adept in using his fist since he threw his sword away.

However, that did not last as the ant’s head went flying into the sky. While it was occupied with Jarvis, Crimson had swung his sword from behind, immediately laying waste to the ant.

Jarvis was shocked. He looked at Crimson with disdain.

“What? We have a lot more ant to face, is it, not common sense that we make haste? Don’t tell me you too fancy something like warrior’s honor or so?” Crimson said to him and trekked forward afterward towards the hole in front of him, ants were still coming out but all he had to do was swing his sword and the bodies of the ones that came his way were divided into two.

Raith shook his head.

He couldn’t say he found anything bad in what Crimson did, it was reasonable that they should make haste but he also thought that they would want to fight to their content.

At the very least, Jarvis wanted to. Things such as a warrior’s honor and respect didn’t matter to Crimson, he just saw the way to do things without wasting unnecessary time.

“But I wanted to interrogate him,” Raith said as he stepped down from his wyvern and took the blue scarf.

He looked down at the monster, ‘…but I should still be able to do that right?’

“Arise…” He said once to the ants and dark smoke began to swirl around it.

Immediately the ant plunged out of the smoke and bowed.

“I have a question to ask you. Where did you get this scarf?”

“From the former dungeon we were…” The ant looked up and looked down again, still bowing on its knee. “When I was alive, I had a king, one that is great. After meeting a certain individual he even became greater. That individual moved all of us to a realm of our own but our mother was killed by the king himself due to her inability to move. She had grown so big she could not move again. In the world we were before, this clothing is a part of the flag of the humans that attacked us. Although we defeated them, they were still surviving humans that left us.”

‘I asked a simple question and he just went on and about before answering me.’ Raith clenched his fist on the clothes.

“So it is safe to assume your former realm was in Therut?” He lowered his brows as he carefully asked.

“I am not equipped with such details. Only the king I serve has such—

[EXTRACTION PROCESS HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED BY THE SIGNAL OF THE CREATURE’S KING]

[CREATURES THAT HAVE HIGH REVERENCE FOR THEIR KING WILL NOT BE EXTRACTED IF THE KING DEEMS IT SO]

[EXTRACTION HAS FAILED]

[YOU HAVE TWO ATTEMPTS LEFT]

Raith looked down as the dark ant soldier returned to smoke… It was brief but the moment that signal interrupted he felt a sharp connection from one of the holes.

Raith’s soldiers were still busy fighting with the ants, even though a lot of the ants have died a lot are still coming from the hole and Raith now had a reasonable amount of dark energy to keep them running.

His eyes glowered with a red hue as he spoke.

“Rise, all of you?”

Smoke surged through everywhere like a thick fog and ants, both flying and creeping ones, even the ones that spew poison began to rise from the smoke that lingered on their dead body.

In a second, the number of Raith’s soldiers had doubled. Hence reaching the maximum.

“So I can extract these but I can’t with the higher ranking ones because the king did not allow it.” He inhaled and exhaled, “…you guys too should join the fight”

As he spoke, the dark smoke got thicker and dark wyvern began to fly out of it, plunging into the sky– a difference was immediately set to the fight scene as they began to rain down fire on the ants and on the dark terrain itself.

Raith looked at this and so that it was good so he nodded. But something was irritating him right now more than anything.

Raith cocked his head, “…I hate the fact that my extraction failed because some ant king will not allow it. If that is the case, then I should make that king my soldier first.”

He walked forward, to the hole where he had sensed the signal and jumped into it. Kortopi ran after him immediately, leaving the others to their fights with the ants. Crimson belatedly saw him as he jumped into the hole and shouted.

“Betrayal!!!”

Kortopi had deliberately not alerted them. And now both of them had no idea which hole led to where they were going.

Jarvis wanted to drop into a random hole but Jarvis immediately stopped him, saying:

“I am sure all these holes lead to different places. So do not make rash decisions or we just might get separated from our master.”

Jarvis looked around and frown after seeing so many holes. He too accepted the fact that Kortopi was a big sly.

The way down the hole was very much wider than Raith had anticipated and ants gushed out of other tunnels that were connected to this tunnel before Raith could even deal with Kortopi projected himself like a rocket and cut several multiple slashes around Raith instantly, leaving straight line streaks of his speed.

Raith sigh, he knew Kortopi had followed him– there is hardly anything he does not know these days since his perception went up a ton.

‘…what is with this sudden behavior’ Raith wondered inwards, ‘First, it was Jarvis, now him.’

Kortopi and Jarvis have not always been this upfront, they only learned to deal with things when Raith needed them to deal with things. Their new attitude of suddenly wanting to slay everything before him and leaving none to him was somehow enjoyable, it was good to see. But he really and truly wanted to fight.

He was dying to test out this sword.

***

***

***

Amid the bustling city, amidst the cacophony of car horns and the rhythm of urban life, a sudden hush fell upon the streets. Heads turned as a collective gasp escaped the lips of pedestrians and drivers alike. Time seemed to stand still as a phenomenon unfolding in the heavens above.

Dark circles, each of them like a portal housing only a deep black hue appeared above them, all around– far and wide.

Expressions of surprise, curiosity, and a hint of trepidation painted the faces of those who had been mere strangers moments ago.

People pointed and gestured, their voices hushed with a mixture of fear and fascination. Some fumbled for their smartphones, desperate to capture this ephemeral moment, to freeze it within the confines of a digital frame. Others simply stood, their eyes locked on the spectacle, amongst them was Amber also who was beyond bewildered.

Even she who was a level O hero which meant the best, had never come across this kind of situation, not in history not in anywhere. She was going to pick up the honored envoys of the elves in an exquisite limo that was giving the vibe of the 70s. But she had come to a stop as she saw the skies too.

She probably was not the only hero seeing the sky but she certainly was the prettiest. People that were around her pointed to her and took pictures of her– momentarily distracting themselves from the spectacle up there.

RINNNGG RRRINNNNGGGG

“Hello sir” Her response was cold but humble.

“Rose, where are you right now?”

“Where am I? I volunteered according to the Emperor’s wishes to go and pick the envoys.”

“And so you are in Dachsund?” The man from the other side of the phone asked with a hastening voice. Amber Rose could tell something was off from the way he was sounding.

He was the dear esteemed Association president of the empire, although he is regarded as ruthless by many, she believes he is a man that stands by his words too stubbornly and holds no one in regard too high to put them down.

Seeing him talk like this has never been something she would have thought of him, except there was a situation that demanded so.

“What has happened to the emperor?” Amber asked, frowning.

“What? The Emperor?” The man sounded shocked and wondered where the sudden question came from.

“Well? why do you sound so discomposed?” Amber Rose asked, still frowning.

The man let out a sigh and responded, “Right now… can you see that dark circle in the sky and all around.”

“Certainly.” Amber Rose replied, craning her head up to take another glance at it.

She squinted her eyes as she noticed a change that others normally wouldn’t have.

Cracks began to form on the hole, as though a transparent glass was covering it and that glass was about to die.

“That thing… I don’t know how, but it’s a portal and it is not just any portal. Each one of them seems to be as strong as a level 10 dungeon. I don’t know what is going on and I won’t tell you to–

Amber Rose hung up the phone before the chairman could speak any further. ｎ𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

Skkkkkkkrrrr

She grimaced as she saw what came out of the first circle that shattered like glass. It was like no monster she had ever seen.