Chapter 73: The Night the Villain Was Born

Narretar

Eight years ago...

The world held its breath.

For ten years, the people of the world had waited for this day.

The day the Demon King would appear.

According to the teachings of the Holy Church, a Demon King was born once every ten years.

It was never the same place.

Never the same form.

Never the same person.

But whenever one was born...

the world changed.

The place where the Demon King appeared would be transformed into a land of death.

Forests would wither.

Rivers would become poisoned.

The sky itself would darken.

And the land would slowly become...

a living hell.

That was why the Holy Church maintained an ancient tradition.

Whenever the Demon King was born, the Holy Book would reveal a warning.

And when that warning appeared...

the Church would search for its Hero.

Because the Hero always came from the Holy Kingdom.

And because of that...

the Holy Kingdom had become known throughout the world as the birthplace of salvation.

The Holy Church had gained even greater influence.

Every ten years...

the world waited for the next Hero.

And today...

that Hero had appeared.

His name was Lucien Veyr.

The son of the highest-ranking priest of the Holy Church.

A young man who had been trained since childhood for a single purpose.

To defeat the Demon King.

To save the world.

And today...

he would finally fulfill his destiny.

The morning sun had barely risen over the Holy Kingdom.

The bells of the Holy Church rang throughout the capital.

Thousands of people had gathered outside.

Priests stood in white robes.

Knights stood in formation.

Nobles watched from balconies.

Commoners filled the streets.

Everyone was looking toward the enormous gates of the Holy Church.

A young man stepped through them.

Lucien Veyr.

He wore white-and-gold armor.

A sacred sword rested at his side.

His silver-black hair moved gently in the morning wind.

His expression was calm.

Not excited.

Not afraid.

Simply determined.

Beside him walked his father.

The highest priest of the Holy Church.

The old priest placed a hand upon his son's shoulder.

"Today..."

His voice was quiet.

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"...the world will remember your name."

Lucien looked toward the distant horizon.

"I don't need them to remember me."

He tightened his grip around his sword.

"I only need them to survive."

The priest smiled.

"Then go."

Lucien nodded.

And began walking.

Far beyond the Holy Kingdom...

On the other side of the Death Forest...

something had been born.

The sky had already changed.

Dark clouds covered the heavens.

Trees bent beneath an unnatural wind.

Animals fled.

The ground trembled.

At the centre of the devastation...

stood the Demon King.

But...

the Demon King was not what the world had expected.

She looked like a young girl.

Perhaps fifteen.

Perhaps sixteen.

Her appearance was almost too ordinary for something the world feared so much.

Yet the darkness surrounding her was anything but ordinary.

Her eyes carried an ancient emptiness.

Her presence alone distorted the land.

The Holy Book had already spoken.

The Demon King had been born.

And the Hero had arrived.

The entire world watched.

Through holy magic.

Through enchanted mirrors.

Through the sacred observation spells of the Church.

Kings watched from their thrones.

Generals watched from military camps.

Villagers gathered around magical screens.

Merchants stopped working.

Children were pulled inside their homes.

Even the people of Restart Village...

watched.

The village stood high in the mountains.

From its elevated position, the distant magical display of the Holy Church could be seen clearly.

Brald stood with Lily.

Alistair stood nearby.

Kai watched with wide eyes.

And among them...

two-year-old V had absolutely no idea what was happening.

He was sitting in Lily's arms.

T stood beside him.

Both were watching the enormous image in the sky.

The battle had begun.

Lucien disappeared forward.

The Demon King raised her hand.

Dark magic exploded across the battlefield.

BOOM!

The earth shattered.

Lucien jumped through the destruction.

His sacred sword glowed.

He struck.

The Demon King blocked.

Another attack.

Then another.

The battlefield became a storm of light and darkness.

The Demon King changed her form.

Her small body transformed.

Black horns emerged.

Dark wings spread across the sky.

Her magical power increased dramatically.

The entire world watched.

People screamed.

Some prayed.

Others cried.

But Lucien...

continued walking forward.

He didn't retreat.

He didn't hesitate.

The Demon King attacked again.

Lucien raised his sword.

A massive wave of holy light exploded across the battlefield.

The darkness broke apart.

The Demon King's attack disappeared.

Her eyes widened.

For the first time...

she looked afraid.

Lucien stepped forward.

"This ends here."

His sword descended.

A brilliant flash filled the world.

Silence followed.

The Demon King fell.

The darkness disappeared.

The sky slowly cleared.

The Demon King...

was dead.

For several seconds...

nobody spoke.

Then...

the world erupted.

Cheers.

Tears.

Prayers.

Laughter.

People embraced one another.

The nightmare was over.

The Hero had won.

By the time Lucien returned to the Holy Kingdom...

the sun was already beginning to set.

The enormous gates opened.

Thousands of people waited outside.

The King himself stood at the entrance.

King Aurevian stepped forward.

Lucien stopped before him.

The King smiled.

Then placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"Lucien Veyr."

His voice carried across the entire gathering.

"Today, you saved the world."

The crowd erupted again.

The King turned toward the highest priest.

"And you..."

His expression became sincere.

"Raised the man who accomplished what the entire world prayed for."

The priest bowed.

The King then looked toward Lucien.

"On behalf of every kingdom..."

"Thank you."

The setting sun descended behind them.

Its final light passed across Lucien's armor.

But something strange happened.

A long black shadow stretched across his body.

For a brief moment...

the Hero stood completely covered in darkness.

Nobody noticed.

Everyone was too busy celebrating.

That same evening...

Restart Village became filled with happiness.

The news had finally reached them.

The Demon King was dead.

V was safe.

The world was safe.

Brald released a long breath.

"So it's over."

Lily smiled.

"Yes."

Kai raised his hands.

"Then we can celebrate!"

T immediately jumped excitedly.

"Celebrate!"

V looked at everyone.

He didn't fully understand the battle.

He didn't understand what a Demon King meant.

But he understood one thing.

Everyone was happy.

And if everyone was happy...

then he could be happy too.

Lily gently touched his hair.

"Happy birthday, V."

V blinked.

Then smiled.

It was his second birthday.

And somehow...

the entire world had given him a strange birthday present.

Peace.

Night fell.

Restart Village gathered together.

Food covered the tables.

Children laughed.

Lily watched V and T play together.

Brald smiled quietly.

Kai tried to steal extra food and was immediately caught.

The villagers laughed.

Then...

the sky above the mountains suddenly lit up.

BOOM!

A brilliant explosion of golden light appeared in the distance.

T looked upward.

"V!"

Another explosion.

Red.

Blue.

Gold.

Silver.

Fireworks filled the night sky.

The celebration in the Holy Kingdom had begun.

Because the Demon King was dead.

And the whole world was celebrating.

Restart Village could see everything from the mountains.

V stared upward with innocent eyes.

The colorful lights reflected inside them.

T stood beside him.

She pointed toward the sky.

"Pretty!"

V nodded.

"...Pretty."

Lily smiled.

For one peaceful night...

there were no monsters.

No battles.

No fear.

Only laughter.

Only light.

Only a family celebrating the birth of a child...

while the world celebrated the death of another.

Yet...

something was wrong.

Nobody knew it.

Nobody could have known.

The Demon King had been defeated.

The Hero had saved the world.

The Holy Kingdom had become the center of celebration.

And the people believed...

the story had ended happily.

But stories rarely end when people think they do.

Sometimes...

a victory creates the conditions for another story to begin.

Sometimes...

the person everyone calls a Hero...

is standing beneath a shadow they cannot see.

And sometimes...

the birth of a villain does not happen with darkness.

It happens...

on a night filled with light.

Above Restart Village...

another firework exploded.

V looked at it with a small smile.

He was only two years old.

He didn't know what a Hero was.

He didn't know what a Demon King was.

He didn't know that the world had just changed.

He only knew...

that tonight was his birthday.

And tonight...

everyone was smiling.

Far away...

Lucien Veyr stood beneath the same sky.

The cheers of the Holy Kingdom surrounded him.

The world called him...

Hero.

He looked toward the fireworks.

His expression remained unreadable.

And somewhere beneath that peaceful smile...

something had quietly begun.

Something the world would not understand for years.

The Hero had saved the world.

But on the very same night...

the villain had been born.