What on earth is happening here?
Evan tried to look at Aria with trembling eyes but couldn’t face her and turned his head away.
Even though he knew that Aria wouldn’t die like this, the sight of her collapsed in this state was a tremendous shock.
“Ha… Ha…”
– Evan! Are you okay?! Evan!!!
“I’m fine… Ugh…”
Turning his gaze, things improved slightly, but the stench still pierced his nose.
What the hell…
What on earth happened here?
Evan carefully turned his head again so as not to be surprised and looked at the rotten heart pulsing in Aria’s right hand.
He didn’t want to see it, but avoiding it wouldn’t solve the situation.
“It can’t be Aria’s… heart…”
Given that it was in her right hand, and her body’s right side was just exposed to corruption from the magic, it was hard to think that it was Aria’s heart.
Then it meant it belonged to something else…
‘A demon’s heart…’
That was practically the only possibility.
But even if it were a demon’s heart, how could Aria, a saint, faint from the flow of magic radiating from it?
Does that make sense?
‘Then that heart is…’
At minimum, it could be said to belong to a high-ranking member of the Demon King Army.
So Aria had faced off against a high-ranking member, defeated them, and pulled out their heart, but the power flowing from it was so strong that it had backfired on her?
‘That can’t be it…’
It was even harder to believe that.
If the power flowing from the heart was so strong that it could backfire, then the very idea of winning against a high-ranking member from the start was nonsense.
What that meant is…
‘Was that heart here…?’
What kind of demon would throw away its heart on the Academy’s back mountain, not even in its own body?
That heart wouldn’t be discarded unless it played some significant role.
But right now, they had to assume that it had been discarded.
If that heart was playing an important role in this attack, then Aria had come here to stop that role from happening, and…
She tried to purify it directly by touching it, but she had collapsed because she couldn’t overcome the overwhelming magic… could it be explained like that?
“Ugh…”
Evan looked at Aria.
He knew he had to assess the situation with his own eyes.
But…
‘I can’t look…’
He had seen Aria hurt many times before.
But this time was on a different level.
Seeing someone melting away from exposure to magic, and it being someone he cared deeply for, was simply unbelievable.
It was especially hard to accept that it was a person he thought would never find themselves in such a state…
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Evan could no longer bear to look at Aria and turned his gaze away again.
The shock of her current state was overwhelmingly great for him, given how much he liked her.
Even if he had seen something like this before, it would have been a shocking experience for anyone.
No one would relish seeing the gruesome sight of half a girl’s body melting away.
Perhaps some would vomit and carry that trauma for a lifetime.
But if that person was a friend… if she was a girl he liked…
How immense would that shock be?
– Evan…
“I have to hold on…”
He was the Hero who would defeat the Demon King and bring peace to the world.
He knew that.
He couldn’t crumble just because of this.
He shouldn’t…
Even knowing this, Evan crumpled to the ground.
He couldn’t hold on any longer.
There was no way he could endure this.
How many times was this now?
How many times had he faced something like this?
Evan sat down for a moment before gradually dragging himself toward Aria.
“This… this… because of this…”
Holding himself together, Evan lifted his sword toward the rotten heart pulsing in Aria’s hand.
His eyes gleamed with madness.
“It’s because of this…”
It was definitely because of this heart.
Evan concentrated divine power into the Sacred Sword.
If he could smash this damned heart, even if it meant destroying Aria’s hand, if he could eliminate the root of the problem, Aria’s hand could always be restored.
Even though he would have to shoot out the sacred energy from a distance, understanding that her body wouldn’t escape unscathed…
As long as he could crush that heart continuously releasing magic, Aria could return to her original self…
– Evan!
“Ugh…”
At the same moment Estelle shouted, the Sacred Sword shook violently, slipped away from Evan, and struck the ground.
Evan halted his movements, which were meant to smash down the sword, and looked back at it with trembling eyes.
“What are you doing, Estelle?! We need to help Aria quickly!”
– You’re right, but calm down! This isn’t a situation that can be solved by reckless attacks!
“Calm down? You want me to calm down?!”
Evan’s expression warped.
Tears were flowing from his wide-open eyes.
“You can… you can remain calm after seeing that…?”
– …
“Do you think I can stay calm after seeing that?! I feel like I’m going to lose my mind any moment now! It’s hard enough trying to defeat the Demon King, so why is this happening to Aria? Why is this happening to me?!”
Evan half-sobbed toward Estelle before covering his face with both hands.
His trembling shoulders revealed the turmoil and feelings he was struggling with.
“Estelle… can I just not be a Hero…?”
Finally, leaning against the nearby tree, Evan muttered, eyes cast down.
– Evan…
“I’m not exactly doing this because I want to be a Hero… Why, why does it keep turning out like this…?”
Very few people in this world aspire to be Heroes.
How many would take on the burden of the world’s peace, with the lives of everyone weighing heavily on their shoulders?
Yet, the goddess and the Sacred Sword had deemed it necessary to choose Evan as a Hero for a reason.
– I can only say to keep your chin up, and I loathe myself for that… but it can’t be helped… it’s something you must do.
“…”
– If you don’t, this world will… be annihilated by the Demon King.
“If a world could be destroyed just because I’m gone…”
– Evan…!
“… Right, I shouldn’t say such things.”
What a world where everything is entrusted to one person.
Honestly, maybe it would be better off perishing.
What kind of god would place the title of Saint on a poor girl with disabilities or bestow the fate of a Hero on a boy who knew nothing?
He wanted to argue against it immediately.
But…
“I never believed in gods to begin with.”
Evan stood up.
He didn’t believe in such things.
He didn’t want to.
If this were reality, if this were the truth, he could confidently say that even the most devout priest or nun would have doubts about their faith.
But…
“I will save Aria.”
That was the only reason he stood back up.
No other reason was necessary.
Whether he took down the upper ranks of the Demon King Army and defeated the Demon King was all to remove Aria’s obstacle. The peace of the world didn’t matter to him at all.
The reason he was fighting to defeat the Demon King as a Hero was a personal wish.
Hadn’t he vowed this even during the Trial of Wisdom?
That smile from back then, the expression she had while looking at him with her eyes wide open.
He wanted to hear Aria’s voice once more.
Evan reaffirmed that vow again in this place.
Of course, it was still hard to face Aria’s current state.
But…
If he didn’t act, it would only become more dangerous.
‘I have to do this.’
If he just sits down and gives up here, that would be the end.
After confessing to Aria, how could this have happened?
If he intended to confess to the girl aspiring to defeat the Demon King, shouldn’t he be the first one to confidently declare that he would defeat the Demon King?
That’s why he felt he could do something now.
Deep within Evan’s body, divine power began to well up.
– This is… divine power…?!
Estelle exclaimed in surprise.
This had happened before.
When he awakened his strength as a Hero… at that moment, divine power had surged from within him.
Could it be that he was regaining that power again?
It was at that moment he thought.
– The necklace…?!
Light began to shine again from the necklace Evan was wearing.
The same light as before; every time this light appeared, he had awakened as a Hero.
“…”
Feeling that something monumental was about to happen, Evan closed his eyes.
Somehow, Evan’s consciousness had shifted into a blank, white space.
