Alaric had just saved these villagers.
But in return, what did he get?
Being looked at with disgust by the very people The King had saved.
"You bastard, why are you so late?!"
"Do you know how many people have died?"
"If you had come earlier, things wouldn’t have turned out !"
Being cursed at by them, just because... he was late?
Not a single compliment, not a single thank you, not a single reward, nothing.
Facing the uncontrollable anger of the villagers, Alaric just stood there, not knowing how to react.
Everything was really... unbelievable.
Whether it was in his previous life or in this life, he had never faced something as unreasonable as this.
"...Why is everyone... reacting ?"
His eyes glanced at all the people gathered around.
Not a single person was not angry.
Not even a child, nor an old person.
"Didn’t I... just save everyone?"
"Get out of here, you piece of shit!"
"Go away and never come back!"
No one answered The King’s question.
They didn’t stop at cursing, but also continuously threw various objects at Alaric.
It wasn’t because he was enduring these physical attacks.
It was because he was enduring the unreasonable anger of these villagers.
They just needed something to vent their anger.
And The King happened to be that person.
At that moment, a demon’s finger moved slightly.
And then, while everyone was paying attention to Alaric, the demon slowly stood up, its lips forming a creepy, twisted smile.
And then, with a speed that no human could keep up with, the demon rushed through the crowd, killing everyone in its sight.
Just like how The King had slaughtered all these demons.
Hot blood splattered onto Alaric’s face.
He stood there, dumbfounded, watching the massacre without moving.
Everything was... blurry.
"Demons are... scary."
A moment later, with a body covered in blood and a bewildered face, still not recovered from what had just happened, Alaric returned to where his steed and Rudeus were waiting.
The boy stopped when he realized the current state of The King.
Alaric didn’t reply, nor did he stop, but walked past Rudeus, towards the tree beside him.
"How are the people in that village?"
"They’re... all dead. They’re all gone... They’ve all been killed..."
He sat down at the base of the tree in a daze, his eyes staring into space.
To be honest, the boy didn’t have much of a reaction when he heard that news.
Those people had no connection to Rudeus anyway, so there was no reason for him to feel sad about their deaths.
Rudeus’s gaze did not linger on Alaric for too long.
After a while, the boy raised his head, trying to figure out the constellations appearing in the sky.
"Did something happen?"
A lot had happened in just one short night.
To the point that even Alaric thought this was just a dream.
The pain was not fake at all.
This was not a dream.
"...Then... what was all that just happened?"
"It seems like a lot of things happened?"
Rudeus judged, his eyes still not leaving the sky that was sparkling as if covered in glitter.
"The demons are... scary."
The King really didn’t want to face them anymore.
The moment he saw all the people falling down, he recalled the scene of him stepping on the corpses of all the soldiers who participated in that battle.
It really made The King feel tight in his chest and have difficulty breathing.
"Demons? They’re really scary, huh?"
Rudeus let out a faint smile.
"You know, I’m also afraid of demons. I don’t hate them for slaughtering my entire village, but I’m afraid of their power and brutality."
"It’s shameful, right? They did all that to me, but I can’t even get angry."
Rudeus knew his position well.
Compared to those demons, he was nothing more than an ant.
So, he should be grateful that they still gave him a way to live.
"But you know, if we overcome our fear, wouldn’t everything be fine?"
"It’s easier said than done..."
"But we haven’t done it yet. We’ve only been talking about it."
"We have to try it to see if we can overcome our fear."
"Do you want to give it a shot?"
Rudeus curled his lips.
"You and I, we’re both afraid of demons."
This is the first time the kid revealed a bit of emotion.
"And we’ll overcome that fear together, how about that? Sound good?"
Rudeus’s way of speaking was really too funny, to the point that even though he was in such a state, he was still forced to react.
As expected, cuteness was a child’s strongest weapon.
But, no matter what, what Rudeus just said was really too difficult.
"But at the same time, it’s worth a try."
"Of course, let’s do our best together."
They bumped their fists together.
Like two friends, two comrades.
Hundreds of years ago, the last day that hero Dix and hero Kaelus talked to each other.
"It seems like the evening is coming."
Kaelus looked up at the sky, bewildered.
The sun was right above the two of them.
"Are you chasing me away? You mean to tell me to go back to the Dicathen kingdom?"
Dix fell silent, taking a leisurely bite of his cookie.
Then, with a slight smile, he opened his mouth:
"...You’re such an asshole, man."
"I’m about to die, so I want to spend my last moments alone."
"You’re such a weirdo, Dix."
Kaelus shrugged and stood up.
"What a shame. I was going to give you something, but it seems like there’s not enough time."
Dix raised an eyebrow.
"It’s nothing, it’s just a letter." Discover more novels at Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Kaelus shrugged, replying indifferently.
"But that letter was so important that I had to hide it in a secret room deep underground."
Dix leaned back in his chair.
Then, a smile appeared on the corner of the greatest hero’s lips.
"If there is a next life, I will definitely go there and read the contents of that letter."
Alaric woke up from his dream.
The King’s body was sticky with sweat even though the weather wasn’t that hot.
It had been a long time since he had dreamed about that time.