Chương 37: Heroes

Five figures picked their way through the debris of Cerma, their heads swiveling as they surveyed the architectural corpse of the ruined city. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and charred stone.

"What… happened here?" Hana muttered, her voice trembling. Her pink hair and healer's robes seemed far too pure for the filth of this battlefield. Beside her, Riku shifted his shield, his dark purple hair shadowed as his blue eyes scanned the rubble for threats.

"Did the dragon already attack?" Riku's voice echoed off the hollowed-out shells of shops.

"More importantly," Souka whispered, her knuckles white as she clung to her mage staff, "can we even fight something like this?" Between them walked Sayon, her cyan eyes reflecting the cold light of the dying sun as she held her bow with tension. Leading them was Kaito Yagami, his sandy blonde hair bright against the ash. He stepped over a fallen beam with a confident, rehearsed smirk.

"Don't worry, we received Mid Relic-grade equipment from the kingdom," he said, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

"With them and the five of us, it should be enough to defeat a low-class dragon." The group of five ventured deeper into the city, taking in the horrors all around them. Some people had been crushed beneath the falling buildings, their limbs twisted in unnatural angles beneath the stone. Others had been immolated, their features melted into the cobblestones. But strangely, some lay dead with parts of them simply gone—entire sections of their torsos or limbs missing, as if they had been erased.

The further forward they walked, the more bodies they saw. Hana covered her mouth with her hand in terror, her eyes welling with held-back tears. Souka looked disgusted, her nose wrinkling at the metallic tang of blood and the stench of death. As they approached the center of the city, they began to see scattered knights everywhere. They were frantically digging through the collapsed walls, their faces haggard as they tried to help the ones who were still breathing. Then, they saw it.

A massive clearing had been carved into the heart of the district, wiped utterly clean of debris. There, Sayon located the mountain of crimson scales.

"Dragon," she said in her usual clipped tone, pointing a finger toward it. Kaito followed her gaze to the beast.

"Mmm… why is it so wounded? Let's go, guys. Something is wrong here." He rushed forward, his hand snapping to his hilt as he unsheathed his sword. The others also raised their guard and followed him in formation. … As they closed in, they were finally able to see the two people resting a few meters away from the massive beast. A human? Kaito's eyes were first drawn to the woman with the striking white hair.

She didn't look like she belonged on a battlefield; she looked like a doll crafted of porcelain and silk, her presence almost ethereal amidst the grime. He couldn't see her face because she was looking down at something. So, he followed her gaze downward. Another one? He and the others spotted the man in black. They couldn't see his face properly from afar, given his reclining position, his head resting comfortably in the woman's lap.

Kaito gave a silent hand signal to be ready, and the group closed in on them with the slow caution of hunters. As they got closer—reaching a distance of just a few meters—their steps slowed to a halt on their own. The man resting in the woman's lap was someone they knew. Someone they hadn't forgotten about in the four years since their arrival in the kingdom. Despite the different hairstyle, the more mature frame, and the high-quality clothes, they recognized the boy who had escaped the kingdom that day.

"…Noa?" Hana muttered from behind, her voice a fragile thread of disbelief. Noa and Vionette were snapped back to reality, pulled from their own private world. Both stirred slightly and looked at the five people who had appeared in front of them. Noa sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he blinked the lingering fatigue from his eyes. Who the hell?

"Mmm…?" He looked at the five of them one by one, his gaze traveling from Kaito's smirk to Hana's tears.

"Oh! It's you guys." He snapped his fingers as if finally remembering a trivial fact. It took a moment because they had grown over the years, their features hardening and their statures changing, but he finally identified them. Vionette tilted her head to the side, her eyes scanning Noa's face for his reaction.

"You know them?"

"Kinda."

"Friends?"

"…" Noa's expression turned serious. His carefree, lazy eyes narrowed instantly at the question. He was reminded of memories he didn't like—the cold hallways of the palace, the whispers behind his back, and the day they all watched him be cast aside. Vionette noticed the shift in his expression immediately, her own eyes sharpening.

"Not really… I tried to be, but—" he looked at the group, his voice turning cold and flat, "—you rejected me, didn't you?" The five were taken aback by the blunt declaration. They couldn't argue against it, nor could they find the words to reject it; it was simply the truth. The star had fallen because the heavens themselves had pushed it away. Who is that woman? Kaito examined Vionette, his mind racing. How do they have high-class clothes, even better than ours—the kingdom's heroes?

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The realization stung his pride. He and his team were the celebrated champions, respected by the whole kingdom and equipped by the royal treasury. Yet here was a criminal, a fugitive who had escaped in rags, wearing clothes that radiated a far more sophisticated craftsmanship. That woman is so beautiful. Can we have her? Riku was staring at Vionette as well, his blue eyes clouded with a dark greed.

Both he and Kaito had fallen for her sheer physical perfection, unable to see the predator lurking beneath the silk.

"W-we're sorry, Noa—" Hana muttered, her hands trembling.

"Forget about it." Noa scratched his head with a dismissive groan.

"You're already strangers to me, so do what you came here to do and go away."

"Hey!" Souka interrupted, her face flushing with anger.

"You can't talk to her like that. She's a hero!" Her eyebrows furrowed and she gritted her teeth, her pride as a 'hero' flaring up.

"Oh my~ you guys are such frogs in a well." From behind Noa, Vionette spoke, her left hand coming up to touch her smiling lips in a mocking gesture.

"You think being called heroes in one kingdom means you're someone?"

"W-what?" Souka was left speechless, her mouth agape.

"Who are you?" She looks like a doll. Other than that, she doesn't even have a strong aura. Why is she talking to us like that? While Souka's mind raced with indignation, a shout cut through the air.

"Stop!" It was Count Fain, sprinting towards them with two of his knights trailing behind him. His face was pale, drenched in sweat and the soot of his ruined city. I must stop further hostilities at all costs! Fain looked at Vionette and Noa with a desperate intensity. I don't know who they are or why they defeated the dragon. But I know one thing: those two are too dangerous, even for the heroes.

Knowing what would happen if they provoked a man who had just leveled a city and a woman who had made him feel utterly helpless, he stepped in to silence the so-called heroes.

"It's the Count…" Sayon muttered quietly to the group. Fain skidded to a halt near the five of them, taking a long, ragged breath before trying to maintain his noble composure.

"It's an honor to meet the heroes again." He bowed slightly, though his hands were shaking. Even for a Count, heroes were not people to be ordered around; in Cyradis, they often held the same authority as dukes.

"I'm glad you're here." Kaito pointed his sword toward Noa.

"What are they doing here? Were they hired by you?" Kaito assumed that the only reason Noa could have reached this place and survived was through the Count's intervention. He couldn't imagine Noa having the resources to afford a teleportation circle.

"Uh…" Fain's voice trembled as he replied.

"They were the ones who defeated the dragon, but I didn't hire them." He simply told the truth, his eyes darting nervously between Kaito and the man in black.

"They defeated the dragon…?" Riku's voice rose in a scoffing laugh.

"Then it must be some weak-ass dragon." Riku and the others had been dispatched here specifically to slay the beast. They were an elite party, trained by the kingdom's greatest warriors, empowered by their Systems, and armored in Relic-grade equipment. To think that two people—especially one as 'weak' as Noa had been—could defeat the target meant the dragon had to be a fraud. Fain's eyes widened at Riku's sheer arrogance, his mouth hanging open in shock. Don't you see the ruins around you?!

"Hey jackass, I said get your work done and go away, or," Noa trailed off as his hand started to emit that sickly purple energy again, "do you want me to personally throw you out?" Fain froze. He knew what the heroes' objective was: to kill the dragon and claim the glory. But the lady beside Noa had already declared the beast her companion. Trying to prevent a slaughter, he opened his mouth once more.

"The dragon has already been defeated." He forced a rigid smile, sweat dripping freely from his chin.

"So please, rest assured. Let's not fight among ourselves and simply part ways."

"Defeated?" Souka raised an eyebrow.

"It hasn't been killed yet, though?" She observed the dragon again, using Aether as her senses. She could still feel its aura—pulsing faintly, but undeniably present.

"Heheh! So you were unable to kill it." Kaito raised his weapon, his confident smirk returning in full force.

"Let's go, guys. Time to kill the dragon." He looked back at his team members, his eyes gleaming with the prospect of an easy kill. Souka nodded in satisfaction, her staff glowing blue. Riku grinned, tightening his grip on his heavy shield. Hana also nodded slowly. Sayon remained silent, which was her usual sign of agreement, though she took a step backwards instead. The others each took a step forward, their boots crunching on the ash as they prepared to slay the dragon before them. Then—"No, no, no."

The voice was a low, melodic warning. Everyone turned towards Noa. Fain gulped, his throat tight with dread.

"That dragon is with me." He dragged a line in the ash with the tip of his boot before leaning back comfortably against Vionette. She wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him closer.

"Anyone who wants to die, step past that line."

"What?!" Riku shouted at him, his pride deeply wounded by the sheer gall of the statement.

"You think you can handle us?" He drew his sword and gripped his shield tightly before charging towards Noa, his metallic armor clanking with every stride. Squelch… The sound was a soft, wet whisper. Before Riku could even get near the line Noa had drawn, his right arm detached from his body. It didn't fall; it was simply gone, leaving only a spray of blood behind.

"Huh?" Confused, Riku stared at the stump where his arm used to be in dull shock.

"Heheh~ you didn't even try to bully me back on Earth out of fear," Noa continued, his voice dripping with mockery. Fwip— As Riku stared at his stump, his opposite arm vanished as well. Now, his confusion crystallized into a realization: death.

"—So, what made you think—" Squelch… This time, it was his leg. Losing his balance instantly, Riku crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Khuek—!?"

"—You can defeat me now?"

"Uhh!" Riku writhed on the ground, his remaining limb thrashing as he tried to process the reality of his situation. Unable to fight back. Unable to activate his skills. Unable to do anything at all. Blood spilled from his mouth as he looked up in horror at the man he had once mocked. Noa pulled his index and middle fingers back, using his thumb to hold them in a tense, flicking position. There, the purple energy from [Echo Reclamation] gathered into a small, pulsing sphere.

Though there weren't many living beings left in the ruins to provide fuel for a massive explosion, the lingering fear and the sheer presence of the heroes were more than enough.

"Imaginary Technique: Hollow Purple," Noa muttered as he released his fingers. The energy sphere shot forward like a silent bullet. Upon impact, cell by cell, Riku's body simply ceased to exist with a horrific tearing sound, leaving nothing behind but a gruesome splatter of blood on the ashen ground. The others—Kaito, Hana, Souka, and Sayon—just watched. They watched in terror, finally understanding the sheer scale of damage a single skill could inflict.

They watched in confusion as reality itself seemed to be scrubbed clean. They watched in shock as Noa killed Riku, his own classmate and a 'Hero,' as if he were nothing more than a bug to be crushed underfoot.

"…" Vionette looked at Noa with a blank, disappointed expression.

"What? That was a little similar, so I used that name," Noa defended himself with a shrug. They maintained their carefree attitude, even as the world around them felt like it was breaking. The remaining four heroes were frozen in place, their minds unable to process the total erasure of their companion. What… just happened? Kaito doubted his own eyes, his heart hammering against his ribs. System, what was that? [It appears to be a skill of the individual Noa Shinra.] That's it? That's all you have to say?!

Kaito's arrogance was swiftly replaced by a cold, creeping dread. Tell me how I can do that too!

"W-Why... why did you kill him?" Hana turned towards Noa, her hands clamped over her mouth as she began to sob hysterically.

"Why…"

"Yeah!" Souka shouted at Noa, her face twisted in a mask of disgust and fear.

"Is it because he tried to banish you from the kingdom? If so, you could've just—""Ahhh," Noa interrupted her, stifling a lazy yawn.

"Don't misunderstand me. I've already forgotten about the shit that happened four years ago."

"Then why did you—""As for why I killed him," Noa leaned back, a sinister grin stretching across his face. It was a grin that promised nothing but pain and suffering, the look of a man who had stared into the dark and found it pleasing.

"Because why not?"