The Demon King, who appears once every few hundred years to dye the peaceful world in despair.
Those unfortunate enough to be born in the same era as the Demon King suffer daily from the fear of not knowing when he will come leading his demon armies.
However, even in the deepest despair, there is always a way out. For humanity living in the same era as the Demon King, there was hope.
A hope called the “Hero,” bestowed by the Chief God.
***
“Ah, another peaceful day.”
On a dark night, in a tavern in the capital. A mercenary who had finished his daily work emptied a mug of beer in one gulp and let out a breath. His attitude was not one of admiring the world’s peacefulness.
“Where is the Demon King and what is he doing? I came all the way to the capital for nothing.”
The birth of the Demon King was terror for most people, but occasionally there were those who tried to profit from it as an opportunity. The mercenary was one of them.
When the Demon King appears, demons and monsters strengthened by demonic energy run rampant. The first thing they target is the capital, where the largest population is gathered. Because of this, when the Demon King starts moving, requests would pile up like mountains at the capital’s mercenary guild.
Killing a monster imbued with demonic energy pays twice as much as a regular monster. There is the risk of immediate death if you let your guard down even slightly because the monsters are that strong and numerous, but such opportunities were rare.
But what was this? Time passed and there was no news of the Demon King. Several months had passed since the oracle announced the Demon King’s revival, yet no incidents had occurred. Not only were there no demons, but even the monsters were quiet.
“At this rate, we’ll all starve to death. What on earth is this Demon King doing and where? Does he have no interest in world domination? Or is the current Hero so great that he can’t even make a move?”
“What Hero? Haven’t you heard the rumor yet?”
“What rumor?”
The mercenary’s companion looked around and lowered his voice as much as possible.
“The rumor that this Hero is a fake without qualifications.”
“What?!”
“Shh, shh.”
The Hero of this generation was Jake West, the heir to the Duke West family that controlled the capital.
No matter how secretly the rumor was spreading, it was dangerous to say things that would tarnish the Duke West family’s reputation in the middle of the capital.
“Lower your voice unless you want to be dragged to the Duke’s dungeon.”
“There’s a dungeon in the Duke’s castle?”
“My cousin’s friend’s neighbor’s boyfriend’s lover works at the Duke’s castle, and she says moaning sounds come from underground every night!”
“Are they keeping people locked up underground and torturing them?”
“Shh, shh.”
The companion looked around again and nodded.
“They say if you badmouth the Duke, you’ll be dragged to the dungeon and never see the light of day again.”
“Then shouldn’t we not be having this conversation right now?”
“It’s fine as long as we don’t get caught. Everyone here is probably secretly talking about this incident anyway.”
Just as his companion said, everyone seated in the tavern was hunched over and whispering in hushed voices. They were clearly talking about the Duke West family.
Even though they knew they could be taken away for speaking carelessly about nobles, everyone was making such a fuss—it really showed how serious this matter was.
“There’s talk that the Duke’s family put forward their heir as the Hero to gain fame.”
“What about the real Hero?”
“Probably living an ordinary life right now, not knowing they’re the Hero.”
“Our lives are on the line, and they’re deceiving the world for what, power?!”
“On top of that, I heard this Hero isn’t even a Sword Master.”
“What!”
“Shh!”
Hero Jake West was known to have reached the level of Sword Master at the young age of twenty. If that fact was false, it added credibility to the rumor that this generation’s Hero was unqualified.
From the Hero’s sword to the very existence of the Hero itself.
It was a moment of confusion about what to believe and whom to rely on.
“If there’s no Hero to defeat the Demon King, then all that’s left for the world is doom. If that happens, even the Duke’s family won’t be safe, so what were they thinking doing such a thing?”
“Who knows? Maybe they’ll offer the empire’s citizens as sacrifices and slip away.”
The murmuring in the tavern grew louder as time passed. Some people were even leaving to spread the rumor to other restaurants and taverns.
Severe anxiety spread rapidly like a plague.
“I wanted more work, not for the world to end.”
Of all the times to be born, he had to be born when the world was like this. The mercenary, feeling frustrated, pounded his chest.
Thump—
Perhaps he swung his arm too hard. The mercenary’s fist struck the adventurer at the next table who was just getting up from his seat.
“Oh, sorry.”
“…….”
The mercenary apologized immediately, but no response came. The adventurer walked quietly into the dark streets without even looking back at the mercenary.
Heading in the direction of the Duke West’s castle.
***
In the eastern corner of Duke West’s castle, there was a gloomy, dark room that didn’t match its magnificent appearance. The only thing in the room was a single door made of heavy metal.
A visitor came to this place, where people rarely set foot, for the first time in a long while. It was the adventurer who had been killing time with a complicated expression at the tavern just moments ago.
“Visitation time is ten minutes.”
Instead of answering the knight guarding the door, the adventurer nodded.
Creeeak—
The thick door opened and revealed stairs leading underground. The adventurer stepped down without hesitation.
With each step downward, an ominous energy seemed to rise up. It wasn’t because they feared the prisoner below. The energy felt in this castle was simply disgusting.
Hissss—
A sound like wind, or perhaps a warning to leave this place, rose from below. Despite wearing thick boots, a chilling cold was felt as if their soles would freeze. The adventurer descended the stairs to the end with a frown.
At the bottom was a dungeon that looked carelessly made by driving iron bars into solid stone floor. Five rooms that were too narrow for someone to live in, yet too wide to be called a prison. For a place supposedly holding a violent criminal, security looked lax and there wasn’t a single guard—it was a shabby place.
Among them, only one held a prisoner.
The adventurer stood before it and looked through the iron bars.
“…Ugh…… Mmph,”
The man beyond the bars hadn’t even noticed the adventurer’s arrival and was lying face-down on the bare floor, groaning in pain.
“I’m here.”
“…….”
Only then did the man raise his head. Through his golden hair, disheveled and drenched in cold sweat, blue eyes turned toward the adventurer.
Even though there was no emotion in those eyes, the adventurer flinched as if sensing killing intent.
“…Take it.”
Pretending to be unaffected, the adventurer pulled out a glass bottle and held it through the bars. Instead of approaching to take it, the man simply stared at their eyes.
The adventurer pushed their arm deeper through the bars and urged him.
“It’s a recovery potion.”
Eventually, the man slowly approached and took the glass bottle.
When the bottle was passed, the man’s hand that brushed against theirs was trembling. It wasn’t trembling from fear or excitement.
*’Is he so sick he can barely control his body?’*
The adventurer frowned.
The man’s fingers that had briefly touched theirs were as hot as if they’d been boiled in scalding water.
His bright eyes had lost their light and become hazy, his entire face was red with high fever. His emaciated limbs were trembling—all of it seemed to show that he had been severely ill and left neglected for a long time, which made them feel terrible.
*’How are they managing prisoners, seriously?’*
The adventurer silently cursed the Duke.
Prisoner management. They probably weren’t doing that. At best, they were only keeping him alive enough not to die. No, perhaps they didn’t even care if he died.
Otherwise, there was no way they would have thrown a person onto a stone floor in this cold winter.
“Drink it.”
When the man just held the glass bottle without doing anything, the impatient adventurer repeated the same words.
“I didn’t put poison in it or anything, so you can drink it.”
“That’s… not something I’m worried about.”
His voice, barely managing to speak, was cracked as if he hadn’t had a drop of water for days.
The man very slowly poured the potion into his mouth. His expression eased considerably after emptying half of the recovery potion.
Instead of drinking the remaining half, he closed the bottle’s cap.
“Are you saving the rest for later?”
“That would be best.”
Just from drinking a little of the intermediate recovery potion, vitality returned to his voice.
Perhaps moving and speaking had become easier, because only then did the man give a faint smile toward the adventurer.
“Thank you for looking after me, Elijah.”
Elijah felt her breath catch at his reaction.
She would have felt more at ease if he had been irritated, spat at her, cursed, and wailed.
“…Run away.”
Finally, the words she had been suppressing burst out.
The man showed no reaction to those words. He wasn’t surprised, nor did he find it absurd. He simply looked at Elijah with the same expressionless face as before.
Clang—
Anxious, Elijah grabbed the iron bars with both hands.
“You will be executed in one week.”
“…….”
“Run away, Jake West.”
