Without waiting for a second answer, Stela attacks me. I manage to dodge, but the impact carbonizes the sand where her strike lands, leaving behind a smoking crater of black glass. I try to speak, but she's no longer listening.
The air around her vibrates—not with spectacular lightning, but with a raw, trembling energy. She hurls fireballs, arcs of violet flame, and shockwaves of force that drive me backward. I dodge one after another, but the heat sears my skin, and the weight of her pain presses down on my chest.
"Stela, listen to me!" I shout.
But she's already on me. A single blow—precise, devastating—knocks all the air from my lungs and leaves me sprawled on the wet sand. Every breath feels like needles stabbing my ribs.
"I thought… you'd be different," she whispers, her voice breaking. Then, without looking at me, she rises and vanishes into the storm clouds.
I lie there, gasping. If she's the Demon King, she's not evil… she's just hurt, alone, betrayed. And I'm the one who shattered her trust.
I gather my things from the beach and head back to Marisport. Now I have only one goal: answers. I need to know why I was truly summoned.
Rain begins to fall, soft at first, marking each of my footprints as if the world itself were weeping. When I reach the church, I knock three times. A nun asks from the peephole, "What do you want?"
"I'm the summoned hero," I reply. "I come on behalf of Clarisse."
After a few minutes of murmured conversation, the door opens. "This way, young hero," the nun says, leading me to a chapel where a priest kneels in prayer.
He rises slowly, his eyes weary. "What brings you to my humble church, hero?"
"I want to know who the Demon King really is," I say, firm but without raising my voice, "and why I must kill her."
The priest hesitates, looking away. "She's the daughter of the previous Demon King. She hasn't done anything yet… but it's only a matter of time before she destroys everything."
His tone isn't one of conviction, but of exhaustion—as if he's repeating a lie he no longer believes.
"And do you know for certain she's evil?" I ask, locking my eyes onto his.
He shakes his head.
That says it all. My mission isn't to stop a monster… it's to erase a girl the world fears just for existing.
While the priest turns to prepare tea, I take a map from his desk—marked with the location of the Demon King's castle—and leave before he can stop me.
I return to the blacksmith's. This time, I don't draw my sword. I stand in the doorway, soaked and resolute, and say, "I need gear. Now."
The dwarf sees the determination in my eyes—not rage, but purpose—and doesn't argue.
From his shop, I take a sharper sword, a light armor of leather and metal, and several health and mana potions. Before I leave, I place all the coins the church gave me on the counter. The dwarf nods silently, a glimmer of gratitude in his eyes.
I unfold the map. The castle is a day's ride through the mountain range. I have no horse… but outside the city, by the stables, several are tethered. I choose the calmest one, whisper an apology, and mount.
The rain intensifies as I gallop away, as if the sky itself were weeping for the Demon King.
At dawn, I reach the foothills. Exhausted, I dismount… and an arrow thuds into the earth beside me.
Goblins. An entire pack leaps from the rocks, their teeth yellowed, eyes bloodshot, and knives rusted.
I don't hesitate. I activate [Predator's Sense]—the world snaps into sharp focus. Their movements are clumsy, predictable. I dodge the first charge, and my new sword flashes like a silver bolt of lightning. One falls, throat slit.
Another attacks with blind fury; I duck and drive my blade upward through his ribs. A third tries to flank me, but I cast [Flame Ward]—a ring of fire forces them back. They shriek in terror, but I'm already moving. A swift spin decapitates two at once. The last one flees… and trips over his own feet. I finish him quickly. Without cruelty. Only necessity.
I take a deep breath and clean my sword. The rain washes the blood away.
Then, golden light erupts before my eyes:
[Level Up – Level 21]
[New Skills: Shadow Step, Soul Resonance]
[Class Ascension: World's Hero → Hero]
I'm stronger now. But strength isn't what I need.
I mount again. The rain doesn't let up. And soon, rising between the storm-lashed peaks, I see it: Stela's realm. It's not a castle of thorns and fire, but a city nestled in the mountains—warm lights in the windows, smoke curling from chimneys, banners fluttering gently in the wind. A home.
Fear coils in my stomach. But I don't stop.
I spur the horse onward and cross the border, entering the Demon King's territory.