CH 70

Chapter 70 : Extra Chapter : About the Existence of Hero

T/N: Finally! Another chapter with the hero!

———————————————————–

Ever since I was born, I’ve been a ‘hero’.

Whether I wanted it or not, I was already a ‘hero’.

I’ve never even once wanted to be a ‘hero’.

But…….

I had to be a ‘hero’.

I’ve had a premonition of me being a ‘hero’ ever since I was a kid.

I was unusually strong, I could see the spirits.

My parents, which I trusted, treated me as a ‘hero’.

“You’re a hero.”

Said my mother.

“You’re a hero.”

Said my father.

Ever since I was little, my parents never treated me affectionately.

Gradually, I’ve become lonelier and lonelier.

I knew I was burdened with excessive expectations on my shoulder.

Which was why I didn’t stick with my parents for long.

The same could be said about boys my age.

They treated me as a foreign object.

The parents, afraid that their children might get hurt from playing with the ‘hero’, kept their children at a distance from me.

I was always alone.

Being alone was the better option for me.

Rather than being crushed by their expectations and stares, I preferred to be alone.

My lonely self then started to train earnestly.

Because a ‘hero’ has to be strong.

The demons who resided in the forest, served as good materials as trials for my strength.

Everytime I slain a demon, I felt myself getting stronger.

Without anyone teaching me, I became even stronger as if the power was engraved in my soul.

Of course they’d fight back.

Of course I’d get hurt.

But at that time, I suddenly knew the magic to heal myself.

By the time I was 10 years old, I felt hollow inside.

No matter how strong I became, no one would look at me.

“As expected from the ‘hero’! You’ve become this strong even though you’re only 10 years old!”

Yes, even when my father praised me, my vision was painted in deep black.

No matter how many times I got hurt and struggled, in the end the one that got even stronger was me, Killatur.

It wasn’t because I was the ‘hero’ that I got stronger.

It was because I’ve fought countless demons, even as I vomited blood, I kept on fighting and yet….

No one truly looked at me.

Every time I was reminded of me being a ‘hero’, I felt despair.

‘Someone who receives God’s blessing’ you said?

God might have given me the power to slain the demon but God didn’t give me the peace of mind I desperately needed as a mere human being.

No one truly looked at me.

Despair and loneliness came hand in hand with my title as the ‘hero’.

I became more and more obsessed with killing demons.

My power was the only way for me to prove myself.

Being a ‘hero’ was the only value in my life.

For that, I needed more power, more strength.

By the time I was 13 years old, I was already level 300.

And thus, came my turning point.

“I’m Maou!!!”

Someone who referred to himself as Maou came and attacked the royal capital.

He was able to bring the royal capital to ruin with his power alone.

I….. Smiled.

Finally…

Finally my reason for living had arrived.

I slain the wolf that guarded the Maou in one blow.

I wanted to face Maou more than anyone else.

Maou was the only thing I wished for.

Maou was the only reason for me to live.

But……………

The sword that I lightly swung was able to pierce through Maou’s body.

“Ugh… Fuh…. Even if you… Defeat me now… Maou will return back again… Until that time… Humanity may have… Your sweet dream… Until then…..”

Is this a joke?

He… He died this easily…?

I rushed toward Maou but by the time I reached him, his body already disintegrated into sand.

What was supposed to be Maou’s body became grains of sand that went through my clenched fist.

“Young Hero!! We’re so grateful!! Thank you for defeating Maou!!”

The king who had been watching the fight unfold, suddenly exclaimed from the top of his lungs.

Wait.

Wait.

This… I….

I…

What should I do from now on…..?

I had been living with only one goal in my mind, to defeat Maou.

And yet…

My one and only goal, had died so easily.

I stared at the sword in my hand, this hand..

This young hand was able to slain Maou that easily..

Was Maou that weak…?

No, that’s not it.

Have I… Become too strong…?

“The Maou has been defeated! From now on we will have a few hundred years of peace!! Hero!! You’ve done a tremendous great deed!!”

“N-… No….”

“What kind of reward do you wish for? A huge fortune? Status? No matter what it is, I’ll grant it to you!”

“…….. No, nothing.”

I didn’t want anything.

Just, give me a reason to live.

I, please give me a goal, a reason, something for me to live for.

Someone, please….

…… Look at me.

——————————————–

After that, the rest of the day passed like a blur for me.

I vaguely remember they held a great celebration and that they kept on calling me a ‘hero’.

I had to present myself to the other country as a ‘hero’ too.

After all, for this country’s king, the existence of a ‘hero’ was something that could be conveniently be flaunted for.

The adults around me cleverly schemed ploys to ‘use’ my young self for their own gains.

Especially the king, my existence as a ‘hero’ was his most convenient ‘tool’.

“Ooh… So you’re the hero. Please exterminate the evil demons that have tormented our country!”

“Yes, no problem.”

As their ‘tool’, I killed the demons numerous times until the demons ceased to exist.

Because even though I had killed Maou, their king, the demon race itself was not destroyed yet.

Whenever they called me, I would kill the demon.

If I saw a demon, I would kill them too.

I kept on killing, killing, killing and killing.

By the time I noticed it, my level had already surpassed level 800.

Killing demons had become my new reason to live.

“May God bless you and your successor to come.”

Blessing… Huh.

God didn’t say anything to me.

God didn’t bless me either.

God… God only gave me power.

God didn’t help me even when I was bleeding profusely.

God… Didn’t give me any salvation.

There was no reason why it had to be me.

Without any reason, I didn’t see why I had to live.

Even if I became a mere tool to exercise God’s power in this world, I was fine with it.

As long I had a reason.

——————————————————-

While I was being used by the adults, my youth finally passed by.

After I reached my mid twenty, I finally understood a lot of things.

Like how ugly the people are.

How the society was stirred by profit and gains.

Fine.

I’ll dance along with the role of a ‘hero’ if that was the value of my own existence.

——————————–

And then, I finally found it.

I finally found my destiny.

I was in a town, not far from the royal capital.

There was a young boy.

I thought he was lost so I called out to him.

“Are you alright?”

As an adult, I couldn’t leave a lost child alone.

I called him out of a sense of obligation.

The moment he turned his way to me, I was assaulted with sudden bursts of feeling I had never experienced before.

Eyes glistening with tears.

Puffed up lips, slightly red like a ripe cherry.

Deep in my head, I already knew.

This boy before me was nothing but an ordinary boy.

A common looking boy that you could find anywhere.

“I-I’m lost…”

Voice so sweet, it made me feel like melting.

Suddenly I thought to myself.

Ah… I really want to lick those tears away.

What… What is this…?

What is this feeling….?

“I see. You must be very sad but don’t cry. Let’s search for your companion together.”

Those trembling small hand, extended toward me timidly.

Ah… This is bad. I’m completely trapped.

At that point, I already knew.

The moment I took this hand, it was game over for me.

I was rendered helpless as this young boy captured me.

This small young boy, who looked frightened.

This small young boy, who hesitated at first but firmly gripped my hand afterwards.

Ah… I…

Maybe I was born just to meet this boy.

I squeezed his hand back.

This young boy who called himself Mao.

My mind was filled with nothing but the thought of this young boy.

This kind of thing never happened to me before.

To think my mind would be filled with the thought of someone like this….

As I walked together with Mao-tan, I was brimming with immense happiness.

Just by thinking of this young boy.

Just by linking hands together with this young boy.

I felt so alive.

“See you later, Killa-oniichan.”

Almost no one called me Killa.

Because I never allowed anyone to call me Killa.

Killa. Killatur.

When that young boy called out to me, I was not a ‘hero’.

I just became ‘Killatur’.

When I was with that young boy, I could finally exist not as a ‘hero’ but as ‘Killa’.

Oh God.

The God that I cursed so much.

I always detested this power you gave to me.

But now…

I’m grateful.

If I could protect this world that he lived in, I would utilize this power no matter how many times I had to.

As a ‘hero’, I will kill the demon.

As a ‘hero, I will protect that young boy from anything that wishes to harm him.

God, I want to thank you for giving me someone to love.

Perhaps, this young boy was the reason for the years I had been living for.

(Just you wait…. Mao-tan… Onii-tan will do anything for Mao-tan. I will completely obliterate the remaining demons and give years of peace as a present for Mao-tan. Haah…. Haaah…. After that… Maybe Mao-tan will be waiting for me at my home with naked apron and asked, “Do you want to take a bath first? Or do you want to eat first? Or perhaps… Do you want Mao?”. Of course without any doubt I’d choose Mao-tan, even though we’re still in the foyer, Mao-tan will grip my excalibur and with his small and plump lips, he will squelch, schlup, schlick and ———)

“Hero… Hero.”

“…… What?”

My mind went elsewhere for a second but I was able to keep my face straight.

“We can’t find any boy named ‘Mao’ in this neighborhood.”

“I see… Maybe he wasn’t from this town.”

“And.. There’s something that’s been on my mind.”

I trusted this informant since he was tight-lipped.

“Recently, the noble had transferred the rights to govern the nearby forest.”

“And?”

“It appears the new beneficiary is called… Mao.”

……………….

“I see. Can you please tell me more about it?”