1 Liberation

In a ragged and dimly lit room, a peculiar conversation was taking place.

"… and that's how you saved the Queen of Elves?"

The speaker had a seemingly ancient voice, as if he were an elderly man. A hint of tiredness as well as relief could be felt in it.

"Yeah, once I cured the World Tree, her life force rejuvenated as well. Honestly, I wasn't expecting that to happen. I was just lucky."

A youthful voice full of vigor replied. He had a confident tone, as if he had achieved something great.

Huhuhu….

The aged voice chuckled at those words. The Elf Queen, who was now part of the young man's harem, would surely not take such words well.

"Then surely, the Arcen plague..." he continued asking different questions, to which the young man cheerfully replied.

How he solved an epidemic outbreak or how he coincidentally met and saved the Dwarven Princess from assassins, or when he won against the Empire's strongest swordsman after just a year of training, all of them were just ridiculous tales.

Even more so, when he befriended the legendary Dragon Race or when he succeeded in unsheathing the holy sword.

Yet, that was exactly what this young man had achieved.

All of these tales were undoubtedly legends by themselves and therefore, he had risen to become a living myth.

Braving through dangers, protecting his comrades and vanquishing evil. Such great deeds brought him many titles namely "The Strongest" or "The Guardian" or "The Guiding Lantern", etc.

And as of today, he would also be known as "The Hero".

The Hero who successfully defeated the Demon Lord and brought peace to the world. He would be immortalized in history as the "Greatest of All-Time".

That very Hero was now reciting his story to none other than the Demon Lord, "The Lord of Evil" who threatened to destroy this world.

"… And that's how I met Vera. She must've been at least top 5 in my power rankings. Obviously you're first."

"Indeed. Dragons are said to be the most powerful species, so their princess surely deserves the "Top 5" ranking you speak of." The Demon lord said, tacitly accepting the praise.

"Also, you mentioned your home to be a world called Earth, and how you were reincarnated into Terasha. Could you, perhaps, speak a bit more about it?" He asked, genuinely intrigued.

"Eh? Well sure, I guess. First, there was no magic…" the Hero then spoke about Earth.

A place entirely populated by ordinary humans who lived a seemingly monotone life. Where nature was slowly being destroyed under the banner of "necessity".

A place with towering buildings and peculiar machines. Where intelligence was regarded as the determining factor and colored paper spoke about social status.

About how the people chose their leaders and governments in turn worked for the welfare of the people.

"Surely, wouldn't the frequent change in leadership cause many problems? And how do these cars work? Also you said that all are equal, then why do rich and poor still exist?"

Under the barrage of questions, the Hero slowly explained. Yet the more he spoke, the more the Demon Lord was interested.

Why humanity was so hell-bent on accumulating wealth? Why the weak abandoned the strong? And most importantly,

"Why do they treasure their families as much?"

Demons procreated only as a way of multiplication. They had no need for family and only focused on gaining strength. Therefore, it was the "Law of the Jungle" for them from the minute they were born.

"Eat or be eaten." Was what his mother said before she abandoned him. And after treading that cruel path for nearly a century, he rose to become the Demon Lord.

"That… well, it's just the desire to be loved, I guess. In simple terms, it's a place you could call home, you know." The Hero replied with a little thought.

'A place to call home…' he softly mumbled under his breath. Surely, it was a very vague explanation.

The Demon Lord wondered if he could call something that. Maybe the closet thing would be his Castle.

He then looked around the throne room, now in tatters and filled with debris from the battle earlier. His once majestic castle, now reduced to this broken state.

He could also feel the life forces outside the throne room. Six people, mostly female, were hurrying toward this place.

They were undoubtedly the Elf Queen, the Dwarven Princess, the Sword Saint, the Priestess of Light, the Emperor of Beastmen and finally, the Dragon Queen. He had heard about their stories from the young Hero and recognized them as such.

"You have a wonderful family, young man. Surely, you must've already found your home then?"

The Hero just scratched his head awkwardly and laughed. Indeed, this was an ideal "family" any man could wish for.

Huuup!!

The Demon Lord took a deep breath and continued.

"And, as much as I'd like to hear more, especially about this "Earth" you speak of, it seems I've run out of-cough-time…"

The Holy Sword Excalibur, now embedded in his heart, was finally absorbing his left over life force.

The Demon Lord would surely die in the next few minutes, but he didn't feel bad. If at all he felt thankful.

"These-cough-last few minutes were truly en-cough-joyable." He spoke with a genuine smile.

He felt thankful to the Hero for conversing with him when no one would, for telling him interesting stories, for teaching him new thing and most of all, for fulfilling his greatest wish.

"Cough-Cough-Ahem... By the way, I never caught your name. Could you say it once again?" he coughed blood as he asked his final question.

The Demon Lord, who brought ruin and anarchy to Terasha, would die today. And with that, the Great War would end. Obviously, the Hero who made it all happen should feel proud of himself.

Proud that he saved the world, proud that he protected the Four Races

Yet, as the Hero saw the old demon with wrinkled hands and a tired face, he couldn't help but think of him as a lonely old man.

He was truly a naïve and simple Hero.

"My name is Asahi Matsuyama. What's yours?"

It was a name that could never be spelt by this world's language.

The Demon Lord closed his eyes, and after a moment of thought, he slowly spoke.

"I… cough-I was called…Kieran. And also…thank you-cough-for giving me…peace..."

In the end, the Demon Lord passed with a peaceful expression. His life's greatest wish had finally been achieved.

Finally, he could rest.

Looking at this scene, Asahi's heart felt complicated. He had indeed cleansed this world of "The Greatest Evil". But at the same time, he felt like he had killed a troubled and helpless old man.

However, one thing was certain. He had won the war, but lost the battle.

Creak

As if on cue, the tattered door opened as his comrades came through. Their faces lit up as they observed the room. But, for some reason, Asahi's face was darkened.

"Is it over…?" the Dragon Queen cautiously asked as Asahi just nodded.

He then walked up to the throne and pulled out Excalibur from the corpse. All his comrades were ecstatic at the death of the Demon Lord, yet Asahi couldn't feel the same.

He was the only one who knew the Demon Lo- no, Kieran's tale, and probably the only one who felt sympathy for him.

Truly a naïve Hero.

As they quietly left the castle, the heroes were still in a state of disbelief. But, seeing Asahi depressed, the Elf Queen made a quick advance. She suddenly hugged Asahi from behind and spoke,

"So Asahi… I was thinking about getting married in three days! What do you think?" She had chosen the day after much consideration as it lined up with an Elven festival.

"Hey! No fair! I was the first to meet him so I should be the first in line." The Dwarven Princess interjected pulling at the Elf Queen.

"Heh, fools. Only the strongest have the right to go first." The Dragon Queen boastfully claimed, implying she was supposed to be first.

"Then let's fight. Winner goes first." The Sword Saint calmly pulled out her blade as she spoke.

"Guys, let's get back first. Then you can-" the Emperor of Beastmen tried to speak, but was stopped by a kiss from the Priestess, which slowly grew more passionate

"Ugh! Get a room!!" The four girls shouted before they once again started bickering.

Looking at this scene Asahi felt warm again. Sure, he felt sympathy for Kieran, but if required he would fight him all over again.

Because he was now the "Hero".

Summoned from another world, at the behest of the Goddess, he saved Terasha from the clutches of evil.

The human who single handedly unified the races and lead the war. The "Ideal of Justice and Good".

It was his duty to defeat the Demon Lord, which he fulfilled splendidly.

And so, the Demon Lord's death signified the end of the Great war. A week long celebration was held, honoring the sacrifices of all regardless of race.

That day, known as the "Crusade of Heroes", was the turning point in history.

The Demon Lord's death brought the Four Races closer to each other. They prepared to take measures if the Demon army was unwilling to back down.

The Demons, who lost their leader, were in a precarious position. Losing the Demon Lord had caused their morale to die down tremendously. If they continued with the war, only defeat awaited.

Even if they won by a miracle, they would have heavy losses which weren't worth the risk. In the end, the Demons had been forced to sign a peace treaty.

One of the Four Heavenly Kings took up the mantle as the Demon King and together with the other four races, they created "The Terashan Council".

Headed by the Hero, Asahi Matsuyama, the Five Races were governed peacefully and headed towards a Golden Age.

Demons, who were discriminated against at first, were slowly integrated into society as per the Hero's wishes. Due to the Hero's preaching and hard work, things seemed to change for the better.

The Four Races' prejudice towards the demons began fading away slowly as time passed. A few years later, the Demons had become a part of society, no longer discriminated against.

All the blame and hate was shifted onto the Vile and Greedy Demon Lord Kieran, the "Progenitor of Evil" and "Destroyer of Peace".

Finally, the whole world achieved true peace ten years after "Crusade of Heroes".

Eventually, everyone's happy ending had arrived. The Hero and his comrades settled down with their families and lived happily ever after.

And twenty five years later, the Great Demon Lord Kieran was reduced to a bedtime story used to scare rowdy children.

Truly, an ideal story... until it wasn't.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Kieran's story had yet to end…