Alive

'This is it. Shit… Ma, Pa, I couldn't do it… my dream…'

A man kneeled on the ground, blood pouring out of every orifice with a hole big enough to stick one's arm through bled ceaselessly. 

That man is Henry Galahad: The most wanted man in the four kingdoms. However, that wasn't his only title.

Bringer of light. The Greatest Prodigy. Hero. If this were a normal fairy tale, he would be traveling the world with a party filled with friends, hunting down some evil, malevolent "demon king". In fact, he originally thought that was the case. 

However, the world isn't black and white. Not in the slightest.

Henry was naive, even he would admit it now. He believed wholeheartedly in this idea of "good" and "evil" that he was fed by the king that so "graciously" took him in. Oh how little did he know back then.

Now, such a great individual was reduced to a large block of swiss cheese by the one he used to call "Master."

Despite all the noise that the castle, one that was currently in the process of falling apart around him, made, he couldn't hear anything other than his waning heartbeat and dissipating mana rings. 

The seven of them tried their hardest to give him the energy he so greatly needed to heal his injuries; to continue on his fight, but alas, once their vessel was destroyed, their efforts were futile.

Tears welled up in Henry's eyes, an unwilling gaze plastered across his visage. In his mind, he had done everything right, yet he failed in the end. How fair was that?

Not fair at all.

Slowly, the light faded from his eyes. The Bringer of Light: dead.

"Holy shit…"

"... H-henry's dead!"

"I can't believe it!"

Surrounding him was no less than an army of knights and mages, and not a single one of them were in one piece, not to mention the surroundings.

If one had a bird's eye view, it would look like the end of the world began- that the angels had come down to begin armageddon. 

Swords of golden light littered the once great palace. Many sections were completely flattened, some reduced to ash, and some gone entirely. Massive gashes made the ground look like an art student had given up on his clay sculpture, instead slashing into it with any nearby sharp object they had.

Dead bodies littered the battlefield, yet all shared one thing in common: they had died by Henry's blade or magic.

His skill matched his other title as "The Greatest Prodigy". His techniques in swordplay were nothing short of beautiful. Flowing sword arcs wrapped around any defense one could muster. Swords, spears, maces, axes, every weapon imaginable littered the battlefield, yet barely any were near their owner. 

His style of fighting was methodical in nature: He would dismantle, trick, and cleanly execute anything in his path. If this were the extent of his abilities, he could already compete with the best of six-ringed knights or mages. Yet, that wouldn't explain his other title.

Truly, the "Bringer of Light" was the most fitting title. His light magic was used to its fullest extent: Illusions, flash-bangs, light constructs, and healing, all combined into an efficient system of destruction; one that had leveled one of the most well guarded places on the continent, no, the planet!

All while having been forcefully teleported into the trap set within it before he even knew a Spatial Mage had even done anything. 

"*Ughhh…*"

A giant of a man, covered in wounds, missing both arms and a leg, finally allowed his magic to drop him.

His long, brown hair dripped with blood and sweat as he looked up to the stars. 

'Ah, I must have lost too much blood. I'm seeing a star that never existed before,' the man thought. 'Oh well, I guess this is karma, dying next to my student that I betrayed.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but not due to his fast approaching end:

'I'm sorry, my daughter, I had no choice. Your "future husband" as you call him chose the wrong side without thinking of the consequences.' 

He shook his head and wondered why she even tried to woo such a dense guy. Had he even realized she liked her? Probably not. 

'You must know that I would have to do this after he denounced the king.'

"*Cough! Cough!*"

The man's blood poured out of where his appendages once were like rivers, clouding his mind and numbing his senses. 

'I hope… you can forgive… daddy…'

.

.

.

"*Bathump~*"

A small, golden haired infant's eyes snapped open.

'I'm… Alive?'

Henry tried to sit up, but realized all the strength he once had was sapped from his body. In a panic, he attempted to rouse his mana.

Despite not feeling it, he continued. He had met someone before that had been able to cloud his senses, both natural and mana-derived, before. 

Eventually, he succeeded. 'But… one ring? What happened?' He had never heard of rings being removed without the Mage or Knight dying.

Finally, in this brief moment of confusion, he remembered; 

'I died.'

This came as a shock, to say the least. Henry's whole life leading up to his death flashed before his eyes. All the pain, all the suffering. All the blood, sweat, and tears, and even a few happy times, all at once. 

A few tears shed from his eyes. 'No! If I'm alive, then it might be possible to-'

"Ah! One's awake!"

'!!! Who…huh? 

'Wait… WHAT in the seven saints is she wearing?'

A woman towered over him, surprising him more. He had, however, seen giants. Now, this may be the most attractive one he'd seen, but that wasn't what confused him the most.

She had on what he could only assume was a dark blue, one-piece jumper, over which she had an unzipped, thick green vest. The strangest piece of attire, though, had to be the headband she had neatly strapped to her forehead. 

A metal plate with what looked like a leaf carved on it was attached to a black cloth headband. He had never seen such armor, and saw minimal practicality in it. The rest of her attire looked military in nature, noticing its simple yet distinct design that promoted mobility over sheer protection. 'Most likely a mage,' he thought.

"Poor thing," another person said, male this time. "That nine-tailed demon… fuck…"

'Nine-tailed demon? I have never heard of such… what in the saints is happening?'

Henry was baffled, more so by the fact that the man before him was shedding tears. 

However, after all this time, Henry did not stop attempting to move. Finally, he managed to lift his hand, only to be surprised even more. 'A… baby? Hold on…'

He closed his eyes and began to meditate. Quick thinking was a necessary thing for any aspiring Knight or Mage, and naturally one of the most talented among them had this trait in spades. He'd have died long ago otherwise.

Henry circulated his mana throughout his internal mana veins, and was surprised. Not only were his rings gone, but his other 17 years too! 'This is the body of an infant… and if this is real… then I can only assume one thing:

'I have been reincarnated.'

This concept is not entirely foreign to him. The stories of the demon king mentioned that his soul reincarnated every 1000 years, yet, no other soul was recorded to do so. 

'But if I have reincarnated, then I still have a chance to succeed in my goal! Although I recognize none of this architecture, attire, or this 'Nine-tailed demon', who cares?'

He opened his eyes once again. If those ninja were still there, they would have noticed the golden spark that lit up the infant's sapphire eyes. 

Henry Galahad's, now known as "Nobokuni Hatada" (*Note last names come first in the Japanese language) according to the name tag on his infant-hospital bed and diaper, determination had once again awakened, and one thing was for certain:

His name would go down in history.