Chapter 4: Aftermath

Chapter 4: Aftermath

Lenier was dead.

The heroes had finally won after a gruelling one-month long battle.

And yet, none of the heroes were happy.

During this fight, they had all suffered severe permanent damage and injuries.

On top of their physical disabilities, their pride was also thoroughly crushed.

Mary Sue dropped to her knees and started crying.

She was an angel, a goddess, a divine being that stood above all, considered to be on the same level as the holy gods… but even she couldn't stop the tears.

Despite being a healer and not even fighting close range, she still sustained permanent injuries.

Although her appearance from the outside looked relatively normal, her internal organs were wrecked from the constant exposure to Lenier's energy.

Her vocal cords had been completely destroyed so she could no longer speak, and her reproductive system was damaged beyond repair.

She had always dreamed of being a mother, but now that dream was impossible.

As if that wasn't enough, her holy energy which was what made her so powerful was now tainted with filth and was no longer divine. She would no longer even be considered an angel.

Blind fool Niji was now not only blind, but he had also lost his sense of hearing, his sense of smell and taste.

He was completely cut off from the rest of the world, isolating him even further.

And despite his hopes, his ability to see time branches didn't come back even after Lenier died.

Niji didn't know what to do.

He didn't cry, he didn't move, he just stood there.

Hero Xavier who had fought on the front lines and clashed blades with Lenier the most had half of his body completely destroyed and paralysed.

His left eye, his left arm, his left leg, his left kidney, his left lung, his left testicle and basically his entire left body was completely unfunctional.

It looked like someone cut him in half, burned his left half, and then restitched the two halves back together.

Of course, his right side was also filled with scars, but it was his dominant side, thus was able to block more attacks there.

Both of assassin Nile's arms had become permanently paralysed and wouldn't move no matter what he did.

His life as an assassin was officially over since he could no longer swing a sword.

But even if he could, his fear of pain would've led to his demise anyways.

Arch Mage Lumal overloaded his brain during the battle, causing severe mental shocks and resulted in permanent brain damage and mental disabilities.

To a wizard, this was worse than any physical disability he could've gotten.

But the worse part was that his magic core was shattered, meaning he could no longer perform any forms of magic on his own.

His years and years of research, practise and dedication to the magic arts had crumbled down to absolutely nothing.

Sword king Ragnar lost an arm and a leg, along with an eye.

He would never be able to practise his swordsmanship in the same way that he was once infamous for.

Pethnor had both his legs, wings and horns severed along with his magic core also crushed as well.

The list goes on.

These are the kinds of injuries that each and every one of the heroes suffered.

None of them had gone unscathed.

In a way, it might've been less painful if they had just died.

But now they had to live with his.

Aside from the soft sound of crying, all the heroes were completely silent.

They were all slowly taking in the reality of their situation.

After several minutes, someone finally spoke up and shattering the silent.

"What about… this mark on us? Lenier said it was a… gift."

Pethnor was the one who spoke.

Out of all the heroes here, Pethnor arguably lived the roughest life, suffering and overcoming obstacles that pushed him down into the depths of hell.

He was used to despair like this, and as such, he was the first to accept his reality and move on.

He was the former demon lord after all.

Pethnor looked at the sigil mark on his arm and it softly glowed as he focused on it.

"It seems to react to my command."

Suddenly Mary Sue's head perked up upon hearing Pethnor talk about the sigil.

She tried to speak, forcing air out of her throat, but due to the damage to her vocal cords, only coughs and wheezes came out.

Even though she was unable to say anything, everyone had the same idea as she did.

What if they tried used this sigil mark to heal themselves?

It seemed that by activating the sigil mark, it allowed them to use some of Lenier's magic that he had gifted them.

Even Mary Sue's absolute divine magic couldn't heal the wounds that Lenier inflicted, but what if they used Lenier's own magic from his sigil mark to heal them?

If it worked, then that means they could all return back to how they were before…

"I don't think it's a good idea to mess with the sigil. Lenier is a demon lord who destroyed the entire fucking world. Does he seem like the kind of guy to be nice enough to just grant us a free magic sigil just because we beat him?"

Despite everyone's hope, Pethnor was doubtful and the only one who questioned it.

"Although I was nowhere near Lenier's level, I used to be a demon lord myself. Demon lords don't become demon lords because they're nice, it's because of how cruel and determined they are. They will do whatever it takes to gain more power and survive. There's a good chance that this is a trap. Perhaps he's placed his life force inside these sigil marks, and if we use them… Lenier might revive."

Upon hearing the words "Lenier might revive," all the heroes noticeably tensed up.

They all had minor flashbacks to the battle they had with Lenier, the fear, the pain, and the terror…

They would do anything to not fight him again.

"That's just a guess, but I don't want to risk it. I suggest we all agree to never use the sigil mark."

Although tempted, all the heroes agreed with Pethnor to never use the sigil mark in fears that it might bring back Lenier.

Since Niji was blind and deaf, they communicated with him via touch and magic.

The disappointment and hopelessness the heroes felt robbed them all of their motivation, causing them to dejectedly rest on the battlefield for several hours before they warped back to the overworld.

By now, all the heroes had come to accept the reality of their situation and the fact that they must live with these scars and trauma for the rest of their lives.

And even if they hadn't accepted it yet, they'll have to eventually.

Pethnor was the first to say goodbye to the group of heroes, and headed off to wherever he went.

Sword King Ragnar was next to leave. Then Lyla. Then Gruther. Then Moore.

The heroes slowly left one by one.

But some of the heroes no longer had a place to return to.

Nile who used to be a professional assassin was now no longer capable of doing so. Where would he go and do with his life now?

Mary Sue who used to hold the top position in heaven was rejected as her holy powers were tainted.

She could no longer even enter the place she used to call home.

The worst part was she was unable to argue back since she couldn't speak.

Niji was completely blind and deaf. He was directionless.

He would have no choice to wander the world aimlessly in darkness until the day he died.

Sure he still had his swordsmanship and yes, he could sense magic so he probably wouldn't die randomly, but so what? He had lost everything.

Hero Xavier was also lost.

He had thought that when he was transported to this world, he'd have a chance at living a peaceful life. A life free of war. Free of pain and suffering.

And yet, here he was, in a worse state than he was back on Earth.

Hero Xavier… the prophecy was right.

He did save the world and defeat the demon lord.

But Xavier… no, Steve. Steve rejected the name Xavier. He was no hero, and he certainly was not Xavier.

Steve was not happy that he saved this world.

It was just like on Earth. He was to live the rest of his life suffering from the consequences of his heroism.

People will praise him.

He will be rewarded, and he will live a comfy life.

But that suddenly doesn't seem appealing to him anymore.

He just felt… empty inside.

'Should I just kill myself again?'

He had already committed suicide once and now he's considering it again.

'No… I guess should at least live a couple more years… than I'll make my decision. Maybe I'll fall in love or something.'

Steve chuckled sadly at the thought of that.

'Maybe I'll get married one day. Maybe I'll even have kids… oh wait, I can't. I'm impotent now. Maybe I'll adopt kids then… maybe we'll live a happy slow life with just us...'

But despite these hopeful thoughts, Steve lowered his head.

'Chances are though, I'll die alone. Dying to my trusty friend, the rope.'

Who knew that victory could be so depressing?

Still, even if this battle caused heavy damages to the heroes, there was no doubt that their victory brought peace and safety to this world and its people.

Their sacrifice was a noble one.

Although the damage done by Lenier was extensive, overtime, the world would heal once more.

The 17 heroes will be hailed as the ones who saved them all.

News of their triumphant victory spread amongst the surviving kingdoms like a wildfire, celebrations and parties were held in honor of these heroes.

Statues were built, and books were written about them, engraving them into history for generations to come.

Very few people found about the actual state of these heroes and how many injuries they got. Most had only heard about the heroism and victory.

Just like that, time passed by.

The world was temporarily at peace while everyone focused on rebuilding and recovering from the damages.

Pethnor became the demon race's representative and held meetings with kings and various human leaders to form peace treaties.

Demons and humans both fought together against Lenier when they shared a common goal.

It showed that it's possible for the two races to come to agreement and cease conflict.

Not only that, but Pethnor was one of the 17 heroes and held great value.

Of course, there were people against the idea of demons and humans being together and Pethnor did used to be a demon lord himself, but the general consensus was in favor of peace.

The world was entering a new era.

Pethnor was one of the major leading forces.

Out of all the heroes, he was the most active in world affairs.

He sat in his fancy little office in his expensive chair as he filled out some important paperwork that involved the political affairs of various nations.

Compared to what he had experienced his entire life, his current lifestyle was very mundane.

Everyday used to be a struggle for him, fighting for more strength, killing anyone who opposes him, but now, he's working for a future where he nor anyone had to do that anymore.

Even Pethnor was surprised by how much he changed. But being repeatedly murdered by an even greater evil and power beyond anything you've every known would do that to someone.

As he was working, the door to his office clicked open as a certain familiar individual entered the room.

"Hero Xavier… good to see you again."

"I told you to not call me that, just call me Steve."

Pethnor nodded.

Steve, formerly known as Hero Xavier, slowly walked into the room with his two crutches to support himself.

Ironically, even though Steve was originally summoned to this world to defeat Pethnor, the two of them became close friends and shared lots of information.

"Did you hear the news?" Steve asked.

"What news?" Pethnor asked back as he continued his work.

"Mary Sue killed herself."

"What?'

Pethnor's hand stopped writing and he looked up.

"It isn't just her. Nile and Niji too. Apparently, it was a mass suicide."

"…"

In all honesty, Pethnor was not surprised.

He had suspected that one of the heroes were going to do it sooner or later, he just hadn't expected it to be Mary Sue.

After the Lenier died, Mary Sue was kicked out of heaven and she didn't know where to go.

Nile and Niji were also wandering aimlessly, so Mary Sue decided to open up a nursery home to take care of them all.

Mary Sue may have lost her powers and her ability to speak, but she's a strong-willed angel that could resist even the most powerful mental temptations.

Many people called her the "perfect" being.

Obviously, she wasn't.

Nile and Niji weren't much of a surprise though.

Steve scratched his head.

"They invited me as well. To their mass suicide that is. I turned them down. Well, I did consider it though."

Pethnor had also already known that Steve was somewhat suicidal.

They've gotten drunk together before and shared stories of their lives, and Steve shared the story of his past life on Earth.

"What about the others?"

"Most of the other heroes went missing. Lumal had lived with Mary in her nursery home for a little while due to his mental disabilities, but he left a while ago. He said he was trying to pursue a goal or something and disappeared. I'm not sure where most of the other heroes have gone. They could be alive, or they could be dead. Who knows. Probably just living out the rest of their lives in seclusion and peace."

Pethnor nodded and paused for a moment to think.

Although times were somewhat peace, he was still cautious. He didn't want anything to go wrong.

"By the way, how's your investigation on that matter going?"

Pethnor had recently asked Steve to investigate a certain important matter, which is what he had assumed the reason for Steve's visit was to report his findings.

"It's… worse than I thought. They've infiltrated a lot of higher officials and have secretly spread their influence to many countries… the cult of Lenier, that is."

The cult of Lenier.

During the time of Lenier's rising, there were people who had begun to worship him, believing in him like a god.

Considering his strength, that actually wouldn't be too far off.

But these people who worshipped him, they formed a cult now known as the cult of Lenier.

They were relatively small when Lenier was alive since Lenier became the demon lord within the span of a single day so they didn't have much time to grow.

After his death though, time passed and many people still worshipped him, thus growing this cult.

Pethnor wasn't quite sure why people worshiped Lenier so much, but he had his guesses.

When Pethnor was a demon lord, many people worshipped him as well, although not on the same level as the cult of Lenier.

Pethnor was powerful, and strength attracted admiration.

As such, many people followed him with great loyalty.

Even amongst humans, there were those who followed Pethnor as well. In fact, one of Pethnor's former generals was a human.

Although Pethnor was an evil demon lord and commit evil acts, many humans who lived miserable lives were saved by him.

Even if it was unintendedly, those he saved worshipped and served under him, willingly becoming demons.

It could be assumed that this is also the case for Lenier.

Their investigation showed no connection between Lenier when he was alive and the cult itself.

Regardless of the reason, this cult was dangerous.

They worshipped a monster.

And it can also be assumed that they would dislike the 17 heroes who defeated Lenier, the object of their worship.

Pethnor wanted to swiftly eliminate the cult and ensure that it never becomes a threat.

"I've found traces of their connections to the kingdom of Tavar. We have some convincing evidence of their presence in the merchant's guild there… What do you plan on doing?" Steve reported all this, and then proceed to ask a rhetorical question which he already knew the answer to.

Pethnor stood up and grinned.

"Kill them all of course."

Pethnor may have become softer, but he'd still willingly kill everyone in the cult regardless of if they were a child, pregnant or elderly.

And so, Pethnor, former demon lord, was on his way to rampage once again.

While Pethnor and Steve were travelling towards the kingdom of a Tavar, a certain incident was also happening elsewhere.

In a dark dingy room, a shadowy figure sat on the ground, trembling, as he drew something onto the ground.

"T-this… this must work! I-it must… it's the only way I can… uhhh… I can… return to normal…"

On the ground, was a mess.

Papers and pens scattered everywhere.

The ground was stained with various different fluids.

This man was clearly insane. Sweat poured down his face, and his fingernails bled from the pressure he put on his pen.

Madness filled his eyes.

And on his hand… was a strange sigil mark, oozing with ominous yet powerful magic.

He was close to finishing it.