Cometh the Hero

The dark dingy smell vanished, and what filled my nose was the clear scent of fresh air. The gently blowing breeze brought the fragrance of flowers to me. The sunlight cut through the leaves and lightened my body, while the soft chirping of birds and insects brought peace to my mind.

It had been such a long time since I felt any of this that it all seemed alien, and yet so familiar. We really were back. I couldn't help but sigh.

It wasn't until long ago that I had given up all hope of ever coming back. I had given up on my fate and had grown accustomed to living a grey, monotonous life; the warm sunlight, the fresh air, my flowing blood, that jump of the pulse. Ah, to think that my craving for these would be fulfilled.

Of course, I hadn't achieved such a feat alone; my contribution was minimal, actually.

And yet, mere moments were all I was allowed to relish in this achievement.

Aaaaahhh…

Tell me, Viben. Why do I feel this humongous amount of mana inside me?

Tell me, Viben. Why is the air entering my lungs filled with mana?

Tell me, Viben. Why does mana course through my body when I get angry?

Tell me, Viben... After all those sacrifices, why does mana still exist in this world?

Why? Why? Why?!

After all those lives we sacrificed, why is this world still full of mana?! How is this possible?! Answer me, Viben! You are self-proclaimed expert of mana, right?! Then answer me!

[…I do not know.]

You do not know?! How the fuck is that possible?!

[Calm down, Anthasia.]

You think I can calm down?!

[Then what, you think shouting at me will give you your answers?] He sighed. [We need you to pull yourself together. <Grand Orfei> was successful, I can assure you that. Which means mana was brought back by another means. I don't know which one, but only after you calm down can we start looking for answers.]

…

...

I let out a big sigh.

You're right, sorry. I lost my cool back there.

[Don't worry. I'm awfully used to your mood swings.]

I-It doesn't happen that often…

[Someone sure needs a reality check.]

Argh, fine. But first of all, why the hell can you read my thoughts?

[Oh? I thought it would take you longer to notice.] I could feel him smirking; it's scary what living together for so long can do to you. [It's scary, alright. Should I stop reading your thoughts?]

Of course. Don't you know that having secrets makes a woman charming?

[Don't worry, I already see you as a rock.]

Wow, you just killed my self-confidence.

Anyway, stop reading my thoughts.

[As you wish.] Some sort of current ran through my soul, as if a connection had been broken. [If you want to talk to me, then you will have to think of me and the things you want to say simultaneously.]

Hmm…

⟦Something like this?⟧

[Perfect.]

⟦That was easy. Oh wait, how can I be sure that you can no longer read my thoughts?⟧

[What about the trust we built between us over the past 800 years?]

⟦Well, you're the Demon King, so, you know…⟧

[Wow.] He sighed.

Hehe, fucking with him always lifts my spirits.

⟦Anyway, let's get back on track.⟧

Namely finding out why mana still exists in this world.

[Would it kill you to have some patience?] He rubbed his temples; hmm, even though I cannot see him, I can instinctively feel the actions he is making. [We have another problem to solve before that.]

⟦Which is?⟧

What could be more important than finding out why mana still exists in this world even though I cast <Grand Orfei>, the Ultimate magic spell capable of sealing us in another dimension at the cost of one of the fundamental laws of this World?

[The state of your body!] He retorted. [You have turned into a vampire, remember?]

⟦Aahhh…⟧

Right, no wonder the sun's been prickling my skin- wait!

⟦W-what should we do, Viben! I'm about to die!⟧

The sun's going to burn me soon! I'll turn into ashes!

[Haah, this woman…] He sighed exasperatedly. [If the sun was going to turn you into ashes, it would have done so the moment we set foot into this world.]

⟦Then what? Do I have the body of a True Vampire?⟧

The True Vampires are the ones with purest of vampire blood running through their veins. Unlike normal vampires, they weren't vulnerable to a vampire's natural weaknesses, like sunlight or silver.

The most fearsome of them were the Progenitors; it was them who brought vampires into this world. There were only 12 Progenitors, one of which was killed by me.

[Perhaps. Or it is possible that you are being protected by my monstrous regenerative skills.]

⟦<Undying body>, eh? Does that mean I've inherited your skills?⟧

[It is possible. We might have to test it out.]

⟦I see.⟧

I'm sure his 'researcher blood' is boiling right now to conduct experiments.

⟦Well, before that, looking for your new body should be our first goal.⟧

[Don't worry about that. You wouldn't find a body fit to house a Demon King's soul so easily. Besides, it's rather comfortable here.] He chuckled.

⟦Just what the hell are you doing in my body?!⟧

Well, I'll let him indulge for now, I suppose. After all, it was thanks to his sacrifice that we got out of that dimension.

If I knew things stopped aging in End Emptiness, I never would have used that spell. Especially because I now know that mana would somehow find its way back to this world.

⟦You know of any spells that'll let me go back in time?⟧

[So that you can go back in time to slap yourself and stop yourself from casting <Grand Orfei>?]

⟦I knew it! You're still reading my mind!⟧

This lying bastard! I'll break his knees- wait, he doesn't have them. Goddamnit.

[No, I'm not. I don't need to; I'm too familiar with your thought processes. We didn't live together for 847 years for nothing.] He scoffed.

⟦Oh.⟧

847 years, huh...

That was the amount of time we had spent in End Emptiness. A separate dimension where time itself holds no meaning. No, that would be wrong. Time does flow there, but its effects are not felt. To be more precise, we were the ones who weren't affected by the passage of time.

In those 847 years, not a single thing had changed in our body. We never felt hunger or thirst, neither did we feel tired. My hairs didn't grow by a single inch; if we were in this world, I would have had hairs 7 times longer than my height.

Of course, getting out of such a dimension was nearly impossible. Emphasis on the nearly there. The process was arduous and time consuming; Viben's body was sacrificed too, but in the end, we were able to return.

We achieved such a feat by constructing and using a magic spell from scratch. The sheer amount of mana required to activate it was so huge that we had to collect mana for 10 years before we could use it. Then came-

"Aaaaaaahh!" A shrill scream resounded somewhere in the forest. "&#8*! mi!"

What the fuck is that?

Hmm, judging by the pitch and tone, this voice belongs to a young girl, somewhere around 7 to 8 years old.

⟦I heard a scream just now.⟧

[Yeah, I heard that.]

⟦So- wait, what?⟧

[I can tap into your brain to get visual and auditory feedback.]

⟦Woah, fuck. What's next? You can share my sense of touch? Damn it Viben, why don't you just go ahead and take over my body as well, huh? Where's my privacy!?⟧

I need to find him a new body, and fast.

[Don't worry, common sense is an area I- unlike you- excel at.] He smirked.

⟦Oh, fuck off!⟧

[I wish I could.] He sighed. [Now, why don't you go ahead and save that little lass?]

⟦I don't need you to tell me that.⟧

I dashed towards the direction the scream had come from, and after some moments, I arrived at a cliff. In the valley below, I could see a lizard like creature, except it was huge and had wings. Why, it was a-

[Dragon.] Viben exclaimed. [Perhaps it's an Ancient Dragon?]

⟦No, it's too small to be an Ancient.⟧

Ancient Dragons, the rulers of Dragonkind, are as large as mountains. This one was 20 metres tall; it couldn't be older than 200 years. It was just a brat.

[Mana really is back, huh…]

The ritual to birth a new dragon is based on the use of mana. When I cast <Grand Orfei>, I made sure that not even a single drop of mana would remain in this world; only then would humans and demons be freed of their pointless wars.

The very existence of this Dragon proves that mana still exists.

[Let's ruminate later; preferably after we save that little girl.]

Sure enough, a little girl had fallen on her butt in front of that Dragon. The fact that the girl was still alive, coupled with how lecherously the dragon was licking its lips(?), it would be safe to assume that Dragon was a paedophile.

Ah, how low have the Dragons fallen.

Well, it's time for me to do what I do best; be a Hero.