A hero’s duty

"P-Please spare me….I-I had to, please!"

The woman begged for her life. My sword dripping with blood, which is not of mine. Wounds across her back, one of her eyes was stabbed.

"Please…." she crawled to my feet.

"….I also had to. Forgive me."

*SLASHH*

Blood splattered like a fountain, the white lillies around the place were dyed red. It was a cold and damp night, the moon had shy away in the dark clouds. Only the one on my wrist was available….and hers. I cut of her wrist, wrapping it in a piece of cloth.

"Another villain beaten again, hero. Well done."

An escort knight from the Royal Army approached Alara, taking away the severed body part.

"…It is my duty, after all."

Alara smiled, her hand gripping the sword strongly, trying to hide how devastated she was feeling. Her eyes gazed on the lifeless head rolling on the ground, then the body.

*She was pregnant….* Alara thought quietly.

Prior to the mission, naturally, she had been following the target. As always, she took note of their abilities and weaknesses, which may, and may not be advantageous for her. In this case, it was the latter.

***

"A VILLAIN, CALL FOR THE GUARDS!" Someone shouted desperately.

The air was grim, filled with screams and cries. Chaos everywhere, as though mercy was gone.

*ROARRRRRRR*

A werewolf was howling, killing the civilians. Claws stretched, fangs bared. Innocent people were killed, the living scattered away, looking for shelter.

"HELPP!!!"

Shouts of agony heard everywhere and the news of the bloody night spread around the kingdom, causing the heroes to move. However, by the time they arrived, the villain had disappeared, leaving only faint traces around.

"Search." Alara ordered.

"Yes, Leader!" With a salute, the knights immediately searched the ground.

However, no detailed information was obtained that night, as if deliberately and meticulously erased by someone.

Days become weeks, none of the guards managed to locate the villain, though someone actually did.

At that person happened to be Alara

"Mommy's home!"

"Mom-my!" 

The woman was greeted by a toddler around the age of three. Cute pigtails swinging as the little girl jumped into her mother's arms. A man stood behind her, with a meaningful smile, yet worried look.

"….is it settled for today?"

"…yes, I can't lose control again, can I?"

*Settled? What is?* Alara questioned.

She hid in a blindspot between the lush trees, listening in to their conversations. Alara only meant to follow the villain around to prepare for the future battle, though she could just hunt her right there and now. However, deep down, she felt like maybe she should observe a bit more this time, understand them more, rather than killing blindly like always. What if, villains are not as bad as they thought?

Stealing, arson, murder.

The villain did all of those, even more so than mentioned. However, as if following a certain pattern, it was all moderately done. When committing arson, she won't kill. When she steals, she didn't destroy much. Weeks become months and….

"...Briar, I'm pregnant with a second child!"

She smiled in joy.

"Really?! Oh, Rita, what a wonderful news! Oh, lord, thank you so much!"

Her husband hugged her tightly, the toddler waddled near them and got lifted by the father.

"Mia, you're going to have a sibling!"

"Woah! Mia, big sissy?"

"Yes, darling!"

The family was on a cloud nine, jubilant and grateful with everything they had, something that Alara had longed for. Watching the little family rouses something in her. A nostalgia, though that won't last long, or more accurately couldn't last long. She listened to their joyous news morbidly, knowing what will happen soon.

A villain must be terminated, and that is something she couldn't change. Is it true that she couldn't change it or was she just making an excuse? Alara herself doesn't know how it is.

The next day, a meeting was held. The discussion at hand is by no doubt about the recent incident. The werewolf case.

"Hero Alara, you seem to be going out often these days."

The General of the Royal Army, Sir Easton Omiros brought up the topic from across the long table.

"….I was patrolling around."

"Hah! Patrolling? While the werewolf was still out of our grasp? How admirable."

"Nevertheless, the safety of other civilians shouldn't be abandoned."

"Of course, of course, that is true indeed. However, I hope you know which to prioritise, and not hide any information from us."

Sir Easton gave a doubtful look, squinting his eyes before leaning back with a smirk.

*I had been found out, I suppose.*

*BAMM*

A knight barged into the meeting room, covered in blood and sweat.

"Sir, we've found the villain!"

"Just on time. Hero Alara, you know what to do, right?"

Clenching her fist, Alara forced herself to say,"….of course. Let the villain hunt begin."

With the declaration from Alara, the meeting ended and the troops moved, with her as the lead.