The Next Hero

Walking into the main room towards the standing four persons.

I began to give my report.

"I met with the Hero as you suggested, but it went poorly. We need to-"

"Samson, excellent timing. We were just about to discuss our newest Hero."

"..."

I was cutover mid report, and the black haired man was confirmed to be the newest hero probably summoned the minute the last one succumbed to the succubi assault.

"Samson, this is Sister Carina. She is the representative from the central Atuna Inquisition. Sister Carina, this is Samson. He may not be a follower of Atuna, but her has long been a dutiful ally."

The Elite sister introduced the new woman in armour.

"We've met, actually. While I might question his willingness to use whatever methods necessary, I believe he intends to do the right thing."

"I meanwhile could say the same about you."

"Ha, of course you would try to pull me into some kind of false equivalence, but your hands are too stained with blood for your tongue to have any weight here."

"Says the woman who has no problem with the torture of metaphors."

"Regardless, I want to also introduce you to the newest Hero."

"Finally you get to me! Anyway, yeah yeah you're some old knight. lets go kill the demon lord and forget about introductions!"

"How rude! Forgive the heroes abruptness, he's just eager to begin the goddess's work."

"That's okay. i feel like we've already been introduced."

"For now, we hope that you can guide him, Samson. Where will you be taking the hero?"

"The knife."

"The what now?"

"It's a heavily contested fortress by the ocean, between Oscil and the Demon Lords domain."

"I guess that's good enough for now. I'll see you at the edge of town, after I've had another shot at that succubi in the other room."

"What? Hero, you must guard your heart against such temptations."

"Yeah, yeah whatever."

With that the hero sauntered off probably to have a round at Qum.

The four of us remaining decided to converse while we waited for him to finish.

"I trust you've been well Samson."

"I've... had better days. Why did the Inquisition send you?"

"Is it so odd that I would visit one of our most important bases in the war against the demon lord? Everyone here needs spiritual guidance and support."

"Right, cause the church doesn't have any ulterior motives whatsoever."

"Maybe a few members are corrupted by the world, but do you really think so ill of all of us?"

"...The church of Atuna is one of the only organizations working across multiple nations to stop the demon lord. You're all we have.

"Haha, good ole Samson. I'll get you converted one of these days, I swear I will."

"I wanted to ask you if you could check if I have any residual corruption. I'm not sure I trust the other sister here to cast the spells properly."

"Unfortunatley, it's not that simple."

"...I've been told that it is."

"That's a simplistic understanding. "Purity" and "Corruption" are obviously important concepts, and they're critical to the war and personal salvation. But are they elements that exist objectively in the world? That's controversial. I'm not a theoretical mage, but I know the interactions between the demon lords magic and individual people vary a lot. Why do you ask? Are you worried about something?"

"... Just being cautious. I feel fine."

"As fine as it can be for an unrepentant heathen! seriously, though, I'll be praying for you. you could be a good man, samson."

"Good luck on storming that fortress with the Hero Samson."

I ended the conversations with the trio and set out for the edge of town, along the way I came across Ena.

"Headed out again? I'll be cheering you on from here."

"Thanks Ena."

I took up position waiting for the Hero to arrive.

A few hours passed when finally her arrived in a huff of all things.

"There you are! Finally! So we're headed to this knife fort place?"

"No."

"Bu-what? Why not?"

"I announced a plausible destination for the sake of anyone listening in. As soon as we get out of sight, we're doubling back east."

"I don't get it."

"Don't worry. Soon you'll get a chance to kill a lot more than just rats."

When they are first summoned the heroes are subjected to killing rats in the church basement where with their blessing and rapid growth they could level up before risking being sent on their first mission.

The hero luckily enough shut up and the two of us set off on our journey.