If ordinary people saw the scene unfolding below, they would never be able to call it training.
It would surely be mistaken for a battle to the death in actual combat.
No, that’s how it would be perceived.
Such a scene was unfolding before their eyes.
Japanese individuals possessing the potential of heroes, brought from Japan.
There were twelve of them.
Normally, their expressions would be peaceful and serene, or filled with anger, clearly displaying a range of emotions.
But in the scene before them now, none of that was present.
Not a trace of their gentle expressions, unacquainted with combat, remained.
These were heroes, transformed into killing machines, embodying homicidal intent in their eyes, fighting spirit in their hearts, and the resolve to kill any enemy they encountered, dedicated to achieving a single goal.
“God Enemy Certain Kill.”
“God Enemy Certain Kill.”
“God Enemy Certain Kill.”
“God Enemy Certain Kill.”
Murmuring the phrase, as if even if their opponents were fellow heroes, defeat was not an option. Each wielded their weapons, aiming to kill their training partners.
It was a scene that should be called training through actual combat, rather than training *for* actual combat.
If there was no time before the decisive battle, then powerful military strength had to be forged rapidly.
In that case, to create beings capable of killing the Demon Lord, one must seize their consciousness to a level that could be called brainwashing, and constantly place them in combat situations with actual combat in mind.
Now that the Seraph, the Sun God’s most powerful asset, was lost, these individuals were to fill that void.
Defeat meant death.
Death meant failure to defeat the enemies of the gods.
The emotion that most abhorred, hated, and detested this concept of defeat was the fighting spirit that strove to overcome it.
A refinement that could be called a virtuous cycle born from a vicious cycle.
The being observing this scene could only offer a sharp, yet fragile assessment.
To her, they were utterly boring beings.
Beings unworthy of her attention.
She sighed, thinking it would be better to fight her sisters-in-law.
“No, in that case, I would prefer to fight an enemy like him.”
Compromise was not permitted in battle.
When fighting, one should not torment the weak, but rather seek to fight equally, or against stronger opponents.
She gently ran her remaining right hand over the wound on her now-absent left hand, attempting to immerse herself in the memory of their recent battle, but sensing the approach of Seraph Aiwa, who was in charge of hero education, her mood plummeted.
“You seem to dislike them quite a bit, Seraph Aiwa. You’ve become quite a piteous sight in the time I haven’t seen you.”
“Is it you, Carter Isperio?”
If Carter was a type of person Aiwa disliked, her mood worsened further.
She made no effort to conceal her abhorrence.
Instead, she looked at him with a condescending gaze.
Carter Isperio, a descendant of heroes, imprisoned and rescued with the help of his sister-in-law.
“Is it me? You don’t have to be so cold, especially to someone who saved your life.”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
Aiwa’s criteria for liking or disliking people were primarily based on a physical scale of strength or weakness.
Even purely powerful beings or those who shrewdly exploited weaknesses were, to her, desirable existences as long as they were strong.
There was no distinction between good and evil.
The only exception was any being who interfered with her battles; they were universally detested.
What Carter referred to as saving his life was when he intervened from the sidelines in the battle against the Undead King, who had plunged the world into chaos, and rescued Aiwa when she was in a battered state.
Although it was an act that should have earned gratitude, to Aiwa, he was nothing but a nuisance.
Therefore, while she would engage in professional conversation, she considered him someone she wanted to keep at a distance.
“So, do you have any business with me? If not, I would like you to leave promptly.”
“I see I’ve fallen out of favor.”
“I can guarantee a certain level of strength from you, but that’s all. You interfered with a battle I was enjoying. If you can take my place in that fight, I might change my attitude.”
Carter shrugged and spoke in a playful manner, but upon hearing Aiwa’s assessment, his usually smiling eyes glinted sharply.
“You believe I am inferior to that Undead?”
“Yes, at least that is how I perceived it.”
“Hahaha! What a terrible misjudgment. Even the first hero is like this. I think I understand why this battle has lasted so long.”
“Believe what you wish, I have no intention of changing my opinion.”
Aiwa, who had fought the Undead King Nōraifu, had evaluated Carter as inferior to the Undead King without him even having fought.
This was despite Carter possessing strength that had even made the Demon Lord wary.
He tried to negate her words with a sarcastic laugh, but Aiwa, seemingly uninterested, continued to gaze at the training below without even looking at him.
It was as if Carter, standing beside her, was not even there.
For a fleeting moment, a flicker of anger surfaced at her attitude, but the mask of her smile did not falter.
“Very well. I was defeated by the Demon Lord once. I shall atone for that shame in battle. Today, I am a messenger. Here is the report on our current military strength against the Demon Lord’s Army, as compiled by the coalition. And this is the report on our trump card.”
Fulfilling his duty, Carter handed Aiwa the documents.
Only then did Aiwa turn towards Carter and accept the documents with her right hand.
Internally, Carter scoffed.
He saw the dilapidated state of Aiwa as they faced each other.
Her left arm was missing from the shoulder, her left leg was a prosthetic from the knee down, and her left eye, hidden by her hair, had also been destroyed.
To think she would be in such a state after facing the Undead King he considered beneath him.
The first hero had fallen so far, he thought to himself.
Carter firmly believed that without his intervention, the Seraph would have certainly lost her life. Aiwa claimed he had interfered, but at the moment Carter intervened, the Undead King was about to deliver the finishing blow to a cornered Aiwa.
There was no doubt that he had disrupted the fight and, with a counter-attack, had swung his holy sword, landing a critical blow on the Undead King.
Unfortunately, he had not been able to finish off the Undead King who had plunged into chaos, but the wound he inflicted was significant.
In Carter’s mind, the battle against the Undead King Nōraifu was over, and he was filled with joy at having diminished the Demon Lord’s forces.
“I have delivered my message. My business here is concluded, so I shall take my leave. Please send my regards to the Sun God.”
The era of this first hero had ended.
He didn’t know whose era it would be next, but it would certainly not be an era where the first hero could not properly wield the divine sword.
With a slight bow and a nod of thanks, Carter turned and walked away. Aiwa glanced at his retreating back, lost all interest, and began stroking her wounds again.
With the Sun God’s power, such wounds would heal in an instant.
Aiwa herself had refused this healing.
That day, at that moment.
Indeed, Aiwa’s life had been on the verge of ending.
“…”
Every time she gently stroked the scar. The scene would come to mind.
With the arrival of reinforcements for Aiwa, the Undead King had indeed been cornered.
But as if to say, “So what?” in that desperate situation, he had attacked with the resolve to kill Aiwa.
That desperate attack had definitely surpassed Aiwa’s strength at the time.
The blade of the Knight of Oblivion had severed her left arm, magic bullets had blown off her left leg, and an arrow had pierced her left eye.
A life-threatening crisis, losing vital organs on the left side—one arm, one leg, one eye.
Upon receiving this, Aiwa had accepted death.
She had even smiled, thinking this was her place to die.
“I am waiting for you, King of the Undead. You are surely alive.”
Aiwa would never forgive Carter for shattering that desperate situation.
Even for their rematch, she vowed to carry these wounds as proof, rather than facing him in perfect condition.
The King of the Undead, pierced through the back by Carter’s holy sword, had sunk into the chaos with regret.
Wounds and an environment that no ordinary person could possibly survive.
However, she had hoped that for her, this was not the end.
She couldn’t help but hope.
“I await the day when this burning sensation will be soothed.”
The lingering embers of incomplete combustion within Aiwa’s body.
They itched incessantly.
She was training new heroes to pass the time, but they were no match for Aiwa, who had lost half of her body. With this, she couldn’t even hope to take the Demon Lord’s head.
Such was their caliber.
Perhaps, eventually, one of them might reach her level, but Aiwa thought there would probably be no time to wait leisurely for that.
“… It seems the day of the decisive battle is drawing near.”
Within Isal, a temporary ceasefire was declared, and a coalition against the Demon Lord’s Army was formed, with three countries and several surrounding nations in agreement.
This had happened several times throughout history, but in Aiwa’s eyes, those appointed to the top this time were an assembly of exceptional individuals.
Once the people who could act as their hands and feet were also in place, even the Demon Lord, whom the Undead King served, would not escape unscathed.
Skillfully and with painstaking care, she read the letters Carter had handed her with one hand, reconfirming that progress in the lower realms was proceeding smoothly.
And then, the report Carter had brought, the one he called their trump card.
As she read through it, page by page, she discovered that its completion was further along than she had imagined.
“Even with divine assistance. You have achieved this much?”
That was precisely why humans were interesting.
That was precisely why it was worthwhile to side with the divine.
A truth known only to the first hero.
“Even though gods are not on humanity’s side. You believed this much?”
If they are not given faith, gods lose their power.
But if asked whether gods must treat humans well, the Sun God would answer no.
To the Sun God, humans were no different from coal, a source of energy. If they were lacking, they would be increased; if they were plentiful, they would be reduced.
“After the decisive battle with the Demon Lord’s Army, will it be a war between humans and gods?”
A world where people could be managed like livestock.
That was the ideal world for the Sun God. A world managed like a birdcage, with moderate increases, and the assurance of energy sources through perfect faith-based governance.
Anyone who interfered with this, even a believer, would not be spared.
How many nations had changed and turned to evil throughout history?
How many of those nations had vanished due to divine punishment?
Aiwa, who had fought as a vanguard in those times, eagerly anticipated another great war after this one.
Carter did not know.
Carter could not know.
The people of Isal did not know.
Even the people of Isal could not know.
Only the first hero, Aiwa, knew the truth.
The truth desired by the gods.
The people of Isal believed this decisive battle would lead to true peace.
But Aiwa knew.
That this battle against the Demon Race was merely a stepping stone.
The battle that awaited beyond that was when this world would finally reach its imagined conclusion.
“For the time being, I shall cool this burning sensation with this battle.”
Surely, during that period, she would encounter an even stronger opponent than the Undead King.
But it was Aiwa’s principle to finish what was served.
Aiwa was someone who wanted to resolve unresolved battles.
“Yes, rest assured, King of the Undead. I will not permit myself to lose in the meantime.”
Until now, she had always been victorious and satisfied with her battles, which was why she had been willing to die; therein lay her victory.
But now, Aiwa had something left unresolved.
A conclusion with the Undead King.
Whether he was dead or alive.
Aiwa had vowed in her heart not to die until she settled the score with the Undead King, whose survival was uncertain.
This meant that her sole point of pride had vanished from within her.
The always-victorious first hero.
The moment her power became complete, even after losing half of her body.
The gears that had been immobile until now, had engaged.
And begun to turn.
“Is it finally time to draw that sword again?”
Not a divine sword forged by the gods. Not a holy sword granted by the nation.
The sword the first hero trusted the most.
A single sword, forged by someone whose memory had worn away, someone whose face she could no longer recall, from when the hero was still human.
“Don’t worry. When I draw that sword, I am undoubtedly the strongest.”
Only the words exchanged with that someone remained in Aiwa’s heart.
“Yes, only when I wield that sword.”
It was a vow. A vow that became a trigger for her to revel in the joy of battle.
“I cannot afford to lose.”
The time of the decisive battle was drawing near.
She could not imagine who would be fighting her at that moment.
But the flames of battle could no longer be extinguished by anyone.
End of Another Side
Today’s Word:
Prices that seem cheap now may prove expensive later.
A reader pointed out an issue in the comments, and after consideration, I have made minor changes to parts that implied an inability to return to the past.
Thank you for your continued feedback and for pointing out any typos.
If you find this enjoyable, please leave comments, ratings, and bookmarks, etc.
*The first volume of this series is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
An e-book version was also released on October 31 of the same year.
The second volume was released on December 19.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content consists of revised and expanded material from the version posted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, including additional unreleased intermissions.
Please consider purchasing the new releases as well!
Thank you for your continued support of this work.
