Alsten got lost in the sword's beauty. The sharp tip pointing skyward looked so magnificent, representing strength and justice.
The double edged blade was thick and heavy, with a light-blue glow that seemed to emanate from inside the groove that ran along the fuller. At the upper end of the blade, that blue, glowing line split itself into two, meeting the sharply sloped parts of the tip. The crossguard was huge, providing generous protection for his hands. It was made of a silver bar and wood carved to the shape of oblonged cylinder with diamonds on both ends. The grip was wrapped with a dark material with a rough, leathery texture, ensuring that his hold to the magnificent weapon was solid and firm.
He didn't know much about swords, but he could tell that the one in his hand was something out of the ordinary. The mighty steel shone under the bright sun. A weapon that could only be wielded by a truly powerful being.
'I am... the hero?'
Those words lingered in his mind for a few moments. Well, they were technically false. His soul was in the body of the hero.
Without exerting much force, he returned the heavy sword to the scabbard and then let it lean on his leg.
After a brief silence, Lana spoke.
"We are in the middle of the journey to the Demon King's lair. It has been five years since we left the Philgem kingdom, and we estimate that it will take us three more years to reach Ur, the demonic continent."
They turned to Hetaphar when he decided to talk. His deep, heavy voice captured their attention in an instant.
"And that's hoping three years is not too long. According to the divine oracle, the demons will one day awaken a massive army, an unstoppable demonic force that has long perished somewhen in the vast history of this world... If the demonkind revives their ancient army, it will be all over for humanity."
Alsten frowned at his words.
Genler, this time, spoke without raising his hands. Instead, they were clasped together tightly between his knees. His head hung low, making his expression unreadable.
"In other words, we need to defeat the demons before they can revive this terrible army. How much time do we have, you ask?"
He listened closely, a short moment of silence filled the air, and then Genler continued, lifting his gaze to look at the hero.
"That's the worst part. We don't know."
Alsten frowned, gritting his teeth. The situation might have been more dire than he'd thought. Although he knew nothing about what the demon's victory over humanity meant for the world and its inhabitants, the fact that they sent the hero and his party across a vast distance over the course of five years just to stop these demons from achieving their goal was enough for him to know how bad the situation was.
"That's why we're trying to get there and kill the demon king, the only one who possesses the power to revive the ancient demonic army, as soon as we can."
Alsten stared at them in silence before dropping his gaze to his right fist.
'The hero, huh?'
Why did he suddenly wake up in this body?
If some higher power decided to give him this important role, then they had to be either crazy, dumb, or sadistic... Or maybe all of those at the same time.
'Not in a million years will I become a hero.'
He wanted to laugh.
Looking back on his past life, a hero was the furthest thing from who he was. He would describe himself as more of a petty villain and the reason for that was extremely ugly.
'So... why?'
Were they toying with him? Perhaps, they were trying to teach him a lesson? This was supposed to be the compensation for all the sufferings he'd gone through, right? Why the sudden responsibility?
'This makes no sense—wait a minute...'
Suddenly, something clicked inside his mind. What if, he wasn't supposed to accept the injustice he'd suffered and enjoy the new life offered to him?
The world was unfair, and no matter how much people denied it, that fact will never change. Some were born strong, some weak. Some were wealthy, and some struggled to even find daily food. Without needing to work for it, some people just had unfair advantages that they would naturally use to oppress the less fortunate. And no one can change that...
...Until this moment. If he truly was the hero, a man capable of slaying a world-threatening being, then surely, he must have powers able to impose above the rest. His words carried weight, and his actions would directly affect the society in a significant way.
All the pieces fell into place. No one knew unfairness and injustice more than he did, and there was no better man to deliver justice than the hero himself. He was suddenly able to clearly see the purpose of this bizarre situation.
'With your strength and my wisdom...'
The hero clenched his fist, and a burning glint appeared in his sharp, brown eyes.
'We will correct this unjust world.'
His monologue was interrupted when Genler sighed and then continued.
"But with this conundrum we have right now..."
They gave the healer looks of dismay for bringing up the truth.
The hero, who was the hope of an entire world, losing his memories was indeed a pretty big problem. For instance, Alsten, right now, had no idea how to fight or use his powers. He didn't even know what his powers were or how strong he was. Fighting the demonic forces will be a lot harder in this state, and that's just one of many setbacks.
"We have no idea what is the cause of this now, but we need to get your memories back as soon as possible."
He swallowed, and a drop of cold sweat rolled on his forehead. Luckily, no one noticed it as Hetaphar barged in with his loud voice.
"Haha! Well, no worries. Because I'm certain that this is just one of those episodes of our adventures. It'll be solved, eventually!"
Funnily enough, Alsten could see this situation as being one of those filler arcs for a fantasy Webtoon series. Nothing really serious. Though, he sure hoped that wasn't the case because he planned to stay in this body forever...
"But in the meantime," Yobu interrupted, standing up. "You need to become useful in battles. Almost everyday, we encounter monsters, deadly beasts, or even problematic humans. Since you have lost your memories, I can tell by the way you hold your sword: you've lost the ability to fight as well."
Alsten was inwardly amazed by the wolf man's perceptiveness, but it was a sign for him to be cautious.
Still, if even the way he held his sword seemed so wrong, how could he begin to mimic the real Alsten? And just how good of a fighter was he, really?
"Stand up, Alsten. We need to test your skills."
***
The hero and the beast man walked quite the distance from the camp and the rest of the group followed them with their eyes. They stopped at a spacious area beside the road and then faced each other.
Alsten was nervous. He'd never fought anyone directly in his life, except for that one last squabble with the assholes that killed him. But even so, he'd noticed that Yobu had lifted the great sword using his two arms and still seemed to struggle. Meanwhile, he could effortlessly wield the heavy weapon with one hand.
'This guy is strong.'
Additionally, he'd never felt so tall. He was so used to being a short and frail person but now, standing at over six foot, his head was over the moon. This feeling of strength suddenly being under his full command felt exhilarating.
He loved being Alsten.
"Alright, listen up." Yobu began, pulling out the pair of dark daggers hanging behind his waist. The identical blades curved smoothly to one side, ending in a pointy, scythe-like form. Alsten could tell even from this distance that the weapon was extremely sharp and deadly.
"In our party, the two of us were responsible for aggressive attacking. Hetaphar was the protector, Genler was the healer, and Lana handled the long range issues."
As he was talking, he paced back and forth to the sides while casually performing spinning tricks with his daggers. Alsten couldn't help but be awestruck by the dagger-wielding snow wolf in front of him.
'He is so cool,' Alsten thought, trying to hide his enthusiasm.
"So, right now in this sparring, all you have to do is land a hit on me. No need to dodge or block, because I ain't going to attack you. Don't hold back. In case you actually hit me, which I doubt, Genler over there will have no problems healing me."
Yobu spoke confidently. It made Alsten wonder what his relationship was with this beast person. And how shitty had Alsten become for Yobu to be this confident? Also to be able to recognize the degree of how much Alsten's fighting skills had diminished must have required a gargantuan amount of experience and skill itself. Just how strong the snow wolf truly was?
He gazed at Genler who raised his hand with a smile.
"Well then," the beast man intoned and then assumed a wide stance. "Let's begin."
Alsten widened his footing as well, gripped his sword with both hands and then pointed it at Yobu. His heart pounded against his ribcage, an indescribable thrill coursed through his body for the first time.
Then, the hero lunged forward, charging at his opponent.