Chapter 4: Awakening
Sometimes, I think about strange things.
What if my older sister were still here, and we could stay as we were back then?
What if I chose not to become a hero?
What if I hadn’t met Shishou at that time?
There are no answers no matter how much I think about it, but for some reason, I can’t help but think about it.
Every time, I feel like I’m about to cry a little.
It’s because I’m still not strong.
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“Hey… that’s bullshit,”
Seft said, his cheeks twitching as he looked at it.
“Why can it move…!? I should have erased its memories,”
Redonis, who was performing the final check on the vessel, turned his astonished face towards it.
A peach-haired girl standing on two legs was there.
A few minutes ago, Redonis had completed the memory erasure, and the girl had turned into a motionless doll and rolled onto the ground.
All vitality and the power of the hero should have been sucked away, leaving nothing behind.
Yet, the girl—Letinoa—stood on the ground, staring at them with both eyes.
“You didn’t erase it completely, huh?”
“There’s no way. I erased all memories. It should have returned to being a motionless doll—”
Suddenly, Redonis realized something. No way—
Letinoa manifested the Holy Sword. Particles of light converged, forming a sword. It was not the shape of the large sword she always saw but rather a long, slender sword.
Letinoa’s body had no strength left. Breathing should have been impossible.
But instead, her form was overflowing with life force. Visible internal magical power overflowed, swirling around her body like a soft torrent.
Breaking all common sense and adversity at the limit.
Redonis knew only one phenomenon.
“The awakening of the Holy Sword—!”
The Holy Sword held by Letinoa’s hand began to shine golden. It seemed to respond to Letinoa’s emotions, pulsating as if cheering her on.
Will you lend me your power?
Letinoa’s heavy body suddenly felt light. The overflowing power entered her body from the Holy Sword, and the song of resentment that had been ringing in her head ceased abruptly.
It seemed like consent from the Holy Sword.
“Thank you.”
She gripped the Holy Sword tightly. The overflowing golden brilliance enveloped the surroundings, illuminating the eerie cave as brightly as daylight.
She stepped forward.
With each step, the Holy Sword she held revived precious memories that should have disappeared.
Four years ago, in the depths of despair, she met a boy.
[“Hey, who are you? Why is a kid like you here—”]
The boy seemed very surprised when he rescued Letinoa, who was being attacked by monsters.
[“I’ll take you back up. …Don’t want to? Your will doesn’t matter to me.”]
The boy dragged out Letinoa, who was crying and refusing because she was scared of people, and tried to make her eat the meat of the defeated monsters. He even tried to force it into her mouth, saying “eat to live” in an effort to keep her alive.
[“Can’t you talk? …Hmm? There’s something on your head. Strange black magic… ah, I got it off.”]
When the boy touched Letinoa, she suddenly became able to speak, although she couldn’t speak before.
He taught her words. He taught her how to use a sword. He taught her how to fight monsters.
He gave strength to the weak Letinoa.
[“Do you know why you’re weak?”]
Nevertheless, to Letinoa, who only cried and was protected, the boy said.
[“Because you don’t stand up. Because you use weakness as an excuse and keep running away. That’s why you can’t get stronger.”]
Letinoa cried, saying she was scared of fighting. The boy laughed bitterly.
[“But it’s okay. Even if you’re weak, you can understand the feelings of weak people and stand by them.”]
It’s something I can’t do when I’m strong, the boy said with a smile.
[“Besides, being strong doesn’t mean being arrogant.”]
[“…?”]
[“Even if you’re weak, you can help someone. Even if you don’t have power, you can stand up and fight. Those who don’t give up and fight back, even if they’re ridiculed and suffer, those are the strong ones.”]
Don’t use weakness as an excuse, the boy said.
Even if you’re weak, stand up and fight, he taught her.
“Lucas! I can’t move because of the body swap, stop her!”
“I understand. —《Light Bind》”
Lucas traced an arc on the ground with the holy sword he manifested. The gouged surface emitted light, and pillars of light appeared around Letinoa, surrounding her.
The power of the hero “Bind” – Light Restraint, confines the target in a prison of light, and anything that touches the light can easily be cut.
Escape seemed impossible – or so he thought, until the next moment.
“What–!?”
Lucas’s eyes widened.
With a mere swing of the holy sword, Letinoa effortlessly severed the pillars of light that surrounded her.
The light dissipated completely. The spell wasn’t broken, Letinoa had shattered it with the overwhelming power of “Attack”.
Lucas remembered the power of “Attack”. Increased physical abilities, strength, destructive power. Normally, that’s all the power it should have been.
He soon reached a conclusion.
The same power as the strongest hero in history – Noah’s “Attack”.
An ability that could cut through any magic, any ability, with sheer force.
“…Terrifying.”
Lucas trembled. Despite having awakened only recently, Letinoa possessed this overwhelming power. She hadn’t even mastered ten percent of her latent abilities yet. If Letinoa continued to be a hero, just how much stronger would she become?
Lucas’s hand trembled slightly. Whether from fear or rage, probably both.
“But, it won’t last long.”
The awakening of the holy sword imposes a heavy burden on the body. Letinoa’s current state was barely sustained by the lifeforce flowing back from the sword. The power of the holy sword wasn’t infinite, and it was only a matter of time before she collapsed.
Probably, just a few more minutes–
On the magic circle, Seft, who had been placing his hand on a new vessel, looked at Letinoa and shouted.
“Hey… Look at that girl’s legs! They’re trembling!”
Her legs were shaking slightly.
Trying to suppress the tremors, Letinoa grabbed her legs. But they wouldn’t stop.
Fear swirled deep within Letinoa’s chest. The suppressed emotions threatened to overflow.
“[You have only a few days left… Using your power will shorten it further.]”
Norman’s words from a few days ago.
Letinoa understood that her life was nearing its end.
She had known for a long time that there was hardly any time left to defeat the Demon Lord.
Whipping her trembling body, Letinoa stepped forward forcefully, leaping.
“Dangerous…”
Just before the holy sword touched Seft, it was repelled by Lucas’s sword.
“Attack,” it’s enough… Be at ease.”
Lucas said with sad eyes.
“Why bother to do all that? Even if you stand up to them, no one will thank you. You’ll just die sacrificing yourself.”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s all just a hero’s game for you after all.”
“No… That’s not true!”
Letinoa shouted, denying it.
She had been told many times. That these feelings, these wishes, were counterfeit.
But she didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to admit that she was a meaningless existence, created only for this purpose.
If she did, everything would turn into a lie. The fun times, the precious memories, would all become “just something that was made to feel that way”.
That’s why she was taught. That person she admired taught me.
The way to prove that her feelings are genuine.
The way to become stronger, to stop crying.
[Become a hero. If you become a hero, you won’t be weak and cry anymore. Dreams can come true. I, too, smile even when I’m sad, to become a hero.]
When she was in pain, she laughed.
Even when she felt like crying, she laughed.
To become like that person, to remain strong as a hero.
Suppressing the rising anxiety and fear, shaking her head to dispel the tears threatening to well up in her eyes.
She raised her head and faced forward. Her legs were no longer trembling.
“I am… not a fake, not a puppet.”
She gripped the holy sword with both hands. The golden magical power shimmered and flowed into her body.
“To be honest, I’m not the kind of person who can become a hero.”
— I want to help people. I want them to smile.
“I’m just a worthless, lazy person. I don’t have any courage, and I’ve never wanted to help anyone. I’ve always thought I’d like to keep running away if I could.”
–Even if these feelings of mine were somehow implanted in me.
–But, it doesn’t matter if I’m a loser inside and the opposite of a hero.
–Even if it’s fake, if I keep looking forward and believing.
–If to the person I’ve helped, I appear as a hero, then in their eyes, I am—
With the Holy Sword held horizontally, she gather strength in both legs.
[I will be “real”.]
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