Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero: 156: Interlude: The Last Heir

Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero: 156: Interlude: The Last Heir

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Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

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I allowed myself to truly breathe again once I was in my tent.

Thane watched me with care, as he always did, while I tried to breathe and calm myself.

I failed, shuddered, and reached out for my tent’s table to retch on the ground.

My advisor and loyal knight’s hand soon reached my back.

I felt like a failure, but I emptied my stomach in the protected confines of my tents with my guardian’s comforting gaze upon me.

“Let it loose, your excellency. Behind closed doors this is permitted.” Behind closed doors. When did I last enjoy privacy and solitude? Not since my father died and all my siblings went utterly, completely mad. “You did well, while facing against that vile creature.”

I wiped off the bile from my mouth and spat, before speaking again.

“His name is Hikigaya Hachiman. Make him no lesser, nor greater than he is. He is too cunning and fearsome of a foe to be faced with anything else than wisdom and courage in equal measure.” I steadied myself and drove myself to my chair. I allowed myself to lounge and rest, instead of sitting regally as I was trained. Thane’s hand drifted upon me and my bile. I was cleansed and my vomit disappeared. It felt pleasant to be clean again, but my mind was in chaos. “We were wrong. He is far more terrible than we could have ever imagined.”

The failure of the Church to summon a prophesied champion had been known to many. Many nobles mocked the Church thereafter, and even the most zealous of my siblings drifted from the organization after they failed. But, after Hikigaya Hachiman was ousted to the front line, his origin was discarded and all became normal again.

Then, one day, he was taken by the Demon Lord.

And, on that day, everything was undone.

The burning of a whole fortified city on the frontline.

The drowning of Arundel.

The sky itself becoming our foe and his favored method for killing so many vaunted warriors and even a Hero.

Then, from the earth, a plague of undeath led by a champion bent on revenge that ravaged the Frontier and shattered all that came against it.

Then, our spies reported the city he created churning out wonders, his methods bringing together disparate clans of Kindred under his banner and allowing them to work together. Not only that, but he gathered around himself fearsome creatures. Kitsune, Hellhounds, Wyverns by the hundred, harpies by the thousand, a Dragon, Lich, and more. His methods swept across the rest of Kindred civilization, and they began to grow stronger, mightier, and began to lose their weaknesses. Then, there were rumors of him journeying abroad, before suddenly the Pharaohs of the Dessert and the Unknown Ones from the Deep welcomed the Kindred of the continent as equals… as if we were already conquered like the rest of the world.

Within the span of a year, the Empire’s shield was but a broken dream that could no longer be held.

Within the span of a year, our foes shed their weaknesses, began to rally, and unify under the Demon Lord.

Within the span of a year, Hikigaya Hachiman was known as a blight that threatened the whole Empire… that we couldn’t reach unless a crusade was mounted against him.

He destroyed it.

He killed the Popess, even when she invoked all her faith and power.

He paved the way for the Demon Lord to march and take the war to us an instant later.

“He is truly a calamity made unto flesh. A force that could create whole nations in his wake. We mocked the Holy Church for wasting so much, yet if we had used him, then he would’ve helped us take the entire world.”

“Rigalis! That’s here—

“It’s heresy because we made it so! Because the Holy Church chose to save face, after summoning a human being that couldn’t overturn mountains with one hand!” Thane quieted as I raised my voice and spoke with all my authority. My head ached and in the back of my mind, I felt a deep, burning gaze of sickening yellow burning into my soul. I forced my emotions back and steeled myself. Even anger was a means for her to find weakness in me. “But, in the end, all that matters is we do not continue to lie. Hikagaya Hachiman is a builder of empires, a conquering king who has surrounded himself with powerful, loyal champions, and all we can hope to do now is treat with the Demon Lord that holds his allegiance.”

“I… I see, your excellency. Forgive me for my impudence. You have the right of it.” Thane paled as he saw my reasoning. Our Empire was built off such a legend. We carved our right to live through the Kindred with what meagre strength humanity had left after the great calamity so long ago. Giving Hikigaya Hachiman the same moniker as the first emperor, whose feats and accomplishments were legend, made it clear that we face a foe equal to a man we all venerated and feared. “But, if I may ask, how do you intend to treat with the Demon Lord? Upon our first meeting, it was obvious that she was much like predecessors and beyond temptation.”

My mouth grew dry and my throat clenched, while my guardian and only ally my entire life awaited for a brilliant answer.

For a miracle.

I could provide neither, and could only give him the truth.

“Thane, at this point, all I can offer is fealty… and subordination to the Kindred.”

My oldest and only friend went still at my words.

I was ready to accept him charging at me and killing me for my abandonment… instead he fell to his knees and bowed to me with sobs and tears leaving him.

“It is… all the fault lies with us! Do not shame and lower your head for taking the only recourse you are able to save our people, your excellency!” His voice was imbued with grief, but even as tears flowed, he pinned no shame upon me. “That you must bow your head is the fault of the people! If only we were stronger, if only we could have held against the calamity that we created, and if only… if only we could have seen you rise to the throne as we planned!”

I barely managed to find my voice, but I did.

Our conspiracy, our traitorous ideas, was something I almost forgot.

Once upon a time, I had thought to overtake all my brothers and sister, and take the Empire for my own. I would cut the rotten parts away, as they would rebel against me, and work with those loyal to me to reforge the Empire into something that was more than mighty and strong.

Thane, myself, and many of those who joined us today had thought to make the Empire as a true bastion of humanity in a world held by monsters. We wished to do so by forming true allies with those beyond, by lifting the peasantry from their lives of false bliss, and set the course of history towards the reclamation of the whole world.

Once upon a time, we dreamed of revitalizing the dream of Empire from the corruption, decadence, and slavery that it bloated itself with.

After father died, I had almost forgotten… but with Thane’s words I felt a fire in my heart.

“Lift up your head. Tears do not suit you. That path is not yet lost. This is just the beginning. We will bow our heads now, to save our people, and find yet another path for our dreams later.” I resolved myself at that moment. I swore to myself that even if history remembered me as a coward and a fool, that one day humanity will rise against the monsters that have grasped the world. “Let us take the shame, the humbling, and all the terrible monikers the world will lay upon us knowing that we will ensure humanity’s survival… and the chance of its rebirth. No matter how small the chance.”

“Your excellency!”

Thane cried out, as I took his hand and helped him up.

The tears on his wizened face did not suit him, but as he straightened himself and stood up tall once more, I couldn’t help but be proud of him.

A shamed knight saddled with a spare of a spare to shame him… yet he was more of a knight than any other I had met.

There was no other who I would trust to stand beside me as I carved my place in history as a sacrifice for the future of humanity.

“Come now, Thane. We have work to do.”

“Yes, your excellency.”

…

Devotion.

Adoration.

Pride.

Never did I see all three manifested in every single subject commanded by a single person.

Never did I wish that the Demon Lord would have all three from her subjects, instead of a fellow human being.

“Welcome aboard, brat.” Hikigaya Hachiman loomed over me, just like he did most of my men. He was clad in finery from his world. A long-sleeved shirt so white it seemed aglow covered his chest and arms. It was merely a backdrop for the rest of his clothes. Pitch-black ebony enrobed him otherwise, either flowing or clinging to him. A noble’s stolen sword was at his waist, and a Pharaoh’s gift was on his right arm. Besides that a treasury of artifacts and protections were open him. In both my arcane and physical senses, he seemed to be an insurmountable horror. “Don’t worry. I’ll have the deck scrubbed clean when you leave, so it’ll still keep some resale value.”

On the deck of the ship, the Demon Lord sat at the end of a table upon a throne, and across from her was myself.

She had her retinue of fearsome Dragons, while I had my own of incredible knights.

But we were drowning in Hikigaya Hachiman’s presence and his crew.

I did not know how the Demon Lord feigned ignorance to the gazes of hundreds of predators upon us both.

I’ve heard tales in legend as about armies so loyal they would follow their commanders and kings to the grave.

Never before did I think that I would be in the presence of an army greater than that.

An army that would raze the world to the ground, before destroying itself, for the crime of taking their leader from them.

That was the case for every Kindred under Hikigaya Hachiman’s command.

I saw it, and I was sure that the Demon Lord saw it as well, as we were both raised to lead, trained to rule, and meant to guide nations into a better tomorrow.

“Rigalis the Fifth of the Empire. Take a seat.” Demon Lord Roseanne made the opening move. She meant to establish herself the superior with those words by giving me permission. It barely rankled me and any of my retinue. Her eyes didn’t even flinch when she realized her words did nothing. She and I both knew who had power here. Hikigaya Hachiman had us both in the palm of his hand, even though he had no seat at the table.

I took the seat that was offered to me.

Flanked by my most trusted and strongest retainers, I felt almost alone.

Hundreds of gazes were upon me.

Not just the Archdemon, not just the assassin in the shadows, or even the Harpy and Wyvern soldiers.

It was seemingly simple, turtle-based Kindred attending to the sails of the ship in the corner of my eye.

It was the small Harpy perched near the crow’s nest looking down at me.

It was the canine-based Kindred layering fresh paint on the ship’s prow.

Not just the champions.

Not just the elite.

Not just the soldiers.

All the Kindred under his employ were willing to drown the world in blood the moment he asked them to.

It was difficult to ignore it all and focus on the Demon Lord, but I somehow managed to do so.

“I am the last, sane heir to the throne of the Empire. I acknowledge that we have been defeated by the weapon unleashed by your most eminent commander, Demon Lord Roseanne.” I sat across the table with all the authority and might that I could master. “However, know this: should nothing be done, the whole Empire will be consumed by madness and destruction that will harm your own lands. Much has changed in your lands, but the fact remains: the Kindred require humanity to survive. If we do not, you invite catastrophe upon yourselves.”

The Demon Lord’s gaze was fierce, lacking any lust, but that gave me a semblance of hope.

Her heart was not at Hikigaya Hachiman’s beck and call.

“Presumptuous and prideful for one offering their surrender, but it is expected of your lineage. I agree. Allowing the Empire to fall into chaos and bloodshed will hurt my own people. It is better to have your nation under my heel, rather than in frenzied madness.” Demon Lord Roseanne’s dulcet tones drifted towards me, but there was no hatred nor spite in her voice. She had the authority and wielded it logically. She was different from the fearsome herald of vengeance that was Hikigaya Hachiman. She can be reasoned with. “However, my people can make do with a fraction of a fraction of the whole Empire. Why should we save it all, risking the lives of our own, when we can simply take what we need?”

That was the crux of the matter.

I hadn’t expected it to be brought forth so soon, mere moments of introduction… but when Roseanne’s eyes flitted to the sides, I knew the truth… and allowed myself to relax.

She knew as well that we cannot forge history here, in Hikigaya Hachiman’s all-conquering shadow.

So, I played my hand.

My only hand.

“Because, why take only a fraction when you can take it all and grant all your peoples true prosperity? A true victory? I ask for you to give terms, while I ask for none.” Turn weakness into strength, so I will use all that I have lost to my advantage. I will peddle with my lost lands at my back, so that there was a chance that my people would not be shattered, but remain an Empire. A conquered Empire, but an Empire nonetheless. “Oh, almighty Demon Lord, if you wished to take only a part of humanity’s last lands you would have been satisfied by the Frontier… but the truth of it is that you and yours desire the whole continent! And... here I am offering it to you.”

A noise came from behind me, where Hikigaya Hachiman leaned against a wall of his ship.

It nearly stopped my heart, as I feared he’d reject my proposal and burn it down with a word.

But… in the end… he was just being a fickle and vindictive creature as he let loose a loud yawn and too all the attention for the negotiations for himself.

“Well, this is boring. I’m going to take a nap. You two do what you want.”

With those words, he left our presence to rest in the bowels of the machine of war and destruction he called a ship.

Roseanne’s clenched fist relaxing as he left allowed me to relax too.

Yes.

There was a chance for my people to exist after this.