The Rising of the Devil Hero [On Hold]

Chapter 7: Nothing's changed

~~Recap~~

Before anyone else could react, or even say a word, his shield was already fully charged. A giant red flame leaped out of the shield and surrounded the heroes and the shield hero's <former> party. As the flames burned the trees around them, the heroes found themselves in a pickle. A very hot burning pickle to be exact! Too busy with the trees falling on their heads as the fire already started to eat up the very ground they stood on, no one noticed Naofumi leave. He ran away from the scene as fast as possible when he was certain they were all distracted. The thick smoke blurred their vision of anything beyond the fire-y trap they were in.

~~Recap Over~~

Nothing but his own heavy breathing was heard. Naofumi was able to get away from the others by covering an impressive distance by his feet alone. No longer could the smell of smoke interrupt his said marathon. The man kept his pace steady. Not once did he hesitate to keep going.

In time, however, his legs began to give up on him. He could feel his speed declining as tiredness took over. As he finally took a halt, he focused on normalizing his breathing. Leaning onto a tree for support, the man begins to gather his strength once again.

"What are you running from? Are you afraid that they'll hurt you?"

"No." He managed to say between his ragged breaths. "I'm afraid of hurting them."

"Why? They never hesitated to hurt you. Or kill you for that matter."

"All that is in the past now" he tiredly replied with his back pushed against a tree. He finally let his legs left as he felt himself sliding down the said tree.

"You're unbearably naive. All that is in the past? Do you really believe that? Nothing's changed Naofumi."

"You're wrong. Everything's changed. I have people who believe in me. I have friends now."

"The one who tried to kill you multiple times? Or the ones who stood there and watched? Or are you referring to the one who kept framing you?"

"Don't get me wrong. I will never forgive Malty for what she did. But the others, I can."

"You idiot. You're making the same mistake again!"

"Huh?"

"Wasn't it your kindness that let you down in the first place? It led you to be toyed with. If you continue to give into their pathetic excuse of an apology, you'll be no better than the spear hero right now!"

"Hey, I'm nothing like Motoyasu. He's too dense and a moron. He'd believe almost anything said before him."

"And how is that any different from you?"

"Get to the point already."

"Vert well. Let me remind you..."

A sudden strike of pain shot in Naofumi's head again. It seemed to be affecting his vision this time. The world around him was becoming a blur. The ground seemed to be spinning as well. Grunting, the man held his forehead realizing that he was getting dizzy.

"Ahhh! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Zlo didn't answer. Instead, the pain just happened to increase. "S-Stop it!" The man screamed in agony once more. This time, it was from the top of his lungs. And as if on queue, the headache disappeared.

"Seriously, just what are you doing to me?"

"Look around."

The raven's patience dropped. He decided he could no longer listen to someone who won't even answer his questions. He would argue but the recent running and screaming had tired him too much to even complain at this point. Letting out a sigh, he began to lean his back against the tree once more. But no matter how far he tried to lean, he couldn't feel the tree anymore. Confused, he turned around to find out that there was so tree behind him. Instead was a wall a few meters away from him. Shock overthrew confusion as he looked around to see himself out of the forest. He was surrounded by a boundary wall from all four sides. The same walls that kept him and the spear hero in place when they first dueled.

"What the hell is happening? How did I-"

"Watch out." Zlo commented nonchalantly.

A faint scream rang in the boy's ears. Its volume gradually increased. Something (or rather someone) was getting close to him. He turned around to find non other than Motoyasu running upto him on overdrive mode. The anger imprinted on the man's face caught Naofumi by surprise. "Moto-"

Naofumi fell onto his knees. Motoyasu's spear had penetrated him right below the shoulder blade. Blood poured out of the raven as he remained in his state of shock and confusion. Now with a hint of sorrow and pain in his eyes. His eyes widened as his pupils shrunk. His pale face remained unchanged.

"M... Moto- Motoyasu... Why?" He brought his free hand to the object sticking out of him. Unable to move it or even grab it infact. A sudden electric shock tickled him when his hand touched the spear. Tears of betrayal threatened to fall.

But the man being question stood tall and proud. Disgust being the only face he shows.

"Isn't it obvious? You're a devil. And as the spear hero, it is my duty to eliminate you. This world doesn't need scum like you." He bent down to be at eye-level with the raven. "Don't take it personally. I'm just doing this world a favor." He reached out for his spear. Once in his grasp, the man let out a chuckle before he forced it deeper into Naofumi's already wounded body.

Another jolt of pain travelled through the man's veins. "But we were-"

"There's no 'we' you silly psycho. It's just us heroes and the enemy." He grinned as he pushed the spear even deeper. Another scream of pain coaxed its way out of the shield hero. But not even he could hear his own voice over the crowd that happened to cheer at his torment.

'Wait have they always been there? Are they actually enjoying this!?' he thought as he tried to stand up again. Though his effort was proving to be futile, he was determined to get up anyway.

"Feisty, are we?" The spear hero chucked once more.

"Sir Motoyasu!" A high-pitched voice called out from afar. Malty came running to the said man and clinged onto his shoulder.

"Finish him, Sir Motoyasu. Finish him and restore peace to the city of Malromarc. I know you can do it! We're all counting on you!" The crowd cheered even louder as the man nodded his head.

One look at her is all that Naofumi needed to ignite the flames of hatred once again.

"You. It's always been you. All of this is your fault!" His eyebrows furrowed as his face intensified.

Malty just smiled at him. Before quickly changing into another feminine form. The one Naofumi was quite familiar with. All his anger dissipated once more as he recognized the form Malty had taken.

"Raphtalia..." What came out of his mouth was nothing but a mere whisper, but it appears that she heard him. A simple wink was all her response.

"Why?"

"You heard her. Playtime's over Naofumi. It's time for you to go to sleep." He roughly snatched his spear from the injured man. The sudden uneasiness made him lose his balance once more. The man grunted and looked up to see his so-called 'friend' (or coworker) ready to strike his spear into his already tainted body. His fresh blood still dripping off the weapon.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" The hero yelled in anger. Both the physical and emotional pain was becoming too much to bear.

As the spear hero swung his spear at the man, another "Stop!!!" Forced it's way out of the man. He closed his eyes waiting for the strike to hit.

But it never did.

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Ayo! Guys, I'm not dead. I swear. I know it's been over a year since I last updated. And I'm so sorry for the long delay. I needed a break from my phone but then wattpad stopped working in my country completely.

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But it's working now. And yes, I do plan on completing this story. You can expect regular updates from now. :)

(Ps. I haven't proofread this part yet. Please ignore any spelling/ grammar mistakes.)