The 5th Hero

Freedom

IT'S OVER! IT'S FINALLY OVER! MY LONGEST CHAPTER TO DATE HAS FINALLY COME TO AN END! Man, my fingers hurt so much. But, in all honesty, that last chapter was just pure insanity. It had everything in it. Demon Ayu, the Blood Sacrifice, Ayu going hydra, the pope's death, and Neela standing up for our girl even after she tried to murder the other three heroes! I've never put so much effort into one chapter before and I truly hope all of you who read it enjoy it to its fullest extent. It's the ultimate chapter of this series. Now, let's get right back into the story. Please, enjoy!

I was in that same dream again. In a field of flowers, but this time, it was like the first dream. Figures stood before me and I could move this time. I walked forward and came to Neela and Seamus first. But, Seamus disappeared, leaving only Neela standing in front of several other silhouettes. I gave her a hug and, right when I touched her, the silhouettes lit up. Naofumi, Raphtalia, Filo, Alex, and Melty were all standing there together, but, there were still more silhouettes behind them. 

"Everyone here..... they're all people I've met on my journey. And, if there's more silhouettes..... then that means there's still more people for me to meet." I thought to myself as they all began to disappear. The sun in the sky turned black and the flowers began to wilt away like before. I knew what was coming. 

"We lost....." I quiet demonic voice said as the demon that rested within me rose out of the earth in front of me. 

"No. You're the one who lost. You only used me for your own personal gain. But, Naofumi defeated you. You have no control over me anymore!" I shouted as the demon began to giggle. 

"Yes, yes, I may have lost..... but don't think i'm gone." The demon said which surprised me. 

"What? What're you talking about? Naofumi destroyed you with his curse shield." I said as the demon shook its head. 

"Wrong. He merely destroyed a physical projection of myself. The real me cannot be destroyed. Which means i'll always be a part of you, Ayuma. Watching..... waiting..... until the time is right for me to use you once again." The demon said to me as my head started to ache for some reason. 

"No..... I will not let you consume me again. It.... it's brought too much pain...... too much suffering to those I love. I refuse to use your power ever again!" I roared back at the demon as it just laughed at me. 

"You forget. I don't need you to use the axe to turn you. I can do it whenever I want. I simply need time to rest after our recent defeat. And, when i'm fully rejuvenated, we will see each other again." The demon said as it sank back into the ground. 

"Then i'll be waiting for you...." I said as I suddenly woke up. My upper body shot up and I saw I was sitting in a bed. I looked around and I could see Neela and Alex sleeping with their heads resting on the sides of my bed. The bed itself looked super fancy, meaning this was probably in the royal castle in Melromarc or at some Noble's manor. 

My body, hands, and left eye were covered in bandages. I'm sure this was the first time they were actually treated since I was taken. I used my status magic to check my stats. My health was full but my stamina was near zero. No doubt it was from all the wounds. I'm sure it would be difficult for me to walk.

"What...... happened?" I said as I got another headache. The pain from my injuries was even making it hard to talk. But, me talking seemed to wake both Neela and Alex up and they both seemed ecstatic to see me awake. 

"Miss Ayuma, you're awake!" Neela cheered as she crawled up the bed to hug me. I hugged her back and the feeling..... the feeling was like nothing else. It was just so nice to be back with my family. However, I had to cut the hugging short as I suddenly got a furious itch on my back.