Chapter 68: Village
Before the Emperor armies arrive ,
Arthur already evacuated all the villagers .
Now they were away from the village in a cave that Arthur made to protect Maya.
One village asked another ,what was happening where .
I didn't knew he replied .
One moment ago we were at home and now we were struggling for survival.
And now they were in a cave and using a square box device that looked like Television by using magic to look at their village but their eyes weren't on their ruined village.
Their eyes were on the two figures in the distance.
Ank drenched in blood, his chest rising and falling with ragged effort ,He stood like a stubborn flame refusing to die in the wind. And Arthur, the man who had fought like an undefeated warrior , yet had been broken by the stone plant monster, his left arm was cut, his back bent with exhaustion.
No one dared speak at first. The silence pressed down heavier than any roar of monsters. But then, one voice cracked through the silence.
"It…it can't be " whispered a trembling old man, eyes wide with disbelief.
Heads turned toward him. His name was Soran white , the oldest among them. He was once one of most powerful adventurers in his prime but due to an accident ,he lost his will to fight and retire . His hand shook violently as he raised it toward Arthur.
"That man was not just any warrior. I know that face. I knew him , even broken as he is. Do you not see it?"
The villagers blinked at him, confusion in their eyes.
They were all retired adventurers but Soran was much older than them.
"What are you saying, Elder?" a younger man asked, clutching a child close to his chest.
Soran's eyes were widened. "That man was Arthur. The Legendary Hero.One of the most powerful SHO heroes "
The words fell like thunder in the silence.
Murmurs start across the crowds discussing Arthur . Some dropped to their knees in shock, others were in disbelief they had never thought anything like these ,they only thought of him as a high level adventurer that retired due to old age. The names "Legendary Hero" and "SHO strongest Hero " were the stories everyone heard in the whole Universe .Everyone knew about Arthur in Universe and many had dreams to meet him one day.
"That can't be true," a woman's voice , shaking her head furiously. "The Legendary Hero vanished generations ago."He was already dead ,How will he be alive and why was he on a planet like duskwild .
"Or perhaps," another man said hoarsely, "perhaps he never truly died "
Children peeked out from behind their mothers, their eyes wide with innocent awe. "The hero from the stories? The one who saves the Universe multiple times single handedly.
But just as quickly as hope arose, despair followed.
For the villagers could not deny what their eyes showed them, the so-called Legendary Hero stood bent, broken, and bloody. His once godlike presence, though still immense, was stained by pain and failure.
One man clenched his fists. "If that was truly the Hero then why was he defeated? Why do we still suffer? Why are our homes in ruins?"
His words struck the villagers like arrows. Hope faltered, replaced by bitterness.
The elder's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing yet.
Their gazes shifted again to Ank.
The boy that hardly anyone knew but he stood where Arthur had fallen, blade in hand, his eyes were lifeless ,countless wounds in his body .
They all can understand how much he was struggling to keep both Arthur and herself alive from this endless attack of these monsters.
Some villagers looked at him with awe.Others with fear.they knew he was only one that kept Arthur alive ,if he died Arthur will die.
He will die at this rate . Why was he still alive with so many wounds and why was he fighting when we were like a coward hidden in a cave hoping that someone will save us.some one said in his voice irritation and anger for herself can be felt .
Whispers spread like fire in dry grass. Some villagers clung to the idea that Ank was a miracle, a light sent to protect them. Others muttered darkly, their fear twisting into suspicion, no human should have survived what he did.
The elder raised his voice, quelling the rising storm.
"Do not be blind!" he thundered, his frail frame trembling yet unyielding. "You have seen what I have seen. The Hero stands before us, though his body was broken. And beside him, that boy, Ank, he was not a monster, but proof that destiny has not abandoned us!"
The crowd faltered, caught between fear and hope.
But doubt was a stubborn beast.
"What destiny?" one man spat bitterly. "My wife lies crushed beneath rubble. My son was torn apart by those monsters. Where was destiny then?"
Tears burned in the corners of many eyes. The villagers' grief was raw, their hearts torn open by loss. Hope was a dangerous thing, it had betrayed them too many times before.
And yet, even as despair clawed at them, the memory of Arthur's clash with the monster the way he had fought like a living legend lingered in their minds.
"I saw him," a young boy cried out suddenly, his small voice sharp in the silence. "I saw him ,he was the person who fought with these monsters one year ago.he was a friend of Maya.
The crowd turned to him. His eyes were filled not with fear, but with unshakable faith. The innocence of a child cut through the gloom like sunlight breaking storm clouds.
Some villagers wept quietly. Others clenched their jaws.
The elder closed his eyes, his voice softer now, but carrying the weight of centuries. "Heroes do not rise when the world was safe. They rose when the world was burning. You call him broken, but even broken, Arthur fought what none of us could stand against. And that boy, Ank,he bleeds, yet still he fights.. Thank them for standing when all else would fall."
Without them we will surely die ,so in place of losing hope and doubting them ,we had to believe in them and hope for their safety.
The villagers fell into silence again, but this time it was not suffocating. It was heavy with thought, with uncertainty, with fragile strands of hope weaving through despair.
Some knelt and whispered prayers, not knowing whether they prayed to the gods, to Arthur, or to fate itself.
Others turned their faces away, ashamed of the bitter words they had spoken.
But not all hearts were convinced.
As the night crept in, the whispers began anew.
"If he truly was the Legendary Hero then what of the King that monster spoke of?"
"They said tomorrow… tomorrow something worse will come "
Fear gnawed at the fragile hope, twisting it. For though they had gained a Hero, they had also gained a prophecy of doom.
And as they watched Arthur slump against a rock, his face pale with pain, and Ank staggering under the weight of exhaustion, one truth carved itself into their hearts.
The Hero they had gained was not the untouchable god of legend. He was a man, bleeding and broken.
And Ank..Ank was no shining knight, but a boy carrying a burden too great for his shoulders.
The villagers were divided.
Some whispered that salvation had come.
Others whispered that damnation wore the face of a boy.
And in the silence between their words, the elder bowed his head.
"They are both heroes," he murmured, so softly only the wind carried his voice. "One of the past and one of the future. Whether the world survives them or burns because of them only tomorrow will tell."
The villagers held their breath, their hearts caught between awe and terror.
And though the night stretched long, none could escape the weight of what they had witnessed.
The Legendary Hero had returned.
But he was broken.
And by his side stood Ank, the boy who should not have survived.
Hope and despair clashed in their hearts, leaving only questions…questions that would not be answered until the King arrived