Chapter 1- Compromised

[You have come this far, Hero...sacrificing so many people...you comrades, lovers...just to defeat me. I commend you.] 

The sky was dark, smoke was making it suffocating for a person to remain standing. And here, the raven-haired youth, broken and tattered both physically and mentally, stood with his blade tightly gripped in his hand.

As the Demon Lord said, he has lost everyone he held dear, during this war. Came so far to ensure that once the battle is over, only peace remains.

...however now, he couldn't discern if he could ever remain peaceful after sacrificing so many people or not.

Friends, lovers, and all those people who trusted him and his ideal future jumped onto the battlefield to defeat the common enemy of peace.

However, beyond the sea of blood and cries of thousands, what remained was a barren land where the two entities stood near the end of their ropes.

[The motive of my life...has always been...to defeat you...]

The hero spoke, his voice was shrill because of all that crying and howling during the battle. 

The Demon King growled, 

[You think killing me will stop the chaos? Can't you see the real motive behind all this? You are being manipulated.]

The Demon King was on the verge of death...yet he chose to lie, and fill the Hero's mind with deceit. 

The Hero raised his sword,

[You cannot fool me. I won't stop unless I kill you. This is all for peace.]

The Demon King chuckled, even in the face of death, he didn't show a sign of fear, as he said,

[If you really attain the so-called peace you so much desire, then I will applaud from the hell. However, I bet my pride, that until the moment you die, you will regret every single decision you made for the sake-]

*SQUELCH*

The Hero cleaved the Demon's neck and got his face painted with the dark, sinful blood of his nemesis.

The longest war ever known to mankind finally came to an end with the death of the Lord of Darkness. 

The Hero has come so far thanks to the support of his allies...their sacrifices weren't wasted. He avenged each one of them, and now, even though he was all alone, the Hero knows that he would see the dawn of a new peaceful world.

Chapter ends.

°°°°°

"...." Ed has a blank expression as he finished listening to the second last volume of the novel, the doctor has been writing since the last year.

The Doctor has been quite persistent in knowing Ed's review of each of the volumes, even though Ed doesn't much like to read novels.

And it was weird that even though Ed has always relayed so many complaints regarding the novel, the Doctor never stopped writing nor providing him with new volumes.

It is the story of a Hero who comes from a small town and rises through the ranks to stand at the pinnacle.

If Ed types this synopsis on the internet, he will get more than a thousand novels with the same details, written through several eras.

Novel means putting oneself in the Protagonist's shoes. However, Ed could never relate himself with the Protagonist with such a forgiving nature.

It wasn't like the Hero doesn't retort on killing until the very end, but he forgives his opponents who are after his life only for them to return stronger and somehow find a way to harm the protagonist or his allies.

It was so utter foolishness.

But what bothered Ed about this volume was the fact that, despite the main villain being slain, the Doctor claimed there was still another volume.

He clearly remembered that there was indeed one more volume—not an epilogue, but a full continuation of the story. A volume that revealed what happened after the greatest threat to all races had been defeated.

But why?

Why did the story continue when it should have ended?

'What could be in that last volume...' With those thoughts, Ed assembled his body and began wearing some gym clothes to recalibrate his body by lifting some weights and running a few miles.

However, before he could have stepped out, his NeuroCore buzzed,

[Danger! Danger!]

[Incoming hostile forces!]

Ed's eyes narrowed as he immediately tapped on his ear, and the projection of the outside came into view.

He searched all the cameras planted around the recovery lab, and his eyes soon widened upon finding more than a hundred tanks and soldiers heading toward the lab.

"What the ....has the Capital sacrificed me..." It wasn't completely unexpected since when the church attacked him, Ed knew it was no bug. However, the fact they rescued him, gave him the false hope that the Capital still might need him.

Guess not.

"Ed!" Suddenly, a familiar voice arrived, and Ed instantly folded his hand, ready to launch a bullet.

"You informed them about my whereabouts," Ed spoke in a voice that lacked any emotion as he stared at the long-haired doctor.

Doctor J gritted his teeth, "I would have killed you in the recovery chamber if I really wanted to."

Ed realized that he might be correct, but that doesn't explain why he was allowed to recover in the first place.

Doctor J approached him slowly, and said, "There is no place you can run now...they have surrounded us and also hacked the system to block all the secret escape routes."

Ed didn't show any concern, as he said, "I will fight until my last breath. You should think about yourself, Doctor J."

Ed cannot protect himself and the doctor at the same time, so rather than risking himself in trying to save the Doctor, it's better if Ed fights for himself alone.

"Haah...that's what I like about you..." Doctor J muttered something strange in this situation as his left hand began glowing.

"What are you doing?" Ed frowned as he felt something ominous from the man; however, before he could move away, the Doctor extended his hand and pressed it against Ed's Life Core.

"I hope you attain peace." 

And with that, everything went blank.

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.