In restless sleep, memories of the past emerged like a film playing...
---
Five Years Ago - Kurokami Village
Morning sunlight illuminated a small village surrounded by green fields and a river that sparkled like crystal. In a small field, a teenager with messy black hair was practicing with a worn wooden sword.
Tsubasa—still fifteen years old—swung his sword with burning enthusiasm. His eyes sparkled full of dreams, imagining the day when he could become a legendary hero like those he always admired.
Swing! Swing!
Every movement of his sword was full of determination. Other children's laughter echoed around the field, his friends playing tag while occasionally shouting encouragement for Tsubasa's training.
"Tsubasa! Don't forget lunch!" a child shouted from afar.
Tsubasa wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, smiling broadly. "Okay! Just a moment!"
After feeling he had practiced enough, he walked to the edge of the clear river. Water flowed peacefully under the afternoon sun, creating golden sparkles on its surface.
There, his two best friends were sitting relaxed while fishing.
Yuzuha—a shoulder-length brown-haired girl with a pink ribbon in her hair and an always cheerful smile—and Sena, a bespectacled girl with a smart but mischievous face.
"Hey you two! Caught any fish yet?" Tsubasa asked while approaching, his wooden sword still tucked at his waist.
Yuzuha immediately nodded enthusiastically, eyes sparkling proudly. "Of course! Two big fish! Look at this!" She lifted a woven basket containing fresh fish.
Sena grinned mischievously. "If you want, take one, Tsubasa. But... seems like you slept in the barn?" She pointed at Tsubasa's head with her finger. "Look at that, your hair is full of grass!"
"Hahaha, that's so true!" Yuzuha giggled fondly. "Grass everywhere! What's with you?"
Tsubasa blushed, his face reddening while hurriedly removing dry grass from his hair. "Hehe... caught me. After practice I rested for a bit in the grass."
He scratched his head embarrassedly. "I'm going home first, got things to do."
"What things?" Sena teased with mischievously sparkling eyes. "Your hero dream again?"
Yuzuha also laughed while pretending to stand heroically. "Hero Tsubasa! Savior of the world and... savior of lonely grass!"
"What the heck, you two!" Tsubasa looked more embarrassed, but laughed along. "See you!"
"See you! Byeeee!" Yuzuha and Sena exclaimed in unison while waving energetically.
---
On the way home, Tsubasa passed by Mr. Jiro, a friendly middle-aged resident who always cared about the village children.
"Eh, Tsubasa!" Mr. Jiro greeted with a warm smile. "Slept in the field again after sword practice?"
Tsubasa smiled shyly, rubbing his nose. "Haha, yes sir. Pretty obvious, huh?"
"A young man like you has extraordinary spirit," Mr. Jiro patted Tsubasa's shoulder affectionately. "You'll definitely become a great hero like you dream. Mr. Jiro believes it!"
"Ah, don't say that, sir." Tsubasa scratched the back of his neck, though his heart was happy hearing that support. "I'm still very far from being a hero who can save the world. Still so much to learn."
"The important thing is your spirit never fades," Mr. Jiro smiled wisely. "That spirit will carry you forward."
"Thank you, Mr. Jiro! I'm going home now. See you!"
"Be careful on the road!"
---
In the simple warm wooden-walled house, Tsubasa sat on the floor while staring at his worn wooden toy sword full of scratches. On the wall hung a sheet of paper with children's handwriting: "BECOME A HERO, SAVE EVERYONE!"
He smiled gently, eyes gazing far ahead. In his mind, he imagined himself standing equal with legendary heroes—becoming a light of hope for people in need.
"Someday..." he whispered to himself. "I will protect everyone I care about."
---
Suddenly, a tremendous tremor shook the entire village.
BOOM!
Wooden walls creaked loudly, furniture fell, and Tsubasa was thrown hard until his head hit the wall.
CRASH!
The world turned dark.
---
When Tsubasa regained consciousness about twenty minutes later, his ears were filled with horrifying sounds—unnatural monster roars and villagers' terror-filled screams.
His head throbbed painfully, but he forced himself to rise. Tsubasa grabbed his father's steel sword hanging on the wall, then rushed out of the house.
What he saw was a scene like the end of the world.
Houses burned with fire licking high into the sky. Black smoke billowed everywhere, creating suffocating fog. And most terrifying—monsters with glowing red eyes roamed like demons released from hell.
Not a single villager was visible. Only destruction, death, and despair.
"What... what happened here?!" Tsubasa shouted, his voice nearly drowned in the chaos.
With a heart pounding from adrenaline and fear, Tsubasa swung his steel sword. One by one he slashed monsters, black blood spattering on his face and clothes.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Blood and sweat mixed, but he didn't stop. The determination to protect his village—though already too late—burned away his fear.
In the midst of fierce battle, he saw a familiar shadow in the distance.
A hero figure with a dense darkness aura.
"Huh? That's..." Tsubasa's eyes widened. "Ranga?!"
Yes, that was Ranga—one of the Seven Heroes he had admired all this time. The legendary Darkness Hero.
But what happened next shattered his heart.
"Tch." Ranga only hissed coldly, then vanished into the fog without helping at all.
"WHY DID HE LEAVE?!" Tsubasa screamed full of rage and confusion. "WHY DIDN'T HE HELP ME?! WHAT'S THE USE OF BEING A HERO IF YOU DON'T HELP PEOPLE?!"
---
With gasping breath and body full of wounds, Tsubasa almost succeeded in finishing all monsters in that area. He stood among monster corpses, chest rising and falling from exhaustion.
"ANYONE!" he screamed desperately. "WHERE ARE YOU ALL?! YUZUHA! SENA! MR. JIRO! ANSWER ME!"
Suddenly, staggering footsteps sounded from behind the ruins.
A large monster with a body full of wounds appeared, but there was something strange. It moved unlike other monsters—slower, more... human.
"Tsu... ba... sa..." the voice was halting, yet so familiar.
The sword in Tsubasa's hand trembled violently. His body froze.
"No... impossible..."
The monster looked at him with dark eyes.
"Why... you?" the voice was broken, as if dragged from the depths of suffering.
"You... you're talking to me?" Tsubasa sobbed, his steps unsteady.
"I... don't... want... to die... Aren't we... friends... forever?"
Tears began flowing from Tsubasa's eyes. "No... that ribbon, Yuzuha... I should have known. Why didn't I realize sooner?"
"Sa...ve... us..." the monster muttered—Yuzuha, who was no longer Yuzuha.
"Please stop... don't do this... I beg you..." Tsubasa screamed, but the sharp claws that were no longer human hands rose, ready to slash.
His survival instinct took over.
With heartbreaking tears, he swung his sword.
SLASH!
Yuzuha's body collapsed, slowly crumbling into black dust carried by the wind.
Tsubasa fell to his knees, his sword released and clashed with the ground with a cold sound. "Yuzuha... I'm... sorry... And all these monsters... they all..."
He stared at his hands covered in blood—his best friend's blood.
"AAHHHHH! WHY DID ALL THIS HAPPEN?!"
---
In the midst of despair shattering his soul, Tsubasa remembered Ranga's shadow. The darkness aura enveloping the monsters. The betrayal of a 'hero' who left him when he most needed help.
In his shattered mind, everything began to connect:
Ranga. Darkness aura. Monsters that were once his village residents.
"Ranga..." he whispered with a voice trembling from rage. "You... YOU did this!"
His dream of becoming a hero shattered into pieces. Replaced by burning hatred, deep resentment toward the heroes—especially Ranga.
"I will... I will kill you all..." he muttered while taking his sword back.
Eyes that once sparkled with hope now blazed with cold rage.
"You're not heroes. You are monsters."
---
In the present time, in Rudes's warm house...
Tsubasa woke with gasping breath. Cold sweat soaked his body. That dream—no, that memory—still felt very real.
He sat on the bed, staring at his still-trembling hands.
"Yuzuha..." he whispered softly. "Forgive me."
Wounds from the battle with Zenya still felt painful, but nothing hurt more than the wound in his heart that never healed.
Outside the window, dawn began to break. A new day started, but for Tsubasa, that day was the same as previous days—filled with a revenge mission that would never end.
At least... until those false heroes died by his hand.
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TO BE CONTINUED...