The atmosphere was gloomy that day when everything came to a sudden halt upon the death of the arch-nemesis of humanity. The Demon Lord, Argrouth.
It would be a tale worthy of noting down the golden history of humanity and how the Hero of Light took down the Lord of Darkness and brought victory to their side.
However, at the time when everyone should be celebrating their victory, a huge amount of crowd was gathered around a field. Regardless of their age or gender. Whether they were powerful or powerless, they came to witness this event.
Their enraged eyes were directed at a person who lay on the ground, the Hero of Light standing above him, ready to deliver the final blow.
It was a sight out of a horror book that every single being currently holds hatred towards a single person.
The heavy downpour couldn't hide the amount of blood flowing down the traitor's face and neck, and the bruises covered his whole body.
His long black hair hid his once handsome face but now a broken and bloodied mess.
Shards of glasses, splattered eggs, and tomatoes all over him described the humiliation he had gone through.
Every stain, every shard described their hatred and how they wanted the traitor to suffer until the end.
Even those who were not present on the battlefield wished only one thing, and that was the death of the traitor.
"Why did you do this, Clarsen?"
The Light Hero, wearing a shining golden armor that matched his platinum golden hair, stood over the traitor whom he called Clarsen. Formally known as, Hungston Clarsen.
Clarsen knew whatever he said here wouldn't matter. Not only had he broken his promises a hundred times, but he also pushed those same people under the shade of danger, amongst whom Clarsen grew up.
The fallen man spat the contaminated blood from his mouth before he steadily lifted his face to not cause pain in his open and actively aching wounds but it was futile since eighteen of his bones and various ligaments were torn.
His mana was depleted, and so was his fighting spirit. His tendons were pulled out; his bones were crumbled by the stomping of a crowd.
The majority of the damage was dealt by the people who came here. If not for the endurance Clarsen built through years of training, he would have died by their onslaught.
The Light Hero arrived but didn't stop them until very late, not because the Hero was not capable of it, but rather because he wanted Clarsen to face what it feels like to get crushed by those whom the traitor regarded as insects in the past.
"D...oes...it...matters...Eric-"
**Splash**
Clarsen wasn't able to finish his sentence before the Light Hero—Eric Dawnhec—swung his sword and slashed his jaw off.
The slash was clean enough that it seemed the hero just flicked his wrist but the technique behind it concluded with the distorted face Clarsen currently possessed.
His face was already a broken mess and with so many wounds actively bleeding, Clarsen didn't even react and just accepted his fate.
"Don't you dare take my name? You have long lost that privilege to regard me so casually, Clarsen."
Every single person knew that Clarsen and Eric once were quite close. They promised to bring peace to the world.
But down the path, things changed, and Clarsen, who once hailed as the Supreme Battlegod, changed his path and took the side of those who once Clarsen vowed to destroy.
"Look at those faces Clarsen. What do you find in them? Those people whose responsibility we should have shared are now looking at you with hatred and disgust."
The traitor didn't have to turn his head and look at them. He very well knew that every single being around him desired nothing but to see him dead.
"Not to talk about Grace..."
His heart was filled with guilt when he heard that name.
His eyes wandered over the crowd before they rested on a certain red-haired woman who was looking at him a blank look...almost hollow gaze.
Grace Rahna Williams.
The person whom Clarsen owed a lifetime of apology and the person whom he had betrayed the most amongst each person counted. The girl who had innocently fallen in love with him, Clarsen, used that emotion to bring her family to their demise and left the girl as an orphan, all alone.
She trusted him and because she was his to-be-bride, when Clarsen betrayed humanity, she faced excessive scorn and humiliation.
She took it all without a complaint even though there was nothing she did wrong other than the fact that she fell for the wrong man.
That was her curse which tormented Grace for a longer period than what a person could tolerate. But fortunately, today, her curse will be removed, and she can live a normal life ahead.
Clarsen felt his eyes dampening before he snatched his gaze back at his executioner. Failing to utter his words, Clarsen ran his movable finger on the muddy ground to spell out the wish he desperately wanted to be fulfilled.
Eric narrowed his gaze with his guard at the spot, as the blond saw the words written,
'Take care of Grace... '
Eric gritted his teeth and swallowed back the minuscule empathy he had for the man he once called his brethren.
Eric was unsure whether the consideration for his fiance was an act or Clarsen was genuinely concerned about her. Was the horror of death really making this man remorseful about what he lost?
Regardless, Eric must fulfill his duty, and he would never waver from his resolve to bring this chaos to its ultimate end.
"Don't worry, Clarsen. Without you, Grace can finally live the rest of her life in peace. And I would ensure that, so now, please die for me."
The last expression Eric saw on his one friend's face was a look of satisfaction and resignation. Clarsen seemed anything, but fearful of death since, in his cloudy gaze, all Eric could gaze at was an eternity of rest.
There were many things Eric wanted to say and ask this man. Many things to complain about, hundreds of questions that had been playing at the back of Hero's mind for a long time. But there is no time remaining for that.
Placing the tip of his sword on Clarsen's chest, the apostle of light looked coldly at the dying man before he muttered out the last of words Clarsen would hear in this life.
"Goodbye, old friend."
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A/N:- Thanks for reading.