บท 4: Reincarnation?
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If there was a word that could describe what Kazuya felt as his life slowly faded away it was 'regretful'.
He regretted blindly believing the people around him which caused the people who truly cared for him to suffer. Some even had terrible ends. What he couldn't accept was that he felt affection for someone who played a big part of those people's fates and to his own.
Kazuya was frustrated but he could only blame himself for being too naïve. He had matured for the last few years but the foundation they built with him had already corrupted his perception. He did not want to give them the satisfaction of being seen devastated. He could only keep everything bottled up inside.
"Impudent piece of garbage" Alicia spoke as they withdrew their weapons. They watched as the puddle of the fallen hero's blood continue to grow below his feet. What the other three couldn't believe was that he was still on his feet wearing the same chilling smile as if he had been the victor.
"Should we burn his corpse as well princess?"
"Hmm… Take off his equipment. We should at least take them back to the kingdom as proof of the so-called hero's legendary battle. Let me chop him up more with his own sword. I want to slice up that impudent face of his"
The three pulled out their weapons. They avoided the splash of Kazuya's blood before they sheathed their weapons. The traitors walked closer to the hero intending to rob him of his possessions but they were immediately startled when they heard a very faint but fearsome laugh.
"I…diots. He…he…he…" The voice was weak, but Kazuya mustered everything that was left to speak.
"Good! You wouldn't be a hero if you weren't this tenacious! I was afraid it would be boring to cut up a dead man" Alicia covered up her emotions with a grin.
"I knew… of the plans to kill me. I'll tell you this… no amount of reinforcements can stop what happens next"
!!!
A sudden surge of mana surrounded Kazuya causing the four to be knocked back.
"You four should wait and wash your necks. Your deaths won't be quick and painless" The pool of blood on the floor suddenly started glowing whilst revealing a magical formation.
"A transportation formation!"
"Quick! Someone stop him!"
"Kazuya!!!!" Alicia screamed at him full of murderous intent. It would be disastrous if he escaped.
The hero ignored them and gathered all the mana he could muster. Kazuya then felt a sudden pain on the wound on his left chest. He felt something going through it which caused him greater pain than he ever felt before. He knew it was his last stand so he could only grit his teeth and ignore it.
"HELLION MALUM! AS HERO URIEL'S SUCCESSOR, I LIFT YOUR OATH OF PEACE! GIVE THESE HUMANS THE RETRIBUTION THEY DESERVE!"
The four were shocked. This hero somehow knew about the restriction put upon the demon lord and even knew his true name. From Kazuya's words alone, they knew were missing crucial information about the demon lord and what had really happened.
"You!!! You would side with demons!?"
"Demons? HAHAHAHA!!! In my eyes, You lot and all you conspirators are the real demons!"
"I'll skin you alive!!!" Alicia gripped Kazuya's sword and threw it towards him,
A blinding light filled the room as the hero's silhouette disappeared right in front of them with his laughter echoing throughout the whole castle. Little did they know that the hero already knew that he wasn't going to live for much longer. He put on a show to make them always look over their shoulder until they finally got what they deserved.
"Sorry Hellion… I guess I won't be able to deliver your message"
He sighed whilst giving into the urge to slowly close his eyes for the last time. He hated not living up to the expectations being called a hero. What he detested the most was that he won't be the one reaping the lives of all those who were involved in the conspiracy that made him a living hypocrisy and that filled his heart with endless regrets.
"Alicia… I guess I'll be waiting for you in hell"
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For an unknown amount of time, Kazuya spent time in darkness. Time seemed non-existent as various parts of his own life replayed through his mind. From the time he entered middle school up until the time of his death, he lost count of how many times various scenes from his life showed itself to him over and over again.
He would cringe every time it would reach the point close to his death and cursed at the traitors. He thought they were reliable companions and treated them like family. He would have died to save them, yet they stabbed him in the back as if it were the normal thing to do.
At first, it was like torture. He soon began to notice signs that he missed that were definitely suspicious. He couldn't help but to think that this was his own personal hell. It went up to the point that he could identify every single person that had hidden intentions when they interacted with him.
He was helpless. He couldn't close his eyes and could only watch his life go by over and over again. What puzzled him however was that the memories he lost as a child were still unknown to him. The only thing he expected from this hell was to finally see the memories that he had lost before he came to Edea.
The earliest he could remember were his middle school days where he woke up from an accident. At the hospital, he was slowly informed to have lost his parents. This had been one of the reasons why he had little attachments to his own world.
Every time he saw Alicia's smug face he would curse. She was the person who could still make his emotions spark after all the times he repeated the scenes of his life. Her triumphant smile when she stabbed him through Gale made him want to dissect every nerve in her body over and over again.
At some point in time, something strange happened. He suddenly felt something as he watched the final moments of his life once again. A heavy feeling which he had not felt for who knows how long took ahold of him. He embraced the heavy feeling right away. It was at least something to keep him distracted for what the images were about to show him once again. Alicia's grin triggered him once more as the sensation he embraced got stronger.
"YOU BITCH! I'LL DESTROY YOU!" He screamed out loud as his eyes were suddenly blinded by light. He hadn't experienced such a thing since before he died.
Kazuya blinked repeatedly trying to get his blurry vision to focus. What he saw afterwards surprised him.
"What did you just say young man?" said the blurry figure standing in front.
"?" he shook his head and blinked multiple times trying to fix his own vision. It was then that the picture before him slowly cleared up.
It was a lady who looked upset. Kazuya looked around his surroundings to find numerous children staring at him as if he were crazy. He found himself in an unfamiliar classroom surrounded by unfamiliar classmates.
"(Did I just reincarnate or something?)" He looked at his hands and found that they belonged to a child.
"Kouzuki Kazuya! I am speaking to you!" The lady who he could tell was his teacher called out to him again.
"(Huh? Wait a minute… she just called me by name. This isn't a reincarnation?)"
"Don't you start ignoring me to play dumb young man. Do you want me to take you to the princi—"
"Ugh… *cough cough*"
Kazuya felt extremely dizzy all of a sudden. His chest hurt so much as he immediately clutched it before throwing up mouthfuls of blood that froze the entire room including the teacher who ran up to him before he fell to the floor.
"Kouzuki-kun! Kouzuki-kun!"
His teacher called out to him but all he could focus on was a familiar round object that came out with the blood he coughed up. He saw it slowly turn into small particles which flew back towards his body making him feel strange yet surprisingly soothed the throbbing pain he felt on his chest.
"(Was that all a dream? No… Everything was real. I remember every single detail. Even that gem that I coughed up proves what I've been through but… what in the world is this?)"
Kazuya was no stranger to the darkness, so he closed his eyes and pretended to have fainted to avoid explaining himself. He wanted to give himself time to think about what was happening around him. An ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital not too long afterwards.
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Kazuya pondered and thought about the last part of his conversation with Hellion Malum.
"You'll understand eventually or at least I hope you get the chance to"
"You sure do like to mystify things"
"Is that so? I'll take that as a compliment. I'm handing you these. They will serve as proof of our meeting when you meet with Natsu" The demon lord handed him a thick book, a vial and a small dark colored gem that made him sense something from it.
"These are?"
"Research materials for Natsu. They can also serve as proof that you met with me. Those are findings after centuries of dabbling"
"Ring" declared the hero as a small ring appeared on his finger. He nonchalantly used the ring to store the items but unexpectedly found out that the small gem had no response when he tried storing it.
"That… that's a soul ring? Where did you get that ring?"
"This is called a soul ring? I got it from an old chest inside a ruin I fell into. It pretty much saves me from bringing luggage though I haven't gotten the hang of using it since it refuses to answer my call whenever there are people around but…" He looked at the ring and looked at the demon lord in front of it and realized that it appeared in front of someone for the first time.
"You can forget about using your ring to keep this gem. Both of them are from an era even before I was amongst the living. Both Natsu and I haven't the slightest idea on what it's for nor were there any records about it. That is why we both found it so fascinating"
"I see. I'll do my best to pass it onto him. If I live long enough that is"
"If you want a way out then I have a simple solution. Lift my oath and join my side. I can swear to my core not to take back or invade more than is necessary"
"Can I do that? Wasn't your oath done with my predecessor?"
"Being his successor, of course you can. That Natsu was a pretty thorough guy. He gave me a lot of restrictions but also gave me enough room around them, so it can definitely be done by you"
"I see… Then in the event of my death by the schemes of the humans of this world, I hereby declare your oath to the previous hero Uriel be voided"
"Are people in your world usually this crafty? It's like I'm a battle maniac or anything"
"That's not it… I just want to confirm things for myself first. They may be planning for what you said but I've spent years with them and…"
*sigh* "I get it. Then let me tell you about the hidden magic formation beneath you right now…" He was so surprised to learn about the Hellion's backup escape plan. He didn't plan on telling anyone about it nor did anyone even noticed. but this was what his new friend Kazuya needed to save his life.
A secret transportation formation activated by blood. This was the same formation that eventually led him to safely escape certain death.
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Kazuya opened his eyes and found himself alone in a big hospital room. He still wondered what caused his current circumstances.
"Was it that gem or that formation?" He shook his head and figured he wouldn't get any answers by himself.
"Wait a minute… if that bead made it then…" he raised his thin arm and stared at his little hand.
"Ring…" All doubts disappeared from his mind when the familiar looking ring showed itself on his finger. "Seriously, thank you for staying with me" he rubbed the ring with his other hand.
He wanted to laugh. He didn't know what or who to thank but he hugged the hand which held the ring as if it was the most special thing in the world to him. This was undeniable proof that everything he went through had been real. He wasn't crazy or had been hallucinating, all the pain and emotions he felt was real. He was now given another chance.
"Just you wait you traitors. Your 'hero' will be coming for a reckoning"
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