“Red sky.”

Fwoooooosh…

In a barren wasteland filled with the thick stench of burning, a lone human lay abandoned with his back against the desolate earth.

Gulp.

“Ah, fck, it hurts…”

As I swallowed the disgusting blood and pus pooled inside my mouth, the pain I had forgotten came rushing back like a tidal wave.

The cold ground digging into my back silently supported my tattered body.

Several pebbles embedded in my skin were being crushed beneath my weight and digging deeper into my flesh.

“Ugh…”

Thud!

I desperately tried to lift myself up, but my body, reduced to little more than rags, no longer had the strength to function properly.

All I could do was weakly bob my head and look around.

Twinge!

A tingling pain and emptiness spread through my right hand and leg.

Even without going out of my way to check, it wasn’t difficult to guess the state my body was in.

“How many fingers are gone?”
“My leg…”

Whoooosh…

“As expected, it’s gone.”

How did I end up in this state?

I was only supposed to serve as a guide and lead the hero this far.

Saying that, I gasped for breath and looked around.

Swish.

When I turned my head to the side, I saw the severed heads of soldiers, already gone cold, rolling around on the ground.

Pieces of flesh drenched in blood, devoid of even the slightest sign of life.

As I looked at those fragmented pieces rolling across the ground like broken components that had lost their battery called a soul, a laugh escaped my lips before I realized it.

“Pfft…”

How did I end up in this state?

Hadn’t I known the cause from the very beginning?

I had foolishly dared to harbor an excessive wish that a sinner like me had no right to desire, and this was the result.

A filthy murderer who only knew how to kill had dared to harbor the arrogant wish of saving others, so of course I ended up looking like this.

“…”

Would things have been different if the hero had done it?

If they had been the magnificent heroes everyone talked about instead of those bastards who abandoned us and ran away, could they have saved us?

As I wondered about that, I recalled the hero party that had just fled.

Crackle… crackle…

From the decaying, mangled flesh came a sound like firewood burning.

The thick stench of rot that made my stomach churn had none other than human flesh as its source.

Beneath the crimson sky of despair, a red moon floating in the air dyed both the heavens and the earth blood-red, firmly proving that this was the land of the Demon Realm.

Whoooooosh…

At the end of the wind sweeping past us, the rulers of the Demon Realm displayed their grotesque forms.

Thousands…

No, perhaps even tens of thousands of monsters stood before us in an overwhelming army.

They were on an entirely different level of strength compared to our forces, of which only a few hundred remained.

“No…”
“I don’t want this…”

A man stared at the monstrous army with trembling hands.

Tiny tears had gathered at the corners of his eyes.

“Ah…”

His armored shoulders trembled weakly like those of a terrified child.

The man turned his back on the rulers of the Demon Realm before his eyes.

He soon began screaming as he fled the battlefield before him.

“No!”
“I don’t want to die!”

Tap-tap-tap!

A young man ran away, his shining blond hair flying behind him.

Three people who appeared to be his companions followed close behind him as they fled.

Faced with such a miserable sight that words could hardly describe, I let out a deep sigh and muttered a curse.

“Fcking idiots.”

Those people were the core combat force of the Leoni Kingdom, the Hero Party.

Baran, the hero chosen by the Holy Sword.

Emilaile, the last Saintess of the Holy Empire.

Ririel, the Elven Sniper of the Mist.

Rom Paeng, the man who had glimpsed the abyss of magic.

Each of them was a once-in-an-age talent who could be called unrivaled in their respective fields, and they had become humanity’s strongest party after earning the recognition of the kings of every nation.

However, no matter how powerful a group made up entirely of once-in-an-age geniuses might be, they were still a bunch of inexperienced brats who had not even spent a year on the battlefield.

‘It was far too little time to gain any meaningful experience in war.’

Still, I had accepted their reckless plan because they had performed well in various battles.

‘What a mistake.’

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

His unrestrained footsteps were those of a man who had lost his reason and gone berserk.

Yet even those frantic steps maintained an unwavering rhythm, carrying out every movement with the utmost efficiency.

It seemed he certainly possessed the skill worthy of the name hero.

‘That goes for…’

I looked at the companions following behind the hero.

‘Those bastards are the same.’

Even if they couldn’t drive back the remaining enemies with their abilities, rescuing the soldiers was by no means impossible.

If they risked their lives to hold the front line, they had enough strength to create an escape route for the dying soldiers.

They must have known that themselves.

‘So they just don’t want to take the risk?’

I looked sadly at the dying comrades beyond Baran’s back.

“…”

I had been entrusted with the mission of assisting the heroes in their actions.

It had been an arduous and difficult task.

I couldn’t even count the number of soldiers who had fallen while buying the heroes time to launch their assault.

The hope of humanity.

Those were the words that best described the Hero Party.

Simply because they existed, the soldiers’ morale would soar.

And to open a path for them, the soldiers would willingly throw away their own lives.

All because of the uncertain belief that they would bring victory to humanity.

‘Poor bastards.’

Did they really die in vain because of people like these?

“Stupid bastards.”

Step…

‘But.’

Step, step.

‘Being the hope for those stupid bastards, even if it’s a stupid thing to do…’

Boom!

‘That’s exactly what you people called the Hero Party are supposed to do!’

Fragments of the Demon Realm’s land flew up from beneath my feet.

A tiny crack began to form beneath the sole of my heavily planted military boot.

I slowly walked toward the path of the hero who was running toward me from afar.

Ssssss…

Cold.

No, it was chilling.

The murderous coldness climbing up my spine screamed that these people must pay for their sins in blood.

But this wasn’t the time for that.

It was impossible for me alone to block the assault of that many monsters and rescue them.

To save those people, the support of the Hero Party was absolutely essential.

“Fuuu…”

Suppressing the murderous intent welling up inside me, I stepped in front of the heroes as they were retreating from the battlefield.

“Are you crazy!”
“You’re all insane!”
“You never said there would be this many!”

“Stop.”

Grab!

I seized the fleeing hero by the arm.

The hero violently turned around.

He briefly met my eyes before immediately beginning to thrash around like a madman.

“Let go!”
“You crazy bastard!”

His terrified eyes had lost their focus.

They were the eyes of prey staring death in the face.

I understood that emotion.

But understanding it and accepting his actions were two completely different things.

‘That’s why I’m telling you not to run away from the responsibility of being a hero.’

Then—

“Baran, what are you doing right now!”

Whoosh!

The hand I had used to grab Baran was violently knocked away.

It was Ririel who had shaken off my hand.

“Those guys won’t last much longer!”
“Run, now!”

What?

“Y-you fcking btch.”
“Do you seriously think that’s something the Hero Party should be saying right now?”

“Then what do you want us to do!”
“The soldiers can just be replaced later anyway!”

“What?”

Ririel pointed at Baran.

“Look!”
“He’s the hero!”
“It’s more important for the hero to survive than some ordinary soldier—”

“You seriously think that’s something you can say in front of me, an ordinary soldier?”

While we were briefly arguing—

“Mr. Cain!”

A frantic voice came from behind Ririel.

“Mr. Cain!”
“This battle is impossible!”
“Please, run away with us!”

That bastard?

I pointed at the cross hanging around Emilaile’s neck.

“Is that what the Goddess Afrien of Love and Mercy taught you?”

“We don’t have a choice!”
“The hero has to survive first!”

“Heh…”
“Unbelievable.”

Fck, was that really something a woman called a Saintess should be saying?

How was it possible that not one of the five mouths standing before me could produce a single decent human thing to say?

I let out a small sigh and looked at the remaining two.

“You two think the same?”

“Uh…”

“…”

No answer came.

But I could naturally tell.

Every one of them thought the same way Baran did.

“You pathetic, worthless bastards.”

“What…?”
“Pathetic?”
“Worthless?”

“Why?”
“Am I wrong?”

With a mocking smile on my lips, I shoved Baran by the shoulder.

“You fcking bastards.”
“Do you know how many soldiers have died because of you?”
“After watching them die right beside you, you’re running away now?”

I pointed toward the battlefield behind me.

“Look.”
“They’re still alive.”
“There are still people alive back there.”

They shifted their gazes toward where my finger was pointing.

But what filled their eyes wasn’t the brilliant light of a sense of duty.

It was the pathetic weakness of terrified cowards.

That was when I realized it.

These bastards would never go back to save them.

“Ha…!”

My shoulders trembled.

Strength gathered in my clenched fist.

I slowly raised my arm, surrendering myself to the emotions surging inside me.

“If you’re a bastard who calls himself a hero…”

Crack.

“If you’re the leader of the bastards called the Hero Party!”

“Huh…?”

I drove my fist into Baran’s face with all my strength.

Bam!

“Then you should save the other idiots who believe in you!!!”

I didn’t think about what would happen afterward.

There was only one emotion filling my mind.

What stood before my eyes were nothing but filthy deserters turning their eyes away from their responsibilities.

I was so consumed by the desire to crush those bastards’ fcking faces that I had no reason left to stop my fist from swinging.

“Gah!”

“Aah!”
“Baran!”

“Cain!”
“What the hell are you doing—”

Whoosh!

The moment my fist slammed into the hero’s face, I ran like a madman toward the battlefield where the soldiers were dying.

I don’t remember what happened after that.

The last thing I remember was nothing but the madness of having to kill as many monsters as possible, even if it was only one more.

“Hmm…”

I don’t know.

How long had I fought?

How many monsters had I killed?

And…

“Did I even manage to save anyone…?”

Gulp.

Cough!
“Cough, cough!”

Blood and pus seeped past my tongue as I muttered.

The unpleasant reflux that touched my throat made me turn my head away and continue coughing.

“Haa…”

I painfully lowered my head and looked at my fingertips.

The blood flowing from my body had mixed with the blood of other pieces of flesh, leaving me in a pitiful state like garbage rolling along the roadside.

“…At first, I definitely wanted to save them.”

So why had the thought of killing everything suddenly filled my mind?

“Fck.”
“This is exactly what’s wrong with me.”

If I had moved with nothing but the goal of rescuing them instead of allowing myself to be consumed by murderous intent, I could have known how many people might have survived.

But because of the hatred for monsters contained within me, I had abandoned my original purpose and made killing my only objective.

‘To think that a piece of trash like me once dared to wish to save someone.’

Heh.

“How ridiculous…”
“Seriously.”

I wouldn’t be alive much longer in this state anyway.

Soon, the Grim Reaper of the underworld would come walking toward me and mercilessly throw the soul of this filthy sinner into the deepest flames of hell.

“Haa…”

I had no regrets.

I had killed enough people throughout my life.

There was only one ending a sinner deserved.

To die as miserably and pathetically as possible.

“My turn has finally come…”

Saying that, I closed my eyes.

But then, a voice suddenly echoed inside my head, and my body began floating gently into the air.

[No.]
[Your turn has not come yet.]

A pure white voice as clear as a water droplet.

‘It feels like a lake I once saw in winter.’

For some reason, it gave me a mysterious sensation, as though I were being called somewhere.

Warm mana spreading through my head flowed throughout my entire body along my muscles.

Rustle.

A warm, ticklish sensation could be felt throughout my severed body.

A dazzling light enveloped my body, shining against my eyelids.

‘What… is this?’

I couldn’t open my eyes against the intense light.

As I struggled to understand this incomprehensible situation, the woman’s voice I had heard moments ago spoke once more.

[You are an extraordinary one…]
[To have reached this point in the body of an ordinary human…]

“Who… are…”

I tried desperately to hold onto consciousness, but perhaps because I had pushed my body too far, I couldn’t overcome the overwhelming drowsiness.

The mana carried by the voice gently wrapped around my body with a kind, soothing warmth.

[Sleep.]
[Do not worry about anything.]

“Ah…”

My tension instantly melted away, and an unbearable drowsiness came crashing down.

Darkness gradually descended over my vision.

The moment I lost my fading consciousness, I saw it.

The figure of a pure-white woman standing at the very end of an endless whiteness.