The Dawn of a New Hero
As the light erupted from the earth, the sun—long hidden behind dark, roiling clouds—finally bathed the land in its warmth once more. The screams that had echoed throughout the city began to fade. In the distance, I could see the people who had been under control beginning to regain their senses, one by one. The horrific ordeal that had shaken the city for hours had finally come to an end.
I let out a sigh of relief that the damage, which could have been far worse, had been minimized. But that moment of respite was brief. Realizing that there was still work to be done, I wiped away my reddened eyes. Looking at Yoon Siwoo and Sylvia, I spoke as if to remind myself, "......Let's move. There are still mountains of people who need our help."
As I stood up, a sudden wave of dizziness hit me, and I stumbled. Yoon Siwoo and Sylvia immediately caught my arms, steadying me before I could fall. They looked at me with worried expressions.
"Scarlet, if you're exhausted, please don't push yourself. You should rest," Yoon Siwoo said.
"He's right. You've been running around for hours. If this takes a toll on your health......" Sylvia added.
I shook my head. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm still physically fine. And right now, we need every pair of hands we can get."
As the sun illuminated the dark city, the reality of the devastation became even more painfully clear. I took in the scene, then squeezed the hands of the two people holding me. "Let's focus on what needs to be done. We have to save people. Even if it's just one more person."
At my words, they nodded with grim determination and ran off in different directions. I, too, began to move, searching for those in need.
I helped load critical patients onto stretchers for transport to the hospital. I comforted a child who had fallen into respiratory distress after being shocked by the sight of their bleeding parents. I talked down a man who, consumed by guilt after harming someone he had been forced to attack while under control, was on the verge of a desperate, final act.
As I wandered, trying to save as many as I could, the sounds of people wailing in grief over those who would never move again filled the air. It was as if that sound were following in the wake of the earlier screams, echoing throughout the entire city.
I spent hours helping the survivors, and before I knew it, the sun had set and the night had deepened. If only this artificial body didn't have its limits. Having run around without a break for nearly half a day, I felt like I was going to collapse from exhaustion. I returned to the gymnasium, which was being used as a temporary shelter for students, to get some rest.
As I stepped inside, I spotted Jessie among the many students resting. She looked as if she had collapsed from exhaustion, but when I approached, she greeted me by slowly blinking, too tired to even speak. I nodded slowly and slumped down beside her.
Just as sleep began to pull me under, a phone in Jessie's lap began to vibrate. It seemed the communication network, which had been cut off earlier, had finally been restored. I watched as Jessie struggled to pull the phone out and press it to her ear. Not long after she answered, I saw tears welling up in her eyes.
"Ah, oh...... *sob*, *sob*......"
The phone slipped from her trembling hands and hit the floor with a sharp clack. Through the speaker, I heard the same sorrowful, heart-wrenching wailing I had heard countless times throughout the day.
"M-my brother...... my big brother......"
As she sobbed, I bit my lip, thinking of her older brother, who had always looked so much older than his years. I hadn't seen him often, but he had remained in my memory as a good man. The weight of his death pressed down on me, but instead of succumbing to my own grief, I chose to comfort the girl before me. I knew all too well how immense the pain of losing a precious family member could be.
I moved closer and pulled her into a quiet embrace. Even in her state of utter exhaustion, she clung to me and wept for a long time.
The time the city's inhabitants had spent under control and acting against their will had been, at most, a few hours. But the wounds those few hours had left on the people were far too deep.
Perhaps because of the magnitude of the events we had endured, I woke up in the early dawn despite my exhaustion. I carefully sat up, trying not to wake Jessie, who was sleeping soundly in my arms with her eyes still puffy from crying. Sensing my movement, she stirred and muttered in her sleep.
"Ugh...... the bad witch who killed my brother...... I will never forgive you......"
I watched her, offered a bitter smile, and left the gymnasium. The city was still dark, as the sun had yet to rise. Even at this hour, however, I could see a few people moving about busily. Just as I was about to head out the school gate, thinking I should help, I heard a voice.
"They told us to rest since things seem to be settling down even without the students. You worked hard yesterday, so get some more sleep."
I checked to see who it was, and it was Yoon Siwoo. Hearing that, it seemed like the end was finally in sight. I hadn't expected things to be resolved so quickly, but it seemed the damage was less than I had feared. Feeling a small sense of relief, I sat down on a flower bed near the gate. Yoon Siwoo hesitated for a moment before sitting down a short distance away from me. Seeing him coming in from outside at this hour, it was clear he had pulled an all-nighter.
"......Did you stay up all night? That must have been tough."
"Not really. Staying up all night is nothing."
He answered as if it were trivial, but even with the Holy Sword of Indomitability, which boosted his physical capabilities, there was no way he wasn't exhausted. The power of the Holy Sword he had used yesterday required a massive expenditure of stamina to unleash attacks of that magnitude.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"I'm not pushing myself. I'm just doing it because I can."
Just doing it because I can—it was a phrase he had used countless times in the original novel. In the story, Yoon Siwoo was a person who had to be able to do it. If he failed to overcome the adversities that befell him, humanity would have been finished. I couldn't help but feel conflicted, watching him say that. When Yoon Siwoo spoke like that, it usually meant he was going through something incredibly difficult.
"......That's a lie. I told you before, didn't I? It's okay to tell me if you're struggling. It's obvious you're having a hard time, so if there's anything you want to say, just spit it out."
He flinched at my words, then offered a bitter smile. "......Earlier, while I was helping people, someone told me that it was all because of people like me that their family ended up like this. They said this happened because the heroes who are supposed to protect people weren't doing their jobs. Hearing that made it feel a bit harder to go around saving people. You, me, and all the other heroes—we're all doing our best for them......"
From the perspective of someone running around until they collapsed for their sake, it was an incredibly unfair thing to hear. But I couldn't blame them. I looked out at the city landscape and opened my mouth.
"......It's just because everyone is in so much pain."
The sky was gradually brightening as the sun began to rise over the horizon. The shadows cast by that faint light looked like scars etched into the city.
"Do you know what happens to people when they're in too much pain?" I asked, thinking of the hearts of those left in the city who had lost their loved ones. "They start by getting angry. They want to find something to blame. Anything will do. Maybe that target becomes the witch, or maybe it becomes the heroes."
Jessie, who had muttered in her sleep that she couldn't forgive the witch. The person who had told Yoon Siwoo that the heroes were at fault.
"Maybe someone will eventually come to hate this world itself."
And me—though I hadn't shown it, I had once hated the world that had snatched away my precious people, a world where good people always seemed to lose out. Seeing that, perhaps sorrow is just another form of anger.
In the original story, those who lost their loved ones to the monsters that appeared in the gymnasium had taken to the streets in their grief to protest. Perhaps this incident could lead to the same path, and I had to stop it. I could prevent it to some extent by directing people's anger elsewhere, but......
"......But people in pain don't just look for someone to blame," I said, watching the dawn brighten in the distance.
"Because they want to forget their sorrow, they also look for someone to rely on."
Just as shadows disappear when you look toward the light, if you have something to lean on, you can forget your sorrow. For some, that object of reliance might be a god; for others, it might be their friends.
"I have a favor to ask."
Then, who could be that object of reliance for the people of this world?
"It might be too much to ask, but it's something only you can do."
In the distance, the sun rose, radiating a brilliant, bright light. The people might have been disappointed in the heroes who failed to protect them. But there was someone here who had saved everyone from danger.
"Yoon Siwoo."
That is why I have no choice but to rely on this boy. I have no choice but to ask him. The protagonist of this world. The hope of this world.
"For everyone's sake, please become a hero."
The era was in need of a new hero.