Prologue: The Angel Boy Who Swore Off Fantasy Novels Forever
The praying angel boy had vowed never to read fantasy novels again. Especially not the classic ones with heroes and demon kings. He swore it with all his heart.
Think about it—wasn't it ridiculous? Why would a demon king suddenly decide to wipe out humanity, and why was he so absurdly powerful without any logical buildup? But the most laughable part was the hero. A human chosen by the gods to defeat the demon king? Yeah, right. The idea of a hero existing... that was the most absurd nonsense of all.
There are no heroes.
"Damn it."
In the end, novels were just novels. Even if a demon king appeared in this world, there was no reason someone like a hero had to exist to defeat such a mad monster. Heroes were nothing more than a concept from stories.
The man stroked the rebar piercing through his abdomen. He didn't know the exact name, but it was that common rod from construction sites—the kind used to build building foundations. To think he was still alive with something like this stuck in his gut... human life sure was tenacious.
"I knew there'd be no hero in the end."
At that moment, a voice like an angel's came from behind him.
"That's not true."
People see illusions right before death. Scientifically speaking, the prevailing theory was that a brain deprived of oxygen malfunctioned and produced hallucinations. In that sense, the man wasn't surprised by the vision. He just thought it was time to go.
"Heroes do exist."
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
Chatting about heroes and light descending from the heavens out of nowhere. If it weren't a dying hallucination, it might have been fascinating.
"If the children destined to become heroes hadn't been sacrificed to humanity's greed, if they hadn't fallen victim to their schemes, if there had only been someone to understand their sorrow... then humanity would have had heroes."
The man somewhat agreed with that point. But so what? What was the use? It was all meaningless.
"If there had been an angel—if there had been a guardian angel to guide the young heroes down the right path and protect them from the trials ahead... humanity wouldn't have met this end."
The tone was definitive. For some inexplicable reason, the man found the voice breathtakingly beautiful. Like a voice from heaven itself.
"You must become that angel."
"...Me? Why?"
"Because you are humanity's last survivor."
"So what does that have to do with being an angel..."
For a brain-spawned illusion, it was getting awfully cheeky. The man tried to stand, but his arms had no strength. All he could manage was to lift his head slightly.
And that's when he saw the true nature of the light.
It was an angel.
A deeply wounded angel stood before him. White wings of light spread from its back, and its body was covered in grave injuries. Yet the boy angel still maintained a divine appearance.
"Become a far better guardian angel for those children than I ever was."
The sacrifice of offering one's entire existence for the world is more angelic than any angel!
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<...>
A miracle has been fulfilled.