The Final Legacy
The Demon King had fallen at the hands of the Hero.
The news meant that the war which had dragged on for ages was finally over. It meant that, at long last, the world was saved from the brink of ruin.
Upon hearing of the victory, the citizens poured into the streets, singing and shouting with joy.
A festival of unprecedented scale erupted. Within it, people of all ranks and classes ate, drank, and basked in the glory of this triumph.
However.
At this very moment, while everyone else was cheering.
I...
Seton Kailos, the Guild Master of the Adventurer Guild in the human empire of Agaros.
Could only stand alone, wearing a look of utter despair, as the distant cheers of victory echoed outside the castle walls.
Standing before me were those bastards, all wearing cold, mocking smiles.
A female assassin clad in black, with matching dark hair and eyes.
A mage holding a staff.
A paladin in silver plate armor.
A silver-haired elf woman with a massive bow slung over her shoulder...
These were the ones who had achieved the grand feat of slaying the Demon King.
The saviors of humanity, and the strongest Grand Master-rank adventurer party in existence.
The Hero Party.
And the man who led them.
A gold-haired, brown-skinned man carrying the sacred sword—the very symbol of the Hero.
The Hero, Judah Brutus.
The man who had just become the undisputed savior of the world looked down at me as the new Guild Master, his voice dripping with ice.
“Now then, hurry up and clear out your office as His Imperial Majesty commanded. Any further useless resistance will only make things difficult for both of us.”
Judah spoke while lightly waving the imperial decree in his hand.
Staring at the document that stripped away everything I had spent my entire life building, I spoke to him, my voice thick with burning rage and betrayal.
“How... how could you do this? How could any of you... after how much I helped you? How can you call yourselves human and do this to me!”
“Oh, we’re still very grateful for that, but... what can you do? This is all because you ran the Adventurer Guild like a complete fool, Guild Master.”
“Besides, we’re the heroes who just slew the Demon King. If the saviors of the world want this much as a reward, it’s only fair we get it, don’t you think?”
“You bastards! Even so, to steal from your benefactor?”
“If it weren’t for us, all of this would have been reduced to ashes by the Demon King anyway. Look at the bright side.”
“Isn’t it better to hand it over as a gift rather than letting it burn to the ground? Don’t worry, we’ll run this Adventurer Guild very well in your stead.”
The Hero Judah and the assassin Annas spoke with absolute confidence, devoid of even a shred of hesitation or guilt.
And agreeing with them, the other members of the Hero Party and the high-ranking officials of the guild wore cold sneers.
Watching them, I began to tremble, consumed by a horrific rage unlike anything I had ever felt before. Yet, I had no choice but to swallow the burning fury inside me.
Damn it... How... How did it come to this?
No matter how unfair and infuriating it was, I currently possessed neither the authority nor the power to stop Judah.
My opponents were the Hero and his companions, who had just achieved the legendary feat of saving the world. At this moment, the Hero Party had the right to claim anything they desired.
Furthermore, since they had successfully bribed Isis to frame me, it was virtually impossible to seek help from anyone else.
And if I refuse here, they will take my head on the spot... using the excuse that I rebelled against the Emperor's decree.
The Emperor, who had tried to protect me until the very end, had ultimately succumbed to their schemes and abandoned me.
With my final stronghold shattered, there was nothing left for me to do.
“Stop being stubborn and pack your bags. If you keep this up, we might actually have to take your head, you know?”
“Urgh...”
Despite the crushing injustice and rage, I had no choice but to submit to the Hero Party standing before me.
“Fine... I will comply with the will of His Majesty and the Hero...”
“A wise decision. Ah, and one more thing. I didn't exactly plan for this, but there is something else I must take from you, Guild Master.”
“What...?”
With those words, Judah glanced to the side.
Already pushed to the edge of the abyss, I felt a surge of dread and confusion as I followed his gaze.
And then...
“!”
A painfully familiar figure stepped into view.
It was...
“I-Isabel? What... what are you doing here?”
My fiancé, whom I was scheduled to marry in just a few weeks.
Usually, seeing her brought me nothing but happiness, but today, her appearance filled me with an endless, chilling dread.
And...
“...Isabel?”
Just as my instincts warned, Isabel looked at my face with complete indifference before walking slowly toward Judah.
Watching this, a single realization flashed through my mind, and I called out to her, my voice trembling.
“What... what are you doing? Isabel, you... what is the meaning of this?”
Ignoring my desperate voice entirely, Isabel reached out and tightly grasped the Hero's hand.
At the same time, a deep smile bloomed on her lips.
Understanding exactly what that smile meant, I felt something snap deep within my soul.
And then...
—Smooch.
“!”
Right before my eyes...
Right in front of me, her official fiancé.
Isabel pressed her lips against Judah's.
“Ah... Ah...”
The sight of my fiancé kissing the Hero so passionately was the final blow to my already shattered heart.
It was more than enough to completely obliterate my remaining sanity.
“You... You bastards!”
Overcome by uncontrollable rage and despair, I lunged forward, throwing a fist at the Hero.
However...
“Argh!”
The next moment, a sudden impact sent me crashing helplessly to the floor before I could even touch him.
“My, my... you shouldn't show such an ugly side of yourself. Shouldn't you maintain your dignity as the Guild Master until the very end?”
Annas, the assassin of the Hero Party, spoke as she drove a poisoned needle into my neck. Behind her stood the mage, Gayaba, casting a spell with a cold smirk.
As I lay paralyzed on the floor by the poison and magic, Isabel, now wrapped in the Hero's arms, spoke in an incredibly flippant voice.
“Hehehe... I'm sorry, Seton. I've already become a woman who can't live without the Hero. Besides, I could never marry a penniless nobody who isn't even the Guild Master anymore, right? But don't worry too much. I'll live a very happy life with my Hero.”
“Well, you heard her. I didn't plan on going this far, but she says she prefers me. To be honest, I've had my eye on this beauty since the moment I saw her.”
Isabel clung to the Hero, showing off their affection, while Judah welcomed her embrace. Around them, the Hero Party laughed at my pathetic state.
This scene.
This horrific betrayal that mocked my entire life of shedding blood and sweat for the people.
It burned itself vividly into my mind, even as the poison dragged my consciousness into darkness.
I will never... I will never forgive you. I will make sure... you pay for this grudge...
“Roaaar!”
A massive ogre collapsed, spraying blood across the ground.
But before I could even confirm its death, I had to swing my mana-infused sword to face another enemy rushing toward me.
We were in the middle of a battlefield where the enemies seemed endless, no matter how many we killed.
Surrounded by a sea of monsters, the adventurers and I squeezed out every last drop of our strength to fight on.
“Victory is near! Just hold on a little longer, and the Hero Party will defeat the Demon King!”
I shouted, doing my best to rally my men.
However.
Despite my hopeful words, a deep sense of despair was slowly filling my heart.
The battlefield was rapidly deteriorating.
The imperial army had already retreated, leaving only me and a handful of adventurers to hold the line.
In this hopeless situation, I raised my sword once more, summoning the last of my strength.
Driven by the conviction to protect the people.
As the leader of the adventurers, I wanted to reach out and save those trapped in despair.
Just then...
“Argh!”
A sudden, agonizing pain pierced my chest.
Stunned by the unexpected strike from behind, I forced my head around to look.
The figure standing there was not a demon, nor was it a monster.
“...The... Hero?”
The man who had run his blade through my body was smiling coldly.
The Hero Party, who were supposed to be fighting the Demon King while we risked our lives to draw the enemy's attention...
Judah Brutus and his companions.
The moment I saw them, I realized too late that everything had gone horribly wrong, and my body collapsed to the ground.
“How... how could you...”
“Farewell, Guild Master.”
The traitors looked down at me with icy smiles.
With that image burned into my fading consciousness, I tumbled down into the deepest depths of hell, carrying the bitter realization that all my efforts had been nothing but a illusion.
“Gasps!”
My eyes snapped open.
Feeling as if I had been dragged up from the abyss, I struggled to regain my senses.
Before me lay bright, warm sunlight and lush green trees.
Realizing that the scene from just now was only a nightmare, I covered my eyes with a trembling hand.
“That dream... again...”
A dream that mixed the horrific final battle at the Demon King's castle with the memory of being stripped of everything and banished by the Hero Party.
Irritated by the recurring nightmare that had plagued me for days, I slowly forced my heavy body up.
I was in the middle of a deep, uninhabited forest. It was my first time in this place, but I pulled out a faded map from my coat and began to walk forward without hesitation.
As the son of a fallen noble family, I had managed to climb all the way to the position of Guild Master, only to lose everything to betrayal.
And now, this faded map in my hand held the only key to my revenge.
It detailed the final legacy left behind by my ancestors hundreds of years ago, hidden somewhere in this forest.
I don't know exactly what it is, but I will find it. This... Dummy Data.