Long ago, the village of Itami lived in tranquility, they were striving for resources and calmness. One fateful day, it all changed after a demon lord took hold of the village.
“CHAOS HAS ARRIVED”
The once calm village was heading towards total annihilation. The demon lord Babel had concluded that this place would become the gate that would connect hell to heaven. Before he could commit such atrocities, a heroic trio that bore three titles appeared: the Swordsman of Thunder, the Mage of Light, and the Knight of Hope. Together, they managed to overwhelm Babel and his underlings.
Babel was pummeled by the blade of the Knight of Hope. He was at death’s door, but he managed to put a malevolent curse on the Knight of Hope.
“Though your blade pierced me, your future descendant shall become me, Babel, the demon of Triad.”
The Knight of Hope showed no remark and struck Babel down, returning him to hell, the place where he truly belonged.
The trio that saved Itami village were crowned heroes. After the celebration, the Knight of Hope gathered his two comrades.
“Though we have won, faith might bring calamity in the future,” the Knight of Hope said.
The two heroes are confused, “The demon is banished; you do not need to be so wary,” the Mage of Light said.
The Knight of Hope wanted to prevent the worst, so he handed a sword called the Garpunisher to the Swordsman of Thunder and said, “If my descendant becomes one with darkness, please end his suffering from the eternal purgatory.“
Though this seemed unlikely to both of them, the Mage of Light, the Swordsman of Thunder, and the Knight of Hope made an oath.
“If evil shall return, we shall uphold it and return the darkness to the pit of purgatory,” the three of them said.
Years passed. As the years went by, Itami village progressed a lot. The once small village was now a town still called Itami, and the third generation of the heroes of the past had taken the mantle of their ancestors; Yuki, the Mage of Light, Eiji, the Swordsman of Thunder, and Shun, the Knight of Hope.
Together, they protected the town and banished the evil that roamed out there.
The heroes’ names only grew with time: Yuki was known as the mage who defended the village by herself, fending off ogres; Eiji, who single-handedly slaughtered multiple monsters in a siege that was done by bandits; and Shun, the knight, who was deemed the kindest and most modest for being charitable to those who needed it.
Though for Shun, some people didn’t trust him since they feared that one day, he would become the incarnation of Babel.
Eiji and Yuki usually got upset when they heard someone bluntly commenting this to Shun, but Shun reassured them that he didn’t care about those comments.
Even though they faced hardships, they kept on protecting the village.
A dragon once attacked the town of Itami, but it was no match for the strength of the heroes. They won with ease, and the people around them cheered for their victory.
“Thank you, great heroes.”
“You guys are the best.”
Though there were many who praised them, there was one person who was causing a scene.
“One of them is not a saviour; the heroes are going to get manipulated by the cursed one,” one of the villagers who looked agitated said.
“Only true cowards blame and misinform others,” Eiji said.
As Eiji headed towards the man who berated his friend, Shun blocked him. “It’s not worth it. Let that man be. He himself is only a poor fellow.”
Yuki tried to console Shun by patting his head and saying, “I’m sorry that this had to happen to you.”
Shun didn’t seem to care anymore. For him, this was a stigma that he had to carry. Even though he was kind to others, there were bound to be people who hated him.
One day, those who despised Shun made a plan to remove him from the heroes’ ranks and wreak havoc on his life. As the day started, townsfolk screamed for help.
“Please, someone help me, my daughter.”
Yuki heard the cries for help and dashed onwards.
“What seems to be the problem, Ma’am?”
When she looked at the girl, she was petrified. That girl had been lacerated by something; the wound was deep, and blood was gushing out. Yuki used all of her strength to heal the poor girl, but it seemed that it was too late.
The girl closed her eyes as she smiled for the last time. The mother broke down in tears. Yuki couldn’t do anything; a tear dropped from her eye. Eiji, who saw what was happening, sprinted there and carried the corpse of the girl. After that whole ordeal, the two heroes questioned the mother of the daughter who had just passed, and she only said:
“A vile beast took her away from me.”
The villagers were alarmed because of the news, but this was according to their plan. Those who hated Shun started to spread misinformation about the Knight of Hope. It all went from a rumour to gossips; all their topics were the same.
“Did you know that the Knight of Hope is the descendant of the triad demon Babel?”
“That demon knight must be behind this murder.”
Lots of villagers believed this, forgetting all of his kindness, and they protested.
“There are only two heroes in this town; we don’t need a demon.”
“Go away, demon; you only bring calamity if you stay,” the villagers said.
As Shun’s friend, Eiji couldn’t accept this. “There is no concrete evidence that the Knight of Hope committed such a vile thing,” Eiji said.
While Eiji was holding the townsfolk who rioted, Yuki was searching for Shun, but it seemed that the fire kept burning.
One of the townsfolk got more provocative.
“It’s too late, everyone! The demon has already got into the mind of our heroes!”
When Eiji was trying to make a statement, Yuki found Shu in his room, tears coming from his eyes.
“Maybe I am a demon. Maybe I don’t belong here,” Shun said.
Yuki walked towards Shun; she tried to comfort him, “It’s okay, Shun, it’s not your fault. I believe you.” However, Shun could hear the riot that was going on outside, so he decided that the best option was to step out. Yuki forbad him from walking out as he could get hurt, but he didn;t care. He didn’t want the people he cared about to get dragged into this.
As he stepped outside, the townsfolk were getting crazier; they started throwing trash at him, calling him names like demon, Babel, and bringer of calamity. Eiji tried shielding Shun, but it didn’t seem to help.
And one word from the town would change everything.
“Useless hero, you were never even once a hero; you are just manipulating us; you’ve done nothing to help us,” the townsfolk said.
The townsfolk started to chant, “Demon! Demon! Demon! Demon!”
Something inside Shun snapped. He didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care that he would lose his title as a hero, as he was becoming one with him. An unknown voice whispered in Shun’s head, “Finish them; those who disrespect you shall suffer.”
Shun stepped out, and as he approached, all the townsfolk backed off, except the person who insulted him.
“What are you going to do? Kill me?” the man laughed while taunting Shun.
Shun simply whispered, “Enjoy your pathetic existence in hell!”
Shun drew his sword and impaled the man. The townsfolk screamed in fear. They all ran and scattered. Shun laughed, saying, “If you want a demon, congratulations. You just made one.” Eiji’s attempt to stop Shun from killing another innocent was promptly stopped.
“Shun, snap out of it! This isn’t you!” As he wielded his sword to block his attack, Shun simply replied, “They wanted this. Now, they shall have it!”
Eiji was forced to fight Shun to prevent him from committing the worst. Yuki, who saw this, tried to interfere. She used her magic to create a barrier so Shun couldn’t do anything, but it was simply broken by a mere slash from his blade.
Shun ignored Eiji and slashed through five people who previously mocked him. His eyes were no longer shining, only as black as the dark abyss.
Shun only said this: “If you want to live, don’t stop me.” Shun dashed away and continued his onslaught.
The only thing Eiji and Yuki could do now was to evacuate the townsfolk to a safer place. They contemplated this since their friend, someone for whom they cared, had become something else.
Eiji advised Yuki that they had to strike down Shun with the legendary weapon that their ancestor had given them. Yuki seemed hesitant since she didn’t want to kill him. Both of them argued over whether they should let Shun live or put him down. Eiji argued, “This is a task that our ancestors gave to us. This is far more important than anything else.”
Yuki, still feeling conflicted, could only agree for the sake of the people of this town.
Though people think Shun completely had lost it, he killed those people in complete sanity; he couldn’t take the mockery anymore, so he became what people feared the most: a demon. Shun chose to separate himself from the town and his friends. He believed this was the only way he could keep them safe without dragging the ones he cherishes.
He knew that the only way this pain would fade was by getting rid of himself.
As Shun approached the cliff, he felt emptier. No one was stopping him. No one really cared. As he stepped closer to the peak, he could feel that it would all end. And this pain would all fade.
As he stepped closer to the edge, he could hear a scream coming from behind. “Shun, don’t do it! It’s not worth it!” As he turned around, he was shocked by the sight of his two friends. They tried convincing him not to jump. “You did nothing wrong; you were being controlled; we can prove your innocence,” Yuki said.Shun looked at them and only said, “It was me.” Both of them were confused. As he stepped closer to them, he explained, “There was no demon in my mind. The one who killed those innocent people was me.”
He cried, “Even though he didn’t manipulate me, I killed them with my own hand”.
His two friends were horrified to learn this truth. They stood frozen by this fact. They didn’t want to believe that their friend killed those innocent people by his own volition.
Shun looked at his friends who were frozen; he looked closely at Eiji; he realized he was carrying the Garpunisher; he faintly said, “Maybe this was fate.” He slowly got closer to both of them as he pointed at the Garpunisher,“Eiji, you know what must be done; this is the only way you two can get your lives back.”
Eiji was hesitant; he didn’t want to kill him. Yuki begged Shun to return with them. But for Shun, there was no turning back, so he decided to do something that they wouldn’t think about. Shun snatched the blade and pointed it at his stomach. His friends tried to prevent the worst from happening, but it was all too late.
“Goodbye, my friends. I will always cherish the memories that we made.” As he said his last parting, he impaled himself and fell down the cliff.
As he fell, he closed his eyes and let faith take him away, saying, “At least I saved their lives from mockery.”
Eiji and Yuki both broke down in tears at the pain of losing a friend, a comrade, someone that they truly cherished.
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As Shun opened his eyes, he found himself in a void of nothingness.
A deity-like figure stood there, watching him. There were no words, but he felt that his faith would be judged.
Author: Putu Beryl Putra Widyadhana
Editor: Nanda Pratama Putera Tomasila, Vonna Meisya Saputra (QC)
Illustrator: Ajeng Suci Hati