When the hero, Ares, opened his eyes, his vision was filled with white.
It was a pristine, white ceiling, immaculately maintained.
“…What on earth is going on?”
He never thought he’d still be alive.
As he lifted his upper body, a woman in a nurse’s uniform, who must have been standing by his side, immediately bolted out of the hospital room. She was human.
…Am I in a hospital?
Soon after, the room bustled with activity as multiple healers and nurses entered, bombarding Ares with a barrage of questions: “Do you know who you are?” “Do you feel any pain?” “Is your vision blurry?”
“I am me! Ares Ifrit, hero of the kingdom! Who else could I possibly be?!”
With a commanding shout at the swarming healers, Ares got out of bed. He shook off those trying to stop him, looking around the room for his weapon—his sacred sword.
If he was alive, there was something he had to do.
“There are comrades I must save! Where is it?! Where is my sword?!”
“Please, do not overexert yourself, Hero.”
A low, emotionless voice cut through the commotion, interrupting Ares. It came from the entrance of the hospital room. It was a familiar voice.
“You… could it be, Schwizen?”
“Yes, I am Lieutenant Colonel Schwizen of the Kingdom’s Intelligence Corps.”
The middle-aged man who saluted was indeed the soldier who had been with him on that battlefield—Elden. His arm was in a sling, and his face bore painful-looking red scars.
“Schwizen! Explain everything! What on earth happened to me?! I… I should have triggered the self-destruct spell in the Holy Armor. Why am I alive now?!”
“I am prepared to explain everything. But first, please, calm yourself.”
In stark contrast to Ares’s urgency, Schwizen’s response was calm, as if there were no longer any need to rush.
Ares took a deep breath and asked:
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“Three days.”
Schwizen spoke quietly.
“The battle at Elden is over. You are now in the Central Hospital in the royal capital. I will explain everything in order, but first, please return to your bed.”
What Schwizen then shared in the now-cleared room was what had transpired after Ares lost consciousness.
It seemed that Ares had been saved from being captured by the Demon Kingdom’s forces, thanks to the efforts of the “suicide squad,” led by Schwizen. However, Schwizen was the only one who managed to return alive with Ares.
“As for why the self-destruct spell didn’t trigger… I can’t say for certain. But from what you’ve described, the Holy Armor sustained significant damage from the Demon Kingdom’s officers. Perhaps that interfered with the spell.”
“…Fine. But Schwizen.”
“Yes, sir?”
“What happened to my comrades?”
At that question, Schwizen adjusted his glasses with a solemn expression. He seemed unsure how to respond.
“Earlier, you said you were the only one who made it back alive. Does that mean my comrades… Artemis…?”
“…Hero Ares, Saintess Artemis is believed to currently be a prisoner of the Demon Kingdom.”
“What?”
Ares’s eyes widened as he gasped. Schwizen continued.
“When I recovered you, I rammed the military vehicle into the demons trying to take you. In the process, I saw another group taking Saintess Artemis.”
“She’s… alive?!”
Ares hadn’t confirmed Artemis’s fate. That dark healer, Kiwi Alaya, had done something to her, leaving her unconscious, but what happened after that was unknown.
“…”
Schwizen took a breath and then nodded firmly.
“Yes.”
“She reached out to us and said, ‘Don’t worry about me. Please, take Ares and flee.’”
“You… you abandoned her?!”
Ares was furious. His blood-soaked face flushed crimson, then darkened further with rage. Leaning forward on the bed, he grabbed Schwizen by the collar.
“Why didn’t you save her?!”
“I’m sorry.”
“An apology doesn’t cut it! She’s the saintess! Why didn’t you fight for Artemis?!”
“I wanted to fight… but…”
“Then why didn’t you?!”
“…”
Schwizen winced, clutching his sling-bound arm.
Realizing what he was doing, Ares let go, coming back to his senses. Schwizen was clearly battered and broken.
“Forgive me. I lost my temper… You and the suicide squad risked your lives for me.”
“…No, sir. It’s I who must apologize for my failure.”
“That’s not true. I owe you my life, Schwizen. If you hadn’t saved me, I’d have been taken captive by the Demon Kingdom.”
Ares stopped mid-sentence. His clenched fists trembled on his lap.
Artemis was now in the very position he had narrowly escaped.
“The kingdom is currently planning a military operation to rescue Saintess Artemis.”
“Then I can participate, right?!”
“Of course. But first, we want you to lead a newly-formed Hero Unit on a special mission.”
“What mission?”
“The elimination of the rogue Dark Healer, Kiwi Alaya—the monster this kingdom created.”
After leaving Ares’s room, Lieutenant Colonel Yakov Schwizen froze at the sound of a mocking voice.
“Quite the performance, Schwizen.”
“?!”
He spun around. Leaning casually against the wall was a young girl in a white nurse’s uniform. Yet, she wasn’t human. Her sharp, pointed ears poked out from under her cap.
“Lady Melissa?! Why are you here?!”
“This kingdom’s holy barriers are meaningless to me. And without the Demon King’s eyes watching, I can move freely.”
The woman was Melissa, one of the three sages of the Western Elves.
“I must say,” she smirked.
“Your audacity is something else, Schwizen. To fabricate a dying saint’s words to spur a hero into action—he’ll have no choice but to go after her now.”
“I… I didn’t want to lie.”
Schwizen’s trembling hand traced the sacred emblem on his hand—a mark of his pact with Melissa.
“Do as you wish,” she said with a smirk. “As long as Kiwi Alaya uses that ‘Mythical Dark Heal’ again, I don’t care how you do it.”
When Schwizen looked up, Melissa had vanished.
