“MIRVANA, NO!”
Hei watched as her best friend was cleaved in two, unable to stop the demonic being from executing his plans for world domination.
“I’LL KILL YOU!” She screamed, tears flowing from her eyes as she charged the Maou with her sword, activating five abilities simultaneously and glowing as brilliantly as the sun.
“Maybe if you had trained for another twenty years, Hero. But as you are now…”
The Maou dropped Mirvana’s corpse as though it were trash and lifted a palm to face the oncoming assault by the Hero. Then, he pulled on surrounding shadows, accumulating them to form a giant clawed hand with which he grabbed the Hero, overwhelming her with power and lifting her into the air.
“Ga-what?!” Hei shrieked, the strength in her voice lost as it finally dawned on her how large the disparity in power was between them.
“You miscalculated, Hero.” The Maou smirked. “You led your friends here to be slaughtered!” He turned to look at the two remaining Heroes cowering in the distance, having lost their fighting spirit after watching their tank and main damage dealer be so easily suppressed. “Either kill yourselves now or make me do it later!”
“RUUUN!” Hei screamed, furiously struggling against the countless shadows clinging to her.
“I kid!” The Maou laughed. “I won’t even let you attempt to flee!”
He performed the same spell as before, calling all surrounding shadows to his side before forming more claws and grabbing the other Heroes.
“P-please don’t kill us!” The healer pleaded. “I’ll be your most loyal servant!”
Although Hei felt betrayed by the healer’s begging, she didn’t blame him. Their lives were forfeit as soon as they chose to oppose the Maou and he was trying to do what all life does—live.
“You don’t even deserve to speak to me, human. But, I will commend you for your foolish bravery in deciding to fight me.”
The Maou opened his free hand to his side, where red and dark energy slowly gathered, emitting a terrifying aura.
“I will finish you off with my strongest skill! So, savor the experience while you can!”
The four Heroes watched helplessly as the Maou prepared his ultimate skill, accumulating fire and shadow energy into a sphere of pure destruction.
“Now, DIE!”
But just as the Maou began unleashing death upon the Heroes…
Squish.
The point of a blade burst out of the Maou’s chest, from which a golden light shined and instantly disintegrated him. Immediately, the Heroes fell to the ground below as the one controlling the shadows died.
“As the stars foretold, the Demon King is dead.” A new voice narrated. “A ruler so cruel and vicious, so maniacal and evil, so cunning and wicked, to die by the hand of this humble farmer—a fate incomprehensible to him.”
Hei watched from where she sat, crumpled, as an old man with a golden blade stood where the Maou was slain, a magical cloak on his shoulders. It seemed to her that the man had sneaked upon the Maou using the cloak whilst he was distracted by herself and the other Heroes, then simply stabbed him in the back with the holy sword.
“T-thank you, sir. You have saved the world from a vile fate. We will repay your kindness in whatever way we can.” Hei said with a bow, reverence in her voice.
“Oh, don’t mind me.” He croaked. “The Heavens provided me with the orders and tools to do such. I was simply in the right time and place to be given the task of utmost importance.”
Mystified, Hei asked, “What do you mean, sir? The Heavens instructed you?”
“Well, not directly. The stars aligned and I just happened to be in the one place where the event could be seen—my farm. So, I went on the journey the stars described to me and obtained these two things.” The old man gestured to his sword and cloak. “Then, I came here, where I knew you’d be fighting him.”
Before Hei could ask anything else, the sorcerer of their party said, “He’s probably not lying. Just feel his spirit; he’s only level seven.”
Flabbergasted, Hei did just that, stretching her awareness to envelop the old man. Had he been someone more powerful than her, he could have easily deflected her attempt and kept his level a secret…but he was indeed level seven, while she was level eighty-two.
“H-how could this be?”
“I told you.” The farmer smiled. “I was in the right place and right time. Now, I best be getting home. My wife and children have no idea of the mission bestowed upon me by the stars.”
