EPILOGUE
THE DEFEATED HERO
Lust breathed heavily through her nose as she struggled to remain upright. Her knees shook, her left arm was hideously swollen and reminded her of a bloody eel that had been skinned, and her head was pounding like Pride’s Warhammer was banging around inside of her mind.
Several yards away, Jacob lay motionless on the ground. The battle had been a lot more fun than she’d anticipated. She could now see how Alucard had lost. That man might have been strong, but he lacked the tactics and experience that she had. There was no way he could have defeated someone like Jacob.
She walked up to Jacob, stopping a yard from his feet. His body was broken. Blood gushed from places where his skin had been burnt off. Several patches of flesh were boiling, his left eyelid had evaporated, leaving his eye exposed, and his limbs were bent at angles that human limbs shouldn’t have been able to go.
“You were an excellent fight,” she murmured. “I haven’t fought anyone as powerful as you since I killed the first Pride. You should be quite proud of yourself.”
Jacob’s raspy breathing reached her ears. She was startled, having thought he was dead. So, even now, he still clung to life. That last attack would have killed even a member of the Dark Council. What admirable tenacity.
She grinned. “I think such a willingness to cling to life deserves a reward, don’t you? Consider this my gift for amusing me so much.”
Leaning down awkwardly, ignoring the way her body protested the action, she bent over and placed a kiss on the hero’s lips. It wasn’t just a mere kiss, though. As she pressed their lips together, she allowed a small amount of her life force to trickle into him. It would keep him alive long enough for someone to heal him. With luck, he would survive. If he didn’t… well, then he didn’t deserve to live anyway.
The other Dark Council members would be upset if they learned about what she was doing. They wouldn’t approve of her saving the life of a hero, but their battle had left her exhilarated and intrigued. She wanted to see what this young man would do next.
Perhaps he’ll be the one to end my boredom.
She leaned back up. Her body shook as jolts of pain traveled along her legs and arms. That boy really had taken her for a ride. How long had it been since she’d felt such a delicious sting of pain? Four hundred years? Five? She’d completely forgotten what pain felt like until now.
As she was about to stand, something strong and unyielding grabbed onto her forearm. She yelped and jerked back, stumbling to the ground. The thing grabbing her was a hand. It was Jacob’s hand, to be precise. She stared at the hand, misshapen, the skin boiled raw, and then she looked at Jacob, who, even now, remained unconscious.
“Fu… ha… ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!” Grinning, she pried the boy’s hand off her wrist and stood up. “I really am looking forward to seeing what you do next, hero. Make sure you entertain me.”
Using what little of her magic remained, Lust teleported herself away. This day had been long, but fun, oh so much fun. It gave her hope for the future.
Wouldn’t it be nice if every day was fun like this? The thought made her sigh in ecstasy. One could only hope.
To Be Continued…
AFTERWORD
Hey, everyone! For those who have read my previous light novels, welcome back. For those who are new to my light novels, I am really happy you decided to pick up this story! I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Journey of a Betrayed Hero is a two volume series that I wrote after finally deciding it was time for me to try my hand at writing an isekai series, but I wanted to do something different for this story than other isekai stories. In most isekai light novels, the story begins when the main hero, or heroes, get summoned to this fantasy world and are asked to complete a task. This task can be anything from defeating the dark lord, fighting against hordes demons, or defending the world from extra-dimensional waves of monsters.
For this series, I wanted to do something a little different. That’s why I decided to write a story about what happens after the hero has already completed the task he was given upon being summoned to another world. He has already fought against the dark lord and become the hero that saved the kingdom, but then he was betrayed by the people he saved and ended up leaving. He winds up becoming a barkeep and remains in obscurity for several years before Enyo shows up and asks for his help.
I’ve read numerous light novels in my time. Some of my favorite isekei series are The Rising of the Shield Hero, How NOT To Summon a Demon Lord, RE:Zero – Staring Life in Another World –, Konosuba, Mushoku Tensei, and ARIFURETA: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest. All of them are fairly long series, spanning over one dozen volumes at the very least.
I feel the reason these series can afford to be so long is because the main plot isn’t immediately apparent. Sure, some might have a “save us from the Demon Lord!” or the “save us from the Waves of Destruction!” plot, but even those don’t become important until much later, and oftentimes the plot becomes far more complicated the further you get into the story, which leaves a lot of room to add plenty of filling in between the main story… like building your harem, grinding your characters, or killing your character over and over again after he was summoned to this other world for what seems like no real reason at first until new information about a certain Witch of Envy comes to light in.
This particular light novel series is very short because I didn’t want to make a super long series that details volume upon volume of divergent subplots. I can’t afford to like other series can because this story is hyper focused. The main plot is Jacob and Enyo’s journey through Terrasole as they try to get to Jacob’s original world. Anything that doesn’t involve this was excluded because it simply wouldn’t work with such a focused series. That’s why this will only be a two-part series.
The next volume should come out within 3-4 months, if anyone is curious.
I may come back at some point and do a story on what happened when Jacob was first summoned to this world—like a prequel series or something. While this depends on how popular this series is, if it does happen, I can add all those delicious side quests that make isekai series so interesting.
Before I end this afterword, I would like to thank several people. First is my editor and proofreaders for helping me find and correct the grammar mistakes I missed. I really appreciate it. I also want to thank Aisoretto—my illustrator. This series has gone through three illustrators so far. My first artist bailed on me after I paid him upfront. Because I was $2,400 down the drain, I couldn’t even think of hiring another artist for two whole years due to money issues. My second artist was much better. She apologized and refunded what I paid her upfront. Aisoretto is the third artist I hired to work with me on this series, and I’m very glad to have him. His artwork is really stellar!
The last people I want to thank are all of you. To the people who read this story, thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed it! To the people who wrote reviews for this story on Amazon, their blogs, and other places, you are awesome! You have no idea how much it means to me. Every time someone takes the time out of their day to leave a review, I’m overcome with emotion. To my readers who have decided to support me on my Patreon—from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Words alone can never express my gratitude. I could write a 500 page novel, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
I’m still not a very good writer. I still have a lot to learn. I hope that I can continue improving and learning to be a better writer with your help.
Thank you again. I hope to see you all next volume!
~Brandon Varnell
www.patreon.com/BrandonVarnell
WIDEREBURT:
LEGEND OF THE REINCARNATED WARRIOR
CHAPTER 1
THE FINAL BATTLE
The air burst all around me. Flames seared the hair off my arms and caused my skin to crack and burn. Blood seeped from my skin, looking almost like lava leaking from cracks in the earth’s crust.
&nb
sp; Though I quickly circulated my Spiritual Power, channeling the water element through my body to heal my wounds, I did not allow myself to sigh in relief. More explosions were detonating all around me, forcing me to swerve in every direction. What’s more, by channeling the water element and using it to heal myself, I had been forced to split my attention two ways.
The lightning covering my body had grown weaker as a result of my split attention. In that moment, seven figures appeared above me. I glared up at the winged beasts flying over my head. They were naughty but shadows. However, those shadows were currently surrounded by intense Spiritual Auras that crashed into me like tidal waves rolling over a small village.
One of those great beasts released an avian cry before it swooped down, and the moment it did, the blazing heat surrounding my body grew even more fierce. Sweat broke out on my skin. It quickly dried up under this unfathomable heat. I could feel my skin getting singed once more, and I knew that I could no longer afford to run.
Since this creature was using fire, I decided to use water.
Dissipating the lightning in my body, I took a deep breath, and then circulated my Spiritual Power again. Instead of the sensation of static crawling across my skin, something soft and almost gel like covered my body. One step further. Grimacing as the heat from the creature closing in caused steam to rise from my body, I channeled more Spiritual Power into myself and transformed my entire body into water.
The great beast was finally upon me. What had appeared was an avian of such immense size that even the dragons living in the Misty Mountain Range could not compare to it. Wings of orange and red fire flapped, causing heat waves to distort the air. Colorful designs ran along its body. It was a mixture of red, orange, yellow, and blue. Its plumage was a brilliant white that burned like an illuminating flame. Red and yellow tails trailed behind it as though simulating the ends of a shooting star. Intense crimson eyes glared at me with a hatred that I knew was mutual.
Gnashing my teeth together, I turned around, tucked my fist into my torso, and put all of my Spiritual Power into my next attack.
The beast drew near. I waited until the last second. Then I quickly spun around, dodging the beast by a hair’s breadth. It was so close that my body, currently composed entirely of water, was beginning to boil. However, I did not let myself get distracted. Thrusting out my fist, I channeled my Spiritual Power through it and created a massive spike of water that extended from my arm.
Even though the intense heat from the flames surrounding this creature was immense, I was no weakling myself. Water evaporated and created waves of billowing steam. Even so, the spear held firm, refusing to dissipate, and it soon penetrated the beast’s chest. Rather than spewing blood, what emerged from the creature was a bright white flame.
As the beast cried in pain, I immediately retracted myself and prepared to attack again.
That was when one of the other beasts swooped down. I saw the shadow and sensed the intent to kill me and quickly moved away. Once I had reached what I deemed a safe distance from the firebird, I released my control over water and transformed into lightning again. Everything around me immediately sped up, allowing me to safely jump several dozen meters in less time than it took to blink.
The bird that had swooped past me was just as massive as the firebird, but instead of being coated in flames, this one had green and white feathers. Its soft feathers gave it a very gentle appearance. However, I knew from the thousands of razor sharp cuts I’d received during my earlier engagement that I couldn’t underestimate its deceptively soft appearance. A long tail moved behind it like a tassel. If I looked closely, I could see the atmosphere around it being cut by thousands of wind blades.
A loud crash caused me to cast my gaze toward the ground. Flames spewed from the ground down below as the fire bird crashed into the forest. I felt a sense of grim satisfaction as the creature shrieked in agony. Brilliant white flames, the lifeblood of that great beast, were spewing from its chest like a fountain.
I did not have much time to admire my handiwork, for the green bird released a sharp cry before charging at me. Knowing that my element was weak against this creature that could control the wind, I used Flash Step Version 3: Lightning Step to move away as quickly as I could, but the beast remained stuck on my tail, creating a vacuum that cut through the atmosphere to increase its speed.
Frowning, I once more split my attention. I didn’t do much this time. Channeling the light element into my finger, I took careful aim and sent a condensed beam of light at the wind bird. What I got in return was a satisfied shriek as my attack sheared through one of its wings. Greenish white blood spewed from the area where the limb had been severed. Without both wings, it was unable to maintain flight and fell to the ground below.
However, just like before, I was given no time to celebrate my success. Five other birds had just descended. Each one was just as big as the previous two. Each one possessed the ability to control a different element.
A powerful beam of light slammed into me without mercy, burning my back as it sent me sailing toward the ground. My scream was lost to the wind. My body felt like it was being thrown into the Sun. Everything hurt. However, I did my best to shunt aside the pain, increased the flow of lightning through my body, and rolled out from underneath the powerful beam of light.
The beam continued on. It struck the side of a mountain several kilometers below. An explosion so massive that the wind buffeted me despite its distance went up, sending plumes of smoke and rubble into the sky. When the attack died down, the mountain was gone. In its place was a crater so large I was sure it would be visible even if I moved beyond this planet’s atmosphere.
“Damn…”
I looked at the result of that attack, and then turned back to glare at the beast who’d caused it. The massive bird flapped its wings as it glared back. This creature looked like it was made of pure light, a combination of white and yellow feathers that appeared both soft and translucent. Yellow eyes glowed with a power that seemed almost divine.
While the bird and I entered a glaring contest, an intense killing intent slammed into me, forcing me to swerve from the spot where I’d been floating.
Six spheres made of water flew past the spot where I’d been. They slammed into the ground far below. Each sphere created a crater that easily spanned ten or fifteen meters across.
I could not admire this attack, for the moment I dodged it, I was forced to move again. This time, seven blades of darkness cut through the air. They were nothing more than black ripples. I swerved over one of them, and then flew down to avoid another. Twisting my body, I managed to avoid two more, but the last one had been aimed at where I would be rather than where I was.
“HA!”
Channeling light into my palm, I slammed it into the blade of darkness, causing the air around me to crackle as arcs of light and dark Spiritual Power raced across the sky. Gritting my teeth as the dark blade pushed me back, I released a furious cry and poured even more Spiritual Power into my palm. The dark blade exploded as I finally tore through it.
The creature that had released this was a bird made from darkness so pure it was like a black hole. Sharp wings covered its body. The only part of it that wasn’t black was its eyes, which were pure white and contained no pupil. Alongside it was a bird with blue feathers, one with yellow feathers, another with brown feathers, and the light bird that had attacked me earlier.
I took a heavy breath as sweat poured from my brow. However, I knew I couldn’t stop. Without even trying to recover, I released the restraints on my Spiritual Power. My body became energized as though the last several hours had never happened. I could feel the Spiritual Power coursing through me like a tempest. Light mixed with water and lightning inside of me, some of which leaked out because my body simply couldn’t withstand the power output.
“Dammit… I had been hoping to save this for your boss,” I muttered in a bitter voice.
Whether or not the five elemental birds h
eard me, they certainly knew that my threat level had suddenly increased. All five of them screeched as they gathered their own Spiritual Power. It congealed around their mouths, forming spheres of condensed energy. Barely a second had passed before they launched their attacks. Five beams of water, lightning, light, darkness, and earth flew toward me.
I did not meet their attacks head on. I wasn’t stupid.
Using the power of light, I immediately vanished from the spot where I’d been standing. Their attack went through my after image. I didn’t give them a chance to be surprised. Reappearing several meters above the most troublesome of the five, I turned myself into a streak of light and descended before it realized what I was doing. I barely felt any resistance as my body blew a whole clean through the black bird.
Landing on the ground at almost the exact same instant I had moved from point A, I looked up to see that my attack had done what I intended. The black bird with powers over darkness now had a large hole in its chest. What’s more, the edges were frayed and refused to heal. While darkness was the antithesis of light, the same was equally true.
“Kari, I still have no real grasp over your affinity, but it is only thanks to you that this was possible,” I said to myself as I watched the massive bird slowly break into particles of darkness.
My attack enraged the four remaining birds, who quickly descended toward me. I didn’t even need to use Spiritual Perception to feel their intent to kill me. Almost before I could even move, they had each launched their own attack. The four elements of water, light, lightning, and earth swirled around each other to create mixed beam of power so large it could engulf a small city.
But I was no longer there.
As their attacks slammed into the forest floor and caused even more damage to the environment, I was already in front of the water bird. I reached out with my hand and touched its head. The bird’s eyes were crossed as it stared at me, but I just smiled at it. I’m sure my smile was quite cold.
Journey of a Betrayed Hero- Volume 1 Page 26
