The Lie That Saved a Hero
After the intense battle with the red bear, Victor waited for Leon and Videl to wake up.
The forest was eerily quiet.
Smoke-like mana still drifted from the crater where the bears had died, and broken trees lay scattered like the bones of giants. The scent of blood and scorched earth lingered in the cool air.
Victor stood between two worlds.
Behind him lay the path of demons and gods.
Before him lay a fragile human future.
As he waited, he began constructing a story in his mind.
Carefully.
Precisely.
A lie strong enough to protect everyone.
A lie that would hide the truth.
After a while, Leon stirred first.
His eyelids fluttered open.
The moment his gaze fell upon the shattered forest, the enormous crater, and the corpse of the Red Bear, color drained from his face.
His breath hitched.
"W–What… happened…?"
Panic seized him.
He tried to sit up too quickly and winced in pain.
Victor immediately stepped forward and pressed him back down gently.
"Father, calm down. You're safe."
Leon grabbed Victor's shoulders.
"The bear—where is it? Are you hurt? Where is Videl?!"
Victor met his eyes steadily.
"She's alive. You protected us."
Leon froze.
Victor then told him the story he had prepared.
A version where Videl, in desperation to protect him, awakened to a mysterious power and struck down the Red Bear in a burst of light.
Leon listened in stunned silence.
His eyes moved between the massive crater and the unconscious girl.
"…That's impossible…"
Yet reality stood before him.
He had no choice but to believe.
Leon carefully lifted Videl onto his back and began the long walk home with Victor at his side.
By the time they reached Kanal Village, chaos had already erupted.
The distant explosion had been heard by everyone.
Villagers poured into the streets.
When they saw Leon bloodied and Videl unconscious, fear spread like wildfire.
Videl's parents rushed forward and took their wounded daughter from Leon.
Anna ran to her husband and wrapped him in her arms, tears streaming down her beautiful face.
"You're alive… you're alive…"
Skyla gasped when she saw Videl.
She ran forward crying, gripping her friend's hand.
At the same time, Lane ran straight to Victor.
She threw her arms around him and buried her face against his chest.
Her shoulders shook.
Skyla noticed Victor still standing and immediately ran to him as well.
She hugged him tightly from the other side, her small hands gripping his clothes.
"Are you hurt?! Are you really okay?!"
Victor froze.
Two girls clinging to him.
Both trembling.
Both crying.
Lane's face pressed into his shoulder.
Skyla's arms wrapped around his waist.
…They didn't even look at the bear first.
Their first instinct had been him.
Something warm tightened in Victor's chest.
In his past life, people knelt before him in fear.
No one had ever clung to him like this.
He hesitated—
Then slowly wrapped his arms around both girls.
"It's okay," he said softly.
"I'm fine."
Lane gripped him tighter.
Skyla sniffed.
Only when they felt his warmth did their shaking ease.
Victor exhaled quietly.
Troublesome… but not unpleasant.
The village elder stepped forward.
"What happened in the forest?"
Leon explained the beginning.
Victor explained the rest.
He spoke of missed arrows.
Of desperation.
Of Videl charging forward in light.
The villagers erupted in shock.
The elder stared at Videl and immediately summoned a meeting of the men.
—
When Videl awoke, she saw the familiar wooden ceiling of her room.
Before she could move—
Her mother hugged her tightly.
"Thank goodness you're okay!"
After she calmed down, Videl asked what happened.
When she heard Victor's story, her eyes widened.
She leapt from bed.
"Videl! What are you doing?! You must rest!"
She didn't listen.
She ran.
Straight to Victor's house.
The door burst open.
"Oh my—Videl? Shouldn't you be resting?" Anna asked in surprise.
Videl ignored her.
She stormed inside.
"Videl! Why are you being rude?!"
But Videl's eyes were locked onto one person.
Victor sat calmly at the table, eating bread as if nothing had happened.
Carefree.
Untouched.
She stared at him.
Victor met her gaze.
And sighed.