I watched as the giant slime melted away, leaving no trace behind.
As he lay there on the field observing through his hazy vision, Leobolt saw it happen as well, realizing that Rebirth had been slain.
“Leobolt!”
All of the guards ran swiftly over to him.
“Why the hell did you go that far...?” Commander Bolton murmured as he looked down at Leobolt. His expression was laced with a sense of sadness.
“Because somebody had to do it,” Leobolt groaned softly. “If we couldn’t find a way to stop Rebirth’s army, the Demon King would be resurrected. I had to locate him before that happened.”
“That didn’t mean you had to turn into a demon yourself...”
“Everything I did was absolutely necessary,” Leobolt said, cracking a smile. “Besides, after being kicked out of the Guard Corps, I had nowhere else to go. I was at a complete dead end. Yet I still did what I could.”
Hearing him say that, I had to speak up.
“Leobolt, you were never kicked out of the Guard Corps.”
“What...?”
“Commander Bolton never officially kicked you out.”
He had been ousted from his commander position, but they could easily reappoint him as a squad sergeant. That was the decision Commander Bolton had come to after Leobolt’s fall from grace.
There had been some among the guards who thought that a much harsher punishment was called for, but the commander had brushed those voices aside. Unfortunately, Leobolt had pulled his vanishing act before he had gotten the chance to hear that announcement.
“You pushed really hard to try and make the Guard Corps better in the way you thought was best. I didn’t see any reason not to give you a second shot after one screw-up,” Commander Bolton said. “We’ve got an open position for a squad sergeant, ya know.”
“You truly are far too forgiving... Someone who has orchestrated a coup should not get a second chance. It would set a bad example for the other guards,” Leobolt muttered, unable to comprehend. “To you, I am a man with flawed ideologies... Keeping me on would be risky at best.”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re not the only one—all of us have our flaws too. But we can still do a halfway decent job of gettin’ along despite that.”
Seeing the commander smile at him, Leobolt gave a brief smile of his own in return. Then, gazing off into space, he began speaking in a near whisper. “Commander Bolton... I always wanted to become a hero.”
“Hm?”
“The heroes who appeared in the tales were strong, kind, and honest—they sought no recompense for their actions, devoting themselves wholeheartedly to fighting to save the world. It was such an amazingly beautiful thing, and they seemed so righteous. I thought I wanted to be that same kind of righteous individual,” Leobolt murmured. “But...perhaps that wasn’t how I truly felt.”
A vaguely self-deprecating smile came to his face. “Perhaps...I wanted to become a hero merely because I wanted others to acknowledge me. Perhaps somewhere in my heart, I simply wanted to find a place to belong.”
He had been alone for his entire life. Even when he did everything right, nobody had wanted to be around him. Everybody hated it when he would try to correct their mistakes. Eventually, he had started to wonder if he was the one in the wrong.
That was why he had wanted to become a hero. Heroes were the epitome of all that was right. If he could be like them, he figured he could always be in the right too.
“Sieg...” Leobolt asked in a hoarse voice. “You slew Rebirth, did you not?”
“We did,” I replied with a nod. “And we couldn’t have done it without you, Leobolt.”
“I see...” He flashed a smile of relief. “That means I really can become a hero.”
Now I will leave behind no regrets.
His consciousness began to fade, and the waves of darkness grew nearer.
“Sieg.”
“What?”
“Would you apologize to the people of the city for me? Though it was part of my plan, tell them I am truly sorry for destroying their homes nonetheless.”
“...I will.”
I’ve fought for so long without any rest.
After all that, I’m actually quite tired.
Perhaps I’ll just lie down here for a spell...
Leobolt went ahead and surrendered himself to the comforting waves that washed over him.