I Never Asked to Be a Hero

The Big Guy

I've heard stories of our current ruler since I was little kid.

113 years ago their was a grand clash that would decide the fate of my nation, Thyrre. The Demon Lord and humanity's hero, his name was Michael or something, faced off in the king's fortress.

Since he's still alive, it's easy to guess that the Demon Lord won. Apparently the hero got knocked out in one blow, and the Demon Lord had to carry him to the king's nurses.

But after their fight, the Demon Lord finally completed his goal and conquered Thyrre. He had the largest nation in his grasp, so he lowered the tax rate from 7% to 5%.

He hasn't really done anything else. The nation has actually managed to prosper under his rule. I don't believe he's even left his fortress in the last few years.

"The Demon Lord wishes for me to find a new hero to challenge his reign."

"Why the hell doesn't he just resign or something."

"He wants a good challenge. After training for so long to take over Thyrre he easily defeated that Michael guy that said he was a hero. The Demon Lord has been training all these years for a grand fight between him and the next hero."

The old man raised the sheathed sword into the air, sunlight bouncing off the metal lines in the leather.

"So he had the nation's greatest blacksmith create this weapon, the great Inferno Blade. Forged from steel imbued with the magic of the Demon Lord himself."

As the man held the sword towards me, I could feel the air getting hotter. It must have been excruciating for this old dude to carry something like this so far. I could see his arms trembling under the weight of the sword.

"The first person that grasps upon this sword's hilt wil-"

The old man's hands gave way a nod the sword fell on the ground. I reached down to pick up the sword.

As I reached for the hilt the old man tried to warn me.

"Hey don't-"

It was too late.

"What"

Shhhhhhhh

A red mark began forming on the back of my hand.

Ow ow ow

It didn't hurt that much, but it had an annoying stinging feeling.

After it was finished it had taken a weird form.

Ω

The old man looked up at me as he gasped for air.

"Well it looks like that sword is yours now young man."

"Wait what, what is this mark."

"You grabbed the hilt and activated the sword. Now the sword recognizes you as its owner. Only you can wield it to its full abilities."

The sword was a burden on my arms. It felt too heavy for me to attempt a single swing.

"Can you undo it? I don't want to fight the demon lord."

"Well, I guess he didn't foresee this happening."

The old man looked over my shoulder into the distance.

"By the way, since the Lord's magic within the sword has been activated he can now track and watch over you."

I turned to look and I saw an large object in the sky heading our way at an incredible speed.

As it got closer I could make out a humanoid figure.

Swooooshhhh Booom

It landed on the ground ten feet i front of me and the old guy, leaving a big crater and a bunch of-

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! SO YOU'RE THE BRAVE MAN THAT HAS DECIDED TO CHALLENGE ME, THE DEMON LORD!"

His voice was so deep and loud that I could feel my brain vibrating in my skull.

He began approaching me, each footstep leaving an indent in the ground.

"I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK HUMANKIND HAD LOST ITS BACKBONE!"

He patted me on the back with his massive hands, immediately breaking my spine.

"WHOA SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT!"

He lifted me up using only one hand.

"ALPHRED! HEAL THIS MAN!"

The old man began to approach me while pulling out a small pouch. He reached his hand into the pouch and pulled out a dozen grains of a green powder.

"Please lift his head up, my lord."

He put raised the pinch of powder to my nose.

"iyileşmek"

The powder began to glow a bright green and flew up my nose. I could feel my body shifting back to normal.

The Demon Lord laid me down on the ground and took a step back.

"I'M VERY VERY SORRY! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE A BIT MORE DURABLE!"

I pushed myself back up on my feet and brushed myself off.

"Uh, it's fine."

The Demon Lord was at least twelve feet tall and had biceps bigger that my head. Two big horns protruded out of each side of his head. His skin was a dark gray.

He reached his hand out to me.

"NICE TO MEET YOU! I'M IBLIS!"

I grabbed the end of his index finger and did my best to shake his hand.

"I'm Ashton, you can call me Ash if you want to."

"I LIKE YOUR NAME NICE NAME, ASH, LIKE THE STUFF LEFT AFTER A FIRE!"

"Haha, yeah, like the stuff left after a fire haha." I said awkwardly

The old man took a few steps closer.

"And my name is Alph-"

"SHUT UP ALPHRED NOBODY CARES HAHAHAHA!"

"Yes, sorry my lord."