The Unwilling Protagonist

Chapter 21: The Devil of Heaven Reborn

Miriam stood idle and helpless. What could she do against something that not even her Mistress couldn't hurt?

"Mistress, what do we do?" she pleaded.

For the first time since Y/N arrived, Miriam saw her Mistress's face filled with fear. She had seen it before, back when she was still a regular priestess. She saw it when the Mistress returned from her battle three years ago and felt that she had lost all hope; but then Y/N came along and she could see her Mistress's face was full of hope again. She was no longer sad or afraid, she was happy now...but now, she wasn't any of those things...

The Mistress tried to collect herself, but her fear still showed in her voice, "You can't kill him...but-"

"But I can." Miriam turned to look at Y/N, who was now walking towards Death.

"What?! Y/N, no! You can't! You'll die!" The Mistress protested.

Miriam shared her mentor's concerns. Charlotte also looked worried at Y/N's decision.

"I'm a hero, Reighland..." Miriam saw Y/N face her. His face was determined, yet at the same time, sad. "Dying is what heroes do..." He smiled.

She could've stopped him. She could've convinced him to not go. So why didn't she? No one tried to stop Y/N as he walked forward. Miriam felt her face as she realized she was tearing up. She looked over at Charlotte who felt the same way.

When Y/N faced Death alone, everyone expected him to either die or to pull some miracle out of his pocket. They got their miracle, but it wasn't the one they expected. Everyone saw Y/N be consumed by the blackfire, and they were afraid of what would happen.

Then there was the laughter. The laughter of a being that struck fear when it spoke.

The laughter of the Devil.

Opening Theme:

"The Devil of Heaven is back!" Geralt shouted loud enough for all to hear.

"Geralt...?" Reighland said quietly.

"The Devil of Heaven?" General Rathe pondered, "I've heard of him before..."

"What? Who is that?" Miriam asked in confusion.

"The Devil of Heaven was a murderer who built a reputation on killing unfavorable individuals. Rapists, murderers, escaped prisoners...it didn't matter if they were a peasant or a noble; if you committed an unspeakable or horrific crime, the Devil of Heaven would come after you...I thought he was just a myth...a story used to scare children..." Rathe was shocked.

"Does that mean Y/N is...dead?" Charlotte asked.

Miriam gasped at the thought. Kara and Charlotte shared her worry as well. If Y/N had become possessed by Devil, then all hope was lost...

"Oh, it feels so good to be in the physical world once again..." Geralt was rubbing his entire body.

"Geralt?" Thanatos was surprised at this turn of events, "I thought the Hero killed you."

"Well, he did. I've just taken refuge in his body. He is my host now."

"Are you the one that he was referring to? The one who would kill me?"

"Well...yes."

Thanatos narrowed his eyes, "Geralt, do you not remember the things you did to those people? The lives you took and violated for your own selfish pleasure?"