Reverse Hero

Origins of a Monster

(Bell POV)

I slowly opened my eyes. The world of blurry light started to start aligning.

"Where am I?"

My voice sounded awful, I couldn't move either.

"Bell!" I heard a voice next to me, it was Hestia.

Everyone else in the familia was asleep. She was about to hug me but realized it would hurt me more so she didn't.

I remembered the events prior and Hestia seemed to realize it and she gently embraced me instead of jumping on me like normal.

"I ran...Right?"

"You did...But everyone for the most part is back to normal with you now. No one blames you for running,"

"..."

No one would blame me, but me. By running, and not staying even if it meant death, meant I wasn't willing to put my life on the line for them. I wanted to live even if it meant they all died.

In Hestia's arms, I took a glance at Welf, Lily, Haruhime, and Mikoto. Those who entrusted their lives in my hands but I couldn't do the same.

Who knew trusting people would be so hard?

I let out a sigh and Hestia let go and looked into my eyes.

"Freya brought you in here, which is a clinic run by the guild. Your right leg was broken and your left arm was broken as well. All your ribs were broken and some of your internal organs were severely damaged. It cost quite a heavy fee but we were able to bring you back in one piece,"

I really don't deserve people like this. How can they still care for me? I left them all behind and ran away to save my skin. They may have been watching or they may not have been, but in the end, though only one who couldn't finish the mission I gave was me.

"You've only been out for 4 hours so it'll be around 3-4 more days before you can leave,"

I didn't respond as I nodded.

The days were hardly distinguishable, they all melted into one.

On the last day, an unexpected visitor came in. She boldly as ever walked in and took a seat.

"...What do you want?"

"To imagine you ran. I was foolish to believe you were right for Haruhime," It was Aisha, she hadn't sounded angry though, only disappointed "Haruhime refuses to let you go though. You have a dangerous weapon Bell, you make others trust you without trusting them back. Truly a terrifying thing,"

"...If you think I wanted to run then you're wrong,"

"But that's what you did. If we're in the dungeon and get attacked by an irregular can you promise you won't run off to save your own skin? Can you jump in the jaws of death to save another?"

"..."

I couldn't answer, but if I had to guess...The answer was no. There was no way I would willingly do it...But I wanted to.

I wondered why I was like that for a moment before she spoke up again.

"I shouldn't be mad at you though," She then started to explain why she wasn't mad "This isn't your fault. At least I don't think so. If you feel like you want to save them and you mean it, then it only means the people who raised you were the people in the wrong,"

Gramps...? I thought back to my memories of trying to solve riddles and reading books with foolish heroes and mistaken Villains. When I looked back I realized a few things. One, I had never had a 'Friend,' before. I knew people in the village but I wasn't friends really. the second being that Gramps had always raised me to be a man as he called it.

His rules were simple, being a man meant doing whatever you had to, to get things done. It didn't matter what people thought or did. If I got what needed to be done then everything would be fine.

'So...Is that why I ran then? Because if I died I couldn't finish what I needed to do?'

"It seems you have a lot to think about," Aisha said "I'll leave you to it,"

She then left without turning back.

The next day I was free to leave the hospital. In the end, I had two answers. My logic told me that Gramps was wrong, but my feelings told me there was no way Gramps meant harm.

And I value my logic over feelings. No matter how hard the truth is you have to accept it. Believing can't overpower the facts. So now, I felt like I didn't know what to do.

If I was fighting to avenge a person that made me incapable of trusting others, then was there a reason to plunge everyone into despair?

My goal was simple when I came to Orario. I would get strong enough and plunge the whole place into the deepest and darkest depression it has ever seen. Then a Hero, that I had raised would shine through and break away the city from that darkness. 

After the hero shinned and brought everyone together everyone's resolve would be unbreakable, since I would make them go through more terror then what the Black Dragon could. They would let me go with them to fight it after for two reasons. 1, I would be too strong to leave behind. and 2, the hero would forgive me in the end.

And then while killing the dragon or afterward I would die. Simple, but was it worth it?

I walked in the middle of the street wondering about this with a blank expression on my face.

(Hermes POV)

I watched Bell in the street wandering aimlessly. 

"Nice job Aisha," I said as I turned to the Amazon who told him what I wanted her to.

"...I don't really get it but was his upbringing that bad?"

"You wouldn't understand. Bell's common sense is way different from a normal person. He was born and raised to be a monster that could kill the dragon,"

That was what I told her, but Bell's life didn't have to be this way.

The one question that determined his fate was when he read his first book. When he read it and went back to Zeus, depending on who he thought was right or wrong would determine it.

If it was the Hero, then he would be a shining beam of light to lead others and strengthen their will with his presence alone. If he chooses the villain, then he would be forced to plunge Orario into darkness and another Hero would shine through that darkness.

Bell's smartness led him to answer with the latter. If he was a little dumber then maybe he could be a Hero, but he was too smart to believe everything at face value and saw what he thought was the true meaning of the book.

'A poor soul, I truly pity him,'

Even though I felt bad for him though I would still continue doing as Zeus wanted and for one reason, because I respect him. 

Back in heaven there were many instances of battles and every single time Zeus was the one who resolved it. 

I could have, maybe Freya could have too but we didn't and he did. What he had was the ability to lay his life on the line which I lacked.

"Well, let's start the next Scheme," I muttered quietly so Aisha couldn't hear.