158 158 "Memory of Ferid ②"




 Defeating SS-ranked demons.
 That is the qualification to be a 'Great Warrior' set by the goddess in this world.

 The one who defeats SS-ranked monsters will be given the title of 'Great Warrior' unconditionally.
 It doesn't matter how much the country doesn't acknowledge your achievement, as it is awarded by the goddess, you will be chosen as a great warrior regardless.
 Even if the person is not a hero, he or she can jump over the rank of hero and become a great hero at once.
 It was the last path marked by FERRID.

 And in this country there was an SS-ranked demon that has been passed down through the ages.
 Oddly enough, it's a phantom monster that exists in the hometown where FERRID lived.
 Deep in the foggy forest. Deep within the misty forest....
 Its name is Bahamut.

 He is revered as a water god and many adventurers and heroes have sought him out and tried to defeat him.
 However, many never met Bahamut, and some had an encounter with him, but were defeated by his immense power and fled.
 It is said that Bahá'u'lláh observed a man who visited the forest and showed himself to him when he was worthy to fight against him.

 Recalling the lore Mime had told him as a child, Ferid vowed to Mime that he would defeat the SS-ranked demon.
 It was a boyish vow, but above all it was the cry of a child desperate for someone's approval.
 Mime nodded at Ferid's vow, looking slightly sadly at it, and told him the means to meet Bahamut.

 Following Mime's advice, he returned to his home forest and searched for the lake behind it.
 As the fog gradually begins to roll in, the sky opens up in front of him and a dragon emerges from the lake.
 It is bigger, more mysterious, and more beautiful than any demon Felid has faced in the past.

 As if he recognized the human who appeared before him as his enemy, Bahamut's roar rang out and Felid drew his sword.
 The first battle was an overwhelming defeat for FERRID.
 But for some reason, Bahamut disappeared into the lake without taking a shot at the battered Felid.

 The next day, he tried again, but he couldn't even bring himself to inflict a scratch.
 But every day from that day on, he began to push his limits.

 Only one man grabbed his sword and challenged the unprecedented SS-ranked demon.
 After a month, his sword tore through Bahamut's scales.
 After six months, he was able to keep up with Bahamut's movements.
 After a year, he was able to fight Bahamut all day and night.

 And so, two years--three years--he was able to keep up with Bahá'u'lláh's movements, day and night.
 Through mind-boggling battles, battles, scars, setbacks, and evolution, he had arrived.
 All of his countless efforts had paid off, and through his battle with the SS-ranked Bahamut, he had taken the Creation skill into his own hands.
 This is the embodiment of the "evolution" of his life so far.
 It was a creation skill called "Hero's Privilege".

 And with his creation skill, Felid finally settled his long battle with Bahamut.
 The sword in his hand plunged through the hitherto untrapped body of Bahamut and tore its heart out from underneath it.
 Bahamut collapses with a roar that shakes the heavens.
 But strangely enough, there was no sense of accomplishment or elation at having defeated the demon.
 Rather, there was only an indescribable sense of emptiness, desperation, and loneliness as he defeated it.

 That's as it should be. For FERRID, Bahamut was not an enemy to be hated.
 This demon had "fought and fought to evolve me.
 That's what I felt from the very first moment we fought.
 This monster never killed me, but took the battle every day to bring out its full potential.
 It was as if that was this monster's role. As if it had been waiting for this moment.

 But when he learned of the demon's true identity, he realized his own sinfulness.
 When Bahamut's fallen form shines through, it is Mime, the man who raised him, guided him, and continued to love him.

 A woman scorned as a witch by the people of the village.
 In a way, she was right.
 She was an SS-ranked demon, and her true identity was a being on a par with the demon king.

 Ferid asked Mime, who had fallen covered in blood, "Why? And asked.
 Why did it pick me up and raise me? Why did it lead me here. Why did it keep fighting?
 Mime answered these questions with one word.

Because you were needed for the world to evolve.

 Mime told. The things of this world. The brave system and the great brave. With the evolution of people along with it, this world itself will evolve.
 And that you, an SS-ranked demon, is there to facilitate that evolution.

 You picked up FERRID because you felt he had the qualities.
 Therefore, I showed him the path of heroism for the evolution of this world.
 His sacrifice was not in vain.

 Ferid gained the creation skill and became a great hero.
 What could have been a better outcome?

 But as she was wrapped in the arms of Felid, Mime whispered her last words, not as an SS-rank, but as a woman who had spent time with him.

...... But if I could, I would have liked to spend a little more time with you ......

 It should not be in the SS ranks that should contribute to the world. Strong feelings for the individual.
 But at the last moment, Bahamut muttered his life as Mime and ended his life.

 Thus, Ferid defeated the SS-rank demon, gained the creation skill, and became a great hero.
 But the real misfortune that came to him. It was only after this that the real emptiness occurred--.