In the end, Ares managed to survive. Thanks to the fact that the demon died immediately, his neck wound was not as serious as expected and was healed by a recovery spell. However, the wound was only sealed and not fully healed. Ares’ neck was discolored and in terrible condition. Moreover, using all of his magic to heal the wound left him unable to stand on his own due to magic exhaustion and the pain of his injuries. In addition to the abdominal injury, which was not fully healed, there was also a risk of his life being in danger. I minimized my belongings and began to walk with Ares, supporting him on my shoulder. Ares’ sword, which was thrown away earlier, had been found and was now in my possession. He begged me to bring it along with us. “I’m sorry,” said Ares, his face pale. “Don’t worry about it. I’m trying to save the hero who will save the world. You’re quite the hero, aren’t you?” I joked, but there was no escaping the heavy footsteps. We were walking at less than half the speed of a normal walk. We didn’t know when we would reach a village at this rate. As time passed, Ares’ condition worsened. Either due to the abdominal injury or high fever, Ares finally became unable to walk. I had to carry him on my back, which was difficult as he was about the same size and weight as me. I would walk for a bit, then rest. At this rate, even after a month, we would not be able to leave the forest, let alone reach a village.
During a break, I tried to use a recovery spell I had learned from a village priest on Ares. As it had never succeeded before, it was no surprise that no divine miracle occurred. “(This is a lifelong request! Please heal Ares’ wounds!)”
Despite desperately praying to the gods, my pleas went unanswered. I regretted not putting more effort into learning recovery magic as I wondered if such a minor injury could end up killing Ares. My own powerlessness brought tears to my eyes, but Ares was in such a state that he couldn’t even see me crying.
Carrying Ares on my back, we struggled to make any progress. My own body was feeling worse, with fatigue and hunger taking their toll, but worst of all, we had run out of water. There was no sign of any rivers or water sources nearby, and the forest was too steep for us to venture far into it. I knew the importance of water, but we had used up most of it yesterday to clean Ares’ wound, and now we had none left.
I tried to cast a water magic spell that Ares and I had practiced together, but I had never successfully cast it before and nothing happened. Ares would have been able to cast it easily. Why did I have to be the one to get injured? Why couldn’t I cast a simple spell?
“Fetching water from a well would be faster,” said one of the companions I had studied magic with, commenting on Ares’ first successful water magic spell. It was true, but there was no guarantee that there would always be a well or river nearby, especially while travelling and fighting monsters. Now I understood this all too well.
As night fell, everything became pitch black. I heard roars and growls from creatures around us, but I couldn’t see anything. I was scared and desperately wanted a fire. I tried to cast a fire magic spell, but as expected, nothing happened. A putrid smell emanated from Ares’ body. His wound had likely started to rot, but I was too afraid to remove the bandage to check. If I could use a fire magic spell, I could have burned his wound closed. I had not packed any flint, thinking that Ares’ fire magic would be sufficient. Now, I realized the importance of fire in such situations. The darkness of the forest was terrifying, and the cold was unbearable. Ares had a high fever, but it was only affecting parts of his body near his wound. His fingers were so cold that I couldn’t feel any warmth, even when we huddled together.
“I just want a small fire so that I can use magic. (If I have another chance, I’ll definitely learn magic)” I made a promise to myself, trembling with fear in the darkness.
──── Morning came. I couldn’t sleep well. Ares had been moaning all night, and he looked like a corpse with the blood drained from his face. I myself was still exhausted, with no physical or mental strength to carry Ares on my back. “What should I do? What the hell should I do…” Despair made me blurt out. “Kill me…” Ares let out a groaning voice. “I’m done for. If I stay like this, Zack will be dragged down with me. Besides, it’s painful to continue like this. It’s terrifying to feel my body rotting away. Please, put me out of my misery with my sword.” Ares spoke with a small, breathless voice. “I can’t do that! You’re my brother, my best friend, we’ve been together all this time! There’s no way I could do something like that!” Ares and I grew up like brothers. I can’t even imagine killing him. “That’s exactly why. You should know how I feel right now. Zack has no choice but to leave me behind and move on. But if you leave me like this, I’ll just be eaten alive by insects and beasts while still alive. So please, let me die. Then you can go ahead alone.” Ares’ eyes were closed. He just kept grimacing in pain. “What am I supposed to do alone in the royal capital? You’re a hero, aren’t you? If the hero dies, the world will end!”
“I wasn’t the hero after all. The prophet only said, ‘A hero will appear from this village to save the world.’ They never said anything to me. And when I heard the prophet’s words, I imagined it was Zack who would be the hero, not me.”
“That’s not fair! You can’t help it if you can’t use magic! If you could use magic, you could have healed Ares’ wound! You can’t even use a sword properly…”
I couldn’t take it anymore and broke down in tears.
“I don’t know why, but that’s what I thought,” Ares said, his face contorted in pain. “Oh, it hurts so much. Please, Zack, please make it easy for me.”
I could tell he was truly suffering. And I knew what I had to do.
Crying, I drew my sword and aimed it at Ares’ chest as he lay on the ground. Ares kept his eyes closed and tried to smile, even though he was in pain. He was doing it for me.
My hands were shaking. After a few moments, I plunged the sword into Ares’ chest. I felt the resistance of flesh and bone before the sword plunged into his chest like a vacuum. Ares’ lips moved faintly, as if trying to say something, but only one word came out: “Mom…”
