The battlefield had fallen silent…
But Asad's mind hadn't.
His breathing was steady…
yet something inside him was not.
The strange voice from earlier still echoed faintly—
"…Return… to darkness…"
Asad stood still.
"…That voice…"
His eyes narrowed.
"…is not from this world."
Across from him, the Hero—Leon—kept his sword raised, but his expression had changed.
Confusion… mixed with doubt.
"…You heard it too… didn't you?" Asad said calmly.
Leon didn't answer immediately.
"…What are you talking about?"
Asad took a slow step forward.
"…A voice… inside me."
Silence.
Leon's grip on his sword tightened again.
"…You're lying."
Asad stopped.
Then, unexpectedly—
He smiled.
"…If I was lying… I wouldn't have said it out loud."
Leon's expression hardened.
"…Then prove it."
Asad didn't respond with words.
Instead—
He closed his eyes.
And focused.
For a moment…
The world around him seemed to fade.
Darkness.
Silence.
And then—
A memory surfaced.
Not his.
But the original Demon Lord's.
Fire.
Destruction.
A battlefield filled with corpses.
And standing at the center…
A figure identical to Asad—
But colder.
Colder than anything he had ever imagined.
That Demon Lord…
was smiling.
"…So this is how it ends…"
The memory shattered.
Asad's eyes snapped open.
His body took a small step back.
"…This place…"
"…has a past."
Leon frowned.
"…What did you see?"
Asad looked at him… but his expression had changed.
This time—
He wasn't fully calm.
"…The Demon Lord you came to kill…"
"…he wasn't always like this."
Leon's eyes widened slightly.
"…What are you saying?"
Asad turned slightly, looking at his own hand.
"…He was someone before this."
"…Just like me."
Silence fell between them.
For the first time—
Leon didn't attack.
"…Then… why did he become a Demon Lord?" he asked.
Asad closed his eyes again.
"…That… I don't know yet."
A pause.
Then—
Asad looked straight at Leon.
"…But I will find out."
Leon stared at him.
Searching.
Trying to understand if this man—
Was his enemy.
Or something else entirely.
"…You're dangerous," Leon said quietly.
Asad smirked slightly.
"…And you're predictable."
A light breeze passed between them.
The tension didn't disappear—
But something had shifted.
This wasn't just a battle anymore.
It was the beginning of something deeper.
Suddenly—
A loud sound echoed in the distance.
BOOOOM!
Both of them turned their heads.
"…What was that?" Leon said.
Asad narrowed his eyes.
"…Something new."
"…Something that shouldn't exist in this story."
Leon looked at him.
"…What do you mean?"
Asad slowly turned back toward the direction of the explosion.
"…It means…"
"…we are not the only ones rewriting this world."
A long silence followed.
Then—
Asad took a step forward.
"…Come on."
Leon didn't move.
"…Where?"
Asad glanced back slightly.
A faint, dangerous smile appeared on his face.
"…To the place where our story actually begins."
And with that—
He walked forward…
Into the unknown.
[Chapter 5 End]