Demon Lord's Reincarnation

Chapter 166 - The truth about heroes

"Now that you are informed about the different kinds of heroes, that I know of, let me tell you about-" Before Shin could continue talking Valdel raised his arm and gestured Shin to stop.

"Wait a minute! You're telling me that I'm being controlled?! You're telling me none of the things that made me, me, are mine, to begin with?!" Valdel who was finally able to digest a bit of what was said started to panic. His mana was going out of control and pouring out of his body. Zwei and Nika tried to calm Valdel down but they were unable to get near him.

Watching what was happening to Valdel made Shin sigh. He was expecting Valdel to have better mental resistance than that, especially knowing that Ren was with him. Still, he remembered the time he figured out a bit of the truth, wasn't he also the same.

'Well, I guess there were some unrealistic expectations from me since he was trained by that guy. Hmmm, still this level of power pouring out of him is incredible for a beginner hero. As expected of Kretos training a hero to this degree in such a short time.'

While Shin was praising Ren in his mind, Valdel's mana was getting a bit more violent. The two weapon spirits were having a difficult time stopping their master from running amok. Shin then slowly approached Valdel.

When Shin got close to Valdel, the out of control Valdel was about to attack Shin unconsciously. But before Valdel was able to move, Shin flicked Valdel's forehead. Valdel's head was knocked backward and his rampaging mana stabilized.

Valdel who was now a bit more in control started to breathe heavily as he looked at Shin and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry about that, Sir Shin, and thank you." Even after being attacking and clearly having a difficult time right now Valdel acted polite in front of Shin.

"It's alright young hero, anyone would react the same way as you if they learn of such a truth. I know you really want to know more about those beings that I say are controlling your actions, but before I explain more about that let me tell you the truth I believe in, about what it means to be a hero."

Valdel quieted down as he regulated his mana while listening to Shin.

"Tell me Valdel what do you think a hero is?" For the first time ever in his life, Valdel hesitated to answer this question. He was now unsure about a lot of things. He then closed his eyes and started to think about his experiences and even with the new set of information Valdel's answer remained the same.

"A hero is someone that's there for the people. A hero is someone who responds to everyone's cry for help, even from those that have not the voice to speak the words! A hero is someone everyone can rely on when despair creeps in! A hero is someone that makes the impossible, possible! And most of all for me a hero is someone that protects everyone's smiling faces!"

At the beginning of his speech, Valdel was speaking normally, but as he continued talking he got a bit excited and raised his voice.

"Well, that's nice. Now let me tell you what I think a hero is. I think a hero is a faceless nobody that changes depending on what the public wants. I think a hero is a powerful weapon used to change the tide of battle. I think a hero is a selfish being that only wants his point of view to be heard. Well, that's my opinion on the matter. But that's not what I want to tell you. After living for centuries and being freed from my duties as a hero I got a glimpse of what the true role of a Natural hero was."

"First off I need to tell you what I'm about to say is simply my opinion, but I think that the Natural hero's and the Chosen hero's true role was to bring balance to this world. In truth, a Natural hero and a Chosen hero could also become a villain and the villain could become the hero, it doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters is a balance. That's what I thought at first when I was freed from my destiny as a hero, but it turned out the truth was worse than I thought. I don't know much about the other types of heroes, but for the Natural Hero, the truth is we are nothing more than an experiment. Every natural hero is just a pawn in a game, set up by some beings of an upper realm. These beings are similar to Gods but at the same time different. Well, that's what I understood based on what I saw, to tell you the truth I'm not really sure about it."

"What do you mean an experiment?"

"When I got the strength that surpassed that of a hero, I was able to glimpse into a world above this one. Only divine beings and those of similar levels of power could even glimpse into that realm. I learned that Natural heroes were simply an experiment created by some of the beings of that upper realm, they wanted to create the perfect replica of the first true hero, the one created by the ORIGIN, the one who broke free from its control. They implant the power and personality of a hero into a random child and see if that child can become the same as the true hero."

If Valdel was confused before, right now he was in a state that could break his mind.

"I'm not sure about some of the things they said, like the ORIGIN or about the true hero... But I think the reason for the discrepancy that you are feeling is because you are going against the ideals that were implanted to you from birth. This is all just an assumption of mine based on all the things I have seen and experienced. I'm not really sure if what I'm saying is even close to the truth. Unless those beings explain themselves, this all that I can tell you."

Valdel didn't respond to Shin as he simply sat on the floor in a daze. Even Zwei who was much older and more experienced than Valdel was surprised by this information given to them by Shin. Though most of it was simply assumptions on Shin's part, what he said was all Valdel had that could explain what was happening to him.