…It was all for nothing.

The lines were broken, the cavalry had all been wiped away, the archers had long ago been blown to smithereens, and even he, the only successful Paladin, the very last and best defense of his nation, had been thoroughly defeated.

As he laid there, his body refusing to move and his sight dimming, his mind reeled with regrets.

Why had his rulers, the trusted royalty who ran the nation, let this happen? He’d always been loyal, he’d gone through all the horrible torments of his body breaking and being remade, and he’d been the sole person to survive the process of becoming Brisillica’s one and only Paladin, the protector of the people. And yet, despite everything that he’d sacrificed and suffered through, they still decided to throw him away in the end, simply because they’d gotten a little too greedy with their newfound power. They knew the monster across the mountain would be there to stop their unlawful invasion, and yet Brisillica marched on anyway, uncaring of what would come about, or what they might have lost.

And now everyone, including him who had apprehensively led them, had been truly and decisively slaughtered.

The monster, youthful and childlike in his eyes, stood before him, leaning down with a cheeky sneer as he kicked at the Paladin’s armor.

“They told me that you’re supposed to be unkillable? You’re really a bit of a let down, aren’t you, you big metallic man.”

If the Paladin could have moved, he would have surely nodded along to the monster’s words. Yes, he was a let down. In fact, everything about his life was becoming one big let down.

“I don’t even know why you guys invaded! It was such a stupid move. If it were me, I would have just stayed home instead of doing all this boring stuff.”

Once more, the Paladin agreed with his words. He, too, wished that he could have just stayed home and enjoyed his life. If he had the option to, he would have loved to erase the past 16 years that he’d spent dedicating his very existence to the nation, and instead would have lived a calm and quiet life of peace. Of course, if such a thing were to happen then he would have to live somewhere else, in a country where the rulers wouldn’t so willingly throw their people away. Perhaps the country on the other side of the mountains, where Brisillica couldn’t reach, would be suitable. So long as this monster protected it, it was sure to remain peaceful and safe there, safer than what he'd been able to manage, at least.

Even as everything faded to black, his mind’s eye was still locked onto the image of the carefree and beautiful looking young man in front of him who had easily defeated him, until he ceased to have any more thoughts at all.

-That is, until he woke up once again in the laboratory, 6 years earlier.