Heroes.

They are individuals who came from another world. As with each hero, they are given powers in the form of blessings. These make them far different from this world’s people. 

They are stronger than us. Faster than us. Smarter than us. They are basically everything a person who stands above all should be like. 

They are also given classes and the ability to read statuses. A person’s status includes their characteristics, condition, thoughts(on some occasions), a person’s abilities and even their potential. Heroes can also see someone’s title. What that means is that if you have murdered many and enjoyed the deed e.g. then a title of [Psychotic murderer] may appear above your head in their eyes. This makes many people like nobles hesitant to approach heroes more than necessary. 

Artifacts exist that can block such things, however. Through the studying of heroes, wizards were able to learn more about the blessings the goddess bestow upon heroes.

They can either be summoned from asking permission from the gods by using rituals or they appear randomly if a disaster occurs in this world which we cannot stop. 

“Wow... My heart is still racing.”

I clutched my chest as Celeste and I walked. 

They were simply amazing.

Everything about them was perfect.

“...Mister Luther really likes those heroes...”

“Huh? Don’t you too?”

Celeste shook her head.

“Why should I? When our kingdom was plunged into war, the heroes I personally summoned chose to abandon the kingdom.”

She clenched her fists.

“They were cowards. Only one remained to protect me but she was also caught and crippled during the war. I don’t even know where she currently is. She might also have been reduced to a slave somewhere. The heroes they used to invade the kingdom were simply too powerful.”

Heroes aren’t just summoned for good. Can those bastards even be called heroes? Hero is a title given to someone automatically after they come to this world. They are given better lives than what they lived on that world called Middle Earth. As I said, heroes can be summoned by rituals.

In this world, Evil Gods also exist. 

The Human god.

The Demon God.

The ancient dragon gods.

All three of those categories consists of many gods who have plunged into evil. Of course, good gods exist as well. 

“...Were you the one who tried stopping them?”

Celeste suddenly stopped and looked at me with a shocked face.

“...N-No...”

She then averted her eyes and whistled.

“Lady Sylvia had multiple agents spread to other nations. The one who reported about sighting the Archmage candidate almost died trying to leave that kingdom.”

“...”

She kept averting her eyes from my gaze.

I shrugged.

“I see. The story about one girl defending her own nation was kind of cool. Man, what I wouldn’t give to see such an amazing person~”

“I-Is that so...?”

She cleared her throat and strode ahead of me.

We were walking down a shortcut towards the Plaza. Since we’re slaves, the residents of the slums didn’t bother trying to rob us. They’d incur the wrath of our master, after all.

“Be careful, you’ll trip.”

Celeste skipped like a little girl over the things lying on the ground.

“I’ll be fine~”

I chuckled. 

‘I shouldn’t spoil her mood. She looks too happy.’

It’s a shame Lady Sylvia will send Celeste to Sophia to help her heal her body. Sophia specializes in healing magic of the 8th tier. Since Lady Sylvia bought a scroll consisting of many high ranked spells from an auction back in the day, Sophia could use those spells to heal Celeste. 

Maybe I should ask for permission to visit her. I actually like her company, unlike that sadist bitch, Beatrice.

----!?

My eyes started hurting when I attempted to turn a corner. The excruciating pain made me clench my teeth. I resisted the urge to scratch my eyes out. 

The ringing inside my brain messed up my senses, causing me to sway and fall down on a load of trash.

When I opened my eyes–

“Huh?”

A mixture of Black, Blue and Red entered my eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Celeste, noticing something was wrong came up to me.

“Aren’t you seeing this?”

I kept blinking my eyes but the colours didn’t disappear.

“Seeing what? The stinky alleyway where trash is lying around?”

“No, not that–“

SCREECH—!

My vision suddenly brightened and then...

–Why....?

There I(?) was on the ground clutching the cut through my stomach. The wound was burning with a golden light, incinerating my organs.  

–We do not need you in this world. Whatever you’re planning ends now. The gods were right to warn us about your existence.

And standing above my injured self is a woman I was all too familiar with. She had black silky hair and a face which I was mesmerized by the moment I saw her.

Lydia, the master swordsman.

‘Huh?’

I noticed that I didn’t have a body. It was like I was looking through a black hole.

‘What am I seeing?’

–Regressors do not belong in the past. If you think we would allow you to continue with your plans...

Her entire body glowed in divinity.

–You were dead wrong to come here.

And with terrifying energy, she raised her sword into the sky which rumbled the entire area. Her sword gathered light and grew in size.

‐Abel shouldn’t waste his time on someone like you. I will find your other brethren and kill them too. Haaaah!!!

And then she swung down, causing her golden sword which reached the sky to slam down onto my injured self.

A rumbling sound echoed before my consciousness returned.

“Mister Luther!”

Celeste shook me with a worried expression.

“What’s going on with you?”

“...Ah...Ah...”

I just saw myself die by the hands of the hero I loved.

A sparkle caught the corner of my eye. A black gas was being emitted in that direction. The red and blue from before completely vanished and was only replaced by the ominous black path.

I didn’t know what it was but my body got chills.

“Celeste...” I grabbed her hand, “We need to run.”

“Eh? But aren’t we close to the Plaza?”

I shook my head franticly.

I couldn’t get that scene out of my head. It was like gazing into the future.

‘I don’t know why but I think we shouldn’t go down that path...’

I took Celeste’s hand and pulled her as I ran.

“We need to go back now!!”

Why did she kill me? 

Why did she say I was a regressor? 

And lastly, what were those colours I saw through my vision? 

“W-Wait–!”

I ignored Celeste’s scream and only kept running. 

The pressure I felt from that dark path became smaller as we ran away.

I didn't know if I was hallucinating but I thought I saw a shadow behind the corner.