Sirius Granhelm…
That was the name of the hero that had slain the demon king 50 years ago. Along with his five other companions, Sirius Granhelm stormed the demon king’s castle, bravely fighting off demons and undead before finally facing off against the greatest of the world’s evil: Demon King Grimdarr.
Usually, man could not hope to defeat such great evil. But it’s another matter altogether if a man received the blessing of the Goddess of Light. Using the power of the Goddess, Sirius and his companions were able to fight the demon king on equal ground.
It was no easy battle though. No, it was said that the battle shook the heavens and turn the land asunder! And it was only through the sheer determination of Sirius and his companions that the demon king was slain.
Unfortunately, mankind’s victory did not come easily. To kill the demon king, Sirius’ companions’ have to sacrifice their lives. And it was only through this sacrifice that Sirius could deal the finishing blow to the demon king.
Nonetheless, victory is a victory. And although mankind grieved the loss of the other five heroes, they still celebrated. For man was victorious. For they have survived the calamity. Moreover, one of the heroes, Sirius still lives…
Back to the present…
The Granhelm state was in an uproar as every citizen of the territory was preparing for a huge feast. Why? It’s because it’s the hero, Sirius Granhelm’s 70th birthday!
As the only surviving member of the party of heroes that had fought the demon king, Sirius was a celebrated figure respected by every person in the continent. Or so the rumors say.
Before even the actual celebration though, countless influential and powerful figures had sent their good wishes and gifts to the Granhelm state. Kings, princes, and lords all had expressed their intent to visit the legendary figure.
Of course, the Granhelm household would welcome all of these prestigious figures on their land. Not only would these people bring expensive gifts, but their presence would also add to the prestige of the Granhelm’s name.
That being said, not everyone was celebrating Sirius’ birthday. In a certain pub in the Granhelm territory, an old man sits in the loneliest corner of the pub drinking silently drinking cheap ale.
The man has a disheveled look and seemed like he hasn’t bathed in days. He stinks so bad that none of the other patrons of the pub would go near him. Not that he cares. After all, the man didn’t come to the Granhelm state to celebrate Sir Sirius’ birthday.
No, it was the opposite. He came to ruin it – to expose the truth – to unmask the “hero” in front of everyone. And it matters not to him even he was to die in the process.
The day of the celebration finally arrived. Outside of the Granhelm castle, countless people and carts containing gifts formed a long procession. These people bearing gifts came for one purpose alone – to see the legendary hero that defeated and slain the demon king: Sirius Granhelm.
Although, many decades had passed since the defeat of the demon king; the populace hasn’t forgotten the heroism and sacrifice of their savior. And now that their savior was in his twilight years, it’s only fitting that they show their respect and give the man one of the grandest celebrations of his life.
Inside the castle; Sirius’ family members and servants are buys receiving and entertaining guests. As many of the guests are powerful and prestigious figures themselves, every person in the castle is doing their best to satisfy all of their guests' demands. Well, everyone except Sirius Granhelm…
As for the man himself, he was in his office reading a letter with a grim expression on his fat and bearded face.
Sirius Granhelm’s appearance was very different from the image of what a legendary hero should look like. He was a large bearded man with a rounded belly. If one judges him by his looks alone, one could see that there’s nothing heroic about him.
He wasn’t always like that though. In his younger days, he was a handsome man filled with vigor and grit. Unfortunately, a lifestyle filled with decadence had transformed Sirius into his current state. But no matter how much his appearance has changed; it won’t change the fact that he was the only living survivor in the fight against the world-destroying demon king.
Sirius put down the letter and let out a long sigh. He found the letter on his table this morning, and upon gazing at the insignia on the wax seal, he knew exactly who it’s from.
“So the time has come… To think that it took you 50 years to finally make up your mind, Joseph”
Sirius still remembered the face of that youthful knight who insisted in accompanying their party despite lacking the Goddess’ blessing. His disappointment was when he could not accompany them to the demon king’s castle. And lastly, the look of anger and shock when he told him that he ran away from the fight – leaving his companions to fight the demon king on their own.
“Why did you run away?!”
“Why? Because I wanted to live! My companions have chosen to sacrifice their lives in exchange for the power to kill the demon king. I… I couldn’t do it.”
Sirius remembered that their argument had resulted in a physical altercation. And he would have most likely died if Joseph did not stay his hands. After all, he had lost the Goddess’ blessing after he fled the demon king and was, therefore, much weaker than the young and talented knight.
“I need your help.” Sirius started after a long awkward silence. “My companion’s sacrifice should have bear fruit and the demon king should now be dead.”
“…What are you trying to say?” Joseph questioned.
“Collaborate with me,” said Sirius. “Tell the king that I was the one who gave the demon king the final blow,” he explained.
“You bastard! Not only are you a coward, you even wanted to take the credit for the death of the demon king? Do you not know shame?!” Joseph roared.
“I am ashamed! I ran away when the others wanted to use the forbidden skill to kill the demon king!” Sirius shouted back. “But can you blame me? I have a lot hanging on my shoulder so I couldn’t afford to die!”
“That’s just an excuse!”
“…Yes, you’re right. It’s just an excuse. The king would still honor his promises to us even if we die as long as the demon king is killed.” Sirius then collapses on his knees, and begged Joseph, “but I don’t want to die… So please, my friend, help me, I’m begging you…”
In the end, Joseph “agreed” to help his friend by keeping what he knew to himself. Not long after the celebration though, Joseph left his knight order without telling anyone. Joseph’s disappearance worried Sirius a lot which was one of the reasons he started living a life of decadence.
But as the years pass by without anyone finding out the truth, Sirius could finally relax that Joseph hasn’t told anyone of their secret. Deep inside though, Sirius knew that there would be a day of reckoning for him.
After reminiscing for a while, he took out a piece of paper, wrote something, put it inside an envelope before pressing his insignia on the wax seal.
After doing all of that, Sirius opened a drawer on the side of his table and took out a bottle of wine from inside it. He then stared at the wine bottle with a mesmerized look before pouring the content on a bronze wine cup.
Sirius stared at the blood-colored wine for a little bit before emptying the content of the cup into his mouth. After letting out a long sigh, Sirius closed his eyes but not before whispering, “Sorry, but I’ll be running away again, my friend...”
“Bastard! Stop right there?! Do you know where you are?!”
An old man, the same person that was drinking in the pub the day before the celebration was forcing himself into the castle. And despite the guards’ best effort to stop the old man, none of them could take a single blow from him.
“Just who is he? Why is he making trouble during Lord Sirius’ birthday celebration?” A guest that was watching the spectacle unfold asked curiously.
“I don’t know. He looked like a beggar but his strength is beyond human,” another guest answered.
After taking care of the guards, the old man was finally able to enter the main hall of the castle. But before he could step further, several armed guards get in his way. These guards are different from the previous ones, instead of swords and spears, the guards are armed with crossbows.
“Who are you? Why are making trouble here?”
The guards armed with crossbows parted away and an imposing-looking middle-aged man walked out.
“Where’s Sirius? I want to see him!”
The old man ignored the guards aiming their crossbows at him and the middle-aged man’s inquiry and asked a question of his own which angered the other party. The middle-aged man wanted to lash out at the old man but upon remembering his strength, forcefully calm himself.
“Why are you looking for my father?” The middle-aged man asked while suppressing his anger.
Hearing what he said, the old man finally paid attention to the other party. He then asked, “You’re his son? Hmm… you do look like him when he was younger.”
Both the middle-aged man and the crowd were startled by the old man’s words. With how casual the old man was when asking about Sirius, one would think that they were acquaintances.
“Are you a friend of my father?”
Upon realizing that the strange old man dressed like a beggar might be an acquaintance of his father, the middle-aged man’s voice grew less severe.
“Friend?” Upon hearing the word “friend”, the old man became slightly absent-minded as if reminiscing something. “It’s been a while since I heard that word. I’m not certain if we could still be called that after what I’m about to do next…”
The middle-aged man was alarmed by the words of the old man. But as he was about to ask for clarification, a pale-faced maid came running to him in panic.
“Master! The old master, the old master is...!”
“Calm down! What happened to my father?”
The middle-aged man chastised the maid for panicking in front of all the guests. He then told the maid to explain properly.
“The old master… The old master is…gone.”
What! Everyone, including the old man, was greatly startled by the maid’s words. The first to recover was the middle-aged man who quickly asked the maid the whereabouts of his father.
“In his office,” answered the maid.
The middle-aged man let go of the maid before running towards his father’s office with all his might. He was followed by other people including the old man who was now wearing a grim face.
Upon entering the office, everyone saw the old man staring blankly in a certain direction. Following his gaze, they saw the man, the legendary hero who saved the world from the demon king, sitting in his chair with his eyes closed. Looking at him closely one could not perceive any sign of life from him.
The guests look at each other in dismay upon realizing what had happened. All of them traveled a long distance just to see the legendary figure. None of them had expected that what they’re going to see was the hero’s lifeless body.
“What’s going on? How come he’s dead?”
A voice that was filled with confusion and grief pulled everyone present from their stupor. And upon looking at the source of that voice, they saw that it was the strange old man dressed like a beggar.
Indeed… How did Lord Sirius die? Assassination? Murder? Could someone tell them how such a legendary figure die just like that?
Everyone then turns their attention towards the maid, the person who reported the lord’s death.
“It wasn’t me! He’s already dead when I saw him!”
Upon seeing how everyone was looking at her, the maid lost all blood on her face and quickly declared her innocence.
The guards seeing this quickly approaches the maid, but before they could apprehend the poor woman, another voice filled with grief stopped them.
They looked at the source of the voice and saw that it was the middle-aged man that had spoken. He was holding and reading a letter in his hand.
The middle-aged man let out a long sigh after reading the letter and then turned towards the strange old man that seemed to have lost his soul.
“Sir, are you Joseph?” The middle-aged man asked the strange old man in a grief-filled voice.
Hearing his name from the middle-aged man’s mouth woke the old man from his stupor. He then stared at the other party and answered, “Yes, I am Joseph.”
“I see… My father left a letter for you.”
Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, gaps of surprise escaped from everyone’s mouth. The crowds, including the old man, were not surprised by the fact that Sirius had left a letter. What surprises them was the fact that its receiver was the strange old man that had caused trouble earlier.
The strange old man took the letter and stared at it for a long time. Seeing his action, the middle-aged man asked if he needed help reading it – thinking that the old man might be illiterate.
“No need. I know how to read,” responded the old man before unfolding the letter.
Every person in the room stared at the letter on the old man’s hand with great curiosity. They want to know what was written in the letter but since it wasn’t addressed to them they could helplessly watch and hope that the old man would divulge its content.
Not long after reading the letter, the expression on the old man’s face changes drastically, and he began acting strangely. Then to everyone’s surprise, the old man crumpled the letter with one hand before laughing hysterically.
“Bwahahahahah!!! It’s just like you… In all these years you haven’t changed at all!”
Seeing the old man’s hysterical laughter left many in the crowd dumbfounded while there were some in the crowd, especially the middle-aged man that was very angry at him. What’s so funny? Why was he laughing?
“You… what are you laughing at?!”
Seeing his father being laughed at greatly angered the middle-aged man. He had read the content of the letter and there’s nothing written in it that could invoke such a reaction. But as he was about to confront the crazy old man, he noticed something on the old man that had stunned him – there were tears.
Tears were flowing out of the old man’s eyes as he “laugh” hysterically. The old man wasn’t laughing at all – he was grieving. The hysterical laughter was nothing but a reaction to the absurdity of it all. The old man wanted to confront Sirius – to force him to reveal the truth. He never wanted him to die.
“Coward… you’re always like this…” The old man stared at the lifeless body of the man that he admired and despises the most while murmuring in a pain-filled voice. “…At the very end, you still choose to run away.”
None of the people present could make head or tail out of the old man’s words except for the middle-aged man who seemed to know something. But since it was a secret that must never see the light of day; the middle-aged man would never disclose it to anyone.
The old man started walking out of the room with a hunched back. When he barge into the castle, he was filled with determination and strength. But after seeing his friend’s lifeless body, he lost interest in everything. After all, what would be the point of continuing with his original plan if the person he wanted revenge on was already dead?
Seeing the old man walking away, the middle-aged man wanted to stop him. If he let the old man leave, the secret that was buried for five decades could be unearthed. The best way of preventing that from happening would be to silence the old man for good. But upon seeing the old man’s lonesome back, the middle-aged man changes his mind.
“Just let it be… My father is indeed a coward. But does that mean I should be a coward too?”
The day after the event, the news of the hero’s death spread far and wide in no time thanks to the people who had attended his birthday celebration. Countless speculations and rumors concerning the cause of the hero’s death were flying around but as the Granhelm state didn’t offer any clarification, no one knew which of the rumors was true.
There’s one thing that people knew and that there’s a mysterious old man who barged into the castle demanding to see the hero only to leave disappointed after learning of his death. Similar to the rumor concerning the hero’s death, there were also plenty of speculations of the old man’s true identity. But just like the other rumors, no one knew what the truth was.
Many had tried to look for the mysterious old man’s whereabouts but they could not find him no matter how much they looked. It was as if he just disappeared from the face of the earth.
