[Salvos] 775. Salvos's Choice

775. Salvos's Choice

***

Daniel had to advance in his Class.

He had first been given his Class advancement option back when he was still fighting against the Elves under the supervision of the Council of Cremont. However, he had opted against advancing back then. Mostly because he had only been given a single option.

Now though?

Well, that hadn’t changed. He still only had a single advancement option. And he could have said that that was the reason why he hadn’t advanced yet.

That he was waiting to get another option— because being only limited to a single option was kind of ridiculous. Especially now that he was Level 181.

However, he would be lying if that was what he said. After all, he had been delaying his Class advancement for another reason.

That was why, despite having passed the threshold of becoming an Elite Ranked adventurer a long time ago, he was still a [Hero Of Demon And Man]. The very same Class he had been given after he reached Level 100.

Because he had been waiting for the right moment to advance his Class.

Due to the nature of it.

Due to what it was called.

Due to what it would make him.

And that was—

[Salvos’s Chosen Hero].

Daniel couldn’t believe it when he was first given the Class advancement. He thought that the world itself was playing a prank on him— that the system or whatever it was that governed this world was joking.

…well, he now knew that it was the Arcraem that ruled this world, thanks to Yves. But that was besides the point.

The young man from Earth refused to believe he had been given this Class when he had first been given it. After all, this was just plain insanity.

To have a Class named after you?

That was something only the likes of Alexander the Immortal King could do.

But Salvos was Salvos. She was not Alexander. She was not the Spirit Lord, or the Demon King. 

Or anyone else for that matter.

She was special in her own way.

And she had done so much to make Daniel the [Hero] he was today.

So perhaps that was why he was given a Class advancement that was related to her.

But that was also why he had decided to put it off for so long. Because he had wanted to wait until he met Salvos again before he advanced his Class.

Now, it made sense beforehand. Because he thought he would have leveled slower while fighting in the war. However, ever since being swept away by the Watcher and brought to power-level in one of the most dangerous places in the world?

It only made sense for Daniel to accept the Class now.

Especially with what was at stake.

To put an end to the war and defeat the Elven Matriarch once and for all.

Of course, when Daniel explained this to both Yves and Kacey, he was only met with a single reaction.

“Are you stupid?”

Yves asked as he stared at Daniel.

“I’m not stupid— I just thought that it would be appropriate to advance my Class when Salvos was here, you know?”

The young man from Earth tried to defend himself. And the Watcher just sighed, rubbing his temples.

“I got that. But you could’ve decided to advance your Class when you realized you weren’t making any progress down to the bottom of Astros Mountain.”

“Alright, in my defense, you’re the one who didn’t give me any context before throwing me down into that labyrinth. Seriously, if I had known what my goal was from the start, then maybe I’d have advanced my Class to progress faster.” 

Daniel crossed his arms. And Kacey chimed in from the side.

“No, that still makes no sense. You were facing enemies far above your level. You should’ve advanced your Class a long time ago.”

“I agree with her.”

Yves nodded. Daniel pursed his lips. He glanced between the two people standing across from him, staring at him judgingly. And he threw his hands up in the air as he just huffed out in exasperation.

“Alright, fine, I get it, I was being stupid. Just let me advance my Class in peace now…”

Storming off, he went to a private room to finish his advancement.

And become [Salvos’s Chosen Hero].

***

The ritual had begun.

There was not much time left. If it was allowed to continue, then Demonkind would be crippled for generations to come. There would be no new Demons that would be born from this Cycle.

All just for the Demon King to satisfy his selfish desire to live like a Human.

He had to be stopped.

Now.

Before it was too late.

That was why Haec moved, mobilizing the rebellion in its entirety. The full force of all the free legions were about to march onward towards the Demon King’s castle. 

Of course, it was clear that very many of the Demons gathered here weren’t even interested in fighting. Many of them seemed terrified at the very prospect of even heading in the direction of the Demon King’s castle, let alone trying to defy Regnorex.

It was only because of Manos’s presence here that they believed they stood a chance.

And if Haec was being honest, he wasn’t even sure if they did stand a chance. 

He was still holding onto the hope that with Manos’s help, and if Oracli could be convinced to betray the Demon King, they would be able to win this upcoming battle. Especially if Salvos could reach her next evolution and become a Primordial Demon before their confrontation with the Demon King.

But at this point, this outcome didn’t seem to be extremely likely. Especially with the time crunch they were on now.

The fact that they had to act sooner than they hoped.

Even still, Haec didn’t want to give up hope. He didn’t believe that it was all over yet. So he prepared the rebellion, gathering them outside of the cavern they had hidden inside of, before he swept his gaze over them, ready to give an inspiring speech.

He saw them all.

Whether they weren’t exactly the most friendliest of faces, or the faces of those who he’d known for a long time.

Taburas, Bertrugil, Aemula, Aliq, Ultis, Hartia, Tor, Manos, Sicar… so many of those whom he barely knew, and others who he didn’t even know the names of. He stared at them as he cleared his throat, ready to give his speech.

But then he paused as a question came to his mind instead.

“Wait, where is Salvos?”

***

To be Demon.

What did it mean to be Demon?

I didn’t know.

Manos was right. 

Even if I didn't want to admit it.

I had forgotten what it meant to be Demon. All because I had spent so much time in the Mortal Realm. 

I had become a hero.

An adventurer.

A friend.

A monster.

A daughter.

A mother.

But I had not been a Demon during my time in the Mortal Realm.

And perhaps that was why I didn’t quite understand Manos. Maybe that was why I didn’t quite get what the Demon King hoped to accomplish with his ritual. 

Maybe that was why I didn’t feel like I truly understood Haec since we met again, even if I had fully supported him in his rebellion.

I had just been following along— joining him in his rebellion to stop the ritual.

Even if it honestly didn’t matter to me that much, other than the fact that it put my companions’ lives in danger.

And while I truly didn’t wish for any harm to befall them, I also couldn’t be there to protect them all the time. I also had to have my own goals. My own life.

Rather than just tagging along with them like I was a hero who was supposed to protect them.

So perhaps it was time for me to drop that act and figure out what it meant to be a Demon.

I glanced back at the pillar of light in the distance, indicating the ritual had begun, before I turned away from it.

And I flew out of the Demon King’s Domain.

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