The world had ended…
These were his final thoughts as he gazed upon the blood-soaked battlefield.
The once blue sky was now bathed in crimson, thick with the choking miasma of invading demons.
The vibrant seas had turned into an ocean of blood, scattered with corpses and shattered bones, a silent testament to the tragedy that had unfolded.
And on the ground, a situation similar to that of the sea was present
In the far north, the once mighty World Tree lay severed, its sacred leaves turned to ash, while the Elven forests burned to nothing but cinders.
To the south, the dwarven kingdom lay in ruins, their once-mighty mechanical guardians now nothing more than broken scrap, powerless against the tide of destruction.
To the east, the human kingdoms were completely decimated, with the bodies of nobles and commoners alike strewn on the ground with their faces filled with fear and despair
To the west, the once glorious land of dragons had completely fallen, with the last few dragons crying to the sky as they mourned the death of their last ancestor
Cough… cough…"
"Oh, Hero… The world is already lost. Why do you still fight?"
"Could it be because of some rancid title given to you by the gods of the world? Or do you forget that these same gods are the ones who abandoned all of you?"
Amidst a battlefield littered with countless corpses, where the blood of millions soaked the land…
This was the final battleground of the Allied Races and the Demon Army, the place where history would end.
And right now, the two protagonists of this war were lying on the ground as they made their final words to one another
The hero who was prophesied to save the world
A Hero who was abandoned by the world and his goddess
Alaric Ironheart!
And the demon king who invaded the world from the demon realm
The one who drove away all the gods of the world and killed the seven dragon ancestors by himself
The Demon King of Destruction, Azazel!
"haha"
*cough cough*
"Why do I fight? You ask? It's something a demon like you would never understand."
Smelling the strong stench of iron in the air due to all the blood, the protagonist coughed up a clot of blood due to the irritation
At this moment, his right arm and leg were completely blown off, his mithril armor plated with dragon scales completely broken, his once luscious black hair completely dyed red with his own blood, and the light in his two eyes completely dim
However still despite all this, a smile remained on his face.
Curving his lips upward ever so slightly, his next words completely stunned the demon king
"Haha… Azazel, you underestimate the people of Elias. We may have suffered countless deaths, but make no mistake… we have won."
"The gate to the demon realm has been closed, all your generals and demons have been slain."
"And you, the leader of demons, will meet your end here with me."
"With enough time, the remaining survivors hidden in all parts of Elias will learn from this and come back stronger, because of this simple reason, I will continue to fight."
Taking a deep breath, his lips slowly straightened as his tone became somewhat low
"As a hero, I only have three regrets in this life."
"One, that I could not save more people."
"two that I could not save and marry the love of my life, Elena"
"And three that I could not ask the goddess as to why she and the other gods abandoned the world."
Saying this, Alaric could feel his life force slowly passing, his mana heart was broken, and his soul was covered in cracks
In a few minutes, he would meet his end without any possibility of reincarnation or resurrection
And the demon king, in a similar state as his, with only his upper half remaining and two horns broken, looking at his once glorious adversary in such a sorry state, Alaric laughed as though he could not understand the sentiment
He knew that he could not break the hero's will.
A situation that pleasantly surprised him.
"Haha, alright then hero, if there is a next life for people like us, then let us meet again, only this time I will win!"
Hearing this, Alaric chuckled, his breath weak but unwavering.
"Haha… If there is a next life, just know this, Azazel, I'll be there to stop you again."
And with that, both the hero and the demon king had met their end, signaling the end of the war between the world of Elias and the demon realm.
Meanwhile, far away from this tragic battlefield, a young man sat staring at his phone screen, frozen in shock.
Lin Ye, an eighteen-year-old student with unkempt black hair and a slightly overweight physique, could only stare at the ending of his favorite novel in utter disbelief as he crossed the road.
"Stupid author, how could you end it like this??"
Reaching the end of his favourite book 'The Hero Returns," Lin Ye was completely enraged!
"What about my waifus?! What about Elena, my lovely angel?! What about the Queen of Elves?! What about the gorgeous Master of the Flame Tower?!"
"How could they all die with this brainless protagonist?"
"And you demon king, if you want to do something, why did you die at the end, not even succeeding when all the gods were practically gone or destroyed??"
"If it were me, I'd either save the world properly or rule it! No way in hell would I die like some noble idiot sacrificing himself!"
Growling angrily, he didn't notice a truck suddenly swerve unsteadily in his direction.
"You there, move!" Shouted a voice from beside him, unfortunately, it was too late.
HONK! BANG!
The world spun. Blinding pain shot through his body as a truck slammed into him at full speed. His vision blurred, and just before everything faded into darkness…
One last thought burned in his mind.
"Screw you, author! And screw your shitty book too!"