Xal witnesses Hero's eyes ablaze as he unsheathes his sword, setting off a cascade of metal and bowstring sounds from the surrounding troops.

「Xalvari, do you think I am blind? We've known each other and fought together for so long. How can you claim to just be friends when you're holding her so close to you?! Tell me what is going on between the two of you! What have you done to her?!」 Hero demands, his voice fierce and commanding.

The air feels intense and suffocating, even for Xal, and although this is the moment he has been yearning for, he knows that gazing upon Hero when he's angry wills people into doing everything in their power to rectify their mistakes. Goddamned Goddess. Xal's mind feels dizzy and his heart starts beating faster, as he hesitates. With beads of sweat trickling down his cheek, he casts a glance toward the woman clinging to him — the very source of his fearlessness. Should things take a turn for the worse, he holds a shield. It's time to get the truth. No one at the court would reveal it to him, so now he must seize the opportunity to uncover it himself.

With his attention back on Hero, Xal shouts, 「So you've finally revealed your true colors, Hero!」

「Shut your filthy mouth and answer the damn question!」 Hero roars and slams his sword into the ground making a sonic wave suddenly expel outwards, sending a surge of wind that blasts the area and forcing everyone to guard their heads against the debris. Xal uses his arm to shield his eyes and Rosaria follows in suit with a shriek.

After the warning shot, Hero pulls out his sword and points it at Hero, 「My patience is wearing thin! Even if I once considered you my best friend! Return Rosaria to me!」 he demands, his voice low and menacing.

Despite the distance, his tall, muscular frame feels like it towers over them, making Xal retreat a step, all hairs on his body standing up, urging him to run. The surrounding troops have already put their weapons back in their sheath and are slowly stepping back, with faces cowering in badly-disguised fear.

Xal's senses return to him when Rosaria starts squirming in pain, and tries to nudge herself free. Looking at her, he realizes how forcefully he has been holding on. He loosens his grip, making sure to keep her close enough. That's right, she still has her uses. How could he forget?

Xal's hesitation disappears and with a steeled look, he gazes at Hero and exclaims, 「Your best friend? How laughable!」 allowing his usual smirk to spread across his lips, 「How can you claim that with how things turned out?! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!」

Hero's face slowly contorts into one of confusion, 「What are you talking about?」

「Oh, so you don't remember, Hero. The rank? The riches and lands that were promised to me? Or the rest of the rewards?! I was also a part of that party!」

「You bring this up now?」 Hero asks sternly.

「When else? Ever since your puny kingdom made me a patsy for the elf diplomats to crucify, I got nothing! Instead, I am cast away and left to rot! And you! 」Xal shouts, agitated, 「What do you do in my defense?」 His face turns somber and menacing, and with a red glint in his eye, he declares, 「You abandoned me!」

Rosaria tugs his shirt,「Xal!」 but he ignores her, instead choosing to watch with glee as Hero's look of confidence slowly crumbles.

「No, y-you're wrong! I did what was right. You made a mistake, just like what you're doing now. I'm here to correct it! As is my right!」Hero voices with a conflicted look, giving Xal confidence. Everything so far has been going according to his plans, and now is the moment of truth.

He takes a step, defying the pressure expelled by Hero's divine powers that caused the earlier blast,「Fine! Be that as it may! But just tell me one thing, Hero!」 determined, and with an upright gait, he takes another step, 「I want to know, whose decision was it? Who made them deny me my rewards? Who plotted to tip off the guards so that the Elf Princess would be framed, with me? I know there's a mastermind behind this debacle! Someone trying to go against my whole existence, and I want the damn answers!」

Rosaria's jaw falls open in shock, 「What?! Is that really true?!」 her head turns to one than the other. Xal nods gravely, 「Yes... Someone out there wants me gone. That's why I was the only one met with accusations instead of accolades after the war.」

The pieces fit too well for it to be a mere coincidence. The first person he suspected was Rosaria, but her sticking with him made him shed that thought. He quickly became convinced she wouldn't have had the brains to execute such a plan. But it also meant that he couldn't sit idle for the past two heavenly cycles. He had to search for the truth.

As the most likely suspects, the upper echelons of the Elf Kingdom seemed to both have the means and the motive to orchestrate the plot against him — that would explain the incident with Elf Princess. But as he delved deeper, he realized that, in the grand scheme of things, even they were mere pawns. The elusive Elf Princess herself, who remained nowhere to be found, was his missing piece.

He then set his sights on the human capital, where he searched high and low for answers. With the help of old friends and hired men, he laid traps and schemes for every noble he encountered, hoping to tease or blackmail even a glimpse of the truth, but his efforts proved fruitless. And costly too. For some of them, bribery was the only option, but how could he bribe a noble with only the meager amount of gold he had left, after receiving almost nothing in terms of rewards for the war effort? Fortunately, he figured he could siphon Rosaria's inexhaustible funds toward his mission behind her back. Good thing she wasn't too bright.

Until now, the only person Xal hasn't been able to confront is the man in front of him. But this was the opportunity, and just like in the past, he knows that Hero will slip up in times of desperation. Now, Hero, let your anger answer, who is it?!

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Xal waits in anticipation as Hero's eyes drift to the ground while he enters a deep thought. Rosaria keeps shifting her gaze back and forth between Hero and Xal, waiting for Hero's answer, not sure what to make of any of the revelations.

After what feels like an eternity for Xal, Hero finally looks up, his eyes more resolute and determined and his posture straight.

「I don't know who the culprit is, but, if your claim is true, then even more reason for you to let Rosaria go and come back with me quietly,」 Hero announces softly, 「When home, both of us can work on finding the culprit, together!」

Xal's face turns icy with ire. Is Hero feigning ignorance? Or did Xal not push him far enough? He must know who did it. If not, then who?! Who was left? Unless...

「Hahahahaha!」 another sudden burst of laughter escapes Xal. This time, however, his eyes lack the glints of amusement he was sporting the previous time.

「I didn't want to believe it. So it was you!」 he exlaims, his voice shrill.

On that day, during their adventure, when Rosaria randomly began talking to him after having previously ignored all men save for Hero. From that moment on, Hero has been consumed by jealousy towards Xal and the princess, despite having been told that they are just companions. With that in mind, who else would benefit the most from having him being gone?

Hero has made it clear that Xal is a thorn in his prophecy nonsense.

Xal feels his blood boil with fury. Hero is behind this. It can't be anyone else. How dare he try to feign ignorance? Is it the Goddess again?

Xal has never liked Hero. The only reason he tolerated being in that party was for the promised rewards, which, for an orphan like him, it meant a chance to change his life for good, to finally rid his dependence on that family, but here stands the man who has been blessed with everything without ever having to earn it. Favored by all, even the heavens, he's already living in paradise. And yet, he wants Xal to disappear. Nonsense.

「You know, I'm getting really tired of you and your goddess bullshit,」 Xal announces, flexing his muscles. Immediately, he extends his arm towards Hero and coils his fingers, twisting the wrist at the same time. Rosaria gasps with distress at the sight, 「No, Xal, stop! What are you doi— mghh mhhh!」 His other hand silences her with a grip around her mouth.

In a moment, a blue trail of fire emerges from his pointed index finger, before coiling itself around his entire arm, burning the sleeve of his shirt, and then firing off like a jet from his fingertip.

For Xal, the world appears to come to a standstill as his blue arrow of fire, resembling a snake, hurtles on, aimed directly at Hero. The troops behind are all already turned around, faces frozen in dumbfounded expressions, from when they realized Xal was casting a spell. The archers have already put out their bowstrings again, and are caught in the middle of nocking their arrows.

As the world starts to move again for Xal, Hero erects a holy shield with a gesture of his hand matching the speed of the snake-like projectile, naturally dispersing the fire as if it was nothing.

「Xal! I cannot believe you would unleash your magic upon me!」 Hero roars as he readies himself to leap forward.

Even knowing that he has no chance in a direct confrontation, the mixture of contempt and outrage does not vanish from Xal's face. In anticipation, he uses his hold over Rosaria to swing her in front of him.

The tears trickling down her cheeks and forlorn eyes reveal her sadness and disappointment.

「You would stoop so low!?!」 Hero's fury reaches a boiling point. Instead of leaping, he roars and swings his fist, smashing the ground to unleash an earth-shattering attack. The resulting force of air spreading from the impact crater is so immense it blasts everything away. The horses and carriages behind him all struggle to stay upright, leaning away precariously. The knights and archers are flung a few meters backward as trees bend and creak.

In front of the princess, a brilliant white, ethereal magical barrier appears from Rosaria's hands, enveloping both her and Xal. The barrier strains against the sheer power of Hero's attack, and Xal's captive squeezes her eyes shut in a struggle to sustain it.

After the blast wave and tremors subside, the dust and debris settle around, covering the people and objects all around in a layer of powdery brown-grey. Xal and Rosaria remain untouched within the barrier's bubble. After a moment, it also dissipates and the princess' knees become weak. She falls to the ground, causing Xal to let go of his grasp around her mouth.

「Xal, what have you done?!」 she cries with her face in her hands, 「This wasn't how it was supposed to be!」

Xal ignores her, his attention solely focused on Hero as his eyes burn with fury. He knows that he has no chance of winning this fight, but he needs to direct his hatred and resentment somewhere, and where best than at the person who wants to get rid of you?

Hero's troops are too stunned to react, some still picking themselves up off the ground.

With another hand gesture, this time using both hands, a blue blaze of fire erupts from Xal's hands as he points his arms downwards so the flames gather near his feet until they transform into a large serpent-like creature. In an instant, the creature slithers its way toward Hero and surrounds him in a great arc. Once the flames completely encircle Hero in a ring, the blue flame flares upwards, the intensity increasing as the ring shrinks.

「No, stop!!」 Rosaria wails as she desperately tugs onto Xal's calf.

However, with a mere wave of his hand, Hero effortlessly extinguishes the flames, leaving no trace of them having existed in the first place. He stands tall, and while his glowing gaze is threatening to pierce a hole through Xal, his whole body begins shining the same fierce golden light. Radiant silhouettes resembling two angels with wings suddenly appear at his sides. When they open their eyes, the rims around them gleam white.

Xal begins to scream in excruciating pain, falling to his knees, while Rosaria looks on, struggling to comprehend the events unfolding before her.

Xal's howls fill the air. With a voice of anger and betrayal, he cries out to Hero, 「You dare use that spell on me?! So I'm just like the Demon King in your eyes?!」

「You leave me no choice,」 Hero responds with a heavy heart, his voice tinged with sorrow.

The ground beneath Xal begins to crack and splinter as the power coursing through his body intensifies, his wailing sounding like a mournful requiem echoing through the battlefield.

Accused, cast aside, and now being deprived of his power, the same way the Demon King was, by the only soul blessed with that divine spell, Xal can only hope for the nightmare to come to an end soon. The veins on his body swell on the verge of erupting and his eyes bulge out, leaving his vision the color red.

Unable to bear the sight, Rosaria erupts in a scream,「Xalvari!!!!」 she quickly throws herself over him, shielding him with her body. As soon as she does, the divine figures beside Hero, and the man himself, all close their eyes.

「Princess Rosaria, get away from this madman, now! He needs to be punished!」 Hero commands with eyelids shut.

「The only madman here is you! Why are you doing this!?」 the princess asks in a blood-curdling scream, tears streaming down her face, 「Stop it! Both of you... just stop!」 she continues, her voice trembling and breaking and body swaying from gasps, 「This was not... how it was supposed to be!」