《The Reincarnated Heroine》
The Final Battle
"It''s over, Lord of Darkness," a certain girl said as she stared down at the slouched figure in front of her.
The girl was no more than twenty years of age. Her long golden hair shimmered, reflecting the falling red sun as it fluttered, blown by the wind. Her outfit was one of modesty, her white dress neither hiding nor showing her averagely sized bosom. Its length also covered the entirety of her legs, though you can almost see an outline of her whitepanties if you stare hard enough, for it is somewhat see through. It was the outfit of the Legendary Maiden, created by Goddess of Light herself to empower his chosen to fight against the crawling darkness. The girl had to bargain with the Goddess for the design, as the original was too skimpy for her standard. She would be showing off her panties in battle if she wore that.
"He...hehehehe...hehehehehehehehehehe!" the slouched figure laughed. The girl''s pupils sharpened in response.
"Why...why must you be...such an insufferable girl...You were the one that saved me when I first...came into this world..."
"And that was my most terrible mistake. I should''ve known you were nothing but trouble when you peeked at me when I was taking a bath."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Ha...hahahahahaha! And I should''ve known you would be the one to end me! No other girl in this world is as prudish as you!"
The figure suddenly coughed up blood, blue signifying him no longer being a human.
"...Y-you idiot...you were only being manipulated by the Goddess...as I am by the God of Darkness...We should''ve joined forces and tore this world apart!"
"...Even if that is true, I have no wish to do it with someone as vile as you."
If you were to look at her face right now, you would see it filled with disgust. However, you would also see a hint of regret in those beautiful blue eyes of hers. Perhaps she regretted that she couldn''t have brought him to the straight and narrow path.
She gathered her holy power in front of her right hand, shaping it like a sword.
"Goodbye."
But, just as she shot out the sword from her hand, the blood the figure coughed turned into another sword similar in from to hers. It flew straight at her.
She had no time to react. She had run out of mana to cast her instant shield spell.
And thus, the two swords pierced both of them right at the same time.
Her eyes widened as the shock transferred throughout her whole body.
She fell to the ground, the last thing she remembered was the laugh of the figure in front of her.
And then, darkness.
Sara, The Village Girl
The next thing she remembered was the face of her mother.
Or, at least, someone whom she feels like a mother to her, since she looks nothing like her actual mother. She has a single braided brown hair instead of a flowing blonde one.
However, in everything else, especially in her motherliness, she was just as gentle as her own mother.
She couldn''t really shake off this odd feeling that the woman holding her was not really her mother, even though she should be since she was born to her.
Of course, she herself didn''t realize a baby couldn''t have such thoughts in the first place.
Her father was the total opposite of her mother. He was big and strong and gallant. Many times he would laugh loudly in the middle of dinner as he retold the events he had from work. And he was really proud how his baby wouldn''t cry even when disturbed by his noise. He had thought her daughter would be a really brave girl in the future.
"The perfect blend of my courage and your loveliness, dear!" he said triumphantly.
At merely one year old, she had started walking. At two years old, she had started talking. At three years old, she had started reading.
And, at six years old, she had already become the spirited girl her father thought she would be.
"Na na na na Tom still wets his bed!"
"What a baby!"
"N-no! I-I''m not a baby!"
Some said children can be cruel. This was a good example.
Three boys, aged around seven to nine, were teasing their "friend" of the fact that he still wets his bed at his six-year old age.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
The poor boy was slumped on the dirt, having been pushed down by his bigger peers. He was choking up, trying to hold back the tears that''s coming.
"What are you three doing?"
The boy looked up. At that moment, to his poor heart, it was as if he saw an angel descending from above to help him.
"It''s not a very nice thing to bully someone like that."
"Ceh, it''s Sara."
"Spoilsport! Spoilsport!"
The girl ignored their insults. Instead, she walked towards where the poor boy was and crouched, giving her hand towards him.
"Come on, Tom," she said.
Tom looked at her face directly, and his heart instantly skipped a beat.
She was cute.
Real cute.
Terribly cute.
Her brown hair curled a little at its end. Combined with her serious expression, it was just too terribly cute.
He already knew about Sara, played with her a few times. But he was never this close to her before.
"What''s the matter, Tom?" she said, confused on him staring at her.
"N-nothing! N-nothing at all!" he panickly replied. He could already feel his face reddening.
He took her hand, immediately noticing how soft it was, then with her help stood on his two feet once more.
"What a baby, hiding behind a girl like that!"
"Yeah, Tom is a baby! A baby! A baby!"
"I think someone who gangs up on a boy younger than he is is more of a baby," Sara responded. Her glare right now actually put fear into the boys'' hearts.
"S-shut up, you''re just a girl. I-I''ll make you scream just like I did with the other girls."
And then, before she could react, one of the boys lifted up the hem of her knee-length dress, showing off her pure white panties to the world. Tom immediately caught the fact that they have a really cute blue ribbon in the front.
If Sara were like any other girl, she would definitely scream out of embarrassment right now. However, she instead merely blushed a little before slapping the boy who did it right on his right cheek. And the force actually threw him down to the ground.
Seeing this, the two remaining kids immediately ran, followed by the one on the ground.
"T-that was great, Sara! How did you do that?" Tom remarked.
"I...I don''t know. I shouldn''t have had the strength but I somehow did it," Sara answered, looking distressed.
"A-anyway, t-thanks! I-I wouldn''t know what to do back there without your help!" Tom said.
"You''re welcome." She smiled a little, but that smile went through straight to Tom''s heart, along with the image of her blue-ribboned pure white panties.
And thus, from that day on, Tom fell in love with Sara.
Rivalry
When Sara turned seven, the dreams began.
She would see a pillar of light stretching on and on to the skies, up into the very heavens themselves. Amidst her a storm raged, turning the environment into a wasteland. Or maybe the place had always been like that; she didn''t know.
She would walk towards the pillar, having this uncontrollabe urge to approach it. But, always before she could touch it, she would wake up.
She told this to her father and mother, but even them had no idea on what it meant.
"A pillar of light in a wasteland? Hmm... sorry dear, I have no idea. I do not know any place that fits with that description," her mother answered.
Sara then asked her teacher at school, a middle-aged scholar coming from the nearby city.
"Hmm, if you want a wasteland, there''s the Akilon Wastes. It is said to be the remains of an ancient civilization that perished due to misuse of their magic," he explained. "No pillars of light or anything like that there though. If there was, there would already be hundreds of researchers and archeologists from various countries going there."
"Oh, and don''t even think of going there, child. It''s really far away from here."
Sara took note of his explanation. Maybe one day she would travel there.
Speaking of school, Sara entered the village school this year. Quickly, she gained the reputation of being the smartest and brightest student in the village. Combined with her personality that doesn''t really tolerate nonsense, like talking about someone behind their back for example, she quickly ended up not really having friends at all.
Well, except Tom that is.
Tom would always greet her every morning. And he would always escort her from her home to the school and back. She didn''t mind but she didn''t really understand why he would do that.
Of course, to everyone else, it was obvious Tom had a crush on her. Even her parents were on it, with his mother winking at the boy at times and his father giving him advices on how to win a girl''s heart. They had an opinion that Tom was a good boy, and they would approve of him if he eventually ended up marrying their daughter.
There was one person who didn''t like Tom getting close to her though.
"Hmph, what could he possibly see on her? She''s just a weird recluse," so she said.
The girl''s name was Helena, the resident queen bee of the school. Even though she was just two years older than Sara, she already bossed everyone around. That was one reason why she couldn''t stand her. She simply refused to be her lackey. And the other reason was because she beat her in class. She used to be resident honor student, until she came around.
But the biggest reason for the hate was that she actually liked Tom herself. She was fond of his meek nature and she thought she would be a perfect beau for her. And she thought he was really cute too, with his adorable little round face. She had dreamed many times to hug and smooch him.
She was quite the precocious nine-year old indeed.
She was the daughter of the local landowner, thus she could afford many pretty dresses unlike Sara who only wore her usual drab-looking garments. She also had a bright blonde hair that matched well with her colorful dresses.
And yet, even with all that, Tom only had eyes for Sara.
This little fact really bruised her huge ego.
One aftertoon after class, Sara stayed behind for a little extra lesson from the teacher. Not because she had to, of course, but because she wanted to. The teacher happily obliged her lust for knowledge.
Helena saw this as her chance.
"Tom, let''s go home together!" she said as she quickly approached Tom and grabbed his right arm.
"S-sorry Helena, I''m gonna wait for Sara," he responded while blushing. He was getting uncomfortable with how close Helena was getting.
"Aw, don''t be such a spoilsport! She''s not going to be out for at least an hour. Why don''t we just spend time at my house first?"
"N-no! I''m going to wait for Sara!"
Tom then broke off from her clutch, inavertedly throwing her down to the ground before running away, leaving a livid-looking Helena fuming in anger.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"...How dare he...how dare he treat me like this?! I, Helena, the prettiest girl on this village, thrown into the dirt like nothing? Damn you Sara! You must have use some kind of trick on the boy!"
"...That''s right. I know there are charms and potions that can make men fall in love with you. That witch must have used them on my poor Tom!"
The next week, when Sara stayed behind once more, Helena approached Tom, carrying with her a bag of candies she had purchased from the store. Of course, Tom didn''t know it was laced with a sprinkle of dispel potion water, or at least what Helena thought it was. You see, her home had an entire library full of various books, one of them being an alchemist recipe book. There, she found the recipe for a dispel potion. Being intelligent, and proud, she didn''t ask for help from her father or mother--not that she would ever disclose her crush of Tom to them--she ended up making the thing herself. She would sneak out and gather the required herbs and plants from the nearby forest and plains. At first, she was afraid to do so since she had never gone out of the village unsupervised. But she braced herself for the sake of saving her poor love from the clutch of the witch. Then, she would brew the potion in her room with tools she had from her cooking toyset.
Tom accepted it joyfully, being blissfully ignorant of her underlying motives.
She went home with a big grin on her face. Tomorrow, Sara''s charm should''ve already been broken, and Tom would be hers at last.
The next morning, as usual, Tom came to Sara''s house to walk with her to the school.
Sara immediately noticed there was something wrong with him, when he showed up with a big, almost crazed grin.
"Yo, Sara! It''s me! Your dear boyfriend Tom! Now where''s my morning kiss, hmmm?"
Tom came close to her and immediately leaned his face towards her.
"...Tom, did you eat something odd this morning?"
"No, not at all. It''s the usual bread. Come on Sara give me a--"
"How about yesterday?"
"Just some candies I got from Helena. Now, don''t be shy, girl, give me just a little puck here." He pointed at his lips.
Sara immediately understood what was going on.
"Wait here. I shall get mother."
However, before she could go back inside, Tom ran towards her from behind and flipped her dress so hard the hem flied off almost to her shoulders.
Her white panties were once again visible to Tom''s eyes. This time she had a cute green bow instead of the blue one she had a year ago.
"Ah, what a beautiful sight. Your white panties are the best, Sara!" Tom gave two thumbs up.
Any other girl, and Sara would have slapped or punched him right away. But she knew he was not responsible, so she reigned her temper. She just ignored him while she entered her house, a blush enveloping her cheeks.
"He should be alright now," Sara''s mother said.
It was one hour afterwards. Tom was now sleeping nice and sound on Sara''s bed, having being given a calming potion. Sara''s mother was an alchemist in her youth. And she knew right away the cure to Tom''s little personality change.
"Those sweets must have contained something, most likely a potion that increases your desire while negating your own self-restrain. You''ll just have to cure it with a dispel potion. He''ll be fine after a couple hours of sleep."
Hearing that, Sara decided to confront the culprit right away.
When she arrived at school, it was already break time and the students were all scattered doing their own things. Sara found Helena sitting with her friends having a conversation with a cup of tea underneath a big tree.
"Helena, how could you?" she said bluntly when she stood in front of them, "How could you poison Tom like that?"
Of course, this earned her weird looks from Helena''s friends who didn''t know anything. Helena herself however started to sweat.
"What are you talking about, my dear Sara?" Helena answered, keeping her usual sweet yet mocking voice.
"I know you gave him candies yesterday. Now he''s sleeping in my house, after being treated by my mother."
Helena''s facade dropped. C-could it be that she had misbrewed the potion and created a poison instead?
She quickly jumped out from her position, knocking down her tea and spilling its contents, and then ran as fast as she could towards Sara''s house.
"Wait, he''s not... ah, she''s gone."
Sara sighed before running after her, leaving Helena''s friends dumbfounded.
When Helena got to Sara''s home, she rushed through the front door and then to Sara''s room. She had been here once before and she still remembered the layout of the house well.
She nearly broke down the door to Sara''s room before she got to the bedside.
"Oh Tom, don''t die! I''m sorry! I''m so sorry!"
She then cried like she never did, complete with a pair of snot running down her nose.
Sara''s mother, who had been in the room all the time, quickly approached her, telling that his life was in no danger at all.
"W-what?" she sniffed, wiping off her tears with her hand. "B-but I thought he was poisoned."
"Indeed he was. But it was only a mental one. And I already gave him an antidote."
At this point, Sara had arrived to the scene. She saw her mother explaining everything to Helena, so she wouldn''t have to explain anything else.
She still needed to ask her something though.
"Why did you do it?"
"I-I didn''t intend to. I was just making a dispel potion to cure her of your love potion he had taken."
Sara raised an eyebrow at this while her mother sniffled a laugh, the latter already knowing what this was all about.
"Just so you know, I never made such a thing. Tom followed me around on his own will."
"Lies! I''m much prettier than you! So why won''t Tom like me instead?"
"I don''t know. Why don''t you ask him yourself?"
Sara simply answered her with such a straightlaced face that Helena stormed out of the room, feeling angry at how unfair everything was.
Meanwhile, Sara''s mother still tried to hold back her laugh.
Ah, children really are cute.
Thus, ever since that day, Helena would keep tagging along with Tom, even when he was waiting around for Sara. Sara didn''t really mind, but Tom found her persistence pretty annoying, but was too polite to say it to her face.
I would not lose to Sara! My persistence will pay off at the end!
Of course, this made her lose her status as the queen bee of the village, as the other girls found her odd for following around a boy like that.
Awakening
Since then, a few years had passed. Sara and Tom turned 13 years old, while Helena turned 16.
Helena was at the age where she should go into the more advanced school. However, there wasn''t any of such schools here in the village and she refused to be sent to the city, to live with her other relatives while furthering her education there. As you may have guessed, her reason for refusing was because of Tom. She refused to let him be with Sara all alone.
Helena was also aware of the changes happening to her body; how her breasts and hips grew. She was becoming a young lady.
She thought this would be the ace in the hole that would finally make Tom be hers. Sadly for her however, Tom didn''t really care for things like that. He was perfectly fine with Sara''s flat chest.
One day, a group of adventurers came into the village.
They were a party of four, consisting of the frontline swordsman, an archer, a mage, and the healer behind. They said they were going to the forest nearby, seeking to conquer a dungeon there.
When they first entered the village, no one knew what to do with them. The villagers never really met a real adventurer face to face before. They''ve only heard about them from tales brought from abroad. They only knew them as folks who would hunt monsters either for the adventure or to fulfill requests coming from ordinary folks.
Tom was immediately smitten by the lead swordsman. He thought he looked so manly with his big muscles and his giant sword. As any other boy, Tom always had a fancy of becoming an adventurer himself.
Helena however, fancied the mage woman more. She thought she looked so elegant in her mage outfit. And fighting with spells were the ladylike style of combat in her opinion.
Sara, on the other hand, didn''t really fancy one above the others. Teamwork was very important in dungeon exploring after all.
The group only stayed for two days in the village before heading out towards the forest.
One week had passed since then, and the adventurers were nowhere in sight.
It was possible that they skipped the village after they left the dungeon but it was unlikely considering it was the only village nearby in miles and they would surely love to have a rest after all the dangers they had braved.
"It''s the monsters! The monsters must have gotten to them!" Tom shouted.
Since this morning, Tom had really entertained this idea of his. He even rushed to talk about it with Sara even when the sun hadn''t come out fully yet and she was still in her nightgown. He would call for Sara from outside the house to her second floor window.
Sara simply humored him while still being half-asleep.
"I knew there would be a bunch of strong monsters in there! That''s why all the adults forbid anyone from entering the forest too far!" he continued.
"So?" Sara asked.
"S-so..." Tom stuttered. It seemed he just wanted to tell Sara his theories without any real followup. Now he felt dejected after seeing how she was seemingly disinterested with the whole thing.
It wasn''t entirely true though. Sara was just the kind of girl that did not like useless thoughts. Even if the monsters really got them, it wasn''t like there was anything she, or any of the other villagers could do. They were not fighters. They would just perish the moment they met their first monster.
Later that night, Sara had a dream.
It wasn''t the usual, recurring light beacon dream, which by the way had reduced in quantity the more she got older. It was a dream about a place that she very well knew about.
She dreamed about the village.
And it was burning.
She heard screams all around her coming from every direction. She looked at the ground to see her father''s bloodied body with her mother weeping beside him.
And then right behind her she felt a presence.
An absolutely evil, vile, and frightening presence.
She turned back and all she saw was a face, shaped like a goat head, with glowing red eyes, enveloped in darkness.
And then, she woke up, sweat all over her body, dampening her nightdress.
The dreams continued every single night since then. Sara knew it wasn''t just because of Tom telling her all those things about the monsters.
She talked about it with her parents and her teacher. Their response was basically that it was no topic a little girl like her should be worried about.
"That goat head must be the boss monster of the dungeon!" Tom said after she told her about her dream. "And he''s planning to attack the village after killing the adventurers!"
...Unfortunately, Sara could not dismiss that possibility.
Another couple of days passed, with Sara having the same dreams every night; each time the evil presence felt stronger and stronger, like an inching shadow looming upon her.
Sara knew she had to do something. But what could she do? Going to the dungeon herself to investigate? That would be too foolish and dangerous.
...No, perhaps it was not such a foolish thing after all. After all, she had something the other villagers didn''t have; that mysterious condition afflicting her.
Since birth, she had never been injured. Not even a stratch on her soft feminine skin.
And she somehow had strength that surpassed what an ordinary vilage girl should have.
A couple of months back she actually managed to beat her father in an arm wrestling match.
And she once slapped a boy so hard he fell to the floor.
Her parents told her not to tell about it to anyone else, not even to Tom. Of course, she obeyed. What reason would she have to doubt them?
"I believe you are destined for a greater thing, Sara. Not to just stay here your whole life as an ordinary villager," her mother once said.
"I am proud of you, my girl. No matter what other people might think of you, I would support you 100%!" her father once said.
And so she decided. She would go tonight, once everybody was asleep.
The first part of the journey was somewhat easy. She had been into the forest a couple of times with her father, so she still remembered the way. She just needed to reach the deepest point her father had taken her and then continued from there.
The forest was pitch black. No ordinary human could walk a step before tripping into some roots or vines on the ground. However, she was no ordinary human. She somehow could sense her surroundings without her sight, allowing her to go without taking a torch with her. The only thing she took with her was a couple of healing potions stored on her apron''s pocket.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
...One, no two hour had passed since she left the village. She had passed the safe limit of the forest that the villagers dared to trespass a while ago. Now she was in uncharted territory.
She could feel her surroundings becoming more sinister, as silly as that sounded to describe a forest. But it was true. She kept feeling she was being watched. But there was no use on dwelling about it too much since she couldn''t really pinpoint where the feeling came from.
And then, after some more minutes, or maybe hours, she finally found it. The entrance to the dungeon. She was amazed she found it without losing her way first. But perhaps that was because the dungeon was calling to her, or at least, that''s what she felt.
It was a peculiar looking cave entrance situated on a hillside. It had some sort of arch in the front. She felt the texture via her hand. It was rugged and she could feel characters drawn to the pillars.
The cavern''s walls were all made by the same kind of stone, also filled with graffitis, dim lights coming out from their surface. She could hear her shoes'' footsteps echoing. The place was eerily silent, even more than the forest was.
It''s a trap. They''re telling me to go in.
At that moment, she had a thought to go back, to just forget about all this, take her dress off, change into her nightgown, and then go to sleep.
But she had gone this far. And she was the only one who had the strength to do this.
"Grrrrr...."
She heard a growling coming from behind. Quickly, she turned her body to face the threat.
"A bugbear," she said to herself.
With her limited sight yet enhanced senses, she could determine that the creature slowly approaching her was the same that her father once fought to protect her during one of her outings with him in the forest.
"This should be a nice test."
As the bugbear launched itself at her, she crouched down before giving it a hard punch with her right hand on its exposed stomach.
"G-gaaaaaaaaa!"
It then flew away, crashing onto a tree before falling down, dead.
"So this is my full power. No wonder Mother told me to calm my temper. I could easily kill with this."
For some reason, this realization which should''ve shocked her didn''t really faze her at all. It was as if she had already known she was this strong all along.
The inside of the cave was, as she had expected, a maze. Being a maze was the basic prerequisite of a dungeon after all. She made sure to remember each and every turn she had taken, both to make sure she would not get lost and also to make sure that she had an escape route ready if things went wrong.
No monsters at all. This definitely feels like a trap.
After walking for some time through empty corridors and room, she finally reached what seemed to be the main room of the dungeon.
It was at least five stories high, as it contained a gigantic statue of a two-legged demon with a goat head and wings.
It was the very thing that she saw in her dreams.
"Finally, you came."
At its base a familiar figure showed up. It was the leader of the adventuring party, the swordsman. Behind him were the rest of his group.
"We have grown tired of waiting," the magician said.
"Now we shall awaken our master from his slumber," the archer said.
"Then he shall grant us our wishes," the cleric said.
They all said it with such a monotous voice Sara could tell they were being controlled by the demon.
...It seemed this was indeed a trap.
Without waiting for a single second, Sara bolted. She ran as fast as she could towards the exit.
"Foolish girl."
The magician casted a spell. Suddenly, Sara''s legs failed her as she fell into the floor painfully, head hitting the hard rock underneath her feet. No scratches at all however. She saw her legs had been tied by a chain with a pink aura around it.
So this is magic, she thought to herself.
She exerted every single muscle on her legs. And to her surprise, she actually broke the spell.
"What? Impossible! She did it with just her raw strength?" the magician said, baffled by Sara''s display of strength.
Sara ran again. But before she could get far, an arrow pierced through her back, courtesy of the archer.
"It didn''t go through all the way. That arrow had the power to penetrate steel. Just how tough is she?" the archer remarked. "No matter. She will soon fall to the poison."
Sara kept running, but she started to feel light-headed, both from her blood loss and the paralyzing poison spreading through her body.
But the exit was close! So very close! Just one more intersection and then--
"Too slow, little girl!"
A big hand suddenly appeared from the intersection, grabbing her left hand and then pulling her to whoever owned the thing. It was the swordsman.
"Our master controlled this place like the back of his hand. It was so easy for him to create a shortcut for his servants to use."
Instinctively, Sara tried to pull her hand off his grip. But his grip was like iron, for even with her full strength, she still failed to escape.
"You''re a feisty one, aren''t you?" he said with a sickening grin.
Sara tried to punch him with her other free hand but he caught that one too.
"Give up, young lady! You cannot possibly win against me!"
Sara wasn''t about to give up just like that. She still had another card she hadn''t played.
Her teeth.
She bited as hard as she could to his right arm, not caring on the disgusting taste of his sweaty flesh.
"Aaaarrghh! You little bitch!"
It freed one of her arms. She quickly used that one to punch his other arm.
"That''s it, I''m knocking you out!"
Before her punch made it to its destination, her head was the one who got punched first by his free hand. It was a full force punch. If she were an ordinary village girl, her head would''ve been off her body right now.
But, this attack only send her to dream land.
Sara fell, with one of her hands still in the grasp of the swordsman.
"Now, let''s bring you to our master..."
When Sara woke up, she was back at the huge main room. She could see her body being chained to a pole, by the same chains that bind her feet. She tried to break free the same way but the chain tightened, digging into her skin, the more she struggled.
"It''s useless, my dear."
She looked up to see the sorceress looking at her with a mocking smile.
"Those chains were conjured with my full power. There''s no way you can break them with mere strength like you did before."
Sara looked around. All of the adventurers were here, looking at her.
"Girl, you are about to meet our master face to face. Make sure to show some respect," the swordsman said.
Sara didn''t really care about showing respect. Even though she was in a bad situation right now, she refused to be disheartened. She would look the vile creature straight in the eye and told it like it was.
She then noticed a black fog coming out from the mouth of the demon statue, descending towards her.
Is that the demon? she wondered.
When the fog touched her skin, terror suddenly filled her heart. Her body shook out of fear, cold sweat appearing all over her pores. However, she still maintained her stoic look. She was a really stubborn girl.
Her sight were soon overtaken by the fog. All around her was darkness.
Then, from that darkness, a familiar face appeared.
"Greetings. I am Baphomet, the Master of this dungeon and the loyal servant of the Great Demon Lord."
The sheer evil aura overwhelmed Sara. Her dreams were nothing compared to this.
"Let us cut to the chase, shall we? I desire your body to be my vessel. Accept and you shall be granted the joy of being one with me."
"I have no wish to be one with you." Sara replied bravely, even though her voice shook a little.
"Don''t test my patience, little girl. I could do away with you if I want to. I will just have to draw another to this place and then slaughter them, making me strong enough to lift the seal placed on me. Then, I shall simply seek another suitable vessel in the world. I am very sure a lot of your kind will weep with joy for a chance to be one with me. You only live now because you possess the ideal body. The body of that of a Hero."
"A-a Hero?" Sara replied. It seemed she almost remembered something about that word.
"The strongest warrior of the human race. The one that slaughered our dear Demon Lord and snatched our victory away when we was so close."
Strongest warrior. Slaughtered the Demon Lord.
Those words echoed over and over in Sara''s mind.
I... I am...
"Now, what would it be, little girl? What would it be?"
I am... a hero... a hero... a hero...
Sara''s eyes turned blank.
And then, it all came back.
All the memories that she had in her previous life. All the experiences, good and bad.
Everything about how she became the legendary Hero and became the champion of the Goddess of Light.
And then, her body became enveloped with light.
"W-what is this? What is this light?"
The demon retreated, ordering his minion adventurers to kill Sara right away. However, before they could even act, every muscle of their body became paralyzed. They could not move a single inch of their body.
The chains binding Sara''s body evaporated. Sara then stood up with a stoic yet determined look on her face.
She approached the adventurers one by the one. First was the sorceress. Sara ignored her look of absolute fear before she gently floated a few inches above and put her hand on her forehead. The sorceress then fell into the ground.
The rest of the group received a similar treatment. One by one they all fell, their link to Baphomet severed by Sara''s light.
"May you rest in peace. I shall assure you that Baphomet will pay for his deeds."
Sara then brought the palm of her right hand towards the statue.
A gentle light came out from her hand, enveloping the demonic visage. It didn''t take long until it crumbled into dust.
With the power holding the place gone, the dungeon shook, whether in fear or in rage we would never know. It intended to swallow Sara within its belly.
Of course, it had no time to do so for Sara simply teleported out of the dungeon right away.
When the light faded from Sara, she returned back to look like a simple peasant girl instead of a holy being.
And a clean one at that since the light also cleaned up her body and clothes for any dirt or sweat she had gotten from the walk here or the fight. Her damp dress was now comfortable again.
"It all makes sense now. I was a legendary Hero in that other world. And now I have been reborn in this world. That is why I have this unnatural strength coursing through me."
And thus, from that day on, Sara has become whole again.
Saras Decision
When Sara came back to the village, it was in a state much different than when she left it hours ago.
For starters, everyone now was awake. They were looking around for her, at the request of her parents who somehow knew she had left the house.
Tom was the lucky one who found her first right when she entered the village.
"S-Sara? I-is that you, Sara? Hey, Sara! Sara! Sara!" he shouted loud enough to pretty much notify the entire village of her presence.
He then ran as fast as he could towards her. And when he knew for sure it was really her, without even thinking, he leaped at her and hugged her as hard as he could.
"O-oh, Sara! You''re safe! You''re safe! I had thought for sure the monsters had gotten you!" he said between his tears.
It was kind of awkward for Sara as Tom was not quite as tall as her. He was only about as tall as her shoulders. Indeed, it was the combination of Tom being short and herself being tall. Thus, his face was now crying right on her chest.
Even though Sara''s breasts were flat, they were not totally flat. They were still there, and they were quite sensitive. So the act of Tom rubbing his face on them sent out shivers throughout her entire body. She would''ve let out a moan if not for her stopping it before it came out. That would totally be embarrassing.
"I-I''m alright, Tom. Now could you please let go?"
Tom quickly realized what he had been doing. His face turned beet red before he quickly detached himself from Sara.
"I-I''m sorry! I-''m sorry! I-I didn''t mean to!" He apologized profusely.
"I-It''s alright Tom." Sara answered. "Now, could you please take me to father and mother? I believe they are worried sick about me right this moment."
"O-of course, Sara!" he responded.
Her parents'' reaction when they met her was first of joy and relief and second of anger.
"Where the hell have you been, little lady?" Her father said.
"To the dungeon, father." Sara answered calmly. "I have slain the demon ruling the place and freed the adventurers being puppeted by him."
"To the dungeon... Are you mad?! Do you know how dangerous that place is? Even the path there is perilous, filled with all sorts of beasts and monsters! And you say you actually beat them all and you even beat the demon controlling the dungeon. You''re either delusional or you''re lying, and I know my good girl would not lie so it must be the former!"
"No father, I am neither delusional nor lying," Sara replied. "I can do it because of the power flowing through my blood. I am no ordinary child. I have the power of a Hero flowing through me."
Sara then demonstrated what she meant by summoning a ball of light out of her right hand. Then, she shaped that light into a sword made out of light that she held confidently.
"Father, I have awakened."
It had always been a hard thing to see your son or daughter finally gaining his or her independence, where he or she would forge their own path without you. And this was exactly what Sara''s parents were going through that night. To see your ten-year-old daughter actually being this legendary hero from another world would be shocking for every parents out there.
"S-so, my dear? W-what will you do now now that you know who you really are?" her father said after hearing her explanation.
Sara fell silent. She herself hadn''t really thought on what she would do next. But it was clear that she could not be staying in this village any longer. It was impossible for her to ignore her calling and come back to her old life.
"Father, I intend to go travel the world. With this power of mine, I would like to help other people in need. And I would also like to go to the Akilon Wastes, to search for answers to my dreams."
Hearing that, her father burst into tears.
Even though he was the very epitome of a manly man, he was always weak in issues concerning his daughter. She was everything to him.
Her mother would have done the same except she was a more composed woman, just like Sara herself. She would not fall into tears. But you could tell the depth of her sadness by just looking at her eyes.
"S-Sara? Y-you''re leaving?" Tom said. He was just as shocked to see her declaration.
"Yes, Tom," she answered gently. "Take care of father and mother, would you? And Helena too. I believe she''s quite fond of you."
"B-but Sara... I... I want to be with you, Sara!" Tom replied, grabbing her hands. "I... I..."
At this moment, Tom realized what he was doing. But he knew he could not go back now. Not at this really important moment.
"I really like you, Sara!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Ever since you saved me from those bullies back then, I had been smitten by you! Your cuteness, your elegance, your little smiles, they''re all the best! So please... don''t go!"
Tom''s face was the reddest as it had ever been in his entire life. He gulped nervously, waiting for Sara''s response as he looked at her surpised face.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
And then, he saw Sara smile.
The world seemed to freeze as Sara put her hand on his head, patting it gently and kindly, like a mother.
"I understand, Tom. But alas, I am not the village girl you think I am. I am a hero. It is not my fate to stay here. I cannot possibly be a good wife for you."
"T-then... t-then I''ll go with you! I''ll become an adventurer! Then I can be your husband!"
"Don''t be silly, Tom. Being an adventurer is not an easy thing at all. You will get hurt and even die."
"I don''t care! I just want to be with you!"
Tom then leaped at Sara and hugged her as tight as he could. Once again, his face landed right on Sara''s breasts. He then started to cry there.
"A-ahn, Tom, alright alright if you want to go with me, it''s not like I could refuse."
Sara''s face flushed a little. This time she failed to contain her moan. And she could feel her nipples hardening on top of that.
Tom looked up; a bright smile on his face.
"Really, Sara?"
"Yes, really. Of course, you had to ask your parents for permission--"
"Yay, thank you, Sara! I-I promise I will train every day to become an adventurer!"
Tom then released her and began jumping around while cheering loudly.
"Hey kid, make sure you take care of her properly, or else I''m going to hunt you to the ends of the Earth. You get that kid?" Sara''s father said, still with tears on his eyes.
"Of course! I''ll treat her like she''s a princess and I''m her shining knight in armor!"
Sara couldn''t help but smile hearing that excited exclamation from him. Perhaps him tagging along wouldn''t be so bad after all. He was a good and innocent kid, exactly the kind of people she liked. She could train him in the combat arts and he would surely be determined to master her lessons.
She never met a boy like him in the previous world. There were some suitors that were interested in her but they all had ulterior motives other than just wanting to marry her because they liked her. But Tom, Tom worshipped her. She could not very well disappoint his faith on him.
...Hmm? Does that make her think he would be her ideal husband? Well, at that time, Sara didn''t even think about that.
The next day, Sara''s parents told everything that had transpired to rest of the villagers, including Sara and Tom''s departure. Hearing this, Helena panicked. She quickly went to Tom''s house to confirm it with the man himself.
"I-is this true that..." Helena panted due to exhaustion. "that you''re going to leave the village with Sara?"
"Yeah!" Tom answered cheerfully. "Dads and moms have already approved of me going!"
"A-and for how long?" Helena questioned, her face turning pale.
"I dunno. Sara says she wants to see the whole world and I''m going with her all the way."
Helena''s face fell. It was true. All of it was true. Sara was going to leave and she''s going to take Tom with her away. Forever.
She clenched her fists.
"Why must you only think about her? What about yourself? What about me?" she shouted, tears streaming down her pretty face.
"I-I can''t help it, Helena. I-I''m in love with her." Tom answered, blushing.
"What''s so good about her anyway?" Helena continued. "I''m prettier! I have more charm! My breasts are bigger and my butt is fuller! And I am also richer than her!"
She then took Tom''s hands and put them right on top of her breasts.
"Here! Rub them! See just how big they are! You can do this anytime you want if you just stay here with me! So forget about her!"
Tom was really embarrassed at that moment. He could indeed tell how big they were. And he didn''t even need to cup them with his hands like this to know. He could already tell just from the fact that they jutted out from Helena''s dress, which was why he always tried to avert his gaze from them every time Helena was around.
"I-I''m sorry, Helena! But you''ll never be like Sara!"
He then took his hands away before running as fast as he could away from her.
It was an utter defeat.
Sara had been given a map by her teacher for her journey. It was not a world map though. It only covered this continent, since humans rarely ventured outside their own continent due to the dangers present.
"You see, Sara, the other continents were dominated by non-humans, and we never really got along well," he explained.
First, her goal was to go to Riverside, the nearest city from this village. There, she would go to the adventurers'' guild there to go look for someone to train Tom. Then, after she had recruited the mentor, she would go via the common trade route to go to the capital. From there, she could go to the far west to get to the wastes.
Her teacher forbid her to go off the route, since doing so gave her unnecessary risk to be ambushed by monsters. And taking the detour would led to an easier time since there would be people to help her unlike if she just went off alone into the wilderness.
Sara agreed. Her goal was to see the world first and foremost. She didn''t feel like going to the waste to be an urgent thing.
"Are you sure you don''t want your dad to accompany you? A-at least let him to take you to Riverside!"
"No, father. I have to do this by myself." Sara answered.
"I agree with her, dear," her mother interjected. "I know you wouldn''t go home and end up going with her if you come along with her now."
And so the day of her departure arrived.
Sara brought with her a simple backpack, containing a spare dress with a couple of spare underwear and chemise. To her chagrin, her mother also made her took a couple of bras with her.
"Mother, I-I don''t think I''ll need this, with how flat my chest is."
"Nonsense dear. They will grow in time, just like your mother. And if you don''t wear bra when that happened, well, poor Tom wouldn''t be able to concentrate," she said with a naughty smile.
Sara couldn''t imagine her being as busty as her mother. She was never busty in the previous world.
She also brought with her some strings and needles, so she could fix her and Tom''s clothing if they needed fixing, since she could embroider a little. She also brought some healing potions, just in case. And some money, of course.
"Just remember, my daughter, that you would always have a place home here at your village. No matter what happens," her father said with tears in his eyes. He then lifted her before hugging her.
"I feel like it was only yesterday you were this cute little baby. Children really do grow up fast..."
He then put her down, letting his wife to hug her dear child.
"Eat well, sweetheart. And take care of yourself. And be nice to Tom. He really looks up to you," she said with a tearful smile.
"I will, mother," Sara replied. She felt her eyes watering herself. Even though they weren''t technically her original parents, they were her parents in this world and they had given all their love to her ever since she was little. And Sara was grateful for that.
"Thank you for everything, father, mother. Goodbye."
After saying those words, Sara ran. Sara ran as fast as she could away from them. She could feel a couple of tears wetting her eyelashes and cheeks.
She stopped after she reached the village gate. She wiped her tears off.
"Sara! Sara!"
She looked back to see Tom running towards her.
"Wait for me, Sara!" he shouted.
When he arrived right in front of her, he panted heavily due to being out of breath from all the running he had done.
"I''m sorry, Sara. I was late. My pops and moms simply wouldn''t let me go."
Sara noticed how red his eyes were. She knew he had been crying and he was late because he didn''t want to look like a crybaby in front of her.
"It''s alright, Tom. I cried too." Sara said with a kind smile.
She then pulled him towards her and gave him a hug. "it wouldn''t be you to not cry," she whispered to his ears.
And then, Tom cried. He cried as hard as he can.
Going Forward
The path to Riverside would take Sara and Tom around half a day to travel, if they walked at normal speed. They would cross through a simple plain in their way there as they descended the mountain where their village was.
Tom lead ahead cheerfully, Sara following from behind. He was totally ignorant on what he just did to Sara.
Sara''s heart still beat harder than normal. Her face was a little flushed.
It was because of him unknowingly touching her sensitive spots once again.
Of course, this time, it wasn''t really his fault since it was Sara who hugged him in the first place. But he had quite a good cry in that position and his movements rubbed on her two virginal cherries.
Sara just stood there until his cry was over though since she knew he really needed it.
As a result, she had to bear the tingly, embarrassing feeling for a good 15 minutes.
If she were to have a beef with her body, it would be this. Not how she had small breasts, but how they were really sensitive. It was the same in the previous world. Her body would get all tingly whenever anything even brushed with them.
To her embarrassment, her two cherries were still rigid even after Tom had stopped nestling on them. Luckily, they didn''t really show since her apron covered them. She could tell they were jutting out of her shirt underneath though.
At midnoon, they decided to take a rest. They sat down underneath one of the big trees that stood on the plains. There, the two brought out their respective meals from their bags, made by their respective mothers.
"Tom?" Sara started. "How about I teach you a thing or two about swordfighting?"
"Y-you can, Sara?" Tom replied.
"I can, a little bit. In my previous life, I''m more of a magic-oriented fighter."
After they finished their food, Sara stood up first. Then, she stretched her arms and legs as she smelled the pleasant breeze brought by the wind blowing through the plains. The breeze felt nice because they were flowers scattered all around them.
"Come on Tom, let''s begin. Pick up that fallen stick over there."
Tom did as she said. She then picked up her own stick. They both were about the same length.
"Now, attack me with all your might. I will guarantee you I will block every single strike you make."
"R-right! Here I come! Haaaaaaaa!"
Tom ran towards her, his stick raised high above his head. Sara didn''t even need to think to block such an obvious strike.
"Gah!" Tom said when his stick clashed with Sara''s. He tried to push in but he found Sara''s strength to be an insurmountable obstacle.
"Give it up, Tom. Strike from a different angle," Sara chastised.
He then did as she told. He took his stick and swung downwards this time. Sara blocked it once more easily. Then, he tried a thrusting attack only for Sara to flick his stick away from his hand.
"That was the weakness of a thrust attack. You either have to be quicker or stronger at your grip." Sara told him.
They then continued their mock battle for some time. Like Sara promised, she indeed blocked every single strike Tom sent at him. Getting desperate, Tom even used some punches and kicks, but Sara countered them with her own.
"Well done. Using the rest of your body to support your attack, not focused only on the swordfighting, that is a smart way to fight."
When Sara saw a large opening she could abuse, she immediately did, ending the fight with her stick right in front of Tom''s face.
"I-I give!" Tom said. "Wow, you really are strong, Sara!"
Sara smiled a little hearing that. "I suppose I am. But that''s because i had a lot of training in my previous life."
Their journey continued after a half-hour break. Sara estimated they would arrive at Riverside right when the sun went down.
Tom carried the stick around with him, pretending to fight an imaginary opponent all the way when they walked.
Sara was deep in thought. She now knew for sure that Tom wasn''t fit for real combat yet. He needed a real training badly, not just the one she could give her. She wasn''t really fir to be a teacher. She was born a genius at combat. She instinctively knew what to do and how to react in a combat situation. Perhaps that was a perk given to her for her being a Hero. She never knew the steps for an ordinary person to be good at a fight.
That was why she intended to have an experienced adventurer to be a tutor to Tom. But she wasn''t sure whether or not she could find one in Riverside. And even if she could, she doubted they would do it without a proper payment, which would certainly quite expensive and out of her reach.
Maybe she could trade her services for the money needed. With the knowledge and power she had now, she should be at least as strong, if not stronger, than the average adventurer. Such was the benefits of being a hero in your previous life.
"Sara, look, that''s Riverside, isn''t it?"Stolen story; please report.
Tom''s voice brought her back to the real world. Without her realizing, she had indeed arrived at their destination.
Riverside. A small-sized town built above the river that flowed from the mountains to the southern sea. Situated right in the middle, it was split into two halves, joined by a bridge in its center. It mainly thrived off the produce of the nature around it, from the farmlands across the river or the hunting grounds on the mountains. It also had a small force of adventurers to protect it from any wandering beasts and monsters that may come, though that rarely happened so they mostly helped around with chores and such.
"Well, what do we have here? Two kids coming from the mountains? You don''t have your parents with you?"
The two was stopped by a guard right when they were about to enter the city.
"No, Sir. We came here on our own. We both wanted to become adventurers, you see," Sara answered.
"You? Adventurers? Kids like you? Ha-hahahahahahahahaha!"
Tom looked at Sara. He clearly looked frightened. Sara signalled him to just stay quiet and let her handle the talking.
"We have lost our father and mother, Sir. And we have a relative in the guild that is willing to take us in," Sara continued.
"Hmm, I see... Sorry about your loss, kid. But life''s tough. So you just gonna cheer up. And I assume the kid hiding behind you there is your little brother?"
"Yes Sir. His name is Tom."
The guard then crouched in front of Tom before saying "Hey kid, take care of your sister. You''re a man, right? A man gotta protects their woman. Don''t be a coward."
Tom hastily nodded in response.
Satisfied, the guard rose up and said "Very well then. Just walk straight ahead and you''ll see the building."
Sara gave a little curtsy before taking Tom with her into the city.
"...Sara, do I really look that young?" Tom suddenly said after they were far away from the guard.
Sara took a glance at Tom. It seemed he really was dejected by the guards'' words.
"Don''t mind him, Tom. You''ll have your growth spurt soon enough."
The two looked for the cheapest inn they could find. And it wasn''t that hard since they were only two inns in the entire city. The name of the place was the Grizzled Boar, and the name was nicely reflected by the crafting of a boar hanging above its entrance.
Sara booked a room with two beds. Getting two different rooms would be double the cost, so she thought it would be the logical choice to make.
"M-me? S-sleeping with you in the same room?" Tom objected.
"It''s far cheaper that way. We need to conserve our money as much as we can."
"T-true, b-but it''s still pretty embarrassing to do..."
The innkeper guided them to their room on the second floor. It was a pretty standard wooden room in every aspect, with no furniture other than the beds provided.
"Now Tom, if you would be so kind to leave the room for a while..." Sara suddenly said, turning around to meet Tom.
"W-what''s the matter, Sara?" Tom responded.
Sara sighed. "What do you think that a girl needs to do in privacy?"
Slowly, Tom''s face turned beet red.
"S-sorry! I''I''ll go right away! You need to pee, right? W-well, i-it''s only natural since we''ve been walking outside all day long!"
Tom then quickly turned around before running out of the room as fast as he could.
"...What I meant was I want to change to my nightgown."
"Though I do quite need a bathroom break too, now that you mention it..."
The two then had their dinner in their room; a couple of bread Sara had purchased from the inn owner. Sara calmly ate her bread, disregarding its bland taste. Tom, however, couldn''t keep his focus on his bread, seeing how he was in the very same room with his crush, and she just had to wear her nightgown.
It wasn''t like it was skimpy or anything. It was a perfectly modest white nightgown, with little frills here and there to add to the aesthetics.
However, Tom couldn''t help but noticing how it was a little sheer, due to the garment it was made off. And just so it happened that he noticed a little suspicious light green mixed with the white color when he glanced at Sara''s bottom.
Sara, of course, didn''t notice it at all.
The very first thing Tom and Sara did the next morning was eating their breakfast at the inn. The owner took pity on them, seeing how they were just two kids, so she gave them free bread and soup. At first, Sara refused politely, not wanting to burden the good lady, but she insisted, thus making Sara relent. Sara never liked receiving charity, you see.
After that, they finally departed for their destination, the adventurers'' guild.
When they arrived, Sara immediately noticed the contrast between what she had expected the place would look like and what the place was looking right now.
The building was small, smaller than any adventurers'' guilds she had ever came across in her previous life. And there were barely any people around, unlike the bustling and loud adventurers'' guilds she was used to visit.
She did see some people dressed in adventuring attire though so she was reassured that this was indeed the right place.
"Good morning, miss! What can I help you with?"
She was brought out of her stupor by the cheerful sound emanating from the counter in front of her. There, she found what she imagined to be the receptionist of the guild.
She was dressed like a city worker, with a prim and proper dress and a hair tied up on the back. She was smiling, and Sara could tell her smile was genuine.
Sara approached her.
"I am looking for someone that is willing to teach swordsmanship."
Sara said it with such a straight-laced face that the receptionist had to secretly stifle a laugh.
"What a brave miss you are! In such a young age you already want to become an adventurer! And a swordswomen at that! Most girls prefer more magic-oriented classes like clerics or mages."
"It''s not for me," Sara answered, "It''s for him." Sara pointed at Tom who stood awkwardly behind her.
"Oh, is that your little brother, miss? My, he''s cute! How old is he?" the receptionist said cheerfully, not knowing that she had struck a nerve with Tom.
"He''s 13. Just like me. And he''s my friend. We''re not blood related. And I know 13 is the minimum age for apprenticeship."
"Him? 13? My, he looks 10 to me!"
Tom''s face flushed. He just wanted to be swallowed down to the ground now.
It''s not fair! It''s not my fault I am born with a small, boyish body! - he said to himself.
"It doesn''t matter anyway, miss," the receptionist continued, "There''s no one willing to teach him here. In fact, there''s no teacher at all. Here, our presence is pretty small so we only have a couple of adventurers around and they''re full with their own jobs."
Sara fell silent. She had already suspected something like this could happen.
This would mean they would have to go to another city to get their teacher. And on the way, there would be a chance they would end up in a battle, either against monsters or bandits and the like.
"Then, can I take some books from your library about swordfighting instead?"
"Hmm... sure. But it will cost you, my dear."
At noon, Sara left with her pocket nearly empty and her hand holding a book. She only ends up buying the introductory book on swordfighting since she figures it would be enough for now. And it wasn''t like she had loads of money with her. And carrying a lot of books around would be a chore.
"So, you''ll be my teacher, Sara?" Tom asked, his eyes glimmering.
"Yes, Tom. I''ve told you already. I will be your teacher, at least for the time being," Sara answered matter-of-factly.
"Woohoo! I have the best teacher in the world then!"
"Oh, don''t be silly, Tom. I know nothing about teaching."
"But you are so good at swordfighting! I could never hit you!"
"I suppose I am. But I can''t really teach it to you. I don''t really understand it myself. It''s like... an instinct to me."
"Hmm, must be your power as the hero then!" Tom grinned.
Sara smiled softly. At that moment, Tom made her remember of her little sister in the previous world. On how she reacted when she saw her with the power given to her by the Goddess.
Her heart ached,