If my memory serves me right, the Vampire King Reina mentioned something about three Heroes.
She also spoke of a prophecy.
If Kai's Book of Prophecy really lives up to its name, then I need to understand what she was referring to.
"What do you mean by 'Heroes,' and how many of them are there?" I asked, locking my eyes with Kai.
Without hesitation, Kai responded to my question as if he was waiting for me to ask it.
"There are three heroes: a swordsman, a spearman, and a martial artist," he said. "I could tell you who they are, but aside from Nero being the swordsman, I don't have much information about the others."
"Even with your Book?" I inquired, to which Kai nodded. "But how is that possible? I thought you possessed memories from eighteen different timelines."
"The truth is, I never made it to the end of any of those timelines myself," Kai replied with a despondent look. "As I mentioned before, I always died before accomplishing my goal."
Haah! And you were trashing me about not being much help in those timelines!
Well, I guess he was trashing Lucas not 'me,' but still!
"It is said that the world can only be saved when the three heroes unite and fight together," Hugh chimed in. "Individually, they can only delay the destruction for a limited time. That's why in this timeline, we focused all our energy up until now in search of those three Heroes."
"The Book mentions that we will find all three heroes at the Global Academy at this point in time," Kai added. "I was certain about Nero being one of the Heroes based on my memories."
"I mean, let's be honest, with his monstrous talent, it's not difficult to discern that he's someone special. In one of my lives, I heard rumors about a girl referred to as the Martial Queen in the Northern Continent. However, before I could discover who she was, I died," Kai replied, his eyes reflecting his melancholy.
"I see, that… certainly is a problem," I sighed.
To be honest, it's not hard for me to guess who the hero named Martial Queen could be.
It's obviously Anastasia.
With her innate prowess in martial arts and the power of God's Eyes, there's hardly anyone more suited for that title.
Of course, in this world, I couldn't be certain of my own shadow let alone something this big, so I refrained from voicing my thoughts just yet.
In the next moment, however, with curiosity brimming in my voice, I asked, "And what about the spearman? Did you ever encounter him in your past lives?"
"No," Kai shook his head. "He is believed to be the most crucial piece in saving the world, yet I didn't even find a single mention of his name in the previous timelines. Not even once."
As I was about to respond, Kai spoke again, "But I think I have a good idea who it could be."
"...Oh?" I raised my eyebrow after a short pause. "And who could that be?"
"Before that, I want you to tell me something. Do you think I should have done things differently?" he asked.
"Why are you asking me that?" I shrugged. "It seems like you are fully committed to following the instructions in that Book."
"Why am I asking you? You see, the Book of Prophecy contains many instructions, but there's one that supersedes all others," Kai informed me.
"Huh? What does it say?" I crossed my arms, interested to hear what he has to say.
"It states that when you encounter the spearman, disregard the instructions in the Book and follow him."
"....."
***
"So you think I'm the spearman?" I asked, finally breaking the silence that followed his answer.
"Yes," Kai replied earnestly. "It is most definitely you."
"How are you so sure?" I questioned, but in my heart, I knew what the answer was going to be since I had already heard it from Reina.
"Your description," Kai replied, pointing at me. "It matches the description of the spearman in the prophecy."
"Plus, if what you told Kai is correct, then you having a Phoenix is most definitely a sign indicating that you're the spearman," Hugh chipped in.
"There's a prophecy that states that the spearman will possess a Phoenix?" I raised another question.
"There are multiple Prophecies which state that… well, not exactly that, but close enough," Hugh answered.
"I see," I uttered while gently running my chin.
"You already knew this, didn't you?" Kai asked, judging from my lack of surprise or any reaction at all.
"Yes," I didn't try to hide it. "Before I killed Reina, she told me something similar."
"I see," Hugh spoke out. "Well, Vampires, Elves, and Dwarves – all have their own versions of prophecies so it's not surprising that a former Abyssal Vampire King knew about it."
"True," Kai joined in with an affirmative nod.
"So like, how many prophecies are there?" I voiced a question that had been pressing on my mind for a while now.
"Uh, like fifteen, I think?" Kai replied. "Many of them are in dead languages so it's nearly impossible to decipher them. So only five are actually of any help. If you are interested then go ahead, take a look at the book."
"But Kai–" Hugh was about to speak up again to retort his decision but Kai spoke first.
"It doesn't matter," Kai said, turning to face Hugh. "If he's truly the Spearman of the World's Edge, then it doesn't make sense to keep the Book from him."
"What if he's not, though?!" Hugh argued.
"Look at him! He has knowledge of the future!" Kai raised his voice.
"So do you! But that doesn't automatically make you a prophetic hero, does it?!" Hugh retorted.
Kai took a deep breath, seemingly preparing to respond, but before he could, I interjected into the conversation.
"I don't care whether you believe me to be some kind of hero or not, because the truth is, even I don't believe it," I stated, clenching my fist.
Then, with an even tone, I continued:
"My only concern is my own survival, not anything else. I am willing to sacrifice whatever it takes if it means I get to live. Saving the world is merely a consequence of saving myself. I am selfish, and I'm fully aware of that. The things that I've done... I don't believe they align with what a hero destined to save the world would do.
"But one thing you cannot deny is that with me on your side, the chances of saving this world of yours will increase exponentially."
A heavy silence descended upon the hall after my confession. Hugh gazed down at his feet, lost in deep thought. He was likely thinking about what to do next.
Finally, after a minute or two, he decided to end his awkwardly long pause and nodded his head slightly.
"Fine," he muttered under her breath.
Nodding back, I extended my hand to reach out and grab the red Book, but before I could even touch it, Hugh spoke up again.
"But before you touch it, I need you to tell me where you got your future knowledge from."
"Hugh, I already promised him that he doesn't have to do that," Kai interjected but Hugh dismissed his words.
"Exactly, you promised him, I didn't," Hugh spoke up, summoning his twin handguns.
"And what if I refuse to tell you?" I asked, preparing to summon my own weapon.
Hugh simply pointed the barrels of his handguns at me and spoke in a deathly calm tone, "Then you'll not escape from here."
