Chapter 321: Shattered Worldview
"What? What does that have to do with anything?" All Barry wanted to do was face the demon king, yet Kai had to hit where it hurt, saying that he’s not as cool as him? That wasn’t nice.
"It’s obvious that you’re jealous, man. And that’s okay. You don’t need to kill the demon king to prove yourself. Okay, maybe you do, because the whole point of being a hero is to kill the demon king."
"Exactly! What kind of hero will I be if I can’t even kill a demon lord? I’m a failure."
Kai had no reason to deny Barry’s words since it was the truth. "Exactly. But don’t worry, man, it’s not your fault. The church failed you, and you’re suffering for it. Back in Sarkylla, we have a Hero Academy, and the hero has to train there. After that, they are trained by the church until they are ready."
Barry sniffed, wiping his nose. "I know, you told me this already."
"I did?"
"You did," Nadya confirmed.
"Huh, well, you don’t need to sulk about anything. Besides, you’re also stunting your growth."
Barry’s face shot up. He was doing everything he could to become stronger. He trained every day, physically, mentally, and spiritually (mana), he prayed to Aquaphina every morning and night, and he was even getting extra help from Kai. So he wondered how he was stunting his growth when he was doing everything right.
"Stunting my growth? What are you talking about? I do everything I can possibly do to make myself stronger!"
Kai nearly laughed his ass off hearing Barry think that he was doing the best he could.
"What’s so funny, huh?"
"Dude, you don’t even have the right mindset. In order to become strong, you need to first break through the barrier that keeps you locked in your innocent mind."
Barry assumed he was doing everything right, so he didn’t understand what Kai meant.
"Can you explain?"
"Sure." Kai scanned the entire building to see if there was anyone here who hadn’t been killed yet. Thankfully, there was a person hiding in a secret part of the base, so Kai teleported them right in front of everyone.
"Ahhhhh!! Noooooo!! Please!!" The man shouted out of fear. He saw how everyone was slaughtered by the girls, and he wanted no part of that.
"You see, Barry, you’re weak-minded. You don’t have the urge to do what’s necessary." Kai smiled and tossed the man in front of Barry’s feet.
"This again?" Barry was tired of Kai trying to get him to kill a person.
"Yes, this again. You can kill animals perfectly fine. You can kill monsters perfectly fine. You can kill demons perfectly fine. Why not humans, elves, dwarves, or beastkin, huh?"
"We’re all children of the gods! Creatures of their creation! As a hero, why would I do something like that? Even you had to have understood this before you...you had fallen!"
"Nah. I slaughtered a whole noble house, and no one did anything about it because I was the hero. The people saw it as divine retribution." Technically, it was Kai’s girls who did the killing while Nadya got her revenge, but his point still stood.
"That’s horrible! They were people! They had families!"
"Yeah, and so did Nadya. That didn’t stop the noble house from killing her father, killing her brothers, forcing her mother to kill herself, and selling Nadya into slavery. Kyana was an adventurer, and her own Party robbed her, beat her, and then sold her into slavery. Sasha was taking a quest with her Party when their leader suddenly turned on them and killed all but two of the members. She nearly died, but I saved her and Stacy. Tell me, Barry, where is the goodness in them? Where is the touch of the goddess in them?"
"B-But...They just lost their way!"
"Answer me this, then. Has Aquaphina ever thanked you for allowing those bastards to repent? Has she given you some extra power? Has she given you a sign? Has she done anything for you besides claim that you’re the hero?"
That was a question Barry could not answer. Out of all the good things he did, the goddess never once talked to him. Yes, he has met her before, but for all the times he has sent people to jail or to the church to have them repent, he didn’t get even a sign of her appreciation.
"I bet everything is starting to click, huh? Let me tell you something. Aquaphina didn’t give me an amazing quest to help you defeat the demon king or anything like that. I said that to make you feel better. The truth is that she wants me to turn you HER vision of what a hero should be, and if you fail to do that, I’m to eliminate you."
Okay, that last part was a lie, but Kai just said that because he wanted Barry to feel the weight of the situation. Sure, Kai could hypnotize him, but he felt like it wouldn’t feel as accomplished if he did.
"T-That’s a lie! She would never do that! You would never do that."
"Heh, heheheh, Hahahahahahahaha!" Kai’s energy erupted like a volcano, swallowing the entire pirate base in his power. "You don’t know half of the things I’d do. Get your ass down here, Aquaphina, and set your hero straight."
"I would appreciate it if you could at least show me some respect. But I’ll let it slide since you’re parents are pretty scary." Aquaphina appeared next to Kai, or at least an avatar of herself.
"M-My Goddess!" As any person of this land should, Barry knelt in front of Aquaphina alongside Iris, Patty, and Cornelia.
The rest of Kai’s girls didn’t kneel. She wasn’t their goddess, and they weren’t from this land.
"Listen, little one. Everything Kai said is true. Every. Single. Word. I hate your softness, I hate how you try to make people repent, and I hate how you think you’re being the better person by letting these scum live, only for them to go back and do the same horrible acts."
Barry’s entire worldview was shattered. He could understand Kai or anyone else telling him this, but the goddess that he served? That broke him.
"If you do not change, then you will be replaced. You are a hero because of me, not because of how great you are. That can change at any moment. Remember that." After finishing her speech. Aquaphina disappeared.