Chapter 11: CH 11

I walk through the still peaceful town, and towards the field of flowers on the hill where I’ll meet up with El.

It’s been so hectic all day, that I’m only now getting to take a good look at the town in this age.

(…It feels so nostalgic.)

Almana, the flower town.

It’s clear as day why it’s called that.

Every window and entrance is decorated with lovely flowers, and the warm spring wind blows away flower petals of all colors.

It’s hard to believe such a calm town is about to be destroyed.

But I know. I know about the tragic future that’s about to come…

(…Should I wait for her here?)

By the time I reach the hill full of flowers just outside of town, the sky is painted with an evening glow, as the sun sets into the gentle ridge line.

I move my head, and get a good look at this entire nostalgic town.

When I was a kid, I used to play here all the time.

El is here.

Standing in a field of flowers illuminated by the setting sun makes her look like she wandered out of a painting.

“Chrom.”

She calls out to me, and I stop thinking about this and look at her.

“Hum… Did I get here a bit too early?”

“N-no. In fact, sorry for calling you out here…”

“No, it’s fine. So, what is it?”

“There’s just something I want to talk to you about. I’m actually supposed to keep this a secret, but I want to at least tell you.”

I suddenly realize El is fidgeting as she looks up at me.

She’s quiet for a moment, like she’s choosing her words carefully, and then continues.

“…I am a ‘hero’.”

It’s the same thing I heard the first time.

“I’ve been told I’m to save the world… By someone important who came by our house.”

“…”

“Ha-hahaha… It’s hard to believe, right? I couldn’t believe it either.”

“…”

“I’m not strong or brave, and I’m scared of fighting.”

“But I was chosen by an oracle… They say that for the sake of our world’s peace, I have to fight the demon kings that are going to appear, and I have to leave this town soon to go out on a journey. This… Can’t be helped, they said…”

The first time around, I had no idea what she was talking about. I was just a kid who knew nothing.

But now I know.

“So before that… While I’m still just a regular girl, there’s something I want to tell you.”

El closes her eyes, like she’s mustering up her courage.

She grabs the hem of her skirt tightly, and starts talking as her small lips tremble.

“C-Chrom… I…!”

But then, I hear the bell of the clock tower, signaling it’s six o’clock.

The spring breeze gently envelops us and swirls, making flower petals dance in the air.

It’s like a page taken out of any regular peaceful day.

But I still remember this.

I could never forget it.

“It’s coming.”

“…Eh?”

The next moment, I hear a rumbling before the ground starts violently shaking.

“Kyah!”

El lets out a small shriek.

Flowers are scattered, and small birds fly away in panic.

It’s the sight that was burned into my mind that day.

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And just like that day, ‘that’ appears.

I hear a very loud noise.

A black wave appears from beyond the hills, and it’s coming this way.

But it’s not a flood. Upon closer inspection, it’s clear that things inside the black wave are squirming, like they have a will.

And this wave is headed right into our hometown.

“W-what… Is that…?”

“…A monster stampede.”

“Eh…?”

This sight is burned into my brain.

The goddess calendar, tenth day of the fourth month of the year one thousand two hundred, six o’clock.

The first demon king is born in a dungeon in a south western town of the Kingdom of Historia, named Almana.

And the monster stampede that accompanies this event runs through said town. One thousand two hundred and eleven people die, leaving only one survivor.

This is how the calamity that’s about to happen in front of me was described.

“Ah… Ahh…”

El is completely overwhelmed by this apocalyptic vision in front of her.

In the meantime, monsters are approaching this once peaceful town with vicious fury, and are about to end the hero Elluna’s story before it has a chance to begin.

If it’s like the first time, the stampede will hit the town in ten minutes.

“…T-the town… At this rate…”

I heard that last time too.

El’s power as a hero awakened here… And she abruptly lost her life.

And the only survivor was me, who did nothing but stand here in this field of flowers.

…If I grabbed her hand then…

I’ve regretted it ever since.

If I didn’t let her go, at least she would’ve been saved.

I was just a powerless boy, who had no idea what to do.

No matter how much I regretted it, I had no way to take back what I lost.

But now, here, I can do it.

“El, don’t go.”

I grab her hand.

“…Eh?”

El turns around with her eyes wide open.

I can feel her hand trembling.

“L-let go! I have to go back right away! If I really am a hero, I might be able to defeat those monsters…”

“El, calm down.”

“C-Chrom.”

El looks dazed, probably because I feel different than usual.

“Right now, you’re just a normal girl. You can’t beat those monsters.”

“B-but I…”

“You don’t have to become a hero or anything.”

“…Eh?”

“If you’re scared of fighting, you don’t have to fight. If you want to stay in this town forever, you don’t have to go out on adventures. You don’t have to carry that heavy duty. You don’t have to save the world.”

“B-but then… Who will save everyone…”

“…I will.”

I smile gently to try to reassure her.

The evening glow paints the sky crimson, and an army of monsters is descending on my hometown to swallow it completely.

As I stand here, watching what looks like the end of the world, I say what I was too weak to say that day.

“I will save everything from here.”

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