The cheers shook the arena long after Aurelius lay unconscious, his sword shattered, his pride broken. The people of Solare had witnessed the impossible: their "chosen" hero had fallen, and in his place stood the exile they once mocked, scarred by betrayal but blazing with newfound strength.
The king's herald stepped forward, voice booming across the coliseum:
"By the will of the people and the proof of combat, the Empire declares Kaito the new Hero of Solare!"
The crowd erupted in chants of his name. Nobles forced applause through gritted teeth, while commoners screamed with raw hope. The nation hung in suspense, waiting for Kaito to kneel and claim the mantle.
But Kaito did not kneel.Instead, he raised his head slowly, eyes calm, voice cutting through the frenzy.
"I am no hero."
Silence fell. His words echoed against stone and steel.
"I know what it means to be trampled beneath boots of privilege. To be cast aside, not for weakness, but because my birth was not gilded with a title. You call me hero now because I triumphed — but where were your praises when I was spat on, betrayed, abandoned in the dungeon like an animal? You didn't see a hero then. You saw a nuisance. A mistake."
His hand clenched, not in rage, but conviction.
"I do not want your crown. I will not stand on your pedestal, leashed by your nobles and laws. What I desire is freedom — and justice. I will work to tear out the corruption that festers in your courts and guilds, to build a Solare where a child of the gutter can stand shoulder to shoulder with a noble, unafraid."
Murmurs spread like wildfire. Some nobles turned pale; others sneered. The commoners, wide-eyed, listened as if drinking in every syllable.
"I will protect this kingdom… but not as your hero. Heroes wear chains — gilded chains, perhaps, but chains all the same. I am no hero. I am a victim who refuses to remain broken. I am power unbound by throne or council. And I will make this power useful — for the people, in ways none of you can control."
He turned his back to the stunned king, cloak swirling like shadow and flame.
"Remember this well: I will protect Solare… but I will do it my way. From the shadows, from behind the scenes. Where your 'heroes' dare not tread."
The dragonling at his side hissed, eyes burning like embers. The crowd erupted again, half in adoration, half in fear. To some, he was a savior. To others, a threat. But to all, he was unforgettable.
Kaito walked out of the coliseum not as the Hero of Solare, but as something far more dangerous — a vigilante forged by betrayal, crowned in flame, and free at last.