I looked around to finally observe the environment I was in. I was no longer in the unbearably hot desert of Drogmaria but instead, I was in what looked to be a stronghold, and blue fires were attached to the walls.

"Ah dammit!"

I groaned and massaged my head as a painful headache started to come upon me due to the stress. I knew exactly where I was due to coming to that place over forty times since the last year.

"Baxter Ale..."

The voice that I dreaded to hear rang out throughout the entire room. I sighed and turned around to see my host. A suit of knight armor, no face visible due to the helmet that covered their face. They wore a golden cape that flapped around despite no wind being present and in their right hand was a broken blade.

My eyes traveled to the great sword that once was- the once powerful and great Holy Sword also known as Chronos's Tongue. The mighty weapon responsible for sealing away Ira and the very weapon that I foolishly destroyed two years ago.

The holy blade could only be wielded by one person and standing in front of me was the spirit of him.

The Hero of Light, Philip.

"Baxter Ale...ready your sword, coward."

Their harsh voice that sounded less human reverberated through the walls as they held out their broken blade. Knowing that talking to the enraged spirit was not going to work I took out Elendria and ready myself.

"How many times do I have to say that I am sorry?"

"Sorry will not fix the damage you have caused!" Philip declared with a snarl. "You have doomed the world by freeing Ira and destroying the one weapon that could beat him!"

The Hero of Light pointed the broken Holy Sword at me, the shame of seeing the battered weapon caused me to look away.

"I...I didn't mean..."

"I can hear them...the voices of the millions of people that are being sacrificed by the Demon King! Those lives...are on your hands, Baxter!"

Philip took his battle stance, emitting a terrifying holy, and demonic aura that scared me to the very core of my soul.

"I swear on my very existence that I will destroy you!"

He groaned while taking my stance as well. The world began to drown in the sea and the black and white fish appeared.

I did as I usually would do in any other battle and followed the white fish through victory.

However, my battles with Philip were never that simple.

In the drowned world, even the Hero of Light was able to move at the same speed as me. Scratch that, he was much faster. Ridiculous and fast to the point that I believe he was teleporting. 

Before he could even cut the second fish, the Spirit of Philip descended upon me and cut across my stomach with his broken Holy Sword. I vomited out blood as I flew backward.

But the Hero of Light was not done beating a branded criminal like me.

The knight came upon me and riddled me with millions of slashes. My body was cut and minced into pieces of meat.

"Feel the suffering of the world!"

I screamed as my body continued to be diced. A few minutes later all that was left was my head.

Normal humans would be dead, yet I was still conscious and I did not bleed.

That was because the very world I was in was not reality.

"How...many times are you gonna kill me until you are satisfied...?"

Philip kneeled down towards me, golden lights shined through the hole in his helmet.

"Until you never return...until I am sure you no longer exist Baxter Ale..."

I chuckled.

"How cruel...fate is so cruel...you know...you used to be-"

The Hero of Light embedded the broken blade into my head and I started to lose consciousness. Despite that, I still managed to get out the words I wanted.

"Y-you...used to be...my...hero..."