Whether You Call Me a Guardian Dragon or Not, I'm Going to Sleep

And so, the hero's life came to an end.

By chance, he had drawn the hero's sword and ventured into the world, vanquishing the monsters that threatened humanity.

He was hailed as a hero by others, and his exploits became the stuff of legends, spreading far and wide.

But in the face of death, even a hero is no different.

[So this is what death is like.]

The hero looked down at his feet.

There he lay on the bed, his physical body. And surrounding that body were the weeping children.

Watching the scene of them mourning his death was... a rather peculiar sight.

He couldn't even remember the moment of his death. Likely, he had died in his sleep.

And in that scene, the beloved sister's figure was nowhere to be found.

The hero's sword, Chloive Solais, which he had hung on the wall like a decoration since he could no longer wield it... had somehow disappeared.

His sister had said she would stay with him until the end, so she must have taken the sword with her when he died.

[I see, that's why she said she would see me again later.]

Indeed, his sister was the Goddess of Life, and she knew everything about life.

She must have easily recognized the length of a person's lifespan.

[But in any case, what now?]

As his sister had said, when a person dies, the Reaper comes to guide their soul to the Afterlife.

[The Reaper, huh...]

The god of death, a rather ominous name. But the ominous-sounding being was nowhere to be seen in the hero's eyes.

[Is it taking a long time for them to arrive?]

["Is that you, Hero?"]

Suddenly, a voice that was not human reached his ears from behind him.

A voice that echoed like speaking in a cave, But somehow, it sounded small and cute.

The hero's soul turned to look in the direction the voice had come from.

["I am the Reaper assigned to guide you to the Afterlife. Pleased to meet you."]

A small figure wearing a black hooded robe was addressing him. It was a diminutive Reaper, struggling to carry a large scythe on its back, with a rather cute-looking skull covering its face.

["Reaper?"]

["Yes, that's right, I'm the Reaper."]

["You look quite different from what I had imagined."]

["That's a common reaction. This appearance was designed by the Goddess of Life."]

Ah, it must have been the sister's taste. Even though she pretended not to, she did have a fondness for cute things.

This shape did seem to be something the sister would like.

["Ever since taking on this form, the Goddess of Life has grown quite fond of it. We're quite satisfied as well."]

The Reaper puffed out its body with pride. The hero let out a small chuckle at the sight.

["When you said you were the Reaper, I thought you'd be much more ominous-looking."]

["In the past, that was the case. I was bigger, and my head was a real skull... But the Goddess of Life disliked how gloomy my appearance and duties were, so she had me changed."]

["My sister really is quite willful, isn't she?"]

["Sister?"]

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["The Goddess of Life, I mean."]

At the hero's words, the Reaper paused for a moment, then spoke softly.

["Please don't refer to the Goddess of Life as your sister. There are many who revere her, and just knowing that someone called her 'sister' would anger them."]

The hero nodded slightly at the Reaper's. To him, she had always been a familiar, close sister. But to others, she was the Goddess of Life, the most venerable Goddess in the world.

["I'll keep what I've heard a secret. for the Goddess of Life has also told me."]

["I see..."]

The hero nodded again.

["Well then, do you have any final words you'd like to leave for your family? If not, I can guide you to the Afterlife now."]

["I've already said everything I needed to say to my family. They're not children anymore, and I think they'll handle the rest well. It's fine."]

["That's good to hear. Others often spend the whole night talking to their families. It's simple, which is nice. In that case, please wrap this around your waist."]

["This?"]

["It's a shadow rope that binds the soul. Sometimes, souls try to escape and not go to the Afterlife, so we use this to forcibly drag them along."]

The rope made of pitch-black shadows was a strange object that the soul could touch.

[I won't try to run away.]

[But it's the rule, and this will help us get there faster.]

At the Reaper's words, the hero tied the shadow rope around his waist.

[There, I've tied it.]

[Alright, then let's depart.]

As soon as the Reaper finished speaking, shadows spread out from the rope tied around the hero's waist, enveloping his soul.

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And what appeared before the hero, whose vision had gone dark, was...

[We've arrived. This is the gate to the Afterlife, located at the end of the world.]

A massive gate attached to a black rocky mountain.

[This is... something I've never seen before.]

[Normally, the living don't have a reason to come here.]

While traveling with his sister, he had explored many parts of the world, but he had never known of a place like this.

The sea filled with pure white ice, and the bridge covered in snow and ice.

This must be the northernmost end of the world.

[The northernmost end, huh... I never knew there was a place like this at the very north.]

The farthest north the hero had gone during his adventures was when he came to kill the poisonous snakes that threatened the giants' village.

But even then, he hadn't gone all the way to the end.

[Normally, it would take months of riding a horse to get here. But we arrived in an instant...]

[As the Reaper who travels all over the world to collect the souls of the dead, returning here is instantaneous for me.]

[To here? Can't we go to other places?]

[No. I could, but to collect the souls of the dead, I need to search all over the world. If I teleport and miss a dead soul, it would be a big problem.]

The hero nodded at the Reaper's words.

[Alright, then let's go down. Please follow me.]

[Since I'm tied to the rope, I don't have a choice but to follow you even if I don't want to.]

[There are some who try to untie themselves, you know. Anyway, let's go down.]

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And so, the hero stood before the gate of the Afterlife, alongside the Reaper.

That's when the hero noticed the inscription written above the gate.

[What does that inscription say?]

[It's a message left by the Goddess of Life. It says, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter."]

A warning for those passing through the gate of the Afterlife.

A warning that once a soul enters, it can never escape again.

And a warning to prevent the living from crossing this threshold.

Perhaps because of this warning, the gate itself exuded a sense of dread that seemed to gnaw at one's mind.

[Don't stare at it too much. It might damage your soul.]

The Reaper calmly pushed the gate open and pulled the rope tied around the hero's waist, leading him inside.

A passageway made of black rock. Stairs that couldn't be seen even an inch ahead.

[If I lose my footing, I'll be in trouble]

[Since you're a soul, it's fine. If you had a physical body, it would be a problem.] 𝑓𝘳ℯℯ𝔀ℯ𝓫𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓵.𝘤𝘰𝓶

Alongside the calm Reaper, the hero descended the stairs leading to the Afterlife for a considerable time.

It was fortunate that, as a disembodied soul, he didn't feel tired.

Emerging from the tunnel, a vast plaza spread out before the hero's eyes.

And at the end of the plaza stood a black statue.

[What's that?]

[The first guardian of the Afterlife, the Obsidian Colossus, Talos.]

The hero gazed at the Colossus, whose red eyes surveyed the plaza.

Its immense size and the powerful aura it exuded without even moving a muscle.

The hero had a glimpse of the formidable nature of the Afterlife, with such a mighty being guarding the entrance.

[He's strong...]

[Yes. Well, he is one of the guardians of the Afterlife.]

Compared to the monsters the hero had fought, no, it was incomparable to the level of power possessed by the Colossus.

[He was the first guardian created by the Goddess of Life when she made the Afterlife. His power is unmatched even among the ones who manage the different layers of the Afterlife.]

Though, he was already breached once by a cunning strategy, the Reaper added in a small voice.

[Alright, let's go down. We have a long way to go.]

The hero looked up at Talos as he passed by.

If it were him, if it were his prime self, could he win in a fight against that colossus?

If he had a sword other than his own, he would be doomed. With his own sword, it would be a 50-50 chance... No, more like 3 to 7. He would be at a disadvantage.

Of course, his adventure was with the Dragon's Priestess, so it was essentially a fight together.

If they fought together, they would never lose.

[Well, if I'm with my sister, I wouldn't have to fight that statue in the first place.]

That's what the hero was thinking.

[Enough with the strange thoughts, let's hurry and go down.]

[Ah, sorry. I got curious about that statue.]

And so the hero began descending into the Afterlife, guided by the Reaper.

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