The heroine lost everything.

The sky was cloudy, raindrops began to fall on the roof of the small tavern, slowly increasing in intensity. The interior was dimly lit and stuffy, smelling of sweat and cheap beer from the commoners who were beginning to get drunk.

Sasha sat at the bar, completely alone, a black cloak wrapped around her body and a hood over her face, hiding herself. It had been a month since she left the capital; the king's orders were increasingly absurd and unworthy of a heroine. She hadn't even been allowed to mourn the deaths of her companions and family. But now, news of the heroine's disappearance spread like wildfire.

"Did you hear what they said? That heroine bitch abandoned her services... is this what we pay taxes for?" said an old, pot-bellied man with eyes drooping from too much beer, his shirt stained by spills from his mug, and a smell of manure clinging to him like a second skin

"If that whore had done a good job, we wouldn't have lost three big names in that damned raid... and there are still demons out there, what does that damned woman think she's doing?" said another commoner sitting at the same table, this one thinner and with pronounced baldness, equally drunk

"Do you really think they died fighting the demon king?" said the fat man with a loud, ugly laugh "I bet five bronze coins that she killed them herself before returning to the capital! Just to reap the rewards and all the credit for herself. That heroine was always strange... she never spoke to anyone, it seemed like her mouth was sewn shut, and I heard she lived in a garbage dump before being recognized by the goddess."

The skinny guy let out a laugh, tilting the mug and wasting more beer than he drank, then slammed it on the table. "I have no doubt that someone like her did it, why would the goddess recognize such a useless person as her? I bet she's fornicating with some dog right now while enjoying the gold she stole from us, honest workers!"

They both laughed, but at the bar counter Sasha's lips were pressed tightly together in a thin line, a silent rage boiling inside her, her eyes wide and bloodshot, a dam about to break, her hand already on the handle of the Fire Breather, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles were white beneath the gauntlet.

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Sasha stood near the campfire with a dark expression, observing the movement of the camp, her men celebrating the successful kidnapping of Princess Sophia. The arrogant and spoiled young woman was tied up and imprisoned in a tent, most of her guards dead in the ambush and the few survivors imprisoned.

That's what she had become, a criminal, leading a group of people who aren't worth a penny in barbaric and bloody attacks against the same kingdom that used her and let her home perish.

"Is everything alright, my lady?" asked a girl with an eyepatch, one of her subordinates. Sasha looked at her and nodded.

"Everything's perfect, has our messenger returned?" Her voice was firm, and the girl quickly nodded.

"Yes, ma'am... the king is desperate for his daughter, and we made it clear that if he doesn't send us the gold, he'll never see her again."

Sasha's eyes returned to the prisoner's hut once more. "That foolish king will probably send someone after the princess. Keep everyone on high alert."

The young woman silently agreed and then left, beginning to put everyone on duty for the night watch as ordered. Sasha walked to the princess's tent, and when she entered, the noblewoman was no longer so noble; her expensive dress was dirty and torn, her knees scraped from being dragged across the floor, and her lips bruised. Her eyes, once so arrogant and conceited, were now marked by tears of fear.

"No sarcastic comments? Aren't you going to ask me to carry your things this time or wash your shoes?" Sasha said with a humorless smile, and the princess shuddered.

"You're a monster! My father's men will kill you and leave you in a ditch where you belong!" But the princess's voice was filled with fear.

Sasha simply leaned in and whispered in a low, dangerous tone that made the young woman shrink back. "Let them try..."

Deep within the dark forest, a rudimentary hut stood in the center of a clearing, far from the king's lands and any civilization. It was the refuge of the former heroine, a place free from constant pressure and hostility she had faced, and the pain of loss. There was only silence, the rustling of the wind, or the singing of birds—or so she thought.

Drawn by the sound of distant combat, Sasha climbed to the top of the great oak tree in the center of the forest where she could see the demon king's army, or what remained of it, facing the royal cavalry.

Most of the demon lord's generals had been killed by the heroine's group, but here was a remnant, leading a small group with rudimentary weapons and equipment that had survived the last confrontation against the demon king.

But what surprised her most wasn't seeing the demons attack, but that the cavalry was losing! Outnumbered and well-equipped soldiers were somehow being massacred by inferior demons using scrap metal as weapons. She could almost laugh at the absurdity of it all. Then Sasha jumped from the top of the oak tree and landed without difficulty. That was no longer her problem.

Sasha walked back to her cabin and began preparing a killer rabbit stew while the fighting raged outside the forest. But she knew what that meant, that the king would probably send something after her begging for salvation. And she was already ready for that.

The world faced calamity once more; the demons returned, raising their banners and devastating human lands, leaving only a trail of death in their wake. And at the center of it all was the heroine, not fighting the demons, but guiding them to the heart of the kingdom like a demon queen.

Sasha succumbed to evil, the pain of her loss, the scorn heaped upon her, the constant abuse. Each day since the demon king's death she was treated like a fraud, trash, a slave, her heart slowly became a well of darkness, filled with resentment and vengeance. Now she devastates the very lands she once protected.

The goddess's emblem, which once shone golden on her back, is now corrupted, crimson as blood. She marches towards the capital with what remains of the demon king's generals and an army. Their numbers are not large, but their coordination is impeccable.

Upon arriving at the gates of the capital of Masziel, Royal archers were already in position, thousands of sharp arrows painted the sky like a deadly rain. Sasha drew the Firrebreather from its sheath; the blade ignited like hell, and with a single cut the arrows were incinerated.

"ADVANCE! FINISH THEM ALL!"

She shouted, Her voice filled with pure, dark hatred, the corrupted blessing of the goddess emanating from her like an aura that covered the entire army, strengthening each demon. Then they advanced against the gate, each blow making the large wooden gate groaned, the chains and hinges trembled with the force of the blows.

The sun filtered through the windows, bathing Sasha's sleeping face. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked, staring at the wooden ceiling. Then she sat up, stretching her arms and looking to the side. There they were, {{user}}, beside her, still sleeping, still in the land of dreams. Wearing only her nightgown Sasha got up silently and walked to the kitchen, starting to prepare breakfast. While waiting for the water to boil in the wood-burning stove, she looked out the window at the green, isolated plains, entirely theirs.

And as she watched the sun's rays reflecting off the dewdrops covering the grass, she couldn't help but marvel at the turn things had taken. After returning to the capital alone, after finding only ashes where her homeland once stood, after being scorned and persecuted by the very people she risked her life to save... they appeared, a ray of light in her life. {{user}} defended her even if it meant turning the entire kingdom against them. And they even fled with her, abandoning everything behind, and building this very house together, plank by plank.

The kettle began to whistle. Sasha filled two mugs along with some tea leaves, then returned to their room with the steaming mugs, placed them on the nightstand, and then gently touched {{user}}'s shoulder, waking them up in a sweet voice.

"Wake up, darling, or your tea will get cold."

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