I WAS The Rank–1 Hero

BAAANG—!

A ball of fire, the size of a car, crashed onto the mansion's roof out of nowhere.

With a single, deafening impact, it obliterated half the structure.

Stone and wood split apart. And the walls collapsed.

Bodies were buried beneath the rubble, and the wailing of children pierced every soul who watched as all this happened.

"TAKE COVER!!"

The standby guards reacted.

"BRING ALL WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO SAFETY!!"

The guards screamed at the top of their lungs, running everywhere, searching for souls who had survived.

"THE HEROES WILL SOON BE HERE!"

The guards who survived the impact gathered the survivors.

However, there were none.

The maids, who were tasked to be with the noble children, were crushed alongside them.

"T—This can't be happening…"

How can this have happened?

They were all fine just a moment ago… how did things turn out like this?

House Gravewood, the noble house of the [Stormshade] kingdom, once stood at the top, now… It's crumbled into mere rubble.

"They… they are all dead."

The chief guard turned to the young man beside him.

"Shun. Help the others. Find the young miss."

Shun froze. His voice trembled.

"B-But sir… I don't think anyone in the house survi—"

"GO!" the chief barked.

Shun didn't argue. He clenched his fists and charged deeper into the ruins.

Amid the wreckage and screams, deeper in the shattered remains, a young girl's bruised body was trapped beneath a bent metal beam.

"…cough… cough…" The young girl coughed helplessly.

Darkness loomed around her—she couldn't even see what had fallen on her.

She tried to move her body, but she failed.

"I… I can't… move…"

She tried again. But the outcome remained the same.

Eventually, she gave up.

"Nnnh… it… hurts…"

"B-Brother…"

She pleaded for help, calling out to her twin brother—the one who'd been right beside her just a moment ago, before something heavy came crashing down on them.

"Please… someone… it's hurt…"

She couldn't feel anything below her waist. It was as if her entire lower body had gone numb—half-paralyzed.

"Brother…"

He was the only one truly dear to her. Her mother and father were there too, of course, but they were always wrapped up in politics. Not by choice, perhaps—being the heads of House Gravewood came with its burdens.

But unlike them, her brother always made time for her. Whenever she called, he came running. Whenever she needed something, he was there.

He supported her. And so did she.

"Brother…!" She called a little louder. But… no one came.

"It hurts… please come… please save me… please… be alright…"

Unable to help herself, she began to cry.

"Sniff… sniff…"

Not long after, she heard someone shouting her name from beyond the rubble.

"Young Miss!"

The voice was familiar.

It belonged to her guard—Shun.

"I… I'm here…" she tried to scream, but her voice was too weak. It didn't reach him.

Shun called out again.

"Miss Emily, can you hear me?"

This time, Emily didn't scream.

She knew it was pointless. She was buried too deep.

So instead… she released her Essence into the air. Hoping—praying—that Shun would sense it.

After all, every guard of House Gravewood was trained to recognize their master's Essence signature.

Closing her eyes, Emily focused on her Wind Essence…And let a great surge of it flow out from her body.

"Did you find Miss Emily or Sir Sebastian?"

The guards were discussing outside. Emily could feel the panic in their voices.

Shun answered, "Not yet—"

But just as he turned to speak to the other guards, an intense surge of familiar Essence flared from the left.

"…!"

"…!"

All the guards snapped to attention.

"I… am… here…!" Emily's voice finally reached their ears.

"OVER THERE!"

One of the guards pointed at a large heap of rubble, where metal beams and collapsed roofing were tangled together.

They rushed toward the spot.

"You," Shun gave a quick command to one of them, "call the chief—tell him we've found the young miss. The rest of you, prepare the wind sheet. We'll lift this whole section at once."

Everyone nodded without hesitation.

There was no time to waste—who knew what condition the young miss was even in?

They surrounded the fallen structure. Exchanging glances, Shun began.

"AT ONCE!"

[Wind Sheet]

A thin, concentrated layer of air current flowed beneath the wreckage, lifting scattered wood, stone, and twisted metal all at once.

As the rubble cleared, moonlight fell on Emily's face. Only her face was visible—her body was still trapped beneath.

"WE FOUND HER!"

The guards let out a breath of relief upon seeing Emily alive.

"She's still stuck—get her out!"

Two of them rushed to free her, while others scanned the area, searching for any trace of Sebastian—the young master.

It took ten minutes to pull Emily out.

"Careful."

"She's safe now."

They gently placed her against a half-fallen wall nearby—one of the few parts still intact.

Her back rested against it as, for the first time, she looked around at the devastation.

The destruction that had reduced her home to this…

What had caused it?

No one knew.

But one thing was certain—whoever did this was not human.

And the first thing Emily asked was...

"Did you find my brother?"

"No, young miss."

Hearing that, she panicked.

She forced herself to believe he was alright. He wasn't the type to die so easily. After all, she had survived—so it was only natural that her brother, Sebastian, who was far more talented than her, had survived too.

"Please, find him." Clenching her fist, she pleaded.

The guards exchanged glances. Not out of pity, but because she hadn't asked about her parents.

All she cared about… was her brother.

They searched for her brother, but they found nothing.

In the process, they recovered the half-squashed bodies of Emily's parents and her cousins.

The news of their finding was reported to Emily, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

How cruel can she be?

An hour passed, but the search for Sebastian didn't stop.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THE HEROES?!"

The chief guard roared in frustration.

The heroes were supposed to have arrived by now, but not a single one had shown up so far. They only had a dozen guards left at the moment, the rest still buried beneath the rubble, and in a situation like this, what they needed most was a helping hand.

"Hey, you," he turned to one of the guards, "contact the Hero Association once again."

The guard followed his command and sent an SOS to them.

Not long after, a response came.

Reading it, the guard's eyes widened in anger.

The chief noticed. "What happened?"

He read it too—and cursed under his breath.

"Damn you, Markus. Even in a situation like this..."

Emily, who had been watching all of this quietly, asked curiously, "What did they say?"

The chief guard answered, "They said that most of the heroes were stationed near the Demon Continent."

"So?" Emily's eye twitched. "Did they refuse to send any help?"

"No, young miss."

"Then what?"

The chief guard responded, clenching his fist tightly, "They… they only deployed one hero, and that too, their new recruit."

"Bastards. They are a bunch of bastards."

At that moment, she recalled one of Sebastian's words.

"Do not believe in the Hero Association; they're monsters hiding in human clothes."

"He was right," Emily muttered.

DOOOM—!

Before anyone could react, an earth-chilling power engulfed everyone's heart.

W-What's happening?! Emily was out of words—her lips refused to open.

A bright light flashed from above.

Emily's eyes widened.

It was a fireball, the size of a house, heading straight toward them from the sky.

"Again…" someone muttered.

The guards didn't move. Their bodies refused to move.

They knew there was no more running from whatever that thing was.

They just stared at it—completely blank—accepting their fate.

Emily closed her eyes.

If only I had seen brother for the last time. She was thinking about him, even in this situation.

The fireball drew closer.

Even with their eyes closed, they could still see the light, and they could feel the intense burn crawling against their skin.

Exactly what was that thing? And where was it even coming from?

They would all die without ever knowing the answer.

RUMBLE—!

But suddenly, the light vanished, and the intense burn disappeared.

"W-What happened?" someone whispered.

"Did we die? Is this the afterlife? What kind of death is painless…?"

Emily opened her eyes too, but unlike the others—who were busy checking themselves—her gaze landed on a lone figure floating in the sky.

It was a young boy, about her age. Nearly white hair, piercing eyes, and a weapon that stood out more than anything else.

"Hey, over there!" The guards noticed him too.

"Did he save us?"

"Wait… it's a small kid."

The figure in the air drew closer to the ground—closer to Emily.

They were only a meter apart.

"Hey, don't get too close to our young miss," Shun—the guard—pointed his gun at him.

But he was ignored.

And up close, Emily finally saw his face clearly.

A face devoid of emotion. A face that screamed loneliness and pain.

He was staring directly at her.

"Are you Emily Gravewood?" the young boy asked.

His voice was cold. Almost murderous.

Emily hesitated, but knowing that this boy in front of her had just saved her life, she simply nodded.

The young man landed in front of her.

He scanned her from head to toe in a single, quiet glance.

Emily startled slightly, but she managed to hold her composure.

Who is this guy? she wondered.

"The Hero Association sent me to help you," the boy said.

"Hero Association?" Emily was confused for a moment—and so were all the guards.

A young boy like him… from the Hero Association?

None of them believed it.

"Wh—"

DOOOOM—!

Another light, just like the one before, came blazing down from the sky.

But this time, the boy turned.

His eyes locked on the source, and with a single swoosh—he split the light in two.

Silence. Stunned.

"I'm here to save you all," the boy said again.

"W-Who are you?" Emily couldn't help but ask.

The boy turned to her and answered, expression unchanged,

"Hope. Call me Hope."

"…Hope," Emily repeated softly.

The moment she said that name, her vision blurred—And then everything went dark.

With a jolt, she woke up—staring at the ceiling of a cave lit by a bonfire.

She turned her head and saw a boy sitting right next to her.

For some reason… that boy's face reminded her of him.

Except for the hair and eyes, everything else was the same.

…

"Hey, you woke up," I said, noticing Emily staring at me.

Parting her lips, Emily muttered while still looking at me—

"Hope."

My eyes widened the moment I heard that name.