Chapter 269: A Failure Of A Hero
After finishing, Nyx held her breath, while Luca stared at her for a long uncomfortable moment.
His expression was unreadable—not angry, but intense.
And Nyx felt like she was being examined, dissected, laid bare in a way that had nothing to do with her nakedness.
She couldn’t bear to hold his gaze. She looked down, her cheeks flushing.
"Nyx." Luca finally said slowly. "You know this is blackmail, right? You’re blatantly blackmailing me. Threatening me into this position."
Nyx let out an awkward chuckle.
"I know, Hero. But just like I told you last time—I’m desperate. I’m desperate to save everyone."
"I had no other choice but to use such underhanded methods."
She looked down, genuinely apologetic.
"I’m sorry for forcing you into this. You probably don’t like me very much for it." She looked up at him, her eyes sad. "But I really had no choice."
Hearing her sisters take the brunt of it, Leona stepped forward.
"It’s not just Nyx’s decision, Luca. It’s mine too! We have no choice but to do this!"
Lulu bounced on her heels. "Me too! I support it wholeheartedly!"
Luna nodded. "It’s not just us. It’s everyone here. We’re all responsible for this decision!"
And then, one by one, the other elves began to speak.
"Me too! I want this as well!"
"Don’t blame Nyx—she’s always fighting for us!"
"Please, Hero, don’t be angry at her!"
"Don’t be angry at any of us! We all agreed to this!"
The voices rose, overlapping, desperate. Nyx stood at the center of it, her eyes glistening, her hands clenched at her sides.
She had fought so hard for this, for them. And now, seeing them stand with her, she felt a surge of emotion she couldn’t name.
And just then—Luca raised his hand.
Silence fell instantly. The women held their breath, waiting.
Luca looked around at them—at their anxious faces, their trembling bodies, their hopeful eyes.
Then he smiled.
"You don’t have to worry." He said. "I’m not mad at Nyx."
He then turned to Nyx, who was still tense, still nervous. He put a hand on her shoulder—and then, to everyone’s surprise, he reached down and twisted her nipple right there in front of everyone.
Nyx yelped, then blushed furiously.
But she didn’t push him away. She just looked at him with shy, grateful eyes as Luca lovingly said,
"After all, like I said before, it’s impossible to be mad at someone with such a seductive body."
Hearing this playful comment, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
But then his expression grew serious again.
He pulled his hand back and stepped away, his gaze sweeping over the gathered women.
"But...becoming the father of an entire village?"
He shook his head slowly.
"I don’t know what to say to that."
He stepped back, creating distance between them.
"Just give me a moment to think about it."
A heavy silence fell. The women exchanged uneasy glances.
Luca was normally so decisive, so certain.
So, the fact that he was hesitating, that he needed time to think, felt like a bad omen.
Like he was going to reject them.
Despair began to creep into their hearts. Nyx, who had been so confident, so determined, felt her eyes sting with tears.
Was this really going to end like this? After everything they had done—after all their resolve, all their bravery—was he going to say no?
"Please." She whispered, barely audible. "Please, Hero..."
She didn’t know what she was begging for. Time? Answers? Hope?
She just knew she couldn’t bear to lose him. Not now. Not when they had come so far.
—
Luca stood apart from them, his back turned, his shoulders tense. He looked like a man carrying the weight of the world and perhaps he was.
But more than anything, what Luca felt right now was a deep, gnawing shame.
Shame at how weak he was.
Shame at how hypocritical he had become.
After all, he was the one who always urged others to break out of their shells.
He had pushed Leona to confess the truth, to stop fearing the consequences.
He had encouraged Luna to speak to her mother, to bridge the gap that had separated them for so long.
He had practically forced Lulu to eat chicken—a silly thing to some, but for her, an impossible feat.
And she had done it. She had broken through her fear.
And it wasn’t just them. Every single elf standing before him, trembling and naked and humiliated, had found the resolve to smash through their own fears.
They had followed his advice. They had become brave.
Everyone around him was following the very advice he had preached to them.
...Everyone except him.
Because Luca himself...
Was still trapped in the past.
Still chained down by fear.
Still running away.
And that realization disgusted him.
His hands trembled slightly and he lowered his head.
"...Pathetic."
The word escaped his lips quietly.
Because how could he tell everyone else to overcome their fears...
When he himself couldn’t do the same?
How could he preach courage...
While hiding like a coward?
He honestly felt worse than Julius in that moment.
At least Julius had openly embraced what he was.
But Luca?
He pretended to be strong.
Pretended to be someone who could guide others.
Yet the moment it came to this—
He completely fell apart.
And the worst part?
He couldn’t help it.
Ever since Nyx had spoken to him that night...
Ever since she brought up children...
He had been thinking about it constantly.
Over.
And over.
And over again.
He imagined it.
A child.
Small hands.
A tiny smile.
Watching someone’s belly swell over time.
Holding his own child one day.
Creating a family.
Creating life.
He tried.
He truly tried to accept the idea.
To force himself to envision that future.
To normalize it in his head.
But every single time—
Without fail—
He broke down.
His breathing would become erratic.
His body would shake violently.
Sweat would pour down his skin.
His head would split apart with migraines so painful that even someone like him struggled to endure them.
And worst of all—
Fear.
Pure fear.
The kind of fear that made him feel like he was reliving a nightmare.
No one in the village had seen it before.
But it had happened countless times already.
Every single time he thought about becoming a father...
He felt like he was dying.
And even now—
That was exactly what was happening.
That was why he had turned away from everyone earlier.
He was having a panic attack.
A genuine one.
Because the thought of children...
Was the single greatest nightmare of his life.
The past he had buried so deeply inside himself—
The past he never wanted to remember—
Came clawing back every single time.
After all, long ago...
He had already made himself a promise.
A vow.
He would never have children.
Never.
That was the one line he would never cross.
But now?
Now he stood before an entire village that looked at him with hope in their eyes.
A village that trusted him.
A village that needed him.
And he couldn’t bear it.
He genuinely felt like collapsing onto the ground and crying.
Even the villagers noticed.
His face had gone pale.
His body looked weaker than before.
His eyes looked exhausted.
Luna instinctively took a step forward.
"Luca—"
But Nyx suddenly stopped her with an arm.
The others looked at her in confusion.
Nyx shook her head slowly.
"Don’t."
Her voice was unusually soft.
"This isn’t something we can solve for him."
Everyone fell silent, while Nyx looked toward Luca quietly.
"There’s something inside him." She murmured. "Something painful. Something he’s been carrying alone for a very long time."
Her eyes softened slightly.
"And whether he overcomes it or not..."
She lowered her gaze.
"That decision belongs only to him."
The others slowly understood.
So they stayed back.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Watching silently.
But unfortunately—
No matter how much Luca tried to push himself...
He couldn’t do it.
He truly couldn’t.
The weight of his past was too heavy. The chains of his trauma too strong.
He’d thought, at the beginning of this internal struggle, that he could push through it.
That with enough willpower and determination, he could override his own psychological limitations and do what was necessary.
He’d been wrong.
The simple truth was that he was weak. Not the strong, invincible hero that everyone believed him to be, but a broken, damaged man still trapped by the ghosts of his own history.
He’d have to admit that. He’d have to stand before them and confess his failure.
He’d have to tell them that he couldn’t do what they were asking, that he didn’t have the strength to overcome his own limitations.
It would destroy their hope. It would shatter their plans for the future. It would essentially condemn them to the extinction they feared.
And it would reveal him for what he truly was: not a Hero, but a hypocrite.
But there was no other choice. He had to tell them the truth.
Luca pushed himself to his feet, his movements heavy and deliberate. He straightened his spine, gathering what remained of his dignity.
His eyes were filled with anguish, and his expression was one of someone about to deliver news that would devastate everyone listening.
He turned to face them, prepared to speak the words that would shatter their hopes—
And then the wind came.
Whoosh!
A sudden gust swept across the entire village square, so forceful that it seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously.
It carried with it leaves and petals and fine sand that swirled through the air in chaotic patterns.
The gathered elves cried out in surprise, covering themselves and shielding their eyes from the debris.
The sensation of wind against their naked bodies was startling and somewhat mortifying.
"Why is it so windy?" One elf exclaimed, drawing her arms protectively around herself.
"I got dust in places dust shouldn’t be." Another muttered, blushing deeply.
But Luna’s cry cut through the confusion,
"Look! Look at all the flowers!"