The Hero arrived with victory on his heels.

Ira watched as the bright dot on his map flashed its way across the battlefield until it reached his Host. This wasn't (thankfully) the scene where Lynne died, but rather just a stepping stone to make them notice each other as capable warriors. Unless his Host did something stupid, things should follow the script well enough for things to evolve as written.

Of course, this was also the version where Lynne died. Which was what his Host was supposed to prevent.

Not cause.

Unfortunately, as good at multi-tasking as he was, Ira was currently engaged in a battle to the death and thus didn't have a lot of attention to spare her. She would just have to manage on her own for a little while.

Not that Ira had ever really helped her in the first place.

The heady sensation of powerful magic filled the area and distracted him further. He knew his Host well enough to know that it didn't come from her, which left the Hero as the only possible culprit. Slashing the throat of a particularly bothersome demon, Ira focused back on the battle in front of him. His Host was annoying yes, but even she couldn't screw things up in the middle of such a chaotic mess. Ira didn't need to be hyperaware of her every move.

Instead, he concentrated on his own battles, his own killings, and watched as form after form shattered into billions of pieces, that were then quickly absorbed into other demons. With every demon killed, the remaining ones only got more powerful.

Ira fought his way across the battlefield, his dagger in hand and blood on his clothes. He didn't care if he literally stepped on corpses in order to achieve his goal, or if he waited for other soldiers (that almost always died) to tire a demon out first, before he stepped in and killed it. This was a mission and though he expected it to fail miserably, he had a good enough work-ethic that he would still do his very best. That was how he had come to be one of the highest-ranking Systems in all of the universes.

Through hard work and dedication.

Plain and simple.

Fighting his way through a truly nasty hoard of demons, he noted that he was getting closer to his Host's location. On the map, the Hero was still shining brilliantly and Ira could see how the dots marking hostiles disappeared in wave after wave around him.

Then Ira caught sight of him.

The Hero made a striking picture.

He had long golden hair tied up in a high ponytail, sparkling blue eyes like the sea and not an imperfection on his face to be seen. The golden light that surrounded him marked him as this world's protagonist, and with that shining sword in his hands, he certainly looked it. There was no doubt in Ira's mind that that was the Hero of the story.

Not far from the Hero was Ira's Host, a white light shining from her soul announcing that she was a transmigrated soul. Reincarnated souls were silver.

Ira saw her fighting desperately, shooting off powerful spells one after the other with no regard for her own reserves. If she kept it up, she'd tire herself out within minutes and then she'd be dead meat.

And this world would end.

Game Over.

Killing the demon that tried to gut him with a pair of claws, Ira only turned his back to her for a few seconds. But during those precious few moments, the demons managed to overwhelm her and broke through her battered barrier.

This mission was officially a bust.

But then something unexpected (lie) happened.

The Hero threw himself in front of the woman that he knew as Lynne and took the first blows in her place. Then his sword tore through them like they were made of paper. They shattered like so many had done before them and right in front of Ira's eyes, the billions of invisible (to normal human eyes) pieces of pure darkness flowed right into the Hero.

Well, his Host was screwed.

There was no way that the Boss would forgive that kind of stupid mistake.

Not only had she screwed up the mission, she had made it worse than it originally was. Before they interfered, it would take the demons seventeen long years to conquer the entirety of the planet, but with the protagonist leading them... it was going to go much much faster.

And there was no doubt that the Hero would lead them. As the world's protagonist, he had the Halo of a powerful and meaningful Fate surrounding him. Within him lied unimaginable powers, only limited by the strength of his foes. As a demon, he would use whatever means or powers necessary to reach his goal.

The part of him that was good, his conscience and capability to feel guilt, would be completely eradicated by the darkness of the infecting demons. The turn wasn't instant, but once started, it couldn't be stopped.

The Hero just became the most powerful Villain, and it was his Host's fault.

Cursing his bad luck, Ira just barely managed to avoid a deadly attack and kill the offending demon. He ran forwards the last few meters that separated him and the Hero, sliding to his knees opposite his Host. His Host was crying, her face blotched unattractively and her eyes red, snot starting to run from her nose. When she saw him sit down, she just wailed louder.

"I didn't think he would take all those hits for me! He saved my life!" she bemoaned loudly, her voice rough from all the crying that she had already done. Yet, she appeared to just cry harder once she spoke.

Ira nodded distractedly and pat her lightly on her shoulder in a parody of a comforting gesture. He stared down at the still form of the protagonist lying in the bloodsoaked mud. He wasn't entirely sure where to go from here. He couldn't just kill the protagonist; with all the trouble this world was already in, it might just cause it to explode.

And technically the mission was still ongoing, he couldn't pull the plug in the middle of it. Well, he could, but it would dock his pay and he needed that money to buy manga.

This was certainly a tough situation his Host had gotten him into.

Manga or no manga?

The choice was obvious.

Clearing his throat, Ira looked back at his Host, who just looked more unsightly. "He is turning into a demon. I'm sorry, but there is nothing we can do."

His Host shook her head wildly and demanded, "Isn't there something you can do?! A pill you can give him?! Medicine?!"

"I'm sorry."

His Host threw herself dramatically over the body of the Hero, as if he was already dead, and burst out into a fresh wave of tears. Once Ira thought that an appropriate time had passed, he figured it was time to give her some false hope.

He attempted to look as innocent and helpful as possible.

"There is... one thing that we could try."

She looked up sharply, with her eyes already glaring at him. "What is it?"

"True love."

She furrowed her eyes in confusion and asked, "Like in the fairytales?"

Ira smirked. "Exactly. He needs to love someone unconditionally and be loved unconditionally in return. If he does, the demonic process will reverse."

"He'll be human again."

His Host narrowed her eyes, showing off the part of her that was calculating. It was a shame it only ever appeared when she had love issues. "So," she started. "if he falls in love with me, he'll be cured?"

"Yes," Ira said and nodded. He continued, "But you also need to genuinely love him in return, or it's a lost cause."

"I love him. You know I do, System."

Did he know that? "Well, that's all well and good, but you'll need to make him fall in love with you too. It won't be as easy as you imagine it to be."

She nodded determinedly. Ira continued speaking. "We'll need to hide him somewhere."

"Why?" She stared suspiciously at Ira.

"Because he's turning into a demon. If we leave him, he'll be killed by humans as a preemptive measure." Ira stated flatly.

With that, the conversation ended. His Host nodded and together they dragged a few corpses to lay on top of the protagonist. It was neither sanitary nor pleasant, but it was the most effective way. Who knew how long this battle would go on? Having the Hero away from the fight and protected by human shields was the most effective way to keep him from being discovered. The battlefield was mostly flat. There were no unoccupied rocks to hide behind.

Once the Hero was covered entirely by his dead comrades, Ira and his Host returned to the battle at hand. His Host was visibly bad off and just half an hour later, she was injured to such an extent that she had no choice but to find her way to a healer.

Ira continued fighting.

Time flew by, the way it tended to, with no consideration for anybody's feelings.

After five more days, the battle finally ended with a hard-fought victory in the humans' hands. Over half of the army that had fought in the battle had ended up dead with an additional number that were captured. Humanity had no resources to rescue them, which was why all the humans fighting had the standing order of killing themselves as fast as possible if captured. They all knew there was no chance of anybody saving them.

Ira settled down next to a campfire. At his side sat his Host and the few of her followers that had survived. The glow his Host had sported was gone, and in its place was a tired woman with sunken eyes and limp hair. A portion of it was now uneven and if his sense of smell was correct, it had been burned off. Most likely, she had lost control of her own magic.

A passing soldier (healer, by the look of the uniform) handed him a glass of water and a bowl of soup. Considering that he had barely eaten anything in the last few days — barring apples they had passed around from time to time — Ira accepted it gratefully. He was starting to feel weaker, likely a combination of hunger and bloodloss. He had gotten nicked a few times during the battle and the bloodloss built up. He might be a System, but the body he was possessing healed at the regular slow human rate unless he wished otherwise.

Drinking the soup and water with barely a pause, Ira sighed and asked his Host, "What are you so upset about?"

His Host glanced at him and hugged her own knees tighter. "I went back to look for Alaric and he wasn't there."

"That's good, right? That means he got away and is still alive." Ira inquired.

His Host burrowed further into her own embrace and her voice got lower. "Well, yes. But it means that he's actually a demon now, right? I mean... the turning would be finished by now. He's not the man I fell in love with anymore."

"What does that matter? You still love him." Ira stated and cast a questioning look at his Host. She had spent weeks advocating the love she felt for the Hero and how they were meant to be, and now she felt doubt because he had been turned into a demon? He had done it to save her. If anything, that should just foster more feelings.

"Of course, I do, it's just... I don't know, it's different now." his Host refused to look at him and asked, "Can he even feel love anymore?"

Ira turned his gaze to the fire. "Of course he can. Love isn't an emotion exclusive to humans, you don't hold a monopoly on it. Any sentient being has the capability to love. Some species just expresses it differently. That doesn't mean the emotion isn't there or that's it's any less powerful. It doesn't make it any less important or precious."

His Host looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "You know, sometimes you can be kind of smart, System."

"I know," Ira answered. Of course, just because he fell in love, the now demonic Hero wouldn't be cured. This world had already ended. It was just that nobody had realized it yet.