The Hero's Coffin - Chapter 2

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Original publish date: 08/08/2024

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They say the most common reaction when confronted with a shocking reality is denial.

As such, I was stuck in a decent amount of denial. Maybe I was dying and left stuck in a dream, or maybe I was in a coma and living in a strange fantasy. 

I quickly pinched my arm hard hoping to wake up from this ridiculous dream, but all it did was leave me with quite a bit of pain. This body was even more malnourished than my old one, I could barely feel any tissue between the skin and bones when pinching. 

It didn’t even hurt when I got hit by a truck earlier, so why would merely pinching my skin hurt so vividly in comparison? Why was this my reality? I’ve read novels where people transmigrate into the role of an mistreated illegitimate child of a noble family or even the role of a servant or slave, but I’m a death row inmate set to die tomorrow?

A chilling scenario began to play out in my head.

Judging from the guard’s appearance, this place seems to be a fantasy world that’s at least inspired by the Middle Ages. How did they carry out executions in a place like this? Poison? No, poison was a classy death only reserved for the upper class. Wasn’t that why Sayak was a thing back then? Given the guard’s attitude, the horrible conditions of the prison, and this malnourished body, I didn’t think the person who came before me was upper-class.

Maybe I’d be beheaded? Wasn’t that also only for upper-class nobles? Typically, the ones who died by guillotine had some sort of rank. Maybe I would be hanged? If they wanted to make an example of a serious criminal who caused a stir in society… crucifixion? Burning at the stake? In the past, some were even killed by being boiled in water.

As the scenario in my head grew even more gruesome, my fingers clenched tightly around the prison bars in fear. 

“Excuse me, the truth is… I’m not actually the person you want. There was some sort of accident that happened, and my soul ended up in this body by mistake. Is there any way to fix this?”

“What is this guy even talking about?”

“Even if it means I’ll die, you should still execute the original owner of this body. In order to uphold the authority of the judicial system correctly, shouldn’t we find the person who truly deserves this punishment? I’d like to leave this body…”

Just pinching my skin caused me so much pain, but now I would have to suffer through an execution? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t think of any method of execution that would be quick and painless, so all I could do was keep rambling. 

Strangely enough, the words coming out of my mouth were in the language of this place. Now that I think about it, I was naturally able to interpret the guard’s words earlier and I had zero trouble speaking it now. It wasn’t like when one was learning a second language, they’d usually stutter with at least some of the words. I was even able to think in the language as if I was native. Such a phenomenon could only be explained through transmigration. 

I kept talking out of curiosity and desperation, but the guard suddenly interrupted me with a shout. 

“Shut up!”

The guard didn’t just stop there. He opened the prison door and stepped inside, then, fwoosh! He kicked me in the stomach. The blow hit my abdomen directly, and I curled up into a ball. 

“It’s because of guys like you that the hero suffered and died!”

“Ugh…!”

“I was quietly paying my respects because I heard his coffin was passing by us, bastard! The hero was such a kind, merciful, and good-natured person! You piece of shit!”

You were just playing a card game a moment ago, but now you’re saying you were actually paying respects? I felt wronged, but there was no time to argue. I was too busy curling up in a ball and squirming around to dodge the kicks in an attempt to avoid further pain.

Back in middle and high school, some bullies would use me as a stepping stone to establish their authority. I was the easiest target since I had nobody taking care of me. As a result, I was used to being hit and instinctively knew how to position my body to minimize the pain. 

Somehow, that caused the guard to turn even crueler. 

“Wow, now you’re trying to dodge me? It seems like you were just playing dead last time!”

Apparently when the guard assaulted him before, the original owner of the body didn’t react which would make his attacker quickly lose interest in him. Now that I was visibly squirming in pain and trying to evade the guard’s kicks, he got more satisfaction out of hurting me which caused him to strike me even harder. I had made the wrong choice. 

“Soul? Soul, my ass!” the guard shouted with each kick. It seemed he found what I said earlier incredibly absurd. Well, it would sound a little ridiculous if a prisoner suddenly asked to have their execution postponed because their souls had been switched with someone else…

“After tormenting so many souls, do you really think that anyone is going to believe you of all people when you say your soul has been swapped?!”

Oh, that explains a lot. 

Wait, what the hell had this body been up to? Tormenting souls? Could it be that this body was responsible for the death of the ‘hero’ the guard mentioned earlier?

No, but he had said ‘people like you’, which implies I wasn’t the direct cause. That had to be it. Regardless, it seemed clear that I was going to die a most horrible death anyway.

After the guard’s outburst of violence, I curled up in the corner of the cell, feeling dejected. By now, the day had already drawn to a close, replaced by the bleak darkness of the night. My whole body ached, the stone floor was ice cold against my skin. I felt like protesting about my situation—if I had to be stuck in this scuffed body, there should at least be an option to turn off pain sensitivity.

Why do I have to be in pain and cold even in this world?

After spending a few hours curled up, I was finally starting to accept my reality. Yeah, it seemed like it was impossible to escape from this prison, so maybe it was better to just die tomorrow. Then, maybe I could transmigrate into a new body. Maybe this body was just the trial run, the predecessor before I was granted a better life. Maybe it was just a mistake. 

And often in media, the reason for a life full of hardships was ‘because the soul was misplaced’. If that was the case, maybe my next life could be better, as a way of making up for this mistake.

A life where I didn’t have to be chased by ghosts, where I didn’t have to be kicked when I was already down, a life where I didn’t have to shiver in the cold or starve. A life free from fear, pain, loneliness, and sorrow…

Wait a minute, was I close to dying right now?

It dawned on me that what I’ve been doing this entire time was going through the five stages of grief. I laughed in disbelief before trying to picture it more clearly. Having never experienced a good life, I tried to imagine what a typical happy life would look like, though vague.

A life where you were good-looking, received the love and respect of countless people, possessed untold amounts of wealth and wielded unparalleled power. What a life that would be…

Kaaaabooooooom!

Suddenly, a deafening noise assaulted my ears just as I was drifting off to sleep. Not only that, but the entire prison shook violently, causing the bars to vibrate with a loud rumble. The guards jumped to their feet, confused.

“What’s going on?”

“Over there!”

It seemed like something heavy had hit the building. 

Something must’ve happened, but it had nothing to do with me. It was already overwhelming trying to deal with my own situation, so I decided to ignore the commotion happening outside…

The loud noise continued. Then, puffs of smoke filled the prison. Before I knew it, a hand grabbed my body and a blanket was wrapped around my face. Afterwards, I was picked up and thrown around like a rag doll, bumping into all sorts of things. 

“Huh?”

I was taken outside. 

Wasn’t this a sudden turn of events? If there was a novel that described things like this, it’d get criticized. But it truly was all I could perceive—a couple of bangs, and then bam! Suddenly, I was outside. How was I supposed to know what happened when my vision was blocked with a blanket the entire time?

The one thing I knew for sure was that the moonlight was shining directly upon me now. 

Earlier, I could barely see the moon through the bars of the prison window, but now I could clearly tell it was above me. The moon, fully visible in its entirety. What was going on? Why was I outside?

I knelt down and felt the unfamiliar terrain with my hands. It wasn’t the hard stone floor that met my skin, but instead a soft grassy field. I welcomed the crisp night air that embraced my body.

When I looked back, I saw the tower was in a half-ruined state. Since it took a while to be carried down, I figured my cell was located at the top of that tower. 

Could it be that this body had allies? The timing was perfect—a day before the execution was to take place. Yes, someone must’ve come to my rescue!

Shnnk—A blade was held to my throat. 

“Isaf. Listen carefully.”

That was the second time today I had my expectations shattered. I looked with disbelief into the eyes of the man pressing the knife against my neck. It was probably the same man who carried me all the way here. He had a large build, sporting dark red hair and wore an intimidating expression on his face. There was a scar that ran straight across the bridge of his nose.

Next to him, there was a woman with flowing silver hair that reached her waist. She looked at me coldly, not a single bit of warmth in her navy blue eyes.

I could see from the hatred in their eyes that they despised this body, but then why did they help me escape?

“You will cooperate with us from now on. Follow our…”

This was the first time I’ve ever had a knife held to my throat, so I was both bewildered and dumbfounded. Cooperate with who now? Who are you people? When the red-haired man who led my capture saw my astounded face, he scowled.

“Are you ignoring me right now?!”

Oh no… Blood trickled down my neck. It wasn’t just an empty threat, the blade was cutting into my skin like he really was going to kill me if I didn’t comply. Just as my body stiffened to the feeling of blood wetting my neck, a soft voice interrupted from behind him. 

“Lower your blade.”

The voice’s tone was incredibly gentle, yet it felt like everything stopped to focus on the source of the sound. Even in my bewildered state, his alluring voice had also caught my attention. 

The red-haired man immediately took a step back. I thought that perhaps someone who was as kind as they sounded would come forward to help me. 

“I’ll talk to him myself.”

The large man flinched at those words, the woman across from him briefly gave me a strange look before quickly turning her head away. It was as if she was already trying to avert her gaze from what was about to happen.

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T/N: Why do all these isekai protagonists always gotta have a "omg the ml is so handsome" moment? 🤣

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