Halmeus, the hero. If you know his name and want to know more, there is only one book worth reading.
The author is unknown, the time period in which it was written is unknown, the place where it was written is unknown, and how it was written in the first place is also unknown. It is said that nothing is known, and nothing will ever be known, about the original source of this hero.
'The Record of Halmeus'.
Sometimes it is a dialogue between Halmeus and the author, sometimes it is an examination of Halmeus from a third person's point of view, and sometimes it is a chronicle of Halmeus' battles.
It is said to be the oldest book ever written by mankind and was unearthed by Gilgamesh, the legendary king of the Sumerian dynasty, after it was discovered following an earthquake. The young Gilgamesh read this book from day to night, and it is said to have formed the starting point of his life as a hero.
In the accounts of heroes who have left their names in various myths and historical events, if it is said that they aspired to be heroes because they read 'a tale' or 'a heroic story'.
Their inspiration is fueled by none other than this 'Record of Halmeus' known also as the First Tale.
Even today, it is said that there is no one who does not know the name of Halmeus, even if one does not know the name of the leader of his own country. There are so many derivatives of his works in East and West that it would be foolish to count them all, and he has even been deified like the emperors of ancient Rome and Guan Yu in China.
The fact that the term 'Halmeus' Blessing' is used in almost the same sense as 'God's Blessing' perfectly represents this fact.
The reason this record has been so beloved by people all over the world is probably that the story described in it was a clear and refreshing story of good and evil. Without a doubt, Halmeus acted to save people, and he saved them all.
Literally, 'all'.
In reality, where the composition of 'justice' and 'evil' is reversed depending on one's position and change of perspective, the hero on one side is often the devil on the other side. Therefore, the delicate relationship between good and evil is typically at the center of the story.
But in Halmeus' story, evil is evil and good is good. There are monsters that attack people, demons that steal souls, and evil people who seek to harm others through their own greed. There are also misunderstandings, but the Hero sees through the veil of illusion that others could never break.
Halmeus deals with such beings and there are no conflicts due to position or disagreements due to differences in beliefs or any other problematic issues.
Defeat them and everyone will be happy. That's all, and Halmeus wants nothing more than that.
Of course, the story includes wars, duels and other events where 'justice' and 'evil', 'good' and 'bad' are in question, but Halmeus solves these problems in a way that no other hero in history can hope to mimic.
He destroys all the weapons held by the soldiers of two countries, stands in the center of the battlefield and preaches the futility of the conflict, and finally the two armies embrace and make peace like brothers.
Yes, it is natural for one to think that it would not work that way. However, the first sense one must get from reading this story is that it is not Halmeus who does something about it, but 'It is Halmeus, therefore, something is done'.
It is common in this world to have results as a consequence of people's actions, but in the case of Halmeus, Halmeus exists as a precondition for results.
We are free to wish that reality were so. But in the story, as Halmeus tells the author, 'I will save all, while those who are not me, would not and could not'. The typical meme of 'If Itachi is struck by lightning, the lightning bolt comes out electrocuted' applied in all seriousness to Halmeus' case (my case).
Those who can't stomach this mentality are not qualified to pick up this book in the first place.
"Really… Are there any still left in this era…?"
I put Kariya on the bed, who suddenly collapsed after hearing my name, and entered Makiri's study. I tried to investigate myself. To be more specific, my legend. After all. Even if this was a shameful remembering of my greatest work in a way that I was terribly proud and ashamed, I could have forgotten something.
The fact that the concept of magic, which had completely disappeared in my previous world, still existed, albeit hastily, undoubtedly had something to do with this book.
At the same time, the Holy Grail War, which was only a part of fiction in my world, exists in this world. Or maybe it's more correct to say that I was summoned to the world depicted in the novel. Or is it okay to say it's a parallel world? I'm starting to lose my mind.
Anyway, now that I've been summoned to this place, and for some reason not as the 'hero', but as the 'reincarnated me', aka normie of the ancient lost civilization… I'm really screwed.
It's not like some random citizen has superpowers, so that old worm's snide comment hit me closer than I would have liked. Ouch.
However, it looks like there may still be some hope. Perhaps because I am the actual author of 'The Record of Halmeus' and the model of a hero, it seems I can wield power as a heroic spirit.
Unfortunately, it is impossible in this state. My abilities are no different from those of an ordinary magician. As far as I can tell from my own state, I am all C and even D, except for my luck, which is E -.
Joy. I mean, I'm still stronger than a normal human of this era, but I don't feel much stronger than I was in my time.
Also, ERROR PLUS?! Yes, I knew it was a mistake in the very records of human history, but I didn't expect to get to that level!
I'm not sure what to make of that. I guess that means I'm the weakest heroic spirit in human history.
Seriously?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure even Alaya, the collective conscience of humanity, didn't expect someone to write such a… horribly blatant lie.
I'm sure the Holy Grail said, "I'm going to let my hardworking slave Kariya summon Halmeus!" and call me as a reward for his hard work.
So, the Grail must have been and been like, "What? Like… What? Halmeus is like… he's like… that? Are you fucking stupid?".
… I'm so sorry, Grail-Kun. I was bolder than I should have back in my days.
The biggest miscalculation was that Gilgamesh found my book. Never thought I was that back in time at that moment, I remember writing on paper being a more common thing, not something done in stone. Now I got a different picture of that king, seems like the kind of person who would get excited and say "I'll be a hero too! This is my destiny!". I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not. Probably good… No, who am I kidding?
Halmeus, huh?
I picked up a copy of "The Record of Halmeus" and looked at it, seemed like a version with notes and theories. As I flipped through it, I felt a sense of nostalgia.
"Oh, yeah, I wrote something like this…" I mumbled with my lips quivering in a grimace that resembled a smile.
… I was young, after all. I heard that this kind of mild nostalgia is good for mental development. Heh…
"AAAAAAAGGHHH! Why did I write this shit, and why has it spread all over the world? This is the same level of a story written by a high school student in the middle of the night, like, 'I'm going to write my true form, which is sealed, for future generations! DAMN YOU CHUUNYBYO!"
Who the hell is Halmeus? There is no such person! Why the hell did I write about lost civilizations and the depths of the universe!? Damn, leaving a story behind was the worst idea ever.
It's even harder when you know this record is nothing more than an illusion. It's worse than having your diary read aloud to you. This is totally beyond the realms of youthful indiscretion. It's black history, or rather, just a cool story badly misinterpreted by a guy with eighth grade syndrome. In a sense, this record itself is the dark ages.
From what I've read, some researchers are very serious about dissecting this "knowledge" I provided using my 21st century mind. They are looking for traces of ancient super-civilizations that have become extinct. I hear there are even programs about it. The key seems to be this record I wrote. Isn't it pretty amazing? Hahaha!
Well, they're not going to find anything and if they do recreate anything like this is because I lived in a time when it already existed! Because it's a lie! It's all the creation of a moron and his imagination!
Hahahahahahahahaha! Poor silly, deluded fools.
… I hate myself.
"Maybe I should go and said the truth..." I muttered before flipping a page and reading one of the notes at the bottom of the page.
Which apparently would lead to religious wars, blasphemies and executions.
" My execution," I muttered to myself in a flat tone. I had died before, but I was not interested in my head ending up on a pike displayed to the crowd.
..especially in the regions where Gilgamesh ruled, it is said that there are still areas where if you mock Halmeus, you will be sentenced for life or hanged. The people who now inhabit the lands where Halmeus once lived think of the hero as a source of pride, and will not tolerate anyone who desecrates him."
In other words, if I were to go there, there would probably be wizards or something throwing earthquakes, thunderstorms and forest fires at me… that would kill me. Hooray. Even if a bunch of angry commoners came, a missile or two would do the job.
Calm down, calm down. Even though there's no one around at the moment, it's not a good idea to freak out. In any case, what I should do is… act like I'm supposed to. Keep the secret. I have to keep this lie a secret at all costs.
It's not only for my sake, but also to protect the dreams of the people living in this world.
"You idiot... why did you reveal your name as Halmeus? What are you going to do?"," The moron (me) questioned, even in the middle of the monologue, "Everyone will point at me and say, 'Look, here comes the legendary Halmeus (lol)' or 'Wow, that's great (lol)', or 'I'm sure he can hear you, stop it (lol), or 'come on, stop making fun of him, he'll die of embarrassment (lol)"
Shit, shit, shit, shit. I want so badly to flail and scream my anger at the world. But I can't scream too much. I thought there were assassins or something watching the house. It's been a long time since I've seen the show, so my memory is pretty vague.
"Haha, okay, I'm fine. Calm down. I'm the only one who knows the truth. I'm the only one who knows the real Halmeus. I'm the only one who knows the real Halmeus, so it won't come out that way. Okay, fine."
There's a bigger problem, though.
I checked my status again. Of course, there was no change. It's still the same "D and C" list. No class skills, no possessed skills. I don't even have a visible noble phantsams, just strange, incomprehensible hieroglyphs. WHAT. THE. F.
Can I win this war? Sure, if things went as written I should have more strength than a normal human, but frankly I knew nothing about Fate beyond what a gacha-obsessed friend had told me... A hundred and forty years ago if I go by my age? At least six thousand and something if I go by the time that passed since I died? No idea.
"Not that there's nothing I can do about it, but still..."
Why are my statistics so... inferior? Well, I have a few ideas, but I think the most important one is that the Halmeus setting was a figment of my imagination.
You see, the problem is that I 'know' the setting I didn't write in my 'Halmeus Log'. In other words, as the creator of Halmeus, my fantasies will be directly reflected in the Halmeus state. Physical performance, skills and so on... all of these would be directly affected by my settings.
And of course, weaknesses.
In the grand finale of 'The Record of Halmeus', the hero Halmeus is said to have been killed by the evil sorcerer Sanguine, but the true ending (in my opinion) is actually different.
Although Halmaeus won the battle by cutting off Sanguine's head with the Sword of Sealing, Sanguine cursed him and died without being able to heal his already mortally wounded body.
However, since the final battle took place at "a speed almost equal to the speed of light", the author could not write about it in the "Record of Harmeas", which was supposed to be a record of a third party.
But Halmeus himself is an illusion. If my illusion is Halmeus, then my curse on Halmeus is also part of it. That explained why the Noble Phantasm appears blocked and why it was so weak. Even Robin Hood being an unknown person going by an unknown author was strong just because of the fame of a fairy tale character, Halmeus should be much stronger.
Perhaps that hidden scenario was reflected in my world. I can't help but wonder how this all depends so much on canon, but I have only myself to blame.
At the very least, the Grail might get to return me to a calmer world? It was rather unlikely considering the possibility that this was another world. Still, a man can hope, can't he? I would be risking my "life" which would last at most three months anyway for it.
I sighed. I looked at the clock and saw that it had already been four hours since I entered the studio. I wondered how long I had been suffering in (mental) agony.
- Oh... right, that old bastard will be home soon -
If he saw me wasting my time, he would come back to torment Kariya. I'd better go wake him up. I want to take a nap too, but I have no choice.
Zouken's monotonous tone implying that my presence wasn't entirely desirable didn't make anyone feel any better either.
"That's just my luck..." I thought, despite all this pomp offered by Kariya I'd almost rather stay dead. Almost.
Taking pity on the misfortune of the person who summoned me, I decided to lazily drag his ass into the room where my master slept.
Damn my luck.
Yeah, I was never lucky. I could only smile as invisible tears welled up in my eyes, my mood completely ruined.
"I just want to go home... I want to stop being a hero!"