The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
Chapter 288

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 288: Demon God Dale (5)

A rift formed in the air.

A low chuckle echoed through the void.

“…Leader of Eternity.”

I clenched my teeth as I uttered the name—no, the title—of the being beyond the rift.

[Yeah, that's what they call me.]

“It's not just what they call you. You wanted to be called that.”

[Hahaha. Think whatever you want.]

“…So, what the hell is going on here?”

I frowned down at Mephisto’s lifeless body lying on the ground.

[Nothing major. Just a little disagreement between us.]

“A little disagreement, huh.”

The result didn’t seem so little for something like that.

[Hahaha. You could call it karma.]

“I heard you were the one who betrayed him first.”

[Betrayal… Betrayal, huh. Well, I don’t really recall betraying Mephisto.]

His voice was shameless.

[What Mephisto wanted was the end of the Demon God. Same for me. When the goal is the same, can you really call it betrayal?]

“So the one who wanted the Demon God destroyed is the one who told Amon how to descend into the Abyss?”

[Yeah. To destroy the Demon God, we first had to ‘revive’ one.]

“……”

That’s why he told Amon how to reach the Abyss?

So Amon could absorb the flames of the Abyss and become a Demon God—

‘No.’

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

Judging from that calm and unbothered voice, the Leader of Eternity had never intended for Amon to become a Demon God in the first place.

“So, you made me into a Demon God?”

[Yeah, that’s right. Amon probably would’ve gone berserk, unable to control the power—but you, I figured you’d be different.]

“What made you think that?”

[Because within you dwells the ‘power to extinguish fire.’]

“……”

He knows about the Blessing of Revival?

‘How?’

No one knew I had the Blessing of Revival except for my party members.

Anyone who had ever seen me ‘come back to life’ had been killed.

I hadn’t even used the blessing in combat lately.

And yet…

The Leader of Eternity knew about it.

‘None of my party members ever came into contact with him.’

And there’s no way he could’ve gotten that information from dead demons.

[Hahaha. Curious how I know that, aren’t you?]

A giggling voice tickled my ear.

[Because you… You’re the seed I’ve been yearning—so desperately yearning—to sprout over the last 500 years.]

“…That doesn’t explain anything.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

[Hah! Just accept that such a thing exists.]

“……”

[Anyway. Reviving the Demon God went smoothly with the two of us working together… but it turns out Mephisto wanted something different from me.]

“What did he want?”

[The world’s survival.]

“……?”

[Mephisto wanted this world to continue on, peacefully.]

“……”

So, in other words—

The Leader of Eternity doesn’t want this world to continue existing.

[Hahahaha! Not very demon-like, is he?]

“…And you’re not very hero-like.”

[Oh? Mephisto said something similar.]

He cackled.

[Oh, right. Do you know why Mephisto betrayed the demons and sided with the heroes?]

“…No.”

[Serpente, was it? There was this female demon Mephisto cared for. Apparently, he wanted to turn her into a human.]

The Leader spoke with a bitter sneer in his voice.

[So he figured—if the Demon God were killed, the stigmas of the Demon God would disappear too, and demons could become human.]

“……”

[Then he could live a happy, peaceful life with the one he loved, in a world without Demon God.]

As a human, not a demon.

[Isn’t it funny? These fools, who would’ve been long dead without the Demon God’s stigma, desperately trying to become human again.]

“I don’t know if it’s funny.”

But your sense of humor is absolutely broken.

[Anyway, I took care of the variable that might get in the way of our goal, so don’t worry.]

“Our goal?”

Ha.

I let out a hollow laugh.

“Since when were you and I a ‘we’?”

[Huh? What are you talking about?]

The Leader sounded genuinely confused.

[You and I share the same goal, don’t we?]

“What are you even—?”

[You want this world to end, too.]

“……”

He’s saying I want the world to end?

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

I’ve never once wished for this world to end—

[Hahahahahaha! Nonsense? You call that nonsense?]

The Leader burst out laughing.

[No, think about it carefully. If you didn’t want this world to end—how could you have absorbed the Primordial Flame?]

“…What?”

[The Primordial Flame is the essence of a Demon God—meaning it won’t inhabit anyone who doesn’t long for destruction.]

“……”

[Deep down, in the depths of your heart, you wish for this world to end. More desperately than anyone else… Maybe even more than I do.]

Me?

I wish for this world to end?

“Bullshit…”

And then—an image flashed through my mind.

An endless expanse of snowfields, with a vicious blizzard howling all around.

White breath escaping between my lips, and a cold that felt like it could freeze even the soul.

Memories I had locked away deep in the closet of my mind—now burst back like a flood.

“Guh…!”

FWOOOSH!

The Primordial Flame raged out of control, and ashes flared up violently.

[See? I was right, wasn’t I?]

“…Shut up.”

Clench.

I bit down on my lip and forced the wild flame back under control.

The ashes that had wrapped around my body slowly began to die down.

[Hmm. Still planning to deny it, huh?]

A mocking voice echoed from beyond the rift.

[Well, in that case, I guess there's no helping it.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Accompanied by a cackling laugh—

[I'll help you want to end this world.]

Crack, crackle.

The rift that had formed in midair gradually shrank.

And once the rift had completely vanished, silence descended upon the vast training arena.

“Haa… haa!”

Gasping for breath, I collapsed on the spot.

“…Damn it.”

The Demon God, the Leader of Eternity, Mephisto, the End of the World.

Countless thoughts tangled together in my mind like a knotted ball of thread.

Slowly, I turned my head to examine Mephisto’s fallen corpse.

A pure white flower had pierced through his skin and bloomed.

In stark contrast to his gruesome, blood-soaked death, the flower growing from his remains was breathtakingly beautiful.

“……”

Gazing at that flower, I thought of the Leader of Eternity.

‘That guy… had a blessing similar to mine.’

It likely wasn’t exactly the same as the blessing of revival I carried.

After all, blessings are unique in nature.

‘But there are a few blessings with similar effects.’

For example, imagine a “Blessing of Thunder” and a “Blessing of Lightning.”

Even if they’re not exactly the same, they would appear quite similar in effect.

In other words—

If the Leader of Eternity also had a blessing like mine—one that keeps you from dying even if you want to—

“……”

As much as I didn’t want to admit it,

There was a part of me that understood why he wanted the world to end.

Just like he said, the one who had once wished for death more than anyone… was me.

But—

‘Now… it’s different.’

In a life once consumed by a pursuit of death, I had found a reason to live.

There was a story I didn’t want to see come to an end.

That’s why—

“I’ll… stop you.”

Staring at the place where the rift had vanished, I quietly reaffirmed my resolve.

* * *

Victory Ceremony.

The school was bustling with a festival to celebrate the great victory in the war against the demons.

“Wahahaha! Mankind is finally free from the threat of the demons!”

“Kyaah! I heard all the Masters gathered this time!”

“Ahh! I wish I could’ve seen that in person!”

“Says the guy who was the first to run through the warp gate.”

“T-That was….”

The cadets were gathered in the central plaza of the school, buzzing excitedly about the war.

“Everyone’s really fired up,”

Iris said, glancing around with a faint smile.

“Well, it is the biggest victory since the great heroes sealed the Demon God 500 years ago.”

“Hm… but Dale, why have you looked so gloomy since earlier?”

Yuren tilted his head and leaned in close to my face.

“…It’s nothing.”

“Yeah, right.”

With a frown, Yuren gently touched my cheek.

“…It’s because of the Leader of Eternity, isn’t it?”

“……”

My shoulders flinched at her words hitting the mark.

“Oh my, look over there!”

“I heard rumors that Yuren was close with that low-ranking guy…”

“Kyaaah!”

Passing female cadets shrieked upon seeing Yuren stroking my cheek.

“A-Ahem.”

Yuren hastily pulled his hand away.

“Well… anyway, it’s the victory celebration today, so cheer up a little.”

“Alright.”

I nodded with a small smile.

“Sir! What are you doing here?! They’re about to show the victory tribute video—come quickly!”

“Victory tribute video?”

“Haha! It’s a video introducing the heroes who made great contributions in the war!”

Berald’s eyes sparkled as he clenched his fist with excitement.

“You defeated the Archbishop of Destruction, the leader of the demons—of course you’ll be featured in the video too, right?!”

“Doubt it.”

After all, my battle with the Archbishop of Destruction took place in the deepest depths, so there wouldn't be any footage left.

‘And if they publicly announced that the one who killed the Archbishop of Destruction was the lowest-ranked cadet of the Hero Academy, most people would start thinking the whole “victory” was just a lie.’

It was more likely that Camellia, who descended into the depths using the Seven-Colored Stone, would be credited as the hero who defeated Amon.

“Hmm. B-But still, surely there’ll be something about you? You were one of the key figures in winning this war…”

“Well… maybe I’ll show up as one of the cadets who bravely fought without running away.”

Since I’d been unconscious for the past two weeks, I had no idea how they prepared the victory tribute video.

Chatting idly with Berald and the party, we eventually settled in a corner of the plaza.

“Oh, it’s starting, Dale.”

A massive hologram rose in the plaza, and a boring documentary about the war began to play.

[500 years ago, our ancestors, the five great heroes, fought a valiant battle against the Demon God…]

“Oh boy.”

Starting with history from 500 years ago?

‘This is going to run at least 30 minutes.’

Shaking my head, I grabbed a cold beer off the table and began chugging it.

Buzz! Crackle! Fzzzzzt!

The screen glitched and distorted.

“What the?”

“Is the broadcast down?”

“Might as well just play some porn at this point.”

The cadets murmured in confusion as the screen changed.

[Don’t tell me… the true master of destruction you spoke of is—]

[Yes.]

The video changed—

[Now…]

To something no one had expected—

[You are the Demon God.]

The screen displayed images of me and Amon.

“…What the hell.”

Why the hell is that video playing here right now?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]