The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
Chapter 293

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Chapter 293: Interlude – The Sixth Hero

He’s going to die.

At this rate, his soul would dry up and turn to dust.

That’s what he genuinely believed.

“Haa… Haa…!”

A storm of pleasure raged on.

A dizzying ecstasy that seemed to stimulate every brain cell jolted through his entire body.

Thanks to a body that had reached the realm of the divine, fatigue didn’t take much of a toll on his physique.

The problem was the mental exhaustion carved into his spirit.

It’s like that feeling—you know the one.

After a night of partying with friends until dawn, when you finally make it home and feel like a deflated balloon, unable to move a single finger.

Even though all you did was drink and have fun, you’re left in a state of complete lethargy.

That’s exactly how he felt now—only amplified dozens, even hundreds of times over.

A pleasure-fueled journey beyond its limit, a sensation like his entire brain was burning up.

His soul screamed under the onslaught of endorphins and adrenaline bursting through him.

“Ugh, I… can’t… anymore…”

Thud.

He collapsed onto the bed, declaring surrender for what must have been the umpteenth time—but the starved lionesses showed no mercy.

“Haa… haa. You’re done already?”

“Mmm… Dale… just a bit more…”

“Ehehe. D-Dale, you’re so warm.”

“If it’s too much, you can just lie there.”

Unlike him—panting like he might die at any moment—their eyes still gleamed with unspent excitement.

It couldn’t be helped.

While he was being endlessly wrung dry, they were taking turns with him.

Each of them, no less, was a superhuman far beyond the level of an average hero.

Able to rest between their turns, they recovered quickly and rejoined the banquet with full energy.

It’s like this—if each of them was doing a full-body workout with one-hour breaks, then he was being forced to do continuous reps with no rest, not even for a second.

“S-Stop…”

His consciousness flickered and dimmed.

After days of unrelenting pleasure, the final destination was a darkening vision—like a starless night sky.

“Ah.”

“He… he passed out?”

The women looked down at the collapsed Dale with wide eyes.

“What should we do? Wake him up?”

“Y-Yeah! That’s a great idea, Iris!”

“Hoho. Right, Lanez?”

Sharing eerie smiles, the corrupted saint and the witch passed sinister remarks between them.

Watching this scene, one of the heroes finally spoke with caution.

“Let’s calm down, everyone. Dale’s really exhausted.”

“Oh my, does that mean you’re done too, Yurina?”

“Then how about… we give him five minutes and then wake him?”

“Sounds good?”

As the saint began to show signs of corruption, the hero followed, bringing a tragic sigh from the spider.

“Let’s stop here. Any more and Candidate Dale really will wither up and die.”

“He already looks like he has…”

“Ahem.”

“Hoho, just teasing.”

Iris giggled and stepped toward the unconscious Dale.

Gently stroking his forehead, seven-colored light softly flowed from her hand into his body.

“That’s…?”

“A spell to help him sleep. It’s great for recovery.”

“I see.”

Professor Elisha nodded, stood up, and walked over to the fridge in the corner of the room.

She handed out cold water to Iris, Yurina, and Lanez.

Clearing her throat, she glanced at her students—naked, not a thread of clothing on them.

Her mind had been too overheated earlier to fully register it, but now it hit her:

She had just slept with her students (well, one had graduated recently, but still).

‘A disgrace of a professor.’

As guilt crashed over her, a familiar voice chimed in.

“Oh my, regretting it now?”

“……”

“There’s no need to, Sister Elisha.”

“I told you—at school, call me Professor.”

Clearly still unused to being called “sister,” Elisha looked flustered.

Iris just laughed at her reaction.

“This kind of thing… feels nice, doesn’t it?”

“…Nice?”

“Yeah. Feels like… family.”

Iris smiled gently as she hugged her knees.

“I grew up an orphan… I never really had that feeling of comfort, just being around people.”

Camilla had been around, but the difference in status had always created an invisible wall between them.

“Family, huh… now that you mention it, you said something like that before.”

Elisha recalled the first time they had called her “sister” and let out a soft chuckle.

“It’s been a long time since I felt something like this.”

After losing her parents at the hands of the Archbishop of Beasts…

She had never again felt her heart warmed just by sharing space with someone else.

“M-Me too! S-Sometimes… I do get a little jealous… but still… I like everyone.”

“Same here.”

Lanez and Yurina nodded in agreement.

“This is nice.”

Iris looked around at the others with a smile.

“Broken people coming together… becoming a family.”

Some might pity them.

Some might feel sorry for them.

But—

“I’m happy. Right now.”

So much so, she almost felt guilty for having it.

“That’s why… I never want to lose this. Ever.”

“……”

A faint smile appeared on Elisha’s lips.

She gently stroked Iris’s hair and replied,

“You won’t. Dale—no, we—will make sure of that.”

“Wow… you sounded just like a professor just now.”

“…I am a professor.”

“Hohoho. Just joking.”

Iris stretched with a long yawn.

“Well then, should we head out?”

“Ugh… I want to stay with Dale longer…”

“Same here, but he’s sleeping, so…”

“…Alright.”

Just as Lanez reluctantly rose to her feet—

“Ughhh…”

Dale stirred and slowly opened his eyes.

“Oh, you’re awake already, Dale?”

“……”

“P-Pretending to sleep won’t help, Dale.”

Iris and Lanez grinned as they approached him.

“We were going to stop for the day… but I guess we don’t have a choice now, huh?”

“W-Wait… sleep…”

"Ahem. Sorry about that, Cadet Dale."

When he opened his eyes, he was still inside the den of beasts.

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* * *

A few days passed like that.

Bang!

The door burst open roughly, and an old man stepped into the room.

As soon as he entered, the strong stench of alcohol filled the air.

When I turned my head, I saw it was Khalid Han.

“…What brings you here?”

“Hm?”

Khalid Han flinched slightly upon seeing my condition.

“Dale, did you get ambushed or something?”

“Ah, yeah. Well…”

I was pretty much mauled by hungry lionesses, yes.

Swallowing the words rising to my throat, I pulled a water bottle from the fridge and drank it down.

“Phew. So, what brings you here?”

“I came to share some information with you.”

“Information?”

“Remember when we talked about the ‘Sixth Hero’?”

“Ah, yes. We did.”

The Sixth Hero.

The one who accomplished what even the Five Great Heroes couldn’t—

Slaying the Demon God.

That hero was none other than the Leader of the Order of Eternity.

“After that incident, I did some digging myself… and I’ve uncovered a few things about him.”

“…!”

What?

“You mean you’ve found information about the Sixth Hero… about the Leader of Eternity?”

“Exactly.”

“…How?”

Information on the Sixth Hero was so thoroughly concealed that no records remained.

“I had some help from my son.”

“…You mean Maurice?”

“Yes. He told me he once overheard some mercenaries talking about the Sixth Hero—or rather, someone they believed was him.”

“Mercenaries?”

How could mercenaries know anything about the Sixth Hero?

“Well… it’s more like a legend passed down among mercenaries, so I wouldn’t place too much faith in it.”

Khalid Han stroked his thick beard and continued.

“There’s a rumor among mercenaries: 500 years ago, a lone mercenary fought alongside the Five Great Heroes in the battle against the Demon God.”

“…Are you saying the Sixth Hero was a mercenary?”

“Possibly.”

Khalid clicked his tongue.

“That might explain why there are no records about him. Back then, mercenaries were treated even worse than they are now.”

“…That doesn’t seem like enough of a reason.”

Even if mercenaries were despised, it didn’t make sense for the slayer of the Demon God to be erased from history just for being one.

“As the story passed down through generations, it got pretty distorted… but this part is just my theory.”

“Go on.”

“I don’t think the Sixth Hero and the Five Great Heroes ever actually worked together for long—or at all.”

“…They never worked together?”

“Right. That’s probably why no one, aside from mercenaries, knew the Sixth Hero even existed.”

“So you’re saying… he acted completely separately and only joined in the final battle against the Demon God?”

“Exactly. A lot of heroes joined that last fight. He was probably one of them.”

So basically…

The Great Heroes and the Sixth Hero never really crossed paths at all.

“Of course, there are no official records of mercenaries taking part in that final battle. The enemy was just too powerful for ordinary mercenaries.”

“So there’s no actual evidence.”

“Which is why it’s called a legend.”

“……”

“Anyway. The story goes that the mercenary’s company was wiped out by the Demon God’s forces. Enraged, the lone survivor joined the final battle. That’s the extent of the legend passed down among mercenaries.”

“What? That’s it?”

“Yeah. There’s no mention of him achieving great feats or fighting valiantly against the Demon God. Among mercenaries, it’s just a tale of pride: ‘One of us fought in that battle too.’”

“……”

If that was the whole story…

‘Now I understand why there are no records of the Sixth Hero.’

It was barely even a proper achievement—just a story of someone being there.

No wonder it wasn’t widely spread, even among mercenaries.

To outsiders, it probably sounded like self-aggrandizing fiction made up to preserve some pride, and so it was laughed off and ignored.

“So… the conclusion is, the Sixth Hero was probably a mercenary from 500 years ago?”

“There’s one more thing.”

Khalid narrowed his eyes.

“You’re aware of the dimensional rift 500 years ago, and the world called ‘Korea’ from which outsiders came, right?”

“Of course. Every citizen of the Republic knows that.”

The very state they lived in—the Republic—was founded by those outsiders who crossed over from that world.

“There’s a rumor that the mercenary who joined that final battle… was the first of those dimensional travelers.”

“…The first outsider?”

“Yes.”

Khalid nodded and spoke.

“His name was….”

* * *

A garden filled with white chrysanthemums.

A black-haired man silently stared down at an old box.

“It’s been a long time since I opened this.”

Smiling faintly, he looked at the box.

“You’ve all waited long enough, haven’t you?”

He slowly reached out and lifted the clothing inside.

“Now… it won’t be long.”

On the name tag of the old, uniform-like garment—

“Let’s go. Time to meet the end of this world.”

—was written the name Daesu Han.

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