The Last Place Hero's Return

“What kind of bullshit is that supposed to be?” I shouted.

My thoughts twisted into a tangled mess. The Demon God? I was the Demon God? I had been fighting this entire time to eradicate the Demon God, and now, out of nowhere, this demon was telling me I was the Demon God?

However, before I could even demand an explanation, Amon’s body, drained of its flames, began to crumble into black ash and scatter into the air.

I rushed toward him in panic. “Hey! Hey, wait! Hold on, you bastard! At least explain what the hell you mean by saying I’m the Demon God before you die!”

As he continued to disintegrate into ash, Amon opened his mouth with a faint voice that sounded as if it would snap at any moment. “He... will come... looking for you.”

What was that supposed to mean?

“What? Who is coming?” I asked.

“The... sixth hero. The one... who killed the Demon God... five hundred years ago.” Amon’s shoulders shook, and he laughed. “Do you think... Cough! ...You can survive... that monster? Heh. Heh. Heh.”

Then, his body completely turned to ash and scattered into the air. I frowned as I stared at the drifting particles. “The sixth hero...”

A memory surfaced in my mind, something Grace’s remnant soul had once said during the field trip. “Beware... of the sixth hero.”

Her warning and Amon’s words coincided. I racked my brains. According to historical records, the Great Five Heroes were unable to kill the Demon God because his power was too overwhelming, so they sealed him in the deepest part of the Abyss. But I learned today that the Demon God wasn’t sealed. He was destroyed.

What remained at the deepest part of the Abyss was merely the residual power left behind after the Demon God’s death. Within the burning flames of the Abyss, there was no trace of will or consciousness belonging to the Demon God. It was like a corpse left behind after death. But if the Demon God had truly died five hundred years ago, why hadn’t the Great Five Heroes ever said they had killed him?

I sighed as I pondered it. Hadn’t I just heard the answer from Amon himself? The one who killed the Demon God wasn’t the Great Five Heroes. It was the Sixth Hero. And for some reason, the Great Five Heroes had hidden the identity of that Sixth Hero. That was why they lied and said the Demon God was sealed instead of killed. They erased every record of the Sixth Hero, so thoroughly that no trace of him could be found anywhere in history.

“Then this Sixth Hero...”

Amon said the Sixth Hero would come looking for me. It meant that the person who had killed the Demon God five hundred years ago was still alive. Among all heroes, besides myself, only one possessed such a long lifespan: the Prophet of Eternity. Yes, behind all of this, he was there.

Just what the hell is that bastard’s goal? I wondered.

Amon had said he learned how to descend into the deepest part of the Abyss directly from the one who created the seal. The Great Sage Julius couldn’t be alive. So, the person Amon mentioned had definitely been the Sixth Hero, the Prophet of Eternity. There was no way he was unaware that the moment Amon, who carried the Ember of Ruin, came into contact with the Demon God’s remnants, the Demon God would be revived. So, in other words, the Prophet of Eternity had tried to revive the Demon God using Amon.

“Why?”

The question slipped out of my lips before I realized it. Why would the very person who killed the Demon God five hundred years ago now try to resurrect him?

Before I could continue my train of thought, the Ashen Flames wrapping around my body suddenly flared violently. A searing pain shook my mind. “Huh!”

The Ember hadn’t fully settled yet. Technically speaking, the absorption was complete. The problem was that the Primordial Flame, strengthened by absorbing the Ember, was raging wildly inside my soul stigmata. Thanks to the power of the Tree of Creation, a fragile balance was barely being maintained. But if the Primordial Fire continued rampaging like this, it would eventually exceed what I could control.

As I thought about what would happen, a memory from my previous life flashed across my mind. It was the memory of a massive black inferno rising high into the sky. It was caused by the Demon God, a god of destruction filled with nothing but the will to annihilate the world, devoid of reason or intellect. Would I also become like that? Like the Demon God I saw back then?

No. I won’t! I said to myself.

I had been given this new life with great difficulty. There was no way I would burn it all away with my hands. I drew upon the power of the Tree of Creation and tried to suppress the rampaging Primordial Flame. The Primordial Flame, which had been raging like a starving beast, hesitated and slowly retreated, its violent momentum subsiding a little. Of course, it had backed down for only now. The immense heat within it was still very much present. It was a temporary stalemate.

Once I realized the immediate crisis had been temporarily contained, a crushing wave of exhaustion overwhelmed me. Unable to maintain my balance, I collapsed straight to the ground. “Ah!Ugh.”

Containing a hint of concern and urgency, Camellia’s voice reached my ears. “D-Dale! Are you alright?”

Then, my vision flickered and went dark.

* * *

How much time had passed? I opened my eyes with a splitting headache, and a familiar ceiling came into view. It was the ceiling of the academy’s intensive care medical facility. It was a place I had ended up visiting far more often than expected, even though I had an immortal body.

As I groaned, the sound of something shattering rang out. Then, I heard Iris’s voice.

“Dale?” She hurried over and wrapped her arms around me, crying out. “T-thank goodness! H-how does it feel? Are you alright? Are you fully conscious now?”

“Mm! Mgh!” The soft pressure against my cheeks made the pounding headache vanish almost instantly.

Sobbing, she continued, “Dale, do you have any idea how worried I was? I thought you might never wake up again!”

“L-let’s calm down for a second,” I replied.

“Does this look like a moment to calm down?” Iris shouted, her face flushed with indignation. “Two weeks! Two whole weeks! You were unconscious for more than ten days!”

Two weeks? Had that much time already passed? It felt like I had only blacked out for a moment.

“I’m fine now, so don’t worry,” I said to reassure her.

Iris glared at me suspiciously. “Ha. Fine, you say? First, let me check if your mind is functioning properly. Here, how many fingers do you see?”

Looking at her hands, I answered, “Two.”

“Hm. Your cognitive ability seems normal. What’s the very first thought that came to your mind just now?” she asked.

Remembering the soft sensation that had been pressed against my cheeks the moment I woke up, I honestly replied, “I was thinking that your chest is really big.”

Iris narrowed her eyes. “Well, I suppose it’s a relief that you’re more or less yourself.”

She showed a clearly displeased expression, but it seemed she was at least convinced that I had regained my senses.

I looked at her. “You said I was unconscious for two weeks, right?”

Honestly, it still didn’t feel real. From my perspective, I had simply closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them again, only to find that two weeks had flown by.

She replied, “Yes, that’s right... While you were unconscious, you were sweating heavily, and your breathing was very unstable.”

I understood now why Iris burst into tears the moment she saw me.

She looked me up and down. “You are really okay, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now.” I nodded and quietly examined myself.

The Primordial Flame, which had been raging violently before, was now calm, and the power of the Tree of Creation was also silent, as if nothing had happened. While I didn’t know what would happen if I tried to draw on that power right now, for the moment, the two forces were miraculously maintaining a delicate balance.

Iris placed a hand over her chest and let out a long breath. “Haa! That’s a relief.”

“By the way, what happened to the war?” I asked.

“When Amon died, all of his avatars scattered and disappeared as well. The remaining demonkin saw that and immediately fled in all directions,” Iris replied.

“And the damage?”

“It wasn’t very large. Honestly, you could say there was practically none. The Masters were in the middle of fighting Amon’s avatars when they all vanished at once.”

“Really?” I was surprised, but this was certainly good news.

“Oh, and the academy is planning to invite the heroes of the three nations who participated in the war and hold a grand victory ceremony soon.”

“A victory ceremony?”

“Yes. To commemorate our complete victory against the demonkin.”

Regardless of how things unfolded, if one looked purely at the results, this war had effectively destroyed most of the Demon God’s forces that had plagued humanity for centuries. On top of that, there had been almost no casualties on our side. There was more than enough reason to celebrate a victory ceremony.

However, thinking about the Prophet of Eternity, I still felt a lingering sense of unease and unanswered questions. But even so, there was no denying that humanity had achieved a tremendous victory against the demonkin.

“Dale,” Iris hesitantly called out.

“Yeah?” I replied.

“The one who saved you this time... was it Empress Camellia?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right.”

If Camellia hadn’t bought me time, Amon would have killed me before I finished absorbing the Demon God’s powers flowing into my body. Then the Primordial Flame would have gone berserk. Just remembering that moment sent a chill crawling down my spine.

“Haa. I see,” Iris said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Hmph. It’s nothing.” She turned her head away with a small snort, as if something displeased her. But only for a moment. With a deep sigh, she stood up from her chair. “Well, I’ll head out now.”

“Huh? Already?” I thought she would stay with me at least until I left the facility.

“Well, you seem to be in much better shape than I expected.” She subtly glanced toward the door. “And it looks like I’ll have to give up my spot to someone else today.”

She shook her head repeatedly, sighing as if she had endured quite a bit of hardship. “Haa! Honestly, what kind of person is she? Do you know how hard it’s been for the past two weeks trying to stop her from forcing her way into the ward? She’s been standing outside the entire time with her eyes wide open, barely sleeping for over ten days straight. And since she’s the one who saved you, I can’t exactly throw her out either... Well, anyway. If I don’t give up my spot to that person today, forget the victory ceremony, the entire academy might end up in chaos.”

I didn’t need Iris to say it out loud to know exactly who she was talking about.

Iris gazed at me, then said, “Dale.”

I didn’t know what that gaze meant. “Y-yeah?”

“This is really the last time. Got it? If even one more person gets added after this...” Iris smiled. “I’ll seriously rip it off, you know?”

I flinched at her declaration.

“Well then, I’ll be outside.” Iris turned around and left the ward.

Shortly after, the door slowly opened again. Empress Camellia stepped into the room. The moment our eyes met, she hurried over to the bedside. She reached out and gently touched me, her hands trembling. “A-are you... really... alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, nodding.

“H-haha!” Only then did Camellia finally smile in relief. “T-thank goodness! Truly... thank goodness!”

Suddenly, she started sobbing. When I saw the clear tears rolling down her cheeks, my eyes widened in shock. Wait, why all of a sudden, Your Majesty?You’re not supposed to be this kind of character.

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