Chapter: 618
The Hero’s gaze was clearly directed at me, but he wasn’t really looking at me.
Behind me lurked a presence, the one bestowing power upon me now, a transcendent who once protected the Hero in the past.
Lord Jushin Armadi. The Hero shot a defiant look at the God seated on the highest throne.
“Lord! This is against our wishes!”
For an ordinary human to endure hundreds of years is physically impossible.
Even if all other constraints are ignored, lifespan cannot be changed.
Thus, the Hero asked the God to grant him a wish—to allow him to uphold the seal.
For an ordinary opponent, it would be easy to dismiss as nonsense, but for him, it was an exception.
The Hero, who sacrificed himself for the world without expecting a reward, held an empty wish.
He could be persuaded, redirected, shown another path, but if the Hero didn’t change his choice, could Armadi do anything?
“Please don’t turn your back on our promise!”
Even if it remained as regret and remorse for the Shoddy God, there was nothing the God could do.
Is there anyone who can overcome the malice created by Erginius?
As long as the Hero is stuck here, speaking is a hassle.
The Shoddy God knew this fact.
That’s why he must’ve created this ghastly dungeon as a mode.
To find someone who could save the Hero of the past.
“Uh… Over there♡”
So ultimately, the Hero in front of me is the culprit who made sure not even a sequel or DLC could come out and my life was wasted on a trash game.
The enemy of the Soul Academy!
I’ll take you down! Hero!
“Actually, you regret it, right?♡”
“What do you mean?”
“You thought it was a mistake, right?♡ Hm?♡”
“I’ve never felt that way! I don’t regret it! It’s something I must do!”
“Really?♡ Seriously?♡”
“Yeah!”
“Then why were you flustered when hearing about the Sympathy loser?♡ And why were you relieved to know it was just a coincidence?♡”
If the original Hero had heard of the miracle happening on the surface, he would have been overjoyed. And realizing it was a mere coincidence, he would’ve lamented.
If that miracle was intentional, it means humanity could escape from the Evil God.
“Aren’t you going to answer?♡”
“That’s… so…”
“I’ll say it for you♡ You were scared of becoming a fool, weren’t you?♡”
The reason the Hero was flustered and relieved was because he feared his sacrifice would become meaningless.
Hundreds of years.
Hundreds of years.
The Hero endured his duties trapped here for hundreds of years.
In a place where even the flow of time could not be felt, unable to converse with anyone, staring at the darkened walls, he persevered through the years.
Yet, the mental strength of a Hero who can still smile is miraculous, but his mind cannot remain steadfast as it once was.
“Was there really no other way?♡”
“Hold on.”
As I stepped closer, the Hero took a step back.
“Did it really have to be you?♡”
“Listen to me.”
Taking another step forward, the Hero faltered.
“Could it be that you’re mistaken?♡”
“Future generations!”
Stepping closer again, the Hero staggered and stumbled.
“Did you make a hasty decision?♡”
“Stop!”
Arriving in front of the fallen Hero, I bent down and leaned in. The Hero’s ragged breath reached my face.
“Honestly, say it♡ You wanted to believe there was no other choice, right?♡ You hoped for the nobility of your sacrifice, didn’t you?♡”
The nobility of “this is what I must do” had now become a defense mechanism, supporting the nearly insane Hero.
“HaHaha♡ Look at your face♡ A fool would be overjoyed seeing this!♡ This is such a funny toy!♡”
“…Don’t try to test me! Even if you do, my will remains unchanged!”
“Test? HaHaha!♡ You’re really stupid!♡ How is pointing out the truth a test?!♡”
Now I will bring down that source and confront the unease hidden behind the Hero’s smile.
If he doesn’t admit he was wrong, persuasion itself is impossible.
“It’s too bad the Grandpa couldn’t see this ugly state!♡ If he were here, the expression would’ve been really entertaining!♡”
As I was chuckling and thinking about my next line, a shiver ran down my back.
Has he finally gotten angry?
He sure is holding out for a long time. Definitely a Hero.
Seeing the Hero’s forehead coming towards my face, I quickly stepped back and giggle laughed.
“Attacking a small girl while being a Hero♡”
“It’s not right to leave a rude child unattended.”
“What are you saying?♡ You’re just trying to silence me because you don’t want to hear what I say!♡”
“…”
“Do whatever you want♡ I don’t know if a shoddy one like you can defeat me~♡”
Sticking my tongue out, I looked at the Hero’s flushed cheeks and laughed heartily.
Hmm. Seeing the rise of ecstasy, it seems I’ve succeeded in reaching my initial goal.
Now, what should I do?
Following the warnings filling my mind, I tilted my head as the Hero’s fist brushed past my hair.
“Did you throw your punch without even hitting?♡ Impressive~♡ That’s how a Hero is!♡”
It’s not difficult to evade attacks now since the opponent isn’t giving it their all, but I can’t expect him to keep going easy on me.
When the heat rises in the head, would he care about controlling his strength?
It would be fortunate if he admits his mistake before then, but if he were the type to collapse this easily, he would’ve broken long ago.
“Are you scared of people since you’ve always played alone?♡ Why do you keep hitting the Void?♡”
Ah! A good idea popped into my head! What if I just smash him before he goes all out?
If I can make him acknowledge his failures amidst self-loathing, I won’t have to worry for my safety and I can achieve my goal! I’m definitely a genius!
“Aha!♡ You thought if you touched me, you wouldn’t be able to walk properly?♡”
Continuing to move my lips, I observed the Hero. In parts of his movements, I could see things I recognized.
Those were the things I etched in my head when I battled the Hero’s doll over the monitor.
Aside from the timing being off, the motions are almost identical.
“How much are you holding back?♡ If I poke you, will you explode?♡”
And the Hero’s movements weren’t sharp.
It’s not that his innate skills have vanished, but it’s true they have aged.
After being stuck in the dark for hundreds of years, he couldn’t have kept the same movements.
“What to do?♡ Are you so scared of being sullied that you can’t touch me?~♡”
Gradually ramping up the attack speed, I grabbed the flow and hummed a tune, imprinting the Hero’s movements in my mind.
Thus, a path of progression started to sketch itself in my head.
Shall we start slowly now?
Infusing strength into the hand holding the mace, I stepped forward.
Perhaps it was because I had been retreating until now; the Hero’s reactions were slow.
Seizing that moment, I plunged the mace into his side, producing a thud as the armor crumpled.
The Hero bit his lip in pain but didn’t stop moving.
He spread his arms out to grab me.
Just as I expected.
I ducked down to evade his arms and headbutted his exposed chin.
The Hero staggered back as if dizzy, but I chose not to pursue, letting him alone.
If I pin him down without even drawing a weapon, he’ll rationalize it.
I can’t give him an excuse.
“How can you let yourself be beaten by such a shoddy one?♡ How weak have the fools become?♡”
“…”
“How pathetic for the Hero of old♡ How difficult it must’ve been to be a Hero like this~♡”
As the Hero sealed his lips and spread his hands, flames erupted from his palms, transforming into a sword.
As the heat emanated from the sword filled the space, chills ran down my body.
“Even being beaten by a girl, you act like it’s great. At best, you’re just a failure♡ Shoddy!♡”
Evading the first swing of the sword, I waited for the timing.
The heat flowing from the blade made my skin sting.
As I blocked the second swing, I made minute adjustments.
The impact transmitted to my arm was great, leading to tension in my jaw.
Then, I charged at the third swing.
The intimidating pressure numbed my body. The heat painfully filled my lungs. The colossal fury transmitted through his deranged gaze.
There seemed to be no room left for a smile, but a playful grin painted my lips.
“You’re weak!♡”
With a smack sound, the Hero’s sword flew into the Void.
The power carried by the sword was immense, so the recoil was too.
Right now, the Hero is no different than a training dummy.
Knowing this, he prepared for the blow to come, but instead of swinging my mace to strike his armor, I delivered a full-powered kick to his exposed groin.
“Gah…!”
Even the Hero who saved the world seemed unable to train that area, letting out a scream akin to a dying animal as his body crumbled.
“Do you understand now? Right now, you’re a shoddy being beaten by a small girl.”
Facing the Hero, who buried his face in the ground and thrashed around, I called out.
“If a fool gets up, he’ll be prettily devoured! Of course, he’s the leader of fools. He’s definitely a pervert who doesn’t care if he’s with a man or a woman.”
In the state the Hero is in now, he cannot become a seal to block the Evil God.
Perhaps if he were the unblemished version of the past, but the current Hero filled with confusion would merely be a sacrifice to celebrate the Evil God’s resurrection.
“If that’s your preference, I won’t stop you.”
So any further sacrifice would be meaningless.
“Uh… are you listening? You didn’t faint from being too pleased, did you?”
Poking the Hero’s head, who once was a man, with a sense of guilt, he suddenly sprang back to life.
The once-fallen figure seemed deceptive in its might, shocking me into falling back as I hurriedly raised my shield.
“Ha.”
Just then, a resigned chuckle escaped the Hero’s lips.
“I cannot deny it. Even a child like you can make it this far; if it were Agra, then there’s no competition.”
The Hero flopped down onto the ground, exhaling a sigh as he saw my face peeking out from behind the shield.
“So what should we do now, O Hero of the future?”
“What do you mean, what should we do? We need to get outside for starters.”
“Turns out you’re the dullest one among us.”
The response to the Hero’s inquiry didn’t come from me but from the voices of others.
“…How did you all get here?”
The Holy Knight Ruel. Knight Garad. The two who were the Hero’s companions in the past have come here across centuries.
“…Old hag.”
“Don’t mention her.”
“So you had a hobby for cross-dressing? It suits you!”
“I told you not to mention it!”
Garad. Why are you wearing the exact same armor as me?
Are you secretly jealous inside, making all these comments?
“Goodness. Garad, I didn’t know you had such a hobby.”
“That’s not it! I have no hobbies for cross-dressing!”
“Did you get fed up with women and decided to entice men? Those words back then weren’t jokes!”
“Ah, please!”
“I get it. That’s understandable.”
“Just shut up and don’t try to comfort me!”
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