The world of mirrors was supposed to be filled with compassion.
The Apostle of God and their companions were infinitely good people, and even if they knew their opponents had to be defeated, they wouldn’t be able to swing their weapons without hesitation against those who were unfortunate and pitiful.
Even if they pretended otherwise, their minds would gradually wear away, and by the time they reached the end of the dungeon, there would undoubtedly be cracks in their sanity, or so the Pope thought.
In reality, the Apostle of God had revealed the fragility of their mind in several prior events.
No matter how strong they pretended to be, they showed themselves to be ordinary people who could get hurt.
Her friends were the same.
They were human.
They felt compassion for the pitiful, cried for those in pain, reached out to those collapsed on the ground, and sometimes hesitated before the hardships of life.
While it is true that being ordinary is noble, being ordinary was undeniably a weakness, and the Pope was eager to exploit this aspect.
Hoping someone would crumble, even if that didn’t happen, wishing for the Apostle of God to be affected.
“…What on earth is this?”
The Pope’s mouth fell open at the sight of the dungeon.
Since the Apostle of God had personally come to strategize, he had thought it would be easier to overcome than expected.
Even so, he thought it would serve as a cornerstone for the future.
After all, in order for the Evil God to fully resurrect, that place had to be conquered.
If he could bring down the opponent at the very end, it would suffice, so he decided it was okay for the Apostle of God to win for now, but what was happening here?
When the Apostle initially recklessly charged forward, the hesitation was immense, and he thought it was escape from reality. Eventually, they would realize there was no way out and brace themselves.
While he was looking forward to enjoying the myriad of emotions on that person’s face, the Apostle suddenly leapt over a wall that was invisible but undoubtedly there.
Then, stepping into a place even the creator of the dungeon didn’t know, they boldly put themselves on the precipice of hell with a simple misstep.
The bewilderment the Apostle had shown earlier proved that this dungeon did not exist in the prophecy.
That person knew nothing about what would happen here.
It couldn’t be said that the great Lord Jushin had informed them.
After all, that space was unknown to both the Pope and the owner of the dungeon.
How could the Lord inform them about a place where no one had ever set foot?
No one in the past or future knew about that space.
Only the Apostle of God knew that place.
“It’s interesting, but at the same time, it’s troublesome. Other dungeons could be conquered in that manner, you know.”
You could ask if just blocking the gaps wouldn’t suffice, but how do you block a hole when you don’t even know where the gap is?
You could completely overturn the structure, but since he couldn’t be sure what the Apostle of God’s uniqueness was, he had no clue where to start altering things.
“Can’t you just expand the dungeon recklessly with the Authority of the End?”
As Agra, who had been quietly watching from the side, interjected, the Pope scoffed and straightened his shoulders.
“Do you think such tricks would work on the Apostle?”
“If you don’t try, you can’t be certain.”
“I’ve already tried. I placed a trial on the Apostle, and that person gained enlightenment in just a day. It was a power worthy of someone chosen by the Lord.”
With a smirk as if praising his own daughter, the Pope bragged, and Agra clicked his tongue in response.
Still, it wasn’t this bad before; how did they become such a dimwit? No, thinking back, perhaps they had always been like this.
*
The people inside the mace were also in shock at Lucy Allen’s sudden actions.
Those who had suffered all kinds of pain while conquering dungeons created by the Evil Gods chuckled at Lucy, who selected a third option in a situation where they were forced to make a choice.
“We definitely chose the wrong leader.”
“I admit I was quite incompetent, but please don’t compare me to Lucy! What am I supposed to do about this!”
At the bewildered cry of the Hero, Ruel and Garad laughed mockingly, both knowing inwardly that this comparison was harsh on the Hero. The method Lucy showed was far too outside common sense.
Who would attempt a strategy that utilizes a space even the creator of the dungeon wouldn’t know?
Finding such a strange space was itself difficult, and even if they did find it, how would they discover a path beyond there? Even if they were lucky enough to head beyond, how would they traverse a place where one wrong step could mean death?
That was a strategy that only Lucy could execute.
“Once again, she has performed a miracle and overcome hardship.”
At Ruel’s exclamation, both Garad and the Hero stopped speaking and shared a mischievous smile.
“It’s true that a late wind is frightening. Who would have thought that the one without blood or tears would end up like this?”
“Isn’t it nice to feel sentimental? Compared to the past, Lucy is exceedingly human.”
“It sounds like you’re saying I wasn’t human back then.”
“That’s exactly what I meant. You didn’t have any humanity back in those days.”
At the Hero’s firm statement, Ruel grumbled but couldn’t reply strongly. Seeing him, the Hero patted his shoulder with light laughter.
“I’m joking. You were fine back in those days too.”
“It’s too late to say that now.”
“I also empathize with your exclamation. As you said, the new Hero has been surpassing countless hardships with countless miracles, hasn’t he?”
After the Hero settled inside the mace, Lucy faced countless trials ahead of her.
Like the Hero who faced challenges long ago, she willingly sacrificed herself for the world and dedicated her life to others.
Naturally, the process wasn’t smooth. Lucy, the hero, was an ordinary girl, despite possessing extraordinary abilities.
She was a saint who etched the sacrifices of others into her eyes, shedding tears within herself and forming a lake of sadness in her heart.
Because the Hero himself was such a person, he understood.
Carrying such burdens, she would eventually be crushed by them.
That’s why the Hero was worried when Lucy said she would handle all the dungeons alone, but that concern was unfounded.
Unlike the Hero, Lucy was someone capable of shouldering that burden, possessing people around her who could fill in the gaps, and having the mindset to accept their help willingly.
Yes, it was truly foolish worry.
The fact that I made such a mistake didn’t mean others would make the same mistake as well.
“I’m saying, looking at her, I realize how arrogant we were. Is it not foolish to think we can prevent destruction on our own? We were certainly great heroes, but we were just one of the countless stars born in a long era. The stars must have shone in the past we don’t know, and they will shine after us as well.”
Heroes aren’t predetermined at birth.
Anyone who stands up to save the world becomes a hero.
And the gods in the heavens do not disregard the will of those heroes.
They reach out to guide the hero to be a proper hero.
So one doesn’t have to bear burdens alone.
One doesn’t need to try to save the world alone.
Just as the Hero of the Hero’s Era saved the world, now Lucy, the hero, fights for the world, and in the distant future, that era’s hero will appear to save the world.
“Sorry to interrupt your good words, but can you take a look at this?”
Garad, who usually maintained a lazy tone unless something significant happened, interrupted amid the Hero’s seemingly emotional tone.
There was a lot of confusion in his tone, suggesting something strange had occurred.
“What’s going on?”
“The dungeon strategy is over.”
“Did you reach the boss room?”
“No, it’s even gone beyond that. Look, a door has appeared leading out.”
“…Already? Don’t lie. If we’re facing the boss, it’s supposed to be noisy, and I can’t have missed that noise. No, wait. If a door has appeared, it means the boss was defeated.”
As the Hero’s eyes spun in confusion, Erginius quietly revealed himself.
“I’ll rewind the footage for a moment. I want to check again myself.”
“Please do.”
With the footage rewinding, Lucy’s party returned to the white space.
Suddenly jumping up from the void and landing somewhere invisible, or counting her steps before suddenly jumping somewhere, Lucy was doing bizarre conduct, and somehow found herself in the boss room.
“Just a second. Can you rewind that again?”
Looking again, it was the same. The moment Lucy stepped into a white space, she suddenly arrived in the boss room.
And right above the boss’s head.
The boss, realizing too late about the ambush, was already met with Lucy’s mace smashing into its head.
Followed by the boss that staggered, a flurry of swords and magic rained down on it until the boss finally fell.
It was an incredibly anticlimactic end for a boss that possessed enough power to manifest the nightmares of those who entered the dungeon.
“Was that thing supposed to fall this easily?”
The Hero, who had tackled the mirror dungeon during the Age of Myth, muttered unconsciously, and Garad next to him shook his head in horror.
“Impossible! We nearly died so many times because of that thing!”
“We escaped after failing to conquer it twice.”
“So it’s weaker now compared to before?”
“No.”
With a hint of doubt, Erginius shook his head.
“To me, it doesn’t look any different from what we faced before.”
“Then why did it fall so easily!”
“How would I know?”
“Ruel, can you ask her? Why the heck did that thing crumble so easily!”
“…I already asked, but Lucy just questioned why it was hard for her. Where else would you find such an easy opponent?”
At Ruel’s words, the heroes fell silent.
It was certainly a situation where they should be celebrating, yet the mood among the heroes was truly somber.
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