Chapter 185: Hero’s Awakening

“Your body should be recovering by now. …Don’t give me that look; it’s not because of me. This would have happened whether you met me or not.”

“Then why did I meet you? Didn’t you say you stayed behind to save me?”

As if reading the question in his mind – or perhaps in this inner world, emotions and thoughts were laid bare – the Hero naturally offered an answer.

“I respect your will. Having witnessed your life and your past, I wouldn’t presume to dictate your existence. Even if your life is in danger, I won’t interfere. Now that I’ve outlived my purpose, I intend to vanish with this Hero’s Awakening as my exit, offering a bit of guidance during the transition.”

…Transition?

“You were originally born with a frail constitution. Despite the world reshaping your body over a long period to better accept its power, you’re still slightly lacking. In this state, you can still fully receive the power, but the process will be quite agonizing.”

According to him, I should be in pain right now, but I feel nothing. Is it because this is the inner world?

“You’ll probably feel like your body is being torn apart while alive when you awaken. As the Hero, you won’t die from the shock, but…”

Shock death aside, there’s no need to hear more. “This transition thing, please do your best.”

He probably guessed what I was thinking again, but instead of laughing heartily, the Hero maintained his unchanging smile. His lips curved into a pleasant line as he began to elaborate kindly.

Originally, a transition between Heroes is unheard of. A Hero’s power cannot be designated and transferred.

However, by sheer coincidence, the target the Hero attempted to transfer his power to, and the target the world chose, overlapped. Moreover, because the Hero’s power had already passed through him once, leaving a small trace, it became easier for him to intervene, or so he claimed.

“This will be my last act before I disappear, but I still want to leave you with a few words for your life. As someone who once wanted to save you, I think I’m entitled to at least this much.”

The Hero took a step closer. He reached out his hand to me, infusing it with a faint light.

“You are more loved than you think.”

That’s impossible.

“Here, even in death, there was someone who wished for you to live. And there is someone who wishes for your happiness, even in death.”

His outstretched hand lowered slightly, brushing against the boundary between my collarbone and neck. It was the place the Demon King often touched, so I recognized it immediately. The mark was there.

“Without being bound, without being suppressed, freely. There are people who wish for you to live the life you desire.”

…Is he referring to himself, the Hero? Well, that’s possible for a Hero. Just looking at reality, there are countless people who want me dead.

Thanks to him, I realize once again. The Hero is altruistic. At least, the Hero before my eyes was.

A person who willingly sacrifices himself for others, a textbook Hero. Even in death, he’s doing everything he can for me, his last comrade who accompanied him all the way to the Demon King’s castle.

And I’m going to become the Hero who succeeds such a person? Could someone like me dare to live like him?

As if reading even this thought, the Hero smiled wryly.

“Don’t try to become a Hero like me. Didn’t I say it? ‘Without being bound, without being suppressed, freely.’ I’ve even forgotten my own name, but I hope you don’t.”

Ah, name.

“…Cassius.”

I opened my mouth and called his name.

During the funeral, I had heard his name. Despite spending a considerable amount of time together, it was an unfamiliar name I was hearing for the first time. At first, I didn’t realize who the name was referring to and was briefly stunned.

How many people would remember his name, mentioned in passing?

As long as the Demon King is alive, Heroes will continue to appear, and the world will cheer for the new Hero, erasing the previous one from their memories.

Still, as someone who witnessed his end and recovered his body, I wanted to remember his name. Of course, I never expected to call it out like this.

The Hero, no, Cassius, widened his eyes in surprise, seemingly startled.

But only for a moment, before he melted into a soft smile.

“Yes, that’s right. My name was Cassius. I was the son of a blacksmith in a village.”

“…”

“I never imagined you would remember. Thank you.”

As if he had infused all the light, he withdrew his hand and stepped back. A gentle smile, as if saying it was the end, illuminated the dark space.

“The few words I added probably had no impact on you.”

…Regrettably, that’s true. It would have been the same for anyone else, not just me.

Someone’s mindset based on a strong shock or a long past won’t be easily swayed by a few words from others. If people changed that easily, this world would be a boring and monotonous place without crime or individuality, just uniformity.

“Poor thing.”

Nonsense.

Before I could even retort, Cassius’s body blurred.

Still, it seemed better to end things on a good note, so I quietly watched him disappear, but just before he vanished completely, he spoke.

“Ah, I almost forgot the most important thing. On the day you were banished from the nightmare, I was asked by someone to deliver a message.”

Briefly, a gentle smile flashed in my vision.

“A black-haired, green-eyed man asked me to send his regards.”

“……!”

Wait, what did you just say…!

Light erupted.

***

A commoner wearing a bomb clung to him, and an explosion erupted.

The instant Dan froze, shocked by the direct hit, a powerful light burst from Deon Hart.

That alone was astonishing, but a pillar of light descended from the sky, centered on him. It was a light strong enough to illuminate the entire continent, yet strangely, there was no damage to eyesight.

A wondrous and sacred, gentle light. Within it, the tattered Deon Hart was healing.

Situation assessment was swift.

‘Hero Awakening!’

Without warning, shocking events rushed in one after another, leaving me mentally reeling, but this much I know for sure.

‘To choose the person at the forefront of the Demon King’s army as the Hero, they’ve completely lost their minds.’

Not that it matters right now.

More importantly, dealing with the bastards charging in with bombs is the priority. Clearly, commoners suddenly appearing from inside the mansion, where there wasn’t a single sign of them…

‘…The Duke must have used magic.’

Could it be because I learned before coming here that the Duke is a contractor of the Demon King? As a method to cleanly conceal the presence of clumsy commoners, that’s the only thing that comes to mind.

“Honestly, I’ll never understand these religious fanatics. They’re completely insane.”

And the Duke who created such a religion is no better.

Dan swiftly moved, beheading the guy charging head-on, kicking his chest to send him flying into another, and rushed towards Deon. Behind him, *thud!* The sound of someone’s life extinguishing echoed.

First, he snatched the communicator, which might still be connected, and flung it out the window, then roughly cleared away the corpses scattered near Deon. The corpses wearing bombs were gruesomely disfigured, but Dan didn’t even glance at them, focusing on Deon. Besides the wounds steadily healing, something else caught his eye.

‘The mark….’

The pitch-black mark, clearly visible through the tattered collar of his clothes, was disappearing.

The very mark known in the Empire as the Demon King’s curse, said to be personally engraved by the Demon King.

***

The moment the pillar of light connecting the sky and earth appeared, the Demon King abruptly lifted his head. Surprisingly, the information that reached him was not one, but two.

One was that his nemesis, the Hero, had finally been born. And the other was….

‘The location tracking mark I engraved on Deon Hart has been erased.’

It was something he had painstakingly engraved. Even if he became a ‘Hero’, it shouldn’t have been erased.

But if it’s a Hero, it’s different. A Hero’s body has some immunity to the Demon King’s magic. They can withstand even lethal magic to some extent, so trivial magic engraved on the body wouldn’t leave a trace.

Coincidentally, at the moment the Hero was born, the magic engraved on Deon Hart was erased? It’s obvious without even looking.

‘Deon Hart has become the Hero.’

He quietly raised his hand and covered his mouth. His inverted eyes curved into a sly smile, followed by suppressed chuckles filling the room.

“Oh, my.”

Does he only pick and choose to do such pretty things?

I’ve picked up a treasure. I was already going crazy with joy every day since meeting him, and now he’s detonated something even bigger!

Without erasing the smile plastered across his face, he reached out and grabbed the communication stone.

“Announcing to the entire Demon Realm.”

Being happy is one thing, but he still has things to do.

Now that the Hero has been born, it’s time to rescind the unnecessary orders.

“From this moment on, the magic ban is lifted.”

The command that seemed eternal was revoked. The demons will soon find out. Those with sharp senses would have already noticed.

What kind of reaction will they show when they learn that their 0th Legion Commander has become the Hero?

They will probably rejoice in a different sense from me. After all, the Demon King and the Hero are now on the same side. They’ll be happy, thinking it’s their world now, with a significant increase in power.

‘Will they really?’

…Well, I’m just as happy.

Let’s just let them enjoy this happiness. The Demon King grinned and put down the communication stone.

***

The physician Ben escaped the Demon King’s castle and was running towards Deon Hart’s location.

The reason was simple. He received a bloody cough signal. Besides that, as if not taking care of his body, abnormal signals were occasionally transmitted from various parts of his body, so as a physician, how could he just stand by?

He simply planned to treat everything this time, recklessly escaping the Demon King’s castle and entering the Human Realm. Chasing the rapidly moving location, he moved diligently, but….

‘What’s with this speed…!?’

The distance showed no sign of decreasing and kept getting further!

Are the city gates in the Human Realm made of straw? They just open if you touch them?

It would be normal for the battle to delay them, but there was no sign of that either. He thought he’d catch up soon since they’d be bogged down in the siege, but contrary to expectations, the troops led by Sir Deon were diligently advancing without staying in one place for long.

‘Should I say, as expected of Sir Deon… should I be happy about this, or not?’

At this rate, catching up is impossible.

He was about to rest in Paras territory and consider giving up and returning, when suddenly Sir Deon’s moving path changed.

A movement that perfectly retraced the path he had come from! Ben cheered.

‘I can meet him!’

He didn’t know why they were suddenly returning, but meeting was possible!

As time passed, the signal weakened, so he couldn’t detect minor injuries, so he should check thoroughly when they meet. Especially, he must check if the burns on his thighs have worsened.

And so, Ben went to meet Deon Hart, who was returning.

“Sir Deon, Sir Deon! Just a moment…! It’s me, Ben…!”

Dududududu!!

Dust billowed. Ben stared blankly at the group passing him by.

‘I’ve been ignored….’

It was as if they didn’t even recognize my existence. I was completely ignored.

‘But I am a physician who doesn’t know how to give up.’

For the sake of my patient’s health, I can move as much as needed.

He lifted the mana stone necklace and checked Sir Deon’s location.

They are moving away at a fast speed, but….

‘Still, the distance isn’t widening further than before.’

This is manageable. Ben set off on his journey again and managed to reach near Illuster territory.

The problem was what came next.

A massive pillar of light. The signal, barely hanging on, vibrated violently and finally cut off.

Ben blankly looked back and forth between the mana stone necklace with the severed signal and the pillar of light.

He knew what that pillar of light meant. Probably no one in the Human Realm or Demon Realm wouldn’t know.

‘The birth of a Hero….’

Then the reason the signal was cut off is….

Before even thinking with his head, he instinctively realized.

“Sir Deon… you’ve become the Hero.”