The Weight of a Savior
After barely managing to shake off the crowd that had swarmed around me, I took shelter inside a nearby building belonging to the Holy Church. “What will you do now, Master?” Lily approached and gracefully knelt beside me.
If it had been Garam, she would have rested her chin on my knee with eyes dripping with affection. But the Divine Hero, Lily, was a little different from that. Her reverent posture felt more like watching a devout believer paying respects before a god.
The Church called her the Saintess and shouted the name of their deity, but to Lily, I ranked far higher than any god the Church worshipped. If I told her, “Stop acting like a saint,” she would drop the role immediately. Even though I had drawn a clear line and declared that I had nothing to do with being a Hero, Lily still tended to believe I might be one.
No matter how firmly I denied it, she continued to see me as a savior. Thankfully, unlike my other disciples, she didn’t view me in a romantic light, but that unwavering faith of hers sometimes felt burdensome.
She spoke as if I looked down upon the entire world, yet in reality, I could only speak with confidence about things I had personally experienced or knew. If the full-scale great war that led into Season 2 broke out, even I had no idea how things would unfold.
“What will I do? Nothing changes, Lily. Iris and I will search for Iris. You and the other disciples will continue doing what you’ve been doing—building strength and gaining experience. The Enemy’s Will has already begun to awaken. There’s no time left to waste on even a moment of leisure.”
“…The world will soon learn of your existence, Master. How do you plan to handle that?”
“If word spreads that I’m the master of the Heroes, things will be noisy for a while. But I guarantee it won’t last long. It’ll die down quickly.”
“Why? How can you be so sure?”
“It’s obvious. Do you think the others will stay quiet once they hear this news? They’ll throw themselves into their missions even more frantically than before. Meanwhile, I’ll move quietly.”
“That means…”
“The existing Heroes who constantly stir up grand stories wherever they go, versus their master who appeared briefly before falling back into silence. It’s clear where people will direct their attention.”
This was correct. In the end, I was nothing more than a fake protagonist who had briefly stepped onto the stage of this play. The true protagonists of this vast tale were still my disciples—the Heroes of this world. And the world, the people, only focused on whatever caught their eyes and ears.
“But… if that happens, then the reason you stepped forward will be…”
“No. Regardless, people saw me overwhelming those Demonic Humans. That alone makes one thing clear. A powerful enemy threatening the Heroes has appeared, but someone even stronger stands behind them. Therefore, they can simply cheer for the Heroes without any fear or worry.”
“…”
“Just as you all have done until now. Continue doing so. I’ve said enough by conveying that message.”
I didn’t expect much from the people of this world. Even if they took up arms to fight, at best they could only battle monsters, Demon God Worshippers, and those fanatical cults. They might manage against low-grade monsters, but from mid-grade monsters onward, they offered no help at all. It was fortunate if they simply didn’t get in the way.
But if they turned to the enemy and became cultists, that would be a problem.
My disciples were not machines or cyborgs. They were perfectly normal living beings who needed to eat, rest, and sleep. Even in the game, there had been a “combat fatigue” or condition stat. If they didn’t get enough rest after taking damage, the experience they gained would drop sharply, and the chance of sustaining injuries would skyrocket.
Ignoring that and pushing them too hard could lead to real disaster for the characters. If that was true even in a game, how much more so for living, breathing people instead of mere data?
Rest was essential, and for that, rear-line stability was absolutely necessary. In this world, ordinary people were responsible for providing that stability.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Master.”
“Lily?”
“It’s all because we’re lacking. Because we’re not enough, we’ve forced you to step forward like this. After all the grace you’ve given us… we still haven’t repaid even a fraction of it, yet here we are again…”
“What are you talking about, you silly girl? This isn’t about grace or debt. I’m doing this because I want to.”
“But…”
“Don’t think I’m only sacrificing myself for you. I’m not that much of a fool, nor am I some selfless saint. There are reasons and necessities behind every action. So stop saying such foolish things and focus on what’s ahead, Lily. It’s going to get harder and busier.”
With those words, I helped Lily to her feet. Outside the temporary chapel, the murmur of the crowd could still be heard. They were curious about more than just the Saintess—they wanted to see the person before whom the Divine Hero had knelt.
After all, I was the one who had driven the wicked beings that openly attacked a city protected by a Hero to the brink of death. It was only natural they would want to rely on me.
“How should I handle this?”
“Since I’ve already revealed myself as the master of the Heroes, let that part stand. Just say that unlike the other Heroes, I quietly travel the continent eliminating remnants of the Enemy’s Will that my disciples haven’t yet erased.”
“So, a master who cleans up after his incompetent disciples.”
“Let’s say I’m helping disciples who are so outstanding they’re too busy to handle everything themselves.”
“I’m not sure how many of your senior disciples would agree with that statement…”
Lily rose to her feet as if she understood my intentions. When I stood up as well, she wore a deeply regretful expression.
“When will we meet again?”
“It won’t be long. Not if I find Iris quickly.”
“Whenever you say that, Master, it somehow always takes a long time.”
“You even remember useless details like that. You can forget things like this without any problem, my disciple.”
“If you wish me to forget, I will. Shall I?”
Her tone was so serious that I clicked my tongue and lightly scolded her. No matter how reckless a master I was, I didn’t go around tampering with memories.
“These past few days spent with you after so long have been truly wonderful, Master.”
“For me as well, Lily. It’s good to see you like this again. Our Saintess.”
“It is all thanks to you, Master. Everything I’ve become is because of you.”
“You worked hard too. Don’t leave that out.”
“I pray for our swift reunion, my savior. I will take my leave now.”
Having fully returned to her saintly tone, Lily soon disappeared from the room. It was time for me to leave this place and head back to my original destination.
I headed toward the secret passage I had prepared in advance. Iris was waiting there. With the hood I had prepared pulled low and the identification tag Lily had obtained for me, slipping quietly out of the city to take care of business shouldn’t be difficult.
“Let’s go, Iris.”
Leaving the city and its remaining people in Lily’s care, Iris and I hurried along the path we had originally been traveling.
“Are you really okay with leaving like this?”
How long had we walked? Once we were far from the city, Iris asked the question. After causing such a stir—revealing myself as the master of the Heroes, the hidden powerhouse who had crushed Demonic Humans, and all sorts of other rumors—I had suddenly vanished. The people were bound to be confused about what had just happened.
“Why? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“…I thought you would step forward more decisively, Master.”
“This is decisive enough. What more do you want me to do?”
I had completely exposed the identity I had tried so hard to keep hidden until the end. The master of the Heroes is here. There exists someone in this world stronger than any individual Hero. So be careful with Demonic Humans, monsters, and whatever lies beyond them. It would be wise not to move recklessly.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an act of pure recklessness. But doing this was the only way to buy some time.
Ever since the Fragment of the Demon God had appeared by ignoring the laws of causality, everything had gone completely off track. If that was the case, it was crucial to insert myself into that distortion to fill the gaps and give my disciples more time.
The Fragment of the Demon God had focused on retreating rather than fighting me. That meant it saw me as a formidable opponent and had withdrawn because it couldn’t guarantee victory. In truth, I hadn’t been able to inflict even the slightest damage on it, but it didn’t know that.
Since it didn’t know, I intended to take full advantage of that fact.
The beings currently threatening my disciples were high-grade monsters, Demonic Humans, and Fragments of the Demon God. The current disciples could handle the first two well enough. But against a Fragment of the Demon God, at least four of them would need to work together to even have a chance at victory.
If I could hold that fragment in place and prevent it from moving freely, my disciples would be able to grow stronger with greater peace of mind.
“By the way, Iris.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve been getting the feeling that you keep hiding something from this master of yours.”
“Eh? Ah, um…”
“It felt a bit strange even when we were together before. I let it slide at the time, but now it’s reached a point I can’t ignore. For the first time, I even thought that you didn’t seem like yourself.”
This was no joke or metaphor. Without a single lie, the feeling had been overwhelmingly strong.
The Iris I knew had a bright personality and could be a bit foolish at times. She was less like a Hero and more like an utterly ordinary disciple. I had thought that way until quite recently.
But starting some time ago, several doubts had begun to creep into that view. It had all started with the opinion my master, the Heavenly Demon, had offered. That something felt off, that she sensed the energy of a slaughter ghost—words I could neither accept nor understand.
At the time, I had simply wondered why my master would say such things. Yet as time passed, something subtly different began to brush against my senses.
Sometimes it leaked out in moments even Iris herself didn’t seem aware of. Other times, it felt like a deliberate, intentional change.
“Iris. Speak honestly.”
“…”
“Is there something you haven’t told me? Or something you’re hiding?”