The Hero's Return
The fortresses of the Venice Kingdom fell to the hordes of the Forces of Darkness, and cities once shining with human morality and ethics plunged into hellish depths, becoming mere playthings for demons.
Even the territory of the Habsburg Empire suffered invasion from countless undead armies. Soldiers and knights who had only moments ago been allies now turned into Forces of Darkness and attacked their former comrades. Yet, thanks to the dragons’ decisive intervention, the Habsburg Empire repelled the undead tide.
“Such terrifying weapons…”
“Impossible!”
Still, the monsters Kim Jae-hyun had created etched a massive fear into the hearts of every monarch across the nations, including Emperor Ferdinand of the Habsburg Empire.
Even their hideous appearance, riddled with holes, paled in comparison to the black smoke that poured from their bodies. Anyone who breathed in that smoke became a Force of Darkness at once. Until now, black mages and shadow knights had only ever transformed themselves through their own choice. But now, simply inhaling the smoke was enough to force the change—no matter how determined or virtuous a person might be, there was no escape.
Nobles, royalty, kings, emperors—anyone who was not a Grand Sword Master or a 10-circle archmage would be dragged into the Demon King’s service the instant the smoke touched them. The danger was absolute.
Yet dragons and thinkers alike quickly understood why the Demon King had revealed this power so early.
Anyone could have simply spread the smoke near the palaces of every nation. The result would have been immediate chaos: kings and their capitals corrupted into Forces of Darkness overnight. A far more elegant way to sow discord than openly declaring the secret.
But by broadcasting the secret, Jae-hyun had effectively warned the world that he held powers capable of ending it all in a single stroke. He had no intention of finishing the world in one go; he planned to watch it crumble slowly.
At the same time, the revelation planted the seeds of distrust among humans themselves. For years they had comforted themselves with the belief that loyalty and human decency would prevent any of them from ever becoming a Force of Darkness.
Now, however, the sight of grotesque monsters spewing black smoke from every pore shattered that illusion. No matter how pure or unyielding someone might be, they would be corrupted the moment they breathed the air. Doubt began to fester even in the strongest of hearts.
The Habsburg Empire had barely repelled the initial wave. Along the border, 8-circle archmages and Grand Sword Masters had held the undead legions at bay with their combined might. Dragon assistance had filled the gaps in their defenses, minimizing losses. Yet the black-smoke countermeasure was still too weak. Nearly a thousand soldiers and knights had already fallen, their bodies twisted into new Forces of Darkness.
At that moment, the Grand Sword Masters on the field had swiftly beheaded every corrupted soldier and knight, disposing of them as traitors. The corpses of those who had succumbed to darkness were burned or dissolved with merciless thoroughness. Only after the last traces were gone did they resume their tense watch, fearing the next attack from the Dark Empire.
Meanwhile, in the imperial capital of the Habsburg Empire, a secret ritual was already underway—something completely exposed to Kim Jae-hyun.
Complex magic circles from ancient stone tablets had been enlarged to colossal scale and drawn directly onto the floor. Every proportion had been calculated with absolute precision. A 10-circle archmage named Griffith had personally inscribed them, then made a few subtle modifications.
Where the old circles had merely summoned a hero from another world, these new ones sought to summon the very same hero again.
Summoning the hero back was actually easier than one might expect. Because he had once existed in this world, his presence was recorded in the world’s Akashic Records. Using those records as a foundation, Griffith and the Dragon Lord could call him through the dimensional veil.
The distance between worlds was vast, but the world itself clearly wanted its ancient hero returned. All that remained was the enormous energy cost required to open the dimensional gate.
Kim Jae-hyun, for example, had carved a direct passage between the Demon World and the Intermediate World during his time there, returning through his own will after ten years.
The principle was the same whether the caller was the Demon King’s will or the world’s own desire. The only difference was distance and origin. Earth was so far away that summoning anyone was almost impossible.
Griffith, who had once been summoned as the ancient hero, had first been pulled here twelve years ago. Opening the gate normally for the next thirty-eight years was impossible. Yet a method existed.
“Hah… It pains me to expend such a treasure,” Griffith murmured, gazing at the object in his hand with genuine regret. As a 10-circle mage, he knew exactly how precious it was.
This item could never be replaced.
His hands held the heart of the Demon King Laylana.
The heart of Demon King Laylana!
Among the Demon King’s body—one of the greatest treasures in existence—this organ contained the densest concentration of power. It exceeded even the hearts of dragons. When used to activate the magic circle, it could summon the ancient hero with the thirty-eight-year restriction completely ignored.
The only drawback was that the heart would be consumed in the process. Griffith felt an almost painful reluctance to waste such a priceless relic on a single use.
“Do not despair, Your Grace Lucrezia. Once we summon the ancient hero and the Demon King Kim Jae-hyun—the bastard—slays him, that heart will become the perfect substitute,” Ferdinand said, casting aside his imperial pride for a moment and bowing with practiced courtesy. If he could only reclaim Irene and exact revenge upon the man who had cursed him with such horrors, he was prepared to set aside his royal dignity for a while.
“Hah. Indeed,” Griffith replied. As a man who had once defeated Demon King Laylana himself, the Demon King’s heart would carry an energy value far beyond imagination in the hands of one who had become even stronger.
“Hurry,” Ferdinand urged. “Every moment is precious.”
Only the golden-haired man beside them—the Dragon Lord who commanded all the dragons—spoke. He alone could address the Emperor of the continent’s greatest empire with such familiarity.
He knew the Demon King had been born from the betrayal of these two men and their accomplices. But that was their affair. As Dragon Lord, his duty was to stop the Demon King, nothing more.
He held no grudge against their treason. He simply blamed the recklessness that had failed to contain the betrayal and the resulting crisis now facing the Intermediate World.
Yet Griffith remained one of humanity’s strongest allies, and Ferdinand was the Emperor of the mightiest nation on the continent. Both men’s survival had to be ensured.
And they alone held the emergency measure: a way to summon the ancient hero.
They had summoned the hero before to stop the Demon King, but the hero had become the Demon King instead. An unfortunate twist. Still, as Dragon Lord, he acknowledged that summoning the ancient hero was the only hope and the only countermeasure.
That was why they had worked so diligently to bring the ritual to fruition.
“Understood, Your Grace Lucrezia! Proceed at once!”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Griffith answered, setting aside his regret and placing Laylana’s heart at the center of the magic circle.
He began to pour mana into the floor. Beside him, the Dragon Lord did the same.
Griffith, despite his 10-circle mastery, still needed the Dragon Lord’s additional mana to activate the circle. The magic circle blazed with blinding light.
✦ SKILL ACTIVATED ✦
A colossal magic circle flares to life. Massive demonic energy surges through the air as the Dragon Lord and archmage pour their power into the ancient formation. The world trembles.
The light exploded upward, forming a pillar of pure white that pierced the sky. This was no ordinary radiance. The energy contained within it was so immense that even Griffith and the Dragon Lord felt awe.
Kim Jae-hyun and Irene would surely sense it, but they had never imagined that the secret power they had hidden could be detected across dimensions.
Yet Jae-hyun had known. He had chosen not to interfere. That was why the ritual had succeeded.
When the blinding light finally faded, a single young man stood atop the magic circle.
He had black hair and black eyes—the exact features of the old Kim Jae-hyun—yet his appearance was that of a man in his late twenties. Strikingly handsome, much like the original Kim Jae-hyun, but carrying an air of quiet composure that was entirely different from the bewildered hero who had first been summoned.
“So this is where I’ve been brought… I never imagined I’d return here.”
The young man offered a wry smile and surveyed his surroundings. He had never imagined he would come back to this world. He had defeated Demon King Karkus here after only one year, spent fifty years in the Intermediate World, then returned to Earth.
On Earth he had lived prosperously, hiding his abilities, enjoying a life without regret. Then he had sensed the power pulling him back and realized the world he had called the Fantasy Realm was the very source of his strength. He had answered the call.
Now he stood before three men.
“Two humans and one Dragon Lord… How long has it been since I left?”
He muttered the question while glancing between Ferdinand, Griffith, and the dragon. A 10-circle archmage, one of the absolute peaks of the class, he could instantly read Griffith’s current level at a glance.
Kim Jae-hyun had absorbed the knowledge of every previous Demon King over countless years, gaining powers that transcended imagination. Yet he remained human; he had never experienced such an epiphany.
Still, the time he had lived in this world far exceeded the twelve years since his dimensional jump. The mastery he had accumulated could not possibly be shallow.
“Welcome. It is an honor to have you here again, ancient Hero,” Ferdinand said, bowing with imperial courtesy. If he could only regain Irene and kill the man who had cursed him, he was willing to set aside his pride for this one moment.