The Hero's Final Wish
Thick, ashen fog clung low over the shattered ruins of the first floor's Extreme difficulty. The air stung the nostrils with the metallic reek of blood and acrid smoke, laced with a suffocating aura of murderous intent.
This place was a battlefield. A ruin. A domain where only the stench of death lingered.
And from within it, the signal of battle rang out.
Shhhk—!
A single streak of light tore through the fog, flying in a perfectly straight line. Its trajectory aimed directly for the eyes. The precision was so flawless it nearly drew a gasp of admiration.
“Oh…”
Rather than dodge, it might be more fun to catch it and crush it.
That was the thought that crossed Yuhwa’s mind. And then—
‘…!’
She felt it. The unsettling currents etched into the tip of the spear. Her transcendent senses screamed a warning, and Yuhwa heard it loud and clear.
That thing is dangerous.
Boom—!
Yuhwa reflexively unfurled her wings and shot skyward. The instant the spear struck the ground roughly ten meters from where she had been standing—
Kwaaaaaang—!
The entire ruin began to shake violently, as if struck by an earthquake. The spear, which had been normal-sized, swelled exponentially the moment it touched the earth. In the blink of an eye it transformed into a pillar dozens of meters thick and detonated.
What would have happened if I’d tried to catch that with my hand? she wondered. Would I have actually gotten hurt?
“Gigantification…”
Even through the dense cloud of dust, the flow of mana was crystal clear. Tracing it backward, Yuhwa spotted a figure standing atop the collapsed castle wall in the far distance, staff in hand.
A wide-brimmed hat pulled low over the face. Definitely a mage.
It was obvious. That bastard had remotely layered gigantification and explosion runes onto the thrown spear.
That was when it happened.
Shiiiing—!
From her blind spot, an arrow flew in utter silence, slithering like a snake straight toward her pupil.
A feint within a feint…
The previous attack had clearly been meant to draw her attention. The real strike was this sniper shot from the archer, timed for the moment she let her guard down.
So this really is a hero party. Impressive.
Of course, it still didn’t work on her.
Tap.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Yuhwa reached out and casually snatched the arrow out of the air by its shaft. She glanced toward the distant mage and the archer beside him, already nocking another shot.
This should work.
She wrapped the captured arrow in mana and hurled it like a javelin.
Shwoooo—!
It flew far, far faster than when it had been coming toward her. The two figures were pierced clean through.
“…!” “Guhk…!”
The arrow exploded on impact. The pair probably died without even feeling pain.
“Who’s next?”
The moment she descended back to the ground and asked, an answer came immediately.
“O wicked Explosive Dragon! In the name of God, I shall judge you!”
A holy knight charged toward her, the figure clad head to toe in heavy plate armor.
So he’s the one who threw the spear.
Layer upon layer of golden barriers shimmered around his body. They had to be defensive shields condensed from holy power. Most attacks would probably bounce right off.
Guess I’ll have to take it head-on.
When faced with a brutish charge, the polite response was an equally brutish charge.
Yuhwa lowered her center of gravity and twisted her waist. Her deep blue hair whipped through the air as her right leg lashed out with terrifying force.
A roundhouse kick.
It was the simplest technique imaginable, yet the power behind a dragon’s strength and rotational force was nothing short of a natural disaster.
Her toes collided with the golden barrier.
Crack! Craaack! Shatter—!
With sounds like shattering glass, every layer of the barrier disintegrated. The destructive kinetic energy punched straight through the armor and into the holy knight’s body.
Boom—!
The plate armor crumpled like paper as the knight’s body exploded outward.
…Not exactly pleasant.
Honestly, she hadn’t enjoyed it. But she hadn’t had a choice.
With the holy knight dealt with, two remained.
A rogue who had been sneaking through the shadows with daggers drawn, and a barbarian warrior swinging a massive axe. Taking care of them didn’t take long either.
Is he the last one?
The thick dust slowly settled. In the center of the ruins, only Yuhwa and one man remained.
A rather handsome man with strong features and vivid red hair.
Should I say I’m sorry?
He was slowly—very slowly—looking around at the scattered wreckage. His eyes held sorrow, resignation, and an eerie degree of familiarity.
He drew the sword at his waist with deliberate care.
“I am…”
His voice was rough with exhaustion, yet carried a strange desperation.
“Lucas, the hero.”
“I am called Yuhwa.”
“Then… let us begin.”
A dark, almost ominous backlighting gathered along the raised blade of his sword.
The distance between them was roughly fifty meters. Far too great to swing a sword effectively.
…?
Yet he didn’t take a single step. He simply swung the blade in a wide horizontal arc.
What is he doing?
There was no way that swing could reach her from this distance. A piece of metal that far away shouldn’t—
But then—
Zzt—!
A siren screamed through her nervous system.
This is dangerous.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up. Yuhwa reflexively bent her knees and arched backward.
Shiiiing—!
A chilling sound sliced just above her head. Her pupils dilated slightly.
The sword Lucas had swung—what should have only cut empty air—had somehow stretched all the way to her, passing just overhead. It was a vibrating whip-sword, its blade segmented into dozens of pieces connected by strange wires.
And it wasn’t merely elongating. In that fleeting instant as it passed above her, Yuhwa saw it—the segmented blades vibrating at insane speeds.
Vibration…
She had to admit, it was pretty cool. The kind of weapon you’d only see in manga or anime.
A vibrating cutting whip-sword, huh.
If that thing actually touched her, it might even slice through her scales.
I should focus entirely on defense.
The sword’s trajectory was impossible to predict. It twisted and bent like a living serpent, always aiming for her blind spots with eerie precision.
There had been plenty of openings. She could have charged in while he was retracting the whip-sword. But Yuhwa never once closed the distance.
She maintained just enough space to stay out of the blade’s reach and simply waited for Lucas to tire.
And eventually…
Thud…
He had reached his limit. Of course. How could a mere human wield something like that for long? Just swinging it would require an absurd amount of concentration.
“Haa… haa…”
The hero had collapsed to the ground, breathing raggedly. Yuhwa slowly approached and looked down at him.
“Any last words?”
“I… I know this world is fake. I also know that you… are not truly the ‘Explosive Dragon.’ You were simply given a role.”
“…?”
“I’ve watched my ‘hero party’ die… more times than I can count. This is the ‘Extreme’ difficulty… isn’t it?”
“…”
“Please… I hope you do not end up like me. Please… do not be defeated by the Tower and captured. Do not become trapped in repeating timelines.”
“…”
“It was… quite a difficult life. This is my first defeat… Thank you… for ending it.”
“Not quite yet.”
Yuhwa crouched down and gently poked Lucas’s cheek.
“Make a wish.”
“A wish…”
“Yes. A wish. Who knows? I might be able to grant it someday.”
“If that’s the case… then I wish for my ‘hero party’ to be able to… fully enjoy their lives…”
“I’ve heard you. Farewell. It was fun.”
“You found it fun… I’m glad…”
With those final words, he closed his eyes. A faint, satisfied smile lingered on his lips.
Yuhwa watched as Lucas’s body slowly faded away. Only after he had completely vanished did she brush the dust from her clothes and stand.
…The Tower, huh.
What exactly was this Tower? She had never heard of any of this background lore before. Perhaps it was something that could only be seen on Extreme difficulty.
As she pondered that, a system window appeared before Yuhwa’s eyes.
Congratulations! You have cleared the Extreme difficulty!
Calculating Extreme difficulty clear rewards.
Current accumulated Coins: 1,302,117 C
Would you like to visit the shop?
…Yeah. Let’s head to the shop for now.
Right around the time the entire world was buzzing about who on earth “Life Ruined” could possibly be… a new record was announced.
'Life Ruined' has become the first to clear the Extreme difficulty!
The mere fact that Extreme difficulty even existed—and that “Life Ruined” had cleared it—sent the whole world into absolute frenzy.
It caused far more chaos than the news of a catastrophe-class monster appearing.