Chapter 366
Chapter 366
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 366
Chapter Title: Someday, Let's Share a Drink
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Someday, when that day comes, let's have a drink.
With those final words, Kyle closed his eyes.
The guy with his eyes shut wore an incredibly peaceful expression. After shooting a glare at him as he sank into a deep sleep, I flopped down onto the spot where I stood.
"Ugh, I'm gonna die."
My entire body throbbed with pain.
Forget standing on my own two feet—even breathing felt like torture. That damn bastard must have stabbed me full of holes. There wasn't a single inch of me left unscathed.
"How the hell did I even win..."
I muttered to myself and let out a wry chuckle.
Leaning against the wall and looking up, sunlight poured down. The fact that sunlight was streaming in meant this place was no longer the demon realm.
...Looks like we really drove it out.
The moment I saw the shadow being expelled from Kyle's heart, I witnessed it. A filthy sludge like crashing waves overflowing in all directions. The surging filth couldn't swallow Kyle's body again and instead shot straight up toward the sky.
'The black veil that shrouded the heavens.'
Along with the endlessly spreading veil, the shadow vanished somewhere. I couldn't pinpoint exactly where it went, but I had a pretty good guess.
The Shadow's Temple.
Deeper than this place.
The massive temple at the very heart of the demon realm. It must have returned there—the place where the first hero party, led by Ganikalt, confronted the Demon King long ago.
'And...'
There would be the Sword of Death as well.
Guarding the temple was none other than the Sword of Death, Ganikalt. Thinking of that monster, I let out a long sigh.
Apostate, Gletus.
Sword of Death, Ganikalt.
Archmage, the First Madman.
Twisted God, the Shadow.
On a grand scale, those four were the enemies left facing me. A tiny image of some skullhead flickered in a corner of my mind, but that one didn't seem like much of a problem.
In the end, just four remained.
By the numbers, it might feel like nothing had changed from the start, but what mattered was their condition. A lot had happened over the past few years.
The most hero-like hero, Galarhal.
The strongest hero, Kyle Toven.
Thanks to those two, all the calamities now had fatal flaws. The Apostate had lost its horde of demon beasts and suffered an irrecoverable wound. The Sword of Death's weakness had been exposed. The Shadow had lost not just its divinity but its immortality as well.
'From calamities we couldn't face...'
They had been demoted to beings we could kill. They were no longer perfect. They could bleed, take wounds, and die... And the implications of that were huge.
A struggle spanning centuries.
The long war humanity had waged was nearing its end. And I had a gut feeling that if anyone was going to deliver the final blow, it would be me.
'The Strongest Hero.'
The title Kyle once held.
And now, the title that had to become mine.
Mulling it over, I closed my eyes. I steadied my breathing slowly, then opened them again.
Yeah, I can't stop here.
"Nngh!"
I sprang up using my waist for leverage.
I managed to stand on my own two feet for a moment. But then, with a sickening crunch, my ankle twisted at an unnatural angle. Face-planting into the floor, I lay there cheek pressed to the ground, sighing.
"Feels nice and cool..."
Feeling the pleasantly chilly floor against my face, I rummaged through my pocket. I needed to fire off a signal flare first to report the mission's success.
"......"
I pulled out the signal flare from my pocket and eyed it.
Or rather, what used to be the signal flare.
It was shattered into tiny pieces, in no condition to function. Sighing, I brushed off my palm. Well, it'd be weirder if it survived intact after all that chaos.
What now?
I had to get this sleeping guy back somehow, but I couldn't muster any strength. The spell I'd squeezed out at the end had drained my mana completely, leaving me with mana exhaustion on top of everything.
...This is getting dangerous.
Beyond just lacking strength, my fingertips were growing ice-cold. My senses were dulling. Just as I started feeling a real sense of crisis about my worsening condition—
-Over here, over here!
A faint voice echoed from above.
Unable to stand, I rolled over and lay staring at the ceiling. To me in this basement, it was the ceiling—but to those in the church above, it was the floor.
"Over here!"
"I'm going, so stop rushing me. I... huff... Starlight... to the bottom... huff..."
The place was utterly wrecked, barely anywhere left to step. Someone was waving from up there. Under the pouring sunlight, frivolous golden hair sparkled. I knew the owner of that cheap-looking blond well.
"...Pointy-ears?"
"...!"
True to her elven sharp hearing, Remia whipped her head around at my mutter, spotting me. Her eyes widened, and she shouted.
"You're alive?!"
As if a corpse would talk.
I nearly snapped back but instead gave a bitter smile and answered her question.
"Barely hanging on."
So hurry up and rescue me already.
I'm seriously about to die here.
When I added that inwardly, Remia swept a hand over her face, muttering how fortunate. She descended into the basement along with the arriving Destel.
"What the hell happened here..."
Destel glanced at the traces of battle and let out a hollow laugh. And Remia...
"......"
She bowed her head deeply before the sleeping Kyle. After a long silence, she turned to look at me.
"Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah. Pay me back big time later."
"I will... definitely..."
"Don't take my joke seriously."
Can't even joke around anymore.
I muttered and let out a long breath. Then I called out to Destel, who was wandering around inspecting the sword marks etched everywhere.
"Hey, Destel."
"Yeah? You call me?"
"Carry me, would ya? I can't get up at all. As you can see, my ankle's totally wrecked..."
"Sure, whatever..."
Destel started walking toward me but suddenly flinched to a halt. Stopping a few steps away, he shook his head.
"Nah, on second thought, no."
"...What? You can't even help me up? Still hung up on that time I grabbed your collar and slapped you? Even in this situation?"
Look at this guy's grudge.
"Hey, back then you totally deserved—"
"No, it's not that. Your clothes... Never mind."
Destel sighed deeply and turned toward Kyle instead. Hoisting the limp Kyle over his shoulder, he nodded at Remia.
"Divine Archer. You take the Ashen Mage. I'll handle Kyle."
Remia nodded and approached me. At that moment, my face drained of color. There was a reason I'd called Destel over Remia specifically.
"Hey, wait a sec, Remia."
"Stay still."
"No, wait. Hold on..."
This elf had zero consideration for patients. Less than even Sara. The last time she'd helped me up, I'd wondered if she was trying to kill me.
And that thought...
"Heave-ho."
"Gaaah! Hey! My arm! Don't grab my arm!"
"Stay still!"
"My aaaarm! Kyaaah!"
"Don't yell in my ear! It's ringing!"
"Arm! Arm! My aaaarm!"
Even after all these years, nothing had changed.
I screamed until I couldn't bear the pain any longer, and my consciousness finally faded. In my last gasping whisper before blacking out—
"The culprit... is... pointy-ears..."
"Can't you just shut up for once?"
Like you'd stay quiet if it were you.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
After three days and nights of treatment, Raniel finally managed to get out of bed. By the time she regained her senses, most of the situation had already been sorted.
The clustered demon beasts had all dispersed.
From the moment Raniel expelled the shadow, the beasts began weakening dramatically, scattering everywhere without a goal. In the end, the special forces disbanded and returned to their original posts.
The special forces preparing to withdraw.
Raniel visited Destel's tent to hear the explanation. He summed it up for her.
"I coordinated with the Knight Commander uncle appropriately."
We got our stories straight.
"I don't know exactly what went down between you and Kyle... but we kept the fact that Kyle became a calamity under wraps for now."
So how did you explain it?
Numerous knights had seen Kyle return with Raniel. When she asked how they'd explain it to them, Destel replied:
"Mass demon beast outbreak. That massive sword beam shooting into the sky that the knights saw with me. Tied it all together roughly. Said the cause of the outbreak was in the ruins of the Seleph Kingdom... and that the hero, Kyle Toven, tried to carry out the operation alone."
He'd taken down the enemy in the end, but communication with Kyle had been lost. So they launched a rescue op...
"And you—you, known as the successor to the Ashen Mage—rescued him."
"Nice script."
"Dunno how much is true, but anyway. So, what the hell did that Kyle guy fight to turn into a calamity? How does a hero even become one...?"
Raniel chuckled and answered.
"The Demon King."
"...What?"
"Fought the Demon King. Stripped away its immortality, too. Crazy bastard, right?"
...You're pretty crazy yourself for trading blows with a nutjob like that and coming out on top.
They exchanged more stories after that.
As the talk wound down, Raniel stepped out of the tent. She still had plenty of people to speak with. Including the Knight Commander...
"Hey, Raniel."
Just as she started walking—
She turned at Destel's call.
"...Looks like there's a lot you can't explain, so set that aside. Mind if I ask one thing?"
"What?"
"What are you gonna do from here?"
The question carried layers of meaning.
Kyle was alive but unconscious. He wouldn't be fighting anytime soon in his deep sleep. Humanity had lost its strongest sword.
Another hero gone.
The doomsayers would sing of the end times again, and countless people would tremble in fear. With the symbol gone—and Destel unable to become one himself—he was asking Raniel:
Would she fill that void?
Raniel gave a bitter smile at the question.
It was the exact topic she'd discuss with the Knight Commander who'd come all this way. It would be a long talk, but her answer was singular.
"Guess I'll have to become a hero."
Raniel added:
"A hero who symbolizes victory."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I had a long, long talk with the Knight Commander.
Recalling Mr. Heinkel, who droned on until my ears rang, I shuddered.
That guy definitely figured it out.
He seemed to know I was Raniel.
He didn't say it outright, but he kept calling me 'Raniel' instead of 'Lania' here and there. The old man never slips up, so he was probably pretending it was a mistake to signal 'I know everything.'
"What a sly old fox."
Still, he was being considerate.
He told me to choose freely when to go public. He'd announce the news about Kyle to match that timing.
I had no plans to drag it out.
Once my hero uniform was complete, I'd reveal everything and start my work as a hero. That said, crafting the uniform looked like it would take longer than I'd thought.
「So, this one?」
「Yes.」
「You want it made like this design? No, forget the design—how do we even replicate the functions embedded here...」
「Please.」
「Well, uh. Anything else.」
「Looking forward to it.」
「......」
They needed time because I'd submitted the 'Robe of the First Ashen Mage Tower Lord' without hesitation when they asked for a design reference.
But I won't compromise on this.
I had my own fantasies about a hero's uniform.
A mage isn't a real mage unless their robe looks badass. Now that I was a hero, it was time to start caring about style.
"Human."
I was strolling between tents, anticipating the finished uniform, when a familiar voice called out. I turned with a sigh. Only one discriminatory type called me 'human.'
Of course, she didn't spit it out like she used to anymore.
For her, 'human' had solidified as my title. Responding in kind, I smirked.
"What is it? Pointy-ears."
The Divine Archer, Remia.
Leaning against a wagon, she smiled at me and patted it.
"Just came to say goodbye before we head back."