The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

2 – EP1. Dawn Approaches

The air trembles.

The earth vibrates.

Beings hold their breath.

A massive footsteps resound.

“That…how…?”

Sein unconsciously let out a sound.

She couldn’t blame her. I was in a similar situation as her.

“Malekidus…?”

A corner of the Demon King’s legion and undoubtedly the deceased giant Malekidus appeared before them.

Gigantic horns, legs covered in fur, and the sensation of sulfur breath.

Everyone momentarily lost their minds at this surreal sight.

And then, a loud explosion woke them up.

“Have you all gone crazy? Snap out of it!”

Pheeria’s voice echoed with amplification magic.

The fire unleashed by the Archmage and my comrade engulfed Malekidus’ corpse. He was burning, still standing.

“What are you all doing without your senses intact? Do you think you can lead him to the path of the abyss just because a dead guy has come back?”

Her words served as an awakening elixir for the soldiers, and they regrouped, approaching the burning Malekidus.

And then, a soldier flew towards the club he was holding.

Flesh and blood scattered in the air, and the soldiers collectively stopped moving forward.

Malekidus, whose skin had all burned away, was undoubtedly dead this time, but only his bones were still moving.

“What is that!?”

Lena’s startled voice echoed.

“It’s necromancy!”

I shouted.

“He was turned into an undead with necromancy! A demon!”

Demons are not usually affected by necromancy.

The reason being that they inherently possess darkness attributes, making them ridiculously resistant to black magic.

Moreover, to turn even the corpse of the Demon King’s legion commander into an undead, I couldn’t fathom what kind of act had been performed.

Upon hearing those words, Lena grabbed her head and muttered.

“Damn it, then how the hell am I supposed to kill it?” I asked.

“If you’ve turned such a high-ranking being into an undead, there must be a Life Vessel somewhere, probably inside that castle. The conclusion is… we can’t kill it right now.”

“Damn it, what are we supposed to do then!?”

“The problem was that I rushed to deal with the Jajols with a miracle. No matter what, the soldiers should have been the ones to handle the zombies… Just buy us some time for now.”

“Damn it… The royal forces, follow me! We have to buy time against that giant!”

Lena shouted once and then turned to me.

“You, make sure to buy us enough time to deal with it. We’re using the lives of the royal forces as bait, so if you fail, we won’t just let you off the hook.”

I nodded and rushed towards Grandidis, avoiding Malekidus.

And then, a few Death Knights blocked my path.

It was obvious that it would consume a considerable amount of time to deal with the highest-ranking undead creatures, and during that time, the elite fairies might be annihilated by Malekidus.

And at that moment, Sain approached me and said,

“You don’t have time to deal with Grandidis, right? I’ll take care of those guys. Hurry.”

Sain clashed swords with the Death Knights, and I took advantage of the opportunity to run.

As I ran, I could hear screams coming from all directions, and at the end, Grandidis appeared.

“Yes, hero, you finally came to deal with me in person.”

Her red lips formed a smile.

“But, your hands and feet are trembling a little, aren’t they?”

Countless faces I had seen, countless voices I had heard, muddled my mind.

“Even your gaze is clouded.”

I gripped my sword and met her eyes.

“Why is that? A renowned hero who has vanquished countless demons would not hesitate over a demon’s life, right?”

Damn it, this is driving me insane.

Just as she said, I still couldn’t bring myself to attack her.

I couldn’t imagine bending that face, neck, and body.

I heard a voice from behind telling me to attack quickly.

“Yes, just like when you let me go.”

“Shut up.”

“Why? Weren’t you the one who let me go? Look at you, you’re still staring blankly at me. I don’t know why.”

I tightened my grip on the sword.

I could hear screams coming from behind. I couldn’t just stand there.

“Hurry up and attack! What are you waiting for?”

In the end, I swung my sword.

Grandis formed a defensive barrier with a smile on her face.

And then, at that moment.

When my sword collided with her barrier.

The Holy Sword awakened with a piercing sound that seemed to rip through one’s ears.

Fragments of the sword scattered everywhere.

Like shattered glass, that was how my ties to destiny were broken.

I couldn’t grasp what had just happened.

No one could believe the scene before their eyes.

Even Grandis, who always had a relaxed smile, was shocked.

But the stunned moment didn’t last long.

Starting from my fingertips, I felt a slow, burning sensation.

It gradually climbed up my wrist, elbow, and forearm, and finally reached my neck.

My vision flipped and my stomach felt sick.

I fell to one knee with a thud.

I tried hard to regain my composure, but I couldn’t focus because of the strange sensation infiltrating my body…. No, it was something that had suddenly spread out from within me. This was the first time I had ever felt this way.

My consciousness began to fade.

“…The Demon King’s power…?”

I heard a voice whispering in my ear.

But I couldn’t interpret what it meant. I was exhausted.

I lost consciousness.

…

Grandis looked at the fallen man in front of her.

She had always maintained a constant smile, but the current situation was quite bewildering.

When they first met, the hero had purposely refrained from chasing after her. And then, even when they met again on this battlefield, he hesitated to attack her.

But that wasn’t the most confusing part.

As soon as the hero made up his mind and swung his sword at her, the Holy Sword shattered into pieces. Then, from his fingertips, the familiar aura of the Demon King enveloped him, causing him to faint.

“…The Demon King’s power…?”

She couldn’t believe it. Why was the already deceased demon king’s magic suddenly appearing here? Even the demon king’s followers didn’t possess such immense magic power.

And, she realized what had happened when she saw the shattered holy sword.

The Hero’s Blessing. An effect that nullified all kinds of mental and curse-type effects. With the holy sword awakened, the suppressed magic power of the demon king had gone berserk.

And then, she faced another curiosity.

Why on earth did the Hero have the demon king’s magic within his body?

Her mind quickly found a possibility.

No way. It couldn’t be.

But she denied that possibility. It didn’t make sense that the Hero knew how to use dark magic and intentionally absorbed the demon king’s magic.

In the end, she gave up thinking about the Hero and began to survey the battlefield. Her forces, especially the corpse of Malakithus, were winning.

…This was also one of the strange things. Even though the Hero had a significant power advantage in the battlefield, they were destined to lose with minimal casualties on the enemy’s side.

Even with meticulous planning, the enemies had handled the situation with ease. So, she expected defeat.

Perhaps she anticipated her death in this battle and prepared a few contingency plans just in case.

And those contingency plans worked surprisingly well. The soldiers panicked just because a few zombies emerged from underfoot, and the Saint, just because the soldiers panicked, performed miracles and effectively left the battlefield. If the Saint’s miracles had worked, Malakithus would have turned into a handful of purified dust long ago.

Moreover, it was a war involving the strongest human swordsman, the greatest elven archer, and the Grand Mage of the Mage Tower, yet it felt like the enemy was tripping over their own feet.

The threads of destiny were tangled. But, oddly enough, it worked in her favor.

Grandis considered killing the fallen Hero. However, she remembered how he had stubbornly refused to chase her for no apparent reason.

Suddenly, curiosity overcame her, and she picked up a fragment of the holy sword.

…In this small piece, she felt there might be answers to the current bizarre situation.

And just then, Sain Luderan arrived before Grandis.

…You’ve obliterated the Death Knights. Anyway, she’s a monstrous woman.

“Good timing. How about taking this guy who’s down with you?”

She said with a smile.

Sain Luderan stared in bewilderment as the holy sword shattered, black patterns appeared on the Hero’s body, and he was lying there.

Yes, it must be confusing. In fact, Grandis was just as confused, but she hid it and put on a smile.

“Damn it.”

Swear words erupted from Sain Luderan’s mouth. In contrast, screams echoed from behind.

“What are you doing? Don’t run away. You’ve lost.”

Yes, it was her victory.