Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 185
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Part 2, Chapter 52
Adam once again watched me sleep, resting his chin on his hand as he pondered whether it was a good idea. Adam pulled the blanket up to my chin and gently patted me.
However, even with my eyes closed, I could feel his gaze.
“What about you, Adam?”
“You sleep first, Eve. I have things to do.”
Hmm, Adam is always busy.
Even when we were young, he never skipped a day of training to become a Hero, and he was busy alone defeating the Demon King.
Even after that, Adam suffers because of the sin of being a Hero.
‘Why did they create Heroes in the first place.’
However, my contemplation didn’t last long.
The longer Adam patted me, the more I was overcome by drowsiness.
As always, there were gentle eyes watching over me until I fell asleep.
Thanks to that, I let out a small smile.
It was a happy smile.
However, not long after I fell asleep, I felt movement beside me.
The bed, which had always been pressed down by someone’s weight, seemed to rise up.
The warmth I always felt beside me was no longer there.
But I was already in such deep sleep that I couldn’t open my mouth or move.
And that night, I had a strange dream.
* * *
Having rarely dreamed before, I tried moving my hand with a hazy feeling.
‘Is this what they call a lucid dream?’
However, the dream didn’t move according to my will. It felt like someone had crafted the dream and I had entered it to walk around.
As I walked quietly, at some point I found myself inside a temple.
It was a familiar space, but I was enveloped by a strange sense of unease.
‘No, isn’t this a temple?’
It was certainly a building I recognized in some ways, but there was no sanctuary honoring God’s statue.
Nevertheless, the pure white statues and buildings were familiar to my eyes.
I was able to notice the source of unease quickly.
The buildings were newer than in my memory, and some buildings had disappeared as if they had evaporated.
I slowly moved my steps.
The sensation of grass touching my bare feet felt strangely real.
It was so vivid, it felt like I was actually walking through the temple’s garden.
Then, along with murmuring voices, I saw a crowd of people.
A small apprentice priest passed by and shouted.
“That person is the Hero!”
“…!”
At the sudden mention of Hero, my head turned in that direction without realizing it.
There was a ‘Hero’ there.
The Hero was surrounded by people, receiving affectionate concern while smiling gently.
However, it wasn’t Adam’s face.
‘That sword is definitely….’
Nermia’s holy sword.
Then….
“This is a sword specially crafted for you by the legendary blacksmith. Please return safely.”
A priest handed him the holy sword that was on a cushion.
The man smiled and received the sword, fastening it to his waist.
His gray armor sparkled in the sunlight.
A woman wearing a white veil smiled as she saw him off. Black hair and black eyes. And an Asian face that couldn’t be seen in this place.
“Since you are the Hero I chose, you’ll surely be able to defeat the Demon King and return.”
“I will definitely return.”
“I’ll wait only for that day.”
She smiled with a clear face as she saw off the one mounted on horseback.
The 1st Hero, Nermia, received his lover’s farewell and departed to defeat the Demon King who had turned the world into a sea of blood.
Dozens of Holy Knights followed behind him.
‘As expected.’
This place was the past.
It seemed the Saint’s holy power remaining in the diary was showing me the past.
It was a chillingly realistic dream.
Their expressions were so vivid that I could even see the emotions of those far away.
‘But probably he….’
The Demon King had continued from Nermia down to the 7th Hero.
The Hero ultimately failed to kill the Demon King.
No matter how much he was chosen by the First Saintess, it was beyond Nermia’s capabilities.
It wasn’t an ordinary villain he had faced until now, but the dawn of a new Demon King era.
However, he was brave, and he had to protect the era in which his lover lived.
And he perished together with the Demon King.
The holy sword inscribed with ‘Nermia’ was buried in a tomb along with the Saint’s tears.
“Saint, please don’t cry so much. He wouldn’t want you to be like this either.”
“Please preserve your health and work hard for the world….”
“Didn’t Nermia sacrifice his life to kill the Demon King? Don’t be heartbroken since this is the world he saved with his life.”
“I suppose I should. He would like that too….”
However, if it was as I knew it, surely….
The Saint, who was revered as a great Saint for having vast divine power, did not age.
Having lost her beloved, she had to live a fleeting life in the world that survived through his sacrifice.
And the Demon King was resurrected.
As if mocking Nermia’s sacrifice of his life.
“Please choose the 2nd Hero, Saint. I am already prepared.”
“…It’s dangerous work. Do you really want this?”
“Of course! I will inherit Nermia’s will, kill the Demon King, and return.”
Eventually, the First Saintess breathed power into him.
People began calling him, who received her blessing, a ‘Hero.’
Thus, the 2nd Hero, Azet, advanced toward the Demon King’s Castle amid people’s cheers and flowers.
And he returned as a cold corpse.
After that, the Saint shut herself away in the sanctuary she had built after Nermia’s death.
And she killed time by only fidgeting with the ring she had shared with him.
People also left her alone, understanding her pain.
The Saint confirmed where her choice had gone wrong.
The Demon King had separated his heart and placed it in a small box. So even if they tried to kill the Demon King, they couldn’t.
Even if they killed the Demon King, his heart remained intact.
The Saint only shed tears at this belated realization.
Two Heroes had already died, and there was nothing she could do.
She just killed time, and killed it again.
Until everyone forgot about her.
And when the Demon King was resurrected again, those seeking the First Saintess increased.
At first, even the priests who had blocked them eventually opened the sanctuary doors as the Demon King’s massacres continued.
“There are too many people dying. The damage from the Demon King is endless! When you go outside the sanctuary, all you can hear are screams and cries.”
“Saint!”
“Saint, please….”
“A merciful decision!”
People were calling for the Saint.
The Saint, who had fled to a corner to escape their voices, covered her ears with her hands.
She no longer wanted to choose another Hero.
How could selecting sacrifices to offer to the Demon King possibly make her a Saint who protects the world?
“Nermia, what should I do? I want to protect the world you defended. But I can’t stand by and watch Heroes like you die…”
The Saint shed silent tears as if in agony.
The people’s accusations, weeping, anger, and cries for salvation from an even greater power echoed loudly.
“But if I don’t choose a Hero, everyone will die.”
The Saint quietly gazed at Nermia’s tomb.
Now she was the only one left who could picture his face.
No one remained by Nermia’s side, nor by hers.
“So this is my choice.”
With her abundant divine power, she wouldn’t die no matter how long she went without eating or drinking.
She wouldn’t age either.
Yet the strength with which her slender fingers gripped the sword was stronger than ever.
The crude dagger that Nermia had cherished pierced through her abdomen.
At the moment she took her own life, a smile formed on the Saint’s lips.
She had finally met the death she had longed for. However, her vast divine power interfered with her complete rest.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————