The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 125

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 125. Intermission – Escalation
After that unintended striptease (?) in the Abyss came to an end.
I didn’t even have time to demand that Elisha delete the photos before I lost consciousness entirely.
When I opened my eyes again, a full day had passed, and beside me lay a fresh set of clothes that Elisha had purchased from Valhalla City in the meantime.
After hurriedly changing into the new clothes, I requested that she delete the photos.
-I refuse.
All that came back was a firm refusal.
Elisha caressed the Hero Watch containing my photos like a precious treasure, smirking with satisfaction.
-I’ll keep this photo safe and sound.
Was this how Juliet Kang felt when those crossdressing photos of her were taken (or rather, when her own photo files were transferred)?
I could only watch helplessly as Elisha hummed cheerfully and walked away.
In any case.
After parting ways with Elisha, I was able to return to my familiar Dormitory room after 3 days… or rather, exactly 4 days.
“Sigh.”
The C Building Dormitory, primarily used by Candidates in the Program who received government scholarships.
Compared to the A Building Dormitory where Yuren and Iris stayed, it was dilapidated and shabby, like a building in the Slums.
“…But being here puts my mind at ease.”
Still, after spending several months here (or rather, several years if counting my previous life), returning to my Dormitory room and lying on the bed filled me with the comfort of coming home.
It felt like a dream that just a day ago I had been locked in a desperate blood struggle with Behemoth beneath the Abyss.
‘It can’t be a dream.’
I forced myself to shake off the comfort enveloping my body and sat up.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I slowly recalled the battle with Behemoth.
More precisely, the primordial flame that blazed fiercely at the climax of the battle, as if swallowing the entire world.
‘My prediction was correct.’
The activation condition for the ‘Incarnation’ state—where the primordial flame wraps around my body and generates infinite mana.
When my mind grew so hazy from being pushed to the extreme that I could barely think, the primordial flame sleeping within the stigma ignited fiercely as if doused with oil, burning through my body.
As I recalled that sensation, an electric thrill coursed down my spine.
“I’ve felt it before, but… this rush is absolutely insane.”
Infinite mana filling my entire body.
The sensation of squandering mana as if an endless sea of mana had flooded into me delivered an exhilaration far more intense than any thrill I’d ever experienced.
It felt as though I could crush and obliterate the entire world beneath my feet.
‘And I actually did kill Behemoth that way.’
To kill Behemoth, I needed no refined swordsmanship, no flashy martial techniques, no complex magic.
I simply gathered mana in my palm and swung my hand as if swatting an insect crawling on the ground.
That alone was enough.
The king of beasts reigning over the Abyss was instantly killed, its entire body crushed beyond recognition.
“The problem is… I can’t use it whenever I want.”
The battle with Behemoth was nothing more than a mock battle conducted under conditions favorable to me after careful preparation, despite being called an extreme circumstance.
‘First, any creature with even a shred of intelligence wouldn’t mindlessly charge at an opponent that won’t die for three straight days.’
Behemoth was a beast with almost no intelligence, and among them, it was a ‘king of beasts’ whose violent nature was amplified a hundredfold by the Demon God’s influence, which is why it never retreated and continued fighting.
‘If I had fought against a Demon Human, the situation would have been entirely different.’
Unless it was a deranged Demon Human like the Archbishop of Madness, there was no way I could have sustained combat for three consecutive days against an immortal who refused to die even when killed.
‘Even if I was fortunate enough to trigger the Incarnation state in just one day instead of three, that itself poses a problem.’
This time, I had entered the domain alone, prepared to fight by myself, so there were no complications. But imagine if combat had erupted while I was traveling with my Party members.
During the process of dying and resurrecting dozens, even hundreds of times, there was no guarantee that my other Party members would remain unharmed.
Unlike me, those without the blessing of resurrection would not return to life once they died.
‘I cannot fight while hoping for the Incarnation state to activate in actual combat.’
The risks were far too great in every regard.
“…But.”
I ignited ashen flames above my palm.
I had failed to activate the ‘Incarnation’ state at will.
Yet it was not as though I had gained nothing whatsoever.
“Ignite.”
The ashen flames burning above my palm slowly engulfed my body.
Before, I could only use Ignition by experiencing ‘death’ through rupturing my own heart.
Now, I could manipulate the primordial fire through consciousness alone and use Ignition.
‘The duration of Ignition has also increased dramatically.’
Where Ignition once lasted barely five minutes, I could now maintain it comfortably for over ten minutes.
There was only one reason why the duration of Ignition had extended.
‘My control over the primordial fire has grown since the Incarnation state.’
The primordial fire that once refused to budge no matter what I did now moved according to my will.
“At this level… I might be able to push further?”
If the primordial fire I could once use at will was the size of a small campfire, it had now grown to the size of a house-sized bonfire fit for a Festival.
With the quantity increased so dramatically, it was only natural that my capabilities expanded.
‘Then.’
What I intended to attempt this time was generating ‘mana’ through the primordial fire.
‘Of course, I would not be able to create infinite mana like during the Incarnation state.’
Still, it was never a bad thing to have more immediately usable mana.
Especially now, when I primarily relied on techniques like ashen flames that consumed mana so extravagantly.
‘The principle itself is identical.’
Just as the primordial fire of the distant past had burned the Tree of Creation and brought forth the existence called mana.
I would burn my own life to create mana.
“Let me see… the technique’s name would be…”
My deliberation was not lengthy.
“Escalating Flame will do.”
Through Ignition, I kindle the spark, and through Escalating Flame, I nurture it.
Simple, and easy to visualize.
“Haah.”
I slowly draw in a breath and kindle the flames.
The fire that had been wrapping around my body as a faint shimmer gradually intensifies, taking on a gray hue.
What I envisioned was flame wrapping around kindling, burning bright and fierce.
Boiling my blood, searing my flesh, incinerating my bones.
“Ignite.”
Whoooosh!
Ashen flames engulfed my body, blazing with intensity.
Along with the dizzying pain of my body burning away, I felt mana being forged anew.
‘It worked!’
I clenched my fists tightly, even forgetting the agony of my burning flesh.
This wasn’t simply recovering mana like with Ignition.
It was like adding kindling to flickering embers to make the fire roar.
I was burning my very life force to create an entirely new reservoir of mana.
‘Right now my mana is about two times… no, maybe three times what it was?’
Of course, the mana created through Incineration wouldn’t remain as my own mana.
Like how a fire dies down once all the kindling is consumed.
Once the Incineration state ended, all that explosively amplified mana would scatter and vanish.
‘But still, this is incredible.’
It meant I could temporarily inflate my mana by three times or more, didn’t it?
‘Three times is insane.’
My mana reserves weren’t as pitiful as they used to be either.
True, I couldn’t match someone like Yurina who was born with abundant mana, but I’d cultivated a respectable amount that wouldn’t embarrass me anywhere.
And now, tripled on top of that.
“Heh.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
‘With this… could I actually stand against the Archbishop of Madness?’
Well.
I couldn’t give a definitive answer on that yet.
The Archbishop of Madness probably hadn’t revealed all of his power either.
‘Regardless.’
The gains from this Abyss exploration were deeply satisfying.
I’d obtained information about the Incarnate state, significantly increased my mastery over Primordial Flame, and acquired a new technique beyond Ignition—Incineration itself.
‘If I said it was a worthwhile death… Iris would probably scold me.’
I was chuckling softly, about to deactivate Incineration, when—
Whoooooosh!
“Huh?”
The flames wrapping around my body surged violently, burning even more fiercely.
Ashen smoke filled the entire room.
‘Wait.’
Why won’t it stop?
“Grrgh…!”
The Primordial Flame, escaping my control, began raging like a starving beast.
Flames engulfed my body, spreading outward with relentless intensity.
“This is insane!”
Four times, five times, six times, seven times…!
Mana swelled at an uncontrollable rate, tearing through the room.
Grrrrgh!
The dilapidated Dormitory building shook as though struck by an earthquake.
“What, what is this?”
“An earthquake? Is it an earthquake?”
“Everyone evacuate outside!”
The voices of other Candidate Program members echoed from beyond the door.
“Damn it…!”
I struggled desperately to contain the primordial flames threatening to rampage, but once the fire slipped from my grasp, it refused to be extinguished.
Whoooosh!
The inferno raged savagely, consuming the furniture within the room.
Acrid gray smoke billowed from the burning furniture—not from my body—filling the chamber in thick, suffocating clouds.
‘This can’t happen!’
I desperately tried to suppress the flames, but the wooden structure of the old Dormitory absorbed the fire like a sponge drinking water.
Whoooosh!
Eventually, the inferno began spreading to adjacent rooms.
Fortunately, the Candidate Program members inside had evacuated, but I couldn’t prevent the raging fire demon from consuming the Dormitory entirely.
“Tch…!”
I clenched my teeth and issued a mental command.
‘Come back, you bastard.’
Whoooosh!
The primordial flames thrashed violently.
Naturally, the primordial fire ignored my command entirely, resisting my will.
“Damn it all.”
As I pondered how to regain control of the primordial flames, I recalled the “other power” that Elisha had mentioned dwelled within me.
‘Back then, the primordial fire seemed to fear that power.’
Drawing upon that memory, I reached toward the raging inferno.
“If you don’t return….”
My expression twisted savagely as I continued.
“I’ll extinguish you.”
Flinch.
The burning flames visibly trembled for an instant.
Had the threat worked?
The fire, which had been consuming everything around me like an unbridled colt, was drawn back into my body.
“Hah, hah!”
I exhaled roughly, surveying my surroundings.
I had succeeded in containing the primordial flames themselves, but I couldn’t absorb the ordinary fire created by the burning furniture.
“Damn it!”
I cursed under my breath and rushed outside.
“W-what’s happening…!”
“M-my room! My room!”
“Someone get a professor!”
Outside, Candidates from the program had gathered, staring at the Dormitory building engulfed in flames.
‘I need to extinguish the fire with water magic first!’
Since I’d never used such magic before, the incantation didn’t come to mind immediately.
I recalled the magical theories Sophia had taught me and somehow managed to cast a spell.
“Water Shower!”
Whoooosh!
Water droplets materialized in the air and shot toward the burning Dormitory.
But since I’d cast the spell without properly recalling the incantation, it lacked the power to extinguish the flames.
“Tch…!”
I bit my lip, watching the inferno rage on.
“Pouring rain, become a tidal wave and engulf the world.”
A clear, resonant voice rang out.
A petite woman with short red hair aimed a staff taller than herself at the burning Dormitory.
“Heavy Rain.”
Shooooooosh!!!
A torrent of water cascaded down, extinguishing the flames consuming the Dormitory.
“Hmph.”
The red-haired woman, who had doused the fire in an instant, turned to face me.
“This fire… it started in your room, didn’t it?”
“….”
I closed my eyes tightly as I met Sophia’s cold, piercing gaze.
‘I’m screwed.’
How was I supposed to fix this now?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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