The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 152

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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 152. The Consecutive Disappearances of Candidates (6)
From the moment Berald first told me about the consecutive disappearances of candidates, I felt something was off.
That sense of dissonance, lodged in the corner of my mind, only grew stronger as I investigated the case further.
And when I encountered the masked man on the Overgrown Hillside Forest.
I was able to discern the true nature of that dissonance without much difficulty.
“Wait, hold on? Professor Jade Bastian? What are you talking about, brother?”
Berald turned to me, his expression filled with shock.
Without answering his question, I fixed my gaze upon the masked man.
“….”
I could see the man’s eyes trembling behind the mask’s openings.
I exhaled a deep sigh and opened my mouth.
“There’s no point in staying silent like that.”
“…How did you know?”
A familiar voice emerged from between the mask’s gaps.
I glanced down at the fallen Laios and continued speaking.
“There aren’t many people within Hero Academy capable of incapacitating Laios Ryu using pure magic alone.”
The current fourth-year class is brimming with talented candidates, earning praise as a generation of legendary caliber.
Among them, ranked fourth in the comprehensive evaluation.
To subdue Laios Ryu—the grandson of the “God of Thunder” and renowned as a genius mage—would require someone of at least professor-level capability or higher.
‘No, even for a professor, it wouldn’t be easy.’
To incapacitate him so swiftly that he wouldn’t even properly register being ambushed—that would require someone among the upper echelon of what they call “rankers,” the elite heroes.
“You figured it out from just that?”
“No. I couldn’t have known from that alone. Our school’s professors are far too capable.”
While it wouldn’t be easy for a professor, it certainly wouldn’t be impossible either.
If one exploited the advantage of a surprise attack skillfully, there would be more than just Professor Jade Bastian capable of subduing a magic-user like Laios in an instant.
But.
“Most of the professors are currently in late-night meetings preparing for second semester classes.”
With the exception of Professor Jade Bastian, who has effectively stepped back from his professorial duties following the incident from two years ago.
“Heh. A professor meeting… I had no idea such a thing was happening.”
Professor Jade Bastian let out a hollow laugh.
“But even so, it would have been difficult to be certain it was me based on that alone.”
There were other professors not participating in the meeting besides Jade Bastian.
And there was always the possibility that an outsider, not a professor, was responsible.
“Well… let’s just say it was partly ‘intuition.'”
That wasn’t entirely untrue.
The candidates caught up in the incident all commonly reported itching where the stigma had been inscribed, or.
When I visited Jade’s Research Laboratory, I witnessed him attempting to conceal something, or.
There were multiple circumstances pointing to it.
But until I came here, I wasn’t entirely certain that Professor Jade Bastian was the culprit behind the consecutive disappearances of candidates.
However.
“While you were blocking Sophia’s magic earlier, you extended a magical barrier to that side so Laios wouldn’t get caught up in it.”
“….”
“That’s when I became certain. The culprit is Jade Bastian.”
Despite the vicious moniker of “Student Killer” attached to him.
I knew better than anyone, having spent time close to him, just how much he cherished the Candidates in the Program.
“Truly… I cannot bear what Dale must endure.”
Jade Bastian removed the mask covering his face with a bitter smile.
A weathered face with unkempt whiskers.
It was the face of Jade Bastian—descendant of the Great Sage Julius Bastian and the Continent’s foremost expert in Stigma research.
“So you were the culprit after all.”
Had she also suspected that Jade Bastian was behind this incident?
Sophia gripped her staff tighter, her eyes blazing with fury.
“…A Candidate, are you?”
“Don’t you dare speak my name with that filthy mouth.”
Sophia glared at Jade Bastian with eyes turned cold as ice.
“You attacked the Candidates and knocked them unconscious because of your ‘Artificial Stigma’ research, didn’t you?”
“….”
“Even after killing my brother, you couldn’t abandon that cursed research?”
Jade Bastian made no response to Sophia’s reproach, his head bowed in silence.
And then.
Whoooooosh!
“Dodge!”
The moment a burst of azure light erupted from Jade Bastian, Berald threw himself in front of Sophia, crossing both arms in an X formation.
Boom!
With the deafening blast, Berald’s body was sent sliding backward.
“Ugh!”
“You…!”
Sophia’s expression twisted with rage as she leveled her staff at Jade Bastian.
Crimson magical power blazed at the staff’s tip.
Dozens of crimson spheres materialized in the air.
The scarlet orbs, brimming with formidable power, rained down upon Jade Bastian like a deluge.
“Heh. Indeed… you possess power worthy of that man’s sibling.”
Jade Bastian gazed upon the descending crimson spheres with a bitter smile.
His hands wove intricate seals as if painting upon the void.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Azure luminescence unfurled across the air in geometric patterns.
The cascading crimson spheres suddenly lost their trajectory and curved away.
Crash, crash, crash!
Trees were uprooted and sent flying as a terrifying roar shook the forest.
“However, this old man’s skills have not yet grown dull.”
“Tsk…!”
Sophia bit her lip and retreated backward.
A torrent of blue light traced geometric patterns across the space where she had stood.
The battle intensified.
I gently narrowed my eyes while touching the hilt of the sword at my waist.
If I joined the fight here, subduing Jade Bastian wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
‘Something feels off.’
The sense of discord lodged in my mind remained unresolved.
Sticky and cloying.
The same discomfort I felt when witnessing misaligned, twisted gears spread through my spine and permeated my entire body.
‘Perhaps I should wait a bit longer.’
I withdrew my hand from the sword hilt and observed the battle between Sophia and Jade Bastian.
“Sophia! Please fall back!”
“Who are you calling—”
Leaving the grumbling Sophia behind, Berald rushed forward.
“Hah.”
He inhaled sharply and spread his mana widely.
The opponent was a professor.
Moreover, a descendant of the Great Sage—one of the Five Great Heroes who had sealed the Demon God five hundred years ago and saved the world.
But.
‘If that’s the case, then I’m a descendant of the Iron Fist!’
Berald created a mana projectile in the air and swung his fist with all his might.
“Mountain Shattering!”
Boom!
The mana projectile struck by his fist shot forward with a terrifying roar.
“Striking magic with a fist…?”
Though Jade Bastian had devoted his entire life to the magical arts, his expression showed bewilderment at this technique he had never witnessed before.
But only for a moment.
Jade Bastian’s hands swiftly formed a seal.
Geometric blue patterns materialized in the air.
Boom!
A resounding crash echoed.
The mana projectile collided with the blue pattern and, as if reflected in a mirror, surged back toward Berald.
“Damn!”
As his own mana projectile bounced back, Berald hastily crossed his arms to block it.
Boom!
His body struck by the projectile tumbled pathetically across the ground.
“Berald!”
“Ugh… I’m fine.”
Berald waved his hand at the approaching Sophia.
Berald rose unsteadily to his feet, a thin stream of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“That’s enough. Any further and you’ll sustain serious injury.”
Jade Bastian spoke as he watched Berald struggle to his feet.
“You are indeed a talented Candidate, but you’re outmatched against me in your current state.”
“Heh. I’m well aware of that much.”
A smirk crossed his face.
Berald’s lips curled upward.
True to his words, Jade Bastian was formidably strong—worthy of being called a descendant of the Great Sage.
So strong that I couldn’t fathom a way to defeat him.
“But here’s the thing.”
Explosive mana erupted from Berald’s body.
“I’ve been fighting opponents like that all summer long.”
Battles against opponents I couldn’t see a way to defeat had become second nature to me.
“…I was saving this to show my brother during our sparring match.”
Berald lowered his stance and drew in a deep breath.
A posture like a crouched predator.
The oppressive force that washed over Jade Bastian felt as though he were facing a wild bear.
“Huu.”
Exhaling the breath he’d drawn in.
He planted his feet firmly against the ground.
A thunderous boom echoed out.
Berald’s form became a gust of wind, launching forward.
“Futile!”
Jade Bastian wove hand seals with both hands and extended his arms.
A blue patterned barrier several times larger than before materialized in the air.
Gazing upon the towering mana barrier.
“Heh.”
Berald’s lips curved into a smirk.
A resonant hum filled the air.
Mana projectiles forming in the void.
Or more precisely, elongated mana projectiles—’mana platforms’—took shape.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Berald sprinted through the air as though flying, treading upon the mana platforms.
A technique he’d learned from Dale and reinterpreted in his own way.
Berald’s martial art.
Sky Step.
“Hyaaaagh!”
Berald’s body vaulted over the blue mana barrier.
Soaring high, Berald clenched his fists tightly and descended at tremendous speed, propelling himself off the mana platforms.
“Berald’s Martial Art!”
Mountain Lightning Strike.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
Berald’s fist, descending like a thunderbolt, unleashed a tremendous explosion.
“Ugh!”
Jade Bastian, caught in the blast, was hurled backward.
“Tempest Wave!”
Sophia seized the opening without hesitation, swiftly casting her spell.
A crimson wave of mana crashed over Jade Bastian like a tidal surge.
Crash, rumble, rumble!
A devastating explosion swept across the earth.
“Hgh… cough, cough!”
After the dust settled.
Jade Bastian appeared before us, his form reduced to tatters.
He had managed to erect a mana barrier just in time to avoid fatal wounds, but his robes were torn in countless places, and his exposed skin was covered with countless small cuts.
“…Remarkable.”
Jade Bastian wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, his gaze fixed on Berald and Sophia.
Even if he had devoted himself entirely to defense, he never imagined he would be pushed back this far by mere Candidates.
“…Speak.”
Sophia advanced toward the tattered Jade Bastian with long, purposeful strides.
“Tell us!”
“…What do you wish to know.”
“Argh!”
Sophia seized Jade Bastian by the collar, shaking him roughly as she cried out.
“You, and my brother too! What exactly is this ‘artificial stigma’ that you’re both so obsessed with!”
She screamed as though her heart would break.
“Why… why couldn’t my brother abandon that damned research even as he was dying!!!”
“….”
Jade Bastian gazed at the screaming Sophia, his lips pressed firmly shut.
A brief silence.
From Jade Bastian’s tightly closed lips came a low, hollow voice.
“…Because I wanted to save the world.”
“What?”
At his absurd words, Sophia’s expression crumpled.
Jade Bastian continued, a bitter smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“Yes… we simply… wanted to save the world….”
Two years ago.
Recalling that faded dream, Jade Bastian’s shoulders trembled as though he were weeping.

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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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