The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 165

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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 165. Witch of Night (6)
I was trapped in an endless nightmare.
—You! Why on earth… *cough*!
The nightmare always began the same way.
Father collapsing, blood spraying from his body.
Mother gazing down at him with cold, merciless eyes.
—Ah, yes. So it comes to this after all.
Mother licked her blood-stained hand and laughed with a shrill, piercing sound.
—I was simply a witch with no choice.
Mother’s gaze turned toward me.
—Lanez.
Her tender voice stood in stark contrast to her blood-soaked form.
—I’m sorry.
Mother pulled me into her embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
—I’m sorry for giving birth to you.
In her sorrowful weeping, Mother’s arms around me
were cold enough to pierce through to my very soul.
* * *
I was admitted to the Hero Academy.
Somehow, rumors about me had already spread.
Countless eyes bore down on me as I stood at the entrance ceremony.
—Is that her? The daughter of the Archbishop of the Snowy Wasteland…?
—Why would they admit a Demon Human’s child to the Hero Academy?
—Shouldn’t anyone with Demon Human blood be executed, regardless of mixed heritage?
The voices reached my ears.
Eyes filled with hatred, contempt, and fear.
There was nowhere for me in the vast Hero Academy.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”
I apologized countless times.
I begged forgiveness endlessly.
Yet no one welcomed me.
Yes, I understood.
It was inevitable.
I was the daughter of a Demon Human.
A terrible witch.
A being that should never have been born.
“I’m truly… sorry.”
They were not at fault.
They had done nothing wrong.
The fault lay with me alone.
-Are you alright?
It was then.
I met someone who extended their hand to me.
Aaron Baek.
It didn’t take long to notice that the hand he offered had grown cold.
Behind his brightly smiling face lay nothing but hatred and fury directed at me.
It was inevitable.
I was the daughter of the enemy who had killed his father.
Aaron wasn’t at fault.
The one who had erred was me.
Years passed, and I became a fourth-year student.
Though four years had elapsed, the way the world looked at me never changed.
The world remained bitterly cold, achingly frigid.
It was inevitable.
The world hadn’t gone wrong.
I was born as the daughter of a witch.
Demon Human blood flowed through my veins.
So then.
“I’m… sorry.”
It was I who had to apologize.
It was I who had to beg for forgiveness.
I was the one at fault.
I was the one at fault.
I was the one at fault.
* * *
“What are you standing around spacing out for?”
A cold voice reached my ears.
A familiar voice.
Bella was glaring at me with eyes turned to ice.
A familiar gaze.
I flinched and trembled, hastily lowering my head.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I… I made a mistake.”
“What? Who asked for your apology? I told you to go fight the demonic beast. You’re a Candidate too, aren’t you?”
“…”
I turn my trembling gaze toward the demonic beast.
A creature with the head of a serpent and the body of a human.
Seven gleaming eyes fixed upon me.
Terrifying.
Just looking at it made my legs tremble uncontrollably.
Over the past four years at the Academy, I’d learned various combat spells, but standing before a magical beast, my mind went completely blank.
I wanted to turn and flee immediately, but Bella stood behind me, blocking my escape.
“Hah, hah.”
I exhaled roughly and stretched my hands forward.
I concentrated my mana and desperately unleashed my magic.
Whoooosh.
Ice shards gathered in the air.
But only for a moment.
“Grrrrrrrowwwl!”
“Kyaaaah!”
The moment I heard that ferocious roar, my magic scattered and the ice shards I’d been forming tumbled uselessly to the ground.
“Tch. What are you doing?”
“I… I’m sorry.”
“Focus. Your junior is watching.”
….
I turned my head to look at the “junior” Bella mentioned.
A candidate with dark gray hair and slightly fierce eyes.
I recalled the memory of when I first met them.
‘They were frowning when they looked at me.’
It was a familiar occurrence.
After all, no one would smile warmly at a witch with Demon Human blood flowing through her veins.
“Ugh….”
Suddenly.
An unbearable chill engulfed my body.
Chatter, chatter, chatter.
My teeth clattered loudly.
‘…Why?’
This place was the Jungle, where just breathing made sweat pour down.
I should be feeling oppressive heat, not cold.
‘I’m cold.’
So cold.
Like wandering naked through a blizzard in the Snowy Wasteland.
Unbearably cold.
‘Cold, cold, cold.’
My body shook violently.
I tried curling up and rubbing my hands together to warm them, but the biting cold refused to relent even slightly.
“What are you doing right now?”
Bella’s eyes narrowed fiercely as she watched me huddled and rubbing my hands.
“N-no. It’s just… c-cold… ma’am.”
“Cold? You’re complaining about being cold?”
Bella let out a scoff, her expression one of utter disbelief.
“…Ugh. This is driving me insane.”
Bella strode toward me and kicked my stomach as if I were a ball—*thwack*.
“Gack!”
My body lifted off the ground, and the impact shattered through me.
But the blow to my stomach paled in comparison to the biting cold that threatened to freeze me solid at any moment.
“Ha… ha… huu…”
I blew warm breath onto my trembling hands.
Yet with each attempt, the cold only intensified, growing more unbearable.
“This bastard’s hopeless.”
Bella’s eyes narrowed before she seized my collar and hurled me toward where the lizard beast lurked.
“Ugh!”
*Thud!*
The world spun, and my back crashed against the hard ground with a jolt that knocked the wind from my lungs.
“Grrrrrowl!”
“Eek!”
I lifted my head to see the beast’s seven eyes gleaming with savage hunger mere inches from my face.
I crawled desperately backward along the ground, putting distance between myself and the creature as I frantically scanned my surroundings.
“Aaron, Aaron…”
When I turned my head, what I saw was—
Aaron, arms crossed, gazing down at me with cold, piercing eyes.
“…Ah.”
A faint sigh escaped my lips.
I knew it already.
Beneath his kindness lay a hatred that had grown glacial and absolute.
And the reason I called out his name desperately, despite knowing this, was pathetically laughable.
Even if his hands had turned cold.
Aaron was the only one who had ever reached out to me.
“Ah… ugh.”
Cold.
It had always been this way.
The world was relentlessly frigid, and nightmares never ceased.
Transparent tears pooled at my eyes and streamed down my cheeks.
Save me.
A silent scream I could never voice tore from my heart.
Please… someone… save me.
Before my desperate plea could even finish—
“Grrrrrowl.”
The beast began to move slowly toward me.
Sharp claws and a ferociously writhing tail came into view.
“….”
I couldn’t even think of fleeing from the approaching beast, instead curling myself into a ball with my knees drawn to my chest.
A breath escaped me.
My exhaled breath mingled with crystalline white vapor.
I knew it well.
No matter how desperately I pleaded, no matter how frantically I struggled.
No ‘hero’ would come to save me.
‘Just once… even just once, that would be enough.’
After all, wasn’t it only natural?
“I want… to be… warm…”
Nowhere in this world.
Could there possibly be a hero willing to save a witch.
“Shriiiiiiek!”
The beast rushed forward with a deafening roar.
The moment I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Bloom.”
Fire.
Erupted.
Whoooosh!
Savage crimson flames consumed the beast’s body.
“…What?”
I slowly lifted my head.
Dale Han.
My junior, with dark gray hair and slightly fierce eyes, stood protecting me.
* * *
“Hmm.”
The atmosphere had grown rigid and awkward.
Aaron scratched his cheek with an uncomfortable smile.
“Ha. Sorry. Bella’s prank got a bit out of hand.”
Aaron slowly walked toward where Lanez and I stood.
“Let me apologize on her behalf.”
“…Sigh.”
I exhaled deeply while regarding Aaron before me.
Aaron would become a hero powerful enough to rank among the top five in the not-too-distant future.
Even if I didn’t join his party, maintaining good relations with him would prove invaluable in the coming war against the Demon God’s forces.
Lanez, on the other hand, even if she awakened the ‘Blessing of Harsh Winter,’ would likely prove more of a liability than an asset, unable to properly control such power.
One was a lottery ticket with a guaranteed prize.
The other was a bomb capable of killing millions of humans.
The choice of whose side to take was abundantly clear.
It was simple and clear.
So…
“I didn’t have any bad intentions—I just wanted Lanez to do well…”
Smack!
I struck Aaron’s rambling cheek with a rough, sweeping blow.
“Ugh!”
He hadn’t expected me to suddenly swing my fist like that.
Aaron tumbled backward, clutching his cheek.
“Hey! What are you—!”
“Bella. Stay out of this.”
Aaron shook his head at Bella, who glared at me with a twisted expression and raised her sword.
“Tsk.”
Aaron clicked his tongue lightly and pushed himself up.
As he extended his hand, the spear he’d left on the stump rose into the air and flew to his grasp.
“I just want to ask you one thing.”
Aaron turned his head toward me, gripping the spear shaft.
“Why are you protecting that witch?”
Aaron’s eyes narrowed as if he couldn’t comprehend it.
“I liked you quite a bit, Dale. You’re smart, perceptive, and skilled. That’s why I suggested you join my party after graduation.”
Aaron continued speaking.
“Though our house’s situation hasn’t been ideal recently, we still command the greatest power within the Republic.”
I know.
“It’s awkward for me to say, but I’m quite confident in my abilities. After graduation, I’ll become a hero strong enough to stand against anyone.”
I know.
“Meanwhile, Lanez is a witch with Demon blood—specifically, the blood of an ‘Archbishop’-class Demon. Even if there’s no problem now, who knows when she’ll become a monster like her mother.”
I know.
“But.”
Aaron stared at me with eyes that had grown dark and hollow.
“Why are you pointing your sword at me instead of that witch?”
“…”
Why I sided with Lanez instead of Aaron.
Was he really that curious about the reason?
Curious enough to deliver an entire speech like this.
“I don’t know. I have no idea.”
“…What?”
“I said I don’t know. I don’t even understand why I’m doing this.”
I shrugged and shook my head.
I know.
I know my actions right now aren’t particularly wise.
Call it cheap sympathy if you want, or a momentary whim.
If I had to give a reason, though.
“I wanted to hold her hand.”
“…?”
I turned to look at Lanez, leaving Aaron behind with his expression of incomprehension, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
-Just once… even just once, that’s enough.
I recalled that day.
In the Snowy Wasteland where blizzards raged, I remembered the witch’s hand reaching out to me as she died, tears of blood streaming down her face.
-Warm… I want to feel… warm.
That hand I had coldly brushed away back then.
That hand which had grown so terribly cold.
This time, I wanted to hold it.
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
Aaron clicked his tongue at me and leveled his spear.
“Well, in any case. If you’re planning to keep protecting that witch, you’d better be prepared.”
Prepared.
I let out a soft laugh and gripped my sword.
“Yes, you’d better be prepared.”
Not me—you.

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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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