The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 232

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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 232. The Spider and the Empress (9)
Whoosh, whoosh!
The embers that had blazed savagely like a starving beast became a docile lamb, touching the tips of my fingers.
A scorching heat flowed through my fingertips.
Without anyone needing to teach me, like salmon swimming upstream from the sea into a river, the primordial flame settled within the stigma, flowing through my body.
I watched the primordial flame flowing into my body at my command, and the corners of my mouth curved upward in a smirk.
“Yes, if only you’d been like this from the start, how wonderful would that be?”
Let’s do better going forward, shall we?
Whoosh, whoooosh!
The primordial flame trembled pitifully, like a subordinate stiffened by their superior’s reprimand.
Watching those embers, I swallowed back a laugh.
‘This one’s actually quite docile.’
Or perhaps my power had grown to the point where it ‘had no choice but to become docile.’
Well, either way, that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was that the primordial flame had completely submitted to me.
‘And.’
Because of that, I could now absorb the primordial flame entirely without having to wrestle with it in the Mental Realm like last time.
“Haah.”
It flows in.
A scorching, turbulent heat.
The ‘divinity’ in which a fragment of the Demon God’s soul dwells.
“What on earth…?”
Melina’s words trailed off, her expression filled with shock.
Her body, which had been trembling like an aspen leaf, suddenly stiffened as she clenched her teeth and gripped her mace.
“…No, that can’t be right.”
She shook her head as if denying the reality before her eyes.
“You can’t possibly be a descendant of ‘Destruction’!!!”
“I don’t know who this Destruction person is, but.”
I’m a hundred percent pure orphan who doesn’t even know my parents’ names.
“So being arbitrarily called someone’s descendant is a bit confusing, you see?”
“Tch!”
Melina’s expression twisted savagely as she charged toward me.
She leaped forward, her sword—no, her mace wreathed in roaring flames—gripped firmly in hand.
Melina, soaring high into the air, brought her mace crashing down toward my head.
And then.
Clang.
“What—!”
I caught the mace plummeting down like a meteor with a single hand, effortlessly.
Shock flooded Melina’s face.
Gripping the mace, I opened my mouth quietly.
“Devour it.”
Calamity Fire.
Ashen flames spreading in a perfect circle from my body as the epicenter.
Gray fire painted the surrounding space, creating a domain of devastation.
A dizzying thrill coursing down my spine.
A sense of omnipotence—as though a single gesture could crumble the world itself.
I understood it instinctively.
The power I felt now was not human; it transcended into the realm of divinity.
‘Is this what Camelia perceives?’
If so, I could finally comprehend her temperament.
A sensation of existing apart from humanity itself.
Melina before my eyes felt like a clay figurine that would shatter at the slightest touch.
Crack, crunch!
The moment I tightened my grip on the mace, it shattered into fragments.
“Hup—!”
Melina gasped in shock and hastily retreated backward.
Whoosh!
Ashen flames suddenly erupted from empty air, engulfing her body.
“Kyaaaah!”
A scream that seemed to tear the very fabric of sound.
I leisurely raised my hand and touched her forehead with a single fingertip.
Shhhhhh.
With that simple gesture alone.
The black flames pouring from Melina’s body vanished without a trace.
“You… just who are you?”
“Haven’t we introduced ourselves enough already?”
Whoosh!
With a casual wave, a sword of ashen flames materialized in empty space.
The moment I seized the blade of ashen fire and swung it toward Melina.
“-Manifest.”
Seven-colored light cascaded down upon the space consumed by ashen flames.
The sword of ashen fire bounced off the seven-colored radiance and scattered into the void.
“This is…”
I turned my gaze toward the source of the seven-colored light.
Camelia stood upon the staircase descending underground.
As Camelia took a single step forward, her body floated through the air and descended into the Underground Cavern.
“Your Majesty? How did Your Majesty come to be here?”
“…”
Melina’s expression twisted in confusion at Camelia’s sudden appearance.
But only for a moment.
Melina’s eyes gleamed with fervor.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! It’s him! That Candidate is plotting to assassinate you!”
“….”
“Think about who’s behind that Candidate! The Brain God Raonel! He was the mastermind all along!”
Melina’s voice rose in desperate wails.
Camelia watched her in silence.
“I-I saw with my own eyes how he ignited a flame in this underground cavern that could neutralize Your Majesty’s ‘blessing’!”
“Enough.”
“Surely you don’t doubt the words of one who has stood by your side for over a decade-.”
“…I said enough.”
Camelia shook her head with a bitter expression.
“Your Majesty.”
“….”
Camelia, who had been gazing down at Melina, shifted her gaze toward me.
“Withdraw.”
“…Are you planning to show mercy?”
“No.”
Camelia bit her lip firmly and continued.
“I shall finish this myself.”
“…Your Majesty!”
Melina’s eyes grew desperate.
She knelt on the ground and bowed her head.
“It’s the Demon Human’s sorcery! The Archbishop of Destruction… he was controlling me!”
“….”
“Your Majesty. You remember, don’t you? The day you saved me from the rubble….”
“I remember.”
“How could I ever betray the grace you showed in saving my life?”
“…Melina.”
Camelia approached Melina slowly, who remained bowed.
She knelt on one knee and embraced her.
“Forgive me.”
“…What?”
Whoooooosh!
Seven-colored light bloomed from Camelia’s hands.
“Ugh! Let go! Release me!”
“….”
“Damn it, damn it, damn iiiiit!!!”
Melina glared at Camelia with wild, blazing eyes.
“Even if I die here, you will be destroyed! When he arrives, surely…!”
Before Melina could finish her words.
Whoooooosh!
Seven-colored light wrapped around her body completely.
The radiant glow that had burned bright enough to illuminate the entire Underground Cavern gradually dimmed.
Where the light had vanished.
Melina was no longer visible.
As if she had never existed there from the beginning.
“….”
“….”
Heavy silence descended upon the Cavern.
I asked Camelia, who remained frozen in the posture of embracing Melina.
“Did you know?”
“…Know what?”
“That the Maid harbored vengeance against Your Majesty.”
“….”
Camelia slowly rose to her feet, then gave the faintest of nods.
“Then why did you keep her by your side?”
“…I’m not sure.”
Even though I knew this would happen someday.
Even though I sensed the inevitable catastrophe approaching.
“I don’t know.”
Was it clumsy atonement? Meager pity?
Or perhaps something else.
-Your Majesty Camelia! How can you make such a mess of your chamber?!
-Oh! You’ve been lying on that chair all day again, haven’t you? No matter how blessed you are by divine grace, the court physician said you must move for at least thirty minutes daily!
-Why do you train so hard? Well… that is, I… I do it to protect Your Majesty later.
-Your Majesty Camelia.
-You are… my benefactor.
The vain hope that time would gradually resolve everything.
Had it been nothing but an illusion?
“…I don’t… know.”
Camelia hung her head low.
After remaining silent for a while, she slowly turned her gaze toward Elisha and me.
“I am grateful to you both. Thanks to you, I was able to uncover the traitor’s scheme.”
“….”
“I shall report this matter to Raonel and ensure you receive appropriate compensation.”
Her face, now turned toward us, bore the same leisurely smile as always.
“…Is that all?”
“Hmm? Is there something else you require?”
Camelia chuckled softly and shook her head.
“If there is anything else to discuss, I shall hear it later. For now, I am weary.”
Camelia waved her hand.
“Go on ahead. Ask the knight at the door, and he’ll show you to your room.”
“What about you, Your Majesty?”
“I shall tidy up this place and come up afterward. How fiercely did you fight to make such a mess of things?”
The Empress herself would clean up the cavern that had become a disaster zone.
Of course, considering the power she possessed, tidying up this place would be a simple task.
“…Sigh.”
I exhaled deeply and nodded my head.
“Yes, then I’ll head up first.”
“Do so.”
Leaving Camelia behind, I climbed the staircase with Elisha.
When we arrived back at the Empress’s Chamber.
“Professor.”
“You’ve worked hard today. You must be exhausted too, Dale—go rest in your room quickly.”
“…Professor.”
“The day has grown dark already. Ah, shall we have a drink in a moment? We’ve handled one incident quite splendidly, after all.”
“….”
I spoke to Elisha, who was obviously changing the subject.
“I’ll go back down for a moment.”
“…Must you really?”
“If you tell me not to go, Professor, then I won’t.”
“…Sigh.”
Elisha pressed her forehead as if her head ached, exhaling a deep sigh.
“Wait here for a moment.”
With those words, Elisha walked off somewhere, then returned to the room with a bottle of alcohol in her hand.
“What is this…?”
“Alcohol from the kitchen. Take it with you.”
“….”
“Sigh. Really… Dale, your problem is that you’re too good-hearted.”
Elisha pinched my cheek with a sullen expression.
“Though I suppose that’s why I fell for you too.”
“…Ahem.”
Hearing such words to my face, my cheeks burned hot.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Go ahead.”
Leaving Elisha behind, I descended back into the Underground Cavern.
“…Sob.”
There, I saw Camelia sitting on the floor with her knees drawn to her chest, weeping quietly.
Did she sense my presence?
Camelia turned to look at me with a startled expression.
“W-why are you…?”
“I thought you might be doing this.”
I exhaled softly and sat beside her.
“…Did you come to console me?”
“Well, something like that.”
“How presumptuous of you.”
Camelia’s expression twisted as she continued speaking.
“I am the Empress of the Empire. My emotions shall not be shaken by such trivial matters.”
“But you were crying just a moment ago.”
“That was…”
Camelia’s shoulders flinched slightly.
I swallowed a bitter smile and pressed on.
“When someone precious dies, anyone would grieve.”
Even if that person were an Empress reigning over hundreds of millions.
“And from my experience, it’s better to have someone by your side when you’re hurting.”
I learned that truth painfully when no one remained at mine.
“You are…”
“I brought a bottle of wine from upstairs.”
I produced the bottle Elisha had given me.
“Would you like a drink?”
“…”
“Oh, but I forgot the glasses.”
Should I drink straight from the bottle?
“…Ha.”
Camelia let out a soft, incredulous laugh and flicked her hand lightly.
Two crystal glasses materialized in the empty air.
“How audacious—offering me wine without even bringing proper glasses.”
Camelia extended one of the crystal glasses toward me.
“Truly presumptuous.”
The Empress spoke thus, a faint smile gracing her lips.

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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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