The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 244

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

Chapter 244. Divine Descent (4)
The Tree of Creation.
The Creator who brought forth eight gods.
The origin of the world, stretching to the highest reaches of the heavens and rooting itself in the deepest depths of the earth.
A distant past.
According to faded mythology, in the age when the Tree of Creation existed, death itself did not exist.
No one perished.
Nothing vanished.
Nothing was forgotten.
Theologians called this era the “Age of Eternity.”
True to its name, even this seemingly infinite Age of Eternity eventually came to an end.
The Primordial Fire.
The last of the eight gods created by the Tree of Creation—the one later called the Demon God—kindled a flame that consumed the Tree of Creation itself.
Theologians proposed a hypothesis regarding this event.
No matter how formidable the Demon God’s divine nature was among the eight gods, it was inconceivable that he could produce a flame powerful enough to incinerate the Tree of Creation, a being superior even to the gods themselves.
In other words.
The Tree of Creation essentially put a period to its own “eternity” in an act akin to suicide.
‘Then why….’
The Tree of Creation, which should have been reduced to ash by the flames, now dwells within my body.
‘Am I a descendant of the Tree of Creation, or something like that?’
I have no idea.
Besides, what does it matter now whether I’m a descendant of the Tree of Creation or the Tree itself?
What matters is that the Tree of Creation resides within me.
‘…Wait.’
The Tree of Creation wasn’t the only thing dwelling within me.
‘The Primordial Fire is here too.’
So right now, both the Tree of Creation and the Primordial Fire exist together inside this small body of mine?
“…Sigh.”
Two forces worthy of mythology itself resided within me, not just one.
My mind became tangled in confusion.
I slowly lifted my gaze toward the Tree of Creation towering high into the sky.
As the ashen mist dissipated, the majesty of the Tree of Creation was revealed—so overwhelming that merely beholding it stole one’s breath.
‘So that’s why the Primordial Fire couldn’t move.’
Now I understood the reason the Primordial Fire occasionally flinched as if seized by fear.
‘…I should head back soon.’
There was nothing more to gain by remaining here any longer.
Just as I was about to open the eyes I had closed to exit the Mental Realm.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!
The ground suddenly began to convulse violently.
Crack!
The earth split open, and thick tree roots surged upward.
‘What…!’
The tree roots coiled around my body.
Squelch, crack, crunch!
Tree roots that tore through flesh and crushed bone, burrowing deeper into my body.
Despite being in the Mental Realm and not reality, excruciating pain spread throughout my form.
‘Ugh!’
Whoosh!
Mountain after mountain, as they say.
As I writhed, ensnared by the tree roots, primordial fire descended upon me.
Whoosh! Crack! Crunch!
Tangled tree roots and primordial fire.
The two forces bared their savage fangs at each other like beasts fighting over prey.
‘They’re literally going at it like a pair of madmen!’
If I stayed like this, I would be devoured.
An instinctive warning wailed through my mind.
‘Hiss.’
I drew a deep breath and spread both arms wide.
The Tree of Creation and the Primordial Fire.
If only one of them had been trying to swallow me, I could never have escaped so easily.
‘But if they’re striking at each other…’
Boom!
I exhaled the breath I had been holding roughly and stomped my feet hard.
I shook off the tree roots coiling around my body and threw myself away from the savage flames.
Crunch!
Whoosh!
The tree roots and flames pursued me belatedly, crashing down.
I reached out toward the two mythic remnants descending upon me savagely.
‘Bloom.’
Ash fire blazed forth, blocking the Tree of Creation and the Primordial Fire.
Of course, mere ash fire conjured by a human could never withstand divine power—
‘—huh?’
A flinch.
The two forces that had rushed at me like ravenous beasts suddenly halted the moment they saw the ash fire.
But it was only for a moment.
Soon the tree roots and flames pierced through the ash fire and descended upon me.
‘Now!’
It was only the briefest of gaps, but an opening had formed.
I opened my closed eyes and awakened the consciousness that had been sleeping deeply.
“Gasp!”
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
I clutched my chest and exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
“D-Dale?!”
“Dale!”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
The women in the room rushed toward me with urgent expressions.
“H-hah, hah! I’m… I’m fine…”
“Fine?! How is this fine?! You’re drenched in cold sweat!”
Iris seized my hand and began chanting an incantation.
A rainbow-hued light seeped into my body, and the searing pain gradually subsided.
“Phew. Thank you, Iris.”
“You’re… you’re really okay now, right?”
“Yeah.”
The pain hadn’t completely vanished, but it was manageable at this level.
‘What on earth was that?’
The Primordial Flame had always been hunting me, so that much I could understand, but the Tree of Creation—which I’d believed was protecting me all this time—suddenly attacked me out of nowhere.
‘Could it be… they’re fighting over ownership of my body?’
Ha.
The Creator who made all things and the flame that once burned and killed that Creator were now clashing and fighting over a mere human body.
I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh at the absurdity of it all.
“You really are okay… right?”
“Ah, yeah. Sorry, I was lost in thought. By the way… the Forest God?”
“Ah… m-my concentration broke, so the possession connection was severed.”
Iris offered an embarrassed smile.
It seemed that when I suddenly broke into cold sweat and gasping breaths, it had disrupted her possession entirely.
“Should I use possession again?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve already asked everything I needed to.”
And.
“You’re exhausted too, Iris.”
Deep fatigue was etched across Iris’s face from using both possession and blessing.
“Dale is right. We’ll keep an eye on Dale, so you rest, Iris.”
“But…”
“It’s fine! I can’t use recovery magic like Iris, but we’re perfectly capable of looking after Dale!”
“Y-yeah. Don’t worry. I-I know Dale’s body well, every inch of it! If anything seems wrong, I’ll call Iris right away!”
The three women laid Iris down on the sofa in the rest room, insisting she stop worrying and get some sleep.
“Come here, Dale!”
“No, I’m fine…”
“Tsk! You always say you’re fine, but you never actually are!”
Yurina narrowed her eyes and pulled my hand.
Unable to resist, I was dragged by Yurina and lay down on the long sofa.
“Phew.”
As I sank into the plush sofa, the tension drained from my body.
The experiences from the Mental Realm and my thoughts about the Creator’s tree melted away like snow in spring.
“Lift your head for a moment, Dale.”
“Hm?”
“There we go.”
Elisha settled herself at the head of the sofa, resting my head upon her thighs.
A gentle warmth spread across the back of my head.
“Hey! Professor, that’s so unfair!”
Yurina, who had missed her chance at a lap pillow, stamped her feet in frustration.
Heh.
Elisha glanced back at Yurina with the satisfied smile of a victor.
“Fine! Then I’ll take the legs!”
Making do with second best, Yurina quickly climbed onto the sofa and lifted my legs onto her lap.
“No, wait. That’s… that’s a bit much, even so.”
A head resting on one’s thighs was common enough between lovers, I supposed.
But having one’s legs elevated felt more like something a servant would do.
“Mm, I don’t mind, Dale.”
“Well, I do.”
“I’ll massage your legs, so just relax~.”
Yurina brushed aside my objection and began kneading my legs with practiced ease.
With the skill of a swordmaster accustomed to handling the body, her seemingly gentle massage found every knot of tension in my muscles with precision.
“Ugh.”
A strange sense of guilt mingled with an indescribable comfort that enveloped my entire being.
“Ahhh…”
Lanez, deprived of her spot by Elisha and Yurina, wore a dejected expression as she glanced around searching for a place of her own.
“Then I suppose I’ll just… go somewhere else.”
Slip.
Lanez’s hand crept stealthily beneath my shirt.
“Hold on.”
What exactly are you trying to do?
“Hehe. Dale’s chest… so firm and warm…”
“No.”
“I-I’ll give you a massage.”
“Don’t.”
I was in the midst of a tussle with Lanez, whose fingers continued their restless movements.
[What are you all doing?]
“””…!!!”””
Grace, whose presence I had momentarily forgotten, opened her eyes narrowly.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had forgotten her existence—the shoulders of Elisha, Yurina, and Lanez, all clinging to me, trembled with a start.
The air in the frozen room grew heavy.
Grace narrowed her eyes as she turned to observe the three women.
[What exactly is your relationship with my son-in-law?]
“Well… that is to say…”
I racked my brain desperately searching for words, yet nothing came to mind.
And well, it made sense.
‘What excuse could I possibly offer in this situation?’
How could I defend myself when I was lying on the sofa receiving devoted care from three lovers—not counting my daughter?
[…Wait.]
Perhaps she had sensed the strange atmosphere permeating the room.
Grace’s pupils trembled visibly.
[You… surely you’re not in a similar situation to that bastard Reynald Helios, are you?]
Grace turned to Iris with a look of anguish.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Mother.”
Iris, who had been resting on the sofa, turned her head away from Grace’s gaze.
[…!!!]
Grace’s eyes flew wide open in shock, her mouth gaping.
With an expression twisted like a yaksha’s, Grace came flying at me.
[You, you wretched bastard! What was lacking in my daughter that you had to lay your hands on another woman too!!!]
“….”
[Say something!!!]
Ah…
What had Reynald Helios said five hundred years ago?
“Mother-in-law.”
I rose from the sofa and bowed my head toward Grace as I spoke.
“I will make you all happy.”
[Ah…]
Grace, who had been floating in midair, pressed her forehead and fell.
Her already semi-transparent form became so faint it was barely visible.
“Kyaaaah! Mother!”
Iris scrambled to her feet and rushed toward Grace.
“You can’t disappear!”
[My daughter… how did she end up with such a bastard…!]
Grace embraced the rushing Iris and wept bitterly.

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