The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 277

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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 277. War (1)
“Ugh….”
In the darkened room.
A pained groan escaped between the lips of the man wearing the hood pulled deep over his head.
Whoosh, crackle crackle!
The black flames that coiled around the man’s body, mingling with his groans, flickered precariously.
“Ah, you’ve become quite the wreck. Does this happen every time one of your avatars dies?”
A voice tinged with mockery echoed through the room.
A young man wearing a white mask slowly approached him.
With the light steps of someone out for a casual stroll, the youth asked in a playful tone.
“Should I ‘regenerate’ you?”
“…Not necessary.”
The man engulfed in black flames—the master of Destruction, a Demon Human closer to the Demon God than any other.
Unlike the flames that blazed around his body, Amon shook his head with an expression as cold as ice.
“Is that so? Pity. I could regenerate wounds of that caliber in the blink of an eye.”
“Get to the point. Why are you here?”
“Why would a Hero seek out a Demon Human? Obviously to judge an evil Demon Human in the name of justice.”
“…You speak such nonsense with such ease.”
“Hmm, is it truly nonsense?”
The youth in the white mask leisurely crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders.
Amon fixed his deeply sunken eyes on the white-masked youth before him—the being known as the Eternal Cult Leader.
“So, what did you think after meeting them?”
….
He hadn’t stated exactly who, but.
It wasn’t difficult to discern whom the Eternal Cult Leader was referring to.
“Impressive.”
“Right? It’s a bit presumptuous coming from me, but the more I see them, the more remarkable they become.”
…?
Presumptuous?
What kind of relationship did these two have that he would use such a word?
“Huh? Oh, you’re asking what kind of relationship we have? Well… I’m not sure. Would you understand if I said we’re the kind of relationship where I’ve been waiting for them to sprout for a very long time?”
“I don’t understand at all.”
“Tsk tsk. Demon Humans really do have their emotions all dried up.”
….
Sigh.
Amon exhaled deeply and shook his head slowly.
“That gray-haired Candidate… was his name Dale?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
He was indeed remarkably strong, and the possibility that he could become Destruction was also true.

But.
“That boy is nothing but a mere child. As long as I exist, he will never become the master of Destruction.”
“Haha, yes. I know.”
As long as you exist, that is.
The Eternal Cult Leader continued with a faint smile.
“So, I have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“Yes. I’ll grant you the one thing you desire most right now.”
“…Ha.”
Grant me the one thing I desire most?
“What could you possibly know….”
“To be specific, yes.”
The Eternal Cult Leader smiled brightly, cutting off Amon’s words.
“I’ll grant you the ability to reach the deepest depths of the Abyss.”
“…!”
Amon’s eyes widened in shock.
Reaching the deepest depths of the Abyss.
It was the fervent desire he had harbored ever since the moment he carved the Demon God’s stigma upon his chest, and an urgent matter he must accomplish.
There was only one reason he had to reach that place.
Only by reaching the deepest depths of the Abyss could he—
“Only by reaching the deepest depths of the Abyss can you unseal the Demon God, right?”
“….”
“No, wait. I misspoke. To be precise, you can’t really call it unsealing.”
Because.
“The Demon God—has already been dead for five hundred years.”
“…!!!!!!”
Boom!
Amon kicked off the ground violently and charged toward the Eternal Cult Leader.
Whoooosh!
A massive inferno erupted, engulfing the Eternal Cult Leader.
Snap.
As the Eternal Cult Leader flicked his hand lightly, a dense emerald aura burst forth from his stigma, colliding with the black flames.
Crrrunch!
The surrounding earth screamed and twisted.
From a single clash alone, the ground within hundreds of meters was swept by the impact, transforming into a wasteland.
And then.
Bloom.
Pure white flowers, like snow, bloomed upon the barren earth.
Upon the ground transformed in an instant into a garden overflowing with blossoms, the Eternal Cult Leader stood with noble composure, gazing down at him.
“You…!”
Grit.
Amon gnashed his teeth savagely, glaring at the Eternal Cult Leader.
Five hundred years ago, the Demon God had not been sealed—he had faced complete annihilation.
Only he, who had inherited the Demon God’s power most deeply among all Demons, would know this truth.
“How… how do you know that…!”
Amon cried out as if seized by convulsions.
“How did I know? Ha ha. Think about it carefully. How else would I know such a fact?”
The Eternal Cult Leader smiled at the corners of his mouth.
A smile as fresh as a flower blooming upon the earth.
“Because I killed him.”
“…What?”
“I was the one who killed the Demon God five hundred years ago—so of course I would know, wouldn’t I?”
“Im… possible.”
Amon staggered backward, his face drained of all color.
The Eternal Cult Leader was the one who killed the Demon God five hundred years ago?
If that were true.
Then his true identity was—
“So. Will you accept my proposal?”
“…”
Amon remained silent, his lips sealed shut.
His mind a tangled, chaotic mess.
“Think about it. This is your chance to become the ‘Demon God.'”
Only that honeyed voice echoed through the space.
So sweet it could scarcely be uttered.
Impossibly sweet.
* * *
Inside Elisha’s Professor’s Office.
I broke the awkward silence that had settled over us.
“My apologies. I suffered severe psychological trauma during the treatment process.”
“…What kind of treatment did you undergo to cause such a reaction?”
“That is… ugh!”
No… don’t!
Don’t recall it!
“Ah… yes. Well, you seem fine, so that’s a relief.”
Elisha cleared her throat with a soft cough and turned her head away.
“Ahem. Anyway, what of the Demons?”
“Still no sign of their movements.”
“Hmm…”
After causing such a commotion, they show no activity.
Or perhaps they’re lying low precisely because of the commotion they’ve caused.
“Anyway, starting now, there’s a meeting in the Headmaster’s Office regarding this incident. Will you join us, Dale?”
“Am I permitted to attend such a gathering?”
“Who else would I invite if not you, Dale?”
Elisha shrugged her shoulders.
‘Well, I did attend the Summit Meeting, after all.’
There was no reason to exclude myself now.
“Understood. Let’s go.”
“Follow me.”
I followed Elisha toward the Headmaster’s Office.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Inside the Headmaster’s Office sat Raonel alone.
Or rather, the word “alone” was only half accurate.
While only Raonel sat at the table.
[You’ve arrived.]
[I was waiting… Ah? You came as well.]
The hologram floating in the air displayed the faces of Pope Marian and Empress Camelia.
[I heard your condition wasn’t good… Have you fully recovered?]
Perhaps it was because this was our first contact in a long time since returning to the Empire after the break ended.
Empress Camelia asked with a somewhat excited expression.
“Yes, I’ve fully recovered.”
[Good. That’s fortunate. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to tell me….]
“…It seems this isn’t the time to concern ourselves with such personal matters.”
Raonel rubbed his forehead as if it ached, but.
[Silence. How dare you interrupt while I’m speaking?]
What returned was only the Empress’s wrathful rebuke.
Though Camelia had recently earned a reputation for being somewhat gentler, that assessment was limited to specific circumstances.
That’s right.
To be specific.
“As the Headmaster says, it would be more appropriate to discuss the Demons rather than my affairs.”
[If you say so, then there’s no helping it.]
It was identical to how she was with everyone else, except when dealing with me.
“…Sigh.”
Raonel exhaled deeply and turned to look at both me and Empress Camelia.
He shook his head as if clearing troubled thoughts from his mind and opened his mouth.
“So, Elisha. Are the Demons still showing no further movement?”
“Correct. They display no signs of activity.”
“Hmm.”
[What could the Demons possibly be scheming?]
Pope Marian furrowed her brow.
Raonel and Camelia fell silent, their expressions grave.
“This is merely personal speculation, but.”
Elisha’s eyes gleamed sharply as she spoke.
“I believe a large-scale invasion by the Demons is imminent.”
“….”
A large-scale invasion by the Demons.
In other words.
War with the Demons was upon us.
“Do you have a reason for thinking so?”
“There were no casualties.”
“Hmm?”
“The incident that occurred in the Demon Realm recently. Not a single death, not even an injury.”
“Wasn’t that because the Candidates and Professor Lucas Kane responded quickly?”
“While their swift action certainly helped, the fact that not a single person was harmed makes no sense.”
“….”
In other words.
What Elisha was trying to say was.
“The Demons didn’t actively attack the Candidates in the first place?”
“Precisely.”
Elisha nodded slightly and continued.
“Candidate Yurina and Candidate Morris, who responded swiftly to suppress the Demons at the time, as well as Professor Lucas Kane, all offered similar opinions.”
“The Demons didn’t actively launch an offensive?”
“Yes.”
“So according to your reasoning, the Demons’ objective from the start was to abduct the Candidates.”
“That is correct.”
The abduction of the Candidates.
It was one of the possibilities we had anticipated.
“If the Demons’ objective was indeed the abduction of the Candidates, and that plan has now failed, wouldn’t the likelihood of war actually decrease?”
“The crucial point is not that the Demons’ objective was the abduction of the Candidates.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s that the Demons, who are always plagued by destructive impulses, have developed enough unity to execute an ‘abduction’ plan without a single casualty.”
“….”
The Demons’ unity has increased.
“Currently, the Demons are gathering under the Archbishop of Destruction and displaying far more organized movements than before. And the Archbishop of Destruction is more actively committed than any other Archbishop to breaking the seal of the Demon God trapped beneath the Abyss.”
Therefore, they would not shy away from the extreme choice of war.
“Indeed, your reasoning has merit, but it’s difficult to conclude that all Demons have gathered under the Archbishop of Destruction based solely on that.”
Raonel continued, shaking his head slightly.
“The Demons have multiple factions. Among them, the Fallen Archbishop has few followers, and the Archbishop of Beasts is said to have been completely annihilated in last year’s beast incident, but.”
Many Archbishops remained.
“Even if their activities have recently slowed, the Archbishop of Illusion, the Archbishop of Desire, and the Archbishop of Madness are all alive and well—how could the Demons possibly unite so solidly under the Archbishop of Destruction?”
“….”
Elisha’s words caught in her throat.
She glanced sideways at Dale, her lips pressed tightly together.
How could she possibly speak of it?
Just moments ago, Headmaster Raonel had mentioned Ashtar Ashtaroth, the Archbishop of Illusion, Lactasia, the Archbishop of Desire, and Seto, the Archbishop of Madness.
Even Jackal, the Archbishop of Beasts, had fallen.
Four of the Six Archbishops—all of them had met their end at the hands of a single Candidate.
“Why have you suddenly gone silent?”
“No, I… it’s just…”
Cold sweat trickled down Elisha’s back.

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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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