The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 28

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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 28. Interlude – The Sealing Festival
“Ugh… you’re leaving already?”
“Let’s play a little longer!”
The children clung to her skirts, whimpering for more playtime.
Iris responded with a gentle smile, soothing them.
“It’s alright. I’ll come play with you again next time.”
“…Really?”
“When? Exactly when are you coming?”
“I want to play more with you and big brother!”
The children, clearly reluctant to part, refused to back away easily.
Watching them, Antonio Priest stepped forward.
“Now, all of you, that’s enough. You’re putting the Holy Maiden in an awkward position.”
“But… but…!”
Even with Antonio Priest’s intervention, the children wouldn’t retreat.
The old priest’s eyes were beginning to turn harsh.
“Please don’t be too stern, Priest.”
“…No, no. If we indulge them too much, they’ll develop bad habits.”
“Even so.”
Iris gently stroked the children’s heads with a faint smile.
“Oh, that reminds me—the Sealing Festival is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
The Sealing Festival.
A celebration commemorating the day the Five Great Heroes sealed away the Demon Human—one of the rare occasions when Candidates, usually occupied with rigorous training and lectures, could relax, eat well, and rest.
It wasn’t only the Candidates who eagerly anticipated the Sealing Festival.
The Hero Academy, which normally strictly prohibited outsiders from entering, permitted the families and acquaintances of Candidates on this day alone. As a result, both the Academy and Valhalla City would become bustling with activity around this time.
“I was thinking of inviting these children. What do you think?”
“…The children, you mean?”
“Of course, you as well, Priest.”
“That is…”
Antonio Priest wore a bewildered expression—clearly an unexpected proposal.
“Yaaaay!”
“Really? We can really go?”
“The Academy! I want to see the Academy!”
The children cheered and bounced excitedly at the invitation to the Sealing Festival.
“…Won’t this cause difficulties for the Holy Maiden?”
Antonio Priest asked in a low voice so the children wouldn’t hear.
If the children caused any trouble at the festival, it would undoubtedly tarnish Iris’s reputation.
In fact, even without causing trouble, there were plenty of people who would view orphanage children wandering through the Academy with disdain.
Even if this place was a “neutral zone” under the Three Kingdoms’ treaty, where no class or status was supposed to matter.
How easily could prejudices embedded in people’s minds truly change?
On this Continent where Demonic Beasts and Demon Humans ran rampant, parentless orphans were weaker than stray beasts loitering by the roadside, and humans instinctively despised the weak.
“It’s fine.”
Yet, even so.
Not all humans turned their backs on the weak.
“If anyone dares criticize me for inviting these children, I won’t forgive them—not even if I have to invoke the authority of the ‘Saint’ herself.”
“Iris…”
Antonio Priest gazed at Iris, his eyes glistening with emotion.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. If anything, I’m sorry for not inviting you sooner.”
“Hehe, not at all.”
Antonio Priest shook his head with a warm smile.
“S-so we really get to see the actual Academy?”
“Yes!”
“We love you, big sister!”
The children, already excited at the thought of attending the Seal Festival, kicked up clouds of dust as they raced across the courtyard.
“You brats! Stop making such a racket! Get inside at once!”
“Ugh.”
“Anyone who doesn’t get inside right now stays behind during the festival!”
“S-sorry!”
“Let’s go, quickly!”
At Antonio Priest’s stern voice, the children hurried inside the Orphanage.
“The Seal Festival is in two weeks, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hehe. Then I shall visit you then, Saint. Please take care on your way.”
Antonio Priest made the sign of the cross and bowed respectfully.
“Ah, and… your name was Dale, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Please take good care of the Saint from now on.”
Antonio Priest patted my shoulder with a meaningful smile on his face.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Hehe. You’d better do well. She may seem docile on the surface, but underneath she’s quite… fierce.”
“Antonio Priest!”
Iris stomped her feet urgently, her expression flustered.
The old priest’s clear laughter echoed across the Orphanage courtyard.
“The timing is quite fortunate, actually.”
“Hmm? Fortunate timing?”
“Ah yes, the security in the Ant Nest has improved somewhat recently. It’s the perfect time to take the children out.”
“Did something happen?”
“Hmm… I’m not entirely certain what the situation is myself.”
Antonio Priest shook his head quietly.
“However, I’ve heard that recently, all those strange individuals in Black Robes who roamed the Ant Nest have mysteriously disappeared.”
“The Black Robes’ grotesques?”
“Yes. They appear to be members of some criminal organization… There were rumors that they’re quite dangerous individuals.”
The Black Robes’ grotesques.
The moment I heard those words, an image of the Demon God Church’s Demon Humans naturally flashed through my mind.
“When did they disappear?”
“Hmm? Well… it hasn’t been long. They say they vanished suddenly just a few days ago.”
A few days ago was when I destroyed the Demon God Church Hideout.
‘The timing lines up perfectly.’
The ‘Black Robes’ grotesques’ that Antonio Priest was referring to were undoubtedly the subordinates of Ashtaroth, the Archbishop of Illusions.
“That’s truly fortunate news. With this street already so ominous, having a large-scale criminal organization of over a hundred members would inevitably threaten the children’s safety.”
“…What?”
Wait.
Over a hundred?
“Are you saying the Black Robes’ grotesques number over a hundred?”
“Well… I only heard it as a rumor, so I don’t know for certain, but I’ve heard they’re a large-scale organization with at least a hundred or more members.”
“…”
The number of Demon Humans I dealt with at the hideout that day was definitely around thirty.
The fact that only thirty of Ashtaroth’s subordinates numbering over a hundred remained at the hideout meant one thing.
‘There wasn’t just one hideout.’
Besides the hideout I had annihilated, there were other hideouts within the Ant Nest.
‘And they all disappeared without a trace after that day?’
Logically speaking, since their plan for a large-scale ritual at the Hero Academy had been exposed, they likely withdrew quickly before their trail could be followed.
‘But they wouldn’t give up this easily.’
Ashtaroth, the Archbishop of Illusions, had invested years into this plan.
‘He even personally infiltrated the Academy despite the risk of exposure.’
Even for an Archbishop-class Demon Human, infiltrating the Hero Academy would have been a life-or-death gamble.
Yet he would abandon such a meticulously laid plan without hesitation just because it hit a snag?
“…Ha.”
A dry laugh escaped my lips.
‘That can’t be right.’
I never met Ashtaroth directly in my past life, but I know more about Demon Humans than anyone.
Demons who turned their backs on humanity and carved the Demon God’s blessing into their hearts.
There was no way they would abandon something they once desired so easily.
‘He’ll make another move.’
I don’t know what method he’ll use.
But Ashtaroth will definitely employ a different approach to obtain the ‘Seven Eyes’.
“Dale? Why are you standing there lost in thought?”
“Oh, right. Sorry. I was just thinking about something for a moment.”
“Oh. Are you perhaps sad about parting with the children?”
“Well… you could say that.”
“Hehe. Sure thing~.”
Iris licked her lips like a predator spotting prey.
“During this seal ceremony, would you like to come along with me… ahem. I mean, with us? Of course, you’ll play with the children too!”
“….”
Her true intentions were painfully transparent, but the proposal was tempting nonetheless.
“Sure.”
“Yes!”
She clenched both fists and bounced up with a jump.
“You won’t change your mind later, right?”
“I won’t.”
I stifled a chuckle and nodded.
“Holy Maiden. We should depart soon, or curfew will become problematic.”
At Camilla’s urging, I turned to see the sky already painted in orange twilight.
“Ugh. Hurry, Dale!”
Iris grabbed my arm urgently and pulled.
With Iris clutching my arm, I made my way toward the Academy.
* * *
Darkness had settled over the warehouse.
Inside the dilapidated warehouse reeking of stale mold, Demon Humans in black robes knelt before an unseen presence.
Above them, a violet sphere shimmered with mysterious light, hovering suspended in the air.
[Is everyone here?]
A low, grave voice emanated from the violet sphere.
“Yes, yes! We have completed the full withdrawal from the Ant Nest as you commanded!”
One of the kneeling Demon Humans bowed toward the violet sphere and answered.
“This… this incident was Calix Priest’s mistake. We have nothing to do with—”
[Silence.]
The violet sphere rippled ominously.
[Answer only when asked.]
“I-I apologize!”
The Demon Human bowed his head, terror etched across his face.
[Have all the ‘nails’ been recovered?]
“Yes! We have recovered every nail that was driven into the ley lines!”
[I see… so you have.]
A clicking sound of disapproval followed.
[This has become troublesome.]
Sinister smoke poured from the violet sphere, filling the warehouse.
“Aaah! Ahhh!”
“P-please, Ashtaroth!”
“Give us one more chance!”
The Demon Humans touched by the light convulsed violently.
“B-but surely this plan is one that Ashtaroth himself has spent years preparing for? There’s no need to abandon it simply because things have gone slightly awry….”
[Abandon?]
The violet sphere rotated slowly in place.
[Who said anything about abandoning the plan?]
“Y-yes, but….”
[I have no intention of abandoning the Seven Eyes.]
A sinister laugh emanated from the violet sphere.
[I’m simply going to pursue the plan through somewhat more… brutal means.]
Originally, the plan had been to seize the Seven Eyes as discreetly as possible.
But now that things had gone awry, there was no helping it.
I would have to take matters into my own hands, risks be damned.
“M-may I ask what you mean by these brutal methods…?”
One of the Demon Humans, who had been bowing his head, lifted it with a questioning expression.
[What do you think I mean?]
Cackle, cackle, cackle.
Along with an ominous laugh, the violet smoke that had been coiling around the Demon Humans began to writhe violently.
“A-Ashtaroth!”
“Please, have mercy…!”
“D-didn’t you say there was another plan?!”
The Demon Humans cried out in desperation.
But despite their anguished struggles, the violet smoke that writhed so savagely did not cease.
“Ughhhk! Uuaahhh!”
“Hack! Wheeze! Gack!”
The violet smoke burrowed into the Demon Humans’ bodies through their ears, noses, and mouths.
The eyes of the Demon Humans, convulsing in agony, gradually began to stain violet.
[Hmm.]
A soft murmur escaped from the violet sphere as it gazed down upon the scene.
[Since the plan has gone awry, there’s no need to wait until next year….]
Rather, I had to move as quickly as possible before another variable could emerge.
‘I have no idea what that bastard might do.’
The mysterious hero who had destroyed the hideout this time.
I couldn’t determine who he was, but by investigating the scene of that brutal massacre, I had managed to ascertain two undeniable facts.
First, the hero who destroyed the hideout was acting alone.
Second, over thirty Demon Humans had been slaughtered one-sidedly by that single individual.
‘Absolutely not at the Candidate Program level.’
Yet it couldn’t be a professor either—no professors had left the Academy that day.
‘Who could it be?’
At first, I had intended to track down that bastard and exact payment for ruining my plan.
‘But obtaining the Seven Eyes takes priority.’
I could settle accounts with him later.
[Hmm. When would be the opportune moment?]
The violet sphere flickered with an eerie luminescence.
[Ah, yes.]
A sinister laugh echoed through the warehouse.
[Now that I think about it, the Seal Festival will soon be upon us.]
A celebration commemorating the day the Demon Human was sealed away.
If I could claim the Seven Eyes—blessed by the seven gods themselves—on that day, there would be no greater triumph.

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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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