The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 284

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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 284. Demon God Dale (1)
Demon God?
Me? A Demon God?
“What the hell are you talking about?”
My mind spun in complete chaos.
I’d fought all this time to completely annihilate the Demon God, and now suddenly I’m being told I’m the Demon God myself?
Crackle, crackle.
Before I could even hear an answer to my confusion, Amon’s body—drained of its fire—began scattering into black ash.
“Wait, wait! Hold on, you bastard! You’re gonna die without explaining what the hell you mean by me being a Demon God?!”
I rushed toward Amon as he scattered and crumbled to ash, but his body never returned to its original form.
As Amon’s body disintegrated into ash, his voice emerged—so faint it seemed ready to break at any moment.
“He… will… come… for you.”
“What?”
What the hell is he talking about now?
“Who is he?”
“The… sixth… Hero. Five hundred years… ago… he killed… the Demon God.”
“….”
“Can you… cough! …survive… against that… monster?”
Hehehehe.
Amon’s body, shaking with laughter, scattered into ash and dispersed into the air.
I squinted at the drifting ash.
“…The sixth Hero.”
Grace’s words from her spirit during the school trip flashed through my mind.
-Be careful of the sixth… Hero.
Her warning to be wary of the sixth Hero.
And Amon’s words.
‘The one who killed the Demon God five hundred years ago?’
According to historical records, the Five Great Heroes found the Demon God’s power too overwhelming to kill him, so they sealed him away in the Deepest Part of the Abyss.
But.
‘The Demon God wasn’t sealed—he was annihilated.’
What remained in the Deepest Part of the Abyss was only the residual power left after the Demon God’s death.
In the raging flames of the Abyss, I sensed no will or consciousness from the Demon God whatsoever.
Yes, like a ‘corpse’ left behind after death.
‘The Demon God truly died five hundred years ago.’
Then why hadn’t the Five Great Heroes said they killed the Demon God?
“…Hah.”
I’d just heard the answer from Amon’s own mouth.
‘It wasn’t the Five Great Heroes who killed the Demon God… it was the sixth Hero.’
And.
For some reason, the Five Great Heroes had needed to hide the identity of that ‘sixth Hero.’
‘So they lied and said they sealed it rather than killed it.’
And they erased all records of the sixth hero.
Ensuring no trace of him could be found anywhere in history.
“Then this sixth hero you speak of….”
Amon told me the sixth hero would come to find me.
If that were true, then the sixth hero who supposedly killed the Demon God five hundred years ago was still alive and well, and aside from me, there was only one hero with such a long lifespan.
‘The Eternal Cult Leader.’
Yes.
He was behind all of this.
‘What in the world is his purpose?’
Amon said he learned the method to descend to the Deepest Part of the Abyss directly from the one who created that seal.
Naturally, since the Great Sage Julius could not possibly still be alive, the ‘creator’ Amon spoke of must refer to the sixth hero—in other words, the Eternal Cult Leader.
There was no way he didn’t know that the moment Amon, who possessed the spark of Destruction, made contact with the remnants of the Demon God, the Demon God would be resurrected.
‘So… to summarize.’
The Eternal Cult Leader was trying to use Amon to resurrect the Demon God.
“…Why?”
A question that escaped my lips unbidden.
What possible reason could the very one who killed the Demon God five hundred years ago have for resurrecting it now?
“Ugh…!”
Whoosh!
Before I could pursue the question further, the ashen flames wreathing my body surged violently.
A dizzying, searing pain shattered through my mind.
‘Has the spark not been fully absorbed yet?’
No, to be precise, the absorption was already complete.
It was simply that the Primordial Flame, grown more powerful from absorbing the spark, was raging wildly within the stigma.
I was barely maintaining balance thanks to the power of the Tree of Creation, but if the Primordial Flame continued to rampage like this, it would soon exceed the threshold of control.
‘If that happens….’
A memory from my past life flashed through my mind.
A colossal pillar of black flame reaching toward the heavens.
The God of Destruction, devoid of reason or intellect, filled only with the malice to annihilate the world itself.
Would I too transform into something like that Demon God of old?
‘No.’
How could I burn away this new life I’ve been given with my own hands?
Uuuuuung!
I draw upon the power of the Tree of Creation.
I suppress the Primordial Flame raging wildly within me.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The Primordial Flame, thrashing like a starving beast, retreats slightly, its savage momentum subsiding somewhat.
“Hah, hah!”
Of course, it only retreated temporarily—the immense heat dwelling within it remained undiminished.
‘For now… we’re at a stalemate.’
I exhaled.
The moment relief washed over me—the immediate crisis averted—a crushing wave of exhaustion pressed down on my body.
“Ah, ugh.”
I stumbled.
Unable to maintain my balance, I collapsed to the ground.
“D-Dale! Are you alright?!”
Camelia’s urgent voice was the last thing I heard before my vision flickered and faded.
* * *
How much time had passed?
“Ugh….”
As I opened my eyes, my head throbbing with a splitting ache, I saw a familiar ceiling.
The ceiling of the Intensive Care Facility located within the Academy.
Despite possessing an immortal body, I’d come to know this place far more often than one might expect.
“…Dale?”
Crash!
The sound of breaking pottery accompanied Iris’s voice.
Iris rushed over and embraced me, crying out.
“Th-thank goodness! H-how’s your body?! Are you conscious?!”
“Ugh, mmph.”
The soft sensation pressing against my cheeks instantly dispelled my headache.
“Sob… I was so worried that you might never wake up again, Dale! Do you have any idea how much I’ve been suffering?!”
“C-calm down a bit.”
“Does it look like I can calm down right now?!”
Iris cried out with an indignant expression.
“Two weeks! Two whole weeks! You were unconscious for over ten days!”
“….”
Two weeks?
I thought I’d only lost consciousness for a moment, yet so much time had already passed?
“I’m fine now, so don’t worry.”
“Fine, you say?”
Iris glared at me with suspicious eyes.
“First, let me check if your mind is still intact. Look, how many fingers do you see?”
Iris held up two fingers.
“Two.”
“Hmm. Your cognitive function seems normal… So what’s the first thing on your mind right now?”
“That Iris has remarkably large breasts.”
I answered honestly, recalling the soft sensation that had touched my cheeks the moment I opened my eyes.
“….”
Iris’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“Yeah, well… I’m glad you seem fine despite everything.”
Her expression was quite reluctant, but it was clear she’d gotten the message that I’d regained consciousness.
“You said I was unconscious for two weeks, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Honestly, it didn’t feel real to me.
From my perspective, it felt like I’d just closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again—and two weeks had already slipped away.
“While you were unconscious, you were sweating profusely and your breathing was unstable.”
“….”
So that explained why Iris had rushed at me crying the moment she saw me awake.
“…Your body is really okay, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’m fine now.”
I nodded and slowly examined my inner state.
The primordial flame that had been raging wildly was now calm, and the energy of the Tree of Creation was similarly quiet, as if nothing had happened.
‘I’m not sure what would happen if I tried to summon power right now.’
In any case.
For now, miraculously, the two forces maintained a perfect balance.
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
Iris placed a hand over her heart and exhaled with relief.
“But what happened with the war?”
“When Amon died, all of his avatars scattered and vanished as well. The remaining Demons saw that and fled in all directions.”
“The casualties….”
“They weren’t significant. Actually, you could say there were virtually none. The Masters were fighting Amon’s avatars when they all suddenly disappeared at once.”
“Really?”
That was welcome news to hear.
“The Academy is apparently planning to hold a grand victory celebration soon, inviting the heroes from the Three Nations who participated in this war.”
“A victory celebration?”
“Yes. To commemorate our complete victory against the Demons.”
Well.
Regardless of how it happened, looking at the results of this war alone, we’d essentially annihilated most of the Demon God’s forces that had plagued humanity for centuries.
Since our own casualties were virtually nonexistent in the process, there was more than enough justification for holding a victory celebration.
‘A victory celebration, huh.’
When I thought of the Eternal Cult Leader, there remained unresolved questions and a lingering sense of unease, but I couldn’t deny that we’d achieved a great victory against the Demons.
“…Dale.”
“Hmm?”
“Was it Camelia who saved you this time?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.”
If Camelia hadn’t bought me time, I would have been defeated by Amon before I could absorb the remnants of the Demon God that had flowed inside me.
‘If that had happened, the primordial flame might have actually gone berserk.’
The memory sent a chill running down my spine.
“Sigh. So that’s how it was.”
“…Why?”
“Hmph, it’s nothing.”
Iris snorted dismissively and turned her head away, clearly displeased about something.
But only for a moment.
With a deep sigh, Iris rose from her seat.
“I’ll be heading out now.”
“Huh? Already?”
I’d assumed she would stay with me at least until I was discharged from the Intensive Care Facility.
“Your condition looks better than expected, Dale.”
Iris glanced subtly toward the door.
“I should give up my spot next to you for someone else.”
“….”
“Sigh. How can a person be so stubborn? Do you know how exhausting it’s been these past two weeks, stopping him from forcing his way into the Facility? The man hasn’t slept for over ten days—just standing outside with those bloodshot eyes, waiting. I can’t exactly chase him away since he’s the benefactor who saved you….”
Iris sighed heavily, shaking her head as if recalling all the trouble she’d endured.
“Anyway. If I don’t give up my seat to that person today, the entire Academy will be turned upside down—victory celebration or not.”
“….”
I didn’t need her to say it aloud to understand who this “person” was.
“Dale.”
“Uh, yes?”
“This is truly the last time. Do you understand? If even one more person shows up….”
She smiled wickedly.
“I’ll really tear them apart.”
“….”
“Then I’ll be going.”
Whoosh.
Iris turned and left the Intensive Care Facility.
Not long after.
Click.
The door opened carefully, and Camelia entered the room.
“Ah….”
The moment our eyes met, Camelia rushed toward the bed.
“Are you… truly alright?”
Camelia’s hands trembled as she gently touched my body, her voice shaking with emotion.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Ha, haha.”
Seeing me nod, Camelia finally smiled with relief.
“Thank… thank goodness… truly… what a relief… *sob*… *sniff*.”
Watching transparent tears stream down her cheeks, I opened my mouth in shock.
‘Wait, why are you suddenly like this, Empress?’
This wasn’t your character at all.

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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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