The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 290

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

Chapter 290. Demon God Dale (7)
Boom!
“You…!”
Johan Basillio, the Sword of Holy Nation, thrust himself up from the table with a violent shove.
He erupted with raw mana, his face twisted into a savage snarl as he glared at me.
Born in the Holy Nation and indoctrinated into the Seven Star Church’s doctrine before he could even walk, the concept of a “Demon God” was to him nothing less than a heretical deity that must be eradicated by any means necessary.
So it was only natural that he would react with such fury when I openly declared myself as such a being before him.
“Calm yourself.”
“Is this a time to be calm?!”
Even at Raonel’s restraint, Johan refused to relinquish his killing intent.
A suffocating tension settled over the room.
Pope Marian regarded me with eyes that had grown distant and grave.
“I believe we require a more detailed explanation.”
“Of course.”
I nodded and continued.
“To be precise, I absorbed the residual power left behind when the Demon God dissipated.”
“…The Demon God dissipated…?”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
Unrest rippled through the Masters, who had only ever known the Demon God to be “sealed.”
“Five hundred years ago, the Demon God was not sealed. Its soul was annihilated, leaving only fragments of its body behind in the Deepest Part of the Abyss.”
“Then the records left by the Five Great Heroes were falsified?”
“Precisely. They falsified it themselves—the Five Great Heroes.”
“…What?”
I continued my explanation regarding the Demon God’s death and the “Sixth Hero.”
As my words unfolded, the faces of the Masters gathered in the Headmaster’s Office became awash with confusion, shock, and disbelief.
“Hah.”
“A sixth hero, you say….”
Raonel and Kalid Han sat rigid, their expressions hardened as they wrestled with the revelation.
“….”
Pope Marian too was making the sign of the cross, organizing her thoughts.
But in contrast—
Boom!
“Nonsense!”
Johan brought his fist down upon the table with brutal force, his eyes blazing with fury as he fixed them upon me.
“The Demon God already dissipated five hundred years ago, and the hero who destroyed it was the Eternal Cult Leader? Ha. How am I supposed to believe such drivel without a shred of evidence?”
“Evidence, you say….”
“The evidence stands right before your eyes.”
Camelia, who had remained silent until now, opened her mouth with a leisurely expression.
“Right before our eyes? What could you possibly—”
“It was not only Dale who descended into the depths of the Abyss back then. She was there as well.”
“….”
“Even upon reaching the Deepest Part of the Abyss, I did not lay eyes upon the Demon God sealed within. As Dale said, only the primordial flame left behind by the Demon God burned through the Abyss.”
In other words.
“I am the most irrefutable evidence and witness of all.”
“….”
At Camelia’s continued words, Johan’s shoulders trembled slightly.
The Empress herself had stepped forward as a witness—no one else.
To deny her would be no different than distrusting the Empress.
And yet.
Despite knowing this truth.
“…It’s difficult to believe.”
The words that fell from Dale’s lips were shocking enough to stun the room.
“Ho. You dare claim you cannot trust my testimony?”
“Even Camelia can make mistakes.”
“Mistakes do not exist for me.”
“The situation was so urgent that we couldn’t see even a step ahead. You yourself suffered grievous wounds fighting the Archbishop of Destruction. I don’t believe you were in a state to make accurate judgments.”
And.
Johan’s eyes narrowed as he glanced between Camelia and Dale.
“I’ve noticed this for some time now… Camelia seems to show extraordinary favoritism toward that candidate. It goes far beyond mere ‘trust.'”
“What are you implying?”
“I received a report recently. That after the war, you entrusted state affairs to others and remained at the Medical Facility for two weeks straight.”
“And?”
“Emotion can blind a person’s eyes. Even you, called the Avatar of the Seven Gods, cannot escape the fundamental nature of being human, and thus—”
Rummmmmmmmmble!!!
The entire Headmaster’s Office shook as though an earthquake had struck.
Seven-colored light erupted outward in a violent burst, and a suffocating killing intent flooded the room.
“So now.”
In stark contrast to the fierce mana raging through the chamber, Camelia crossed her legs with serene composure, as though leisurely sipping tea.
“You claim I am blinded by love and bearing false witness?”
Despite her calm expression, Camelia’s voice was laced with barely restrained fury.
“….”
“….”
In the room filled with explosive tension, a spark had been lit—suffocating, unbearable tension.
The atmosphere grew so volatile that any misstep would detonate it entirely.
Tick, tick.
In the silence, the ticking of a clock’s second hand thundered like a drum.
“Both of you, please calm yourselves.”
Pope Marian finally opened her mouth.
“While there are many questions regarding Dale’s claims, given Camelia’s testimony, I shall choose to believe it for now.”
“B-but Your Holiness!”
“Hush. I told you to calm down, Johan.”
“Ugh….”
Johan bit his lip and sat back down.
“However, even if everything you say is true, there are still many problems remaining.”
Pope Marian continued with a composed expression.
“Regardless, the fact remains that a remnant of the Demon God has taken root within Dale’s body, doesn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
“What is the current state of that power?”
“It is stable.”
“Stable, you say….”
Pope Marian continued with a bitter expression.
“But for how long will it remain stable?”
“….”
“Everyone gathered here knows how powerful and dangerous the Demon God’s power is. Even Demon Humans who inherited only a fraction of that power have suffered intense destructive impulses and caused countless deaths.”
If Demon Humans with merely a fragment of the Demon God’s power were afflicted so severely, what of one who had absorbed the entire remnant of the Demon God?
“Regarding the impulses, there is no need for concern. Thus far, I have felt no destructive urges whatsoever, nor anything remotely similar.”
“Thus far, you say.”
“As Pope Marian rightly points out, I cannot guarantee that the destructive impulses will never manifest. However, at least for now, they remain completely under my control.”
“That does not mean we can simply leave a bomb that could detonate at any moment unattended.”
“Yet it would be foolish to discard a powerful weapon capable of annihilating our enemy when we still face the Eternal Cult Leader as an immediate threat.”
My gaze met Pope Marian’s.
“Regret comes too late after an explosion.”
“Regret comes equally late after defeat.”
The debate continued with mounting tension.
Yet no matter how much persuasion was exchanged, our positions remained as parallel lines that could never converge.
“I understand that Dale, contrary to public perception, has made countless sacrifices for humanity.”
Pope Marian’s voice, usually warm and filled with compassion, had turned cold and sharp.
“That is precisely why I have overlooked the fact that his relationship with Iris extends beyond that of mere classmates.”
Ordinarily, the status of “Saint” made it extraordinarily difficult to find a suitable match.
Of course, the doctrine of the Seven Star Church contained no prohibition against clergy marrying, but public opinion was a force unto itself.
And when the other party was the lowest-ranked hero, notorious as the worst troublemaker since the Hero Academy’s founding?
If the relationship between Iris and Dale became public knowledge, there would undoubtedly be endless voices of concern throughout the Holy Nation.
Yet Pope Marian had not uttered a single word of complaint regarding their relationship.
She understood well how much Dale Han, despite his reputation, had dedicated himself to humanity.
“However, now that I know a remnant of the Demon God dwells within Dale’s stigma, I cannot remain silent.”
As Pope of the Holy Nation, and before that, as a faithful follower of the Seven Star Church.
I could not tolerate the existence of the Demon God.
I had heard and read countless records of how dangerous and destructive the Demon God was.
Should the Demon God’s power run rampant, all humanity on this Continent would be consumed by flame and perish.
The faithful and the wicked alike.
The humble and the arrogant alike
The diligent and the indolent.
The wealthy and the impoverished.
The valiant and the cowardly.
Heroes and Demons.
All perish.
Every last one.
None spared, not a shred of mercy granted.
All shall crumble to ash and vanish.
“I apologize.”
Pope Marian rose from her seat and bowed deeply toward me.
“Please—die for the sake of humanity.”
“….”
A heavy silence descended upon the room.
“Hah.”
A deep sigh escaped my lips.
“Die, you say….”
I shook my head with a bitter laugh.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
“I see.”
Pope Marian nodded with a rueful expression, as if she had anticipated such a response.
“Then there’s no help for it.”
Pope Marian rose from her seat.
“I won’t cause a disturbance here.”
However.
“From this moment forward, Dale will be publicly declared the Holy Nation’s greatest enemy—a heretical existence that must be eliminated.”
“….”
“And I would prefer that you cease all contact with Iris.”
Ha.
I let out a hollow laugh and watched Pope Marian depart.
Pope Marian turned to leave as if she had said all that needed saying, while Johan Basillio rose behind her, his gaze cold and murderous as he glared at me.
“….”
Witnessing that killing intent, I released another bitter laugh.
I had done my utmost to persuade them.
I had revealed the truth about the Demon God, demonstrated that I could control that power, and earnestly expounded upon the necessity of such strength.
‘Yet this is the result.’
So be it.
I had done what I could.
I would waste no further effort on tedious, pedantic persuasion.
‘From now on—.’
I follow Berald’s method.
Whoooosh!!!
I scrape my feet against the ground with raw force.
“Hgh…!”
Before Johan could even draw his sword to react, I flash behind him in an instant, seizing the nape of his neck and slam him down onto the table with brutal force.
Crash-crash-crash-crack!
The sturdy table shatters, and the stunned gazes of the Masters converge upon me.
“W-what on earth is…!”
Marian’s face drains of color as she stammers, unable to finish her words.
“Stop seeing Iris?”
Then die.

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