The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 297

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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 297. The End of the World (2)
A colossal tree had risen above the Hero Academy.
Azure leaves that obscured the sky, countless stems encircling the entire wall, and thick roots that twisted the very foundation upon which the school stood.
A tree of such overwhelming majesty and scale had materialized in the blink of an eye.
“What in the world is this…?”
Morris and Kalid Han’s jaws dropped at the surreal spectacle before their eyes.
“Dale, this is…?”
“…”
I ground my teeth, gazing up at the colossal tree that stretched toward the heavens.
The familiar aura emanating from the tree.
To my knowledge, across this vast Continent, only two beings possessed such an aura—myself included.
“…The Eternal Cult Leader.”
Yes.
He had come.
To face the ‘End of the World.’
“D-Dale! Look over there!”
In the direction Iris pointed, tree roots twisted upward from the earth.
Crack.
As the roots split apart, pure white petals scattered like snowflakes.
Something emerged from within the fractured roots.
“That is…?”
“A c-corpse!”
“No! They’re a-alive!”
Iris cried out, her face drained of color.
The corpse—no, the ‘human’—that stumbled forth from the split roots gazed vacantly around with eyes devoid of even a trace of consciousness.
“…Wait. That person is…?”
Yuren’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Do you know them?”
“Y-yes. I’ve seen that face before in a book I read called ‘Great Heroes Who Left Their Mark in History.'”
“…You saw them in a book?”
“Ares Leonhart. You know Bella Leonhardt, the senior who graduated recently, right? They’re from the same family.”
The Leonhart Family.
One of the most prestigious families in the Empire, renowned for producing numerous exceptional heroes.
“I’ve never heard that name before.”
“Well, that’s because Ares Leonhart was a hero who was active 400 years ago.”
“…400 years ago?”
“Y-yes. I know it sounds absurd, but… they really do look identical to the photograph I saw in the book.”
“Ares Leonhart? I’ve heard of them too. Wasn’t that the hero selected when the title of ‘Master’ was first created 400 years ago?”
Iris nodded in agreement, as if recalling the memory.
‘A hero who received the title of Master 400 years ago.’
My gaze and Lanez’s naturally crossed in the empty air.
“D-Dale, what is this…?”
“Yeah. It seems like the same situation as back then.”
Seria Malam, the Witch of Bitter Cold.
She had definitely died in an incident ten years ago, yet she had returned alive and well.
‘Though I’m not sure if “returned alive” is the right way to describe it.’
Seria Malam, who had lost her sense of self and become a puppet moving at others’ command.
Her consciousness had briefly returned just before her death, but even so, her condition was far from what one could call “returning alive and well.”
‘Then… is that a puppet resurrected by the power of the Eternal Cult Leader?’
I squinted my eyes, watching Ares Leonhart stumble out from the tree roots.
Then.
Crack, crack, crack!
Dozens of roots burst from the ground and split apart, and heroes began walking out from within them.
“Ancient heroes” who had already lost their lives tens, or even hundreds of years ago.
“This is insane…”
“D-Dale! Those heroes are heading toward the Academy!”
Just as Yuren said, the ancient heroes emerging from the roots were stumbling toward the Academy.
“Damn it.”
If those things were puppets of the Eternal Cult Leader, I couldn’t imagine what kind of massacre they would cause inside the Academy.
“Stop them from entering the Academy!”
“Got it, Dale!”
“Wait everyone! Let me cast blessings on you first!”
Iris grasped the pendant hanging around her neck and made the sign of the cross.
Her eyes gleamed with rainbow light as an enormous surge of holy power exploded outward, engulfing the party members.
‘That’s incredible.’
This level of holy power surpassed even the Iris from my previous life.
Feeling vitality surge through my entire body from the blessing, I turned to look at the ancient heroes heading toward the Academy.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah! I won’t let a single one get through!”
Yuren rushed forward and unfastened the pendant around her neck.
With a brilliant flash of light, Yuren’s form transformed into Yurina’s.
“Huh. What is this now…?”
“Y-Yuren became a woman…?”
Kalid Han and Morris, who had no idea about Yurina’s true identity, looked at her with bewildered expressions, but we had no time to worry about that now.
“Haaah!”
Clang!
As Yurina swung her sword, Ares stopped his stumbling steps and quickly drew his blade in response.
“Ah… uh. W-who… where… is this…?”
Fragments of language that didn’t form coherent sentences.
“D… dead… wom…”
Ares stared at Yurina with hollow, unfocused eyes before savagely swinging his gripped blade.
Four hundred years ago, the sword strike of the beast once called the “Lion King” aimed at Yurina.
“Hah!”
Yurina blocked Ares’s blade and retreated, swallowing hard.
“This is….”
She had thought it would be easy to overpower him given his hollow, unfocused gaze and his inability to speak properly.
‘He’s strong.’
His sword strikes, reminiscent of a raging beast, carried such tremendous power that one could understand why he had once been called the “Lion King” in ages past.
“I-I’ll help too!”
Lanez, panting as she rushed up behind Yurina, stretched both arms forward.
*Crack-crack-crack!*
The earth froze solid beneath a pristine blizzard.
“Ugh, ah.”
Ares’s movements noticeably slowed.
*Whiiiing!*
Dozens of strands of webbing wrapped tightly around Ares’s body.
“Now!”
Elisha pulled the webbing taut and signaled to Yurina.
“Haaah!”
Yurina charged toward Ares.
Her blade, wrapped in silver aura, severed the neck of the ancient hero who had once ruled the Continent four hundred years ago.
*Thud.*
Ares collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
But there was no time to rest.
“Ugh, ah, ugh.”
Another ancient hero rushed forward in Ares’s wake, swinging a massive iron mace at Yurina.
*Clang! Boom! Rumble!*
The collisions continued relentlessly.
The battle raged to prevent the ancient heroes emerging from the tree roots from entering the Academy.
“Manifest!”
At Camelia’s gesture, the ancient heroes were torn to shreds.
“Ugh. I don’t know what’s happening, but my head’s suddenly clear—feels like the alcohol’s worn off!”
Under Kalid Han’s blade strikes, the ancient heroes were sent flying, spraying blood.
As the fierce battle raged on.
“Brother! You were here?!”
“What on earth is happening…?”
“Saint! Where are you?!”
Berald, Sophia, and Camilla.
The party members who had remained inside the Academy joined the battlefield where the fierce battle was unfolding.
“Damn it! Are these Demons again?!”
“…It doesn’t seem to be a Demon, does it?”
“F-first, we need to prevent those things from entering the Academy!”
Following the party members, Professor Lucas Kane, Professor Bianca, Professor Jade Bastian, and the other professors rushed out of the Academy after hearing the commotion.
“Brother! What on earth is happening?”
“I’ll explain later! More importantly, what’s the situation inside the Academy?”
“The emergency alarm has been activated, and they’re gathering the Candidates toward the Main Hall Auditorium!”
“What about Chancellor Raonel?”
“He said he’d open a warp gate like last time and evacuate the Candidates immediately!”
“Is that so?”
Perhaps thanks to the war we had fought against the Demons not long ago.
The Academy was responding swiftly from within.
‘It seems the ancient Heroes haven’t appeared inside yet.’
In other words.
If I dealt with only the ancient Heroes that had appeared outside the Academy, the inside would be safe.
‘But where the hell is the Eternal Cult Leader?’
No matter where I looked around, there was no figure that resembled the Eternal Cult Leader.
And one more thing.
‘The Eternal Order members too… I don’t see a single one of them anywhere.’
The apostles of the Eternal Cult Leader, who had worn animal masks and displayed tremendous power, were nowhere to be seen.
‘Is this just an invasion to test our forces?’
No.
It would be too much of an investment to have a massive tree hundreds of meters tall grow right in front of the Academy just for that.
Crash! Crackle-crackle-crack! Boom!
“…Tsk.”
As I continued my thoughts in silence, I turned my head toward the explosive sounds reaching my ears.
The battle with the ancient Heroes, resurrected by the power of the Eternal Cult Leader, was still raging.
I had no room to pay attention to anything else.
“Bloom.”
As the battle with the ancient Heroes continued like this.
“Ahhhhh!”
Morris screamed and rolled across the ground.
“M-Morris!”
Kalid Han rushed urgently toward the fallen Morris.
“Gasp! Gasp! I’m s-sorry… Fa-ther.”
“M-Morris! Are you alright?!”
Kalid grabbed the fallen Morris and cried out urgently.
The wound seemed severe; blood was smeared thickly on his hands as he held Morris.
“Let me see the wound!”
Iris rushed over and examined Morris’s condition.
“O Seven Gods, please watch over this wounded child.”
A pristine white light enveloped the blood as it gradually ceased flowing.
“U-um, is our son alright?”
“The bleeding has stopped for now, but the wound is far too deep.”
“Then….”
“Kalid Han, please take Morris to the Main Hall Auditorium. Raonel will be opening a warp gate shortly to evacuate the Candidates, so you can send Morris through there.”
“Th-thank you. But….”
Kalid Han turned to survey the still-raging battlefield, his expression wavering with hesitation.
I looked back at him and let out a soft laugh.
“We’ll handle things here.”
“…Will you be alright?”
“Well, losing one drunken old man won’t significantly impact the overall battle situation.”
“What did you just say, you brat?”
“Please, go now.”
“….”
Kalid Han hoisted Morris onto his back.
“…Thank you. I’ll be back soon.”
“Then I’ll finish this before you return.”
Losing a Master was undoubtedly a significant loss in combat strength, but there was no helping it.
I couldn’t demand a father fight while his injured son lay wounded.
And besides.
‘The tide has already turned in our favor.’
Even if these ancient heroes retained some of their former power, they remained nothing more than mindless puppets devoid of true consciousness.
After the remaining Party members and professors joined the fray, the battle’s momentum had steadily shifted toward the Academy’s side.
Losing Kalid Han alone couldn’t reverse a tide that had already turned.
“Well then, shall we go finish this?”
I moved forward, watching the ancient heroes fall one by one.
Thud. Crunch-crack!
The bodies of the fallen ancient heroes scattered across the ground began regenerating at an alarming speed.
Even Ares Leonhart, who lay with his severed head, was no exception.
His severed neck and torso reconnected, and he staggered as he rose to his feet.
“…Damn it.”
A curse escaped my lips unbidden.
‘As if resurrecting heroes dead for centuries wasn’t enough, he’s granted them immortality too?’
What in the world is the Eternal Cult Leader trying to accomplish?

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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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