The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 51

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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 51. Interlude – The Moon Eclipsed by the Sun
Three years had passed.
Since entering the Hero Academy—no, even before my admission—my blade’s growth had stalled completely.
It felt as though I were trapped behind some colossal, immovable barrier.
I swung my sword ceaselessly, day and night, desperate to breach that wall, yet I remained frozen in place.
My blade had ceased all progress, all evolution, locked in stasis.
Solar Blade Form Six: Radiant White.
That was the highest level of technique I could currently manifest.
Those well-versed in the Helios Family might say something different.
At merely twenty years old, to have mastered the sixth form of the Solar Blade was extraordinary.
Save for Reynald Helios, the founder of the Solar Blade itself, no one had achieved such heights at my age.
But.
‘This is not enough.’
I had reasons—compelling, inescapable reasons—to grow stronger.
To reach higher.
To ascend to ever more distant peaks.
Until I became that radiant ‘sun’ burning high in the heavens above.
‘I… cannot afford to stop.’
Crunch.
I bit my lips until blood flowed, swinging my blade with savage intensity.
Every day. Every single day.
Without fail, I poured everything into my sword.
Yet the results remained unchanged.
The wall before me loomed impossibly high, unyieldingly solid.
‘I must grow stronger. I must grow stronger. I must grow stronger.’
If I do not become stronger, then I—
Then I—
-If only you didn’t exist! If only you didn’t existtttt!!!
A vision that haunted my dreams each night.
The sound of a vase shattering.
Water pooling across the floor, sharp ceramic shards scattered.
My mother’s hands closing around my throat.
The agony of suffocation, breath denied.
Consciousness fading into darkness.
Those bloodshot eyes staring down at me—eyes, eyes, eyes.
‘I… must grow stronger.’
Otherwise.
My existence has no value.
-Yuren, have you heard about this?
Then, one day.
I heard a rumor from a classmate sitting next to me—someone who, for some reason, spoke to me in formal speech.
It was a rumor about Dale Han, a low-ranking Candidate in the program.
-I mean, seriously. Those Class C guys keep comparing Yuren with that Dale guy. Aren’t they insane?
At first, it was mere curiosity.
That he’d fought Lucas Kane and won.
That he’d sent Camilla Bediche flying with a single blow.
That he’d cut down dozens of magical beasts in the blink of an eye.
There were many rumors, but one in particular seized my attention completely.
-That Dale guy apparently cleaved a wooden training sword in half with another wooden training sword, without using any mana at all.
To split a wooden training sword—essentially nothing more than a wooden club—with another wooden training sword required mastery of the blade that few possessed.
That’s why I went to see for myself.
And I witnessed it.
A sparring match so overwhelmingly one-sided it could hardly be called a match between an instructor and a Candidate.
When I saw Vincent collapsed, clutching his blood-soaked forearm, and the gray-haired Candidate standing tall before him.
I felt my chest swell with an inexplicable tremor.
It was like meeting an unrequited love I’d been separated from for so long.
I couldn’t explain why I felt that way.
As if enchanted by something, I sought him out the very next day.
-After watching that sparring match, I felt the desire to cross blades with you, Dale.
Truth be told, that was only half the reason I wanted to spar with him.
More than wanting to cross blades, I wanted to meet him and talk with him.
‘But.’
After my overwhelming defeat in that first match.
My thoughts changed completely.
‘What if this person could show me how to break through the wall?’
Honestly, I thought the chances were almost nonexistent.
Yet my longing for that ‘wall’ was even greater.
So began his instruction, grasped like a drowning person clutching at straw.
-Don’t think about yourself. Think about where the blade wants to go.
When I heard those words.
It felt like lightning had struck inside my mind.
‘To think not of myself, but of where the blade wants to go.’
In other words.
He meant I should not swing the blade according to my will, but instead infuse my will into the blade itself and let it swing.
‘To pour one’s heart into the blade.’
At those revolutionary words I’d never conceived of, I felt a small crack form in the massive wall that had blocked my path.
Of course, Dale’s single phrase hadn’t completely shattered the wall that had obstructed me for the past three years.
Yet simply finding that small thread to unravel it filled me with joy so overwhelming my heart felt ready to burst.
“Thank you… truly, thank you, Dale.”
Overcome by an irresistible impulse, I pulled him into my embrace.
“R-really?”
Watching Dale’s flustered expression, I felt a belated sense of ‘oh no’.
“Ah… I-I’m sorry.”
After hastily putting distance between us, an awkward silence settled over the space.
‘What was I thinking!’
Regret came too late—there was no use crying over spilled milk.
I quickly opened my mouth to speak.
“That… I’m truly grateful for today. I swear I’ll repay this kindness no matter what.”
“Kindness? Forget it, don’t worry about it.”
“No.”
How could I shamefully remain silent toward a benefactor who had imparted such meaningful instruction without asking for anything in return?
“Wait a moment.”
As I pondered what I could offer to repay his kindness, I hurriedly rummaged through the storage locker inside the Private Training Ground.
Inside the locker was a mana-enhancing elixir that had been gifted to the top Candidate in my year.
It was practically useless to me, whose mana had already grown beyond what mediocre elixirs could increase, but it would be quite helpful for Dale, whose mana reserves were limited.
“This is… surely an elixir?”
“Yes. It’s not tremendously potent, but it should still help increase your mana.”
Dale let out a hollow laugh, gazing down at the elixir in his palm.
“You’re giving me this? Mana-enhancing elixirs are incredibly rare.”
“It’s nothing compared to what you’ve taught me.”
At my words, Dale chuckled softly.
“Well, fine. Besides, with your mana level, something like this would be meaningless anyway.”
“…”
Somehow, hearing him say it that way made me feel as though I were repaying his kindness with something worthless to me, and guilt welled up inside.
“O-of course, I don’t think this fully repays the debt. Later, I’ll find something else…”
“Enough, come on. Why get so petty between friends?”
“…Friends?”
“Yes.”
Dale’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Ah… I mean. Ahem. Once two swordsmen have crossed blades, they’re friends, right?”
“Y-yes. Right, friends.”
Friends…
Friends, he said.
Why was that?
The moment I heard those words, a strange, twisting anger surged through me.
‘Why am I like this?’
Whenever I was with Dale, inexplicable emotions would suddenly flare up.
“Anyway. How about we meet every Wednesday and Friday from now on and I’ll teach you swordsmanship for two hours?”
“…You’ll keep teaching me?”
Taken aback by this unexpected proposal, my eyes widened considerably.
“What do you mean? You’re going to teach me just once and call it done? Is swordsmanship really that simple?”
“No, no… I’m just… really grateful.”
Why was he being so kind to someone he’d only just met?
Before I could even process that question, Dale turned to leave.
“Well, it’s getting late, so I should head out.”
“Oh… okay.”
For a moment, the words “don’t go” rose to my throat, but I barely managed to swallow them back down.
“Ah… um, wait.”
I called out to Dale hesitantly as he moved away.
“Hmm?”
“Can I… register your Hero Watch contact?”
“Oh, right. I almost forgot about that.”
He nodded and held out the Hero Watch on his wrist.
[Register contact for ‘Dale Han’? (YES / NO)]
A holographic window materialized above my Hero Watch.
I quickly moved my hand and pressed the section marked ‘YES’.
[Contact for ‘Dale Han’ has been successfully registered.]
“Well then, I’ll be going. Since it’s Wednesday… I’ll see you again tomorrow. Let’s discuss the meeting time through message later.”
With those words, Dale left the Training Ground.
“….”
Alone in the Training Ground.
I caressed the Hero Watch with his contact saved on it, recalling his face.
Dark gray hair reminiscent of ash left smoldering in a fire.
Eyes with a slightly sharp gaze and an enigmatic green hue.
A masculine, angular jaw and delicate features between his brows.
He wasn’t what one would typically call a sculpted beauty.
Yet there was something mysteriously captivating about his appearance.
‘…Dale.’
Why was it?
The moment his face crossed my mind, my heart began to race as if it had malfunctioned.
Despite having just parted ways, I suddenly wanted to see him again.
It didn’t even have to be for learning swordsmanship.
I simply wanted to meet him and share meaningless conversation.
A little more, just a little longer.
I wanted to be with him.
“Should I message him to grab dinner together later?”
I swallowed hard and reached toward his contact on the Hero Watch, but after hesitating several times, I withdrew my hand again.
“…I must be losing my mind.”
I knew better than anyone that I was in no position to be swayed by such personal feelings.
“Let me shower.”
I stepped into the Shower Room, peeling away my sweat-soaked training clothes.
My reflection stared back at me from the expansive mirror.
A golden-haired, golden-eyed man gazed intently at myself from within the glass.
“….”
I stood before the mirror and slowly raised my hand, tracing my left chest.
My fingertips brushed against the stigma of the “Moon God” carved upon my left breast.
Tsk.
A sharp intake of breath escaped between my lips.
“Haah.”
I exhaled deeply and unfastened the pendant hanging around my neck.
And then.
Whoooooosh!
A torrent of luminescence erupted from the pendant, enveloping my entire body.
After the radiant light that had filled the Shower Room faded away.
My reflection in the mirror had transformed.
“….”
A woman with silver hair as beautiful as moonlight woven into braids.
I ran my hand down my newly prominent chest and turned on the shower.
Splash!
Warm water cascaded down my body.
“…Don’t forget.”
I clenched my fists, repeating the vow to myself.
A resolution I had carved into my being hundreds of times, thousands of times over.
“I am Yuren Helios.”
That day, eight years ago.
Yurina Helios died.

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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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