The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 70

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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 70. In Search of the Demon Sword (2)
After Berald, our fifth party member, joined us, we left the School Gate and headed toward the Ruins.
“Hehehehe. This is my first time exploring ruins, so I’m incredibly nervous!”
“…You don’t look nervous at all.”
I stifled a laugh as I turned to look at Berald, whose eyes sparkled like a child embarking on a school trip.
“By the way, big brother! Since we’ve all come together like this, could you introduce the party members?”
“Of course.”
I gestured around at Yuren, Iris, and Camilla Bediche as I continued.
“This is Yuren. You’ve probably heard his name before?”
“You don’t mean the descendant of the ‘Sun Swordsman,’ do you?”
“That’s right.”
“Ohhhhh! I’ve heard so much about you!”
Berald strode forward toward Yuren and extended a thick hand like a pot lid.
“Pleased to meet you! I’m Berald Ryu, a second-year student in the Magic Department! Since I’m only a year younger, please feel free to call me casually!”
“Uh, um, yeah.”
A second-year? And from the Magic Department at that…?
Yuren grasped Berald’s hand, his expression filled with doubt.
“And those two are Iris and Camilla Bediche.”
“I’ve heard about them too! Aren’t they the Holy Kingdom’s saint and her escort knight?”
Berald continued to exclaim in admiration as he approached Iris and Camilla Bediche.
“Pleased to meet you! I’m honored to be in the same party as the school’s celebrities!”
“Thank you for having us.”
“Berald Ryu… Are you from the same ‘Ryu’ family as Headmaster Raonel?”
“Hehe. That’s correct. However, I’m from a branch family, so I don’t have any particular connection to Grandfather Raonel.”
Berald answered with a bitter smile.
“By the way, how did you come to know Dale?”
“Hehe. We took supplementary classes together!”
“…Supplementary classes?”
“The additional classes you take if you fail an exam. Haven’t you ever taken them?”
“Ah… No. I’ve never taken them.”
Iris shook her head with an embarrassed expression.
Yuren and Camilla Bediche were also avoiding eye contact, wearing awkward smiles.
“Ahahaha! You’re all model students! Me and big brother took supplementary classes all year long and formed a special bond like brothers….”
“Shut up, you fool. There’s nothing to brag about taking supplementary classes.”
I struck Berald’s back hard.
“Besides, we’ll be arriving at the Ruins soon, so let’s stop chatting for now.”
An hour had passed since we left Valhalla City.
Thanks to using a warp device along the way, we didn’t take long to arrive at the location where the Red Tears Cave was situated.
“Is that the Ruins you mentioned, Dale?”
Yuren asked, gazing at the massive cave entrance before us.
“That’s right. That’s the Red Tears Cave.”
A protective barrier had been installed at the Ruins entrance to prevent ordinary people from entering.
Beep.
[Temporary Hero Certificate confirmed.]
[Barrier deactivating.]
When I held my Hero Watch up to the protective barrier, the bluish veil that had enveloped the Ruins entrance vanished.
“Let’s form a basic formation before we head in.”
I pointed to each party member one by one and assigned the optimal formation I’d already planned out before departure.
“First, I’ll take the rear guard.”
Typically, support-type or magic-type heroes were positioned in the rear, but that was a formation used in open fields.
In caves where we could be ambushed from behind at any moment, placing a warrior-type in the rear and keeping support-types in the center for protection was the safest approach.
‘It’s also better if I avoid participating in combat as much as possible.’
After all, this Ruins exploration also served the purpose of giving my party members—who still lacked real combat experience—a chance to gain it.
The moment I took the front, they’d have no opportunity to build that experience.
“If Dale is in the rear… then I should be in the middle, correct?”
“Right. Camilla, stand next to Iris and focus on protecting her.”
“Understood.”
Camilla nodded without complaint, likely because her primary purpose wasn’t exploring the Ruins but escorting Iris.
“Yuren and Berald, you two take the vanguard.”
“Haha! Leave it to us, boss!”
“Sure. Got it… Wait, didn’t you say earlier you were from the Magic Department?”
Yuren’s expression shifted to confusion as he watched me confidently place a Magic Department candidate in the vanguard.
“Well… you’ll see when we get there.”
I shrugged and cast the Light spell.
Luminous orbs materialized, illuminating the surroundings brightly.
“Let’s go.”
As we entered the cave, a sinister aura sent an icy chill down my spine.
“Ugh… there’s a fishy smell permeating the air.”
The moment Iris stepped inside the Ruins, she scrunched her nose and covered it with her hand.
“Look up there.”
I pointed to the stalactites growing from the ceiling.
At the tips of the stalactites, which hung like icicles, blood-red droplets were forming and dripping steadily.
“…So that’s why this place is called the Red Tears Cave.”
Yuren squinted as he watched the crimson droplets falling.
“….”
“….”
Perhaps overwhelmed by the eerie presence emanating from the cave.
The idle chatter that had been constant before entering the Ruins had ceased, and silence now settled over us.
I glanced back at my party members, who wore tense expressions, and stifled a faint smile.
‘Ah, so everyone had their innocent days too.’
Excluding Camilla, Yuren, Berald, and Iris had been running parties together for a long time in my previous life, so comparing their images as veteran heroes in my memories with their current appearances as fledgling candidates made me chuckle despite myself.
‘I miss this.’
Though Sophia isn’t here yet.
Coming to the Ruins with my former comrades like this made me feel as though I’d stepped back in time.
To those days I thought would never return.
‘I still need to meet Sophia.’
While waiting for approval after submitting the Ruins exploration application, I’d even peeked into the 4th Year Classroom.
But all the fourth-year candidates were currently away from the Academy during their ‘Hero Practicum’ period.
‘Well, I’ll meet her soon enough without rushing.’
For now, it was best to focus on the Ruins exploration.
“Grrrrk… Karrr.”
“Karak. Kerruk.”
About ten minutes had passed since we entered the Ruins.
A sharp, metallic scent of blood grew thicker in the air as an eerie screech echoed through the cavern.
“Magical beasts detected ahead.”
Yuren drew his sword and quickly scanned the direction from which the screech came.
The sound originated from the cave ceiling.
A cluster of magical beasts clung upside down to stalactites that had grown like icicles, their glowing crimson eyes staring down at us with a chilling intensity.
Gray fur covering their entire bodies, thin membranes draped like cloaks beneath their arms, and wickedly protruding fangs—
At a glance, they were clearly magical beasts that had evolved from bats.
“Seven total. Six are rank-C, and one is rank-B.”
Yuren assessed the scale and combat power of the beast swarm in an instant, delivering his briefing.
I watched him with my hands clasped behind my back, a satisfied smile spreading across my face.
‘Impressive—he’s clearly the top student for a reason.’
Even though this was apparently his first Ruins exploration, he showed no hesitation, executing his role as leader with precision.
‘But.’
Everything so far had been basic knowledge taught at the Academy.
The real test was about to begin.
“Grrrruk!”
“Everyone, fall back!”
The moment the bat beasts hanging upside down from the ceiling showed signs of movement, Yuren charged forward.
Boom!
He launched himself high into the air with a powerful push off the ground.
“Kiiieee?!”
The bat beast flapped its wings frantically and retreated in panic.
“Not so fast!”
Yuren bounded off the stalactites jutting from the ceiling, pursuing the fleeing bat beast through the air as if performing acrobatics.
“Haaah!”
“Kaaaaak!”
Yuren drove his blade into the back of the bat beast.
“Next…”
In the blink of an eye, Yuren dispatched another beast and turned to seek his next prey.
“Kyaaahhh!”
As an Ouan-class bat beast roared, a swarm of winged creatures spread their wings wide and took flight in unison.
Yuren gripped his sword tighter, as if to say: bring it on.
And then.
“Grrrrgh!”
“Kyaaaack!”
The bat beasts surged toward where my party members had gathered.
“Ah…!”
Yuren cried out in alarm and tried to chase after the bat beasts, but he was already too far from the party—he was a step too late.
“Seven Stars’ Protection!”
It was Iris who filled the gap Yuren left behind.
She swiftly traced a holy symbol and deployed a protective barrier.
The ferocious bat beasts crashed against her pristine shield and bounced back.
“I can’t hold it for long!”
“Leave this to me!”
Berald charged forward with both fists clenched.
“Hryaaaah! One down first!”
Crack!
Berald smashed a bat beast’s skull with a single devastating punch.
“Hurraaah!”
He seized the napes of two bat beasts trying to create distance with frantic wing beats, then pulled them together in a crushing embrace.
Splurch!
Blood and brain matter sprayed as the creatures’ skulls caved in.
“Grrrrgh!”
While Berald crushed a beast’s skull head-on, two other bat beasts with vicious fangs gnawed through Iris’s protective barrier.
“Holy Maiden! Please step behind me!”
The moment she saw the barrier shatter, Camilla Bediche swiftly positioned herself in front of Iris.
“Haaht!”
The Holy Kingdom’s distinctive, sturdy and honest sword strike cleaved through two bat beasts lunging at Iris.
“Kiiishhh!”
The final alpha beast shrieked with an unpleasant metallic cry as it surged forward.
Its speed far exceeded that of the other bat beasts.
“Ugh…!”
“No, this can’t—!”
The front line from Berald to Camilla Bediche was pierced in an instant, and the beast lunged at Iris with its vicious fangs bared.
“Tsk.”
The Solar Blade.
Second Form: Waning Moon.
Shhwaaack!
With a brilliant flash of steel, the leader bat monster’s body split cleanly in two.
The alpha bat creature collapsed instantly, spilling blood and viscera across the ground.
I flicked the blood from my blade and turned to survey my party members.
“Hah.”
It was what I’d anticipated, but still.
“We have quite the journey ahead of us.”

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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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