The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 84

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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 84. The Moon Swallowed by the Sun (6)
“Wait, hold on!”
Rosanna rushed forward to block my path.
Her eyes blazed with a mixture of panic and fury as she opened her mouth.
“You… what exactly are you?”
“Didn’t I introduce myself yesterday? Has your memory gotten that bad with age, ma’am?”
“You little…!”
Rosanna’s expression twisted savagely.
“How did you breach the Sun Gate?”
“How did I breach it? I was listening to everything from here.”
I smirked, glancing at her activated Hero Watch.
“I just smashed through everything.”
There had been no time to devise cunning stratagems or craft meticulous plans.
The moment I learned that Yuren—no, Yurina’s stigma had been forcibly altered by someone, I’d rushed to the Helios Family without hesitation and destroyed the Main Gate.
‘It would be a lie to say I had no doubts.’
If anything had given me pause, it was the specter of ‘changing the future’.
‘In my past life, Yurina bore the stigma of the Sun God.’
But if I intervened here and prevented her stigma from being altered, she would live bearing the stigma of the Moon God instead of the Sun God.
If that were to happen.
‘She might never reach the heights she once did.’
Of course, a stigma doesn’t directly determine one’s realm of mastery.
Just as I, bearing the Forest God’s stigma, had briefly touched the ‘pinnacle’ of the Solar Blade, her bearing the Moon God’s stigma wouldn’t prevent her from reaching the same heights as before.
‘But no one can predict how the future will change.’
If I did nothing, Yurina could become humanity’s strongest swordmaster.
What I was about to do might be equivalent to tearing up a lottery ticket with a guaranteed winning number.
Ignoring such hesitation, the moment I stepped into the Underground Chamber.
I understood immediately.
“D… Dale?”
All that doubt was utterly meaningless.
“How… how did you…?”
A trembling voice.
Ragged breathing and quivering eyes turned toward me.
Like a lost child discovering their parents, her gaze shimmered with undisguised joy.
“….”
I had learned so much from Yuren.
How to wield a blade, how to lead a Party, how to find courage and face fear.
And because of that.
I had been mistaken.
I thought Yuren was simply that kind of person.
Someone who felt no fear, who gave no thought to hardship.
Like that brilliant sun hanging high in the sky.
A person who shines brightly from the moment of birth.
That’s what I thoughtlessly believed.
I never once considered what kind of life Yurina—swallowed by the sun that is Yuren—had lived, or what kind of life she yearned for.
I gave it no thought whatsoever.
“You’ve endured so much all this time.”
Words she had longed to hear, yet never received.
I speak a wish that had never come true, finally giving it voice.
“You don’t have to shine anymore.”
What does it matter if the future changes?
What’s the problem if she doesn’t become humanity’s greatest swordmaster?
I have received far too much from Yurina.
I’ve only ever taken.
If she cannot be the sun, then I will become the sun.
If she cannot become humanity’s greatest swordmaster, then I will become humanity’s greatest swordmaster.
If the burden she must carry is too heavy, then I will share it with her.
On that day when I returned against the flow of time.
Wasn’t that exactly how I resolved to live?
“Ah….”
Yurina’s eyes widened.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, pooling at her chin before falling in heavy drops.
“Ah, uh.”
As if expelling emotions she had held back, Yurina wept openly, her arms wrapped around herself.
Just as I moved to approach her.
“How dare you, you mongrel of the Republic…!”
Rosanna’s expression twisted savagely.
She drew a sword from a corner of the Underground Chamber.
Golden mana surged around Rosanna’s body, sweeping ferociously through the Underground Chamber.
“Who do you think you are, spouting such nonsense?!”
Rosanna stomped the ground violently, sword in hand.
Rosanna approached at a terrifying speed that belied her dress—a movement that seemed impossible in such attire.
Sun Sword Sixth Form, Variant Technique: White Light—Extreme.
Her ultimate technique and the very skill that had earned her the epithet “Flash” during her days as an active hero.
A technique that condensed the light of white radiance into a single point and fired it like an awl, requiring extraordinarily precise mana control.
“Haaah!”
A golden flash shot forth.
I watched the golden flash approaching at a terrifying speed and smirked.
Right.
Certainly, “White Light—Extreme” is a high-difficulty technique requiring precise mana control.
“But when it comes to precise mana control, even Yuren in my past life couldn’t match me, old woman.”
I thrust my blade toward the incoming flash of light.
Solar Sword Form 6, Variant Technique—Pure White Light (白光)-Extreme.
The technique she had spent a lifetime honing and perfecting now unfolded through my blade.
There were two differences: first, the aura emanating from my sword was not brilliant gold, but a dull ashen gray.
And the second was.
CLAAAANG!
The Pure White Light-Extreme I unleashed possessed a far greater degree of perfection than the technique she had displayed.
“Kyaaaah!”
CRASH!
With a sharp cry, Rosanna’s sword shattered pitifully in her grip.
Rosanna stood frozen, her mouth agape in shock, clutching only the hilt of what remained.
“H-how is this possible…?”
She wasn’t shocked because I had used the Solar Sword.
My Solar Sword had diverged so far from the Helios Family’s version that it was fair to call it an entirely different swordsmanship, sharing only the name.
The reason for her profound shock was that the absolute technique she had spent her entire life perfecting had been blocked with such effortless ease.
And by her own greatest strength—the concentrated thrust that channeled all her mana into a single point.
“You… what kind of sorcery did you use?!”
How must it feel to have the absolute technique one spent a lifetime perfecting shattered so brutally by a mere Candidate without even an official hero license?
Unable to accept the reality before her, Rosanna hurled the broken hilt at me and charged forward.
“Good grief.”
I clicked my tongue at Rosanna.
“Pathetic to the very end, you old hag.”
I seized her collar and lifted her with all my strength.
Berald Combat Arts.
Heaven’s Inversion.
WHOOOOSH!
Rosanna’s body spun through the air before crashing down hard on her back.
“Gack!”
Blood spilled from her mouth as Rosanna’s eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness.
I turned away from the unconscious Rosanna toward the ritual platform.
“Sigh. Well, this situation has become quite complicated.”
Beside the ritual platform stood a white-haired youth wearing golden monocles, shaking his head with a weary sigh.
‘Is this the one who altered Yurina’s stigma in my past life?’
I searched through my memories, but his face was unfamiliar.
‘Well, I can always beat the information out of him.’
Just as I turned toward the mastermind behind this incident to free Yurina.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to adjust our plans.”
SNAP.
The white-haired youth flicked his fingers, and the magical formations inscribed across the entire Underground Chamber began crawling across the floor like living things, converging into a single point.
GRRRRRRNG!
The magical circles converged into a single point, and a terrifying wave of mana swept across the surroundings.
“Ugh…!”
As I squinted against the surging mana wave.
Crack!
The air split open, revealing a black fissure.
“Ah, uh. Ah.”
From the fissure in midair, a single being clad entirely in black armor stepped forward.
Or rather, could such a thing truly be called a ‘being’?
The flesh visible between the armor plates was rotting and decomposing, while the eerie blue gaze flickering between the helmet’s gaps was utterly inhuman.
“That is….”
Though it hardly appeared so.
‘Human.’
A hero blessed by the divine, one who had awakened the stigmata.
Only upon seeing the Corrupted Armored Being did I recognize the white-haired youth’s true identity.
‘A Demon who corrupts heroes and puppeteers them.’
Mephistopheles, the Archbishop of Corruption.
The Demon who had vanished without a trace during the weakening of the Demon God’s seal and the escalating war with the Six Archbishops.
‘I’ve only heard the name until now. This is my first time seeing him in person.’
Since little was known of Mephistopheles beyond his ability to corrupt heroes and turn them into puppets, I hadn’t immediately recognized his identity.
“Well then, perhaps we shall meet again.”
With those words, Mephistopheles threw himself into the black fissure before I could stop him.
“…Damn it.”
Having let Mephistopheles slip away before my eyes, I clicked my tongue and gripped my sword.
Part of me wanted to hurl myself after him into that black fissure, but I couldn’t leave Yurina here alone.
I leveled my blade toward the Corrupted Armored Being.
“Ah, uh, aaaaaa!!”
The Corrupted Armored Being shrieked with an otherworldly cry, swinging its greatsword.
Clang!
As I blocked the greatsword, a dizzying recoil traveled up my arm.
‘Strong.’
In terms of pure strength alone, it rivaled Lucas Kane’s abilities.
‘To have turned such a hero into a puppet…’
I narrowed my eyes and drove my fist toward the Corrupted Armored Being.
Berald Combat Arts.
Mountain Shattering.
Boom!
“Ughhhhhh!”
With a violent explosion, the Corrupted Armored Being was hurled backward, crashing into the wall.
“Ah, uh.”
Despite the impact being severe enough to collapse part of the wall, the Corrupted Armored Being rose unsteadily, showing no sign of pain.
A sharp click of the tongue.
Just as I was about to invoke Ignition, sensing this would be no easy battle.
“Dale.”
Yurina, bound within the magical circle, approached me.
“Let me fight.”
“…Yurina?”
As she drew near, her expression carried a newfound clarity. She took my hand.
“Thank you, Dale.”
She pulled my hand to her chest.
“For becoming my friend.”
“For telling me I did well.”
“For coming all this way to save me.”
“For telling me… that I don’t have to shine anymore.”
In her steady gaze, I no longer saw fear.
“We can talk about that later….”
I pulled her close, and she rested her head against my chest.
Silvery strands of hair drifted softly.
A delicate warmth and sweet fragrance brushed against my senses.
“Now, you are my sun.”
She spoke these words with a radiant smile.
“Can I borrow your sword for a moment?”
Yurina took my blade and walked toward the Corrupted Armored Being.

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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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