The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 95

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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 95. Interlude 2 – Embers
Inside the magical carriage returning to Hero Academy.
An awkward silence had settled over the vehicle, so profound that the thunderous hum of the mana stone engine felt jarring by comparison.
“….”
Elisha, gripping the steering wheel, kept her gaze deliberately averted toward the window, her head tilted slightly as she continued driving.
From the passenger seat, I observed the crimson flush creeping across her cheeks and ears, then exhaled deeply before speaking.
“How much longer do you intend to avoid this?”
“A-Avoid? I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dale.”
Elisha’s voice wavered with barely concealed panic.
Her eyes remained fixed on the window, where the same landscape had been repeating for three hours straight.
“You’ll cause an accident.”
“Hmph. That’s hardly your concern, Dale—you don’t even have a license.”
“I can drive, actually.”
“I’ll acknowledge it once you’ve obtained one properly.”
As we exchanged these trivial words, the tension seemed to ease slightly.
Elisha’s gaze finally met mine.
“Ah…!”
The moment our eyes locked, she jerked her head away in panic.
I sighed, my fingers brushing my lips where the soft warmth still lingered like an echo.
“Forget about yesterday. It was an accident.”
“…Understood.”
“No, actually—don’t forget it.”
“….”
Was she supposed to forget or remember?
“This is maddening. What was I even thinking….”
Elisha pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, releasing a continuous stream of sighs.
“Let me get some air.”
Deciding this couldn’t continue, Elisha pulled the carriage to a stop.
Once outside, she withdrew a cigarette from her pocket and placed it between her lips.
Before she could retrieve her lighter, I flicked my fingers lightly.
A crackling burst of flame.
Fire blazing at my fingertips.
The Primordial Flame was fundamentally different in concept from ordinary fire, as it was designed to incinerate stigmata, but by adjusting its output sufficiently, I could wield it like a conventional flame.
“…That fire.”
Elisha’s eyes narrowed as she gazed at the flames dancing at my fingertips.
“It’s the power dormant within you, Dale. Is your recent explosive growth connected to your newfound ability to control this fire?”
“…You knew about it?”
I looked at Elisha in surprise.
I had already known she’d sensed the Blessing of Resurrection, but I never expected her to be aware of the Primordial Flame as well.
“I don’t know its exact nature. I only know that some immense power lies dormant within you, Dale.”
“That’s….”
I hesitated, uncertain whether I should tell her about the Primordial Flame.
Elisha shook her head gently and continued speaking.
“There’s no need to explain. You must have your reasons, Dale.”
“…Thank you.”
“Though there is one thing I’d like to ask.”
Elisha held a cigarette to the flames dancing at my fingertips and inhaled deeply.
“That gray aura mixed with fire you used when you hunted the beast this time—what exactly is it?”
Awakening the Ashfire Blade hadn’t granted me merely a new swordsmanship technique.
Instead of creating an aura by severely restricting my mana as before, I now burned my mana at full power, producing an aura of an entirely different, unique hue.
‘Flames appeared when I created auras before, but it never felt like this.’
If the previous aura had flames shimmering like heat waves layered atop the gray, this time the two seemed to blend together, burning as one.
“I’m not sure how to explain it properly.”
It was a technique I’d only awakened mere days ago.
I didn’t yet fully understand the power and effects of this aura myself, so there was no way I could explain it to her.
“Hmm. Does it have a name?”
“A name….”
I hadn’t given it a formal name.
But the moment she asked, a single word came to mind.
“Ashfire.”
A tender flame lingering within the ashes.
Of course, one might question whether “tender” truly described the Primordial Flame that had incinerated the World Tree in the distant past, but in terms of appearance alone, it was the most fitting name.
“Ashfire, you say… Indeed, a fitting name.”
Elisha exhaled a long plume of smoke.
“I didn’t see this technique during the midterm evaluation. Is it something you learned recently?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Elisha extinguished her cigarette and narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I wouldn’t call it a problem.”
Elisha shook her head and continued.
“It just feels somewhat unstable. As if the balance isn’t quite right….”
“Well, since I only recently learned it.”
Even the Ashfire Blade itself, channeling the essence of Ashfire through my sword, was a technique I’d used for the first time this very day.
“The ‘fire’ within me isn’t something that can be controlled so easily. The flame’s power is likely far stronger than my original strength, so the balance is off.”
“….”
Elisha fell into deep thought at my words, then slowly shook her head.
“No, it’s the opposite.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s not that the flame’s power is too strong for balance—it’s that your own strength is too great, which is why the balance breaks.”
“…What on earth are you talking about?”
I stared blankly at Elisha, her words catching me completely off guard.
She leaned closer, pulling my neck toward her as she pressed her lips against mine.
Unlike last night, the kiss carried no thrill, no trembling—only cold certainty.
Elisha’s violet eyes gleamed with an otherworldly light.
“Just as I thought.”
She traced her lips thoughtfully and nodded.
“Yesterday I was uncertain, but now I’m absolutely sure.”
“…Sure of what?”
“Two.”
Elisha held up two fingers as she continued.
“The immense power sleeping within Dale—it’s not one, but two.”
“….”
Two powers sleeping within me? Not just one?
What kind of nonsense was she spouting?
“The fire you’ve been using is the ‘weaker’ of the two. That’s why it lacked balance.”
“W-Wait a moment. What do you mean by that?”
A power stronger than the Primordial Flame dwelling within me?
‘This makes no sense whatsoever.’
If I possessed such a power, would I have been called the “lowest-ranked hero” in my previous life?
“As I said before, I don’t know the exact details either. All I can discern is that ‘something like that exists.'”
“….”
“For now, there’s no need to worry about it. Whether it’s the weaker or stronger force, both remain powers that Dale cannot yet properly control.”
With that, Elisha climbed back into the magical carriage.
I gathered my scattered thoughts and followed her inside, taking a seat.
“Hmm. Though I must say, I’m curious.”
Elisha turned to face me, her eyes gleaming with intrigue.
“What kind of being will Dale become once you master both of these powers?”
Her violet gaze swept over me from head to toe.
“Perhaps a monster capable of tearing even the Demon God itself to shreds with ease.”
“….”
“Hehe. I’m only joking.”
She smiled mischievously, shrugging her shoulders.
“Well then, shall we depart?”
The magical carriage roared to life and began its journey.
* * *
We arrived at the Hero Academy late in the evening.
After parting ways with Elisha, I returned to my dormitory room and sat on the edge of my bed, furrowing my brow.
“Not one, but two.”
Elisha’s words echoed in my mind like a lingering refrain.
Whoosh!
I opened my palm and ignited the Ashen Flame.
A flame mixed with grey aura blazed across my skin.
From the burning Ashen Flame, I felt a dizzying surge of power.
‘The mana consumption is severe, but it’s undeniably potent.’
Based on the enlightenment I gained from Yurina, I had woven the Primordial Fire into my existing mana, creating this new force.
The Ashen Flame Blade I manifested with this power was so formidable that even I, who wielded it, was taken aback.
‘Though it still feels awkward to use.’
For thousands of years, my body had been conditioned to conserve mana—a habit etched into my very being—yet this force required me to scrape the Sacred Mark’s mana to its depths and draw it forth explosively.
It was like a frugal accountant who meticulously tracked every gold coin suddenly stepping into a luxury boutique and sweeping everything off the shelves.
The sensation was exhilarating, yet a nagging doubt lingered in the back of my mind—was this truly acceptable?
‘I’ll need to grow accustomed to it gradually.’
Now that I had felt the Ashen Flame’s true power firsthand, I could no longer cling to my old habit of hoarding mana.
“But what exactly was Professor Elisha talking about?”
There was another power dwelling within me besides the Primordial Fire.
In all my long reincarnations, I had never once contemplated such a thing.
‘There’s no way I could possess such a power….’
Suddenly.
A memory from my inner world flashed through my mind.
The Primordial Fire that had desperately fled my grasp as if seized by terror, collapsing my inner world.
The reversed relationship between predator and prey.
“…Ah.”
And then another question surfaced.
‘Why was my Sacred Mark unharmed?’
According to legend, the Primordial Fire possessed the power to incinerate Sacred Marks.
Here, “Sacred Mark” encompassed both the mana and blessings contained within it.
‘It’s not baseless legend.’
The Primordial Fire had indeed burned away the Distortion blessing used by the Archbishop of Illusion.
It had incinerated the poison created by the Archbishop of Beasts’ power.
Yet, why.
‘Did it fail to burn away my Resurrection blessing?’
When I had accepted the Primordial Fire into my body in my past life, I had believed my Sacred Mark would be devoured and I would face death.
But the Sacred Mark carved into my left chest remained intact.
More than that—it had even managed to imprison the Primordial Fire within itself.
-Not one, but two.
Professor Elisha’s words echoed in my mind.
“Not one… but two.”
If that were the case.
What in the world was this second power that had even devoured the Primordial Fire itself?
….
Amid unresolved mysteries,
the night’s curtain beyond the window deepened with each passing moment.

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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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