The Hero Returns
chapter-229

Chapter 229: Chapter 229

<hr />

Drop, tumble—

Clack, clack—

One by one, the bodies of the tottering skeletons began crumbling down.

“It seems that the end is drawing near,” Seward said as blood seeped out from various wounds riddling his body.

His gaze was locked on Herrels whose fatigue was evident. The latter was now surrounded by less than 100 undead, the Bone Dragon, and the Death Knight Louw.

“You are truly a tenacious individual—absolutely staggering, indeed. Who could have possibly imagined that a person capable of confronting all by himself this many Lichs, as well as an army of this scale, existed?” Seward spoke again and shook his head.

Several magicians and knights capable of stopping an army by themselves had existed before within the lengthy history of the empire as well as the continent. One of those magicians even commanded a dragon.

However, the current situation exceeded those.

Quite a few among the gathered Lichs today were once powerful magicians whose feats had been recorded in history books.

Herrels fought against hundreds of such Lichs, as well as an army of several tens of thousands, and the end result was that only about 10,000 remained in the combined army of the empire, as well as another kingdom.

“You talk too much,” said Herrels.

“I see that you do not fear your death?”

“That’s not scary at all. If I’m to get scared, it’d be about something else.”

The people from the Rawlsman bloodline didn’t fear death. What they were scared of always had been other things.

One would only fear death when they had a lingering attachment or some sort of regret in life. As for Herrels, he only had one regret.

Roy.

The face of his son seemed to waver in front of Herrels’ eyes. But that lasted only for a moment. His vision blurred, and the undead protecting him began crumbling away rapidly.

Clack, clack, clack—

Thud—

The Bone Dragon and the Death Knight Louw guarding his sides all fell down to the ground.

A thick smile spread on Seward’s lips as he witnessed this sight. “And so, this really is the end, judging from how you can no longer keep Sir Louw by your side, the one who has been protecting you for the longest time.”

Step, step—

Seward then approached Herrels with a slow gait. The latter rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand to clear up his blurry vision and stared at the former.

“Allow me to be the one to send you away on your final journey.”

Seward unsheathed his sword.

Herrels didn’t even have enough energy to run. Even if he could, he knew that escaping was impossible, anyway.

He wasn’t scared. It was just that a lingering regret continued to haunt him.

To die like this… It seems that I still have too many things to lose.

Just as Herrels closed his eyes…

“Enjoy your trip.”

Swish—

Clang—!

Seward’s sword, which was about to swing down, collided against something and got deflected upward.

Splash—!

Blood splattered.

Seward’s eyes shot wide open in disbelief as he stumbled backward. “Isn’t this…?”

Clack—

The undead Louw had gotten back up again.

Herrels opened his eyes at these unexpected noises and looked in front of him. “But how…?”

He had not risen the Death Knight. He didn’t even have any energy left to control a single undead.

Right then…

“Everyone…”

Wuuuooong—

A voice reverberated throughout the battlefield.

“Arise.”

The bones of the undead lying on the ground began shaking from that voice.

Clack, clack—

Creak, creak—

Ku-gugugugu—

The bones that were scattered on the ground assembled again to quickly regain the former silhouette of the Bone Dragon. It was the same story for not only Louw but also the other Death Knights.

The undead were being revived again.

Herrels, who was in the center of the battlefield, was not the only one who was stunned by this development; the Lichs and Seward, plus the human army, were just as shocked.

This isn’t my ability.

Herrels was acutely aware of his tank being completely empty right at that moment.

If that’s the case…

Only one person could have pulled off something like that besides him.

“Roy?”

Roy, who shared the same Rawlsman bloodline as him, could do this.

“Ro—?!”

It was right then that Herrels recalled the voice that he just heard.

Could it be?

Step, step—

The clear footsteps reverberated throughout the battlefield. The unnaturally distinct footsteps caused everyone’s gaze to shift in the direction where sounds came from.

Gu-gugugugu—

Sha-aaaah—

The man was deliberately unleashing the aura of his presence. Although Herrels couldn’t see him due to the crowd of people covering him from all sides, he nevertheless knew who that man was.

“Dammit. I thought I was going to die for real.”

Unlike his usual self, Herrels muttered a curse and plopped down on the spot. He didn’t even have any energy left to stand. It only worsened when his tension left him and the feeling of relief rushed in.

Su-hyeun had come.

“I shall give you some time.”

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

Su-hyeun’s voice washed over the entire battlefield.

“Humans who wish to live, soldiers who got dragged here against your will, you are allowed to leave. If you do, you will live.” His gaze then shifted toward the Lichs hidden within the ranks of the human soldiers. “As for you… Don’t ever think that you can leave here alive.”

Shu-wuwuwu—

Pitch-black aura leaked out of Su-hyeun’s body. When that aura seeped into the surroundings, all the crumbled skeletons and corpses of the monsters began rising up again.

That ability was the same as Herrels’.

Not only that…

Split—

The third eye in his forehead that he kept closed until now was finally released as well. He had been holding himself back from using it to preserve his magical energy reserve, but it didn’t matter anymore.

He had already acquired a new ability that could be seen as extra insurance separate from the magical energy.

[Third Eye – Predator]

Sha-aaaaah—

A chilling hiss blanketed the entire battlefield. The moment they heard that hiss, several soldiers fell to their knees in pure fright.

The Bone Dragon? It became useless.

A snake large enough to dwarf the expansive forest, a creature possessing the splendor exceeding that of dragons from legendary tales, appeared right in front of their eyes.

“U-uwaaaaah!”

“S—save me…”

“I—I’m out of here…”

Soldiers overtaken by fear began muttering incomprehensible things.

The story wasn’t all that different from the Lichs. However, the fear they felt was not the same in nature from the one felt by the human soldiers.

This power, it’s definitely…

It’s the great one’s.

But how can that human…?

Their fear stemmed from the fact that Su-hyeun now possessed the same type of power Herrels wielded, which was in direct conflict with their own.

Also, they could sense that Su-hyeun’s power was very similar to the god they worshiped.

They found this event difficult to accept because it could only mean one thing.

If the great one didn’t use that human’s body to descend to this world, then…

It can’t be…we failed?

It could only mean that their scheme to bring about the advent of their second god through the Life Vessel had failed, and the god’s power was now completely residing within Su-hyeun’s body.

What should we do?

For now, we must escape. If that bastard has acquired the great one’s power, we don’t stand a chance.

Escape? Like this?

I’m saying we must think about the future first.

Dammit! I understand.

The Lichs confirmed the opinions of their peers through magic and quickly gathered in one spot. Not too long after that, they pooled their magical energy in the tips of their bony hands to draw a massive magic circle in an instant. It was a teleportation circle capable of sending away many individuals at once.

They were planning to escape first and then worry later.

Wuuu-ooong—

The Lichs added their magical energy, and the magic circle came to life next. Unfortunately for them…

“Where do you think you’re going?”

[Third Eye – Neutralization]

Giiii-iiiing—

The moment the magic circle was reflected in the eye in Su-hyeun’s forehead, it stopped emitting light and ceased working instantly.

The Lichs fell into a bout of panic once more. The spell was not activated. There could only be one reason for that.

It was canceled?

A magic circle of this magnitude…from that distance away?

A magic circle that had already lost its effect couldn’t be activated again.

“Stay right there and don’t move,” Su-hyeun told them and locked his third eye on the Lichs.

After making sure Lichs weren’t going anywhere, he scanned his surroundings. The area had turned into pure pandemonium since he activated the “Predator” skill.

“I—I want to live!”

“Aaaaaahk!”

Seward saw the soldiers discarding their weapons and turning around to run away. “Where are you going?! You must fight even if it means your death! Anyone who dares to escape will die by my hands!” he shouted out, flustered.

His shout containing magical power blanketed the battlefield. However, it was all in vain. His voice wasn’t as powerful as Su-hyeun’s nor did it contain enough killing intent.

“You sons of b*tches…” he muttered and gritted his teeth.

Just before the deeply incensed Seward could swing his sword at the soldiers…

Swoosh—

Clang—!

It shattered loudly, and the pieces scattered in all directions. He immediately cocked his head out of the way, but a piece still managed to scratch past his cheek.

Drip—

Blood trickled down his face. Seward’s eyes opened wider as he stared at the shattered sword.

“Looks like you don’t have any thoughts of running away, so…”

Grip—

Keok!

Su-hyeun appeared in front of Seward before the latter realized it and then gripped the nobleman’s throat tightly.

Everything literally happened in the blink of an eye. Seward immediately tried to swing his broken sword, but it was already too late.

Su-hyeun’s grip tightened, and Seward tried to fight back by strengthening his neck muscles

Crack—

Seward’s eyes rolled as his neck was broken. His breathing stopped.

Su-hyeun then shifted his gaze back to the Lichs. His undead were already surrounding them from all sides, and they could only look back at him, unable to go anywhere.

“Let’s end this tiresome battle, shall we?” he addressed them.

Act 5

Crack—!

A Lich’s skull shattered under Su-hyeun’s foot. With that, the Life Vessel hidden inside it was also turned into powder.

Chu-wuwuwu—

When that happened, the magical energy and the soul contained within leaked outside. He couldn’t see that in the past, but after acquiring the Necromancer trait, his eyes became capable of seeing everything.

For instance, he saw how the Lich’s soul escaped and became yet another wandering specter.

[Achievement Percentage: 100%]

[Will you end the trial?]

Once he dealt with the very last Lich, the message asking him to clear the trial popped up one more time.

He could’ve ended the trial after shattering the Life Vessel inside Roy’s body, but he chose to eliminate all the Lichs and clear it perfectly that way.

Su-hyeun took a look around him. Countless corpses of the undead and humans were messily strewn about.

He didn’t bother to chase after those who managed to flee. Some of them would’ve had no choice but to fight due to the orders handed down from the kingdoms and the empire, and besides, all the Lichs had been eliminated, anyway.

He had no reason to fight any further.

I’m tired.

Su-hyeun rubbed his eyes to get rid of the fuzziness.

His magical energy reserve was not the only thing that reached rock bottom; the reserve for his newly acquired stat, Death Aura, was in the same condition.

The activation time isn’t that long.

Commanding the undead wasn’t an easy task. For one thing, he couldn’t command them for a long time like how Herrels did.

His inability to perfectly replicate Roy’s ability through the Transfiguration skill was to blame here. The current him would find it difficult to control the minds of Lichs that had perfectly retained their ego.

That’s why he chose to destroy the Life Vessels of the Lichs one by one instead.

But that resulted in his magical energy and Death Aura reserves running completely dry. It was obvious that he had become really fatigued afterward.

Been a while since I’ve been this tired.

He managed to pass most of the trials that came after the 43rd floor rather painlessly, so much so that the difficulty level of 10 even felt a bit meaningless.

However, as expected of the trials found on the 10th floors, they weren’t something he should look down on.

That’s why the rewards I can acquire are pretty sweet.

The Necromancer trait—

It was the trait Su-hyeun had wanted to acquire for a very long time. He didn’t even know what it was called until now, but regardless of that, this Necromancer trait allowed him to command the dead. It also happened to be one of the Lich King’s powers.

“Just what has happened here?”

Herrels came up to him after the battle had ended and asked that question. He remembered that the undead rose up after Su-hyeun ordered them to. That was, without a doubt, the Rawlsman bloodline’s ability.

“Some things have happened along the way. Ah, by the way, Roy should be fine from now on.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Lich King had briefly entered Roy’s body earlier. Through a Life Vessel, actually.”

“I see. Wait, what?!”

Herrels’ eyes shot wide open from shock.

Su-hyeun went onto explain what happened to him. Initially, Herrels had a deeply worried expression, but he became much more relieved by the time Su-hyeun was done explaining.

“That is indeed a relief. In that case, Roy will be alright from now on, I’m assuming?”

“Yes, most likely. However…” Su-hyeun spoke with a slightly apologetic expression. “He won’t be able to see the dead souls anymore. Also, he won’t be able to command the dead unlike you, Lord Herrels.”

Su-hyeun had absorbed Roy’s ability. A power absorbed away would not return to its original holder, and it wouldn’t naturally reappear, either.

Roy had become a regular person.

“No, it’s alright. Actually, this is for the best.” Herrels was smiling brightly instead. “Roy should be able to smile from now on, you see.”

“What do you mean?”

Su-hyeun failed to understand and had to ask. Herrels looked at Roy being carried by Miru on its back as it flew toward them.

“I can’t recall the last time I saw my son smiled. Maybe it was around when he was four years old? He started seeing dead people around then, and that’s when he began losing his smiles and expressions.”

“…”

“Some people call our powers a blessing. They say that this ability will allow one to fight against a country by yourself. I hear they are envious of me just because of that reason alone.”

“I guess that’s not true for Roy.”

“It wasn’t just Roy, though. I was the same. That’s why I think this is for the best.” Herrels smiled brightly and walked over to Roy on Miru’s back before reaching out to him. “And now, he has become a regular child, hasn’t he?”

Brush—

Herrels gently stroked Roy’s face caked in dirt. The boy was still deeply asleep, his breathing calm and rhythmic.

Su-hyeun also looked at Roy. The boy must’ve been really exhausted because he showed no signs of waking up.

I guess I won’t get to say goodbye.

Su-hyeun brushed the sleeping boy’s hair like how Herrels had done and gently spoke up, “Take care of yourself. I’ll be on my way now.”

Gya-ong—

Miru also opened its maw after Su-hyeun finished saying his piece, and then, their bodies gradually grew transparent.

[You’ve acquired 4,000,000 achievement points.]

[You’ve attained the highest achievement rate.]

[You’ve perfectly cleared the 50th floor’s trial.]

[Achievement ranking is being tallied.]

[You’ve been ranked in the first place.]

[Agility has risen by one.]

[Stamina has risen by one.]

[Reflex has risen by one.]

[Magic count has risen by one.]

[Death Aura has risen by 15.]

[Proficiency for “Trait – Necromancer” has risen explosively.]

[Level of “Trait – Necromancer” has risen by three.]

[Skill “Soul Accumulation” has been acquired.]

[Skill “Dead Summoning” has been acquired.]