I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

123. A nightmare beyond a nightmare

“Now that I think about it, what do you think about the beings called heroes and demon kings? You don’t really have to worry about what the world thinks. “I’m just asking for your opinion.”

Little Alfred asked as he walked down the hallway.

“…I think I am a slave to fate.”

Arsel answered with a bitter expression.

“I have sacrificed my life and justified all my actions just because I was chosen to be a warrior, whether I wanted it or not. Still, my wish for the world to be peaceful was sincere. “Maybe that’s why I pretended not to notice even though I knew it was strange.”

If I think about it, I should have noticed something strange a long time ago.

He did not actually go out of his way to destroy the world, and even if he was brought into a crisis, it was only a crisis enough to kill him, but he did not actually die.

This is also what the devil did to mankind.

He always helped me overcome difficulties and grow.

But I couldn’t have imagined that it was designed that way from the beginning. Even though I knew it was strange, I couldn’t even imagine it.

The hero’s words were the devil that he wanted to overthrow, even at the cost of his own life.

“I see, that’s such a pity. In the end, there are no winners or losers. It’s all just a result of being taken advantage of in the name of fate. “It would be better if it was all their sincerity.”

“Are you saying that even wanting peace is not what I want?”

“Well, I don’t know that either. Maybe the Demon King really wants to destroy the world… Oh, does the Demon King really want to destroy the human race that made him that way? Unfortunately, it would have been impossible due to mental brainwashing.”

But nothing changes.

Even if you are ultimately led by fate, everything is a path you have chosen with your own hands.

The responsibility that comes with this can never be avoided.

Causation is not as complicated and difficult as you might think.

It’s a very simple yet terrible story where you just make a choice and you get the consequences.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about it anyway, because you are no longer a slave to fate.”

“Does that mean I am not a hero?”

“Something like a hero never existed in the first place, right? “I guess I just happened to get the name ‘Hero.'”

“Umm…”

As Arcel was worrying about various complex stories, a familiar magical power was getting closer and closer.

“I feel like I’m somewhere here. Can you feel anything or anything?”

“I don’t know. “I can definitely feel my magic around here, but it’s still difficult to determine the exact direction or location.”

Little Alfred looked around him and started knocking on the wall and floor.

It appears that they were trying to distinguish whether the space beyond the wall was empty or not through returning sounds or vibrations.

“Would you like to cut this wall?”

“Is it okay to cut down carelessly? Alfred said that if you touch it wrongly, it might collapse.”

“It would be okay if you broke it like magic, but if it’s the size of your sword, it will cut cleanly, so it’ll be fine. Anyway, you are confident in your work.”

“…I understand. “Step back a little.”

Arsel drew out the holy sword and quickly cut down the wall.

The wall, made of solid stone, boasts a clean and smooth cross section and has been cut into several pieces.

A little bright light begins to leak through the hole in the bare wall.

“I can feel my magic inside.”

“You can go in. Once you get in, I’ll put up the wall again. “Maybe it’s because it’s been so long, but if you keep neglecting it, it will collapse.”

Arcel nodded his head and went inside.

The wall has been filled in, but the light still shines ahead.

It seemed like the light leaking from somewhere was reaching here.

“That place…”

“I think I found it. It would have taken quite a while if I just walked around, but I would have saved almost dozens of hours.”

This is where the queen she had been looking for stored her magic.

“But because of the size of the underground.”

“It’s bigger than I thought, because this wasn’t originally underground. As time went by, the terrain changed, villages and castles were built here, and they were naturally buried.”

“It seems like it was a long time ago.”

“Yes, it was probably before your ancestors were even born.”

“What on earth is your identity-“

“Oh, there it is. “There’s something there that’s identical to your magic power.”

Little Alfred ran to where there was a huge human-sized magic stone.

The blue magic stone seemed to be made of Arcel’s magic power.

In other words, this magic stone is the magic stone in which the queen stored her magic power.

However, although it is a huge magic stone the size of a person, it cannot store all the magic power inside.

Looking around, it seemed like there were hundreds of other magic stones just like this one.

As if this space was larger than expected, there were a large number of magic stones lined up in order.

If all the magic stones are added together, it would be about half of the magic power that the queen would have stored away.

“This crazy… They were preparing something like this in the basement.”

Arcel frowned as he looked at the magic stone.

It is not simply because there are a large number of magic stones.

The reason Arcel was angry was because there were children inside the magic stone that looked like Morian, but were even younger.

Perhaps they are clones of the new heroes the queen speaks of, heroes artificially created by humans.

If they all have the same power as Morian, then Hermod will have hundreds of people in the world with power comparable to the warrior.

Just one hero has the power to face the devil, but what if there are hundreds of them?

It would definitely be like a disaster.

“It looks like they are still preparing, but should I say this is a copy of a clone? It’s like the process before full-scale mass production. But it looks like this is being kept as a spare. “What you’re looking for is… yeah, I guess that’s it.”

“Why is this only red?”

“Take a good look inside. “What’s inside this?”

Little Alfred headed to the center of this place.

When Arcel followed him, there was a large red magic stone surrounded by several holy swords.

Is the reason for surrounding the holy sword to prevent the energy of the magic stone from leaking out?

The holy sword was probably recovered from a discarded sword used by past warriors, and the reason why the magic stone had a particularly red color was because of what was inside.

“This energy… No way-“

Arsel was able to find out what was inside the magic stone.

Red substance contained inside.

That was a being that he had tried to overthrow by sacrificing everything in the past.

The memory of that time was more than a nightmare.

†††

The magical power that threatened to devour the entire world trembled, and the warrior and her companions trembled as they saw the Demon King with power beyond imagination.

They barely broke through the siege of the Demon King’s army, defeated Alfred, the Demon King’s henchman, and finally seemed to reach the Demon King.

The whole process was no different from a life-threatening gamble that could lead to death at the slightest moment of carelessness.

But this cannot even be called gambling.

Gambling is when there is a possibility of success, no matter how absurd it may be.

However, in the current situation, there was no possibility of success in gambling even after washing my eyes.

The journey I devoted half my life to was all for this moment.

Unfortunately, it seems that only half of it was enough to defeat the Demon King, the reason he was born and his destiny.

“Ugh…! “Didn’t that damned bastard of Satan deliberately pretend to surrender and hand us over to the devil?!”

The elf, shaking her blood-covered arms, cursed her demons for sending them here.

“No matter how much I think about it, it’s strange. If you get out of here, I’ll kill that damn Satan right away!”

The demons said they would surrender, but it was like driving them into a trap.

“Calm down, Stella. “It’s still too early to give up.”

The saint healed the elf’s wounds and encouraged her, but she also knew that her situation was not that good.

The warrior and assassin barely managed to capture the Demon King using hit-and-run tactics, but the Demon King did not suffer even a single scratch from any magic or attack.

“That’s also the case when we manage to get out alive… Ugh… Damn, just like he said, there was a reason why Satan let us go.”

“The wound is severe. Driver, please keep your mouth shut.”

“hahahaha… This is shameless…”

In contrast, the knights and elves who took the brunt of the demon king’s attack were almost incapable of fighting.

Even though the Demon King only swung his sword once, all the pillars and walls of this place were blown away, exposing the outside.

The attack didn’t even contain magical power.

Everything was blown away with the simple wind pressure of the sword.

It is truly a formidable force.

It felt like it was a good thing that there were no villages or cities around here, and half of the forest around the Demon King’s Castle was completely blown away with only a greeting from the Demon King.

“Go away! Don’t spill it! “The moment you touch it even a little, you die!”

“I know…! But it’s easier said than done!”

“Please hold on just a little longer!” “Even the devil wouldn’t be able to withstand the witch’s magic!”

“Wait a moment! “If you used that magic-“

“…It’s okay, warrior. “The spleen number is originally meant to be used in situations like this.”

It was fortunate that the wizard was alive and well.

While the warrior and the assassin were biding their time, the wizard tried to defeat the demon king using the witch’s magic, which cost him his mind and life.

This is a magic created by a witch who almost led to the destruction of the world like the Demon King in the past.

No matter how demonic he is, he won’t be able to withstand this magic.

Without any choice, the hero did his best to stop the Demon King from approaching the wizard.

Just receiving the devil’s sword made my hands tremble and my internal organs felt like they were going to rupture, but as a result of my efforts and not giving up, I was barely able to gain 3 minutes.

“Everyone stay away!”

Then, according to the wizard’s signal, increase the distance between you and the devil.

“Stop disappearing, demon lord! You end up here!”

A pure white sphere shooting towards the Demon King.

Flash!

The sphere advanced by absorbing air and light, and when it touched the Demon King, it expanded, dyeing the world white.

Everything seems to be swallowed up by the white sphere.

Even the surrounding magic and light are absorbed.

It is a witch’s magic that destroys not only the devil, but also the ground and space where the devil was.

It is a costly magic that eats up to half of the user’s mind and lifespan, so if the Demon King had avoided it, there would not have been such a worst-case scenario.

But fortunately, the Demon King did not avoid magic.

As if the attacks they had made so far had been completely ineffective, the Demon King was swallowed up by the white sphere without a trace while he was hesitating.

“Cough!”

“Are you okay?!”

A wizard sits down and vomits blood.

The warrior rushed over and helped the wizard.

“Ah, it’s okay, warrior. It’s okay if you succeed. Because the price is high, the power is certain. Of course, if it’s the Demon Lord, he might still be alive, but it’s still a sure hit…”

The wizard tried to smile.

But the smile soon turned into despair.

“…Oh my God.”

There was a more terrible scenario than the Demon King avoiding magic.

“It doesn’t even tickle.”

That means that the Demon King takes the brunt of the magic and doesn’t feel anything.

As the smoke clears, a large demon lord as large as an orc appears.

The Demon King still didn’t have a single scratch.

At best, the cloak he was wearing was only slightly scorched.

“Is this really the witch’s magic? “It’s nonsense, it’s not even insignificant, just a vague imitation of the form.”

The Demon King said, shaking off the dust.

This is a scenario in which the devil was hit with the most powerful and dangerous magic currently available to humans, but there was no harm done to the devil.

“Anyway, the fact that you guys came here means that you killed Alfred.”

Thump-!!!

The Demon King slammed his huge greatsword down on the floor.

A rushing gust of wind.

The storm that blew away half of the forest, which is equivalent to the size of a large country, strikes again.

Everyone was blown away by the storm, and the only one who barely managed to stay conscious was the hero.

“Ugh…”

But even that hero could only stand.

One arm is broken and my legs are shaking as if they are going to lose strength.

The hand holding the holy sword was the only one who did not give up and held on.

Fortunately, my colleagues didn’t seem to have died, but on the other hand, I couldn’t guarantee that they would survive.

Because everything was just a matter of time.

Perhaps everyone here was in the process of dying rather than living.

‘That’s it.’

The warrior thought as he looked at his unconscious comrades.

If there is a God, I will curse Him.

How on earth do you defeat such a monster?

The holy sword created to defeat the demon king did not work, and even the saint’s blessing had no effect.

Even the magic of a powerful witch who almost destroyed the world does not work.

How on earth could you defeat such a monster, so you were given the fate of defeating the Demon King?

The warrior blamed God.

“Then I will make you pay. “Today, with your death, humanity will perish.”

The Demon King spoke with great anger.

Honestly, I think it would be better to give up at this point.

If I were to face such a hopeless monster, it would be a mercy to just die.

“…She must be sad.”