The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
An alley in Valhalla City.
"Tsk."
I frowned as I watched Khalid Han flick his sword.
‘Even a bottom-rank Master is still a Master, huh.’
I thought I was doing a decent job of tailing him while keeping my presence hidden, but he noticed me so easily.
Sigh.
Letting out a short breath, I adjusted my grip on the dagger in my hand.
‘No choice, then.’
Now that I was exposed, I had no option but to face him head-on.
"Heh heh heh! Good! That’s the spirit!"
Khalid Han grinned broadly and tightened his grip on his stone-forged sword.
"Well then!"
Boom!
He slammed his foot down forcefully.
"Let’s have ourselves a lively dance!"
Khalid Han charged.
It was hard to believe he had been drinking and vomiting his guts out just moments ago, given his sudden, blistering speed.
The stone-forged sword sliced through the air like a streak of light.
Clang!
I raised my dagger and blocked the strike.
The impact surged through my arm and rattled my entire body—far stronger than one would expect from a sword made of mere stone fragments.
Grgrgrgrgrng! Boom!
The force from Khalid Han’s strike sent me sliding backward until I slammed into the wall of the alley.
"Kh..."
I gritted my teeth and chewed on my lip.
Slowly, I drew on the power of the Primordial Flame.
Chiiiiik!
The sound of searing flesh filled the air as a ferocious wave of mana boiled up within me.
‘I can’t release the Ashen Flame outward.’
If I kept the Ashen Flame contained inside my body, I could only wield a fraction of its full power.
But I had no choice.
I had to remain hidden.
The Ashen Flame was too distinct—a power that would give away my identity instantly.
"Heh, what’s with all the thinking?"
Khalid Han sneered as he swiftly closed the distance.
He swung his sword with feral force.
Without hesitation, I reached out toward the descending blade.
Berald’s Martial Arts.
Sword Crusher.
Crack!
I caught the sword’s edge with my mana-infused hand and shattered it.
The stone fragments exploded outward in all directions.
I pushed my body through the scattering debris and slammed my shoulder into Khalid Han’s chest.
Thud!
"Urgh!"
Khalid Han was thrown backward, tumbling like a skipping stone.
But while airborne, he twisted his body mid-fall and landed lightly on his feet.
"Hoo..."
His eyes gleamed with fascination.
"Impressive. I see now—it wasn’t a mistake to let you tail me, after all."
He gave a satisfied nod and slowly raised his hand.
"Now then, let’s see how you handle this!"
Wuuuuuung!
Khalid Han’s stigma flared with a deep green light.
Hundreds of petals manifested in the air—each one a blade of aura.
"Scatter!"
With a sweeping motion, he slashed at the air with his empty hand.
The hundreds of petals rained down like a snowstorm.
It was eerily similar to the "Full Bloom" technique that Lanez had once shown me.
Though in terms of raw power, Lanez’s ice blossoms had packed a greater destructive force.
‘He’s controlling all of those individually?’
As I stared at the falling petals, I inwardly marveled.
At first glance, it seemed like they were simply scattering at random.
But in truth, each petal subtly adjusted its trajectory, cutting off my avenues of escape.
Controlling even a single flying blade from a distance was no easy feat.
Yet Khalid Han had split his aura into hundreds and was manipulating each one.
‘Falling Blossom Blade.’
In that moment, I understood why Khalid Han, despite being a mercenary—a profession shunned by most heroes—had earned the title of Master.
‘I can’t stop this without using the Ashen Flame.’
It didn’t matter.
If I couldn’t block them—then I’d just take them.
"Hahh..."
I planted my foot firmly and charged into the storm of petals.
Blades sliced through my flesh, carving long gashes that immediately gushed blood.
I had barely taken a single step forward, yet my entire body was already being shredded and painted crimson.
But.
‘As I thought...’
Despite the lacerations, I smirked.
‘He’s not aiming to kill.’
I could feel it—the petals veered away just before striking my vitals.
‘Not that it would have mattered if he was.’
I sprinted through the bladed storm.
"What the—?!"
Khalid Han’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to charge so recklessly.
"Haap!"
I closed the distance in an instant, driving my dagger in a reverse grip toward his torso.
"Not so fast!"
Khalid Han stomped the ground violently.
The fallen petals scattered across the ground shot upward all at once, striking me from below.
Pababababang!
The petals burst on contact, creating small explosions.
I was flung dozens of meters into the air.
Then, gravity took hold.
Boom!
I crashed to the ground, rolling across the bloodied cobblestones.
"Kh... Are you insane? Do you have a death wish?"
Khalid Han stared down at me in disbelief.
He looked incredulous—why would anyone charge into a rain of blades bare-handed?
It was as reckless as sprinting full speed across a tightrope suspended between two cliffs.
"......"
I remained silent, staggering to my feet.
Even though Khalid Han had deliberately avoided my vitals, the wounds covering my body were still severe.
Blood gushed freely from the countless gashes.
I was in such a critical state that it wouldn’t have been surprising if the Blessing of Revival activated at any moment.
But it didn’t matter.
‘It’s done.’
Though it had barely grazed his skin, I had managed to smear Khalid Han’s blood onto the dagger Camellia had given me.
Wuuuuung!
Sensing the blood, the magic circle engraved on the dagger activated.
And then—
The color of the blade, which was supposed to be the objective of this raid—
'...It's the same?'
The dagger’s blade, which was said to react to the power of the Leader of Order of Eternity and turn blue, remained its original clear silver.
In other words—
'Khalid Han... didn't receive the power of the Leader of Order of Eternity?'
I furrowed my brows as I looked down at the silver-glowing dagger.
"Hmm. So that was your goal, was it? To stain that dagger with my blood?"
Khalid Han let out a small chuckle as he watched me stare at the dagger.
"So? Did you find the answer you were looking for?"
"......."
"Heh, judging by that expression, it seems you didn’t."
Khalid Han shrugged his shoulders and let out a burst of laughter.
"But more importantly, are you alright?"
He raised his hand and pointed at my face.
"That mask of yours looks like it’s about to break."
Crack.
Did my mask get struck when I was weaving through the petals of sword energy earlier?
Before Khalid Han had even finished speaking, the white half-mask I was wearing split into two and tumbled to the ground.
'Good thing I had a backup plan.'
I let out a sigh of relief as I watched the broken mask roll away.
"Hmm? You were called Cadet Dale, right? Was that always your face?"
I turned to Khalid Han with eyes wide in shock.
"...How did you recognize me?"
With Juliet’s help, my disguise was so perfect that even I would have trouble recognizing myself.
"Hmm. To be honest, I already knew it was you even with the mask on. At first, I mistook you for someone else for a moment, though."
"......."
"Heh. Curious how I figured it out?"
Khalid Han smirked and tapped his nose lightly.
"The scent."
"...The scent?"
"Yeah. You have a very familiar... hmm, how should I put it... Ah, right. You smell like old wood."
"......."
Old wood?
I wrinkled my nose and brought my collar to my face, but all I could smell was the scent of blood.
"Hahaha! It’s not a literal scent—more like a feeling. Don’t worry too much about it."
"...Tsk."
Not only had I failed to find the traitor, but my identity had also been exposed.
'Damn it.'
Failure.
A complete, undeniable failure.
"Judging by your actions... heh, I can take a good guess at who’s behind this."
"......."
I was seriously contemplating whether I should kill him to silence him when—
"Don’t glare at an old man so murderously. I can more or less figure out why you suddenly attacked me in the middle of the night."
"...You can?"
"You were looking for a pawn of the Leader of Order of Eternity, weren’t you?"
"Hah."
A laugh escaped my lips.
"So the whole drunkard act was just a ruse?"
I never expected him to see through everything so completely.
"Heh! No, I really am a drunkard. I just got lucky this time."
"You got lucky?"
"Yeah. Because your goal and mine are exactly the same."
"...What?"
What was he saying?
"I’ve been hunting the Leader of Order of Eternity as well."
"......."
He was after the Leader of Order of Eternity?
Khalid Han was?
"Shall we have a chat?"
"...Alright."
It seemed like I needed to hear more.
"Now, let’s see... Tsk, all the bars are closed."
Khalid Han clicked his tongue as he glanced around after stepping out of the alley.
"This isn’t the kind of conversation to have over drinks."
"Heh. No, it’s the opposite. Without drinks, it’ll be hard to have this talk. Ah, wait here for a moment."
He stepped into a 24-hour convenience store nearby and returned with two bottles of alcohol.
"Here, have a drink."
He opened a bottle and handed it to me.
I let out a short sigh and accepted it.
Clink.
After lightly clinking bottles, Khalid Han chugged his drink like a man lost in the desert who had just found an oasis.
"Ahhh, that hits the spot!"
"Let’s get back to the topic. Why are you chasing the Leader of Order of Eternity?"
"Heh. No need to rush."
Khalid wiped his lips with his sleeve and let out a deep sigh.
"Your and the Empress’s suspicions are half correct and half incorrect."
"What do you mean—"
"Even if I’m not a pawn of the Leader of Order of Eternity, it doesn’t mean I have no connection to him."
"You’ve met him before?"
"Met him, huh... Heh. If you put it that way, yes, I have."
"Where did you meet him?"
"When I was young, he came to the orphanage where I lived."
"...What?"
He came to an orphanage?
"...Claiming that he was my father."
Wait.
What was he saying?
Then that means—
"Heh. That’s right."
Khalid Han tilted his head back and took another deep swig from his bottle.
"I am the son of the Leader of Order of Eternity."

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