The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
A vast jungle lies directly south of the Hero Academy.
It connects to Gehenna City, the city of demons, and is known to the people of the continent as the “Demonic Realm.”
Inside that very Demonic Realm—
“The candidates are now beginning to leave the school grounds.”
A hooded figure bowed his head toward a man standing at the front of the group.
“Hmph. Just as that ‘Prophet’ guy said.”
A dark-haired man, his face covered in scars, nodded with a grim expression.
His crimson eyes—symbolic of demons—gleamed as he turned to face the subordinates lined up behind him.
“Is everyone gathered?”
“Yes, Lord Hectar.”
Dozens of demons in black hoods all bowed their heads in unison.
“Our mission this time is to abduct the candidates who are out for field training.”
The demon known as Hectar continued in a low, heavy voice.
“Split into teams of three and kidnap the candidates.”
“Yes, sir!”
“They’re just fledglings, so be careful not to kill them. The captured candidates will be useful hostages in the coming ‘war.’”
“Hmm... So we can’t even kill one?”
One of the demons curled his lips into a twisted grin and licked them greedily.
“I wonder what the blood of a fledgling who hasn’t even graduated yet would taste like...”
“You’re hopeless... Haa.”
Hectar shook his head, exasperated.
‘Come to think of it, we haven’t been able to release our urges properly due to all the war prep lately.’
The demonic stigma brands its bearer with an uncontrollable urge to kill.
Just as a vampire would wither away without blood, demons too lose their sanity and go berserk if they don't regularly indulge in slaughter.
So maybe it was time to release a little tension.
“But these are Amon’s orders. Capture them alive.”
“Ugh...”
At the mention of Amon, the demons flinched and shrank back.
“Well, once the war starts, you can kill to your heart’s content. So just hold off a little longer.”
“Understood.”
The demons lowered their heads again, eyes gleaming with anticipation at the upcoming war.
“Then let’s move o—”
“Ah, Lord Hectar. Amon sent a message.”
“A message?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What is it?”
“He said to be wary of one particular candidate.”
“...Be wary of a candidate?”
Hah.
Hectar let out a hollow laugh, looking incredulous.
He knew well enough that sometimes a candidate could be stronger than even a current hero.
But still...
“Has he forgotten who we are?”
They were Apostles of Destruction.
Bearers of Amon’s flame, wielding power far beyond that of ordinary demons.
Why would a tiger fear a barking pup?
“I... don’t know why he gave such a warning either. But he specifically said to be careful of the ‘gray-haired candidate.’”
“Hmph. Understood.”
At the mention of Amon’s warning, Hectar reluctantly nodded.
Though his crimson eyes still showed no trace of tension.
“We move out.”
Fwoosh.
As Hectar took a step forward, black flames roared to life and wrapped around his body.
This outdoor training session was part of our party class.
We had done a few outdoor trainings back in our third year, but this time the location was different.
Not somewhere near the academy, but the most dangerous place on the continent—the southern jungle.
In other words—
The training ground this time was the “Demonic Realm.”
“Ugh... The southern jungle... really?”
“Isn’t this the Demonic Realm?”
“This is insane! How are we supposed to train in a place like this?!”
The candidates panicked upon realizing they were setting foot in the notorious Demonic Realm they'd only heard about in rumors.
The jungle, thick with sticky humidity and eerie darkness, exuded fear even from a distance.
Of course—
“Haven’t been to the Demonic Realm in a while.”
“Yuren, you’ve been here before?”
“Yeah. Didn’t go too deep, though.”
“Lady Saint, please stay close to me.”
“Oh my, are you scared, Camilla?”
“Wh-what?! N-no! It’s just... I-I’m protecting you, of course!”
That kind of panic only applied to the average candidates.
My party, on the other hand, was surveying the area as calmly as if we were just out for a stroll—Camilla being the only exception.
“...Everyone seems pretty relaxed.”
“You don’t look too nervous yourself, though?”
I glanced back at Maurice, who was walking a bit behind us.
Maurice smirked and shrugged.
“Well, I’ve been to the Demonic Realm plenty of times.”
“...You’ve been here often?”
“Yup. I used to help my dad with work during vacations. We’d take on requests in the Demonic Realm. Paid pretty well, too. The rates are high for this place.”
“But you don’t even have an official hero license. How did you accept requests?”
“Oh, that... I, uh, kinda pulled some strings through my dad.”
Ahem.
Maurice coughed awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.
I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him.
‘There’s no way Khalid Han would send his son into the Demonic Realm without a second thought, especially without a license.’
It must mean that Khalid Han believed Maurice had the skills to survive even here.
‘Recognized by the master himself.’
Now I was genuinely curious about Maurice’s true strength.
‘Maybe I’ll get to see it this time.’
As I glanced around the Demonic Realm, lost in thought—
“Alright, everyone ready to head into the jungle?”
Professor Lucas turned to the terrified candidates and asked.
“A-are we seriously going in?!”
“What, you thought we came all this way just to sightsee?”
“B-but...!”
“This is the Demonic Realm! Even active heroes avoid coming here because of how dangerous it is!”
“Oh?”
Professor Lucas chuckled coldly.
“So you don’t want to go in because it’s dangerous? How very heroic of you.”
“......”
“Remember this. Fear comes from the unknown. If you avoid something just because it’s scary or dangerous, you’ll never be able to set foot in the Demonic Realm again.”
“Then... then can’t we just never come here again for the rest of our lives?”
Tsk.
“Do you even know what lies beyond this jungle?”
“...The city of demons.”
"That's right. There's Gehenna City."
Professor Lucas nodded as he continued speaking.
"Now place your hand on your chest and think carefully. The so-called heroes — not only do they not try to eliminate the demon stronghold beyond the Demon Realm, they can’t even set foot in it."
“......”
"Do you really think such people deserve to be called 'heroes'?"
The faces of the cadets, which had been filled with fear, now flushed with a burning intensity.
Just as Professor Lucas had said.
Who would dare call someone a hero if they’re too scared to even step foot in the Demon Realm?
“...Understood.”
“Hell, let’s give it a shot!”
“Whew, whew. I can do this. I can do this!”
The cadets stared into the Demon Realm with nervous determination.
Watching them, Professor Lucas let out a quiet chuckle to himself.
‘In truth, this place can’t even really be called the Demon Realm.’
The place he’d brought the cadets to was just the entrance — the outermost edge of the Demon Realm.
Going any deeper would significantly increase the chances of encountering powerful demonic beasts or demons, but up to this point, it wasn’t all that different from a wooded hill near the school.
‘Still, it should help them overcome their fear of the Demon Realm to some extent.’
Fear always stems from the unknown.
Even if it’s just a taste, experiencing this area would help ease the fear the next time they had to come back.
"Exploration time is six hours. Whether you hunt monsters, search for ruins, or just take a walk, you can act freely by party."
However—
"Do not go beyond the designated area."
"Uh... How do we know where the danger zone begins?"
"If your Hero Watch starts beeping, that means you’re entering a danger zone. Turn back immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
"And any party that manages to hunt a demonic beast during class will receive extra credit, so if you need the grades, focus on hunting."
“Ooooh!”
Who doesn’t need extra credit?
At the mention of it, the cadets’ eyes lit up as they began to head into the Demon Realm.
Parties started scattering one by one.
“Guess we should get moving too?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go, Dale.”
Our party entered the Demon Realm as well.
“Maurice, you’re a mage-type, right?”
“Yeah. I specialize in plant magic, so I should be pretty useful in a jungle like this.”
“Alright then, Yuren and I will take the front.”
“I’ll support from the rear.”
“Thanks.”
Realistically, at our current level, there was no real need to organize our formation so carefully.
‘Well, it's all good experience anyway.’
With our formation in place, we began our proper exploration of the Demon Realm.
‘I want to get a sense of Maurice’s actual combat ability during this.’
The problem was, there weren’t any monsters strong enough in this outer area to truly test his skills.
‘We’d need at least something around Grade-8 level.’
To find something like that, we’d have to venture into the danger zone.
Beep, beep!
“Ah, looks like this is the edge of the danger zone.”
“Should we head back?”
We’d been walking deeper into the Demon Realm when the Hero Watch began to beep.
‘If we go any further, we won’t be getting extra credit—we might get punished instead.’
I was about to give up on evaluating Maurice’s real skills... when—
“Hm?”
I sensed a wave of demonic energy from beyond the danger zone.
‘This pressure... That’s at least Grade-10 or higher.’
And there were three of them.
The perfect number for testing someone’s ability.
“Everyone, wait here a moment.”
“Dale?”
I left my party behind and stepped carefully up to the edge of the danger zone.
And then—
Slash!
I raised my sword and severed my left arm at the elbow.
Blood gushed like a fountain from the open wound.
‘Demonic beasts are sensitive to the smell of human blood.’
As expected.
I could feel the aura I’d sensed earlier approaching rapidly.
‘That’s right.’
Turning my head toward the direction of the approaching presence, I kept letting my blood flow freely.
After ten seconds or so—
Something emerged from the thick brush—
“There you are.”
“Haah... That sweet smell of blood...! Heh, Hectar, surely it’s fine if we kill just one of them?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it... That guy’s got gray hair, doesn’t he?”
Three figures in black hoods appeared.
‘...What the hell?’
Why the hell did demons show up instead of monsters?

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