The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
“Ah, ugh...”
From the mouth of Hectar—no, of the being who could no longer be called ‘Hectar’—came a groan, slow and hollow, as black flames engulfed him.
Contrary to the fierce, blazing fire, the light in his eyes had faded, like a candle snuffed out—empty and void.
His soul, and even his body, had been completely devoured by Amon.
‘It’s not the real body.’
The memory of the avatar of Amon that I had seen recently in the Abyss with Professor Elisha flashed through my mind.
The only difference this time was...
This avatar was still very much alive.
“D-Dale!”
Perhaps sensing that something was very wrong, Yuren rushed toward me with a frantic expression.
“Don’t come.”
I raised my hand to stop him.
“B-But...”
“Take the other party members and fall back.”
Even if this was just an avatar and not Amon's true form...
The opponent was ranked first among archbishops, the most powerful of all demons.
‘And that flame...’
Professor Elisha’s words echoed in my mind.
—The residual power inside Amon’s avatar... and the flame within you, Dale, are strikingly similar.
I didn’t know the reason why.
But it was said that Amon possessed a power akin to the Primordial Flame that I carried.
‘If that’s true, it’s way too dangerous to have the others nearby.’
Even if it was only an avatar.
There was no telling how strong it truly was.
It was better to fight alone.
If it’s just me, even if I die—it’s fine.
“Dale...”
Had he sensed what I was thinking?
Yuren trailed off, his expression clouded with sorrow.
“Also, I have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor?”
“Just earlier, those guys... the moment they saw me, they said, ‘There you are,’ remember?”
They didn’t seem like they were specifically looking for me, so they were probably targeting the cadets who had entered the Demon Realm.
‘I don’t know how the hell they got intel on our academy’s curriculum, but...’
Anyway.
If their goal was the cadets...
“The demons roaming this place aren’t just those guys.”
“Which means...”
Yuren’s face hardened.
Our party members were well beyond the level of an average cadet, so taking down demons wasn’t that hard for us.
But the other cadets?
It was a whole different story.
They probably couldn’t even put up a fight—they’d freeze in terror.
“Damn it!”
Yuren turned his head, frantically scanning the surroundings.
He tried expanding his mana-sense to locate the cadets nearby, but the Demon Realm was too vast, and the cadet parties were scattered far and wide.
‘If only Professor Elisha were here right now...!’
As he bit his lip in frustration—
“If it’s the cadets you’re looking for, leave it to me!”
Maurice stepped forward and began chanting an incantation.
Sarak, sararak...
As his chant continued, the surrounding trees and bushes began to tremble, rustling noisily.
“Ugh...”
Perhaps from using too much mana at once, Maurice’s face twisted in pain and his body trembled.
“Just... a little... more... please...”
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
His breath grew ragged, soaking his clothes with sweat.
And then—
“...I found them!”
With a shout of triumph, several vines slithered across the ground like living snakes.
“This is...”
“If you follow these vines, you’ll reach where the others are! The thick ones lead to those nearby! The thin ones go farther, so start with the thick ones first!”
“Thank you.”
Yuren grasped the thickest vine and nodded.
“There’s no time. Everyone, spread out! Iris, go get Professor Lucas!”
“Y-Yeah! Got it!”
Following Yuren’s command, the party members quickly dispersed in different directions.
‘Alright, I’ll leave that side to them.’
I turned back to the figure engulfed in black flames—Hectar, no... Amon’s avatar.
“Ignite.”
Whooosh!
Ashen flames roared to life, wrapping around my body.
“T-That fire...?”
Huh?
So this bastard can talk after all?
“I-I see... Y-You... you’re... the h-heir of d-destruction... the one... he spoke of...”
“......”
Heir of Destruction.
Come to think of it, Melina mentioned that term before too.
“I don’t know who keeps calling me this ‘heir’ nonsense.”
Whooshhh!
I raised my ash-wrapped sword and stepped toward Amon’s avatar.
“But I’m not interested in being your so-called heir.”
“......”
The avatar’s movements halted.
“I... I see...”
“What the hell do you ‘see,’ you bastard.”
“You... don’t... even... know what... destruction... is...”
“Do I need to?”
Destruction, legacy, destiny—whatever.
There was only one thing I needed to do right now.
“Quit flapping your mouth and come at me. I don’t have time to waste.”
I flicked my sword upward, fanning the ash flames higher.
“Impudent...”
Amon’s black flames writhed violently.
“How... dare... a mere heir... defy... his master...”
From the sound of it, he really thought he was the master and I was some heir of his or something.
“Bullshit.”
Who the hell told you I was your heir?
BOOM!
With a powerful stomp, I launched myself at Amon’s avatar.
Whoooosh!
Ashen flames surged upward.
Black fire clashed with grey ash.
RUMBLE! KA-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!!
The ground split, the earth twisted and trembled.
Trees were uprooted like pebbles and flung through the air, while the dense forest disintegrated into ash.
A spectacle of destruction clashed with destruction.
The demon realm screamed at the clash of transcendents far beyond human comprehension.
“Guh...!”
In the evenly matched battle, the first to be pushed back... was me.
A searing pain spread through my entire body.
The heat of the black flames scorched my flesh as if they were melting my very soul.
‘He’s strong.’
This power was on a completely different level from the small fry I fought just moments ago.
Now I could fully understand why Amon held the top rank among the Archbishops.
‘If just his clone is this powerful...’
How powerful must his true body be?
Then again—
Now that I think about it, even in my past life, there had never been a hero who defeated Amon.
He single-handedly repelled the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms, descended alone into the deepest part of the Abyss, and resurrected the Demon God.
‘Though, he was eventually devoured and killed by the Demon God.’
Still—
In the end, no one could claim to have defeated Amon.
“Is this... the end?”
Amon’s clone twisted his lips into a mocking sneer.
“Disappointing.”
“Oh, come on. Weren’t you all hyped about me being the heir of destruction? And now you’re disappointed?”
Of course.
I hadn’t gone all out yet.
I hadn’t used the Blessing of Revival, or entered the state of ‘Avatar.’
The power I’d used so far in this fight against Amon was only the Primordial Flame.
I had purposely avoided using the power of the Tree of Creation.
‘After all, this is just a clone.’
As long as Amon’s true body remained, I couldn’t afford to play all my cards.
‘The question is whether I can defeat him without using the Tree of Creation’s power.’
Well—
I had a plan for that.
“All right then. I better put on a good show so I don’t disappoint the great Lord Amon!”
With a ferocious grin, I charged toward Amon’s clone.
Fwoooosh!
Flames clashed and spiraled.
The black fire wrapped around my body, and a numbing, excruciating pain consumed me.
“Is this... the method you’ve chosen?”
Amon let out a dry chuckle as he watched me press forward through the raging black flames.
“Do you think a human can endure... the pain of Corruption?”
The black flame he wielded—Corruption—didn’t just burn the body.
It incinerated the soul.
And the pain of one’s soul being scorched...
...was a suffering so extreme, no words could possibly describe it.
Humans scream just from touching candlelight.
No matter how strong-willed a hero may be, no one could endure the agony that Corruption inflicted.
Ssssss...!
The black flame charred my flesh.
My skin blistered and peeled, foul smoke rising from it.
Overwhelming.
A tsunami of pain swept over my entire being.
“Give up.”
Amon murmured a warning as he watched me push through the heat of Corruption.
He, who understood the torment of Corruption better than anyone, knew:
No human could possibly endure this pain—
“Heh.”
Through the burning and blistering, I twisted my lips into a grin.
One step.
I advanced toward Amon’s clone.
‘As expected.’
From the start of the battle, Amon’s clone had barely moved.
‘No, to be precise... he couldn’t move.’
Like a puppet on strings, no matter how lifelike it appears, it’s still limited.
If Amon was controlling his clone from afar, fine movements wouldn’t be easy to reproduce.
In other words—
If I can just break through these black flames, taking down the clone won’t be hard.
And then—
“Is it over already?”
Enduring pain, for me... was never that difficult.
“W-what...?”
“How disappointing.”
Fwoooosh!
I burst through the black flames, ash flaring around me.
I swung my sword violently toward Amon’s clone.
Thwack!
My blade pierced straight through his heart.
The embers clinging to the sword scorched the stigma carved into his chest.
And then—
“Ah...”
Thud.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Amon’s body collapsed.
“H-how... did you endure the pain...?”
“I’m used to it.”
With a body charred and falling apart, I let out a raspy, wheezing laugh.
“Ha.”
Amon gave a dumbfounded chuckle.
“Impressive...”
“Oh? But weren’t you disappointed just a minute ago?”
“......”
Ssshhk... ssshhk...
The stigma vanished, and Amon’s body began turning into black ash, scattering into the air.
“Remember this, descendant...”
“Soon... you shall face me—face destruction once again.”
“This time... it won’t be so easy—”
CRACK!
I stomped on Amon’s head with a savage grin.
“You’ve got it all wrong.”
“Ah...”
“It’s not me who’ll face you...”
“You’ll be the one facing me.”
Yeah.
Destruction will meet me—Dale Han.
And when that day comes—
“You’ll see what it looks like when Destruction... gets destroyed.”
CRACK.
Twisting my foot hard, I turned my back.
The scattering black ashes were carried off by the wind.

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