The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 24 - So It Was You? (5)

Sun Sword.

A sword technique created by Reynald Helios, the leader of the "Five Great Heroes" who sealed the Demon God 500 years ago.

The Sun Sword consists of a total of nine "forms," with each subsequent form exponentially increasing in difficulty and power.

Yuren said that even Reynald Helios, who created the sword technique, could only conceptualize the ninth form but never fully mastered it.

Anyway.

Although it is a sword technique, this Sun Sword only takes on the typical "swordsmanship" form up to the fourth of the nine forms.

An upward slash, a downward slash, a horizontal slash, and a thrust.

These four forms are created by honing these basic movements to their extreme.

From the fifth form onward, the sword technique transcends the realm of swordsmanship… It becomes something closer to magic or a miracle.

Normally, I can only use up to the fourth form with my mana.

Originally, the sword techniques beyond the fifth form were techniques I couldn't perform with my mana.

But.

Now that I've taken the Stigma amplifier.

I can reach a realm normally beyond my grasp for just five minutes.

"Ugh… My, my eyes!"

"What, what's this light?"

The demons squinted their eyes at the blinding white light emanating from the sword.

Without giving them time to adjust to the intense light,

Slash! Slash! Slash!

With a chilling sound, the heads of three demons were separated from their bodies.

"This is…!"

[TL/N: This chapter had 3rd Person POV for some reason.]

It wasn't that Dale moved and swung his sword to behead them.

The white light pouring out from the sword.

The bodies of the demons touched by that light split open as if a sword had slashed them.

"It's light! Avoid the light!"

One of the demons shouted urgently and threw himself out of the path of the white light pouring from the sword.

Slash!

But with a slight movement of the sword tip, the demon's upper and lower halves were split in two.

A strike that ignored distance.

The bodies of the demons touched by the light from the sword fell one by one, spraying blood.

"You idiots! Don't dodge half-heartedly, rush him all at once and kill him! He's alone!"

Calyx roared ferociously at his subordinates.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Surround him!"

"Haaah!"

At his roar, the demons drew their weapons and charged at Dale.

Slash! Slash!

Even as they charged, two more demons were split in half by the light, but the other demons who hadn't been directly hit by the light managed to close the distance to Dale.

"Die, you bastard!"

A demon who had closed the gap thrust a spear charged with demonic energy.

It seemed like Dale, who had just swung his sword, wouldn't be able to block the spear aimed at his vital spot.

"Heh."

But Dale's lips curled up, revealing his white teeth.

He stepped lightly, twisting his body slightly, and caught the thrusting spear between his armpits.

A movement close to acrobatics, where even the slightest mistake could have resulted in his heart being pierced.

Even a hero with extensive combat experience would have shown a moment of hesitation in such a life-threatening move.

"You crazy…!"

But Dale showed no such hesitation.

That's right.

As if he had multiple lives.

"Guh!"

Crack!

Dale yanked the spear trapped under his arm and twisted the demon's neck with his bare hands.

"Eek!"

A demon who had been charging with his weapon let out a terrified whimper as he saw his comrade's neck snapped right in front of him.

"Why are you freaking out over this?"

Dale threw the demon's body, which had its neck twisted at a grotesque angle, to the ground and licked his lips as if savoring the taste.

"It's only been a minute."

Dale then lunged at the surrounding demons like a beast.

"Guh, gah!"

"Aaaah!"

"S-Spare me… Urk!"

Against the demons attacking from a distance, Dale swung his sword, shooting out the white light, while he used martial arts to take down the ones approaching up close.

He maneuvered to keep the walls and pillars at his back, preventing the formation of a complete encirclement, and suddenly charged, causing the demons who had been rushing in to collide with each other.

What was happening could be better described as a "massacre" than a "battle."

The number of demons, originally around thirty, had been halved in less than three minutes.

"S-Sir Priest!"

The remaining demons, helplessly overwhelmed, turned their gaze to Calyx.

"You useless fools…!"

Calyx ground his teeth as he shouted at his subordinates.

What the hell is that guy?

How is that even remotely a "candidate"?

No, fine.

Let's say that a candidate could be as strong, or even stronger, than an active hero.

After all, there were rumors that Yuren Helios, who had been ranked first in the comprehensive candidate evaluations for three years, was much stronger than most professors.

But.

To handle the combined assault of thirty demons without retreating an inch, to respond with such dexterity and mercilessness…

This isn't a candidate, but….

You'd only see that in a retired hero who had spent decades on the battlefield.

"Damn it!"

Calyx bit his lip in frustration.

Although he hadn't directly joined the battle yet, just watching Dale's… no, this massacre, was enough to tell.

I can't win.

Even though he was a "priest" among the demons, there was no way he could win against a monster who could slaughter fifteen demons in less than three minutes.

But if I run away now, he won't let me off.

The thought of the archbishop's wrath sent a chill down his spine.

He pulled out a wand embedded with a fist-sized mana stone and aimed it at Dale.

If I'm going to die either way!

Dark energy radiated from the Stigma on his left chest, and dozens of demonic spikes floated around him.

"Haaa!"

Shoo-shoo-shoo-shoo!

The demonic spikes shot out with terrifying force.

A demon who couldn't dodge in time was impaled by the spikes and screamed, but Calyx didn't let up on his attack.

"Pathetic effort."

Dale clicked his tongue in disdain as he watched the spikes raining down on him from all directions.

Instead of evading, he threw himself into the path of the demonic spikes, stomping hard on the ground.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Berald’s Martial Arts.

Earth Tremor.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The entire hideout shook as if an earthquake had hit.

The shattered ground shot up rotten wooden planks and dirt, forming a shield that blocked the barrage of demonic spikes.

"Grr!"

As Calyx frowned at the dust rising up in the air,

Slash!

Swoosh!

A brilliant white light cut through the dust, grazing the arm of Calyx, who held a wand.

Flesh tore apart, and blood poured out.

The excruciating pain surged through his entire body.

"Ugh!"

Calyx gritted his teeth and clutched his half-severed arm with his hand.

The agonizing groan that escaped his lips was brief.

With his sharp gaze fixed on Dale, Calyx gripped the wand with his other hand.

‘A battle of strength is pointless.’

No matter how many magical spikes he unleashed, whether dozens or hundreds, he doubted he could subdue that monster.

‘In that case...’

Calyx took a deep breath and wrapped his hand around the fist-sized mana stone at the head of the wand.

Bzzzzz!

The power emanating from the mana stone resonated with the dark energy, spreading out.

Crack, crackle!

Cracks began to form on the mana stone attached to the end of the wand until it crumbled into dust.

“Come forth, the power of the Illusion!”

The spell, offered through the sacrifice of the mana stone, was a magic of his master, the High Priest Astaroth.

It was a terrifying spell that trapped the target in an illusory world known as the ‘Illusion’ and shattered their mind.

“Grrr...!”

As Calyx used a spell beyond his level, blood began to trickle from his eyes and nose.

For a mere priest, not even a bishop, using the High Priest's magic was an act that risked his life, but now was not the time to be concerned about such things.

“Perish within the Illusion!”

As the wand disintegrated, a black aura enveloped Dale.

Dale, who had been rampaging like a wolf among sheep, suddenly froze.

“Heh... See, no matter how much you struggle, there’s no way you could resist His magic.”

No matter how powerful one's strength, it was useless if their mind was broken.

As he watched Dale standing still, Calyx smirked sinisterly.

“Kill him quickly before he regains consciousness...!”

Just as he barked orders at his subordinates, a cold sensation pierced his abdomen.

“Urk.”

A stifled groan escaped along with the excruciating pain that made it hard to breathe.

As he turned his head, he saw Dale, who had been immobilized by the ‘Illusion,’ standing right before him.

“How... How?”

What method had he used to break free from the ‘Illusion’?

Calyx’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Looks like that doesn’t work on me,”

Dale said with a smirk as he looked at the shocked Calyx.

“Ugh... Urk, cough!”

Calyx clutched at the sword impaling his abdomen and slowly sank to the ground.

Bzzz!

The black aura that had been surrounding Dale's body returned to Calyx, as if seeking its rightful owner.

As the ‘Illusion’ broke, the remaining dark energy began to flow back to him.

Calyx's mind was connected to Dale's for that brief moment when the mental magic was undone.

This phenomenon, often referred to as ‘mental resonance’ among magicians, had occurred.

“...Ah.”

Calyx’s vision blurred.

His body, now linked to Dale’s mind, convulsed violently.

“What... is... this...?”

The entire world was burning.

The whole world was ablaze.

Everywhere he looked, no matter where he turned his gaze, it was all engulfed in—

‘Fire.’

A massive, all-consuming fire.

The flames, crimson like the tongues of a demon, greedily devoured the illusions he had painstakingly conjured in the ‘Illusion,’ roaring fiercely.

‘What is... this?’

Though he had experienced ‘mental resonance’ before, he had never witnessed a scene like this.

‘What... is that?’

A figure caught his eye as Calyx surveyed the world consumed by flames.

Amid the raging fire, there was a black shape curled up.

‘What... is that?’

Could it hear his thoughts?

The black figure slowly raised its head.

And then...

From within the flames, a pair of green eyes locked onto him.

“...Ah.”

Calyx, with a sword still lodged in his abdomen, stumbled backward in fear.

“Ah... Ugh. Ahhh.”

Forgetting the sword impaled in his stomach, Calyx crawled on the ground, trying to escape from Dale.

“Aaaaaaahhhh!!”

Desperately, he crawled towards the hideout's entrance, trying to get as far away from Dale as possible.

The aftermath of his escape? The terror of High Priest Astaroth?

None of that remained in his mind.

“Run... Run... Quickly...!”

The only thing left in his mind was an overwhelming terror of that nameless candidate.

“What the hell is wrong with this bastard all of a sudden?”

The one who was taken aback by Calyx’s sudden behavior was, in fact, Dale.

As he watched Calyx flee, bleeding, Dale calmly approached and pressed his foot against Calyx’s throat.

“Urk.”

A stifled breath escaped from between Calyx's lips.

“Well, considering the magical restrictions, there’s nothing useful I could get out of you even if I asked...”

Clicking his tongue, Dale pressed down harder on Calyx’s throat.

“Just die.”

Crack!

Calyx’s neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

“P-Priest?”

“No way...”

The demons, shocked by the sight of Calyx dying without putting up much of a fight, exchanged nervous glances as they slowly backed away.

“Let’s see... I’ve got about a minute left?”

Checking the time on his Hero Watch, Dale grinned as he looked at the retreating demons.

“That’s enough time.”

Once again, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the dark hideout.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]