The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

35 – EP3. The Falling Glory

Heaving, he spat out rough breaths.

“Hero?”

Looking around, the commander of the retreating soldiers appeared.

“…It’s nothing. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He didn’t wait for a response and quickly left his position. Next, he hid behind a tree, crouching.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”

He began to vomit, expelling what was inside while trembling and shedding tears.

“Dammit…”

He closed his eyes. The vivid sensation of being torn apart was still fresh in his mind.

Flesh being ripped, bones gnawed away, like that.

He struggled to steady his trembling body.

He didn’t want to die. And if he didn’t want to die, he had to move more cautiously. It was his mistake.

“Get up.”

He commanded himself. His still trembling body hadn’t calmed down yet. The sensation of torn flesh was vivid.

“I said get up.”

His body still didn’t listen to him. He said it one last time.

“Get up, you worthless piece of crap.”

Only then did his hunched body stand up.

“Damn it, you bastard.”

The enemies didn’t wait for him to be in pain or suffering. Rather than expending his mental energy feeling angry about the dying life, he chose to blame himself and stood up.

He erased his expression, adjusted his clothes, and began to walk with a smile towards those waiting for him.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just got a little dizzy for a moment.”

“Oh, okay.”

“So, is the plan to advance towards the plain still the same?”

Ainzell hesitated before nodding.

“Yes.”

He put on a determined expression.

“Lena, can you detect the enemy from here?”

“It’s not ideal, but… I can try.”

“Feria, enhance Lena’s sensory magic.”

Feria obediently applied sensory enhancement magic to Lena. It was common knowledge that archers had the keenest senses.

And then Lena perked up her ears and opened her eyes to speak.

“There are quite a lot of enemies, aren’t there? Except for one direction, it’s all blocked off.”

Angel sensed that the open direction was the one he needed to go. It was a massive escape route.

“Can you guide us towards the direction with the fewest enemies?”

“It’s possible, but there’s also a direction without enemies. Do we really need to choose a different path?”

Lena tilted her head, but Angel was determined to break through the encirclement.

“Yes, please.”

“Alright then.”

Once Lena agreed, Angel began to run in that direction.

And finally, the enemies started to become visible. The encirclement was still loose.

“Let’s break through quickly.”

He realized that he had been encircled due to his fear that he would be in trouble when facing the enemy. He would not make such a mistake again.

He and his soldiers quickly pushed through the scattered undead.

And after breaking through, they found no more undead. He knew he had broken through the enemy’s encirclement.

“Good! We’ve broken through the enemy’s encirclement! Keep running like this!”

They kept running without stopping, even while conserving their strength. And from behind, a massive number of undead appeared along with the Death Knights.

The ones who had formed the encirclement had given up and were now pursuing him.

Angel knew that in this situation, he would never be caught.

“All right, Beatrice! Give them a big one!”

The holy maiden also smiled and recited her prayer. A massive wave of flames swept through the undead, making countless of them disappear without a trace.

Feria also cast fireballs at the enemies. The undead began to burn, and the fallen ones obstructed the moving enemies.

Angel cheered. It would be over if they continued like this.

From Noble mtl dot com

The nearest Delau Fortress was only a few days away. It was a simple matter to run across the plains. He smiled to himself. Yes, he had died once, but so what?

And waiting for him was nothing but more despair.

The city walls had collapsed, and a giant blaze consumed everything, greedily devouring all in its path. The sky was thick with smoke, and crows feasted on the corpses.

Corpses everywhere. Corpses. Corpses.

“What in the world is this…”

With a helpless look, Angel gazed at the fallen fortress. What on earth had happened?

And as the corpses began to rise in a strange manner, he finally understood the dire situation that Delau Fortress was facing.

Delau Fortress was also occupied by Grandis in just one day.

With a sigh, Ainzel knelt. There was no hope in sight.

Should he run away again? It was futile. He had come running, using up almost all his energy, driven by just one glimmer of hope. In such a situation, should he run away again?

Just as he was sinking into despair, he felt a shiver running down his spine.

“Hmm? You’re the hero? You look more ordinary than I thought. I expected you to be a madman, or maybe a bulky muscle-bound brute.”

He felt fear at the voice coming from behind him.

Yes, he would die if he turned around. Despite knowing this, he turned his head to look back.

Floating in the air, a black woman with an alluring gaze looked at him. She had jet-black hair and black eyes that gleamed, wearing a dress that added an eerie quality to her beauty. However, such beauty served only to enhance the fear and strangeness.

Two horns rising from her forehead looked sharp enough to pierce the sky.

“…Grandis.”

He said her name. Just saying her name made his breath quicken.

“Yes, it’s me. And you… You’re the hero who supposedly killed the Genom in just one day?”

“…”

He didn’t open his mouth. No, he couldn’t. Even though he had faced death several times, he felt such intense fear for the first time.

“Open your mouth.”

Grandis said, smiling. But there was no mirth in her eyes.

“Sto-stop!”

Lena shouted. The others were overwhelmed by Grandis and couldn’t even open their mouths, but she barely managed to speak.

Psh, Grandis let out a laugh.

“Where is this barking coming from?”

Bang.

Just once, an explosion occurred. In the gale and dust, Ainzel collapsed. And when the dust cleared, the scene before his eyes was simply unbelievable.

They were gone.

All the countless soldiers, comrades, had vanished without a trace.

As Grandis reached out towards Ainzel, she spoke.

“Now that the obstacles have disappeared, shall we have a private conversation? I’m very curious about you. At first, I thought you would be trapped in the encirclement and die, but how did you manage to break through the encirclement? I’m intrigued.”

With a smile, Grandis reached for his clothes, but at that moment, a sphere of light flew towards her.

Grandis simply waved it away with a gesture.

“Do not touch the hero.”

It was Beatrice. Even while her body was bleeding, trembling uncontrollably, she did not lose her will and said:

“You’re my opponent.”

“Huh, survived that easily?”

A dark smile appeared on Grandis’ face.

“Fine, come at me.”

The sky turned pitch black.

“I don’t know how long I can hold on, but let’s see.”

It was over. Even the holy maiden had fallen victim to Grandis in the end.

Angel felt hollow.

And so, he laughed.

“hahahahaha!”

“Hey, why are you laughing here?”

Grandis said.

“hahahahaha! Hoho, hahahahaha!”

Laughing in this situation? It was only natural. When else would one laugh if not in moments like these? People who were filled with determination and zeal died at the mere gesture of a fragile-looking woman in front of them. Where else could there be a greater tragedy?

“Damn it.”

He stopped laughing and blurted out a curse. Grandis approached him without hesitation.

“I have quite a few questions for you. Can you answer them for me?”

Angel said.

“To hell with you, you bastard.”

Fear, anger – it took precedence.

“Well, you seem rather desperate. To the person who chased you all the way here just by looking at you.”

“…What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special. It’s just that if you had escaped the encirclement without being noticed from the beginning, it wouldn’t be so surprising. But to be caught within the encirclement and still find a way to escape, that’s quite impressive. Especially when you have such a straightforward plan of heading directly to the nearest castle, it doesn’t really scream strategic genius, does it? Hmm?”

“That, does that mean… the reason you suddenly attacked this place…”

“Just because I saw you coming this way and wanted to greet you first.”

Angel felt like throwing up.

“So, about the answer to my question?”

Angel stiffened his expression and said.

“I won’t tell you, you bastard.”

Grandeis nodded.

“Well, what can I say? Are you angry because you killed all your companions? It’s possible. Well… since you’re not likely to satisfy my curiosity….”

She lifted him up. Then, she slowly began to rise higher into the air.

Having ascended to such heights, she spoke.

“I’ve been thinking, you know. What would happen if I fell from this height? Would I writhe in agony before dying, or would it all end with a single blow before that?”

Angel sensed what she intended to do.

“If you’re going to throw me, do it quickly.”

Grandeis chuckled.

“Hmm, you’re really amusing, aren’t you? Alright. Since you asked so nicely, I’ll throw you too.”

She released him. He plummeted from the sky.

His brain, organs, his entire body burst open. His head separated from his body, and even his neck broke.

Dying, Angel heard her final words.

“Writhing in agony until the end.”

That was the end.