Ch.4949. Hero (3)

‘What makes you fight so hard?’

At first, it was truly just about my own survival. I thought I’d die if I ran away, and fighting the Calamity was my only path to survival. Looking back now, perhaps abandoning the mission and running would have given me better odds of survival than fighting the Calamity. Since the hero in the original story didn’t flee, I picked up the sword and devised ways to survive.

I found and recruited Daphne Ephiphone.

I earned George Gunther’s recognition even while arguing with him.

I met Marianne Prim unintentionally.

I began hearing the Holy Sword’s voice and learned much.

Before coming to the north, I met countless people in passing, and after arriving at Evernode, I met even more. They weren’t just characters on a page. The fear I experienced while fighting wasn’t false fear, and the wounds from training caused real pain. At some point, I’d forgotten that I was an outsider who didn’t belong in this world.

Click.

I opened the wooden box. A crown of thorns appeared. I looked up at Marianne sitting across from me and said:

“You’ve seen me wearing this regularly, so you know it probably won’t be easy to succeed.”

Marianne nodded. To my eyes, her head bobbed like a wooden puppet’s. She was uncharacteristically anxious. No, what am I saying? Wouldn’t it be strange not to be anxious in this situation? I’ve made an unfair request.

“If I fail to overcome the trial, I’ll lose consciousness and collapse. If that happens, wake me up somehow and take me to Isis.”

An unpleasant scenario to consider. I frowned as I picked up the crown of thorns. No time to hesitate. I placed the crown directly on my head. As always, magical power flowed from the crown into my head. I felt the crown’s mana circulating through my body and began carefully rotating my heart’s mana to resonate with it. Time passes very slowly during the trial. Remembering this, I closed my eyes.

Crackle.

My vision within my closed eyes darkened again as the trial began. The darkened view seemed to brighten momentarily before plunging me into pitch-black darkness. With a dizzying sensation of floating, my consciousness in the mental world began falling into an endless abyss. I kept my eyes wide open to avoid losing consciousness. My body in the mental world felt more vivid than usual. After falling for what seemed like forever, I suddenly found myself standing at the bottom of the darkness.

“…Where is this?”

I tried to move my body. My limbs and torso were restrained as if someone were strongly pulling me from behind, making it impossible to move forward. I frowned and struggled, but could only manage the slightest movements. What kind of trial is this supposed to be? Time is running out. As I tried to put more strength into escaping, a voice began to reach my ears.

“That is the approximate weight of the salvation you wish to bear.”

The voice sounded like both a man’s and a woman’s. I raised my head and looked around for the source of the voice, but saw nothing. Only endless pitch-black darkness stretched out before me.

“And ahead lies the path you wish to walk.”

I can’t see anything. Is there even a path? A visible path of thorns would be better than this.

“Will you still bear that weight and walk forward?”

I gritted my teeth. I hadn’t come here to have my resolve tested. If there’s weight to bear, I’ll bear it, and if I need to walk, I’ll walk. But if doing so allows me to gain the power of this holy relic, if it allows me to protect people…

“Yes. There’s no law saying I can’t walk forward.”

I spat out those words and began to move my body. My body, which had only been twitching before, became much heavier when I tried to move forward, refusing to obey properly. It felt like my limbs would break if I forced them.

“Damn… it…”

I can’t move. My limbs were fixed in place as if nailed down, not even twitching anymore. I flailed my limbs in the air like an overturned beetle. Or rather, I tried to flail them.

“I don’t think you’re taking this lightly. The weight of salvation is never light.”

The voice was infuriating. The words “shut up” swirled in my mouth, constantly trying to escape. This… this kind of weight. I twisted my body violently. My body still wouldn’t move.

“I’ll ask again. Do you still intend to bear this weight and walk forward?”

“Yes.”

No time for a lengthy answer. I squeezed out a response to the voice and tried to move my legs first. Crack, crack. It was my body breaking. I stopped before I could even properly extend my body. Meanwhile, beyond stopping, my body began to be dragged backward.

“Salvation will eventually drag you down with it and plunge you into the depths below.”

I looked behind me. The same darkness stretched out, but I had the feeling that I shouldn’t fall beyond that point. I would merge with the mass pulling at my back, never to return, falling eternally into the darkness. And then I’d return to reality, declaring my failure with a miserable feeling.

“Then you will never be able to climb back up. You will become one with those hands in the darkness and begin falling into a bottomless pit.”

Crack. I strained with all my might to hold my body as it was being dragged away. But my body was helplessly being pulled backward. Powerlessly, incompetently.

“The precipice is just one step behind you, hero.”

“This is ridiculous…”

It felt like my body would shatter if I tried to resist. Like I would break into pieces and disappear into that void. But I held on. Whether I shattered here while resisting or fell with them without resisting, it was the same. A chilling wind blew from behind me. I pulled my body forward with bloodshot eyes.

“You could be freed from these restraints. You certainly have enough power for that. Even so, I am willing to give you a portion of my power.”

“A portion is meaningless. I need the power to cut off that giant’s head, the power to save people.”

Thud. Thud. My heels touched the edge of the precipice. With a broken voice, I desperately answered the voice as if speaking to myself.

“Because I promised to save them.”

‘Will you promise…?’

I looked down at my right hand. I remembered the small hand that had hooked onto my pinky finger. That weight, that warmth, the tears wiped away by my thumb, and the voice that stopped crying—these were things I hadn’t known before. Things that couldn’t be read from text. I recalled the Evernode soldiers laughing and chattering boisterously, and the people walking the streets during the Solstice Festival. They weren’t just characters, and I, wielding the Holy Sword, was no longer a reader. I couldn’t remain a bystander.

And then, one question pierced through my mind.

When there are those who try to save others despite lacking the ability, why do those who actually have the ability to save others not try to do so? It was the same in that damned world of text, and the same in the world outside of text.

“I don’t abandon people.”

Call it hypocrisy if you like. I don’t mind if no one understands. Call it self-satisfaction or arrogance if you want. Even if someone who accidentally fell into a novel accidentally grabbed the Holy Sword. If I could save them by wanting to, then there was no reason not to.

“I will not abandon those who need salvation.”

Is that the salvation you desire?

Someone asked in my mind. I nodded and answered.

Yes.

Creak, creak. My body stopped being dragged away. I stood at the edge of the cliff, catching my breath. My body was no longer being pulled back. However, I could still feel the weight attached to me.

“Is that your choice?”

“I’ll gladly bear it. Even if I was given this burden unwillingly.”

I said that and adjusted my posture. I could move my body a little.

“Then show me.”

“If that will grant me your power.”

Very slowly, my right foot began to move forward. Sweating profusely, I took a step. Just one step. Not even moving forward, just retracing the path I’d been dragged along.

“Let’s go.”

Bending my body forward felt like my waist would be torn apart. I forcibly pulled my body, shifting my upper body’s center of gravity. If my left foot could come forward, I would have taken one step.

“Good.”

The other leg didn’t naturally follow. It’s tearing. Captured by that thing, my body is breaking into pieces. No, it’s not tearing. It’s not breaking. Only I think it is. I gritted my teeth and moved my remaining leg. Crack, crack. It’s fine if it breaks. If I can take one step forward. If we can move away from that pit together.

I am walking.

“There may be no light ahead.”

The voice said.

“As long as I don’t fall, I can keep searching for light.”

“The light might be an illusion. Mere false hope.”

“We won’t know until we find it. And what’s important is…”

If we search for light, we’ll gradually move away from that abyss.

“Then we’ll worry about finding light, not about falling into the pit. We’ll be looking toward hope, not worrying about despair.”

By then, the hands gripping my back will also be liberated, each finding their own light and disappearing.

“That’s when my salvation will be complete.”

“Even if others wander in that darkness?”

“Wandering and despairing is better than disappearing without even having the chance to wander or despair.”

I said that as I took another step forward.

“Right?”

“[You are not wrong.]”

The Holy Sword’s voice seemed to come from somewhere. Strength entered my hand.

“[Move forward.]”

The scene before my eyes began to crack. Light leaked through the cracks in the darkness. I took another step. And I reached my hand into the crack. Like ice cracking, the fissures spread throughout the darkness, then suddenly—crash—it began to collapse.

“Well done, hero.”

A faint voice reached me.

“I will help you.”

.

I opened my eyes. I was breathing heavily. Marianne’s face appeared before me. She was supporting my face with both hands. I grasped her hands and nodded. Marianne, her hands trembling slightly, removed them from my face.

“…Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

The prickling sensation of thorns on my head had disappeared. My body felt lighter than ever before. I felt like I could do anything right now. Looking down at the floor, I saw the crown had shattered, becoming dried branches rolling on the ground.

“[Congratulations.]”

At the Holy Sword’s words, I looked at the mirror in the corner of the bedroom. A glowing ring resembling the crown of thorns was floating above my head.

“Did I succeed?”

I clenched and unclenched my fist, then looked at the clock. Only 30 minutes had passed since I began the trial. Yet it felt like I’d spent dozens of hours in that mental world. I gently gripped the sword’s hilt. The feeling was different from usual. It was as if I’d grown closer to the Holy Sword.

“[You’ve succeeded.]”

I slowly nodded and quickly composed myself. The stirring of mana in my heart was completely different from before. Now, I can go save him. I turned my head toward Marianne, who had risen from her seat. Marianne approached me with wavering eyes and grabbed my sleeve.

“Thank you for your help.”

Marianne’s grip tightened slightly. She seemed to have something she wanted to say but couldn’t find the words. I gently held her hand. Marianne bit her lip hard. Then, as if giving up, she exhaled softly and her lips trembled.

“I’ll be back.”

“Come… back safely.”

I went down the stairs. Isis and Serin were already waiting on the first floor of our lodging. Isis saw me and opened her eyes wide in surprise, then smiled with a mixture of amazement and joy.

“You’ve changed. You’ve become unrecognizably stronger.”

“The rescue team?”

Isis nodded slightly. Led by Serin, Evernode’s finest knights were looking at me.

“My party and I will protect the castle. So please don’t worry and rescue the Grand Duke, hero.”

I nodded and mounted my horse. The horse greeted me more calmly than usual. The rescue team and I stood before the castle gate. The sun was setting.

“Open the gate!!”

The bars rose.

I drew the Holy Sword, and my horse galloped forward on its own.

A wave of monsters surged toward us as if they had been waiting. I swung the Holy Sword. Amidst the scattered fragments of monsters, I gazed at the pure white curtain of the boundary line. And finally, I declared the one resolution I had made in my heart.

A hero is one who saves people.

From now on, I will become a hero.