The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned - Chapter 59

The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned 59

59. Midterm Evaluation (4)

It’s already been 8 years since my brother died.

I think about it every day.

I regret it every time.

I wished I had died instead of my brother.

If only that had happened.

Then I wouldn’t have to live each day crushed by guilt.

But a wish is just a wish.

All I could do was to chew over the irretrievable days, carving my heart out.

I had to become stronger.

To a higher place.

To a more distant place.

Until I became the sun shining high in the sky.

Until I could replace the name ‘Yuren Helios.’

I couldn’t stop.

I couldn’t retreat.

Because this was… the ‘price’ for my sin.

Therefore.

Every day, I swung my sword until my palms bled.

Every time, I trained with the sword until I collapsed, vomiting.

No matter how painful, difficult, or agonizing it was.

I didn’t give up.

Did the heavens recognize my efforts?

My swordsmanship skills improved rapidly day by day.

With my growing skills, I dreamed of hope.

If I could become ‘Yuren Helios’ instead of ‘Yurina Helios.’

I believed my mother would love me again like she used to.

– Amazing! At the age of just 15, you have surpassed renowned heroes and won second place in the Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament. Truly, the skill befitting the descendant of the ‘Sword of the Sun’!

The fruits of my labor came after three years.

In a swordsmanship tournament where even active heroes participated, I, who hadn’t even entered the hero school yet, won second place.

With this, my mother would surely acknowledge me.

I returned to the mansion with excited steps.

Inside the spacious mansion’s room.

As I opened the door, filled with anticipation, my mother spoke in a cold, icy voice.

“Second place?”

“Yes! We lost by a narrow margin at the end, but still….”

“And you’re making a fuss over just second place?”

With eyes full of disappointment, Mother clicked her tongue.

“If it were Yuren, he would have won.”

Mother sighed with a wistful voice, stroking my brother’s photo.

“If only that child were still alive….”

At her murmuring, I flinched and my shoulders trembled.

Clenching my quivering fists, I bit my lip.

“I’m sorry….”

“No need to apologize. I never had any expectations of you from the start.”

“…….”

“As a member of the Helios family, what can you do when you don’t even bear the mark of the ‘Sun God’?”

Each word that flowed from Mother’s mouth was a sharp dagger that tore at my heart.

“If you’re done talking, leave.”

Bang.

The door slammed shut.

I collapsed in front of the firmly closed door, endlessly begging for forgiveness with a cracked voice.

I’m sorry.

I’ll do better next time.

I’ll try harder, harder, and harder.

I’ll be number one.

I won’t lose to anyone.

So, please, Mom.

Please… please accept me….

“Heeiiing!”

“Ugh…!”

My mind, lost in thought, was awakened by the monstrous roar.

I looked at the beast, the unicorn, charging towards me with excited snorts, and my eyes sparkled.

“This is my chance!”

Drawing my arm back as if pulling a bowstring, I focused my magic at the tip of my sword.

A golden light gathered at the sword’s tip.

The sixth form of the Solar Sword, White Light.

It was a technique that shot the condensed sword energy far away, the most difficult and powerful form of the Solar Sword that I could use at the moment.

Wooong!

The golden light at the sword’s tip tore through the air and shot forward at a terrifying speed.

Just as the golden light was about to pierce through the bell hanging from the unicorn’s neck.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Dale, who had been chasing the unicorn, deflected the golden sword energy.

Kaaang!

“Ugh…!”

Dale swallowed a groan as he was pushed back.

Was it because the magic contained within the golden sword energy was so overwhelming?

The impact was like striking a massive chunk of metal with a sword, tearing the flesh from his palm.

Dale looked down at his bleeding hand and clicked his tongue.

“That b*stard’s magic is ridiculously strong.”

Normally, he would have finely adjusted his magic to disperse the impact, but he had no time for that, having rushed over in such a hurry.

“Dale…!”

“I told you, it wouldn’t be easy.”

I wiped the blood flowing from my palm roughly on my pants and pointed my sword.

“Move, Dale.”

“And if I refuse?”

“…….”

Yuren glared at me fiercely, his lips tightly shut.

“If you refuse, then I have no choice.”

A golden storm of magic swirled around Yuren’s body.

Even from a considerable distance, the magic storm was powerful enough to make my skin tingle.

‘This seems even stronger than when we sparred.’

I had thought his magic was overwhelming back then, but I never imagined he could draw out even more.

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Yuren opened his mouth quietly, looking at me with a faint smile.

“I don’t care if you get hurt.”

Yuren stomped forward fiercely, swinging his sword.

Rumble! Crash!!

A thunderous roar, as if thunder itself was striking down.

Every time the sword, wrapped in golden aura, was swung, deep craters formed, shaking the ground as if an earthquake had occurred.

Trees, tens of meters tall, were uprooted and rolled on the ground, and rocks larger than a person were shattered into pebbles.

“Neigh!”

Even the unicorn, which had charged at Yuren with fierce snorts, hurriedly distanced itself from the spectacle of brute destruction, as if a giant from myth was rampaging.

Rumble! Bang! Boom!

Who would think that this was someone wielding a ‘sword’?

The surrounding land was overturned, and dust clouds rose thickly.

“Ugh!”

I used ‘Wind Step’ to dodge Yuren’s sword strikes, frowning.

‘I knew he had brute magical power from the start, but…’

There should be a limit to everything. At this level, it’s almost like he’s causing a natural disaster with a sword.

‘But something…’

I narrowed my eyes, dodging the golden sword energy pouring down from all directions.

‘He’s too impatient.’

The power is strong, but that’s all there is to it.

Yuren’s sword was filled with impatience, as if he were being chased by a ghost.

The elegance that once drew admiration had vanished without a trace, and the subtlety that cleverly exploited blind spots was buried under brute force.

‘Isn’t this actually easier to deal with?’

I didn’t know what was making Yuren so impatient, but…

Dealing with him now wasn’t that difficult.

“Huff, huff! Damn it!”

Was he annoyed by my appearance, dodging his attacks like a pesky fly?

Yuren panted heavily, spitting out rough curses.

“How long are you going to keep running away?!”

“Until you come to your senses.”

“…Are you saying I’m not in my right mind?”

“Anyone would think that if they saw you now.”

“That is….”

Yuren’s words trailed off as if struck to the core.

“…I can’t help it.”

Yuren muttered in a small voice, head bowed.

Yes.

There was no way to stay sane.

‘I can’t lose the first place.’

He bit his lip harder, gripping the sword hilt tighter.

It was the first time he had felt such anxiety during an exam.

Since entering the Hero School as the top student, being ‘first’ was a given for him.

There hadn’t been a single candidate who could compete for the top spot with him for the past two years.

But.

‘If it’s Dale….’

Twice a week.

Learning swordsmanship from Dale, he realized that Dale was not just excellent in ‘swordsmanship’.

An experience that didn’t seem like a candidate’s.

A boldness as if he had multiple lives.

Quick judgment and execution.

The existence of ‘Dale’ was so astonishing that it made him wonder how he had hidden his strength until now.

‘The only thing I have over Dale is my magic power.’

Therefore.

When Dale said he was aiming for the ‘first place’ this time, his heart sank.

At this rate, he would lose the top spot.

Tension turned into anxiety, and anxiety turned into fear.

‘If I don’t get first place even once….’

A nightmare resurfaces.

That day eight years ago.

The memory of the day when the sun called ‘Yuren Helios’ fell.

-If only… if only you weren’t here! Youuu!!!

A scream that seemed to tear apart.

The sound of a flowerpot breaking.

Mother’s hands choking my neck.

The pain of not being able to breathe.

Bloodshot eyes looking down at me, eyes, eyes.

“…No.”

Yuren cried out, clutching his sword.

“I… must never lose!”

Not a single defeat is allowed.

Not a single mistake is forgiven.

Because Yuren Helios, shining in the high sky, was such an existence.

Rumble!

The surrounding land shook with the raging storm of magic.

The only thing I had over Dale was the amount of magic power.

‘In that case.’

I had no choice but to crush him with overwhelming magic power.

“Haaa!”

With a fierce shout, I swung my sword.

Sun Sword Sixth Form, Transformation Style, White Light-Wave.

The golden sword energy condensed at the tip of the sword became a massive tidal wave that swept across the land.

“…Yuren.”

Dale, who had been watching Yuren with deeply sunken eyes, furrowed his brow as if lost in thought, staring at the terrifying golden tidal wave approaching.

“Sigh.”

A low sigh escaped from Dale’s lips as he continued to ponder.

Dale kicked off the ground to avoid the approaching golden tidal wave.

The place he moved to was right behind the unicorn.

He cut the unicorn’s leg with his sword, which was also trying to avoid the golden tidal wave, and used the unicorn as a shield to block the golden sword energy.

“Neigh!”

The unicorn let out a pitiful scream as its entire body was torn apart by the golden sword energy’s tidal wave.

And then.

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Crack!

The bell hanging around the unicorn’s neck shattered.

-Ding!

[Candidate ‘Yuren Helios’ has successfully achieved the bonus objective.]

[The candidate who successfully achieves the bonus objective becomes the top scorer in the midterm evaluation, regardless of their score.]

“Ah.”

Yuren’s eyes widened as he read the message on his Hero Watch.

“…Thank goodness.”

Was it because he had used too much magic, or because the tension had suddenly released?

Yuren collapsed on the spot.

“Mom… I… did it….”

Lying on the ground, struggling to speak, Yuren slowly closed his eyes.

“…….”

Dale slowly approached the unconscious Yuren.

He picked Yuren up and laid him on a nearby rock, clicking his tongue.

“…Yuren.”

He thought he knew Yuren better than anyone else.

A precious comrade and an irreplaceable friend.

Because of that.

He thought Yuren wouldn’t mind.

He expected Yuren to laugh it off even if he lost the top spot.

He believed it would be a good stimulus and help him.

“Well, I didn’t know anything.”

He judged arbitrarily.

He decided arbitrarily.

Pretending to know everything while knowing nothing.

“…You weren’t shining on your own, you were struggling to shine.”

Was he having a terrible nightmare?

Looking down at his friend, who was murmuring ‘I can’t lose’ in a faint voice, I let out a deep sigh.