This World Needs a Hero - Chapter 161

———

Chapter 161

There was another income.

‘It was a windfall.’

The hero picked up the pieces rolling under his feet.

Perhaps feeling regretful, even in death, the owner couldn’t let go of it.

He muttered as he pried off the stuck fingers.

“So now there are seven.”

Meanwhile, the overwhelming dance of the hero left the 26th exploration team in awe.

They had acknowledged his strength up to the 25th level.

However, in this battle, the hero’s rampage among the other exploration teams far surpassed the dignity of Captain Zeon.

“Kasim….”

“Damn, the atmosphere is getting tense.”

“Where did such a monster come from? It looks like it easily fits into the black grade.”

“Damn, he’s so charismatic.”

“Brother!”

A scene of massacre.

A bloody spectacle.

Transcendent power.

These were what the men of Canis loved and followed more than anything.

In the center of it all, the hero stood with an indifferent face, eliciting respect rather than fear.

Thanks to that man’s strength, they barely survived at the threshold of death.

Some already had expressions of loyalty.

…Of course, the hero was avoiding eye contact and trying to evade somehow.

“……”

But there was one person who seemed uncomfortable and tense.

It was Captain Zeon of the 26th exploration team.

He hesitated greatly before finally approaching the hero, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

“Kasim.”

“What?”

“If you return, I will definitely inform the boss about your exploits so that you won’t be disappointed. So, the piece in your hand….”

Please hand it over.

Before Zeon could finish his sentence, the hero willingly handed over the piece.

“Here, take it.”

An act of trust.

…Zeon, who had been unable to stop his dreadful imagination since earlier, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“…Thank you.”

In fact, even if he wanted to kill everyone here and take all seven pieces, no one could have stopped him.

There wouldn’t even be any repercussions.

This was the deep depths of the demonic realm, and there were many reasons for the complete annihilation of the exploration teams besides internal conflicts.

‘Thank goodness….’

With trembling hands, Zeon merged the piece the hero handed him with his own.

At the same time, his gaze towards the hero softened significantly.

‘He’s a rare man with a sense of trust even in Canis. I must propose him for scouting when we return.’

Perhaps he could become the card to end the tiresome competition between the three organizations.

“…Kasim. I’m really looking forward to continuing our close friendship in the future.”

…What’s this criminal guy saying?

At Larze’s silent sneer, the hero frowned.

But even that fierce gesture now only made Zeon see him as more of a man.

“Alright, alright. Attention!”

With a smile on his face, Zeon looked around at his team members and raised the doubled piece high.

“By this, it seems our exploration team has secured first place. The summit is within reach.”

In response to Zeon’s declaration, the team members cheered in unison.

It was natural, considering they already had all seven pieces.

This meant they didn’t need to continue this dangerous demonic realm exploration for long.

Now, they just needed to head to the rendezvous point first and wait for other exploration teams to arrive.

The Black Arrow’s exploration team numbered over thirty.

Even if they captured a few pieces, they could easily bring back at least three.

Of course, the hero was more than satisfied.

‘I might delay the encounter with Larze a bit. Maybe we could meet near the gathering point, around sector 40.’

Originally, it was time to join forces with Larze.

The initial point of contact was sector 30.

It would take a few more days to reach there.

However, unexpectedly, the demonic realm had opened up easily, so he was thinking of suggesting for Larze helping stabilize sector 1 of the demonic realm before joining.

‘It’s not dangerous enough yet to require Larze. If she leaves, there will be casualties even if the enemies are few. It’s only natural for me to bear the burden from this side.’

Feeling the mental burden of bringing Larze out of the urgent situation in sector 1, the hero’s mind became considerably more relieved.

“Alright, let’s head straight to the rendezvous point from now on.”

“Oooh!”

“We plan to avoid conflicts as much as possible and gather nearby allied exploration teams for protection. You can go a little more comfortably.”

“Wooo!”

“Thank you for all your hard work. When we return to Canis, the boss will surely give a substantial reward.”

“Uwaaa!”

With Zeon’s assurance, the 26th exploration team members forgot their fatigue and marched forward vigorously.

However, there was a fact that everyone had overlooked.

…It was the inner thoughts of Kasim (the hero) whom everyone believed in.

Rustle-

In a moment when nobody was looking.

The doll hanging from the hero’s waist trembled.

[Get ready slowly.]

The time for a betrayal was approaching.

* * *

There are a total of 50 sectors in the demonic realm.

Starting from sector 1, adjacent to the Great Mountain Range.

From the Great Mountain Range adjacent to the first sector to the deepest 50th sector, at the center of each sector, a stake is driven, and the distance between these stakes seems precisely measured, dividing the Eastern continent into 50 parts.

Of course, these stakes, mostly relics from the First Era, are empty, without any overseers, considering there’s no need to confront external threats for demonic energy production, which would have been a natural outcome if resources had been allocated to the West.

However, there’s one exception: the stake in the 50th sector.

Referred to as the ‘Devil’s Castle’ it’s the largest and tallest stake, nestled among the ruins of the once-prosperous Magic Empire, serving as the spawning ground for all demonkind from the otherworld.

The overseer is the Demon King.

In his absence, his generals handle the administration.

Naturally, no human has ever set foot in the 50th sector.

However, the other 49 sectors occasionally welcome exploration teams.

Among these sectors, the 43rd sector holds the treasures of the Church targeted by the Canis exploration teams.

‘But that doesn’t mean the 40th sector is easy.’

Until the 30th sector, even rogue exploration teams could return safely if they treaded lightly around the stakes.

However, once they enter the 40s, the chances of safely returning without being an elite exploration team dispatched directly by the empire are slim.

Since this area is where high-ranking demons frequently appear, it’s somewhat expected. Yet, many rogue exploration teams still persistently aimed for the higher-numbered sectors, as the potential rewards outweighed those of the lower-numbered ones by far.

Cities from the prosperous past, adorned temples of the sacred sects, dungeons filled with precious artifacts and research documents of the mages, all lie heavily skewed towards the Eastern depths.

Thus, numerous exploration teams that sought instant wealth ended up buried in the 40s, giving rise to the saying, “The map of the deep reaches of the demonic realm is written in Canis’ blood.”

“I’m no stranger to the demonic realm, but I’ve only been to the 40s once. The moment I went in, I felt like I was about to be torn apart and ran away.”

“I see.”

“Sigh, those rookies are probably in the 30s for the first time.”

One of the grizzled explorers pointed to a few rookies who were now hesitantly following alongside them.

They were the ones that Zeon had called to act as their escort.

“Tsk tsk. They make quite a fuss, but they lack substance.”

…It was amidst their casual conversation that an explosion occurred.

Kaboom!

Though it was a small blast, it was enough to send chunks of flesh flying.

One of the explorers collapsed to the ground, missing a leg, unable to even scream.

Yet, no helping hand reached out to him.

“…Hmm, he’ll be dead in three minutes, won’t he?”

Nearby exploration team members circled around him like vultures.

“The ring’s mine.”

“Then I’ll take the sword.”

“Damn, where’s the fairness in that? Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors.”

The people who were chatting calmly now were much more veterans than the one who had just been killed.

Surely someone among them must have realized in advance that a trap was lurking.

However, no one took the trouble to give advice.

“…….”

As they leisurely discussed dividing the belongings of the still-living member, the hero inspected the aftermath of the explosion.

The demonic realm naturally generates all sorts of traps, but this was different.

‘This is a trap set by the Demonic Church.’

There were countless traps like these since they entered the 30s. Following their entry into the demonic realm’s core, the pressure from the Demonic Church had begun.

Subtle traps laid out along their route and ambushes day and night were some of the examples.

“Ugh, fuck, these lunatics are really going all out.”

“Ugh, let’s sleep a bit, guys.”

While some of the seasoned explorers shrugged it off, not everyone could.

“Ugh…”

…Like the explorer who had just breathed his last.

Suddenly, the memory of him, gleefully brandishing the ring of a fallen comrade killed by a monster, flashed through his mind.

The ring was now placed on the ring finger of the expedition member with whom he had spoken.

The hero turned his expressionless face directly towards them.

After observing them for the past week, he couldn’t discern any difference between them and the things scattered around in the demonic realm.

‘Now that these dead weights have latched onto us, our speed has significantly slowed.’

Alright, decision made.

Tonight, the exploration team will leave.

However, the hero couldn’t execute his plan due to an unexpected variable.

* * *

The camping ground had been unusually quiet for the past few weeks.

‘Looks like everyone’s stocking up on energy.’

Since entering the 30s, the demonic energy concentration had risen sharply.

The concentration of demonic energy increased sharply from the 30th.

Even when activating purification artifacts, it was so thickly condensed into the lungs.

Mutated fauna and flora began to appear gradually, and exploration members with low mana reserves complained of initial symptoms of intoxication.

Dizziness, vomiting, chills, and so on.

If left untreated, it would lead to confusion, hysteria, mutation, and ultimately death.

Therefore, periodic cleansing operations were necessary to discharge residual demonic energy from the body, and this was by no means an easy task to do while laughing and chatting.

That’s why silence fell over the campsite.

‘…I’m rather fortunate, actually.’

Ugh-

Of course, he was diligent in the cleansing as well.

The hero cleansed his body with magic, checking his plan once again.

The plan was very simple.

Subdue Zeon, steal the fragments, then flee.

There was no need to wake the exploration members to fight against this number.

Dealing with this amount was both bothersome and unnecessary since the demonic energy would engulf them even without his intervention.

The remaining three fragments would be found after joining forces with Larze and heading towards route 43.

It might take a bit of a detour, but there was plenty of time.

The 26th exploration team was undoubtedly leading among the exploration teams, and the rest were far behind to catch up.

By the time the trailing players collected all the fragments and reached 43, he would already be carrying the treasure outside the magic realm.

‘Alright, there’s no need to wait any longer.’

The hero stood up abruptly.

His current position was in the center of the campsite.

Zeon’s tent was right in front of him.

It would be a breeze to steal the fragments and escape.

Mmm-

▼
Accessing Key of Valber.
▲

It was the moment when the hero, drew out the dagger ‘Eternal Silence, Galot,’ one of the 17th of the weapons.

Sssssshhh-

Sharp, piercing noises struck his ears.

It was the outskirts of the campsite.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

All the lights in the campsite turned on, and armed exploration members rushed outwards, gathering in less than 30 seconds.

They looked around with grim eyes until they spotted the hero standing awkwardly with the dagger.

And then, their expressions of suspicion turned into relief.

“Oh, Kasim! Your instincts are sharp as always.”

“Did you sense something suspicious?”

“Did you anticipate the attack in advance?”

…Whether it was an assassination or theft of the fragments, it was right to resolve and settle this situation.

The hero released the explosively gathered magic and.

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummm-

Instead, he spread it in all directions.

It was immediately after he detected dozens of presences rapidly approaching the campsite.

His eyes narrowed.

‘…Human?’

No, he quickly corrected himself.

‘Demons.’

It seemed they would penetrate into the campsite in a matter of seconds.

And it wasn’t the guerrilla style they had been accustomed to, but rather a full-fledged assault.

They exceeded fifty, and above all, the momentum of the leader of the advancing group was extraordinary.

‘Much stronger than the necromancer lieutenant encountered in the factory.’

There was no doubt it was an elite force of the Demonic Church.

Even concealed in his current state, it wouldn’t be easy to deal with them.

‘…Of all times, why now?’

The hero sighed and withdrew ‘Galot’, taking out Umbra again.
.

.

.
There was no need to wait any longer.

Whoosh-

As if a fierce wind blew, all the fires in the campsite extinguished instantly.

Not only the campfires and torches but also the magical lights.

Except for the intermittent moonlight piercing through the demonic clouds, there was no light left in the campsite.

Darkness.

Due to the demonic energy, even the night vision of the experienced members momentarily faltered.

Tadadadak-

Dozens of figures in masks surrounded them one after another.

The fluttering of nocturnal robes loudly beat against their ears, and the late wind cooled the sweat on the exploration members’ faces.

It was evident at a glance.

‘…The Demonic Church’s elites.’

There was nothing more to say.

The hero grasped Umbrar tightly and bent his knees to charge forward.

“I’ve come to propose a deal.”

————