This World Needs a Hero - Chapter 167

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Chapter 167

The battle against the apparitions summoned by the traitor’s consciousness was rough.

It wasn’t just the number and strength of the enemies that posed a problem.

Difficult adversaries began to appear towards the end.

Children, comrades, even Ted.

But the Hero wielded the Hlack Hope silently.

The consciousness wanted someone who inherited Zero’s blessing, someone with superhuman resolve and unwavering will.

And there was no one more suitable than the Hero, who was prepared for it.

“…Is it over?”

No more enemies appeared.

The Hero stood alone in a pure white space.

The numerous corpses that had been defeated had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

The foul smell of corpses that had surrounded him, the heavy feeling of blood, quickly dissipated.

Blinking several times, he could hear the sound of waves brushing against his ears.

The damp air clinging to his skin.

…The voice signaled the end of the test.

“Both the first test and… truly remarkable.”

“….”

“It seems there is no such thing as hesitation in your emotions. It’s fortunate to leave a legacy for someone like you.”

While the consciousness was moved, the Hero’s eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

It was the same coastal cave where they had entered the apparition.

Clunk-

The wide-open wooden door creaked from behind.

‘What about the pursuers?’

Strangely, even though he extended his senses, he couldn’t feel any presence.

“The barrier is still active, so there’s no need to worry… for now.”

Surprisingly, the consciousness still existed even after the apparition had been dispelled.

A silhouette wavering at the level of the Hero’s eyes.

‘Magic that can leave behind a fragment of consciousness even after death.’

It was truly Beyond magic.

But for some reason, the consciousness seemed to be in a hurry.

“It’s better to wake up your companion first.”

Hearing that, the Hero looked down at his feet.

There, Larze was muttering happily with a very satisfied expression.

He instinctively listened.

“Indeed, they are quite different from the creatures of the Second Age.”

“How could you come up with such an idea… it’s touching.”

“Huh, you’re lucky to have talent like mine among the successors. You flatter me.”

Her cheeks turned red.

The Hero’s expression gradually worsened at her cute tone mixed with aegyo.

The consciousness added, “Don’t misunderstand. The illusion magic was dispelled with your passing the test, but… since she has no will to escape from it, she remains in that state.”

“How can I wake them up?”

“…Just wake them up from their sleep as usual.”

Thwack!

Without hesitation, the Hero kicked Larze’s buttocks.

“Ouch.”

With a very disappointed expression, she got up, glaring at the Hero.

“Mr. Doppleganger. Do you know how rare it is to experience such high-quality illusions?”

Without bothering to answer, the Hero turned to the consciousness.

“Does this mean I’ve passed all the tests?”

“Yes, now it’s time to give you your reward.”

The consciousness hurried again.

Creak-

The collapsing stone wall inside the cave.

As the dust settled, a small altar made of wood appeared.

The dim light stones around it cast a faint light over it.

‘This is…’

It was a strange scene.

It briefly overlapped with the moment when he obtained ‘evolution’ in the cave of blessing.

The only difference was that there were two spectators.

Larze, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly stood up like a spring, looking at the altar.

“Oh… there’s more than just a medium?”

There were two items on the altar.

A diary with all its corners worn out and a large black jewel without any gloss.

Although it was difficult to tell from the outside, one of them immediately responded to the Iris of Laplace.

“That jewel is the medium.”

“No.”

“What?”

“It’s not a ‘jewel,’ what’s the proper name for it?”

Larze raised her head with an interested look.

The Hero corrected himself.

“Yes, it’s the Dragon Heart.”

…The heart of a dragon species that became extinct long ago.

The mana that used to be contained in it was no longer to be found, but its mysterious appearance was incomparable to any craftsmanship in the world.

The Hero murmured quietly.

“If it’s the Dragon Heart… does that mean the identity of the blessing is ‘paradox’?”

The consciousness affirmed positively.

“Yes, are you surprised?”

“I thought it would most likely be ‘severance.’”

“That’s possible. However, the blessing owned by the Demonic Church was two in total. The paradox is the blessing that the former head of the Church hid until the end.”

The Hero asked, “So is ‘severance’ now in the hands of the current Demon King?”

“Yes. The former head of the Church passed on the power that returned to her as a medium when she died.”

The Hero pondered for a moment.

Since Zero Requiem created the blessing and distributed it to the followers.

There had been active research on this for a while.

During that process, several laws were revealed, one of which was that when the user dies, the power does not disappear but returns to its original medium.

Another was that inheriting two or more blessings carries significant risks.

“Although blessings are categorized as one, each has vastly different abilities.”

There had been attempts to inherit two or more blessings.

Mostly they failed.

Some couldn’t even save their lives, and even if they succeeded, they couldn’t fully live due to the heavy burden on their bodies.

That’s why the Hero had been considering whether to inherit this blessing, depending on what it was.

‘Just in case, I was thinking of giving it to my children if it was a blessing that I had little room to use.’

On the other hand, the blessings the Hero deemed worth the risk were paradox and severance.

Coincidentally, both of their whereabouts were discovered this time.

‘If the head of the Church is killed, severance can be obtained.’

It was good news.

Severance was a top-tier blessing that could be given to any novice disciple without hesitation.

The Hero approached the altar with a satisfied expression.

As the consciousness floated beside him like mist, it continued to explain.

“Paradox is similar to rhetoric in essence. It’s a power contained in words… an extra ability that can intervene in the world and cause phenomena without any spell or incantation.”

Like other blessings, paradox also possessed ‘conceptual’ power.

In simpler terms, it was ‘words that come true.’

At first glance, it seemed like the most powerful type of blessing, but in fact, ‘paradox’ was not considered a particularly powerful blessing in the world.

It was because the person uttering the command was a human being and lacked the strength and power of the soul.

In other words, it couldn’t compare in output to rhetoric that could overturn the earth and collapse mountains.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s useless. Even if the soul’s power is weak, one’s own enhancement is sufficient. According to records, previous owners were said to tear metal plates with their bare hands and break rocky mountains with a single punch.”

So the previous owners of paradox used it as a kind of ‘enhancement technique with outstanding effects.’

That’s probably why the former Demonic Church head chose severance instead of paradox.
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Meanwhile, the expression in Larze’s eyes as she alternated between looking at the Hero and Dragon Heart became increasingly mysterious.

‘Okay, it’s paradox.’

Her most anticipated blessing had finally appeared.

‘As it’s a rhetoric cast by a doppelganger that has embraced countless humans, I wonder what kind of power it will have?’

Curiosity was inevitable.

Even Larze, who had researched Zero’s blessing extensively, couldn’t anticipate this part.

Since there could be a power failure weak to even extinguish a candle light.

On the contrary, it could bring out much more powerful benefits than a human.

It was ‘paradox,’ a power activated through the soul.

Larze was very curious about how a doppelganger, who might not even have a soul, would utilize it.

And finally.

Just as her gaze full of expectations, the Hero stood before the altar.

“Ah….”

Flutter-

It was right at that moment when it seemed like the consciousness would disappear.

The Hero realized that the density of that smoke-like body had significantly decreased.

The desperate tone continued.

“This diary is now yours too.”

Having finished speaking, the consciousness floated over the worn-out notebook on one side of the altar.

“It contains all the ideals of betrayal that I followed throughout my life, and those despicable truths are recorded in detail.”

“…Is it related to what you mentioned about the head of the Demonic Church being a mere shell?”

“Yes. That’s exactly right.”

A voice filled with intense anger and disappointment followed.

“Who would have thought that the head, whom I thought was a divinely appointed prophet, would turn out to be a mere human creation?”

The Hero’s brow narrowed at the unexpected sound.

“A human creation? It sounds like you’re saying the head of Demonic Church isn’t human?”

“No. At least not this time.”

“…Then?”

A moment of silence.

If the consciousness had a face, the Hero thought it would have looked grim.

“She’s a Homunculus.”

Both the Hero and Larze couldn’t help but exclaim.

“…What?”

“Homunculus?”

Especially Larze’s reaction was intense.

“Ha, that’s ridiculous. There’s no magician or alchemist in the Second Age who can create a homunculus. If I can’t make one, who else can?”

All relevant information and the production methods were put in practice already, Larze continued.

At the same time, the Hero tilted his head.

For some reason, the face of Rosalyn, who guarded the Library of Memories, crossed his mind.

She was the only homunculus he knew, the creation of Zero.

‘Is there a possibility that it was made in the Second Age?’

However, it was still speculation.

Detailed information could be confirmed after checking the diary.

“You’ll be able to find out the remaining mysteries by reading my diary. I’ve written down my story there. My allotted time is gradually running out… Now, inherit the blessing.”

The statement that time is up may not be false; the consciousness became transparent enough to see through to the other side.

Perhaps the barrier that binds the enemies has also weakened.

The Hero soon realized that a battle would soon ensue.

There was no more time to delay the inheritance.

“…….”

Naturally, the Hero’s gaze turned to the biggest obstacle.

Larze’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you looking at? Worried I might covet the paradox?”

“Isn’t that it? You want anything related to Zero.”

“If it were another blessing… Well, I couldn’t guarantee a concession.”

She shrugged and stared straight at the Hero.

“But that’s the paradox. The ability to interfere with the world and manifest phenomena was solely acquired by my own power decades ago. To seek a duplicated ability… ”

“Would you like to see something more interesting?”

“Very well.”

Approaching, Larze whispered into the Hero’s ear.

“As a doppelganger who is not even human and already possesses one blessing, what kind of effect will two blessings have within you? Aren’t you curious?”

It sounded like a taunt, as if hoping to instill fear or make the Hero shrink back.

But it was of little use.

The Hero calmly dismissed Larze’s provocation, saying,

“In any case, you won’t covet the blessing. That’s enough.”

Turning away from her discontented grimace, the Hero pocketed the diary first.

‘I can put off understanding the detailed circumstances for later.’

For now, with the medium in hand, the first goal was achieved.

Now, it was just a matter of escaping from the dangerous area.

To do that, this ability would be necessary.

The enemies outside the barrier were the strongest the Hero had faced so far.

With determination, the Hero gazed at the jewel on the altar.

‘…The side effects of accepting the second blessing.’

It was a moment reminiscent of the pain of tearing flesh when accepting evolution.

Perhaps it would be even more intense, never lessening.

The body might break down, or the life force might scatter.

But none of that mattered.

With determination, the Hero’s rough hand seized Dragon Heart without hesitation.

Contrary to expectations, the surface of the jewel, which was thought to be cold, was unexpectedly warm.

‘It begins.’

Tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-

Clusters of characters appeared, incomprehensible symbols just like when the Hero acquired ‘evolution’ before.

A mysterious language that no one, even he who traveled across the continent, could recognize.

The small, squiggly characters inevitably rose through the Hero’s body, and all three focused on that scene without taking a breath.

Excited voices echoed in the cave.

“Ah, finally… I hope you won’t become a cowardly bystander like me…”

So the consciousness slowly disappeared with a single word.

“…….”

Larze remained expressionless, her gaze fixed on the Hero.

“Guh.”

Finally, the Hero focused all their nerves, struggling to control the immense power flowing through their body.

A suppressed groan escaped through clenched teeth.

He had clamped his teeth so hard that his gums were damaged and blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth.

Despite the intense pain, the Hero did not stop accepting the blessing.

The steel-like mentality nurtured over a lifetime, the compulsion to become even stronger, maintained an incredible level of control.

…And a moment later.

The trembling of the body gradually subsided.

And in that moment.

The Hero realized how absurdly powerful he had become.

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