This World Needs a Hero - Chapter 312

Chapter 312

Whooooosh-!

Having activated its propulsion system, the Avalon quickly left the 47th Sector’s city center.

Despite the massive buildings and mutated creatures boasting towering heights, none could reach the soaring Avalon to attack it.

Fortunately, the demon king’s forces opted to bypass the rampaging mutated creatures rather than forcing their way through, leading to a temporary ceasefire.

As the commotion within the mobile fortress gradually subsided, Noubelmag returned.

He had lost consciousness and was hanging from the lower part of the Avalon, only to be rescued by the hero who personally went out to retrieve him.

“Medical team!”

Noubelmag’s wrinkled body was tainted by dark veins of corruption from the demonic energy.

Nyhill sat down expressionlessly, pressing the cold hand of the weakening Noubelmag against her cheek.

“Administer the antidote!”

“He’s already been overdosed!”

“Call for Maktania! Get Maktania!”

As the passengers watched anxiously, Maktania squeezed out what little holy power she had left and poured it into him.

She had used up most of her holy power in the previous battle with Malekia and was trying to conserve what remained, but now there was no choice.

Noubelmag was irreplaceable.

“…Please!”

Fortunately, the holy power took effect immediately.

His laboured breathing eased, and as the colour slowly returned to his face, people finally let out sighs of relief.

The first words Noubelmag spoke after regaining consciousness were the names of his comrades.

“Felson… Taylor.”

His hand waved weakly in the air as if trying to grasp something, only to fall limply.

Everyone watching bowed their heads in sorrow.

They had all seen the recorded footage and knew exactly what had happened, and the decisions Felson and Taylor had made.

Even those who weren’t close to them murmured words of tribute, paying respect to their courage and dedication.

“…They were true heroes.”

“Yeah. They jumped without a moment’s hesitation.”

“Today, I witnessed what true chivalry is.”

Meanwhile, the Dawn Knights remained silent for a long time.

They simply stood there, reflecting on the memories they shared with the two.

Losing comrades on the battlefield was a common occurrence.

Yet, the pain was always unfamiliar and sharp, making it hard to accept.

‘But we must accept it… for now.’

No, perhaps it was better not to think about it at all.

In the silence, acceptance and avoidance coexisted.

Mission execution came first, mourning and remembrance later.

This was something Ted Redymer, their former commander, had repeated endlessly.

You’ll only suffer more losses if you get caught up in your emotions.

Thus, they quietly diluted their grief in their own ways.

…And then Ban slowly walked across the control room and out into the corridor.

* * *

“Ban.”

Ban, who had been leaning against the wall, turned his head.

A girl with sky-blue hair was looking at him.

“Cuculli.”

“…Are you okay?”

Not only Cuculli, but all their friends stood behind her, watching him with worried eyes.

Ban faintly smiled and shook his head.

“Could you leave me alone for a bit? I want to be by myself right now.”

“Oh, okay… I understand.”

Cuculli’s footsteps seemed to grow distant, but then they stopped.

“… It’ll get better.”

“……”

“Call us whenever you need. I’ll be there for you just like you were there for me.”

“Thank you.”

“Stay strong.”

With those words, Cuculli and their friends returned to the control room.

In a corner of the corridor, where only the hum of the fortress’s machinery could be heard, Ban once again sank into his imagination.

In his imagination, he was confronting the hero.

“Professor, let me down.”

“What?”

“Let me go alone. It won’t make much of a difference here if I’m gone.”

“Ban!”

He forcefully shook off the arms of his friends, who tried to stop him.

Like a madman, he yelled and stomped his feet.

“I can save them.”

“Alone? How?”

“Just cut down everything and find them. Is there anyone here better at sensing than I am? I’ll go and find them myself. Why are you stopping me when I’m saying I’ll go and bring them back!!”

His father’s comrades turned their gazes away in pity or clicked their tongues.

“Ban! Don’t let Felson’s sacrifice be in vain.”

“Sacrifice, my foot!”

He threw punches at those who spoke such words.

It didn’t matter who they were.

After causing a scene, he would eventually step off the Avalon, receiving scornful looks from everyone around him.

Then, leaving all his duties behind, he would run like a beast through the demonic realm.

Cutting down every monster that got in his way.

Toward his father, who must be left in that bottomless pit.

Ban chuckled.

“… It’s easy.”

Running into the abyss was, indeed, an easy choice.

All he had to do was surrender to the overwhelming grief and anger coursing through his body.

“…Ha.”

But if he were to eventually stand before his father after slaying countless monsters, what would his father say?

And what would his mother, watching from the heavens, think?

The boy already knew the answer.

“…Why.”

Why did his parents have to be such great people?

Throwing themselves onto the blade to stop the Nightmare Legion Commander.

Facing death without hesitation to fulfill their duties.

Why did they have to be such people?

Sometimes, it would have been fine if they were just ordinary.

“Why did they have to be so great? Huh?”

They made it impossible for their son to choose the easy path.

Ban clenched his fists tightly.

“Son, you are a brave person.”

The voices of two people echoed in his ears like a hallucination.

Ban spoke aloud the next words that would follow.

“And a brave person is someone who chooses the difficult path.”

…The response came from the other side of the corridor.

“Indeed, that is so.”

Ban took a deep breath.

“…Professor.”

“Yes.”

“You must be really proud of me, right?”

The hero slowly walked over and placed his rough hand on Ban’s forehead.

Once.

Twice.

Just like his father used to do the night before he went off to battle.

Ban, who always pretended not to notice and closed his eyes, kept his eyes wide open this time and accepted the warmth.

“Always.”

Dietrich.

In their veins flows the noble dignity that values duty over personal desire.

Perhaps that was why.

The boy who inherited that blood most strongly willingly returned to the cockpit.

* * *

Just as the hero returned to his seat in the cockpit, Euphemia, who had been wandering nearby, approached and casually remarked.

“You look tired.”

“But he managed to pick himself up on his own.”

There was a brief silence.

“…No, I meant you, not Ban Dietrich.”

At those words, the hero looked away from the control panel to gaze at her.

Her golden eyes were scrutinizing him as if searching for something.

“It’s a misunderstanding.”

“Is that so? You don’t look well.”

“……”

“Don’t forget. Even if half the passengers die, the mission is a success as long as you safely reach the 50th Sector.”

“I haven’t forgotten, so there’s no need for you to remind me.”

Despite it not being a comment worth snapping at, his response was sharp.

This only served to prove that she was right.

However, Euphemia simply nodded calmly.

“That’s a relief then.”

“……”

“Well, we’re now at the 48th Sector. We’re halfway there.”

Hero stared at the screen floating in the center of the cockpit.

Before he knew it, Avalon had crossed the boundary between the 47th and 48th Sectors.

Approximately 8 hours had passed since the operation began.

‘The speed is better than I expected.’

They had passed two out of the four sectors they needed to break through.

He could feel how flustered the demons were, given that their speed far exceeded their expectations.

Their military operations were haphazard, and they even had to use the demonic energy intended for descent rituals to control the giant mutated creatures.

‘Now is when it matters most.’

After gathering everyone from the other sections into the cockpit, the hero began to discuss the operation.

It was to anticipate what kind of strategy the enemies might deploy.

“I think there’s a high probability they’ll take a big risk in the 48th Sector.”

Euphemia, who had been staring intently at the holographic map, answered in a low voice.

“Or they might withdraw their troops instead.”

“Right. We can expect two main scenarios.”

They would either engage us in an all-out battle to stop us or hold back for a final showdown in the 50th Sector.

Zion and Cuculli added their thoughts.

“Personally, I think it’s more likely that they’ll withdraw their forces.”

“Hmmm, that does seem more probable, doesn’t it?”

If the battle were to take place in the 50th Sector, the demons would have several advantages.

First, the terrain is highly favourable for defense.

Being the capital of the Magic Empire, the 50th Sector had a terrain much more advantageous for those defending it.

Moreover, with the thickest concentration of magic, it would be advantageous for battle in various ways.

However, considering the massive disadvantage of their arriving right before the descent ritual, it was uncertain whether they would take such a gamble.

…It was then that Larze, who had been silent all along, spoke up for the first time.

“If it were me, I’d definitely deploy a small guerrilla force.”

“Guerrilla?”

“I also agree that they’ll avoid a war of attrition.”

Everyone turned their gaze toward her.

Larze continued her explanation in a slow but clear voice.

“By now, they must have realized that brute force is useless against Avalon.”

“…So you’re saying they’ll attack Avalon itself with a small elite force?”

“Most likely, it’ll be the division commanders foaming at the mouth as they charge at us.”

Larze’s crimson eyes glinted brightly.

“They’ll nibble away at Avalon bit by bit and then… boom, at the 50th Sector!”

She conjured an illusion with a flick of her fingers, depicting Avalon exploding and the troops being flung away while monsters swarmed from all directions in 1/50 scale.

As everyone watched in silence, Larze continued.

“Think about it. Right now, an unprecedented amount of demonic energy is pouring into the 50th Sector, creating a ridiculous situation where even the demons can’t control the area. Like the mutated creatures in the 47th Sector, similar monstrous threats are likely spread across the 48th and 49th Sectors.”

“So you’re saying they’ll withdraw the relatively weaker demons and monsters to the 50th Sector and only allow the stronger ones to remain active?”

“Umm, do you think they’ll really withdraw the weaker ones peacefully?”

The Hero narrowed his eyes.

“You just said they would, didn’t you?”

“If I were them, I’d have the weaker demons absorbed by the stronger ones.”

“!”

A noble knight commander tilted his head in confusion.

“Even then, it would still be beneath the level of a division commander, wouldn’t it? Both Theo and Malekiah are confined to the 50th Sector.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so? We can handle that with ease… Didn’t Miss Leciel just take care of Rakasa by herself earlier?”

Larze chuckled.

Snap!

When she snapped her fingers, the video feed from outside, which had been displayed on one side of the cockpit, suddenly expanded to cover the entire ceiling.

“Magnify it.”

…The moment the center of the 48th Sector came into view, a heavy silence descended upon the cockpit.

“What on earth is that…?”

“I told you. There’s an unprecedented transformation happening that even the demons can’t control.”

In contrast, Larze looked somewhat excited.

She must have been thrilled by the ‘bizarre phenomenon’ that even she hadn’t anticipated.

Her slender finger pointed to the sky over the 48th Sector, shrouded in pitch-black clouds.

Rumble—!

At that moment, a loud, sharp thunderclap echoed, and simultaneously, a downpour of jet-black rain began.

This rain was unlike any ordinary raindrops.

Each drop sparkled like a black jewel, emitting a chilling coldness.

The streams of rain, writhing as if alive, turned everything they touched into darkness.

It felt as if that rain was slowly eroding the world.

“In short, earlier, we were catching sharks out of water… and now, we must dive into the sea.”

Larze’s eyes gleamed as she finished speaking.

“Don’t worry. We have a way to turn the tables.”

———–