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Chapter 347: The Last Phase

After hesitating how to answer for a while, I answered ambiguously, and Roswyn\'s ancestor patted my head with an elegant smile on her face.

"Indeed, making the oath was the right choice. I am deeply moved to see our family still assisting the Hero, even after a thousand years has passed."

"Haha."

Of course, let alone actively assisting me, she even lost the Helper System to Glare. And recently, she had been stalking me and recording something shady.

I should refrain from stating that directly; who know how her expression might change.

Complaining to a thought form that wasn\'t even the actual person wouldn\'t change anything.

"He really looks like Han-byeol..."

"Yes, indeed. Except for the hair color, everything else is quite similar."

"So cute, so cute, so cute..."

"Hmm. He seems quite strong, too."

While I was lost in my mind, the touches from the thought forms became even more intense.

"Uh, excuse me... um."

"His reaction is just like Han-byeol\'s."

"No, he doesn\'t seem like that eunuch. He smells quite masculine."

For some reason, I felt shivers all over my body. I felt like these people were not normal either.

The Ancestor must have gone through quite a bit of trouble during the nights.

"But who\'s that girl sitting there all crouched?"

"She must be incredibly strong if she can sense us."

"Eugeuk... eue..."

As I was being stroked with a blank expression on my face for a while, the thought forms began to look at Ruby, who was crouching next to me.

I deliberately made her heart race, fearing she might overhear the conversation, but it seemed to attract everyone\'s attention to her because of it.

“Please identify yourself.”

"Huh?"

Serena\'s ancestor glided towards Ruby.

"Oh, that girl–"

"A demon."

"What?"

"She\'s a pure-blooded demon race."

As it seemed like a collision would inevitably occur if we continued like this, I tried to tactfully smooth things over. However, at that moment, the Ice Witch, who had kept her mouth shut, interjected me with a cold voice.

"And the blood that flows within her is–"

"Quite impressive."

While I had a headache due to my plan being disrupted, Ruby added fuel to the fire.

"I am the second generation Demon King."

"..."

As soon as she said those words, the atmosphere turned cold.

"I was wondering who you all are. It seems like you are the thought form of the members of the First Hero Party. It\'s quite interesting."

Amidst the cold atmosphere, Ruby, who had been eagerly watching the situation, smiled and took a step forward.

"You all could be good practice opponents for the final showdown."

"You brat, do you think you can beat us?"

"I would always win every single time. You are not your true self but only a thought form. Moreover, for some reason, the thought-form of the First Hero is not here. In that case, it would be a piece of cake to win against all of you."

The situation somehow seemed to slowly turn ugly.

So, it looked like I needed to make a move before something happened.

"Draw your weapon and try using your magic. As the guardian of this place, try to satisfy this noble self.”

"Ruby."

"Y-you bastard. Stay away from this. I can\'t afford to miss this opportuni–"

- Thud...!

Urgently blocking Ruby\'s path, I placed my hand on her stomach while she was talking.

"..."

Then, Ruby instantly fell silent.

"You know, right?"

I softly whispered while looking at Ruby, who had been gazing at me with trembling eyes. She grabbed the end of her upper garment with her hand and slowly began to lift it.

- Haub.

Then, she bit the end of her upper garment and closed her eyes tightly.

"Heuaab!"

"...! ...!!!"

I shouted loudly and struck her abdomen with all my strength. Ruby, still biting the end of her clothes, collapsed to the ground, and started to convulse.

It seemed like I successfully prevented the collision between the Hero Party and Ruby.

Perhaps I do have a talent for negotiation and diplomacy.

"Let’s behave, shall we?"

I calmly petted Ruby\'s head and whispered to her, then I turned away with a proud expression.

"..."

The thought forms who had been staring blankly at me came into view.

Well, they might not be used to seeing a hero like me...

"He’s truly Han-byeol\'s descendant."

"Honestly, I was a bit suspicious, but now I\'m convinced."

"As expected, you\'re also a K-Hero after all!"

Huh.

What\'s with this enthusiastic response?

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"So... you\'re saying what you were guarding recently disappeared?"

"Yeah, everything disappeared."

After receiving affectionate strokes from these older sisters for a while, I couldn\'t help but furrow my brows upon hearing those words.

No wonder the ruins were completely empty; there was a reason for it.

"Was it the work of the Church?"

"To be precise, it\'s the current Pope\'s doing. A few days ago, he came here, stole a few items, and fled."

"You wouldn\'t believe how much he risked his life for that, and in the end, he managed to escape, and we also failed to catch him. Fortunately, he only managed to steal a few that are easy to flee with."

"Hmm."

After all, he was still the Pope.

Despite acting dirty and subservient, he was the type that would survive alone when those scoundrels who played dirty tricks behind everyone\'s back met their downfall.

Of course, the Church itself would soon collapse or be reorganized by Ferloche, so it wouldn’t matter much.

Still, we couldn’t ignore the Pope. I had to continue tracking his whereabouts.

"But the Pope only stole a few items and fled, right? What about the rest?"

"Well... um..."

While I was organizing my thoughts, there was a part I didn\'t understand, so I asked again, and for some reason, the response was a bit unusual.

The First Empress wore an expression of wounded pride, the Ice Witch quietly turned her gaze away, and the first Saintess…

"What? Everything gets stolen by a little brat, you know!"

She shouted with a big grin.

Everything was taken by a little brat?

Even if the thought forms were much weaker than when they were alive, how could a kid possibly win against the First Hero Party?

"Hmm."

Nevertheless, a little brat…

Come to think of it, there was one little kid I knew who might be capable of such a thing.

> Glare: I even caught a giant lizard in the Western Continent!

Glare: I caught an incredibly big fish, and I explored some underground ruins!

Glare: It was a place with a lot of sand...

Now that I thought about it, the impression seemed to fit her.

"Phew."

Well, if that was the case, I\'m relieved.

Even though the Pope stole a few items, most of them were probably in the possession of that kid.

If it was that kid, she would probably use them in the right places.

After all, I came here to destroy the Church, and I didn\'t even know there was a ruin, so there was not much regret in that regard.

"Then, we\'ll... be on our way."

"Leaving already?"

"Too bad. Can\'t you stay a little longer?"

As I bid them farewell with a bow, the thought forms floated around me.

“I still have a long way to go, so I’m sorry."

"It’s okay. Then, there\'s nothing we can do about this."

"He’s really a nice boy, just like Han-byeol~."

"Did he inherit the same thing below as well?"

With that comment, they soon smiled, waved their hands, and began to disappear one by one into the sky.

"Take this, it\'s a gift."

"Please accept my gift too."

"What\'s this?"

While staring blankly at them, Serena\'s ancestor and Rosewyn\'s ancestor approached me simultaneously and gave me something.

"Actually, not everything was stolen."

"We were guarding two of them. It\'s been a thousand years, and now they\'re going to their rightful owner."

"This is..."

As I wondered what the thing was, I noticed a rather expensive-looking sword and potions.

"It\'s a sword made from star fragments. It\'s the same material as Han-byeol\'s sword and the Hero’s Armament."

"It\'s a hero-exclusive recovery potion box that only the helper can get! The efficacy has decreased significantly due to aging for a thousand years, but it should still be helpful, right?"

I unexpectedly gained some unexpected benefits.

This felt really good.

"Thank you so much..."

"In return, I have one question."

I cautiously tried to accept the gifts and express gratitude. Serena\'s ancestor covered her mouth with a fan, slid closer to me, and whispered something.

"...Who is the legal wife among our descendants?"

"Pardon?"

"As long as she’s not the descendant of that annoying white-haired maid and the damned Sunset family, I\'ll be satisfied..."

The conversation seemed to be taking an odd turn.

But descendant, she said?

Does Kania also have the blood of the previous Hero Party flowing through her?

"Why should a thought form be bothered with something like that? Fufu."

"...Tsk."

I quietly scratched my head when Victoria slid towards me and grabbed Serena\'s ancestor\'s shoulder.

"My Sunset family is bound to win this time anyway."

"Shut up."

"Right? Hero?"

Saying that, Victoria smiled at me.

Could it be that the position a thousand years ago was the opposite of what it is now?

My mouth started to itch again.

"The Moon Goddess didn\'t choose our family for no reason."

I closed my mouth, attempting to hold back, but as she spoke, she brought her hand to my head.

"Since we have nothing else to do, let\'s share memories and discuss our future plans– Uh."

"What’s wrong?"

"Uh, uh."

Then, Victoria suddenly started sweating profusely.

"Uh, uwaaah...?"

It seemed she read my memories a bit as her face turned pale.

"C-c-clearly... we strictly maintained our family tradition according to Han-byeol\'s request... Why in the world...? How did things turned out like this..."

"Fufu, that\'s right. Then, it\'s fine... Even if you’re..."

What should I do with this situation?

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"Phew."

“It’s interesting that they could maintain such individuality despite being a thought form.”

After barely calming and sending back the thought form of Victoria, who had frozen after receiving an immense shock, I took a short breath and started heading towards the exit with Ruby.

"Hey."

"Wh-why did you do that? I didn\'t feel my heart race this time."

"Who would win in a fight between you and the First Hero?"

"Why do you care?"

When I asked, she quickly avoided answering and started to walk faster.

"Wait a minute."

Staring at her with narrowed eyes, I exhaled and was about to move on, but someone blocked my way.

"Shall we have a talk?"

"Pardon?"

I wondered who blocked me. It turned out it was the first Saintess.

"How can I help you?"

"You know it too, don\'t you?"

Staring into her black eyes that complemented her black hair, the Sainess\' thought form spoke to me with a stern expression.

"Your soul could shatter into pieces at any moment."

"...!"

Ruby, who was standing beside me, flinched upon hearing that.

I didn’t know what was going on, but it was a good opportunity to deceive her...

"Every moment must be excruciating for you. Although for some reason, it seems like you experience no physical pain, the pain that your soul feels will be transmitted as it is."

"Hmm."

"How much sacrifice have you made? How much have you paid for your actions? It seems like your soul was completely shattered once and then restored.”

"..."

"Do you want to disappear forever without the possibility of resurrection? Stop forcing yourself. Everyone will be sad if you do that."

The Saintess’ thought form spoke while touching my chin.

"Or perhaps...?"

"Thank you for the advice."

Desperately interrupting her words, I smiled and moved on.

"If there\'s a chance, I\'ll come visit with the second-generation Saintess."

"..."

She just quietly looked at me and soon disappeared into the darkness.

"Frey. You bastard."

"What?"

"Why is your soul… on the verge of shattering into pieces?"

"Are you curious?"

"It needs a lot of power to shatter a soul, even I can’t produce that kind of power. What happened..."

I wore a wry smile when I saw that look. As Ruby approached me from the side, I responded with a smile.

"...It’s just… I have to do something."

"What is it?"

“Even at the cost of shattering my soul, there is one person I definitely want to see again.”

"..."

After leaving those words behind, I silently passed by her and headed towards the exit.

...Although it seems like it’s a bit too late to meet her.

I intentionally brought up such thoughts in my mind for her, who was probably eavesdropping on my thoughts.

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System Notification

[Main Quest (Hidden Scenario): The all-out war with the Church has been cleared!]

"Oho."

As soon as we came out of the ruins, a very welcoming message appeared in front of me.

I couldn’t believe the quest for the All-Out War Against The Church ended so quickly.

It was a quest that was supposed to be cleared in the second semester of the second year at the earliest, similar to the Rebellion Against The Imperial Family quest, which was supposed to be cleared at the end of the third year.

Before, even if we cleared it, the surviving executives would probably persistently attack, but now we just needed to capture the Pope.

In other words, it was an enormous gain.

"Really... I finally can see the end."

A year ago, I thought we would have to continue the fight for at least three years, but now it seemed that we could settle everything within this year.

It was all accomplished by confining the Demon God, entering the hidden scenario, and taking control of the system.

Now, the only major events left were the \'Fourth Ordeal and The Final Ordeal\' and the ‘Siege of The Academy’.

After that, it would proceed to the \'Final Showdown.\'

And after that...

"Frey."

I was closing my eyes, lost in thought. But Ruby woke me from my stupor and asked me a question with wide eyes.

"It might sound strange, but let me ask just one thing."

"Hmm?"

I tilted my head with a puzzled expression as if not understanding what she was talking about. After swallowing dry saliva, she asked with tightly closed eyes.

"Frey, are you... a regressor?"

It was time to move to the final stage of the plan.