Chapter 552: Hero….!!

What does it mean to be a hero?

The answer most would give is simple—someone who saves people.

But is that really all there is?

Could it not also be one who saves the world itself?

Or perhaps one who saves just a single person—the one they love above all others?

What about those who do good deeds in silence?

What about those who uphold the “greater good,” even if it means staining their hands in ways others never would?

Heroism. Heroic deeds. Heroic decisions.

Hero.

The word alone gleams with the weight of morality, wrapped in ideals and dressed up as virtue.

But when you strip away the gloss, isn’t it just as subjective as “good” and “evil” themselves?

They say heroes are born with the power to change everything—the strongest beings alive, destined to pull people toward some brighter future.

To them, the world bends.

To them, miracles cling.

And yet… even if the meaning shifts, even if its edges blur, the center always points to one thing:

Doing something good.

Lucas.

The name echoed through me like scripture.

The protagonist of this world.

The one beloved by all. The one marked by the goddess herself, forged with a bloodline of divinity.

He is the only one capable of stopping the catastrophes that wait on the horizon.

The only one whose existence alone can divert the end.

Whether measured subjectively by men, or literally by fate—he is the axis this world turns upon.

I’ve seen it. Even within the so-called “game,” we established his absurdity could not be contained. His growth was limitless, his potential contagious.

Everyone who drew close to him was inevitably swept into his orbit, transformed, elevated, broken, or remade.

But for someone like that—for a being like him—trials are required.

Obstacles.

Fires to temper the blade that will one day cut the world free from ruin.

SNAP!

My fingers cracked the air, and the world around me shimmered like glass catching light.

’A new rune slowly formed in my hand…’

Too many mistakes have been made already.

Too many worlds destroyed.

Too much time has been wasted, too many chances slipped by.

This one, I cannot abandon.

No matter what it takes. No matter how far I must bend fate itself.

I need his destiny to be tied to mine….

….

Lucas’s gaze cut toward the demonic nun worshipper standing before him.

Just one sharp look.

The enemy was right there—the key to ending this, within his reach.

Victory should have been simple. Direct.

And yet, once again, he found himself paralyzed.

The two translucent screens floated in the air behind her, cruel projections showing Emilia and Reina writhing helplessly.

Their bodies squirmed, their faces contorted in suffering, their pleas inaudible but unmistakable.

Lucas could end this farce in a heartbeat. He had already surpassed her—miles beyond her level.

His blade, his aura, his strength… he held every advantage.

But the tricks she carried, the vile games she played, were not something he could dismiss.

“What did you do to them?”

“Fufufu~”

“Answer me.”

His words came out cold, flat, indifferent on the surface.

But underneath—the stillness was a mask. Rage boiled deep within him, spilling through the cracks in his aura.

He was holding it back by threads alone, his restraint the only thing keeping this conversation alive.

Lavine swallowed hard. Her throat was dry as her eyes flicked between Lucas and the screens.

The gap.

Not long ago, she had stood in battle against him. Back then, the difference between them hadn’t been this vast.

But now? Whatever power had awakened inside Lucas was enough to make her bones tremble.

Divine energy bled from him in waves, suffocating, radiant, absolute.

And more terrifying than its brilliance was the way it ignored.

The laws of the world bent and broke around him. Spells collapsed in his presence.

The natural order recoiled.

It was as if he was an existence that did not belong here.

No rather… his energy is ignoring others…?

Lavine felt it.

If he willed it, she would be gone.

She forced her smirk to remain, though her heart pounded in her chest.

She still had other methods—contingencies, weapons in her arsenal that could fend off even him.

But invoking them carried consequences she did not want to face.

Not yet.

So instead, she smiled wider, hiding her unease behind that familiar mocking laugh.

“I believe we got off on the wrong foot, dear Hero…” Lavine’s voice dripped with mock sweetness as her robes fluttered faintly in the distorted air. “What was your name again? Lucas, was it? Yes… Lucas. I know you’re worried about your precious juniors, but don’t worry—” she tilted her chin toward the translucent screens, her smile widening, “as you can see, my master is taking care of them—”

SWIIIIISSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Her words cut short.

A crescent beam of blinding white light ripped through the air, narrowly grazing the top of her head.

The air itself screamed as the slash tore through the darkened ceiling of the floor, carving open layers of the dungeon above.

For one brief moment, the boundaries between worlds trembled—dimensional walls buckled and split, fragments of higher floors bleeding through before violently snapping shut.

Lavine’s eyes widened despite herself.

Cutting through space and time was one thing.

She could accept that. But slicing across multiple dimensional layers in one strike?

That was something else entirely. It was not just strength—it was violation.

Her lips twitched, and yet she forced her smile to remain as she slowly turned her gaze back toward Lucas.

“Impressive~” she cooed, though her voice wavered ever so slightly. “But trust me, Hero, threats aren’t something you can afford right now… are they?”

Lucas lowered his blade only slightly, his eyes locked on her with sharp stillness. His voice came out as cold steel.

“…You. Why are you doing this? What do you want?”

Lavine sighed softly, though inwardly, she felt relief.

“That’s an interesting question…” she mused, clasping her hands together loosely as if in prayer. “But shouldn’t we be the ones asking you that?”

Lucas’s eyes narrowed. “…???”

“Oh, don’t act confused,” Lavine whispered, her grin curling. “The very fact the Saintess is here… and you, with that anomalous presence of yours… it means you’ve already pieced it together, haven’t you? You’ve already realized the truth about everything here, dear Hero~”

Everything?

What was she implying?

Did this tie to the Holy Sword guiding him here, whispering cryptic fragments in his mind?

Or to the Saintess’s mysterious role—how she had been tasked with erasing some evil that resided within this dungeon?

Or was it something worse?

For the first time in this exchange, Lucas felt the shadow of doubt gnaw at his certainty.

And Lavine’s smile only widened at the crack in his composure.

“Judging by that white light you’re exuding… have you finally stepped into your heavenly transcendence, Hero?” Lavine tilted her head, her smile sharp and knowing. “Or is it merely the grace of your blood awakening? Hmhm… whatever the case, it seems the dear goddess of light—who has so arrogantly ignored the cries of this world all this time—is finally trying to act.”

Her lips curled, voice growing colder. “You do understand what that means, don’t you? At this rate, the favors of causality will bend to us.”

“…..”

“Or…” she continued, feigning thought, one delicate finger tapping her lips, “…did the Moon finally decide to move? Perhaps it is the stirrings of the Three Beings in the Dark Fog? So many forces scrambling now, when the end is inevitable.” A faint chuckle left her. “Well… whatever the case may be, our dear Mother is ready. And trust me, Hero—there is nothing you can do to stop her.”

Lucas stood silently.

“The world is already fated to be consumed by eternal darkness,” Lavine whispered, her voice like a hymn carried on the void. “Too many repeats, too many cycles of resistance… and all of it only leads to one inevitability. As all beings… as all concepts… so too must even ’heroes’ come to their end.”

Lucas’s brow furrowed, confusion flickering behind his calm exterior.

“No matter what you do, Hero… no matter how you struggle,” she continued, her eyes narrowing, “the people you love, and the world you cling to, will drown in lamentation and despair.”

Then her tone shifted. Gentle. Almost tender.

Lavine’s naturally violet eyes glimmered as they caught his golden ones.

“…But it need not be.”

Slowly, gracefully, she descended from the air, her dark habit flowing around her like a veil of night. She landed before him without sound, as if the ground itself welcomed her steps.

And then, deliberately, she stretched out her hand. Open palm. Inviting.

“For this world… for the ones you love…” she said softly, every word dripping with dangerous allure. “…instead of endless suffering, why not choose certainty? Why not join us, dear Hero?”

Her hand remained, steady in the space between them, her eyes never leaving his.

“Just accept my hand,” she whispered, her voice threading through the silence like a curse, like a promise. “And we’ll have a deal. Your juniors will be safe, whole and smiling. The people you love will be untouched. And this world…” her lips curved ever so slightly, “…will be spared the agony it is destined to face. Everyone will leave here… free, happy… alive.”

Lucas stared at her outstretched hand for a long moment, his golden eyes unblinking.

The air between them was thick, trembling with the weight of temptation.

Lavine’s violet gaze held no waver, her smile inviting, her voice still echoing in his mind like honey laced with poison.

And then—his gaze shifted.

He raised his eyes from her hand to her face, the faintest glint of steel in his expression.

“No.”

The word left his lips like an executioner’s verdict—flat, cold, absolute.

In the same heartbeat, divine light flashed.

The holy sword in his grasp drove forward, piercing cleanly through Lavine’s chest.

“—AGH!” The demonic nun’s eyes widened, her lips twisting as blood spilled. Her smile collapsed into raw disbelief. “You… wretched… b-brat…!”

She staggered, trying to wrench herself back, but the damage was already irreversible.

Her body trembled violently, her legs losing strength, collapsing beneath her.

Her voice cracked into a scream as she clawed weakly at her chest.

“Don’t you care what happens to your juniors!?”

Lucas’s expression did not falter. His eyes, cold as moonlight, bore into her writhing figure.

“I do.”

The words were simple, but behind them lay an unshakable conviction.

[Master… the Saintess’s location has been confirmed.]

The holy sword’s voice reverberated directly into his mind.

Its glow flared in response, threads of divine brilliance tightening around his form.

Lucas did not know what sort of being this demonic nun was.

A worshipper?

A vessel?

Or perhaps something stranger—an envoy of the so-called “Great Mother” she spoke of.

Her words had planted countless questions in his mind—about heroes, transcendence, the goddess, and the reason all of this unfolded in this dungeon.

But for now… none of it mattered.

A faint smile curved his lips. He turned, regarding Lavine’s collapsing body with an expression devoid of pity.

“As long as he’s here… nothing else matters.”

Lavine’s purple eyes shook violently.

Her lips parted in confusion, as though she could not comprehend what he meant.

Her body began to fracture, hairline cracks of darkness spreading across her skin like shattered glass.

For Lucas, there was no hesitation.

He was no “hero” bound by the will of the world.

I am just a knight… a knight who intends to fulfill his promise.

And for the sake of seeing that person again—face to face—he would do anything.

Lavine’s scream was cut short as her body splintered completely, fragments dissolving into the void like broken shards of a mirror.

The area shook as Lucas’s own body ignited in pure white light.

His figure blurred, streaking across the dungeon’s shadows like a spear cast from the heavens.

The darkness split as he descended upon his next destination, his boots striking the stone floor with the force of a thunderclap.

At the end of the altar, wreathed in gloom, a man awaited him.

A black mask hid his face.

His pristine suit, paired with a long dark coat, contrasted unnaturally with the ancient, corrupted setting of the altar.

The man did not move.

He simply stood, hands at his sides, staring at Lucas with eyes that glimmered faintly through the mask—utterly indifferent.

…..

[Note: The effects of [Ultimate Skill: Charity] are being shared upon the user’s essence.]

[Ultimate Skill: Charity]

[Charity channels the boundless power of love into tangible growth. Upon activation, the user radiates a divine aura that shares accumulated experience (EXP), skill mastery, and personal growth with those they genuinely love. This transfer is seamless and non-diminishing — the user retains all progress while uplifting others.]

[Skill Effects:]

[EXP Sharing: Allies loved by the user receive a portion of the user’s total EXP and skill progress, instantly leveling up and unlocking latent potential.]

[Growth Bond: Emotional connection strengthens the effect — the deeper the love, the greater the transfer.]

[Passive Effect — Divine Favor: As long as the loved remain under the user’s aura, the skill user gains:]

[5x EXP Boost from all sources]

[+300% Divine Energy Regeneration Rate]

[Immunity to Despair-type debuffs]

[Aura of Grace: Nearby allies gain minor healing and morale boosts every minute]

[Note: Divine energy is being transferred upon your essence!]

[+1000 Divine Energy]

[Current Soul Sequence Resonance Progress: 56% → 78% → 89%…]

[90%]

[Proficiency required before unlock!]

[Note: Divine Title and Authority: 80% → 90% → 100%]

[Congratulations! You have gained a new Title.]

[FRAUD]

[A blessing from the world’s causality has been bestowed.]

[Blessing of the Fraud]

[Once the divine user reaches Soul Sequence completion, Divine Title and Authority shall be wielded.]

[Warning: Divine Title and Authority are now overriding current universal title…]

[Soul Sequence Resonance Error detected.]

[’Blessing of Change’ and ’Blessing of Death’ placed into temporary hold…]

[Do you wish to proceed with Soul Sequence Resonance under: Blessing of Fraud?]

I blinked.

My jaw slackened as line after line of glowing system notifications drowned my vision.

’Wtf is all this?’

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