36 - The Hero Who Had Killed

Chapter 36 - The Hero Who Had Killed

Written By Dr. Armstrong (New Name)

~〈The Chosen Hero〉~

Julius grunted as he downed yet another bottle of... Orange juice.

He was afraid that perhaps he had started to become addicted to this stuff, yet perhaps this is necessary as the effects of staying underground for days on end had started to really show themselves...

"Sigh... I wonder if my little Brother is still in the womb..." Well, he didn't actually know if it was a Boy or a Girl, but his Mother had been heavily pregnant when he left for this mission.

Julius himself was still a veritable 8-year-old, yet it was simply his duty as the Chosen Hero to do... Well, Heroic Deeds.

Escorting these Researchers hadn't been the reason why he traveled all the way down here, it was more like a side quest...

Though he wasn't going to complain since he really needed some companions if he wanted to survive in this forsaken place with his sanity intact.

"Hero...!" The door to his tent spread open as a middle-aged Man with a terrified expression came in with some news.

"Hm...? Oh, Gerard... What's wrong?" The Hero asked the Man in question.

"Monsters... Lots of them!" He swung his hands around to emphasize the huge number of Monsters that had rolled up on the camp.

"I understand... Let me take care of it, then." The Hero said in a brisk tone before snatching his Sword from the side and leaving the tent with a hurried pace and a serious expression.

This wasn't the first time he had to swarm... Of... Monsters... Uh, that's kind of a big swarm...

All kinds of bizarre creatures had teamed up to form this massive beast tide, Monsters that would have typically attacked each other on sight...

The Hero leaped forward into the battlefield, joining the Guardsmen in their fight against the horde of Monsters.

—BOOM~!*

The entire battle was stopped before it even began.

The entire battlefield's attention snapped towards the middle, there what could only be called a Freak of Nature stood as a miasma of fear and despair spilled out from the Monster.

The Hero froze right where he stood as the Monster's eerily human-like eyes made contact with his own, reaching deep into his Soul with a single stare.

Julius was quite familiar with this sensation. It was the utilization of a particularly powerful Skill in the right hand, a Skill that he never thought a Monster would make use of, let alone possess.

Appraisal.

"Hero...?" Julius widened his eyes when a voice directly spoke to his mind. The voice was distorted, like the sound of shattered glass scraping against metal underwater...

"I guess this can't be called heroic anymore..." The Monster spoke without moving its bony jaws as it took a step towards the young Hero.

"Stay back...!" The Hero shouted as an overwhelming fear crept up to his senses. He tried to take a step back but his consciousness as the Hero stopped his attempts to flee.

The Hero gritted his teeth before trying to return the Monster's favor by utilizing the Appraisal Stone he carried around as a necklace, he needed to figure out what he was dealing with.

〈Greater Elroe—

「Appraisal has been denied.」

"...What?" The Appraisal hadn't failed, it got denied...

"A level 13 Human managed to become the Hero? Bruh... Though I guess those sweat Skills of yours make up for it, yeah?" The Monster calmly said before Julius's line of sight was covered in bright light.

An all too familiar kind of light.

The Hero's very own Magic manifested beside him as a long ray of Light brimming with holy and purifying energy blasted the Monster's Light Beam.

Normally, the Holy Light would have bested the regular Light Beam without much effort, but the Monster must have had a very high Magic Stat in comparison to the Hero as the inferior Light Beam somehow managed to match the Holy Ligh Beam in power.

—BAAAM~!*

The pressure created by the conflicting Light Beams resounded through the battlefield with a bright explosion of light, vaporizing all of those who were unlucky enough to be near the splash zone.

「The Title ~Human Slayer~ has been bestowed.」

"What!?" The Hero was in shock as he had accidentally made a lot of casualties in just that singular attack.

「In response to Title acquisition, the Skills ~Taboo LV 1~ and ~Heresy Enhancement LV 1~ have been acquired.」

"Taboo!? No, no, I didn't mean to—" Julius was interrupted as the Monster came spiraling his way, somehow launching itself into the air.

"Your Soul is ours, Hero!" The Monster shouted with a maniacal tone as several dozen Spell Circuits manifested around it.

The Hero swallowed his words to the back of his mind as he stood his ground, his Sword and Shield positioned to his front as Magical Power rushed to his equipment, empowering them with vicious strength.

—SHING~BAAM~!*

The Monster crashed into the Hero, shattering his Sword into two and cracking his Shield apart.

Julius stood his ground as the images of his Mother kept flashing in his mind, resolving him under the pressure as acid splashed into his body, burning his skin and flesh.

Julius's bones cracked under the Monster's crashing force as his willpower and persona of the Hero refused him the sweet relief of death, the Hero—No, the 8-year-old Prince somehow still clinging to life even after the Monster crashed into him with the weight of an elephant.

But of course, no amount of willpower and courage could give his body the impossible strength he had always wanted. The Hero collapsed onto his back as his broken legs lacked the strength to carry him anymore.

"Any last words, Julius?" This time the Monster had called him by his name, not surprising since it did Appraise him earlier...

"Nah, I've had it with this life." He truly did, all he wanted was to live life like an actual human being... But his position as the God-chosen Hero prevented this.

Though perhaps he would still do the things he had done even if the Title of Hero hadn't been bestowed on him... Who knows...

Julius closed his eyes as he awaited his demise at the hands of this sadistic Monster...

...

...

...

"Hm...?" He couldn't help but open his eyes as the sound of clanking and the lack of death awoke his inner curiosity.

The Monster was on the ground, shaking in fear as what could only be called a huge man dressed in black draconic armor stood nearby.

"A Dragon has arisen." The armored man announced before a loud cracking sound resounded in the Hero's ears.

The Egg had hatched.

===

"Bro tried to kill Julius before the Spider did, but unfortunately for him, it was a Canon event." -Remark

The next canon event is you giving me those stones you have up your ass.