True Hero

The world seemingly slowed down as the thousands of spears approached us. Strangely, I didn't panic even though I was looking death directly in the eye. Twilight had been a massive pain to fight and his constant use of [Parallel Existance] was annoying as hell. It seemed that now that he was serious, I didn't really stand a chance at all.

I briefly looked over to Ramiris who looked up with surprise in her eyes at the onslaught. She was probably my closest friend in this world, as she was always there for me when I needed her, whether it was during my dreams in childhood or now when facing the toughest opponent I'd ever seen.

'I really can't let her die here.' I thought with resolve welling up from inside of me.

I thought about how I'd never meet the adorable slime himself in the future or meet the colorful cast that he'd eventually employ. I thought about Feldway and all of the fights we would've gotten into. I'd never get to see Rudra somehow whooping Velgrynd into becoming the borderline yandere I knew of in the future. I'd never be able to meet Veldanava's daughter Milim or ensure that he wasn't killed by the world. I'd never get to reconcile with Evelyn and Nolla.

I then thought about Velzard who I sensed was about to spring to my defense if not for the cheapshot Veldora landed on her when she turned away briefly. I smirked a bit thinking about how I was really not a good match for her. She was so much stronger than me and way out of my league. I didn't deserve such a wonderful woman being by my side. The thought of her being sad after my death flashed through my mind. I was suddenly filled with rage at the image that appeared of a crying Velzard huddled in her little ice cave mourning my death.

I felt a strange sensation from deep within my chest... no from deeper. It was my soul that was crying out to me. My grip tightened around my sword.

'Yea fuck that! I'm not dying here!' I thought as I reached deep within myself. I reached for the source of my power, the [Holy Reactor Core] from [Argonaut]. As I grasped the skill with my mind, I yanked out as much power as I could, drawing every last drop of magical essence from my body and pushing it into my sword. I felt as though my skill buckled under the strain of overuse but I didn't care. Despite my sword being made by Veldanava himself, it still seemed to shutter under the weight of the energy I put into it.

The spears were only a meter away from me now and it was time for me to gamble everything on being able to pull off one last miracle. I swung my sword with everything my body could muster and released a torrent of energy so violent that I was almost knocked off my feet.

A blast of pure white energy erupted from where I stood and immediately blew away all of the charging spears, shattering them to pieces in the process.

Twilight's eyes went wide as he moved to dodge the strike which raced towards him but was unable to completely evade it as he was unprepared for it. His left arm and leg were immediately disintegrated while his entire body received severe burns. He even dropped the last remaining copy of the Origin Blood Spear as it fell to the earth.

Twilight balked at the energy as it dissipated and noticed me standing at the epicenter of the blast, seemingly glowing with the residual radiation from my feat of power. A golden glow emanated from around my body like a Holo while my hair hovered slightly off of my back seemingly flowing in the wind from an unseen pressure source coming from my body.

Despite my Super Saiyan-like appearance, I was exhausted from using up such an ungodly amount of power at once. I also seemingly felt empty for a while, like there was an unseen void from deep within my soul that had just opened up. The next thing I felt was pain, as my soul was forcefully expanded due to my actions.

<Notice. All conditions have been met. Ascension Festival has begun. The Individual's physical constitution will be reconstructed and they will evolve into a new race.>

The Voice of the World announced as the glow surrounding my body engulfed it. I felt extremely tired all of a sudden as energy began to swell from within me, filling my aching soul and nearly running rampant inside of me. I began to worry that I'd lose consciousness the moment I let down my guard, however, my fears were unfounded, as the next second the tiredness was blown away and I felt invigorated as I'd never been before.

<Confirmed. Super-Evolving Race Saint into Race Demi-God...>

<Successful>

<All physical and magical energies have been significantly improved.>

<Next, Re-acquiring all Skills and Resistances...>

<Error>

<Unique Skill [Argonaut] has been broken due to overuse... Skill's core found. Sacrificing Unique Skill [Mystic Eyes] to repair the damage...>

<Error!>

<Evolution of skill into Ultimate Skill [Metatron] denied due to individual Veldanava already having said ability...>

<Searching for solution...>

<Notice! Individual Veldanava has willingly given up Ultimate Skill [Metatron]!>

<Successful>

<Unique Skill [Argonaut] has evolved into the Ultimate Skill [Metatron]>

<Re-aquiring all Skills and Resistances will continue.>

<Successful>

<Updated Resistances>

<Abnormal Condition Nullification>

<Natural Effects Nullification>

<Physical Attack Nullification>

<Spiritual Attack Nullification>

<Holy/Demonic Attack Resistance>

<Successful>

<Thus completes the evolution>

Power engulfed my being filling me with a feeling of omnipotence. New energy flooded my empty magical reserves in that instance. I felt as though my eyes were opened to a new truth of the world.

The energy which I had been using all this time had always had a certain level of 'purity' to it above others. I was able to utilize it more efficiently than others and with relatively little practice, was able to master magic and physical enhancement, however, my level from before seemed like a joke in comparison to what I felt right now. If I was using mud before, now I was using crystal clear water without an atom of contamination in it.

I was always pretty good with spatial magic, but now I was able to flick my wrist and shatter the spatial barrier that Twilight had set up beforehand to prevent my escape. I felt a wonderous sensation as space itself wrapped itself around me in a permanent barrier to protect me.

Twilight bit his lip at seeing this and quickly swapped out his damaged body for a new one with [Parallel Existance]. He sent the damaged body after me with all of his might and speed only to have it instantly impaled by dozens of beams of high-energy light constructs which instantly disintegrated the damaged body.

I felt the laws of the world in regard to light and space were at my command. I gazed up at Twilight and was instantly made aware of his Existence Value. 35,167,900. It seems my [Mystic Eyes] weren't entirely sacrificed and had been incorporated into my new Ultimate Skill.

As a matter of fact, all of my Skills were incorporated into [Metatron]. My magic had become [Law Manipulation] and Analysis was sharper than it had ever been.

"I don't think I'm going to lose now," I said to myself as I casually walked over to the Origin Blood Spear which lay in the dirt in front of me.

I picked it up and glanced at it with my new ocular analysis ability. There actually WAS a few trap spells placed on them, but with a simple flick of the spear, all of the effects were removed as though flicking off a bit of dirt off the tip.

I poured my energy into it, purifying the metal and bleeding it dry of its Red Color. It became a golden spear with a spatial attribute that allowed it to cut through any object, even the soul. It would automatically inflict {|Melt Strike|} without me even trying, so even a graze would result in disintegration.

"From now on, you will be called 'Longinus'," I said before Gazing at my sword. "Fuck it. You shall be called 'Excaliber'," I said, naming both of my weapons.

My sword glowed again and became a golden sword equivalent to the spear in terms of luster. I half expected it to look like Artoria's Excaliber but it actually resembled Dawnbreaker from Skyrim. The purity of the metal was also perfect with both a spatial attribute as well as an automatic {|Melt Slash|} effect to match Longinus' {|Melt Strike|}.

Both of my weapons had an Existence Value of over 10,000,000 now with my own value being 30,000,000 after the evolution, giving me a total power of 50,000,000. In other words, Twilight was no longer such a big threat to me and my own power was second only to Dagruel and his siblings and the True Dragons themselves.

I smirked as I looked up at the Stunned Twilight. "Shall we finish this? Didn't you say you were prepared to fight me once I'd awakened and was stronger? How about it? Care to test your luck?" I gloated before taking a step forward.

I was instantly in front of Twilight who quickly spun around and gave a roundhouse kick to my chest before it was caught by my sword. I didn't move but Twilight was blown back from the impact. He quickly righted himself before realizing that both of his arms were missing. In their place were seared and cauterized slash wounds.

Twilight looked on in horror before falling to one of his knees. He looked down at the foot he kicked me with only to realize it was slowly disintegrating away like it was dipped in some sort of acid.

He created another body at that moment and allowed the compromised body to fall away, turning to dust in the next few seconds. He exhaled heavily while glaring at me in both rage and fear. He clearly wasn't having a good time and didn't expect me to be as strong as I was now. I wondered if he was kicking himself now that he was the one to force me into an evolution.

Twilight grimaced as he stood up and summoned a number of two curved blades into his hands. He gave them a quick twirl to get used to their shape and weight before charging me with speed I'd have had trouble dealing with before my evolution but was now extremely manageable to me.

I ducked under an overhead slice and sidestepped a jab. I swung my sword with practiced grace and instantly disarmed Twilight again, in that now both of his arms were cut off. To be honest, I was more surprised that he was at this.

A single halfhearted swing was enough to do more damage to him that my full-power attacks from earlier. It was at that moment when something clicked within me. [Metatron]'s power is to draw the purest power possible from something. If it is from myself, then I draw the purest energy, if it is from my weapons, then I draw out the maximum potential of them.

I was a master swordsman and spearman before, but now, with the effects of [Metatron] active over my whole body, I was able to make even my most casual or instantaneous of actions would be undertaken as though I'd had all the time in the world to preplan them giving me a level of grace and competence that is unmatched in combat.

Twilight backed off and began sending forth massive fireballs toward me. They were imbued with some kind of death skill, as they were wrapped in magic that would shatter the spiritual body of their opponent. It seems that Twilight has given up on stealing my body and has started making plans to kill me here and escape, but I wouldn't let him.

I simply waved my hands the the magic was disbursed. It was at that moment I understood the difference in quality between someone who held an Ultimate Skill and someone who only carried a Unique Skill. There was no way attacks on that level would hurt me. I wanted to laugh at myself for attempting to harm Sylvia with Unique Level Skills and magic when she had an Ultimate Ability as well. I could tell our 'fights' were just her playing around now but I decided it was time to end this charade.

I looked over to see that Velzard was now watching me with stars in her eyes as Veldora lay motionless and frozen solid on the ground behind her. I spotted Ramiris nearby with a few unexpected visitors too. Veldanava, Noir, and Feldway all seemed to have arrived at some point when I was too busy fighting Twilight. I then spotted Velgrynd, the little girl, and Luminous, along with a few other vampire guards hovering in a different location.

Twilight took the time I looked around to also gaze at the surroundings and paled when his eyes met Veldanavas. It was clear that the creator was not happy at the moment and if I didn't end Twilight, then he definitely would. Luminous looked down at Twilight with a face I couldn't quite describe. It was clearly a fusion of disgust, hatred, vitriol, and other emotions. He clearly couldn't ask for her help in this situation. She'd never allow it.

I didn't bother giving a grand old speech to Twilight or gloat to him in his now defeated mental state. Instead, I simply appeared in front of him and stabbed him through the heart while he looked away. It wasn't ceremonious, it wasn't grand, and there was no epic climax to our battle that would shake the earth. He simply slumped over as my sword dealt damage directly to his soul.

Twilight could have easily created another [Parallel Existance] to rid himself of the imminent death that called out to him, but he knew he was just prolonging the inevitable. Now that Veldanava had caught on, it was impossible to escape.

Twilight coughed out blood and fell backward onto the ground. His face stared up into the evening sky. The sun was setting now and a few of the brightest stars were appearing in the dark purple of the heavens above. He was dying. And not a normal death where he'd reconstitute himself somewhere else like the Primordials or having his soul wiped of its memories and reborn somewhere like True Dragons. This was the death of his soul, his essence. Nothing would save him from the oblivion he had run from the latter half of his life.

His eyes glazed over as tears ran down his cheeks. "P-please... I don't want to go... I... I don't..."

I interrupted him with a shaky voice myself. "It's time to rest, Twilight," I said.

It was a weird feeling for me. I felt like comforting him now despite everything I knew he did and the fact that he was ultimately responsible for the death of my parents in this life. I knew that, however, I just couldn't hate him in his final moments. Perhaps it was because I thought of him as one of my best friends for years on end or the fact that I know the unknown of what comes after death is terrifying, so I understood his actions, even if I didn't condone them. Perhaps it was due to the remnants of the Hero's Egg inside me that made me not want to hate my friends. Either way, I felt compelled to hear the last words of my greatest enemy and former best friend.

Twilight stared into the heavens for a few moments, gasping for his last few gulps of air. "L-luminous..." He called out to his second daughter who reluctantly approached him.

"I w- I want you to... please. Don't die..." Twilight said as he reached his hand out to her.

Luminous looked a bit guarded at him but hesitantly took his hand after ensuring he wasn't doing to pull anything. The moment she did, a red light shone from the moment their hands touched. I opened my eyes wide and gazed at Luminous while her Vampire guards also quickly approached. She simply raised her hand to stop us from worrying.

"Don't worry... He's just given me a present... First one in all my life and he only gives it to me now." Luminous said with a slightly shakey voice.

I gave her a once over to ensure he didn't do anything to her but was surprised when I noticed that he now held a Demon Lord's seed. Twilight himself had one before this moment but now his was empty. Furthermore, Luminous now had some sort of Unique-Level power attached to her soul which she didn't have before. My eyes widened as I realized she had obtained the Unique Skill [Lust] from him and that his soul manipulation and instant-death attacks from earlier were his use of said Unique Skill.

Twilight smirked a bit after hearing what Luminous said. "Sorry... my daughter. Tell y- *cough* *cough*! Tell your siblings... I'm sorry." He said as the last of the light disappeared from his eyes and his body disintegrated into nothing but dust. I looked up at Veldanava whose eyes glowed for a moment before he shook his head at me, silently confirming that Twilight was gone.

Luminous stood up and turned away from both the dust pile and everyone present so that none of us could see her face. She stood there for a moment before walking away without another word. I could tell she was upset and wanted to be left alone, however, I'm unsure of whether or not she actually shed any tears for him.

'I guess it really doesn't matter how shitty they are. They are still your parents in the end.'

.~.~.~.

Lore Bit: Velzard was about half a second away from pausing time to save Alaster but was stopped by Veldora hitting her with a powerful strike that caused her to lose concentration. She was despairing heavily at the thought of Alaster being dead but was super relieved when he came out stronger than ever from that dire situation. She totally went full doki-doki when she saw his new form glowing golden.

I also started using Existence Values in this chapter, since Alaster's new powers allow him to measure them. This is due to Ramiris' power being able to measure them and the [Mystic Eyes] being a gift from her, so when they were upgraded, this connection with Ramiris was strengthened to the point of being able to see EVs.

I just wanted to let you guys know a general overview of the EVs in the series. As far as I can tell, these are accurate around when Rimuru becomes a True Dragon.

Veldanava: Infinite (Magicule Breeder Reactor)

Guy: ~40 Million (I don't remember where it said this but I was surprised when I read it since I thought it'd be much higher but I guess it's not the amount of power he has, but how he uses it.)

Diablo: ~30 Million (Rimurus' estimate of his True power after the Empire War arc)

Rimuru (Ultimate Slime): ~10 Million Base+ Sword/ ~100 Million with Veldora and Velgrynd absorbed.

Veldora: ~81 Million

Velgrynd: ~25 Million (before her fight with Rimuru)/ ~74 Million (after her journey across the multiverse in Volume 17)

Velzard: Was never mentioned but I estimate her to be ~100 Million. (She was mentioned to have the highest energy however Veldora is also mentioned to have the highest energy so it is inconsistent. Given the fact she has a 'serious mode' canonically, I'll give her more than him as it makes the most sense.

Alaster: ~30 Million Base/ ~50 Million with Longinus and Excaliber