The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 1 - The Snowfield (1)

I walk through a life that never ends.

A snow-covered wasteland.

Footsteps stretched out across the pure white expanse, like brushstrokes on a blank canvas.

“Haah, haah.”

Breath rose, almost choking me.

I staggered forward, my steps unsteady in the bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze my lungs.

In the distance, beyond the snowstorm, a faintly flickering flame was visible.

“I found... it.”

How long had it been since I began wandering in search of the 'Primordial Flame'?

Hundreds of years? Thousands? No, perhaps tens of thousands of years had already passed.

It had been so long that counting the years had lost all meaning.

As memories of scouring the continent alone, dragging this wretched, undying body along, flashed through my mind.

“Haah.”

I first realized I couldn’t die during a practical training exercise in my third year as a hero cadet.

A wild beast had suddenly lunged out from the underbrush and clamped its jaws around my neck.

My severed head rolled across the ground.

I thought, ‘What a cursed life,’ and closed my eyes.

But then...

‘Why am I alive again?’

Yes.

I was alive.

I didn’t die.

My severed head was back on my shoulders, and my body, torn apart by the beast’s claws, had returned to its original, unscathed state as if nothing had happened.

That was when I first understood.

Ah.

From now on, I wouldn’t even be able to die on my own terms.

‘Well, considering how things turned out, I wasn’t wrong.’

472nd out of 472.

I graduated at the bottom of my class at the hero academy and became a lowly mercenary, fighting on the frontlines.

When monsters and demons rampaged across the continent, turning it into a wasteland.

When war broke out between the heroes of the Empire and those of the Republic.

When the ‘Witch of the Night’ turned half the continent into a frozen wasteland.

When I became one of the ‘Final Five Heroes,’ humanity’s last hope.

When I fought the final battle against the Demon God with my comrades.

When all humanity perished because of the curse the Demon God scattered upon his suicide.

I survived.

Only I survived.

Clinging desperately to this wretched life.

Struggling.

Scraping by.

I survived.

“But… it ends now.”

I trudged through the snowstorm toward the flickering flame.

The Primordial Flame.

The fire that was said to have shaped the world in ancient times and burned the ‘Tree of Creation’ that birthed the seven gods.

How long had I wandered the continent in search of this mythical relic, not even sure if it truly existed?

Then, as I took one step closer to the flickering flame...

Rumble!

The ground shook as something enormous burst through the thick layer of snow.

A golem, crafted with intricate mechanical parts.

It was an ancient guardian, one of the many I had encountered over the years while chasing remnants of myths across the continent.

Whoosh! Crunch!

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The golem’s arm swung and struck me.

My head was crushed, and my body was pulverized.

My limbs twisted at unnatural angles, and my innards spilled out, staining the white snow with crimson.

Instant death, without a shred of hope.

No matter how much of a 'hero' one was, blessed with superhuman strength by the seven gods, such a grievous wound meant certain death.

“Hoo.”

The shattered and crushed pieces of my body turned to gray ash and scattered over the white snowfield.

The holy mark (stigmata) on my left chest glowed.

From that point, my crushed body returned to its original form.

In the blink of an eye, I was ‘revived,’ and with a familiar motion, I drew my sword from my waist.

With a single stroke, I cut through the raging snowstorm.

There was no blinding aura, no earth-shattering roar.

Like flowing water, the blade slid between the gaps in the golem’s armor and sliced its core in two.

Rumble!

The ancient guardian, which had protected the sanctuary for countless years, collapsed with surprising ease.

-Clap clap clap!

As the golem fell, I heard the sound of applause.

I turned my head toward the direction of the sound.

“That was an impressive strike.”

“…Yuren.”

A young man with radiant golden hair, shining like the sun.

His slender figure and androgynous features made it hard to tell whether he was male or female, and he approached me with a faint smile.

“You used to struggle so much just to swing a sword.”

“I learned a lot from you.”

I chuckled softly and continued.

“Maybe now, I’ve come closer to mastering the ‘ultimate’ Sun Blade than you?”

“Oh, what’s this? You want to have a go?”

“Anytime.”

As I shrugged and teased Yuren...

“Hahahah! Bringing down that massive golem with one blow! As expected of you, my brother!”

A loud, hearty laugh echoed as a burly man in a tattered robe approached.

He grinned broadly, slapping me on the shoulder with a hand as large as a cauldron lid.

“You’ve been using the sword a lot lately, but I trust you haven’t forgotten the martial arts I taught you.”

“Don’t worry, Berald. I remember everything.”

How could I forget?

The martial arts you patiently taught me without a single harsh word, despite my complete lack of physical coordination.

“Hmph. For someone who remembers, you sure don’t use the magic I taught you.”

Following Berald was a small woman with a large staff.

Her wide-brimmed pointed hat and fiery red hair were striking.

“Sorry, Senior Sophia. I’m just not...”

“I know. Your pitiful mana can’t cast proper spells. I was just teasing.”

“Still, I’ve done a lot of theoretical research. I even solved two of the ‘Three Great Mysteries of the Archmage’ you used to talk about, except for one.”

“Oh, please. Do you think magic is all about theory?”

“……”

She once said that perfect theory was the essence of magic.

I swallowed the words that almost escaped my lips and smiled.

Yuren, Berald, and Sophia.

As I glanced at the faces of the comrades I had shared countless battlefields with...

“...Is your body holding up okay?”

A voice, warm enough to melt the frozen wasteland, tickled my ears.

“Iris.”

A woman with soft pink hair dressed in a white priestess robe.

Even though her eyes were covered by a black blindfold, her exposed nose, lips, and jawline exuded a breathtaking beauty.

With a worried expression, Iris approached and gently placed her hand on the holy mark on my left chest.

“You shouldn’t push your body like that.”

“I’ll come back to life soon enough, even if I die.”

“But you still feel the pain all the same!”

As always.

Iris scolded me with a sorrowful voice.

Instead of answering, I gently pulled her close by the waist and kissed her.

“Really! You always just brush things off like this!”

Iris, her cheeks flushed like a peach, scolded me with a huff.

With a faint smile, I turned away from her and took another step toward the distant flame.

“…That’s the Primordial Flame, right?”

Yuren asked, standing beside me.

I gave a slight nod.

“We finally found it.”

“It took a long time.”

A painfully long time.

“Come on! We’re almost there, brother!”

“What are you waiting for? Get moving!”

At my comrades’ urging, I quickened my pace.

After walking for a few more minutes...

Fwoosh.

In the endless expanse of the snowfield.

We stood before the brilliantly burning flame.

“…It’s smaller than I imagined.”

A small flame, barely the size of a fist.

But the immeasurable power emanating from it was more than enough to confirm that this was indeed the mythical relic.

“Isn’t it amazing? That a flame this small contains the power to burn away a holy mark.”

There was no response.

“What do you think will happen when the holy mark is burned away?”

There was no response.

“When that happens, I probably won’t come back to life, right?”

There was no response.

“Why is everyone suddenly so...”

When I turned to where my comrades had been standing, all I saw was an empty snowfield.

The howling snowstorm.

The silence that fell like a curtain.

White.

A world of pure white.

“……”

Yes.

I knew.

I had known all along, but I had forced myself to ignore it.

There was no one left in this world to listen to me.

“Hah.”

I let out a dry laugh and sat down on a nearby rock, unloading the bundle from my back.

A time so long it couldn’t even be counted anymore.

In that endless time, during which even my soul had worn thin, I had kept my most precious treasures with me.

“Yuren.”

I drove a worn-out sword into the ground.

“You were the greatest hero and swordsman I ever knew.”

Because of the courage I learned from you.

I’m here.

“Berald.”

This time, I laid down a tattered robe.

“At first, I thought you were crazy, coming from the magic department but always throwing punches instead of spells. But your theory was right. To reach the pinnacle of martial arts, one must also master magic.”

Because of the perseverance I learned from you.

I’m here.

“Senior Sophia.”

I placed a broken staff on the ground.

“Sorry I couldn’t make better use of the magic you worked so hard to teach me.”

Because of the wisdom I learned from you.

I’m here.

“And...”

The last item left in the bundle.

My hand, gripping a black blindfold, trembled.

“Iris.”

It will never fade away.

The memory of those soft lips.

The warmth of that tender touch.

“Thank you for loving someone like me.”

Because of the love I learned from you.

I’m here.

“Hah.”

I exhaled softly.

I grasped the brilliantly burning flame with both hands.

Slowly, I lifted the flame toward the holy mark engraved on my left chest.

“……”

I remembered.

The ones who had been my only family in a world where I didn’t even know the faces of my parents.

The bravest comrade.

The most steadfast brother.

The wisest mentor.

And.

The kindest lover.

“…Ah.”

The emotions that had weighed down my heart.

They poured out like a flood.

“Ah, ugh.”

There were so many things I wanted to say.

But I couldn’t say a single word.

In the snowfield, where no one was left to listen.

Only the beast-like wails of my grief were scattered by the swirling snowflakes.

-Fwoosh!

The brilliantly burning flame seared the holy mark and seeped into my body.

And then.

ILL_1

ILL_2

* * *

“Dale! Dale Han!”

A fierce shout rang in my ears.

‘What?’

Who’s calling my name?

“How dare you sleep during my class? You’ve got some nerve, don’t you?”

Whoosh!

I saw a massive hand, as big as a cauldron lid, slicing through the air.

Before my mind could even process it.

My body moved on its own.

-Snap!

I caught the swinging wrist, yanked it toward me, and at the same time, I drove my clenched fist into his solar plexus.

As soon as my fist touched his solar plexus, I unleashed the energy within it in an explosive burst.

The martial art Berald had taught me flowed out as naturally as water.

Boom! Crack! Crunch!

With a thunderous crash, the unidentified man flew across the room, smashing through the teacher’s desk before crumpling to the ground.

“……”

“……”

And then, silence.

I frowned as I looked around at the students who were staring at me, their mouths hanging open in shock.

“…Huh?”

Where the hell am I now?

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]