The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 59: Midterm Evaluation (4)

[TL/N: In this chap POV changes between Yuren and Dale in the middle without any indicator. As if pov wasn’t already confusing in previous chaps 😭]

Eight years have passed since my brother died.

I think about it every day.

I regret it every time.

If only I had died instead of him, how much better would it have been?

If that had happened,

I wouldn't be living every day, crushed by guilt.

But a wish is just a wish.

All I could do was dwell on those irretrievable days, tearing apart my heart.

I had to become stronger.

Aim higher.

Reach further.

Until I became a sun shining brightly in the sky.

Until I could replace the name of 'Yuren Helios.'

I couldn’t stop.

I couldn’t back down.

Because this... was the 'price' I had to pay for the sin I committed.

Therefore,

I swung my sword until my palms bled every day.

I trained until I collapsed, vomiting from the effort.

No matter how painful, exhausting, or tormenting it was.

I didn’t give up.

Maybe heaven recognized my efforts.

My swordsmanship improved rapidly, day by day.

As my skills grew every day, I began to dream of hope.

If I could become ‘Yuren Helios’ instead of ‘Yurina Helios,’

I believed my mother would love me as she did before.

-Amazing! At just 15 years old, you've outshone renowned heroes to take second place in the Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament. Truly fitting skills for the descendant of the 'Sword of the Sun'!

The fruits of my efforts came after three years.

In a swordsmanship tournament where even active heroes participated, I, who hadn't even entered the hero academy, clinched second place.

Surely, my mother would acknowledge me now.

I returned to the mansion with excited steps.

Inside the spacious mansion room,

I opened the door full of anticipation, and my mother greeted me with a cold, icy voice.

-You took second place?

-Yes! I lost by a narrow margin at the end, but still...

-Are you making a fuss over just second place?

With a disappointed look, my mother clicked her tongue.

-If it had been Yuren, he would have won.

She sighed softly, caressing my brother’s picture in a wistful tone.

-Haa. If only he had been alive...

Her murmuring words made me shiver, and I trembled as I clenched my fists.

-Begging your pardon…

-There’s no need to apologize. I never had any expectations for you anyway.

-...

-What could you possibly do, when you don’t even bear the stigma of the 'Sun God' despite being of the Helios bloodline?

Each word that fell from my mother's mouth was like a sharp blade cutting through my heart.

-If you’re done talking, leave.

Bang.

The door slammed shut roughly.

I slumped down in front of the firmly closed door, pleading for forgiveness in a cracked voice.

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I'm sorry.

I'll do better next time.

I’ll try harder and harder and harder.

I’ll be number one.

I won’t lose to anyone.

So, Mom...

Please… Please acknowledge me…

“Neighhh!”

“Ugh…!”

My mind, lost in thought, was awakened by the growl of a demonic beast.

I looked at the charging beast, a unicorn, snorting in excitement, and my eyes gleamed.

‘This is my chance!’

I pulled back my arm, gripping the sword as if drawing a bowstring, concentrating my magic at the tip of the blade.

A golden glow gathered at the tip of the sword.

Sun Sword Sixth Form, White Light.

A technique that shoots the condensed sword energy from the tip of the sword, and the highest level of difficulty and power among the 'forms' of the Sun Sword that I could use.

Woooom!

The golden light at the tip of the sword tore through the air at terrifying speed.

Just as the golden light was about to pierce through the bell hanging around the unicorn’s neck.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Dale, who had been chasing the unicorn, deflected the golden energy.

Clang!

“Ugh…!”

Dale gritted his teeth as he slid backward.

Was it because of the overwhelming amount of mana contained within the golden energy?

The impact felt as if he had struck a massive iron block with his sword, tearing the flesh of his palms.

Dale clicked his tongue, looking down at his bleeding hands.

“That little... His mana is ridiculously strong.”

Normally, he would have finely adjusted his mana to disperse the impact, but he had rushed in so quickly that he had no time to do so.

“Dale…!”

“I told you. It wouldn’t be easy.”

I wiped the blood from my palm on my pants and raised my sword.

“Move, Dale.”

“And if I say no?”

“...”

[PR/N: POV change.]

Yuren glared fiercely at me, his mouth tightly shut.

“…If you say no, then I have no choice.”

A golden storm of mana surged around Yuren.

Even from a considerable distance, the magic was so powerful that it made my skin tingle.

‘This feels even stronger than when we sparred, doesn’t it?’

I had thought his mana was overwhelming back then, but I didn’t expect he could draw out even more.

As I let out a bitter laugh, Yuren quietly spoke to me.

“If you get hurt, it’s not my fault.”

Yuren stepped forward violently, swinging his sword.

Boom! Crash! Boom!!

It sounded like thunder was crashing down.

With every swing of his sword, engulfed in golden aura, deep craters formed, shaking the ground as if an earthquake had hit.

Trees that were tens of meters tall were uprooted and scattered across the ground, and massive boulders were shattered into gravel.

“Neighhh!”

Even the unicorn, which had charged at Yuren with a fierce snort, hurriedly retreated in the face of the massive destruction that resembled the rampage of a mythical giant.

Boom! Crash! Rumble!

Who could look at this and think it was a sword being wielded?

The ground around me was upheaved, with dust rising thick in the air.

“Ugh!”

I used "Wind Step" to dodge Yuren's sword strikes and frowned.

'I always knew he had an absurd amount of magic power, but still...'

There should be a limit, right? This is almost like causing a natural disaster with a sword.

'But something is...'

I squinted my eyes as I dodged the golden sword aura coming at me from all directions.

'Too hasty?'

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The power was strong, but that was it.

Yuren's sword was impatient, as if a ghost was chasing him.

The elegance that once drew admiration had vanished without a trace, and the delicate technique that cleverly exploited blind spots had been buried under brute strength.

'It's actually easier to deal with him like this.'

I didn't know what was making Yuren so desperate, but...

Facing him now wasn't that difficult.

“Hah, hah! Damn it!”

Was it because he was frustrated seeing me dodge his attacks like an annoying fly?

Yuren panted heavily and cursed roughly.

“How long are you going to keep running?!”

“Until you come to your senses.”

“...You're saying I'm not in my right mind?”

“If anyone saw you now, they would think the same.”

“That...”

Yuren trailed off as if I had hit a sore spot.

“...I can't help it.”

Yuren muttered in a small voice, his head lowered.

[PR/N: pov change]

Yeah.

There was no way I could stay sane.

'I can't afford to lose first place.'

I clenched my sword hilt tighter and bit my lip.

This was the first time I had felt this anxious during a test.

Ever since I entered Hero Academy as the top student, being "first place" was such a given.

There hadn't been a single candidate in the past two years who could compete with me for the top spot.

But...

'If it's Dale...'

Twice a week.

Learning swordsmanship from Dale, I realized that he wasn't just excellent in swordsmanship.

He had an experience that was hard to believe for a candidate.

He acted with boldness, as if he had multiple lives.

His quick judgment and decisiveness were impressive.

The more I saw of Dale, the more I wondered how he had managed to hide his strength until now.

He was truly astonishing.

'The only thing I have over Dale is my amount of mana.'

That's why...

When Dale said he was aiming for first place this time, my heart sank.

At this rate, I would lose the top spot.

Tension turned into anxiety, and anxiety became fear.

'If I lose first place even once...'

A nightmare reappeared.

Eight years ago, that day.

The day the "sun" known as Yuren Helios fell.

- If only you... if only you weren't here! Only youuuu!!!

The sound of a scream tearing through the air.

The shattering of a flowerpot.

The hands of my mother, strangling me.

The pain of being unable to breathe.

Those bloodshot eyes, glaring down at me.

Eyes, eyes, eyes.

“...No.”

Yuren shouted as if in agony, still gripping his sword.

“I... I absolutely cannot lose!”

Not a single defeat is acceptable.

Not a single mistake is forgivable.

Yuren Helios, the "sun" that shines high in the sky, must be such a being.

Rumble!

The ground shook as a storm of magic power surged.

The only thing I have over Dale is my magic power.

'Then...'

I have no choice but to crush him with overwhelming magic power.

“Haaaah!”

With a fierce shout, I swung my sword.

The 6th form of the Sun Sword, Modified Style, White Light—Wave.

The golden sword aura, condensed at the tip of my sword, turned into a massive tidal wave, sweeping across the land.

“...Yuren.”

Dale, who had been watching Yuren with deeply sunken eyes, furrowed his brow as if pondering while gazing at the golden tidal wave rushing towards him.

“Hah.”

A low sigh escaped Dale's lips after a moment of thought.

He kicked off the ground to avoid the approaching golden tidal wave.

He moved behind the unicorn.

Then, just as the unicorn tried to dodge the golden tidal wave, Dale slashed its leg with his sword, using the unicorn as a shield to block the golden sword aura.

“Neigh!”

The unicorn let out a pitiful scream as the golden sword aura ravaged its body.

And then...

Crash!

The bell around the unicorn's neck shattered.

-Ding!

[Candidate 'Yuren Helios' has achieved the bonus objective.]

[A candidate who achieves the bonus objective will automatically become first place in the midterm evaluation, regardless of their score.]

“Ah.”

Yuren widened his eyes, staring at the message displayed on his Hero Watch.

“...Thank goodness.”

Was it because he had used too much magic power, or because all the tension had finally been released?

Yuren collapsed on the spot.

“Mom... I... I did it....”

Yuren, who was lying on the ground, struggled to finish his sentence as his eyes slowly closed.

“......”

Dale slowly approached the unconscious Yuren.

Dale clicked his tongue after picking him up and laying him on a nearby rock.

“...Yuren.”

[PR/N: Pov change again.]

I thought I knew him better than anyone.

He was a precious comrade and an irreplaceable friend.

That's why...

I thought Yuren would be fine.

I assumed he would laugh it off even if he lost first place.

I believed it would be a good stimulus for him, that it would help him grow.

“I knew nothing.”

I made assumptions on my own.

I judged on my own.

I acted as if I knew everything, when in fact I knew nothing.

“...You weren't shining on your own. You were struggling to shine.”

Was he having a terrible nightmare?

I sighed deeply as I looked down at my friend, who kept murmuring faintly, "I can't lose."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]