The Hero Returns

* * *

The ability to command the dead—that was the unique ability of the Rawlsman household; it was an ability that could be considered a massive cheat as well.

As long as the possessor of the ability wanted to, he or she could infinitely command all sorts of undead like Lichs, skeletons, and even Death Knights.

An ability that granted the lone individual enough strength to fight many—no, beyond that, even the country and the world itself.

Lichs knew that this ability was at odds with them, so they tried hard not to directly confront Herrels.

Su-hyeun thought that if he utilized this ability properly, he should be able to locate all the Lichs, plus their leader, the Lich King.

If this world is the real deal, then…

And if he could hunt down the Lich King of this world and thus prevent the emergence of the Lich King back in his own world…

Then, I shall hunt it down here!

He had a dependable ally in this world in Herrels. Although lacking in physical attributes, he still possessed the near-invincible ability when it came to dealing with the undead.

Su-hyeun believed that the fight against the Lich King should be doable as long as he received the nobleman's assistance.

Unfortunately…

"They say they can't find the king of the Lichs."

This ability was not good enough to locate the elusive Lich King.

"As for the Lichs…Their overall numbers can't be tallied at all."

"Exactly how many of them are out there?" Su-hyeun asked.

"I'm not sure. They are hidden so well that I think some of them managed to get to a place where the eyes and ears of the dead can't even reach."

"…That's troublesome."

Lichs had been shoring up their strength for a long time. The only reason why they managed to hold themselves back and hide for so long was probably because of the Lich King's existence.

Judging from the Lichs' reactions, the Lich King definitely exists.

Su-hyeun initially wondered if this trial was the "past of another world" and if Roy would become the king of all Lichs in the future.

However, he realized that this idea was faulty not too long afterward.

If his theory was correct, then the Lichs wouldn't have a central figure they could pivot to. Not only that, but the Lichs wouldn't have such blind faith—something they held even dearer than their own lives—if the Lich King wasn't around yet.

Therefore, the Lich King already existed somewhere, and it was likely that the Lichs required their second "god" for some reason.

The theme of this trial has been bared in full now.

The Lich King, the Lichs, and Roy, who might become the second "god" of the undead.

For the remaining six days… I shall completely uproot all the Lichs.

Sitting around while twiddling his thumbs wasn't his style at all.

Act 3

Half a day flew past like a blink of an eye.

The sun had already gone past the midday sky and began to gradually creep toward the horizon. Eventually, the night came to visit the world once more.

Herrels, who had remained silent all the while, finally opened his mouth to speak. "Now that's a lot of them."

He said that after listening to the voices of the dead souls. He got to learn that Lichs had already filled up the nearby area.

"Will this fight really be the end?" he asked.

"Hopefully so," Su-hyeun replied.

The final battle against the Lichs—that was what both Su-hyeun and Herrels wanted to happen. It was also what their opponents desired.

The undead required Roy, while Su-hyeun and Herrels both wanted to completely eradicate all the Lichs.

Lord Herrels' ability isn't unbeatable.

While his ability didn't require magical energy to activate, that didn't mean he could use it indefinitely, however.

Herrels had never used his ability to the absolute limit yet, but he already confirmed the level of fatigue that he had sustained depending on how much he used it from the events of the capital city.

It was unknown just for how long he could use his ability.

There's a good chance that this will turn into a war of attrition.

A fight between an army of tens or hundreds of thousands and two men. Even with the assistance from the undead army, there was no doubt that this battle would prove to be arduous.

"Will you really be alright?"

That was why Herrels asking this question was quite understandable. Unlike him being accompanied by the undead army, Su-hyeun would have to fight all alone.

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"There will be a limit to how much I can help you. And also…" Herrels stopped talking for a moment and scanned the surroundings. "It's not only the Lichs that have shown up."

"It seems that way."

Maybe Su-hyeun's composed reply took him back? Herrels asked in a surprised tone of voice. "You already knew?"

"There's no reason to be surprised, though. They were already in such a relationship with the emperor of all people, so…"

"Well, you do have a point there, but…"

"It's quite likely that the Lichs will use their human friends to kill you, Lord Herrels."

Su-hyeun spread out his magical energy on the ground to scan and analyze the countless number of people currently gathering around them.

The footsteps reverberating from everywhere couldn't even be counted. They were still too far away to be seen by naked eyes, but there was no doubt that the gathered number was quite considerable to behold.

"How many Lichs you think you can deal with, Lord Herrels?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to give my all and see how it goes. But, one thing is certain—the Lichs cannot kill me."

Herrels had been battling the Lichs for quite a long time. During his battles, he got to clearly confirm that the undead couldn't harm or kill him, the inheritor of the Rawlsman bloodline.

The reason for that was unknown. Maybe it was connected to the Rawlsman bloodline's ability to command the dead somehow.

"And that's precisely why they brought so many humans like this. Just so that they can kill me."

Lichs couldn't kill Herrels. On the other hand, humans certainly could.

That was indeed the reason why they even bothered to gather up that many humans and brought them here.

"It seems that they are really determined this time. No, maybe it signifies that this unknown something they desire so badly is literally just around the corner."

While saying that, Herrels stood up from his spot. He then gazed at Roy and Miru who were currently sticking very close to the cliff face behind them. The boy had been dazedly staring at the sky since last night while riding on Miru's back.

"Roy is everything to me in this world," said Herrels as he began walking away. "That's why I shall definitely protect him, no matter what."

A father to a boy—at this very moment, Herrels was carrying the heavy burden of that title on his shoulders.

Geu-guk, geu-geu-geu-guk—

With him as the center, countless skeletons began rising up—thousands, no, tens of thousands of them.

That wasn't all, however.

Giii-aaaahk—!

Kroooooar—!

Beasts made out of nothing but bones also began rising up from the ground.

Su-hyeun witnessed the tens of thousands of skeletons and bony beasts rising up and looked at Herrels' back as he walked away while commanding his army. At that moment, Su-hyeun realized that the nobleman was prepared to sacrifice his life today if he needed to.

Even if that was the case, he couldn't stop Herrels because he knew the kind of determination that drove the nobleman to make that choice, after all.

"Alright, then. Now…"

Su-hyeun looked up at the Lichs that had shown up along with the encroaching night.

"…Let's get started, too."

* * *

Step—

Herrels stopped walking and took a good look around his surroundings.

Before anyone had time to properly notice it, two armies—one consisting of countless undead, while the other, humans taking aim at him with crossbows and bows—had surrounded him.

Their overall number was at least in the tens of thousands.

Lichs were taking a position just above them.

"Quite a few of you have come to hunt just me, it seems."

"Lord Herrels, it's been a long time."

The voice sounded familiar to Herrels. Herrels shifted his gaze in the direction of that distant voice. Then, he spotted a face he kind of expected to see.

"Lord Seward. I was under the impression that you had passed on, but as expected, that story wasn't true."

"If I had indeed died, then you'd have already known about it, wouldn't you say, Lord Herrels?" The man laughed.

Seward Christine, a marquis of the empire and someone widely acknowledged as second only to Count Balt in swordsmanship. He is also a man who was reported to have died about five years ago.

"I had never imagined that we'd encounter each other in a place like this, Lord Herrels. To think that I, Seward Christine, will have my legendary beginning by beheading you. I can only lament this turn of event."

"Since when did you join the Lichs?"

"It's been about 10 years now. I've been strengthening myself all to accomplish this historical feat. You shouldn't think that I'm the only one, however. If you know the rest who are involved, you'll be quite stunned by the revelation."

"It seems so, as I can already spot several familiar faces among your group."

It was as he said—Herrels could recognize quite a few faces near Seward Christine. From some individuals from his father's generation to nobles that he considered his friends once upon a time.

Those who were thought to have died were here in this place, alive and well.

"This is for the best, actually." Herrels' hand signal prompted the undead army to move in unison like a gigantic tidal wave. "Let us die for real in this place."

Gu-wuwuwuwu—

A massive pile of bones began rising up from the ground.

It was the entrance of a massive lizard featuring a long tail, sleek and lengthy spine, four limbs, and a big horn. It was none other than the Bone Dragon.

Kiii-aaaah—!

The massive Bone Dragon flew up into the sky. The master of all things magical that appeared only in legends and myths had revealed itself to the eyes of the humans, albeit only after its death.

"As expected of you…There was a good reason why his majesty, the emperor, was most wary of you, Lord Herrels."

Seward Christine alternated his impressed eyes between Herrels and the Bone Dragon.

Although the beast was now dead and only its bones remained, the ability to command such a dragon was indeed worthy of praise.

"Alright, let's see this till the end, then."

Seward raised his hand.

At the same time, the crossbows held in the hands of countless soldiers dispersed throughout the forest were poised to fire.

With the preparation now complete, Seward loudly cried out.

"Fire!"

* * *

Boom, ka-boom—!

Pa-pang—!

Loud explosions were accompanied by intense heat waves. The aura of the massive magical power blanketing the entire forest was so wicked that it made one's body instinctively shudder.

Gya-ong—

Some distance behind Su-hyeun, Miru was huddled near the foot of a cliff, baring its fangs and crying out. Not because of fear, though.

It was because it wanted so badly to fire a breath or two at the Lichs currently fighting against Su-hyeun.

Unfortunately…

"Only Lord Herrels and I will be fighting against the Lichs. No, it's more than likely that we'll have to fight some humans who are in cahoots with them, too."

"That's why, Miru, I only have you to rely on right now. You understand, right?"

"Look after Roy. You must use all of your strength to protect him. If it gets too dangerous, you must run away with him."

That was Su-hyeun's serious request.

The older Miru got, the more it earnestly listened to Su-hyeun. Without a doubt, it would have jumped into the fight without a care for its own safety if someone dared to attack Su-hyeun.

However, the current situation was quite different.

Su-hyeun simply didn't have the leeway to look after Roy while fighting against these many Lichs. But that didn't mean he could send Miru and the boy away to somewhere else either.

Even if it was dangerous here, he'd feel more relaxed if they were within his sight. Lichs were fully capable of quickly locating Miru and Roy even if the two of them had escaped to a faraway location, after all.

Gya-ong—

Miru growled lowly from within the protective barrier it cast on itself while watching Su-hyeun's back as he fought against the Lichs.

It happened then.

Plop—

Roy who was riding on Miru's back lightly jumped off from the dragon without a warning.

Gya-ong?

Miru got flustered by this sudden action from the boy who hadn't moved at all for a while and urgently turned its head to look.

Roy had a somewhat dazed and faraway look on his face.

"I… need… to go…"

Gya-ong, gya-ong—

Miru urgently bit down on Roy's clothes and then softly shook its head as if to say, you mustn't go.

"I… need… to go…"

Growl—

Just as Miru tried to shake its head again while biting onto the boy's clothes…

Pow—!

Roy's palm seemed to blanket Miru's entire vision, and then, the dragon was powerfully shoved far back.

Pow, pa-pang—

Boom—

Miru rolled on the ground several times before coming to a halt, dust completely covering its figure. Thankfully, the dragon got up right away as if it wasn't seriously injured. Then, it stared at Roy trudging toward a certain direction.

Gya-ong—

But Su-hyeun said not to move at all and stay put no matter what…

"That's why, Miru, I only have you to rely on right now. You understand, right?"

Growl—

The moment Miru recalled what Su-hyeun had said, it began chasing after Roy.