Chapter 217 – Believe in the Hero Church (4)

He was curious. It was impossible not to be.

The muscular woman, who seemed utterly infatuated with Director Lee Hyunbin, began her story with excitement.

The more Kim In-ho listened, the more he doubted his ears.

“You don’t believe me?”

The prophet asked with a smile after finishing her story.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but…”

“It must sound too fantastical. A returnee who saved people he didn’t even know, then came back to his own world, leaving all the glory behind.”

It was beyond fantastical.

It was the classic cliché of a hero saving the world.

But she claimed that not only did he defeat the Demon King alone, he’d gone on an unstoppable rampage.

“With his sword alone, he saved countless people and killed countless more. As a result, the Hero was broken.”

The prophet slowly rose from her seat.

“The Hero changed into someone who tries to do everything by himself. He became a walking bundle of trauma. He shows a clear reaction to the deaths of others, a clear anguish. He shouldn’t be like that. The great lord, who once charged steadfastly toward his grand purpose, demanding even death from others, had broken down just shy of his goal.”

The prophet asked as if seeking his agreement.

But Kim In-ho found it hard to agree with her.

“You’re telling me Hyunbin is too scared to even lead because someone might die?”

Of all people, this was Lee Hyunbin.

Kim In-ho scoffed.

The Lee Hyunbin he knew was not that weak. The idea of him having trauma was hard to believe.

The Lee Hyunbin he knew was always confident, always at ease.

“It seems you still can’t believe it.”

All she offered was her testimony. It wasn’t enough to resolve all his questions.

“Katrinne, who is by the Hero’s side—or Lee Seo-yeon, as she’s called here. That child also came from the same world as me.”

“Seo-yeon?”

“Yes. She was the Saintess in the other world. The one with the power to open dimensional gates.”

The Hero and the Saintess.

Normally, he should have laughed at such a story. But Kim In-ho couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

In fact, some things were starting to add up.

Hyunbin possessed immense martial power. And Seo-yeon had a healing ability unlike any he had ever seen or heard of.

Other healers who could mend people’s wounds existed besides Seo-yeon.

But there was no one who could cure diseases like Mana-Stone Sickness, for which no one knew a cure.

Not as far as Kim In-ho knew.

Hyunbin tried to keep Seo-yeon’s power from being exposed to the outside world as much as possible.

All he ever showed was the power of a typical healer.

Even then, it was only to the extent of having her wear the Justice Armor and sending her out on hunts.

“It seems something is clicking for you.”

The prophet asked with a smile.

Kim In-ho neither denied nor affirmed her words.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

He still didn’t know her intentions.

Her reason for telling him this story.

At first, he had thought it was just a preposterous pseudo-religious cult.

But after spending a few days here, that thought gradually faded.

It might have looked ridiculous at a glance, but the people inside were being systematically trained to grow stronger.

As if training soldiers.

“Because you need to know.”

“Know what?”

At Kim In-ho’s question, the prophet smiled faintly.

“Because everyone must share the Hero’s burden.”

The Hero’s burden.

No one had ever given him such a responsibility.

But the Hero was imposing it upon himself.

The awakening system wasn’t random.

It reflected a person’s innate disposition or desires.

For the Hero to return to the modern world and awaken as a Porter, protecting people by putting them in his inventory and gaining strength from it, was almost comical.

“He’s a man who can do everything by himself, the Hero.”

He alone was already no different from an army.

“That’s why he tries to shoulder everything alone, to sacrifice himself alone.”

It was an unimaginable description for anyone who saw the usual Lee Hyunbin.

But Kim In-ho didn’t argue with her words.

Even if he tormented others or acted mischievously, he was, in fact, a great help.

Above all, he strived to protect the people around him.

During the dragon raid incident, he had risked his life to protect people who had nothing to do with him.

People were deeply moved after seeing the video, creating the “Delivery Man Syndrome.”

But what was it like for the man himself?

“A great war will soon break out. This world will be invaded by the Demon King and walk the path of ruin.”

From start to finish, it was an absurd story. Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t refute it.

Kim In-ho could feel it.

The world was gradually changing.

Unprecedented gates had appeared all over the globe.

In Korea, they had successfully hunted a 6-star monster thanks to Lee Hyunbin’s heroic efforts.

But what would have happened without Lee Hyunbin?

France served as an answer to that question.

Right now, in France, the 6-star boss monster ‘Fenrir’ was devouring everything.

They were literally fighting a war for their nation’s survival.

If that was the case for a Hunter powerhouse like France, what about other countries?

A considerable number of developing nations were facing national crises due to these unprecedented gates.

Several countries had been wiped off the map by monsters, and even now, at this very moment, people were struggling to survive.

Literally, the apocalypse was beginning.

“People think this is the crisis. No, the real crisis hasn’t even started yet.”

The prophet’s lips moved softly as she spoke.

The gruesome muscles, combined with her mysterious aura, strangely enhanced her persuasiveness.

“In other words, you want to create a suicide squad.”

“That would be the gist of it.”

The Hero intended to fight alone.

His training the people around him to be strong was merely in consideration of what would happen after his defeat.

The prophet, no, the elf Ria, knew the Hero well.

“What is your reason for going this far?”

At Kim In-ho’s question, Ria’s face went blank for a moment.

It was an unexpected question.

She thought she had already answered why she created the Muscle Cult. But he was asking for a different reason.

The elf tribe had been swept up in the wars of the Seven Kingdoms.

The army of darkness approached, seeking to end the elven lineage.

A great battle took place before the break of dawn. And countless of her kin never returned.

—Because you couldn’t protect them.

She had hurled her resentment at the Hero. In truth, she shouldn’t have. But having lost everyone she held dear, she needed someone to blame.

The Hero, walking out of the darkness, said nothing.

She resented him.

Because she thought that he, who inherited the power of a god, could surely protect them. Because she had held onto hope.

—…!

In that moment, she saw it.

The dawn rising behind the Hero, who had returned alive from countless battles.

His figure, silhouetted against it, was completely drenched in blood.

Her mouth fell shut.

The Hero had struggled and fought until the very end.

—I’m sorry.

The Hero’s face was haggard as he walked past, stroking her head.

He wasn’t the one who should have been apologizing.

He had, after all, taken up his sword for their sake.

They had won, but victory was followed by many sacrifices.

And so, the Hero began to choose to fight his battles alone.

“Because he’s the only man I can place my hope in.”

The elf Ria said, smiling brightly.

She owed him a debt.

“He won’t say anything to anyone and will try to handle it all by himself. But we intend to share his burden so that he doesn’t sacrifice himself alone. We need to share his responsibility, even by force.”

“I’m sorry.”

Kim In-ho let out a sigh and muttered.

“I have no intention of joining your cult.”

At Kim In-ho’s words, Ria said nothing.

“Because I haven’t heard anything about this from him.”

Still, he considered himself closer to Hyunbin than the other hunters.

Hyunbin always used formal speech. But with his team members, he spoke casually.

Recalling that memory, he felt a surge of joy once more.

“Tae-yang and I are going to follow him to the end, no matter what.”

He had decided long ago that he would be with Hyunbin, whatever happened in the future.

Because he had to repay the kindness he had received.

“I was right to choose you.”

She rejoiced, convinced she hadn’t misjudged him.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

There was something that absolutely had to be done for the Hero’s sake. But it was something she could never do.

She, who held the power of a different faith, and the Saintess Katrinne were polar opposites. They could never become close, no matter how they tried.

Therefore, she needed someone who could do it in her stead.

For the Hero.

She conveyed her message to Kim In-ho.

*CRASH!*

Just then, the sound of the underground building shaking rang out.

*CRAAASH!*

Once again, the sound of the building being destroyed echoed.

Alarms blared, and the urgent sounds of people fighting could be heard.

Amidst the sudden chaos, Ria’s phone rang.

She answered the call and listened silently to the report.

“Hah. It can’t be helped. They’ll only be trying to catch me, so the others will be fine. Yes, don’t worry. Yes.”

Finishing the call, Ria spoke with a hollow laugh.

“The Hero has invaded.”

“Ah…”

Kim In-ho finally understood the cause of the commotion.

He had been held by the Muscle Cult for a week.

While it was only a week here, for the Hanul Guild, he had abandoned his training for a full week.

It was only natural that Lee Hyunbin would come hunting for his runaways.

‘I knew this would happen.’

Although he had trusted that Hyunbin would rescue him, he couldn’t help but flinch at the brutal sound effects of the ongoing battle.

“Go here.”

“…?”

Ria handed Kim In-ho a note with something written on it.

“What is this?”

To Kim In-ho’s question, Ria replied.

“It’s where the first-generation hunters are.”

“First-generation…”

The hunters who had played a major role during the Gate disaster.

“There are still first-generation hunters who survived?”

In an era without proper infrastructure, they were the early hunters who fought by, as they say, throwing their bodies on the line.

Their survival rate was slim.

“Well then, I’m gonna make a run for it.”

“Uh, run for it.”

Noticing the vibrations growing stronger, Ria grabbed a few dumbbells and fled.

Watching her retreating back, Kim In-ho looked at the note he had received.

-Halla Cafe Kkotgaram.

“?”

Kim In-ho was dumbfounded to be given nothing but the name of a cafe.

*Thud, THUUD!*

Kim In-ho walked toward the source of the intensifying vibrations.

The gangster-priests who had been blocking him just moments before were long gone.

“It’s on Jeju Island.”

The cafe the prophet had told him about was on Jeju Island.

Until recently, Jeju Island had been an uninhabitable land.

He had heard they were recently proceeding with the Jeju Island restoration project, but he never imagined a cafe would have already been built there.

“Lee Hyun-ah…?”

That was the name of the cafe owner, and it seemed vaguely familiar.

The official description mentioned a cafe in nature. In front of it was a photo of a rather sharp-looking woman smiling awkwardly.

It was obvious someone had forced her to take the picture.

‘I’ve seen that face somewhere.’

Kim In-ho racked his brain.

He felt like he had definitely seen her when he was younger.

“Ah…!”

Kim In-ho finally remembered.

The first-generation heroes he saw on TV, evacuating people.

He had been so impressed by them that the memory was seared into his mind.

‘In that case, is that person alive too?’

There was a warrior who was always with her.

A man who broke through hordes of monsters, holding a single shining sword.

“Kang Cheol.”

It was such a unique name that he remembered it instantly.

*CRAAASH!*

Just then, a wall shattered, and someone came tumbling across the floor in front of Kim In-ho.

“Kim Tae-yang?”

Kim Tae-yang rolled on the floor, nearly unconscious.

From the broken wall, Lee Hyunbin in smile-mode emerged.

“Well now, look at our Tae-yang. Haven’t seen you in a while, and you’re looking nice and firm. Hm? And our In-ho is here too?”

“Hyunbin…”

“My, my. So you still have eyes to recognize your hyung. Hahaha, what have you been doing here?”

Seeing the enraged Hyunbin, Kim In-ho’s survival instincts kicked in without him even realizing it.

‘I have to run.’

Kim In-ho cautiously glanced around.

He wondered if he could escape with Hyunbin right in front of him. He had already experienced several times that it was nearly impossible.

“Keuheuk. Hyunbin. Even if you hate me, I still like you. For the Hero!”

“Haha, this is driving me crazy. Where did this kid learn to say things like that?”

For some reason, the brainwashed Kim Tae-yang’s words seemed to have greatly provoked him, as Lee Hyunbin’s gaze shifted away from Kim In-ho.

The opportunity was fleeting.

Kim In-ho fled without a backward glance.

He could hear Kim Tae-yang’s mournful cries of “For the Hero!” behind him, but he forced himself to block them out.

A man’s gotta do what he can to survive.