Chapter 284: The Hero

In remote regions where signal barely reached, a blimp with a massive screen crossed the skies, broadcasting the face of Heavenly Sword.

It was the handiwork of Victor Poison, president of the Association. Thanks to it, the entire world could watch Heavenly Sword’s speech live.

Even satellite-manipulated signals reached a place where they normally never would: the Demon Realm, Gehenna.

[Let upon us… fall the blessing of the gods.]

“……”

Leon turned off his phone’s screen. Reflected in the black glass was his own distorted face—like that of an enraged demon—staring back at him. Seeing that image, a wave of revulsion surged within him.

Crunch.

His veins bulged red as he gripped the phone until it warped. Then he hurled the mangled chunk of metal like a spear. It shot off like a meteor and disappeared into Gehenna’s horizon. His strength, from grip to throw, was overwhelming.

“Looks like someone’s in a bad mood, Hero.”

The voice came from Herya, who had appeared beside him like a ghost. Leon shot her a death glare and turned his back. He didn’t want to talk to anyone.

“I’m not in a great mood either today.”

Herya rubbed her temples and sighed. It wasn’t something she usually did, but it came out naturally, like a habit. All because of Kang Geom-Ma.

‘Your face.’

That phrase still echoed near her ears, like a buzz underwater. Herya pressed her lips tight. She was feeling something she rarely did—annoyance.

“Calm down, Herya. It doesn’t matter. Lord Kuarne will deal with him anyway.”

“No.”

Leon reacted to Herya’s murmur. He turned his head a third of the way, his eyes glinting coldly.

“I’ll be the one to deal with Kang Geom-Ma. That’s the reason I’m here with you.”

“That… well…”

Herya hesitated a moment before replying.

“With all due respect, he’s not someone you can take on alone, Hero. It’s not that I underestimate your power, but with the war beginning tomorrow, it’s important to have an objective understanding of oneself.”

Leon was strong. Since returning to the Demon Realm and accepting the power of Balmung, his strength had grown by the day. But it still wasn’t enough to reach Kang Geom-Ma. As rude as that brat was, his presence alone was overwhelming. Now she understood why Lord Kuarne had been watching him for so long.

“Hero, you are not on Kang Geom-Ma’s level.”

That’s why Herya decided to say what she truly thought. It wasn’t to vent. Really, it wasn’t.

“……”

Leon didn’t reply. He simply glanced at her. The air between them turned heavy and quiet.

It was just then that Leon placed a hand on the hilt of Balmung. Around him, a gentle light began to spread like mist, forming a brilliant white shroud.

Flash.

A white space appeared suddenly. It felt like midday, but with stardust floating in the air, it also evoked the night. The sky, the ground, the structures—everything became abstract, like a piece of modern art that wasn’t meant to be understood.

The stars glowing in the white sky began to take shape. Not just one, but two, three, four—they multiplied endlessly, until the count lost all meaning. Herya saw them all reflected in her translucent pupils.

“Those… they’re…”

Herya felt a chill in her bones. She understood by instinct. That infinite, singular being watching from above was—

“A god.”

As she uttered the words, the scenery returned to normal. Herya quickly looked at Leon.

“Hero, you…”

But Leon didn’t want to hear the rest. He turned away again.

Herya watched him in silence, then let out a short laugh.

Destiny was already sealed. Catastrophe—that is the fate of mortals.

***

“Leon.”

It was a day before he began to mature.

“The day you were born, half the world smiled with you.”

That’s what his father said as he gently patted his head. Embarrassed, Leon softly pulled away from the gesture. As he brushed back his messy blond hair, he asked:

“If half the world smiled… does that mean the other half didn’t?”

His father smiled. Or at least, it seemed that way. In truth, Leon had never clearly seen his father’s face. It was always covered in shadow, as if the light was behind him.

“Son, nothing in this world has only one side. When one side laughs, the other cries. When some are full, others go hungry.”

Leon replied, eyes wide and curious.

“Can’t everyone be happy? Why should only one side benefit?”

“Mmm.”

His father murmured, stroking his chin, seemingly searching for gentle words. Leon noticed, but pretended not to. He just wanted to spend more time with him—his father only visited once a year.

Once, he had asked why they couldn’t be together every day. His father had dodged the question awkwardly.

Leon didn’t press. He assumed there must be a good reason—maybe his father was out protecting the world. That’s what he believed.

He believed in his father. If he couldn’t trust the brightest man in the world, what else was there?

“A world where everyone is happy… with my limited imagination, I can’t picture it, Leon.”

After a while, his father smiled again. Then he added:

“But if anyone can make it real, it’s you.”

“Me? How can I do something even you couldn’t?”

Little Leon pouted. He was upset. He didn’t like his father putting him above himself. He couldn’t accept the idea that the person he admired most would diminish himself.

“Precisely because you’re you.”

Still, his father spoke with unwavering conviction.

“Leon, you can. You’re the son of your mother and me. You can make the whole world happy.”

“……”

His father knelt to his level. Leon inhaled softly, biting his lower lip.

“I believe in you.”

With that, his father vanished once again for another year. Leon was left alone once more in the dark cave.

His father had told him his mother died giving birth to him and had returned to the gods. Since he had no memory of her, he didn’t feel particular grief.

For him, his father was enough. When he felt deeply lonely, he would just repeat his father’s words—that someday, once everything was over, they’d live together. He longed for that day.

When that same day came again the next year, it was finally time to reunite. Leon was excited since morning. He prepared a simple meal to welcome him. For something made by imitating books, it wasn’t bad.

Then, an explosion rang outside the cave. Leon lived in a cavern within the Demon Realm, Gehenna. Slaughter among demons was common, so it didn’t surprise him at first.

“Aaaaahhhhhhh!”

But the scream that followed froze him. It was his father’s voice. In that moment, Leon’s senses awakened. His perception sharpened, and the whole scene played vividly in his mind. For a moment, his heroic potential blossomed.

Bang!

Leon burst through the cave door and ran out. Dust kicked up behind his heels. His steps were fast and firm—unbelievably so for a ten-year-old.

He reached the source of the scream, breathless. Desperately, he searched the ground for his father. Nothing. Though panic gripped him, his senses had never been sharper.

He closed his eyes. Then opened them. An instinctive act. For a moment, he shed his humanity and released his divinity. His brilliant blue eyes opened wide and looked up.

“……!”

A black sun. At its center, hanging like a crucified puppet, was his father. Of his 36 wings, 34 had been torn off. Those severed wings floated behind him, spinning in circles as if alive.

It was a horrifying sight. His father, Metatron, had been executed like a criminal.

“Dad!”

Hearing his son’s voice, Metatron slowly raised his head. Leon’s eyes widened. Torn eyelids, skin laced with bloody scars, flesh devoured to reveal organs and bone—it was the first time he saw his father’s face without shadow.

“D-dad…”

His lips trembled. Still, his subconscious was processing everything. He analyzed the surroundings and grasped the situation.

His father was being judged. Only one kind of being could punish Metatron—a god.

“…Son…”

His father rasped. White, viscous blood dripped from his cracked lips.

“Run… get out of here.”

Craaaack!

Another wing was ripped off. Metatron coughed blood and groaned. At that moment, Leon’s patience snapped.

He lowered his body, ready to leap. His thighs tensed. He no longer thought rationally—only emotionally.

But then—

BOOM!

The air beside him distorted, and an explosion blasted him backward. He was flung far, beyond the nearby forest. Despite being so small, he shot through the air like an arrow.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Leon bounced off several trees before crashing into a large rock. He peeled off it like a sticker with no adhesive.

“Ugh…”

Clawing at the ground, he tried to stand. His legs burned as if on fire. The bone in his left leg had broken through the skin like a nail. He couldn’t even walk.

Leon collapsed. Overcome by helplessness. That scene had been too cruel for a ten-year-old. But what hurt most was—

‘It was all my fault.’

The immortals punished the mediator for becoming distracted. His father ended up like a dog boiled alive. Everything was lost—no mercy, no forgiveness.

Step, step.

Footsteps rustled through the underbrush. This was the Demon Realm, land of demons and beasts. An encounter was inevitable.

Leon felt his blood run cold, his vision dimming. His eyes lost all light. He was ready to die.

“Are you alright?”

From the bushes emerged a man, dressed head to toe in white, with a beautiful face. He looked completely out of place in this hostile land.

“Your father requested I save his son. That’s why I had to throw you like that.”

He snapped his fingers, and as if by magic, Leon’s wounds began to heal. Even so, Leon stared at him warily, like a cornered animal.

“Well, well…”

The man gave a gentle smile. Then, without forcing conversation, simply turned and walked away.

“…Who are you?”

“The enemy of your enemy.”

The man replied, slowly turning his head.

“In other words, a temporary ally.”

Thus began the first meeting between the hero… and the Second Corps Commander.

***

Leon opened his eyes. The scenery shifted from past to present.

In both, the black sun continued to burn fiercely above Gehenna’s sky, as if trying to incinerate it.

“Father.”

Leon bowed his head. The Demon King’s army, pouring out like a torrent, parted like the Red Sea to form a path. At the end of it, Kuarne approached in even strides.

“The moment has finally come.”

Kuarne smiled benignly. Though of the same race as his father, they were opposites in every way. Metatron, even blood-soaked, still shone with splendor. This man, though spotless on the outside, reeked of rot within.

‘…Aren’t I the same?’

Leon bowed his head even lower. He no longer had the face to look up to the sky.

‘A world where everyone could be happy.’

He had turned his back on his father’s dream. Instead of universal happiness, he chose vengeance.

Not everyone can be happy, Father.

He had come too far to turn back now. One foot already dangled over the edge of the abyss.

“Seems my nephew is lost in thought, right before the big event.”

Kuarne shrugged and stood at the center of the legion. He looked around expressionlessly and joined his hands in a seal.

Whooom—

A slight vibration spread. The ground beneath their feet lit up and sank. In the next instant, everyone felt like they were floating. In fact, they were suspended in mid-air.

「Sinkhole.」

Beyond the massive hole that opened lay a different landscape from the Demon Realm—one Leon knew well: Joaquin Academy.

“Drain humanity of everything and strip them of what’s theirs.”

As Kuarne issued his divine order, gravity returned, and the demon army plummeted in droves. As they fell, they cast elemental magic—water, fire, earth. Like wolves finding prey, they licked their lips, bared their fangs, and let out grotesque cries. Only bat wings were missing—they were practically demons in every sense.

“Damn it.”

…From the sky’s gaping hole, a black army rained down. Kang Geom-Ma, already prepared for a counter, wasn’t particularly surprised. He was more baffled by the ridiculous showmanship.

Still, since they’d made the first move, it was time to return the favor with a proper welcome.

“Until I cut them down.”

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February 7, 2035, Solar Calendar.

The beginning of the Second Great Human-Demon War.