Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 3

EP.3 One Year After the Hero’s Suicide.

Lea walked towards the council that had summoned her, reflecting on the events of the past year. As they had manipulated, the church and the kingdom shifted most of the blame onto the refugees, holding them accountable.

‘As war heroes and members of the hero’s party.’

Due to the shortage of talent and the political climate, they received relatively light punishments.

Of course, while the punishment was lighter than what they originally deserved, her demotion from Archbishop to Bishop was an unprecedented disgrace. However, considering the unique circumstances of the war, she believed she could create new opportunities and was biding her time.

“Bishop Lea, we’ve been expecting you. Please come in.”

A massive door that seemed to promise hope and salvation stood before her. And a priest gestured for her to enter. Lea slowly walked in, surveying the interior.

“It was absurd to make the hero self-destruct in the first place! Do you think it makes sense to waste such a precious resource given by the Goddess?”

A voice filled with frustration greeted her as soon as she entered. Listening to the angry voice, she stood at her designated spot at the end, waiting for her turn.

“If I recall correctly, Archbishop Helden also did not approve of it at that time.”

“… Th-that depends on the public opinion here …”

“Since when has the position of archbishop been swayed by public opinion?”

“……”

“Anyway, that’s not the point. We can’t bring the dead hero back to life, so finding a substitute or a solution is what’s important.”

A man with such a handsome face that it seemed as if the gods themselves had sculpted it intervened, smiling in a way that lifted everyone’s spirits. He slowly asked her a question.

“Bishop Lea, do you have any ideas?”

At his question, Lea shrank back and lowered her head.

“… I do not.”

“That’s unfortunate. I thought you, who assisted the hero for years, might have some insight…”

At the mention of the hero, Lea bit her lip. The moment she heard that title, all the things she had done to him flooded her mind.

– Repentance requires enduring suffering. To rid yourself of your sinful thoughts, you need to experience pain.

She vividly remembered using the hero as a scapegoat for her pent-up frustration, disguising it as repentance. The thrill of cruelty she felt and the intense hatred in his eyes were a clear reflection of her past actions. She had repeatedly inflicted pain on him for her own selfish gratification. Over and over again.

Those accumulated memories, mixed with the feelings she had developed for him and the fact that she could no longer see him, caused the emotions she had felt then to resurface and erode her.

– As if trying to erase the disgustingly repulsive version of herself.

‘Please… please stop.’

When that day’s events gradually came to haunt her, he called her name again.

“Bishop Lea, I have a request.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Once you’ve finished your current duties, could you take up the position of a consultant teacher at the academy and guide the saintess within a week?”

It was ridiculous to assign Bishop Lea, a former archbishop, to be consultant teacher at the academy. Nevertheless, he insisted on it as if it were her rightful position.

“… That’s…”

Lea hesitated to respond. Despite her demotion to bishop for her previous mistake, her position was still influential. Typically, roles like consultant teacher at the academy were reserved for high priests, but she was being asked to fill this position.

However, given the current situation, it was wise to comply. She could accept being sent out if she conceded a hundred times. The problem was the request to take care of the ‘saintess.’

‘Ugh.’

Her hands trembled, and she bit her lip so hard that her mouth filled with the taste of blood. The rising anger was almost unbearable, but she had no choice but to accept. Refusing would bring too many political repercussions.

‘No… on second thought, this might be a good thing.’

If she could use the position of consultant teacher as an excuse to get close to the saintess, she could pressure and torment her in various ways. Of course, this might cause problems if the saintess broke down in the process.

‘As long as I can bring the saintess down, it doesn’t matter.’

She was willing to endure everything if it meant achieving her revenge. Having reached this conclusion, she calmed herself and nodded.

“I will go as soon as I finish my current duties.”

At her answer, he looked at her with a hint of surprise.

“Thank you. May the Goddess’s blessing be with you.”

He continued with his ever-pleasant smile.

“It’s a sad reality, but if we don’t find a replacement for the hero, this world has at most ten years, maybe as little as five.”

The short time frame caused everyone present to fall silent, their expressions grim. The price and responsibility for sacrificing the hero were gradually tightening around their necks.

“So, by any means necessary, no matter what it takes, we must find a solution. Even if it goes against the Goddess’s will.”

With those words, implying that all actions would be permitted, he turned the small statue of the Goddess that had been watching over the room, signaling the end of the meeting.

***

The faint scent of old wood wafted through the air. As he inhaled the scent and opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a newspaper on the desk.

[The 2nd Knight Division is recruiting new divine power holders! If you possess divine power, you can pass after an interview!]

[Current War Situation and Future Trends Analysis]

Though the words were printed in a neutral font, they conveyed a sense of underlying anxiety and fear.

Jeong-hyeon read through it calmly, confirming the current situation.

‘So, this is the world one year after my death.’

The world had taken a drastic turn for the worse.

He laughed as he read the lines about how the Demon King’s forces had grown stronger and were conquering every corner of the world after his death.

‘Good.’

A world that demanded the sacrifice of an innocent deserved destruction, didn’t it?

He flipped the page, his eyes scanning the headline.

[Therefore, more than ever, this world is in desperate need of a hero, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the Goddess to send down a new hero.]

“… Ha.”

Jeong-hyeon let out a bitter laugh as he read the newspaper, which seemed to pretend that the hero had never existed. It was obvious that the royal palace had tried to erase his existence and dismiss everything that had happened.

‘Yeah, come to think of it, they’ve always been like that.’

He’d long suspected the palace of hoarding glory or manipulating information. Instead of acknowledging him as a hero, they had reduced him to a mere “divine power bomb” in their narratives.

‘Those bastards.’

The sight of them struggling to avoid responsibility was utterly revolting. He covered his mouth to suppress the revulsion rising in his throat and chuckled again as he read the last sentence again.

[The world eagerly awaits the Goddess to send down a new hero.]

After treating him like that, they had the audacity to ask for another hero? The sheer shamelessness was beyond belief.

‘Disgusting.’

He crumpled the newspaper in front of him and threw it to the ground, reaffirming his resolve to exact revenge on those who had made him like this. Even if they cried and begged for mercy, he would plunge a knife into their throats, making them suffer the same humiliation he had endured.

With blood almost dripping from his lips as he bit them, one message came to mind.

*-*

[Main Quest]

– Graduate with excellent grades.

Current Grade: F

*Warning: If your current grade continue, death will occur.

*-*

A quest message he had never seen before he committed suicide. Suddenly realizing that everything had been wrong from the beginning, he focused intently on the message’s content.

‘Excellent grades and death, huh.’

He didn’t know much about the game, having only seen a brief trailer, but he knew that it wasn’t normal for failing a single quest to result in death.

‘It’s not normal, so the system must have added that clause to keep me from leaving the academy.’

Given that the system had ‘recognized’ the error and decided on a ‘reward’ for it, it was likely that it had deliberately set things up this way.

‘Well, whatever. That’s not important right now.’

Since he couldn’t leave the academy while he was levelling up, it didn’t matter for the time being. He dismissed the quest and checked his stats.

*-*

Lee Jeong-hyeon [Level: 1]

[Stats]

Strength: 7 Agility: 6 Stamina: 4 Magic: 6 Divine Power: ???

[Traits]

(Unrealistic Genius)
(Unrealistic Luck)

[Skills]

None

*-*

Compared to the stats he had seen while being dragged around before, his current level was even worse than that of an academy student… no, even worse than an average citizen.

‘The average male’s stats are around 10.’

Seeing that his stats didn’t even reach 8, he let out a bitter laugh. At this level, he wasn’t just trash; he was practically a piece of waste.

‘It doesn’t matter. As long as I can level up.’

While he had been held back by the system and restraints before, he now had the opportunity to level up. Jeong-hyeon scratched the desk with enough force to break his nails, recalling the humiliation of the past.

* * *

As soon as Jeong-hyeon stepped outside, he instinctively hid at the sound of an unfamiliar noise. The habit he had developed over the past few years surfaced, and he couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.

Nearby, he overheard an interesting conversation.

“… The hero existed!”

The voice was youthful and clear, but the words were filled with utmost seriousness. The discussion was about his existence. He never expected to hear such a topic here, so he could only look in that direction with a complex expression.

Then what he saw was…

‘… Bullying?’

A group of people surrounded a white-haired woman, threatening her. Although they weren’t physically harming her due to their statuses, the sheer number of people was enough to oppress the white-haired woman, making it clear she was being bullied.

“The hero sacrificed himself for us. Saying he never existed is nonsense…! That’s impossible!”

“No, priestess. Whether it makes sense or not, the hero never came here. Even if you ask my brother, a government official…”

Before she could finish, the white-haired woman shouted like a chirping chick.

“I saw him. No matter what your brother said, this is an undeniable fact!”

Then the woman who was pressuring her laughed at her, probably feeling a little offended.

“… Ha. You really don’t get it, do you? No wonder you’re always getting bullied.”

At the word ‘bullied,’ the white-haired woman visibly shrank, responding in a lower voice.

“… That… that has nothing to do with this.”

“Doesn’t it?”

However, that response was quickly dismissed.

“Who would want to hang out with someone who spouts nonsense all the time?”

“……”

From Jeong-Hyeon’s perspective, it was quite pathetic, but the bullies seemed to enjoy the sight, laughing. Watching this, Jeong-hyeon silently cursed.

‘This is really messed up.’

It reminded him of when he was dragged around by those bastards. Moreover, hearing someone who acknowledged his existence being treated like this only intensified his feelings.

‘But.’

Even if he confronted them directly, his weak body wouldn’t be able to do anything. So he decided to create an ‘opportunity’ for her to escape.

He picked up a stone nearby and looked ahead. Hitting them would be great, but with his low strength, it was practically impossible. He decided to throw it just to draw their attention.

‘Since my strength is weak, I’ll have to get the stance right.’

So, recalling the most perfect stance he’d seen, he thought of Sword Saint Neriah.

– Everything converges into a flow. Once you understand what that means, you can wield not only swords but other weapons proficiently as well.

Having only picked up bits and pieces, he had no idea what the flow meant. However, the image of Sword Saint Neriah throwing stance was etched deeply in his mind, allowing him to mimic it.

The rough texture and weight of the stone felt familiar. Previously, just taking this stance would have caused pain in his neck, but now, nothing was holding him back. With his weak strength, simply throwing from a standstill wouldn’t work. So, he sprinted forward, using the momentum to hurl the stone.

He had no high expectations. His strength was only 7, weaker than an average person, and his stance was just a rough imitation. He thought the stone would just fly miserably, but contrary to his expectations…

Bang, crash!

The stone he threw made a sound like it was tearing into the air, hitting the leader of the group with an unseen speed.

[Critical Hit!]

A brief message appeared.

The person hit by the stone let out a tremendous scream and began to retch.

[Congratulations! You have gained achievement points for delivering a powerful blow to someone much stronger than you!]

***