Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 80

EP.80 Hero/Demon King Part 2

As Jeong-hyeon absorbed Karina’s revelation about the Hero becoming the Demon King, his mind raced with questions.

‘By choice? Against their will? Why? Do they transform immediately, or does it happen gradually? Do they retain their abilities, or do they gain new powers as the Demon King?’

With no clear answers to any of these questions, his thoughts swirled into an indecipherable tangle.

‘Hah…’

Just when he thought he had overcome one hurdle, another appeared. To quell the rising anger within him, he bit his lip and turned to Karina.

“What do you mean by that?”

When he pressed her for a detailed explanation, Karina cast a cautious glance his way before beginning to share the information she possessed.

“I don’t know all the details. It’s information beyond my reach… But from what I understand, when a Hero achieves their deeds, they become the Demon King. A new Hero is born to save the world.”

Hearing this, Jeong-hyeon felt a piece of the puzzle that had been missing fall into place, prompting a wry smile.

‘So, that’s why they were trying to use me as a bomb.’

Even if the Hero defeated the Demon King, they would eventually become one themselves. If the Demon King died, the Hero would too, and from their perspective, that would be the ideal outcome.

‘So, they wanted to turn me into a bomb.’

Using the Hero’s immense divine power to kill the Demon King, they likely aimed to achieve everlasting peace.

As this thought sank in, he began to see the contradictions that had eluded him before.

‘Well, it was strange when they insisted I would explode due to my divine power, yet they threw me into such a perilous adventure.’

The very same people who had scorned the only hope of salvation they had were now treating him like a pawn.

He finally realized that everything was wrapped in contradiction.

‘Fucking bastards.’

Unable to contain his disbelief, he laughed dryly before calming his mind and addressing Karina.

“Thanks to you, I’ve learned something valuable.”

“Wh-what do you mean? I’m glad to be of help.”

She replied, her tone feigning indifference.

Seeing her act as if she had no involvement made him want to retch, but he suppressed the urge and continued speaking.

“So, I have a favor to ask. Will you hear me out?”

“A favor?”

“Yeah, if you agree, I’ll forgive everything you’ve done.”

Of course, he had no intention of forgiving her, but as he whispered this promise, their foolishness led Karina to nod enthusiastically and agree.

“What should I do…?”

Just a short while ago, she had held the title of Sword Saint, trying to maintain a rational and strong demeanor. Now, she appeared to be less than a monkey in a zoo.

Keeping this thought to himself, he calmly continued.

“Destroy the kingdom for me.”

At his words, Karina wiped the blood on her face and stared at him in silence.

***

In the blood-soaked chamber, Esich gasped for breath, grimacing at the scene before him.

‘They’re stronger than I imagined.’

Even though the paladins of the church led by the cardinal were formidable, he never expected them to overwhelmingly defeat the Second Magic Corps.

Gritting his teeth in anguish at the sight of his fallen comrades, he prepared to unleash another spell. Before he could, however, Cardinal Zemen spoke up.

“How much do you know about the Hero, Esich?”

The mention of the Hero caught him off guard.

“Why are you bringing that up now? I’d rather use a high-level spell to drag one of you into the depths of death!”

With a smirk that seemed almost mocking, Cardinal Zemen continued,

“It seems you’re not well-informed. How fortunate for me. Now, allow me to enlighten you.”

Esich felt a surge of anger at the cardinal’s words and shouted,

“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but shut up and come at me!”

“Aha! How harsh! It’s merely a conversation.”

The cardinal’s demeanor remained cheerful, and he pointed to the magic circle beneath them.

“I believe you came here to investigate the purpose of this magic circle.”

At the mention of the magic circle’s purpose, Esich hesitated for a moment.

If the cardinal revealed its secrets, he might uncover the truth behind Erié’s death.

Torn between fury and hesitation, he contemplated his next move as the cardinal’s strange laughter filled the air.

“You’ve probably guessed it, but this magic circle is designed to capture the Demon King.”

A magic circle meant to capture the Demon King.

As his earlier suspicions were confirmed, Esich’s confusion deepened.

‘Why on earth would they have a magic circle to capture the Demon King at the academy?’

It was as if the cardinal sensed his bewilderment and began explaining further.

“Did you know that the Hero, upon defeating the Demon King, will transform into one themselves?”

The concept of the Hero becoming the Demon King was incomprehensible to Esich.

Deciding he no longer wanted to hear this nonsense, he prepared to unleash high-level magic. But before he could, the cardinal spoke again.

“Thus, the kingdom and the church came up with this plan. If the Hero is destined to become the next Demon King, why not eliminate both the Hero and the Demon King at the same time?”

What resonated most in Esich’s mind was the mention of the “kingdom.”

It confirmed what Jeong-hyeon had previously suggested: that the kingdom was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

‘… In other words, Erié was merely a pawn for the kingdom.’

As this thought coursed through him, an indescribable rage surged within.

Why did they have to sacrifice his sister? He couldn’t comprehend the reasoning behind it.

‘There’s no point in listening any further.’

He had no interest in the rest of the conversation; it didn’t concern him anymore.

Focusing solely on avenging Erié’s death, he activated his high-level magic.

Seeing this, the cardinal merely smiled at him, saying,

“It seems you’re just a useless, ordinary person after all.”

With those enigmatic words, he commanded the paladins to attack.

***

As Jeong-hyeon stepped outside, he changed out of his blood-soaked clothes, lost in thought.

‘Becoming the Demon King.’

To be honest, his recent actions had leaned more toward those of a Demon King than a hero.

Yet, the idea of becoming a Demon King was hard to accept—though, oddly enough, it felt somewhat appealing.

‘Now I’ll have a legitimate reason to take revenge on those bastards.’

What had once been a personal vendetta could now be justified with a clear motive.

He felt excitement stirring within him, and a grin crept across his face.

‘Yeah, this is how it should be. What kind of hero am I? If they’re going to push me into this, they might as well make me the Demon King.’

Just as he was reaffirming his resolve to wreak havoc, Miria approached him, handing over a report on the elves.

“I’ve finished gathering the information on the elves. If there’s anything lacking or if you want more details, just let me know.”

Thinking about the elves, he recalled that the next target was Daisy, a high elf. He began reviewing the report. It contained details about the elven tribes’ locations, current status, and movements.

While the information was quite substantial, the most striking detail was this:

[Due to a certain incident, the World Tree has died, and the elves are continuously performing rituals to revive it, but there are no signs of it coming back to life.]

The death of the World Tree.

He glanced down at Hana, who was happily munching on snacks by his feet, and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

‘I wonder what the elves would think if they saw Hana.’

He was also curious about their reactions when they discovered he was the protector of the World Tree.

As he gently wiped the crumbs from Hana’s mouth and lifted her into his arms, she giggled and began feeding him more snacks.

‘…No, I shouldn’t put Hana in danger.’

There was no need to involve her in risky situations when he could handle it alone.

Deciding against putting Hana in harm’s way, he accepted the snacks she offered. She seemed pleased and eagerly presented him with all her treats.

Without complaint, he accepted them, and Lucia, who was watching, laughed.

“You two really look alike…”

He thought Hana resembled Lucia more, but when he considered mentioning it, he hesitated, fearing it might create an awkward atmosphere.

As he savored the sweet taste in his mouth, Hana began playfully patting his lips with her palm.

‘She’s really copying me.’

He had heard that children often imitate adults but seeing it in action was amusing.

Feeling the need to be more cautious around Hana, he turned to Miria and Lucia.

“How about we release Karina around dinner time? Since we signed the contract, I think it’s fine to let her go.”

“I think that’s a good idea…”

“Sounds fine.”

They decided to release Karina and let things flow naturally while smiling.

‘Oh, and if possible…’

He resolved to negotiate with the Demon King, not as adversaries destined to kill each other, but as allies capable of coexistence.

He vowed to take brutal revenge on those who had deceived him.