Chapter 330: The Weight of a Hero

The Weight of a Hero

...

The soldiers.

The adventurers.

The civilians.

Every survivor who had been saved by Victor...

Simply stared.

No cheers echoed through Fantom City.

No celebration erupted.

No triumphant cries welcomed the man who had just saved every one of them.

Instead...

Silence.

Heavy.

Uneasy.

Some stared with gratitude.

Others looked at him with disbelief.

Many...

Could not hide the fear in their eyes.

Victor had been too overwhelming.

If he had struggled desperately before defeating Alibaba...

Perhaps everyone could have accepted it.

Instead...

He had defeated one of history’s most terrifying necromancers almost effortlessly.

That was what frightened them.

Power naturally inspired admiration.

Extraordinary power earned respect.

But power beyond understanding...

Created fear.

Humanity already possessed legendary heroes.

Ancient masters.

Kings.

Saints.

People whose strength rivaled Victor’s.

Some were even stronger.

But every one of them had earned such power after countless decades.

Victor was different.

He was still unbelievably young.

He came from no legendary bloodline.

He wasn’t the heir of an ancient clan.

He wasn’t blessed as a chosen Hero.

He hadn’t descended from heaven.

He wasn’t even famous.

As far as everyone knew...

He was simply a young adventurer from a small village.

His adventurer rank wasn’t even S-Rank.

He was merely B-Rank.

Yet the impossible stood before them.

One young man had accomplished what several S-Rank parties working together would have struggled to achieve.

No one understood how.

And because they couldn’t understand...

They feared him.

...

Not everyone shared those feelings.

Standing quietly nearby, Lane watched the reactions of the crowd.

Her beautiful black eyes grew colder with every passing second.

Disdain filled her gaze.

Victor had risked everything.

He had stood alone before an army.

He had fought until victory.

Yet these people...

Looked at him as though he were the true monster.

Lane’s lips curved into a faint, mocking smile.

Pathetic.

He saved every one of you...

And this is how you repay him?

To Lane...

The opinions of the people meant absolutely nothing.

If Victor ever gave the order...

She would slaughter everyone in Fantom City without hesitation.

To her...

These people were worth less than stray dogs.

At least dogs understood gratitude.

The humans before her...

Did not.

...

Videl stood a short distance away, quietly observing the same scene as Lane.

Unlike Lane’s cold contempt, confusion filled her sapphire-blue eyes.

She looked from Victor...

...to the people lining the walls of Fantom City.

No one cheered.

No one smiled.

No one shouted words of victory.

The silence weighed heavily upon the city.

Videl frowned.

Why...?

Since she was young, every tale she had ever heard ended the same way.

The hero defeated the great evil.

The people celebrated.

Children laughed.

The townsfolk filled the streets with songs and cheers.

That was how every story ended.

But reality...

Reality was painfully different.

The man who had saved every single person standing behind those walls wasn’t being welcomed as a hero.

Instead...

He was being watched with fear.

Videl could even sense several people trembling whenever Victor glanced in their direction.

She lowered her head for a brief moment before looking back at Victor.

He stood alone in the center of the devastated battlefield.

The evening breeze gently stirred his black hair and golden jacket.

His Death Scythe rested quietly beside him.

Despite every fearful gaze directed toward him...

Victor didn’t react.

His expression remained calm.

Almost indifferent.

It was as though none of their opinions mattered.

Videl’s lips slowly curved into a warm smile.

"As expected..."

"...that’s my man."

There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in her voice.

Whether the world feared him or admired him...

She would stand beside him all the same.

...

Not far from the battlefield, Eon had witnessed everything from beginning to end.

He had expected Victor to win.

But not like this.

His black eyes remained fixed on the distant figure.

"I underestimated him..."

The words escaped almost unconsciously.

Every estimate he had made regarding Victor’s strength had been shattered.

The difference between expectation and reality was simply too great.

Victor had dismantled an army, defeated an ancient necromancer, and accomplished what should have required the combined strength of numerous elite adventurers.

Yet he now stood there as though it had merely been another battle.

A faint smile appeared on Eon’s face.

"Good..."

"Now I’m even more certain."

"You’ll fulfill your promise."

For the first time in many years...

Hope genuinely filled his heart.

...

Brinda’s reaction was completely different.

Her entire body trembled.

Not from fear...

But from excitement.

Her beautiful purple eyes sparkled as she stared at Victor’s back.

Her heartbeat refused to calm down.

Every exchange.

Every spell.

Every decision.

Every movement.

Everything had exceeded her expectations.

She slowly wrapped both arms around herself, trying to suppress the excitement surging through her body.

"So this..."

"...is your true strength."

A soft laugh escaped her lips.

"I really made the right choice."

Joining Victor hadn’t been a gamble.

It had been the best decision of her life.

The stronger he became...

The more convinced she was that one day he would shake the entire continent.

...

While everyone around him wrestled with different thoughts...

Victor remained completely unconcerned.

Fear.

Respect.

Admiration.

Suspicion.

None of it mattered.

He slowly lifted his gaze toward the vast evening sky.

The crimson sunset painted the clouds above in shades of gold and scarlet.

For a rare moment...

The battlefield felt peaceful.

Victor quietly closed his eyes.

A small smile appeared on his face.

Victory...

After countless battles in both his previous life and this one...

Nothing compared to this feeling.

Not wealth.

Not fame.

Not power.

The exhilaration that came after defeating a worthy opponent...

That alone made every hardship worthwhile.

Whether this second life had been granted by the Gods...

Or whether fate had chosen him to stand against the Universal Emperor...

At this moment...

None of it mattered.

None of those answers could compare to the joy filling his heart.

He had fought.

He had won.

And he was still alive to experience that victory.

To Victor...

There was no greater happiness.