Chapter 116
“A hero appeared?”
The cathedral announced that a hero had appeared.
“No, how did one appear?”
I couldn't help questioning that popular post.
The holy sword was currently at Gotjukheup's old castle.
It was obviously just the cathedral fishing for attention.
At a glance, it seemed like they had dressed up a fake hero to look convincing.
- Lmao, “hero,” my ass. Does that make any sense?
- For real, isn't the holy sword with Head Mod?
ㄴ Cathedral, cathedral... you sure about this?
ㄴ For real, you could just keep your head down, but you keep acting up.
Naturally, the gallery's reaction was cold, too.
The cathedral's image was already thoroughly unpopular.
No, ever since the previous incident, it had fallen straight to rock bottom.
“Why are they pulling this kind of attention-seeking stunt?”
I couldn't understand it.
Still, the title had certainly succeeded at drawing attention.
It was the moment I clicked on the popular post out of curiosity.
[Title: A Hero Appeared at the Cathedral (For Real).jpg]
I'm not a clergyman, to start with.
This isn't cathedral viral marketing, yeah.
I'm a gallerybro who took an interest because the cathedral announced a hero this morning, thinking they were up to some new bullshit...
(Meme of a hero standing beside the Pope)
(Meme of Adrian's holy sword in the hero's hand)
Fuck, it's real.
How the fuck did you do that, you bastard?
[Upvotes 5512] [Downvotes 102]
- No, fuck, is this actually real?
- Is it really?
- (Meme of a farmer with a cracked-open head)
- ???
“Huh.”
But it really was true.
The sword held by the silver-haired man the Pope introduced as the hero really was the holy sword.
For a moment, it felt as if I had been struck over the head.
“Did he actually manage to escape?”
I had definitely left it at Gotjukheup's castle—no, wait, I had just left it there for a while.
For a moment, I wondered if it was some kind of sophisticated sleight of hand.
Head Mod*: (Meme of the hero holding the holy sword)
Head Mod*: Is this for real???
Gotjukheup: I escaped while you were asleep.
Gotjukheup: My bamboo wife...
But Gotjukheup's confirmation made it certain.
That was my eco-friendly lamp.
- No, if it's real, what does that make Head Mod?
- Didn't it light up when Head Mod held it?
- But this “hero” guy is making the holy sword light up, too.
- Head Mod handled light magic recently. Couldn't he just be faking the holy sword's glow? Yeah.
Naturally, the comment section went completely off the rails.
Some insisted it was just the cathedral baiting everyone.
Others argued that it had to be a real hero, since the Pope had recognized him and he had the holy sword.
And taking advantage of the moment, the cathedral issued a statement.
[Title: We Intend to Hold the Hero's Appointment Ceremony.]
Author: Pope Pavelio
(Meme of the hero holding the holy sword)
A hero has recently been appointed by the heavens.
The hero suddenly visited our cathedral together with the holy sword,
so as the Pope, in accordance with the will of heaven, I will hold a ceremony formally recognizing him as the hero.
It is a joyous day indeed.
Let every citizen of the Empire attend and witness the legitimacy of the hero chosen by the heavens.
[Upvotes 5512] [Downvotes 102]
- Mmm...
- No, they're really going through with it, huh.
- Wasn't a hero supposed to be something out of a legend?
- If this is real, what does that make Head Mod?
ㄴ Author) This is not intended to disparage Head Mod.
ㄴ Author) But there is only one hero chosen by heaven, so Head Mod must be a fake, wouldn't you say?
- But Head Mod lit up, too.
ㄴ For real, I think he shone even brighter than that guy.
ㄴ But the Pope says it's real. There's a chance Head Mod faked it with light magic, yeah.
The cathedral was preparing a hero appointment ceremony.
If the hero's legitimacy was proven here, I would naturally become the fake one.
No, beyond being a fake, I would be guilty of pretending to be a hero while carrying the holy sword.
“Hmm...”
But.
“Hmmm?”
In truth, I wasn't very interested.
I didn't care much about all this talk of whether I was a hero or a fake.
For starters, what even was a hero?
“So, does this have anything to do with the gallery?”
Rather, I had begun taking a closer look at the silver-haired hero in the image.
“Mmm... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before.”
He was a handsome man with brilliant silver hair and a face that obviously suited a hero,
but there was something strangely familiar about him.
I spent some time staring at the man, lost in thought.
*
“Ah, Hero, there you are.”
Inside the spacious waiting room,
the Pope, Pavelio, approached the silver-haired hero with a benevolent smile.
At that, the man called the hero rose from his seat while looking at the holy sword.
“Your Holiness.”
“There is no need to be so nervous. Soon you will become a hero before the eyes of the entire world, will you not?”
“But...”
The hero—the church's legitimate physical force.
Yet both the Pope and the man before him called the hero knew.
They knew that his holy sword had never emitted light.
In fact, it was the Pope who had manipulated it to look as though it had shone.
Even so, Pavelio treated him with the utmost courtesy, as if he were a genuine hero.
“Hero—no, Darian.”
Because...
“Don't worry. The truth doesn't matter.”
Because the truth didn't matter much.
Pavelio placed a hand on Darian's shoulder.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he flashed a snake-like grin and whispered into his ear.
“You have no idea how surprised I was when you came to the cathedral carrying the holy sword.”
Around the time the cathedral had begun creating a fake hero under the Pope's orders,
Darian appeared.
Holding the real holy sword of Adrian.
“Where did you say you found it?”
“I only picked it up after finding it abandoned in the forest.”
He had merely picked up the holy sword, which for some reason looked utterly exhausted.
“Yes, you aren't anything like a hero. You just happened to pick up the holy sword by chance.”
It had been nothing more than a coincidence.
But Pavelio saw it as the perfect opportunity.
What mattered was that the holy sword that should have been with Head Mod was now in Darian's hands.
“From today onward, you are the hero.”
“But the holy sword didn't emit any light.”
“Light? We can make that with magic. If I call you a hero, then you are a hero.”
Even though no light had appeared,
Pavelio slowly lowered himself.
Through this hero appointment ceremony, he would gain legitimacy and reclaim his power.
“If only that comes to pass...”
In the old days, in the distant past when there was no gallery,
he would be able to return to ruling like a god, able to kill innocent people with a single gesture.
And perhaps he could drive out that Head Mod bastard he found so loathsome for good.
“No, I will kill him outright.”
He might even be able to take over the gallery.
As Pavelio imagined that sweet future, he slowly wiped the smile from his face and stared at Darian.
“So do not forget, Hero.”
With those words, Pavelio moved on ahead to prepare for the appointment ceremony that would soon begin.
Left all alone in the waiting room again, Darian slowly looked down at the holy sword.
-Vmmm
Though it emitted absolutely no light, this was unquestionably Adrian's holy sword.
Perhaps this was his destiny.
“I will not forget.”
Darian muttered as he looked down at the holy sword.
*
Events proceeded at lightning speed.
Less than a day after the man called a hero appeared, an appointment ceremony was already being held.
[Title: The Hero Appointment Ceremony Begins]
Author: Pope Pavelio
Looking at the post about the hero that had attracted the most attention in the gallery, I pondered.
“Damn it, a hero. Why does this feel so familiar?!”
Of course, I was still thinking about it.
No matter how I looked at him, I felt like I had seen that man called a hero somewhere before.
Full-HP Elf: Head Mod, Head Mod.
Full-HP Elf: Are you really just going to leave things like this?
YongYongWillDie: Well, watching mortals make a fuss among themselves is entertaining in its own way...
YongYongWillDie: But I do think this is going a little too far.
YongYongWillDie: If you don't mind, I'll go sort it out in your place.
Despite the sub-mods' concern as they watched, I took no particular action.
[Title: The Hero Appointment Ceremony Begins]
Author: Pope Pavelio
(Meme of Darian standing on the podium)
(Meme of the Pope standing in front of Darian and explaining things to everyone)
Darian, the hero sent down by the heavens.
As the cathedral's representative and in accordance with the will of heaven, I hereby appoint Darian as the hero.
(Meme of the holy sword emitting a bright light as Darian raises it)
That was when the appointment ceremony began.
The Pope called for the man, and when the man grasped the holy sword, a bright light began to seep out.
“The light is a little different?”
Compared to the bright golden color I had seen when I held it, however, it was a murky, artificial light.
But the people gathered below cheered and rejoiced.
- Fuck, at this point, he's a real hero.
- Kyahaha, did a hero finally show up!!!
- Monster massacre incoming~
- So is Head Mod not going to explain himself?
ㄴ For real lmao, he's still pretending not to see it with his teeth clenched.
Since I was deliberately leaving it alone, all kinds of trolls, spammers, and so on were gathering and turning the place into a madhouse.
Full-HP Elf: Ah, Head Mod, you idiot, moron, sea cucumber.
Full-HP Elf: What are you doing, not banning them right this instant!!!
But despite the sub-mods' concern, I was still staring at the man called the hero in the image,
when the Pope in the video suddenly shouted.
“With this, we have proven his qualifications as a hero!”
“In accordance with the call of God, I hereby appoint Darian as the hero!”
- Oh, is it finally starting?
- I can't believe I'm alive to see all this lmao.
At the Pope's call, the man slowly began walking forward.
And the moment his blurred features came fully into view,
“Huh, this is the man I saw in the plaza that time.”
Darian. So that's why the name had sounded so familiar.
On the day I went for a walk with Penny,
I realized that the man called a hero was the vagrant who had collapsed in the plaza.
“He said his name was Darian Zallot, right?”
I had given him a can of tuna and a coat.
And Darian in the video was wearing that exact coat.
So that's why he had seemed familiar.
“He said something to me back then...”
Darian had wolfed down the can of tuna and knelt before me just before leaving, and he had definitely said this.
“I will never forget,” he had said.
-Thrust
“Gasp.”
At that moment, the holy sword pierced through the Pope's body.
It happened all of a sudden.
For a moment, I even wondered whether I was seeing it correctly.
- ...? ???
- What the fuck is going on?
- Huh?
Only the thick, surging spray of crimson blood told us this was real.
At the moment everyone fell silent in bewilderment, Darian's expression changed in an instant.
“All heretics deserve to die.”
He erased his gentle smile and muttered with an expressionless face chilling enough to raise gooseflesh.
Then he pulled out the sword, kicked the Pope off the podium, and stared straight at the system.
“Glory to Head Mod!”
“What?”
No, me?
While everyone stood there dumbfounded, the hero raised the holy sword high into the sky.
Just then, the system appeared before my eyes.
[1 empty slot remains.]
[Searching...]
[1 target nearby can be designated.]
[Would you like to designate the target?]