The Fake Hero Is Too Strong

Chapter 200

The Demon King must fall by the hero’s hand.

But not too easily.

Even before my regression, Idria had fought us fiercely.

That battle had ended when Kaeld cut off Idria’s head.

At that moment even I had thought, “It’s finally over.”

She must have been deceiving us until the very end, feeding on our false hopes.

I’m doing something similar right now.

“Haaaah!”

“Kh…!”

My sword barely grazed Idria as she soared into the air. She spread her arms wide.

Her violet hair rose like a flame toward the sky.

“This little game ends here.”

Ugh.

That’s Adwin’s line.

I admit, it sounds dramatic, but saying it out loud makes my face burn.

A black curtain spread beneath Idria’s arms.

Like a heavy blackout drape, pitch-black and ominous.

From within it, countless grotesque monsters poured out.

Probably just smoke being pushed through from behind the curtain.

“No matter how many of those you summon, it won’t matter!”

“Heheh. Let’s see how long that bravado lasts.”

The monsters rushed me.

I swung my sword wildly, slashing through them.

Lions, serpents, goats, deer, each grotesque, each falling to the ground with a thud.

But for every one that fell, many more surged forward.

I raised my voice, riding the momentum.

“Ridiculously….”

[Shut up! You will destroy everything we have built up!]

‘…That bad, huh?’

[Yep. This is supposed to be a world-level crisis!]

‘Seriously, that bad?’

Anyway, I shouted internally.

‘Ridiculously Intense Slashing!’

A curtain of blades tore through the endless horde.

“Krraaaarrr!”

“Kueeek!”

“Kieeeeh!”

Their bodies split apart, flesh scattering through the air.

As I pressed forward, I cast a glance at Idria.

As if waiting for her cue, she shouted:

“You’re better than I thought. But still!”

From the curtain emerged monsters on an entirely different scale.

Among them was Helnaim, the Insect King we once defeated.

Creatures so massive you had to crane your neck just to see their heads.

I put on a look of astonishment.

“Kh… I didn’t think it would be this much.”

“Mide! You can’t give up!”

That was when my party came running up behind me.

Right. That was the plan.

In the final act, the hero must never stand alone.

Xenia spoke first.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. What about the Demon King’s minions?”

“All cleared out. We will help now!”

Xenia said that and clasped hands with Serein.

A grand purification spell or something meant to look like it.

It wasn’t the real costly version of the spell, but to anyone watching, it sure looked convincing.

“…By this rite, let all corruption in this place be cleansed.”

“In the name of the Hero!”

Golden light began to pour down from above.

Idria’s face twisted in alarm.

“Th-this is… Purification? No, something’s different!”

“We did some research just for you.”

“Kh… I didn’t think you would be capable of this.”

Adwin shouted,

“Her soul’s weakened! Offense… hyung.”

Hearing the word ‘hyung,’ Offense looked moved and drew his dagger.

“Lisel, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes. Amira, Donir!”

Empowered by Lisel’s spirit, Offense’s dagger flew at incredible speed.

Thwip!

It struck Idria directly in the forehead.

The black curtain vanished.

Idria’s body plummeted.

Neril quickly formed hand seals, lightning-fast.

“Transcendent Disintegration!”

The colossal spear that had once erased a mountain flew toward the remaining monsters.

They were massive, true abominations, but not even they could endure that attack.

“Krhhrrr!”

“Kraaah!”

“Kkheee!”

I blinked once and when I opened my eyes, nothing remained but a clean, newly formed road.

“Huff… huff…”

Neril staggered, leaning against me.

[You could fire off thousands more of those, but sure, pretend to be exhausted.]

‘I asked her to act that way.’

[And now she is leaning on you? That wasn’t in the script.]

‘A little improvisation is fine.’

I held her shoulders.

“Neril, are you alright?”

“I… overdid it.”

Right then, Xenia and Serein collapsed to the ground as well.

“You guys!”

“Sorry… It was a spell beyond normal purification…”

“Even if we die… please take care of what comes after.”

I widened my eyes and shouted,

“No! I won’t lose any of you. Adwin!”

“Yes!”

“Hold their souls in place. Offense, keep watch for any monsters still alive.”

“Got it.”

“Lisel, grab a potion from my bag and give it to them.”

“On it.”

That should have made me look like a decisive leader giving orders under pressure.

Anyway, everyone now looked busy tending to their wounds, recovering from the fierce battle.

I let out a sigh of relief and murmured,

“But where’s Idria?”

As if she had heard me and she probably had, Idria rose from within the smoke.

She yanked the dagger from her forehead.

Blue veins bulged across her face.

“Such a potent poison…”

“My party made it.”

“It seems… It won’t last much longer. Let’s finish this, Mide Mohan.”

At her words, Neril tried to get up.

I stopped her.

“Stay down.”

“B-but!”

“Thanks to you all, the Demon King is already weakened. I will finish it.”

Neril looked at me, half worried, half moved.

The others were the same.

They sent their faith to the hero standing before the Demon King.

“Mide. We are counting on you.”

“Do your best.”

“Hyung, you can do it!”

“I will hold this place. We will join you once we have recovered.”

“Don’t worry about us.”

“Good luck, Mide.”

A perfect picture.

I nodded heavily and charged toward the Demon King.

“Idriaaaa!”

“Mideeee!”

No reason to yell, but we both did anyway.

Clang! Kagang!

Idria’s sharp claws and the hero’s sword clashed again and again.

Our battle raged on for another ten minutes.

Neither I nor Idria were using even ten percent of our full strength.

If we did, the people watching our battle wouldn’t even be able to see us.

It had to at least look visible to them.

‘Trail. I’m a bit busy here, so check my fame for me. How much has it gone up?’

[Hmm… 150, 180, 200. Just passed two million now.]

‘Not enough.’

Hopelessly lacking.

To be chosen by the world, there are conditions.

One of them is to gain fame exceeding what the world demands.

In my case, it was one million, but that was the fame needed to kill Idria.

‘For Impelium, it took over 4.8 million to be chosen. Meaning, to kill Velosian, I will need at least 4.8 million fame.’

[Ugh.]

‘I was hoping maybe this fight would push it past 4.8 million, but looks like that won’t happen. I will have to go with the original plan.’

[Yeah. The fame increase is slowing down, too.]

We fought for five more minutes.

And five minutes later, Trail said:

[2.4 million. It’s not going up anymore. That’s the limit.]

‘Exactly half. Damn it.’

Can’t be helped.

I gave Idria a subtle signal.

She gave the faintest nod, something only I would notice.

Then deliberately left an opening around her abdomen.

“Haaaahhh!”

With a ferocious roar.

Thud.

I drove the hero’s sword straight into Idria’s abdomen.

“Kh..!”

She coughed up blood and staggered back several steps.

Then her movements stopped completely.

“Huff… huff…”

I dropped to one knee, one hand braced on the ground.

My companions rushed up behind me.

“Mide!”

“Are you alright?”

“Kh… I’m fine. Cough…”

I bit my tongue and let blood stream from the corner of my mouth.

Xenia gasped and quickly cast a healing spell over me.

Whirr.

Golden light swirled, and I could feel color returning to my face.

Not that I had been injured in the first place.

I waved her back and approached Idria’s fallen body.

Adwin muttered,

“Did she die standing up?”

A chill of secondhand embarrassment ran down my spine.

‘He really insisted on including that line…’

[Well, it’s getting good reactions. Adwin’s fame just went up a bit.]

‘He’s got such a strange sense for these things.’

Anyway, I told the group,

“No. She is not dead.”

“Huh? But she is not moving at all.”

“The Demon King can only be killed by destroying their core. For Idria, that core is her heart.”

Offense nodded.

“Then we will have to stab her heart. The sword is still in her belly, so we will need to pull it out first.”

“……”

“Mide? What’s wrong?”

I put on a thoughtful expression.

My companions looked uneasy and surely, across the continent, everyone watching wore the same anxious look.

Good.

The mood was just right.

I spoke.

“Is it really over just because we kill her?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Will her sins just vanish the moment she dies?”

“……”

“Think of all the victims Idria has made. Not just in our time, throughout countless ages. Can we really end it just by killing her?”

They gave me uncertain looks.

I went on.

“She has tormented humanity from the shadows for countless years. And if we just kill her and call it done, what about the people who suffered under her?”

“But there’s nothing else we can do.”

“There is.”

I pointed at Idria.

“Idria. Answer me.”

“……”

“You’re not dead yet. Don’t pretend to be.”

Idria coughed black blood and opened her eyes.

“Kh… what are you talking about. Just kill me.”

“Of course I will kill you. But it won’t be by my hand.”

“What?”

“By humanity’s.”

“What nonsense is that?”

“It means humanity will judge you.”

I leaned close and growled,

“I won’t let you go so easily, you wicked Demon King.”

“……!”

“As long as the hero’s sword is lodged in your body, you can’t use your power, can you?”

I deliberately stepped back, so the world could see her expression.

‘Perfect. Absolutely perfect.’

This was the climax of the entire performance and Idria’s acting was flawless.

Her lips were drained of color, trembling. Her eyes shook with helpless fury.

Her expression alone confirmed what I had just said:

that she truly couldn’t use her power while the sword remained inside her.

“Kh… wh-what are you saying!”

“I told you already. Humanity will judge you. You will submit to judgment.”

I had said something similar to Sobius once, deep in that special room beneath the sea.

This part had already been agreed upon from the very beginning, when Idria and I decided to stage this play together.

She bit her lip.

“What are you babbling about? Speak plainly.”

“Fine. I will say it clearly.”

Ssshh.

Would this next move give me the extra fame I needed?

It had to.

I shouted,

“I will hold a trial! A trial to judge the Demon King Idria!”

“……!”

“The proceedings will be entrusted to His Imperial Majesty himself! Before all the lands of the continent, I will expose every one of your sins. The entire world will bear witness to your judgment!”

“Ghh…”

“And for each revealed crime, you yourself will atone. You will rebuild every place you destroyed, visit every grave of your victims, and beg their forgiveness.”

“Kill me! Just kill me already!”

“And only after all that repentance will you die, according to the verdict of the trial. You won’t be executed by the hero, but judged by humanity itself!”

The Demon King of Destruction was slain by Grade.

The Demon King of Greed by Lepia.

The Demon King of Corruption by Leon.

Yes.

Each one killed by a hero, a proxy for humanity.

But in truth, humanity itself had never judged a Demon King.

By opening this “Demon King Trial,” I would achieve what past heroes never could.

A feat to be remembered as: Humanity judged the Demon King.

‘Now… how will people take this idea?’

That was the only thing that worried me.

Then, as if waiting for the cue, Trail said:

[It worked.]

‘Oh? Nice. How much?’

[Heh. See for yourself.]

Tap.

Trail brought up the screen window.

And finally…

Far beyond the minimum 4.8 million needed to kill Velosian.

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