This World Needs a Hero

HEL SCANS

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As with everyone else, memories of childhood days were faint for Ban.

However, he remembered his mother’s words as well as a habit.

“Son, you will become a brave person.”

“What does ‘brave’ mean?”

“Well, not losing courage in any situation?”

“What’s courage?”

“Well, courage is…”

Without showing irritation at successive questions, his mother kindly explained.

The details were not well remembered due to the difficult words, but her expression as she spoke of something sublime and precious was vivid.

… Anyway.

His mother had lived bravely.

Knowing she would face rejection in social circles, she still went to the “Nubes Salon.”

It was the highest social gathering in the empire.

‘For the sake of my father.’

A commoner.

He remembered the remorse and regret his mother felt for her own status, unable to provide any merit.

So, she worked even harder as Dietrich’s hostess.

“Mom, are you going out again? Can’t you stay?”

Apologizing, she shook her head somewhat sadly.

“Right. Mom has to be a good hostess so that our son can be loved and grow up well. So, even if Mom is a bit busy, understand, okay? I’ll bring something delicious!”

Even at a young age, Ban was intelligent enough to understand his mother’s words.

So, he didn’t throw tantrums after that day.

But it would have been better if he had been a little more intelligent.

If he had been, he could have prevented the harsh treatment of the commoner, who had fallen into the scornful social circles.

In her late twenties, how much would his mother have suffered there?

Counting the moments, she would have tried to hold onto her dignity even in the face of contempt.

“Why did such an incompatible woman enter our family… Tsk, tsk.”

Everyone saw his mother as an enemy.

Even in a family that should have supported her, they treated her coldly.

If his father had been by her side, the situation would have been much better, but at that time, the demons were causing havoc, and he could hardly stay close to her.

His mother spoke less and confined herself to her room.

The only time she smiled was when she wielded a sword with Ban in the training ground.

“Indeed, our son is a genius beyond comparison with his mother.”

“To detect it already, our son is truly exceptional!”

Even that was criticized by the family elders for being without etiquette.

However, one midnight, his mother, with an oddly different atmosphere, woke Ban up.

“Ban, come with me. We’re going on an outing.”

Excitedly following, Ban saw a large carriage at the back gate of the mansion.

Inside the carriage were people who seemed strangely absent-minded.

Elegant ladies and peers of the same age, all in splendid attire.

I couldn’t remember much from there.

The carriage that rattled all night and the giggles of the children.

His mother remained silent despite him calling her out.

The carriage finally stopped at some remote fishing spot at dawn…

.

.

.

… What happened there?

“Son, I’m sorry. I love you. It’s not your fault. Just remember that.”

A voice echoed from the depths of his memory.

Difficult and painful emotions surged like a torrent.

Ban felt a choking sensation, opened his eyes.

Then, an Enoch with his mother’s appearance laughed loudly.

“Why, can’t you do more? It’s only been five times.”

His mother, who lost herself to Enoch, manipulated by him, tried to hand over Ban and the other children and ladies to the demons.

It was a plan to seize hostages and control the imperial leadership.

… In that desperate moment.

Ban remembered that he had a concealed dagger in his embrace.

Coincidentally, his mother resisted the control of the dream, regaining consciousness.

Perhaps she realized it then.

If the host doesn’t die.

The situation would be worse than her son’s death.

The fact that her husband, fighting day and night for humanity, would also be jeopardized.

If not… she wouldn’t have made such a choice.

… Unforgettable suffocating pressure.

The weight and temperature pressing down on the body.

“Son, I’m sorry. I love you. It’s not your fault. Just remember that.”

The words whispered until life faded away.

“Heh, heh-”

His breath became increasingly rapid.

The symptoms were manifesting after a long time.

Each time he blinked, the rain soaking his body reflected in completely different colors.

“Haha, again!”

Enoch laughed satisfactorily.

Due to depleting a considerable amount of demonic enerf, the dream wasn’t perfect.

But it was enough to overpower Ban.

‘Humans don’t have the knack to resist in such situations.’

The boy was just gasping for breath.

“Ugh….”

It would start again.

His mother approached, and he stabbed.

A forced repetition of the most dreadful memory.

Ban buried his head in his hands.

‘I can’t do this anymore.’

Once his heart broke, regret slowly crept in like a dark fog.

… Why.

Why did I gather the courage that was not meant to be.

I should have just stayed confined in the mansions of the institute.

Then, I wouldn’t have to endure this torment, this pain, coming all the way to Rosenstark.

Ban felt like he was crumbling.

No, he wanted to crumble.

To give up everything and find comfort.

… So, he recalled those words.

The words that had supported him for the past few months.

The day he collapsed embarrassingly in front of his comrades.

The words that lifted him up again when he was broken.

“When you want to give up, remember why you started.”

He had mulled over it hundreds of times since then.

While being beaten by Luke and rolling on the ground.

While enduring Lucas’s sneers in silence.

Even when self-loathing surged up unexpectedly.

‘…Why I started.’

There were many reasons.

To escape the shame of the family and be a pride to his father.

To trace the footsteps of his mother left behind in Rosenstark.

To stop hating himself every night before falling asleep.

But before all of that.

There was something he desired more than anything.

“…I.”

Ban wanted to fight.

Against the demonic beings who had twisted his life upside down.

He wanted to confront them.

So, he left the mansion’s room.

He picked up the sword again.

So, there’s no running away from here.

Ban slowly raised his stiffened head due to the chill.

Beyond the rain hitting his ears loudly.

He heard the cold and moist voice of the creature.

“Pointless resistance.”

“……”

“This is my dream, my realm. Once you’re trapped here, no human can escape.”

…No human can escape from here?

Lies.

Ban exhaled a warm breath.

“You’re wrong.”

“…What?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

It felt strange.

He used to freeze even in the face of a fellow student’s clumsy swordplay.

Even in front of the lifeless body of a defeated monster.

But now.

In front of the leader of the nightmare legion.

[TL/N: Dear author, is it nightmares or monmas? 😭]

He didn’t even consider stepping back.

“There was someone who defeated you, right?”

“What?”

“The person who finally beat you.”

Ban understood exactly what he needed to do.

Just do what he was good at.

His father did it.

His mother did it.

The talent praised as genius until their mouths wore out.

The talent inherited from both of them.

“I’m her son! Now I’ll do the same!”

Ban shouted as he drew on his mana.

Detection.

Threads of mana that tracked the enemy surged from his body.

Tsu tsu tsu tsu tsu-!

The boy’s mana poured out towards every reachable place in his field of vision.

It was an output that far surpassed the limits.

It felt like his heart stopped, and his blood wasn’t flowing, but it didn’t matter.

As long as he could land a blow on the creature, it didn’t matter what happened to his body.

“Just a bit more! Just a bit further!”

The vast detection unfolded.

Beyond broken glass bottles and shattered wooden chairs, beyond rusted and corroded fishing tools.

Beyond the abandoned fishing boat and the silver-colored lake surface pouring rain under dark clouds.

He finally found it.

The boundary between dream and reality.

“I found it.”

Enoch muttered in disbelief.

“It’s absurd….”

It felt like time was repeating.

The memories of the past and the current reality intertwined.

Certainly, ten years ago.

In the same way, his dream had torn apart from here.

The disgusting brown eyes.

Enoch’s face distorted like a malevolent curse.

“How dare you!”

Ban’s sword cut through the air.

The light that split from its end extended across the lake, cutting through the boundary between illusion and reality.

The dream, unable to sustain its power any longer, began to crumble.

Kwagwagwagwak-!

This had happened only twice in Enoch’s long life.

“…Haha.”

Watching the crumbling dream.

Ban laughed with relief.

* * *

The evacuation point looked entirely different from just now.

The dense demonic energy fog made even a few meters ahead blurry in the darkness.

Children, fallen like pieces of wood, writhed on the ground.

HEL SCANS

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—————

Enoch had wreaked havoc, using over half of the demonic energy he had recovered in the past ten years.

But the main culprit of the incident, Enoch himself, was not satisfied, but immersed in bewilderment.

…His dream had shattered.

Not by a Dawn Knight or the renowned hero.

But by an academy student who was still just a child.

Enoch shifted his gaze with disdain.

“Truly, a detestable bloodline.”

Perhaps exhausted, the eyes of the fallen one had no focus.

With his stamina, mana, and spirit at rock bottom, contacting high-concentration demonic energy would soon lead the boy to his death.

However, even if such a result was predetermined, Enoch’s anger did not subside.

Pheguk-!

Ban’s chest was kicked, and he flew powerless, rolling.

‘To such a guy….’

The ability he displayed in his weakened state, far inferior to before, did hurt his pride.

But what was even more miserable was the fact that there was no room for anger.

‘About a minute has passed since the alarm went off.’

There was still time until Felson or the knights arrived.

But extracting mana from the children seemed impossible.

The aftermath of the shattered dream and the instability caused by the forced possession made the use of abilities somewhat unpredictable.

For now, putting them to sleep was the best he could do.

The resurrection he had prepared for his original body, done with deep regret, was now futile.

Enoch’s face grimaced horribly, then returned to normal.

‘Let’s calm down for now.’

Regretting what had already happened could wait until later.

Now was the time to come up with the best plan.

‘If I want to prepare for the future, I have to extract this host at least.’

Enoch looked down at the young boy.

A rare noble bloodline that had grown up in affluence, unaware of life’s hardships.

Perhaps due to that, his mental strength wasn’t anything special, but his physical potential far surpassed that of Eitrobin, thanks to the noble lineage.

If used wisely, he could accumulate demonic energy even faster than before.

‘…First, I need to get out of Rosenstark. As long as there are knights and Felson, this place is too dangerous.’

Enoch quickly raised the remaining magic.

Tsu tsu tsu tsu-!

The “Dream Droplets” hadn’t only spread to the control center employees.

Several residents of the villages near Rosenstark and the academy’s servants were also affected by the medium’s influence.

Of course, it was impossible to mesmerize all of them, but by mobilizing some, Enoch could create enough confusion for him to escape.

‘…Now it’s been 2 minutes.’

Enoch, who concentrated on the series of tasks, prepared to leave.

Of course, he didn’t forget what he had to do before that.

Sweep-!

His sword aimed at the defenseless children lying on the ground.

Geniuses gathered from all over the continent to receive the teachings of the Hero.

Those who could rightfully be called the future of humanity.

Just stepping on them would be an enormous feat.

First, this one.

Shwick-!

Enoch swung his sword towards the bright red hair that was clearly visible in the darkness.

Clang-!

But the expected fatal blow did not land.

A sharp metal sound replaced the expected disintegration noise.

“Ha.”

Enoch’s face twisted in displeasure as he confirmed the identity of the interference.

“A dying man resists.”

Enoch’s sword abruptly changed direction in the air, heading towards the stumbling Ban.

He had already gone through and absorbed Lucas’ memories.

He found out that Ban froze and couldn’t wield his sword properly in real combat.

Clang-!

Enoch urgently blocked the sword aimed at his neck.

‘…Initiative?’

Clang-!

…Ban controlled the rebound force of the sword and immediately thrust it again.

‘Faster. Stronger.’

He had to relentlessly press on.

‘Completely different from Lucas.’

Just one exchange was enough to reveal it.

The force in the sword was terrifyingly powerful, and the control was malicious.

At the current state, or rather, even in his best state, he couldn’t defeat such an opponent.

But…

‘I can buy time.’

Ban held onto his strained body and continued to advance.

Swick-!

The heavy blade passed by his shoulder.

The feeling of demonic energy seeping through the opened wound was similar to salt being sprinkled.

However, Ban didn’t pay it any attention and faced the sword head-on.

‘More!’

Ban actively used the cloak with the enchantment magic received as a gift during the festival for defense.

To avoid fatal injuries, he had to keep moving without a break, delivering strikes with his sword.

“…Ha.”

Ban glanced behind him every time he felt exhausted.

The dense fog descended, and although nothing was visible, occasionally, red hair, small cute horns, freckles sprinkled on the nose, and an annoying yet warm smile passed before his eyes.

If he crumbled now, everyone would die.

To him, who seemed to only display a pitiful appearance, they first reached out their hands to help him.

Friends who pushed him forward, preventing him from giving up, might disappear from the world.

So, he couldn’t afford to collapse just yet.

Ban took a deep breath and stood up immediately.

In that moment, Enoch’s eyes glowed eerily.

‘How can someone who seemed about to die endure this?’

The momentum was surprisingly vigorous.

Eventually, Enoch made a decision.

There was no time to waste.

Although the demonic energy for escape would decrease somewhat, it was an unavoidable situation.

Enoch raised his sword.

Woo-woo-woo-woo-!

The crimson mana gathered around the sword and formed a vortex.

A tremendous power emanated from the magic structure into the air.

‘…It’s a wide area spell.’

Ban, who was trying to avoid it in a hurry, realized something and stopped.

‘Ah.’

That attack wasn’t targeting him.

If he dodged, his friends who were lying behind would be swept away.

If he intercepted, he would definitely die.

It was more likely to survive by embracing the bomb with his body.

His abdomen.

Seeing the frozen Ban, Enoch burst into laughter.

“You pathetic creature. Can you muster courage even in the face of death?”

Enoch already knew the answer.

Regardless of any lofty principles, dazzling virtues, once pushed to the extreme, revealing the ugly face was what defined humanity.

For a very long time, the dream-eater who peered into human desires was convinced.

The boy would avoid the attack and save himself.

And, looking at his friends who died tragically, he would explode with an unknown resentment.

That’s what he was convinced of.

.

.

.

However, the boy hesitated.

“…….”

Ban naturally understood.

It was impossible to intercept that.

He would be crushed by overwhelming magic and die.

…But.

If he gave his all, he could use his body as a shield and offset the explosion so that it wouldn’t affect the entire shelter.

‘That should be enough.’

Ban looked at the incoming sphere.

By the way, it was a strange thing.

When prepared for death, the mind becomes strangely clear.

Memories long forgotten come back so vividly that it’s as if they were just now recalled.

“Well, courage is… a pledge to overcome despair.”

“A determination to choose a difficult option rather than an easy one.”

…Even though she shouldn’t be here.

Yet, the fragrance that made him feel relieved seemed to envelop him.

Ban took a deep breath.

“So, a brave person is someone who chooses a difficult path.”

“And those who make such choices become an example to others at a crossroads.”

I…

“…I hope my son grows up to be brave and helps others find courage.”

“I don’t know! It’s difficult!”

“It’s okay, you can find it difficult now. It will definitely be like that. Whose son are you!”

…Now, easy choices are tiresome.

Flames leaped vigorously from the boy’s brown eyes, and his foot deeply penetrated the ground.

Now, he chose this difficult option.

The courage he showed in this moment would undoubtedly remain immortal to his friends.

“I’m going.”

And at the same time, as the most perfect sword strike extended.

The condensed magic exploded in front of Ban with a roaring sound.

Kwaaaaaang-!

Intense light and heat swept through the shelter.

.

.

.

And then, a sword named Black Hope stood in Ban’s path.

The Hero looked at his disciple.

With a body covered in blood and sweat, the appearance of a hero with a firm grip on the sword.

His eyes, filled with unwavering determination, stared back.

Indeed, it was a figure like that of a Hero.

“Ban.”

The Hero, lifting the black hope that had burned red from the ground, spoke.

“Well done.”

The boy smiled faintly once and then fell backward.

The Hero turned his gaze forward again, facing the distorted expression of the demon.

Now, it was his turn.

.

.

.

▼

Understanding of Ban Dietrich deepens.

Understanding Level: 22/100 -> 25/100

Additional comments are added for Ban Dietrich:

– The one who perseveres.

▲

HEL SCANS

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