A brief silence fell over the battlefield that had been so fierce.

The Holy Knights and priests who had tried to stop the demonic beasts and monsters from somehow reaching Hyunsoo.

And those who had been attacking him to protect their mother Gremory, who had been resurrected at the end of their long-cherished wish.

This is real......?

The great archdemon...... really died?

Mother? Please tell me this is a lie!

They were looking at Gremory, her form slowly fading away into ash, and at one man whose breathing had risen all the way to his throat as he gasped, huff, huff.

Pope Karsel, who had long been asleep after suffering grievous wounds.

......For hundreds of years, humanity has been regressing because of evil.

The tale of hunting a great archdemon had passed down like folklore, like legend, to the point where it now felt like some hazy truth.

And yet now, what they had done in desperation, clutching at straws, had been to request the forging of a holy relic.

And while fighting the battle, they had realized something.

No matter what kind of holy relic emerged, this war would not end easily.

And yet......

......It was not the Sword God, nor the five kings who lead the era.

It was the result brought about by someone who held a hammer and pounded what lay atop the anvil.

And Karsel, too, had once snorted at Hyun’s words.

He respected him, and fully acknowledged him as a master blacksmith, but the idea of founding “Hyun’s Nation” had felt far too fantastical, like an impossible dream.

But now—

......Lord Ares.

At this moment, Pope Karsel realized it.

I, who once mocked him, want to lend my hand once in building Hyun’s Nation.

At this moment, Hyun’s Nation was beginning.

This was the moment it began to receive the love of the greatest church of all—

the Ares Church—and it was more than enough to justify it.

Because it was being proven in full detail that what they were witnessing was not falsehood, but truth, and that silence was shattered by the sound of the World Message rings.

But what mattered even more than that was—

[The contribution score to the Ares Church cannot be calculated!]

Hearing that truth, Pope Karsel started running together with Saintess Aria.

Meanwhile.

There were also those feeling an entirely different emotion.

“......My lord.”

“......Lord Hyunsoo.”

“We’re sorry.”

They were the members of Hyun’s Forge.

Luxiu, Bella, and Bon among them.

Resil, Bark, Bellia, Ian, and the leading figures from the Olympics were all feeling self-reproach.

Luxiu’s self-reproach was especially strong.

Even at the moment when the great archdemon Gremory had seized him by the throat and he had nearly died, he had survived only because of his lord’s help.

“This is not Sir Luxiu’s fault.”

The people of Hyun’s Forge had been active in the war between the Ares Church and the Calamity Church long before Hyunsoo arrived.

They had simply been exhausted from fighting for too long.

And as Nell watched the great archdemon Gremory scattering away, they felt joy and worry at once.

Because they knew the people here would flounder in self-reproach, trapped in the fact that they had been able to do nothing.

But—

even with Nell’s comfort, Luxiu was still trembling, so Nell had thought he must be drowning in terrible self-reproach.

And yet—

“......The only way to soothe this guilty heart is for me to become stronger and serve him properly.”

[Vassal Luxiu steps onto a new foundation for growth.]

“......”

Nell fell into no small amount of shock.

They did not know by what route Luxiu would reach that foundation.

And just like him—

“I must work even harder as well.”

“Me too.”

“If Lord Hyunsoo could do it, then what, you think I can’t!?”

“Power-leveling, power-levelinggg!!”

“......”

Nell could not quite process it. There were many people around him who possessed incomprehensible strength.

And the reason such people could exist was this.

Because Lord Hyunsoo is an ordinary person.

Perhaps someone might say that was ridiculous.

But Nell knew.

Until before he logged into this game called Ares, he had been more ordinary than anyone, and had lived a life that gave others every reason to pity him.

Nell still could not truly grasp it even while seeing it with their own eyes.

And it was not merely because of the World Message still ringing out.

[The people of the Ares Church encounter the hero of the present age.]

They were astonished because they could feel the immense emotion the Ares Church now held.

The members of Hyun’s Forge and Nell also began to run toward somewhere.

And in yet another place.

There was also someone who envied Hyunsoo, was jealous of him, and because of that burned with anger.

That person was Kali, World Rank #2.

Kali, too, could not believe this moment.

A blacksmith raided a great archdemon alone? And by making a sword called the White Tiger Sword? How the hell did he make that?

And Kali knew because Kali was Kali.

The story born today—of raiding a great archdemon alone—would be talked about forever so long as the game Ares continued to exist.

And because Kali was World Rank #2, he knew exactly how valuable a name could be.

Even right now, your guild is probably being flooded with endless join requests. Is this what you wanted, Hyun!?

His stomach twisted.

And he resented and hated Hyun, who had controlled and used them from behind those playful names—granddaughter, younger sibling, father.

We contributed too, you bastard. If it weren’t for us—if we hadn’t been there!!

Kali’s thoughts were only natural.

If not for those three who had shouted Long live the Calamity Church, for Gremory, they would never have made it to this moment.

And now Hyunsoo was about to rise like a madman under the name raided it alone, and it made his stomach burn.

We were completely used, that sly little bastard.......

At that moment—

“......Kali, I think you should look at this.”

“What, look at Hyun trying to use us so he can become king?”

Divine Archer Mio shook her head.

“No. It’s a whisper Hyun sent me the instant he appeared.”

“???”

The instant he appeared?

His entrance had been urgent. He couldn’t possibly have had time.

Which meant those whispers were things he had thought out beforehand and sent before coming here.

“What is it then? Some taunt like, Thanks to you idiots, I got to siphon off some sweet benefits?”

Sneering, Kali was shown the content of the whisper Mio had received.

[Hyunsoo: Thank you. I mean it. To Kali, to you, Mio, and to Rund too. I’m truly grateful. I want you to pass that on to everyone.]

“......?”

Kali made a puzzled face.

Strictly speaking, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» they had been enemies.

No—more precisely, they were the ones who had chosen to become enemies.

And so, in truth, he knew better than anyone that the one who should despise and hate them most was not the current Kali, but Hyunsoo.

But Kali, driven again by that negative state of mind, took it for empty lip service and checked the next whisper.

[Hyunsoo: I know it’s asking a lot, but if I succeed in raiding the great archdemon and if you want it, I’ll include your names at that moment.]

“Is he insane?”

Kali knew better than anyone the truth hidden in that.

He raided a great archdemon alone.

At that glorious moment, the greatest spotlight would be poured onto him.

Every one of his words would be talked about, and every statement from him would become an example.

If, in such a moment, he said that Kali, Mio, and Rund had fought together with him, then that glory would naturally be divided.

It would mean sharing that precious honor. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

What would he have done in that place? He would have puffed out his chest and basked in the moment, saying, I was fucking incredible.

“......”

Kali came to understand.

From beginning to end, he had been the one picking the fight, and in the end, it had also been he who had possessed the narrow heart.

Used?

It was true he had been used, but since Hyun had been willing to share that glory, it was hard to say that was the whole story.

And it was also true that they, too, had gained tremendous levels and quest rewards here.

Of course, that did not mean Kali suddenly took his side.

“Tell him forget it. He can live well all by himself. What an irritating bastard.”

He did nothing more than sneer.

“If he’s that damn grateful, then he can forge me an artifact or something.”

At that, Mio smiled bitterly.

“......Actually, he told me to come see him sometime if I found good materials.”

“......I guess I’ll have to go once, then. What a pain.”

Of course, they were still enemies.

What had changed was simply that because of him, their once-narrow field of vision had widened.

I won’t let you be the only one who keeps growing, Hyun.

They would keep growing too.

In order to catch him.

“Before we go back, I suppose we should fulfill our last duty as granddaughter and son.”

They listened to the World Message, now nearing its end.

*****

[A user with the blacksmith class has slain a great archdemon alone.]

[This is an event that has never existed in any age of history.]

The entire world was focused on the World Message.

They were all waiting for the line, His name is Master Blacksmith Hyun.

Because that would be remembered in Ares forever, and every time a great archdemon was hunted in the future, people would say, A few months before that...... a few years before that...... and recall that there had once been a faster Master Blacksmith Hyun.

And yet—

[His name has not been revealed.]

-......What?

Not revealed? Does that mean he set it to anonymous!?

......Of course, so many people saw what happened here that anonymity doesn’t matter much, but having the name appear and not having it appear still feel very different.

The entire world was confused.

Everyone thought Hyunsoo had made a massive mistake.

But Hyunsoo said nothing, only dragged in harsh breaths.

And because of that, the commentators realized it.

......Anonymous was not a mistake. It was intentional. User Hyun is forcing the entire world to recognize right now that this was not something done alone!

That was right. At this moment, he was trying to share the credit.

Saying that it had not been his alone.

And then they noticed something strange.

......User Hyunsoo’s lips are trembling.

It was the moment they saw the essence of things.

The hand gripping the White Tiger Sword—and his legs as well—were trembling violently.

The whole world came to understand.

He was afraid...... if you think about what Gremory said, the biggest reason for her resurrection was Hyun himself.

People had expected things like this.

I defeated a great archdemon alone.

Hyun’s Nation is nearing completion.

I will become the new supreme ruler.

But—

those expectations were absent, and instead something sank far deeper into their hearts.

Because it was something they could sympathize with precisely because he was human, and that pulled at people’s hearts all the more strongly.

And also—

Master Blacksmith Hyun is still very young.

That was true.

He was only twenty-one or twenty-two. At such a young age, he had fought against the greatest terror in Ares.

Because of that, he had been afraid, and because of that, he had shown a human side that won the sympathy of countless people.

At that moment—

......Huh?

The viewers around the world were startled.

Because in this glorious moment, the surviving members of the Calamity Church were trying to stab Hyun in the back.

The precarious Hyun had a high chance of logging out here without even getting to savor this moment.

And yet—

“Long live the Calamity Church.”

KRAAAAAABOOOM—!

An arrow flying in from afar burst the heads of those aiming for Hyun’s back and kept them from approaching.

And along with it—

“......For Gremory.”

Praising Gremory, who was already dead, a robed “heretic of the Calamity Church” was guarding Hyun’s back.

The even more astonishing sight came next.

P-Pope Karsel and Saintess Aria are running.

The image being broadcast on screens around the world.

The most beautiful and noble righteous one, Aria, and Pope Karsel, who led the entire Ares Church, were shown running.

H-Hyun’s Forge is running too!

And with that, Hyun, who was being broadcast to the whole world, slowly began to collapse.

And as they saw the one who arrived before anyone else, people around the world could not help but fall into shock.

-......!

-......!

At this moment, while Pope Karsel, Saintess Aria,

the unknown heretic of the Calamity Church, and Hyun’s Forge were all running for his sake—

the most shocking figure of all caught him as he slowly collapsed unconscious.

He was a user who made no friends.

And no one had ever been able to get close to him.

And yet the one who embraced him with utmost care—

It’s Bahala.......

The commentators and viewers across the world watched in astonishment as the cameras captured Hyunsoo and Bahala, knowing all broadcasts would soon end.

Looking at Hyunsoo, Bahala gave a small smile and said,

“......You worked hard, Hyunsoo. Rest now.”

Those words only made the entire world burn even hotter.

Forging that sword could not have been easy.

And he must have continued forging it through all kinds of fear and terror.

The trembling of his lips and body was the moment that proved him, and the hero fell just like that.

There was no stylish line, no narrative about becoming king.

The “hero” is still too young and too lacking to even hide his own fear.

A small smile settled into the commentators’ voices.

But that will be all right. He is the most human of men, and one with things he still lacks—but there are this many people around him to fill those gaps.

On that day,

the scene of Karsel, Aria, Hyun’s Forge, and even Bahala rushing to stand by his side recorded 700 million views,

and the story of the small hero—or the hero we protect—was talked about for a very long time.