Chapter 001

The world was covered in darkness, and a rain of fire was falling from the sky.

However, there were no screams or sounds of people running away.

That was because everyone was already dead.

In this place filled with nothing but corpses, only Alex remained.

And—

KWAANG! BOOM!

The Demon King and the Hero were fighting over there.

However, neither the Demon King nor the Hero knew that Alex was here.

That was because Alex was in a ghostly state.

‘Leo!’

The voice calling out to his nephew, the Hero, could not be heard.

‘You damn Demon King!’

Nor could the voice cursing the Demon King.

If they couldn’t even hear his voice, how could he possibly affect the physical world?

SHAAAK!

Even when Alex threw himself in front of the Demon King’s attack to block it, the attack simply passed through him and struck Leo.

Again and again.

Ghost Alex had no choice but to follow his nephew Leo as he helplessly suffered one attack after another.

But—

‘Leo! Dodge!’

Even if Leo couldn’t hear him,

‘Damn it!’

Even if he couldn’t stop the attacks—

With his dark golden hair fluttering, Alex repeatedly stood in front of Leo.

He did it so that Leo, who had been left alone after all the reinforcements and his friends had died, wouldn’t have to fight in loneliness.

So that Leo, at the very least, could win and return alive.

Even if it was only by chance, there was always the possibility that he might block the Demon King’s attack just once.

But—

“Ugh!”

God did not grant Alex’s wish.

No, it wasn’t that He wouldn’t grant it.

Even the Supreme God Solenius was lending his power to the Hero, prepared to disappear in the process.

That was how powerful the Demon King was—the being who intended to kill every living thing on the continent and make everything his own.

“I’m… I’m fine….”

Leo was struggling even to breathe.

His brilliant golden hair, which had once attracted everyone’s attention, had turned completely white.

Of his two sky-blue eyes that had shone like jewels, one was closed, with blood flowing from it.

“Haa.”

Moreover, the artificial left arm given to him by the Magic Tower Federation was moving poorly, as though it might break down at any moment.

The Age of Destruction.

An era in which people had to accept the fear and terror of death, which could come at any moment, as though it were their fate.

The Hero of this era, Leo Solenius, had fought powerful enemies until his entire body was nearly broken, finally making it this far.

‘Let’s run away, Leo!’

Alex tried to persuade him again, knowing that Leo couldn’t hear him.

‘Forget the continent! Forget the Last City! Let’s just run away!’

What did any of that matter?

My nephew is the most precious and important thing in the world to me!

But the Hero stood up again and took hold of his Holy Sword.

Despite having almost no uninjured part of his body, he stood straight.

‘Damn it!’

Since his nephew was doing that, his uncle had no choice but to help him.

He didn’t care even if his soul disappeared.

Not if it was for Leo.

However, as though they were in different dimensions, Alex’s efforts had no effect.

BOOM!

He could only helplessly let the Demon King’s attacks pass right through him.

“This is the end, Hero.”

As the Demon King spoke, the pure white skull embedded in the center of his chest began flickering with dark green flames.

Alex and Leo tensed.

Whenever that skull glowed with dark green light, especially powerful magic would pour out.

And just as they had expected, magic rained down from the air.

Leo dodged as much as he could, deflecting the attacks with his Holy Sword while rushing toward the Demon King.

He burned not only all the divine power he possessed but even his own soul.

The Supreme God Solenius also lent his strength to Leo.

Even if his own existence disappeared, he wanted to help the Hero he had chosen.

KWAANG!

Gathering all the power he could, the Hero attacked the Demon King.

‘Aaaaaah! Somebody stop it, damn it! You useless body!’

Even in his ghostly state, Alex flew around, throwing himself in front of the Demon King’s attacks, though he couldn’t block a single one.

“Disappear! Demon King!”

Hero Leo became a ray of light and flew toward the Demon King.

He put everything he had into this attack.

BOOM! KWAANG!

Breaking through the multiple layers of defensive barriers, Leo drew closer to the Demon King.

His grip tightened around the shining Holy Sword.

Leo grasped the Holy Sword with both hands and thrust it straight forward.

At the same time—

The pure white skull embedded in the very center of the Demon King’s chest began to glow.

Dark green flames.

The warning sign of the magic everyone feared.

But Leo did not retreat.

Instead, he gritted his teeth and put even more strength into his Holy Sword.

Just then—

A beam of dark green light shot out from the skull like an enormous arrow.

‘Leo!’

Knowing he couldn’t stop it, Alex still stood in front of Leo.

Just as he had done hundreds, thousands of times before.

And finally—

Alex’s wish came true.

‘…!’

The beam of dark green light was blocked by Alex’s body and stopped in midair.

‘I blocked it! I actually blocked it!’

But his joy lasted only a moment.

As though mocking the delighted Alex, the beam of dark green light, which had stopped for just an instant, passed through his body as if nothing had happened.

And then it pierced straight through the chest of Leo Solenius, who was standing behind him.

“…Kuh!”

It was his heart.

The place where his heart should have been was completely pierced through, as though it had been cut out.

But Leo Solenius felt no pain.

Because just a moment ago—

When the beam of dark green light had stopped for that brief instant, he had seen someone appear, however faintly.

A young man with dark golden hair and light green eyes.

“…Un… Uncle?”

Why was his uncle, who had died twelve years ago, here…?

‘Leo!!’

Somehow, he even thought he could hear his uncle’s voice.

“Ha… Haha….”

THUD!

Leo fell helplessly to the ground and laughed without realizing it.

‘My Leo!’

‘Uncle!’

Memories of his short but happy childhood came back to him.

Those days when he had known nothing about the world and had lived under the protection of his uncle, who had barely been in his teens himself.

‘…I wanted to do well.’

Leo’s breathing gradually faded.

‘…I’m sorry, Uncle.’

Finding his parents, whom his uncle had wanted to see so badly.

Protecting the people and his companions.

Defeating the Demon King.

He hadn’t been able to do any of it.

‘I… actually….’

He wanted to tell his uncle.

The only guardian he had ever relied on.

‘I was scared… of everything….’

Fighting enemies, watching his companions get hurt, getting hurt himself, protecting people, protecting the continent—

…and being betrayed.

Of course, these were things a Hero was supposed to do, and they were things he himself had wanted to do.

But he had also been afraid.

The kind of fear that anyone would naturally feel as a human being.

The kind of fear he could only tell his uncle about.

‘…I missed you, Uncle.’

Even if it was an illusion created by the Demon King, he didn’t care.

Even if it was just his imagination, that was fine.

Leo, who was happy that he could see his deceased uncle one last time, shed a small tear and closed his eyes.

It was the death of the last Hero of the Solenium Continent, Leo Solenius.

‘I’d… blocked it… I finally managed to block it….’

With trembling hands, Alex tried to gently lift Leo’s now-cold body.

But a ghost couldn’t touch a human body.

His hands passed straight through Leo, and Alex slammed them against the ground.

‘You should have run away!’

Alex shouted in a trembling voice.

‘What does being a Hero matter?! What do the people matter?! What does the continent matter?! You, at least… should have lived….’

Alex gently stroked Leo’s body, which was covered in wounds and had a hole through the place where his heart should have been.

‘You idiot….’

Why did it have to be Leo?

There were so many skilled knights, wealthy nobles, and priests overflowing with divine power.

Why had the Hero been chosen from among them to be Leo, a commoner and an orphan?

He understood, of course.

Leo was a good child.

The kind of child who attracted people’s attention and affection simply by being there.

On top of that, Leo was a genius with so much talent that he could understand ten things after being taught just one.

He had also worked incredibly hard.

Even Alex himself would have trusted the world to Leo.

‘But this isn’t right….’

If that was the case, then they should have let him win.

They should have allowed him to achieve victory.

‘You should have let him survive and live happily for a long, long time! You damn Supreme God!’

Alex knew that the Supreme God had also done everything He could to help Leo, but he couldn’t help resenting Him.

Because Leo was only eighteen years old.

Compared to Alex himself, who had died at twenty, Leo was still so young.

‘Damn it!’

After shouting and cursing, Alex collapsed to the ground.

Everything was already over.

After the sadness and anger, a feeling of emptiness washed over him.

‘…But why haven’t I disappeared?’

If there really was a world for the dead, he wanted to meet Leo there, at least.

He wanted to tell him how hard things must have been and how much he had suffered.

Then he wanted to curse the people who had betrayed him and that damn Supreme God to his heart’s content.

‘You didn’t even know that I’d been following you all this time, did you?’

From the time Leo was six until now, when he was eighteen.

For twelve years, his uncle had always been by his side.

He wanted to tell him that.

‘Will my older sister and brother-in-law be there, too?’

Leo’s parents, who had left on a mercenary mission when Leo was a baby and had never returned, must have died as well.

‘Then it’ll be a family reunion after a long time. I should hurry up and go, too.’

Alex gently stroked Leo’s face, which looked as though he were asleep.

Of course, he couldn’t actually touch him.

‘He’s still so young.’

Looking at Leo’s youthful face, which had only just reached adulthood, Alex whispered.

‘You did well, Leo. As expected, my nephew is the best.’

If Leo had heard him, wouldn’t he have smiled brightly?

‘Get some good rest.’

No more suffering or worrying.

‘Sleep well, my Leo.’

Alex hoped that Leo could finally rest peacefully, making up for all the time he hadn’t been able to rest before.

‘I wanted to make you happy….’

Just then—

It′sdo…!It’s do…!

A voice rang out.

Gra…!Grabit!Gra…! Grab it!

A man’s voice.

‘What? What did you say?’

At the sudden sound of a voice in a place where even the Demon King had left and Alex was all alone, he jumped in surprise and looked around.

In that instant—

Everything before his eyes turned pitch-black.

“…?!”

Feeling as though his back was on fire, Alex’s eyes flew open.

“…!!”

It hurt so much that he couldn’t even scream.

He had spent twelve years in a ghostly state without any physical sensations, so he had no tolerance for this kind of pain.

He was already dead, yet it felt as though he were about to die all over again.

His vision was blurry.

Grass, a dirt-covered ground, and bright red blood scattered all over it.

‘…I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before….’

It seemed that his experience of following the Hero’s party (though the Hero’s party had never known about it) hadn’t been useless.

Even in pain so intense that he felt he might die, Alex managed to hold on to his consciousness.

If there was one thing Ghost Alex had trained hard, it was his mental strength.

‘So….’

Grrrrr!

At the sound of a wolf growling behind him, Alex’s light green eyes widened.

He remembered!

This was the time when he had been attacked and killed by a wolf.

He wondered if this was a flashback of his life, but considering the vivid pain coming from his back, it seemed to be reality.

‘Then…!’

He had returned to the past.

He could meet a young Leo who was still alive!

‘But why now of all times?!’

If someone was going to send him back to the past, they could at least have sent him to a different point in time!

What kind of idiot sent someone back right before they were about to die?!

Even while gritting his teeth, Alex desperately racked his brain for a way to survive.

But there was nothing he could do.

The wound on his back was too deep, and it was difficult even to breathe.

He had neither a weapon to deal with the wolf circling around him nor even a potion to heal himself.

‘Damn it…!’

He wondered if he was going to die like this again.

Was he going to become an uncle who couldn’t help Leo once more?

Just then—

A voice appeared inside his head, like a mark engraved directly upon his soul.

Gra…!Grabit!Gra…! Grab it!

‘Grab? Grab what?’

Grab a rock?

In front of the fallen Alex, there were rocks of various sizes scattered across the ground.

But somehow, he felt those weren’t what the voice meant.

Just then, something entered Alex’s blurry field of vision.

A glass marble.

A round glass marble lay a short distance away.

Strangely, there was something like green gas inside it.

Alex instinctively felt that he had to grab it.

So, with a body that could barely move, he struggled to crawl toward the glass marble and stretched out his hand.

‘…I touched it!’

FWOOOOSH!

At the same time, an explosive burst of flames erupted from the glass marble.

‘…?!’

Before Alex could even react, the green flames swept past him and swallowed the wolf that had been trying to attack him, beginning to burn it alive.

The dangerously large amount of blood Alex had spilled also seemed to become fuel for the green flames, as it began to burn.

In the blink of an eye—

Both the wolf and the blood had completely disappeared.

Alex watched with astonished eyes, then realized that the green flames were approaching him.

‘…!’

The green flames looked as though they would turn him into ashes just like the wolf.

Alex hurriedly tried to move his body to escape.

But, of course, he failed.

When the green flames finally covered his entire body, Alex squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the pain.

But there was no pain.

Instead, the wounds on Alex’s body began to heal rapidly.

“…Hah!”

As the pain gradually faded, Alex’s breathing, which had seemed ready to stop at any moment, slowly returned to normal.

“…What… is this…?”

Just as Alex was wondering what had happened—

Oh!Hello?Oh! Hello?

Myfriendfromanotherworld!My friend from another world!

A cheerful voice rang out.