The False Hero, Volume 12, Interlude 1 and Chapter 11

Interlude 2

----- Eldorin -----

“Too slow.” A voice resounded within the Mana Network. “You should have already reached the battlefield by now, Eldorin. We cannot allow him to reach his full strength before the confrontation.”

“I understand, My Lord.” The Lord of Chaos’ tone contains nothing but obedience to his god. “The fiends will obey any order, but they are not immune to exhaustion. I believed it wise to maintain a steady pace, and that holds ever truer on the eve of the battle.”

“I do not need you to explain the deficiencies of the very race I created. We have no need to push them to their limits, for I have gathered enough power to overcome the distance.”

“None can match the strength of my Great Lord. It would be an honor to receive your next blessing.”

Knowledge flows into Eldorin, granting him access to yet more magic. Already, his god has blessed him with spells long forgotten to time, those which even the Lost Magics cannot compare.

If it were High Priest Eldorin from before swearing fealty to his new god, then simply knowing the spell formations for the ancient magic would be nearly useless. He would have been far too weak to make proper use of them, especially the new spell his god just bestowed upon him.

But his fealty doesn’t come with knowledge alone. With his deep connection to the divine being who administers the Mana Network, Eldorin has obtained power beyond that of any mortal man. Even the Immortal Beings are lacking in comparison.

Wielding the power of a god with his mortal body, the Lord of Chaos begins channeling his new spell. As he does, he looks out over the army.

Tens of thousands of fiends, the entirety of his lord’s forces. Dozens of Archfiends have been added to Eldorin’s command, their strength enough to win the battle on their own, were it not for the False Hero and his conquering of the dungeons.

An army this powerful has not been seen in this world since the Devastation.

“This feeble army is merely the beginning.” His Lord responded, having read Eldorin’s very thoughts. “The entirety of the Mana Network will soon belong to me, and I will no longer have need of these pitiful creatures.”

A world firmly in My Lord’s control. No disobedience, no resistance.

“Only I can lead this world back to its proper path. There is no need to allow humanity to rediscover our lost knowledge, when I have all the answers they will ever need.”

And I am the one chosen to bring about that future.

“If you perform as I expect, then I may even release you from the spell that binds you.” His Lord laughs. “If that is what you desire.”

Freedom? To do as I wish? To think what I want? I have no desire for such autonomy anymore.

Another laugh. “Then you may want to impress me in the final battle, else I will return all of the free will I took from you the day you swore fealty to me.”

I must do everything I need to remain in My Lord’s service.

The spell is already complete, with the fiends having stopped their march already. Their lord has given a new order, and like the Lord of Chaos himself, none of them can disobey.

With a wave of his hand, Eldorin releases his newly-acquired magic. The moonlight that once brightened the night sky vanishes, replaced by nearly complete darkness.

Soon, the darkness recedes, the moonlight returning once again. Although Eldorin and the fiends are still in a large, grassy plain, there’s one major difference from before.

The four races have gathered for the final battle…

Eldorin looks into the distance, where an army is stationed.

And this is the best they can muster? How disappointing.

Another laugh, deeper than the ones before. “Do not attack yet. Wait for him and all of the arrogant ones he will drag here with him. The four races need to know just how futile it is to resist this world’s new god!”

Teleporting tens of thousands of powerful creatures is a feat Eldorin would have never imagined possible before his rise as the Lord of Chaos. That he can accomplish it in a single cast without even the use of a teleportation circle is only thanks to the strength granted to him through his divine bond.

“Worthless woman.” His Lord’s voice contains both spite and satisfaction. “It’s too late to stop me now.”

The heavy presence of the so-called god begins to fade from Eldorin’s mind. His battle for control of the Mana Network often takes his focus, giving the Lord of Chaos more time to think than he would like.

How disappointing.

Eldorin scans the four races’ army on the other side of the battlefield, which is only now picking up on the arrival of the forces of Chaos.

No voice answers his thought. Even his god isn’t omniscient.

Nobody in this world can stop me. Not even their champion.

Without a shred of visible emotion, Eldorin orders his fiends into battle formation. Soon, their champion will arrive. And when he does, the final battle will begin.

Chapter 11

----- Lutz -----

“What to do…” I stare up at the clear, blue sky while lying on the grassy ground. “There’s only one day left. I have to do something to gain as much faith as possible.”

“My apologies.” The Goddess speaks without opening her eyes. “My power has waned to such an extent that affecting the physical world has become vastly more difficult. If you require my assistance to gain faith, I can provide it a single time more, but it would mean that my strength would be drained the day before the final confrontation.”

“I’d rather not use our literal divine trump card on a quick and risky scheme to gain favor. We may need you in the final battle, if I don’t unlock my final Heroic Skill before tomorrow.”

Even after Miri’s promotion to High Priest, a small parade to celebrate it, and lots of confident discussions with nobles during the royal party, I still haven’t managed to get my last Heroic Skill. It’s frustrating, but all I can do is find some way to gain a lot of faith today, even if I have to go to some extremes.

“I wonder if Frei would want to pretend to attack a city somewhere, so I can save it and gain their faith…”

Never in my life did I imagine I’d be planning a false flag attack, but when the literal fate of the world hangs in the balance, nothing is off the table.

“Now I see why the king went so far as to stage that fake Berserker attack that ended up helping me escape from the dungeon.”

“Desperation often leads people to perform actions that they would otherwise never consider, a lesson I learned from personal experience.”

Although it’s noon in the digital world that I’ve built for myself within the Mana Network, the sun has yet to rise in the real world. It’s so early that I’m not even out of bed. Normally, I’d take every chance to get as much sleep as possible, but my thoughts don’t always let me rest peacefully.

We already have plans for the day, of course. But when coming up with today’s agenda, I wasn’t sure if I’d have the final Heroic Skill unlocked. The fact that I don’t means that anything that doesn’t directly lead to gathering more faith needs to be thrown out of the schedule.

In its place, I can add some sort of scheme. A way to ensure a large boost of favoritism from the right group of people, giving me the highest chance to earn the skill before tomorrow’s battle.

“I wonder if–”

“Oh, no!” The Goddess interrupts me, urgency in her tone.

“What? What happened?”

“The Mana Network just directed a vast amount of power to his champion.”

“Does that mean he’s about to cast a spell?”

“He already has.” The Goddess opens her eyes and meets my gaze. “The final battle is upon us.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I stand. Not in the digital world but in the real one. In one step, I swap from my sleepwear to my usual outfit. In the next step, I’m already opening my bedroom door.

The hall outside has other rooms, each occupied by my companions. One by one, they open, each girl appearing with their full set of equipment.

“There’s no time to waste,” I say. “We’re teleporting.”

While I channel, I make a telepathic connection with our head maid, Lena.

“Lena, it’s an emergency. Wake everyone up and make sure they’re ready for battle. We’ll be back to pick them up soon.”

“A-alright!” She’s clearly still drowsy, but I can feel her moving around in her room.

The rest of the girls have gotten the quick version from me, including the two at the castle. Since there’s no time to spare, I ignore every law about Dark Magic, teleporting the five of us directly outside the king’s personal chambers.

“...already arrived!?” King Edgar sounds just as tired as Lena did, but he’s leaping from his king-sized bed despite his sleepy tone.

Since his door is wide open, I walk inside without an invitation. “Lumina’s telling the truth. The final battle won’t be taking place tomorrow. It’s going to start right now.”

“How!?” The king uses his [Inventory] ring to change outfits, just like we did when waking up. “The fiends were a day’s march away!”

“He used a spell that cost an incredible amount of mana to teleport his entire army into the perfect position to attack. We need to hurry and get everyone to the battlefield before everything falls apart.”

“Curse it all, we’ve been played for fools.”

Edgar’s right. We got complacent, assuming that the fiends would continue marching at their normal pace right up until they reached the designated battlefield.

If we were being careful, we’d have at least been spending the night at the warcamp, ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Our ability to warp around nearly at will makes us feel like any destination is only a few seconds away, but the problem is gathering everyone so we can teleport all at once.

“We’ll teleport in two groups,” I say. “I’ll [Fast Travel] my parties and make sure the fiends don’t run us over, while you gather your commanders who are still in the city and bring them through your teleportation circle.”

“Don’t do anything drastic until I arrive. Rhys is at the warcamp already. Meet with him before anything else.”

“Alright, I can do that. The seven of us will leave you to it, then. See you at the battlefield, King Edgar.”

“Same to you, Hero Lutz.”

With that, the king leaves to gather his men. Since we need to do the same, we take our leave, as well.

What a disaster. And now it’s official…

I’ll need to fight the final battle without my final Heroic Skill.