The Vanished Hero

"Boom--"

At the mouth of the valley, everyone's face was instantly illuminated by white light.

The light was blinding, but everyone stared wide-eyed.

"Rumble~"

Amidst the roar, a mushroom cloud rose from the tower at the heart of the Summoning Ritual, carrying with it intense heat and distorted air.

The Sorceress, who were about to release the portal on Tissaia's orders, stared blankly at the magnificent scene in the valley.

"Is this... is this a commotion created by Evil God, or... or..." a Sorceress murmured.

It was that witcher who did it...

Those around her silently added this thought to themselves; they all knew why she hadn't said the second half of her sentence.

after all...

The Witcher?

Wasn't that created by a male wizard, mutated into a brute who only knows how to wield a sword and is only good at hunting monsters?

At most, they might add some rudimentary magical tricks called "signs," which even the lowest-ranking sorcerer apprentices could learn.

How could such an astonishing explosion and destruction have been created by the "Dharma Sign"?

Even master-level spells cannot create such exaggerated destructive power...

But... but it's Evil God...

Why did He destroy His own body?

"Have there been any... uh... developments like this in previous Summoning Ritual?" someone asked.

"No."

A priestess from the Temple of Melitele spoke. Without turning around, she stared in awe at the valley below, and murmured as if to herself:

"The Summoning Ritual is not only a summoning ritual, but also the earthly body that the Evil God prepares for itself, and even more so, the anchor point for the Evil God in the mortal world..."

"How...how could He sever His own ties to the mortal world, unless He has gone mad..."

The Evil God has gone mad; it seems... it doesn't seem like such an unacceptable conclusion after all...

Otherwise, why would it be called Evil God?

The Sorceress exchanged bewildered glances, still finding it even more absurd that a witcher from the School of the Wolf could cause such a commotion.

"Ms. Tissaia, so now..." A Sorceress, awkwardly holding a staff inlaid with obsidian oak, walked up to Tissaia and asked in a low voice, "Do we still need to cast a portal now?"

Tissaia's full lips parted slightly, just in time to speak.

"Phew~"

The shockwave from the violent explosion, carrying a cloud of dust that blotted out the sky, swept across the area.

"Homage to the Mother of All Things..." Nannick chanted, waving his hand.

A golden, semi-transparent Divine Art barrier blocked the valley entrance, shielding it from the aftershocks of the explosion.

"No need..." Tissaia glanced at Ianna, whose wrinkles, etched with the marks of time, had blossomed into a relieved smile, and took a deep breath. "The evil pressure has vanished, the Evil God ..."

She paused for a second, her tone filled with undisguised disbelief and incredulity:

"The Evil God... seems to have been banished by Ailin, the Witcher Master of the School of the Wolf!"

After speaking.

The crowd at the valley entrance fell silent for a moment.

The only sounds in the air were the whistling wind, the swaying branches, and the heavy thud of pebbles hitting the ground and cliffs.

Immediately following.

"Whoosh~"

Cheers, even louder than the explosions, echoed through the mountains and forests.

Human soldiers, priests of the Temple of Melitele, and even the Sorceress of Aretuza who had traveled from afar all instinctively ignored the uncertainty in Tissaia's tone.

Shout it out loud.

"Knight Ailin be victorious!"

"May King!"

"May Blue Death be victorious!"

Sala took a couple of breaths, leaned against the cliff, and wiped the sticky blood from her face.

However, after trying several times and finding that the stench of the ghouls' blood had dried on his face and congealed into clumps that could not be wiped off, he gave up.

"I knew it! Sir Ailin never disappoints those who believe in him!"

He looked up at the cheers around him, revealing his pearly white teeth and a hearty smile.

After a desperate battle...

After being on the verge of becoming a deserter and a homeless person...

Having betrayed the trust of the Old Duke and the Arlanders, they could only watch helplessly as the Evil God wreaked havoc...

The situation took an unexpected turn.

No one could describe his feelings at that moment; he was so excited that even the cacophony of cheers mixed with the shrill screams of the ghouls around him sounded pleasant.

"I think these titles are too old-fashioned, not imposing enough, not powerful enough, and do not do justice to Sir Ailin's great achievements."

He laughed heartily, not even looking to see who it was, and casually put his arm around the short man next to him. "What do you think?"

Lawson Roche, who was cheering with the soldiers who had escaped death, was suddenly twisted by a strong force. The strong stench of decay and sweat hit him, almost suffocating him, who was almost used to the smell of the battlefield.

He was stunned for a moment when he heard what the knight, who was called Sala, said.

Are they not powerful and domineering enough, being both a king and the Grim Reaper?

Sala, however, paid no heed to his opinion, muttering to herself, "It has to be big enough, loud enough, and something no one has ever owned before, to be worthy of Sir Ailin's achievement..."

"... The exorcist of Evil God... No, that's not loud enough..."

"... the Evil God god of destruction summoned by the ghouls... no, it's too long..."

"Evil God ... banish... destroy... kill... slay... Godslayer ..."

Sala's eyes lit up. She turned her head to look at Lawson Roche and found that the person she was hugging was not a soldier of the Monster Hunter Army, but the thrower who had blown up the first Monster's Nest. She was stunned for a moment and said, "Ah, it's you, you lucky kid!"

But he was only stunned for a moment before he remembered that after blowing up the Monster's Nest, the frenzied hordes of carnivorous creatures made it impossible for Lawson Roche to go back.

He looked down.

Blood was still dripping from the axe that Lawson Roche was holding.

The axes belonged to the fallen Monster Hunter Army soldiers, but the blood belonged to the carnivorous creatures that Lawson Roche had slain.

He's a good lad... he thought to himself, then laughed heartily and asked:

"Tell me quickly, isn't the title 'Godslayer' pretty good?"

Lawson Roche didn't think the title was good, because he had received the priests' favor and was a devout believer of Meritellie.

Meritellie is also a deity.

"Godslayer" is somewhat offensive, and it's not necessarily a good title for Lord Ailin.

Before he could say anything, the soldiers around him who heard Sala's voice started shouting in a jeering manner.

"The Godslayer!"

"The Godslayer!"

"The Godslayer!"

"Hahaha!" Sala laughed and shouted a few times, then winked at Lawson Roche, seemingly misunderstanding something. "Good eye! It seems everyone likes the new title I gave Sir Ailin."

Lawson Roche was about to explain that he didn't agree when he looked up and saw that the usually dignified young priests in the group were also grinning excitedly, jumping and shouting like little girls, "Godslayer! Godslayer! Godslayer..."

Godslayer's Godslayer? The priests didn't see anything wrong with it...

"It is indeed a good title." He nodded, caught up in the atmosphere.

The surrounding stench of decay and sweat didn't smell so bad anymore.

More importantly...

With the Evil God dead, Milia and her two children no longer have to live like refugees, displaced and homeless.

"It's so good to be alive!"

He gripped the axe tightly and shouted along with the cheering crowd.

Perhaps because Meritellie had been absent for a long time, and the Temple of Melitele had been secularized for a long time, the priests were not really concerned about the title of "Godslayer," and they may not have even thought of this.

As the High Priest of the temple, Ianna's duty was to regulate the various rituals and rules within the temple, so she must have been aware of this.

However, she had a smile on her face and seemed very happy to hear the cheers.

"Evil God can only be banished, not killed."

Tissaia corrected herself, but this was clearly just out of habit, because she spoke very softly, and in the midst of the noise, only Ianna was nearby, should have been able to hear her.

"Old stubborn woman, don't be so harsh," Ianna gently patted her shoulder. "This is a victory worth celebrating. The goddess in the eternally bountiful wheat field will be smiling as she watches this scene and blesses our victory."

"Old stubborn old man... "Tissaia frowned as she looked at the crisscrossing wrinkles on Ianna's face.

However, she didn't say anything, and just waved her staff.

Vesemir, who was lying on the back of another empty horse, suddenly woke up.

"Ai... Ailin... Ailin!"

He saw the Ghoul fragments on the ground, his body trembled, and he remembered everything before he fainted. He no longer cared about the reason for his unconsciousness, and suddenly jumped off the Mutant Horse horse, drew his sword, and was about to rush into the valley.

"Tap tap... tap..."

Vesemir ran a couple of steps, then stopped, looking bewildered.

A translucent golden barrier blocked the path to the valley. Behind the barrier, the enormous and ferocious body of the Evil God disappeared, replaced by a raging wind that swept up a thick, hazy cloud of dust.

The soldiers had completely shed their listless and despairing expressions.

besides...

"Godslayer?" Vesemir murmured. "What does 'Godslayer' mean? Could it be..."

He thought of a possibility.

"Ailin has banished the Evil God," Ianna smiled. "Everyone is celebrating."

The Evil God was banished... Vesemir had no doubts, although he didn't know what had happened in between, but this was exactly what was supposed to happen according to the plan.

Ailin, you can always trust me!

With a sudden sigh of relief, Vesemir's tense body went limp and he collapsed onto the soft grass.

That night, he himself didn't know how many Rotfiend he detonated or how many Ghoul he killed. Even the Witcher Master's specially modified body was already overwhelmed.

In the latter half of the race, he persevered almost entirely through sheer willpower.

"Vesemir ..." Tissaia suddenly spoke up, "Master Vesemir, has the School of the Wolf recently started researching magic, just like the School of the Griffin?"

Researching magic?

We are the School of the Wolf?

Vesemir looked at Tissaia blankly.

After studying his expression for a few seconds, Tissaia nodded.

It seems the ability that caused the Destroyer Evil God power has nothing to do with the School of the Wolf; the School of the Wolf's witchers are still just reckless swordsmen...

It's all because Vesemir's apprentice is too special.

She turned her head to look at the center of the valley where the exploding sword tip had subsided.

"What do you mean?" Vesemir frowned; he always felt that Tissaia was thinking something impolite.

"It's nothing, just curiosity," Tissaia changed the subject. "After this is over, I'd like to invite Ailin ... and you, to visit the Aretuza Academy, and perhaps give a lecture on Monster Economics to the apprentices..."

"In this war to expel the Evil God, the Sorceress of Aretuza have exposed many problems."

"The Northern Continent may become increasingly unstable in the future, and we need some professionals to raise the vigilance of our apprentices."

"Certainly..."

She paused for a moment, then said, "The Aretuza Academy is willing to pay for knowledge."

Although Vesemir found Tissaia's tone a bit strange, he couldn't seem to find a reason to refuse and was about to agree.

Ianna suddenly stopped smiling, gave Tissaia a cold look, and reminded her:

"Tissaia, Ailin is Vesemir's apprentice."

"I know he's Vesemir's genius alchemy apprentice," Tissaia smiled gently. "He's just giving the girls a lecture, nothing more."

Ianna gave her another deep look, but said nothing more.

Vesemir's eyebrows were furrowed, his gaze shifting back and forth between Tissaia and Ianna.

He sensed that Tissaia's invitation wasn't just to warn the apprentices, as she claimed, but was closely related to Ailin, perhaps because of Ailin's method of exorcising the Evil God.

No!

It must be.

"Etc..."

Vesemir didn't rush to answer the question, but instead looked around.

They kept mentioning Ailin; soldiers, priestesses, and Sorceress cheered for his achievements, even giving him a new title before the bards, but...

"Where is Ailin?" Vesemir's gaze darted back and forth. "Where is Ailin?"

Ianna and Tissaia, sitting on the Mutant Horse, both trembled simultaneously. After exchanging a glance, they realized the problem.

The explosion had occurred three or four minutes ago.

But what about Ailin?

Why hasn't Ailin come out yet?

Could it be?!

They turned sharply to look at the valley still glowing with fire, their expressions changing drastically.

Vesemir realized something and looked in their direction with a grim expression.

Outside the translucent golden barrier.

The shockwave from the violent explosion had dissipated, and the dust that had been kicked up was gradually settling. However, as far as the Witcher could see, all he could see were the carnivorous creatures slowly rising from the ground.

Ghoul... Rotfiend... Rotfiend... Giant Ghoul... Ghoul... Spiked Fiend...

There's no Ailin!

But you just can't find that figure carrying two swords, whether relaxed, disheveled, or covered in wounds, after every demon hunt and cataclysm.

He should, at this moment, act like every hero in the epic who drives out Evil God and kills dragons for mankind.

Carrying a hideous head and a bloodstained longsword, he emerged from the thick fog and valley, receiving cheers, gratitude, admiration, and worship from the crowd...

But no!

They can't find their hero!

Even more terrifying is...

The valley is also home to countless carnivorous creatures.

The pale gold barrier was abruptly removed, and Ianna stood up from her Mutant Horse.

Tissaia cooperated by casting a spell to amplify her voice.

"Everyone!" Ianna shouted, pointing towards the valley, "The battle is not over yet! Pick up your swords, axes, and staves, and go save our heroes!"

The noisy valley entrance fell silent for a moment.

Once they understood what Ianna was saying, they instantly became enraged.

"Save our hero!" Sala raised her longsword, which still gleamed faintly, and charged into the valley first.

Lawson Roche paused for a moment, then, as if struck by a sudden thought, gritted his teeth and followed suit.

Then came the Monster Hunter Army, farmers wielding pitchforks, sorceresses brandishing Sorceress, and even priestesses rushing in, brandishing daggers for self-defense.

The ghouls, now freed from the control of the Evil God, had barely stood up in a daze when they were caught off guard.

Just then.

The Greater Griffin, ignored by everyone, cried out in the sky.