The Hero Returns

Split—

The first to appear was a massive mouth. Its pitch-black opening did not even hint a speck of light, which gave a look that its depth stretched on for eternity.

Even before exposing its body, Gluttony simply opened its maw wide and let its endlessly voracious appetite surface first.

Crunch—!

Its rounded but tightly packed fangs began munching and chewing on the carcasses of the fallen Giants.

A body of a Giant was about half the size of Gluttony. Meanwhile, Gluttony's mouth alone was as big as a Giant, and when devouring one, the summoned creature's cheeks ballooned rather noticeably.

Crunch, crunch—

The scene of Gluttony munching on the Giant's body was a truly monstrous and bizarre sight to behold.

The creature that almost had no flesh or skin and with half-broken horns and a huge maw came across as far more threatening and dangerous than the dead Giants on the ground.

Hercules reflexively got ready to swing his large club the moment Gluttony appeared. If Su-hyeun hadn't stopped him in time, he really might have done that.

"Why are you stopping me?"

"That thing is my summoned creature."

"Your summoned creature?"

Hercules's brows rose higher as he stared at Gluttony once more. The summoned monster had already finished devouring one Giant and was about to swallow up the second one.

"Are you saying you summoned that thing out here?"

"Yes."

"You're a dark magician? No, wait. Until now, you definitely…"

Even if Hercules didn't know how to use magical energy, that didn't mean he was unable to sense its flow.

That was why he knew that Su-hyeun was using an energy source similar to that of the gods every time the divine Flames was activated, which was at complete odds with what dark magicians normally used.

But now, the aura leaking out of Su-hyeun's body was opposite from that divine aura.

Forget about being divine, it was far closer to the ominous and evil energy that defied life and fate itself.

"I'm neither of those," Su-hyeun replied.

"Are you saying that you are neither a dark magician nor a regular one?"

"Yes."

"Yet someone like that can beat up a Giant with bare hands? Well, I'll be," Hercules chuckled hollowly and stared at Su-hyeun.

He was prepared to accept the fact that Su-hyeun, who looked to be a regular magician like any other, could kill the Giants with his fists. Although rare, one would sometimes find an excellent warrior capable of wielding magic in some capacity.

But then, that excellent warrior has mastered both regular white magic and dark magic at the same time?

Not only that, but he also had the physical prowess that allowed him to kill a Giant with his bare fists, use powerful magic, and even know dark magic capable of commanding a summoned creature of such caliber?

Hercules muttered, "I thought you were merely unique, but as it turns out, you were actually far more remarkable than I bargained for."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"If you were a magician who only knew some dark magic, I'd have told you to go back immediately. Nine out of ten dark magicians that I know of are all failures of human beings, you see."

Crunch, crunch—

While saying that, Hercules shifted his gaze over to Gluttony once more.

The creature that was still chewing and munching on the corpses of the Giants seemed to have gained new flesh on its body somehow. Now that some flesh and hide had been added to its frame, albeit only by a small amount, Gluttony's outer appearance looked a bit more passable compared to a couple of minutes ago.

"Your creature seems to have quick digestion. Has it already managed to digest all the Giants it had consumed?"

"I believe it'll be of some use pretty soon. Even if it's a bit lacking right now."

Gluttony's application rate when summoned through Dead Summoning was currently at a pathetically low state. However, separate from that, Gluttony possessed a unique ability that enhanced its powers simply by devouring an object.

Therefore, even if its application rate was on the low side, as long as it continued to devour the Giants that showed up in this place, not only would it regain its former appearance, but there was also a possibility that it might become even stronger than back when it was still alive.

* * *

Su-hyeun and Hercules returned to the wooden house. The day had come to a close, and a gorgeous amber sunset dyed the sky.

Supper had been served early on in the evening, so Hercules, while complaining of his starvation, caught a pig in the pen out in the yard and began roasting it over some raging fire.

When the pork BBQ roasting over the fire was ready, he ripped one of its legs off and began munching on it.

"You have some too. It's juicy and delicious."

Driiip, sizzle—

Hercules opened his large mouth and devoured the leg in the blink of an eye. Su-hyeun received another hind leg of the swine from the demigod.

"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."

The BBQ meat looked well roasted on the outside, and it tasted just as great on the inside as well. Although the meat wasn't seasoned at all, the aroma from the firewood and all the fat juice oozing from the pork, as well as the fact that they were enjoying a BBQ outside, served as the best seasoning available.

"What made you come to this place? It couldn't have been an easy decision to make," Hercules asked as he ripped off another leg.

Su-hyeun had taken his first bite just then, so he hurriedly chewed and swallowed the meat to reply, "I came to fight, you know."

"But how come?"

"Do I need a reason? Some people simply have to, after all."

Their worlds might have been different, but his "reasoning" would still be the same.

"If I choose to look away, then eventually, the world I live in will be ruined, now won't it? Besides…" Su-hyeun then turned his head toward the wooden house that the children and Megara called their home. "It'll be the same for people, too."

"I see that you too have a family." Hercules grinned and took a large bite out of the meat. "In that case, wouldn't it be better to stay by your family's side? I mean, they might fall into danger while you're so far away like this."

"That's not something you should say, though."

Puh-heuph!

Hercules guffawed in the middle of his munching, and Su-hyeun had to hurriedly raise his hand to block all the bits of meat that flew all over.

"Ah, my apologies. I felt a little embarrassed, you see."

"About what?"

"Despite my own state, I still ended up yapping on and on, trying to give you counsel. I guess I've finally gotten old and senile."

Hercules guffawed jovially, his somber appearance of earlier having disappeared without a trace now.

The passage of time seemed to have softened his hardened shell, as evidenced by his facial expressions. Su-hyeun knew what the demigod in his youth was like, so he couldn't help but find the current Hercules far more to his liking.

Clack—

"Daddy—!"

"What are you eating?"

It was around then that Hale and Palaemon who were staying inside with Megara rushed outside the house. Hercules used his oily hands to pick the children up and placed them on his lap. He then ripped the meat into small chunks and placed them in the waiting mouths of his kids.

"Dear?! You mustn't feed the children so late at—Oh my gosh! Look at all those oil stains!"

"T—that is, my dear, I didn't want to give them, but the children pestered me, so I—Ouch?!"

"Come with me, this instant. You said you'll treat our guest, yet you only give him a hind leg and hog the rest for yourself? As for the children's clothes…"

"H—hold on, why don't we talk after you let me go first? We have a guest, you know."

"You're right. It's embarrassing to do this in front of the guest, so I must…"

Megara reached out and pinched Hercules's cheek before pulling at him. He didn't dare to push her hand away and simply got dragged away to somewhere.

In the meantime, Hale and Palaemon approached Su-hyeun. When they looked at him with their sparkling puppy-dog eyes, he decided to sub for their dad and ripped the meat into small pieces before placing them inside their mouths.

"Is it good?" he asked.

"Yeah! Really tasty."

"It's tasty."

The energetic replies from the two kids brought out a gentle chuckle from Su-hyeun. He placed his finger on his lips and whispered to them in a hushed voice, "It's a secret from your mom, okay?"

"Yeah, a secret!"

"Secret."

At their replies, Su-hyeun ripped more meat and continued to feed the kids.

While spending the rest of the evening with the kids energetically munching on the meat by his side, he listened to Megara lecturing her husband inside the house.

He couldn't tell how Hercules felt about living here, but well, Su-hyeun was really liking this lifestyle at the moment.

* * *

The Giants crossed over using the purple-colored dungeons at a fixed interval. They did it once every three or four days, and that cycle didn't change for the next 15 days.

"The number of individuals crossing over can be anywhere between 30 and a maximum of 80. Each of them is on the level of a blue-colored dungeon's boss. No notable special abilities other than aggressively attacking by relying on their body sizes," Su-hyeun thought to himself while reading the notes he jotted down on a memo pad.

"According to Hercules, there are different tiers even among the Giants, but the truly high-ranking individuals only appear once or twice per year."

Tap, tap—

While organizing his thoughts, he tapped his head with a pen and muttered softly to no one in particular, "Fifteen days remain now…"

Shuwuck—

Su-hyeun stored the pen and pad inside the subspace and crossed his arms. "Will it end like this, I wonder?"

"What will?"

"Yeah, what will?"

Hale and Palaemon who were playing in the yard with a ball asked after Su-hyeun muttered. He couldn't help but think that these two must have been twins from how they asked the same question almost at the exact same time.

He shook his head and answered, "It's nothing, kids."

Creak—

He then leaned his body against the rocking chair resting in the yard. When he sat inside this cocooning rocking chair and stared up at the sky, he felt his heart gradually calmed down.

[Remaining time: 15 days, 1 hour…]

Su-hyeun confirmed the time once more. As long as no particular incidents happened during the countdown, he would probably be able to clear this trial safely and painlessly.

"Is it fine to simply spend my time like this, though?" he thought.

The extent of Su-hyeun's work so far involved stopping Giants that periodically came down from the skies. Not only was that task pretty simple, but Hercules alone was also more than enough for that job.

So then, would the trial end in this manner? Although that idea didn't sound so bad, the chances of that happening should be quite low.

"Without a doubt, something will happen somewhere…"

Creak, creak—

While rocking in the chair, Su-hyeun covered his face.

"I feel more anxious when nothing's happening instead."

For the past 15 days, he had been trying to be more laid back and patiently waited, but when nothing really happened, more and more questions began popping up in his head.

It felt as if he had missed something crucial somewhere.

And so, as he quietly rocked in the chair with his eyes closed…

"…Hmm?"

His eyes snapped open as he raised his head.

From beyond the distant edges of his vision, some people were approaching the house.

* * *

Hercules's home was located in the wide-open field where practically nothing existed within the radius of dozens of kilometers.

Sure, there were a few low-lying hills around, but no villages with people living in them existed nearby. Not to mention, this area had been known as the place where the Giants frequently showed up, so no one ever came to pay a visit either.

However…

"Just who are they?"

Some people actually came to speak to Hercules right now—not just one or two either but several tens of thousands.

While Hercules was meeting the visitors outside the house, Su-hyeun, who was staying indoors, asked Megara.

She sighed and replied, "They are from the Holy Kingdom of Apollo."

"The Holy Kingdom, you say?"

"Yes, it's a kingdom established by the Order of Apollo. Actually, even though it's called a kingdom, it's grown big enough to be called an empire these days."

"Whether it's a kingdom or an empire, what business do they have here?"

"Something like this also happened in the past. They can't trust my husband and are stepping forward to fight against the Giants themselves."

"They can't trust him?" Su-hyeun couldn't help but ask back, confused.

Hercules was fighting against the race of the Giants, and there was simply no way that regular humans could fight against those massive creatures.

Even if the Giants' number was minute, those monstrous beings had inherited the blood of the gods. The event of their invasion should be a matter of grave concern in the eyes of the kingdom or the empire.

And wasn't Hercules a hero who had been stopping the invasion of the Giants all by himself for a long time now?

"A person can have a change of heart on a whim, after all…That's what they probably believe. Honestly, I also sometimes think about it. Like, why does my husband toil so hard by himself like this? Isn't it fine for him to search for another way to find happiness…?"

After saying those words, Megara stared outside the windows while resting her chin on the dining table.

Hercules's back could be seen through the window. Somehow, he didn't seem all that pleased by this event.

"In the end, it's always been the issue of trust. Even if he's inherited the blood of a god, he's not a god, after all. He's not a 'full' god, and they can't trust him because of that." Megara slowly stroked the hair of her child, Hale, who was sticking right by her side and spoke in a slightly sorrowful tone of voice, "And that's why they even tried to chase us out of here."