Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy-Chapter 682: One (2)

Originally, the world of mirrors should have been filled with pity.

The Apostle of the Lord and their companions were infinitely good people, and even though they knew that they had to defeat their targets, they would hesitate to swing their weapons at the unfortunate and pitiful beings.

Even if they pretended not to care, their minds would gradually crack, and by the time they reached the end of the dungeon, there would definitely be cracks in their sanity, or so the Pope believed.

In fact, in the events that had occurred earlier, the Apostle of the Lord had shown the weakness of the mind.

No matter how strong they pretended to be, they revealed themselves to be ordinary people capable of being wounded.

Their friends were the same.

They were human.

They felt pity when they saw the suffering, they shed tears when they saw others in pain, they reached out to those who had fallen, and sometimes, in the face of immense hardship, they would even collapse. They were, after all, human.

Though it was true that the noble was noble because of their ordinariness, that ordinariness was a clear weakness, and the Pope was eager to exploit it.

He hoped that at least one of them would break, and even if they didn’t, he prayed that the Apostle of the Lord would still be affected.

"...What is this?"

The Pope stared, mouth agape, at the scene inside the dungeon.

Since the Apostle of the Lord had come to personally tackle the dungeon, he had expected it to be easily overcome, but he hadn’t expected it to be so easy.

Even so, he had thought it would serve as a cornerstone for the future.

After all, for the full resurrection of the Evil God, that place had to be conquered.

If he could defeat the opponent at the very last moment, that would be enough. For now, he thought it was fine to give the Apostle of the Lord a victory.

But this, this was something entirely unexpected.

When the Apostle had recklessly rushed across the land, the hesitation had been so great that he believed it was mere escapism. He thought that eventually, the Apostle would realize there was no other way and steel their resolve.

But now, seeing the Apostle’s face, filled with emotions, he had been preparing to enjoy the spectacle, yet suddenly, the Apostle had jumped over a wall, unseen but clearly present, and stepped into a place that even the dungeon’s creator could not have known.

The Pope found himself in a perplexing situation. This space was unknown to both him and the dungeon’s creator.

No one, past or future, knew about this place.

Only the Apostle of the Lord knew it.

"It’s interesting, but at the same time, troublesome. This means other dungeons could be conquered in the same way."

Someone might ask if simply blocking the gaps would solve this, but if you don’t even know where the gaps are, how can you block them?

It could be possible to overhaul the entire structure, but without knowing the Apostle’s peculiar abilities, the Pope had no idea where to start.

"Why not just expand the dungeon recklessly using the power of the End?"

Agras, who had been silently watching from the side, spoke up. The Pope snorted and shrugged.

"Do you think that kind of trick would work on the Apostle?"

"You won’t know unless you try."

"I’ve already tried. I gave the Apostle a trial, and they gained enlightenment within just one day. That’s the kind of ability chosen by the Lord."

The Pope bragged, grinning like a father praising his daughter. Agras clicked his tongue, resting his chin on his hand.

Even though it wasn’t like this before, the Pope had become an utter fool. Wait, had he always been this way?

Lucy Allen’s sudden actions left the people inside the mace equally astonished.

These were the people who had suffered countless pains while tackling the dungeons created by the Evil Gods. Seeing Lucy, in a situation where she was being forced to make a choice, pick a third option, they couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

"We really chose the wrong leader."

"I’ll admit I was pretty useless, but don’t compare me to Lucy! What do you expect me to do in this situation?"

The hero’s bewildered shout caused Luel and Garad to sneer, but both knew deep down that this comparison was harsh on the hero. Lucy’s method was far too far from common sense.

Who would try to use a space even the creator of the dungeon might not know about?

Finding such a bizarre space was hard enough, and even if you did find it, how would you find a path leading beyond it? And even if you were lucky enough to find it, how could you cross a place where one wrong step could kill you?

This was a strategy that only Lucy could employ.

"Once again, she’s performed a miracle and overcome the trials."

At Luel’s exclamation, Garad and the hero stopped speaking and let out mischievous smiles.

"It’s truly terrifying how quickly the late bloomer has grown. The one who was once so ruthless is now like this."

"It’s a bit endearing, isn’t it? Compared to the old Luel, she’s remarkably human."

"It sounds like you’re saying the old me wasn’t human."

"Exactly. Back then, you had no humanity."

The hero’s firm words left Luel muttering under his breath, unable to retort strongly. Seeing this, the hero gave him a light pat on the shoulder with a smile.

"It’s just a joke. The old you was fine too."

"No use saying that now."

"I also understand your amazement. Like you said, the new hero is performing countless miracles and overcoming the trials."

After the hero settled into the mace, Lucy faced countless trials ahead.

Like the hero from long ago, she was willing to sacrifice herself for the world, dedicating her life to others.

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Naturally, the process wasn’t smooth. Despite having extraordinary abilities, Lucy was still just an ordinary girl.

She was a saint who etched the sacrifices of others into her heart, crying inwardly and creating a lake of sorrow in her heart.

The hero knew because he, too, was that kind of person.

He knew that if one carried too much weight, eventually it would crush them.

That’s why, when Lucy said she would tackle all the dungeons alone, the hero worried about her, but it turned out to be an overreaction.

Unlike the hero, Lucy had the ability to bear the weight, and she had people around her who could fill the gaps she had. She was also ready to accept their help.

It was foolish to worry.

Even if I made that mistake, it wouldn’t mean that others would make the same mistake.

"I realize now, looking at her, how arrogant we were. To think that if it weren’t for us, the world would have been doomed. It’s a foolish thought, don’t you think? We were great heroes, but we were just one of many stars born in a long era. The stars shone before we were born, and they will shine after we’re gone."

Heroes aren’t predetermined from birth.

Anyone who rises up to save the world becomes a hero.

And the gods in the heavens do not ignore the will of such heroes.

They reach out, guiding heroes to fulfill their destiny.

So, there’s no need to bear the weight alone.

You don’t have to save the world by yourself.

In the age of the hero, the hero saves the world, and now, the hero Lucy is fighting for the world. And in the distant future, another hero will appear to save the world.

"Sorry to interrupt your touching speech, but do you want to see something?"

In the midst of what seemed like a speech full of emotional tears, Garad cut in, his tone completely different from usual.

His tone, usually full of arrogance, was now laced with confusion.

"What happened?"

"The dungeon’s cleared."

"They’ve reached the boss room?"

"No. It’s already done. Look, there’s a door leading outside."

"...Already? Stop lying. When we face the boss, there should be a lot of noise. I should’ve heard it. No. Wait. The door’s appeared, so the boss must have been defeated."

The hero’s eyes, unable to understand this situation, spun wildly, and Erginus slowly revealed himself.

"I’ll rewind the footage. I want to double-check too."

"Please."

As the footage rewound, Lucy and her group found themselves back in the white space.

Lucy, who had been jumping and performing strange acts, ended up stepping into the boss room, right above the boss’s head.

The boss, realizing too late that he had been ambushed, was already hit with Lucy’s mace before he could react.

Then, the boss was bombarded by a barrage of swords and magic, and the boss fell.

It was an unbelievably anticlimactic end for a boss with such immense power, capable of manifesting the nightmares of those who entered the dungeon.

"Was that boss really that easy to defeat?"

Muttering to himself, the hero, who had once tackled the mirror dungeon in the age of myths, looked bewildered, and Garad, standing next to him, shook his head in disbelief.

"That can’t be! We almost died several times because of that guy!"

"We had to escape twice after failing to clear it."

"Does that mean it’s weaker than before?"

"No."

In a tone of uncertainty, Erginus shook his head.

"From what I can see, it doesn’t seem any different from what we fought before."

"Then why did it fall so easily?"

"How would I know?"

"Luel, can you ask Lucy why she didn’t struggle with that? How did she break that thing so easily?"

"...I already asked. Lucy just asked me, ‘Why would I have trouble with that? Wasn’t it easy?’"

At Luel’s words, the heroes fell silent.

It was certainly a situation that should have brought joy, but the mood among the heroes was unmistakably gloomy.