The Last Place Hero's Return-Chapter 138: Interlude – Descendent of the Iron Fist (1)
Although I had defeated Laxasia, I still had to face another battle: enduring the backlash from using Blazing Fire. As I tried to deal with it, my consciousness started slipping away. Halfway through, I felt my party members carry me back to Berald’s mansion.
When I regained consciousness, a dull ache throbbed through my body. It was as though someone had beaten me all over with a hammer. As I opened my eyes, the pain surged in, forcing a groan out of me.
I frowned at the state of my body. The aftereffects of Blazing Fire were worse than I had expected. However, considering how absurdly powerful it was, such suffering was only natural. Normally, the side effects would have been far worse. Fortunately, Iris’s healing magic had lessened the damage considerably.
I turned my head slightly and found her behind me, fast asleep, still clinging to me with soft breaths. Just seeing her peaceful face made my heart pound.
It seemed my movement stirred her. Her eyes fluttered open in a sleepy haze. “Mmh! Ah! You’re awake, Dale?”
“Yeah.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Thanks to you, much better,” I replied, trying to sit up.
Iris tugged at my waist and forced me back down onto the bed. “No, you’re not fine yet.”
“I told you, I’m already better.”
Iris smiled playfully, though she tried to keep a stern expression. “Ahem! You should know that until a healer says you’re fully recovered, you’re not.”
A soft, white radiance emanated from her hands and spread across my skin, gently seeping inside me. The hammering ache inside me slowly ebbed away.
She asked, “How is it? The pain’s gone down, hasn’t it?”
I let out an awkward cough, partly because of the relief and partly because of the tender warmth filling the void left by the pain. “Ahem!”
She tightened her arms around my waist and whispered into my ear, “Your back is broader than I imagined, Dale.”
I couldn’t see her expression since my back was to her, but the mischievous lilt in her voice was enough for me to picture the playful smile on her face.
I pried her arms from my waist and turned to face her. “Iris...”
“Dale.”
Our eyes met. She was close, so close that I could feel her breath against my lips. Our faces inched nearer, lips about to meet, but then a cold voice cut through the moment.
“Don’t you think it’s time you let go?”
Startled, I sat up and saw Yurina standing by the door, staring icily at us. “Y-Yuren?”
Yurina strode forward, a basket of fruit in hand, and sat down in the chair beside the bed.
Iris narrowed her eyes at her, her tone sharp. “My! Just barging in without knocking? I suppose the Helios family never bothered teaching basic manners.”
“Better than a healer who clings to her patient even after the treatment’s done,” Yurina replied.
The atmosphere turned heavy. Both of them wore polite smiles, but the tension was enough to make the room feel like a battlefield. Fortunately, Iris didn’t even know that the Yuren in front of her was actually a woman. Otherwise, the mood would be even worse. Just imagining that was enough to give me a stomachache.
Yurina looked at me. “Dale. You haven’t eaten anything, right? Hungry?”
“Ah! Yeah, I could eat.”
She pulled out an apple. “I’ll cut some fruit for you.”
As she deftly peeled it, the apple’s skin came off very fine, almost translucent. The peel was so thin that I was shocked, unable to help myself admire the knife work in silence.
After slicing the apple into neat bite-sized pieces, she speared one with a fork and brought it to my lips. “There, Dale. Say ah.’”
Please don’t do this to me. I muttered inwardly.
Even though I knew Yurina was a woman, the appearance staring me down was still that of a handsome blond man feeding me by hand. My brain was a mess.
“What’s wrong, Dale? No appetite?” Yurina asked.
“No, it’s just...”
As I wrestled with my thoughts, the door suddenly slammed open.
Berald stormed in noisily. “Brother Dale! Y-you! Are you all right?”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
He let out a long sigh of relief, patting his chest. “Phew! You have no idea how terrified I was when you suddenly collapsed!”
Oddly enough, the sight of his face helped clear my head a little.
Berald’s gaze fell upon apple slices. “Hm? Brother Yuren, did you cut that fruit for him?”
“Y-yeah.”
Chucking, he said, “Heh heh heh! Of course! Nothing helps with recovery like some sweet fruit.”
Before Yurina could react, Berald snatched up the plate and picked up a piece with his thick fingers, turning to me. “Here, Brother, say ah. Your little brother will feed you himself!”
The apple Berald shoved into my mouth tasted bitter, like the flavor of life itself.
***
Berald’s father, Gilbert Ryu, was fast asleep in his bedroom, eyes shut tight.
Iris stood at his bedside. “I’ll begin the treatment.”
From the ruins, we had recovered three high-grade mana stones, enough as an offering for the healing ritual. The room was heavy with tension. Berald sat nearby, legs bouncing nervously, while I placed a hand on his shoulder and turned to Iris.
Clasping her hands, Iris began the solemn chant. “O Seven Gods in the heavens...”
Her eyes shimmered with the seven colors of a rainbow as pure, radiant divinity filled the room. With one hand pressed against the mana stone and the other gently resting on Gilbert’s forehead, Iris continued her incantation.
“Look upon this wounded soul with mercy. Embrace him with your warm hand and guide him so he does not lose his way.”
As her prayer went on, the lights within the mana stones flickered out one by one. The dimming stones released a flood of divine power, growing denser and stronger with each word. Like a raging storm, a blinding white glow swept across the room.
Gilbert slowly opened his eyes. “Ugh?”
He pushed himself up on the bed, looking around in confusion before his gaze fell on Berald. “Ah! It’s the buff brother!”
Berald’s expression darkened, completely at odds with Gilbert’s bright, innocent voice.
A quiet sigh escaped Iris’s lips. She bit down on her lower lip and shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
Even with three high-grade mana stones sacrificed, Gilbert’s wounds could not be healed.
“Haha, don’t apologize. I told you from the start, failure was always a possibility,” Berald replied.
Iris tried to encourage him. “B-but still! If we can gather more offerings, we can keep trying! Please don’t lose hope!”
For a moment, Berald’s gaze drifted down to his waist. “More offerings, huh.”
There, fastened to his belt, was a prize they had obtained from the ruins, the Legacy of the Iron Fist.
Realizing his intentions, I asked, “Berald, you’re not thinking...”
Berald slowly lifted the deep-blue gauntlet from his hip. “Sister Iris. Didn’t you once say that artifacts could be used as offerings too?”
“W-well, yes, but...” Iris trailed off, glancing at me.
I let out a long sigh before facing Berald. “Berald. I understand how you feel, but don’t rush this. We’ll have plenty of chances to gather more offerings.”
“I know,” he replied.
With a faint smile, Berald held the gauntlet out to me. It was a silent plea to use it.
I stared into his eyes, then said, “Berald, this gauntlet is the Iron Fist’s legacy.”
“I know.”
“It’s a treasure countless heroes have searched for over five hundred years.”
“I know.”
“You may never find another artifact of this caliber again.”
He nodded quietly, but didn’t pull the gauntlet back. “I know.”
“Berald...”
He smiled faintly. “You don’t need to say it. I already know. I know I’m being impatient. I know this gauntlet is a priceless treasure. And I know. I may never hold something like this again in my life.”
His hand brushed over the gauntlet. “The truth is, my father and I... were never very close. I was always a disappointing son, and he never truly approved of me. After my mother passed from illness, the distance between us only grew. I can hardly remember the last time we even shared a meal. I was never the smartest man, so I don’t always know what the wise choice is.
“But still, even so, I remember how he once carried me on his shoulders when I was little. I remember the time he scolded me harshly for stealing a toy from the village children. And I remember when magic didn’t come easily to me, he told me not to rush, but to walk my path steadily.”
Berald grinned and continued, “That’s why I want my father to remember me too.”
I took the gauntlet from his hands. It was a treasure I had never managed to find even in my past life and a powerful artifact that could very well change the future.
At that moment, a memory resurfaced in my mind—the words Berald left me before he died in my previous life.
“Even if I die, at least remember my name, alright?” 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
That was the kind of guy he was, in my past life and in this one. He probably did not know, but I did. I was able to become who I was today because of him.
I turned to Iris. “Iris. Use this as the offering and cast the healing spell again.”
“You understand what this means, don’t you? Once an artifact is sacrificed, it loses all of its power,” she replied.
“Yes.”
I knew all too well.
Iris accepted the gauntlet. “Alright.”
This time, the light that filled the room was far more intense than before.
Gilbert clutched his head with a groan. “Ah! Ugh!”
But soon, he raised his head slowly. “Urgh! Where? Where am I?”
His dazed eyes swept across the room before landing on Berald. “Berald? Since when did you get so tall?”
“Heh!” Berald covered his face with one hand, his shoulders trembling as he nodded. “Yes. It’s me, Berald. Berald Ryu, son of Gilbert Ryu.”
Tears streamed down his cheeks as he lowered his head.
