I Will Eventually Embark On The Path Of No Return Called A Hero

[Arc5] - 1. The Cyd Exclusive

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Bartra, the King of Liones, possesses a magical power known as "Vision", which allows him to foresee the future and gain various predictions. This power is strong, enabling Bartra to avoid numerous disasters. The magic is usually triggered at will, but whenever a major event is about to occur, "Vision" forces him into a dream where he glimpses the future.

On an otherwise ordinary day, Bartra was pulled into a dream by his own magic. He assumed a disaster was imminent, but instead, he found himself standing in a flawless, pure white space.

A woman appeared before him, and instinctively, he knew that she was a "Goddess".

He could hardly believe it—not because he doubted her divinity, but because the woman appeared so battered. Her body was covered in scars, as though she had endured a long, grueling battle. Her once-beautiful face, which should have been adored by all, was dirty, and her hands, which resembled delicate works of art, bore deep, exposed wounds, as if she had been gripping something for a long time.

She appeared as disheveled as a wandering vagrant, yet her eyes still glimmered with divine determination.

This goddess should have been one who could act willfully, who would be forgiven no matter what she did. She should have been carefree and joyous at all times. But now, this goddess revealed a relieved smile, as if her long wait had finally come to an end.

"Go find him," she commanded.

Without needing more words, through the goddess's transparent eyes, Bartra saw a figure.

Carrying a sealed box of hope, a Pure White Hero who ventured alone into the depths of hell to save the world.

Even though he had temporarily handed off the responsibility of bearing the world's burdens, Cyd had not forgotten his true self. Anything within his reach, he would firmly grasp.

The situation in Miyu's world wasn't great, but it wasn't on the verge of collapse yet. He still had time, and so did El-Melloi II and the others.

Rushing around without purpose would be meaningless. The first step was to understand this world. Though what he first saw was a village under attack by bandits.

Ah... it's been so long since I've seen this…

In the past, he encountered bandits frequently—so much so that, for a while, everyone he saw seemed like one. But since he returned, banditry, once a common profession, had disappeared.

Seeing these bandits again, filled with that old-school villain vibe, made Cyd oddly... excited.

His slightly rusty techniques soon became familiar again as he buried the bandits one by one in the earth. Looking at the neat row of heads, Cyd wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.

A little bit satisfied…

But he had also noticed a small problem.

This world seemed unusually high in power levels. Although he hadn't met anyone yet who made him want to shout "monster", he could feel clearly that this world was filled with mysteries—perhaps even surpassing the mystery of ancient Greece, where he once lived.

A blessing would allow him to resonate with the gods to some extent, and when the world's mystery was low enough, Cyd could sense divine traces from across the world, like light in the darkness.

There must be gods who blessed him in this world, but the level of mystery was so high here that he couldn't sense any divine presence at all.

This was good news—it meant he might find a solution. But it was also bad news—he might get obliterated.

Completely ignorant of this world, Cyd could only follow Athena's guidance and begin his journey—defeating bandits, slaying monsters, alleviating famine—just as he had done when striving for a happy life long ago.

However, the high mystery of this world wasn't entirely bad. Everyone here understood the mysterious, so what Cyd did was not considered anything special. Heroes known as Holy Knights protected the people.

Cyd, as always, performed his simple acts of kindness, and the people he helped merely regarded him as a good-hearted stranger, just as he had hoped.

This was good news—the world didn't need a Pure White Hero to bring hope. There were plenty of people who shared the burdens of this world, so Cyd's life was rather... relaxed.

But there was also neutral news: the gods' blessings seemed to have a small issue. Instead of failing, they started to expand due to the world's high mystery.

Take Apollo's blessing, for example. It originally enhanced his physical abilities based on sunlight and sun intensity, with the god's power protecting him. Essentially, the blessing hadn't changed, but the boost to his physical strength had become exaggerated.

And there were twelve such blessings. Cyd embarked on an unassuming journey, but as a side effect, he had almost become a walking embodiment of the Olympian gods. The power of the Twelve Olympian Gods and the King of the Underworld was constantly surging within him.

Cyd found this very troubling—especially on sunny days when he had to carefully bury bandits in the ground. Otherwise, one slap would reduce them to a pile of meat chunks.

Cyd thought he was about to live out the trope of "I want a peaceful journey, but I'm invincible." However, not long after, he witnessed a sword strike that flattened a forest. And it was just a knight's ordinary slash enhanced with magic. What's more, this person was only an apprentice Holy Knight.

If even apprentices are this strong, what kind of monsters are the full-fledged Holy Knights?

This world might contain power levels rivaling those of Zeus, King of the Gods.

Not "I want a peaceful journey, but I'm invincible," but rather, "Without invincibility, the Pure White Hero will be reduced to just another fighter."

In this world, Cyd is an exclusive edition. Even if the gods are not watching over him directly, they will not allow their Pure White Hero to be used as a stepping stone for others to flaunt their strength.

The gods' constant fretting is probably part of Cyd's limited-edition status.

But Cyd himself thought the gods were worrying too much. This world was so peaceful; there's no way he'd run into any danger.

Lying in the shade of a tree, Cyd suddenly opened his eyes. Hundreds of auras at apprentice Holy Knight level were approaching, along with dozens that far surpassed them—those were likely the full-fledged Holy Knights.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's with this lineup? I've been living quietly, haven't I?"

Cyd slowly sat up as golden divine markings spread from his left arm's wrist guard to his eyes, changing from orange to gold.

The sun had been too strong today. How was he going to control his strength without hurting anyone?

Cyd worriedly pressed his finger against a nearby stone.

Watching as the stone disintegrated into dust, Cyd fell into silence.