This is the story of a magician and an elf girl.

“Roar… Gaga gaga gaga…”

"It's useless... You will turn into a fossil here... Disappear! Disappear like dust and be destroyed by the wind!"

“Gagaa ...

"!"

The hellhound, with its body splashing with crackling light and filled with heat and murderous intent, always had the idea of ​​using its trump card at this time. The power of Aegis was only limited to all flesh-driven creatures in the world. If it exceeded this specification, even the power of a hero killer could not match the potential of an adventurer killer. The breath of hellfire dripped bit by bit on the outer edge of the fur and gravel, and the terrifying roar echoed through the mind of Jack lying on the ground.

Am I dead? No... I'm probably going to die soon. I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well just die...

"You gave up too early... Stand up."

"Who is that..."

"Can you hear me... Descendant of my child... Are you still my grandson?"

"...Hmm...who...who is...over there...is this...another...illusion...?"

Jack, who was trapped in the world of ice and gravel, wondered for a moment if it was the magician again - but from the sound of his voice... it didn't seem to be the case. The steady and serious tone sounded like the voice of an elderly grandfather...

"...It's not an illusion...Listen carefully...I am the father of Hercules, the grandfather of the grandfather of the great hero Hercules you all mentioned. I am the lord of the sky and the only husband of the goddess Hera. Do you know the name of the god Zeus?"

"! 』

Jack, who had regained some consciousness, remembered that Athena had said that the power of the sky power possessed by the goddess Hera came from the power of her husband Zeus, who was the main god in charge of power in heaven. He was also the master of the gods. Such a big man actually...

"It seems like you know..."

"…Is this… a dream…?"

"It is a dream, but also reality. We have temporarily connected to your dream through the power of the Goddess of Time and our own power. The time is limited - but before that, do you know the true origin of the lion-headed armor and why it is called the cursed armor?"

"...It's just a curse of unknown origin... and the consciousness of a certain monster..."

"Unknown origin? Who told you?"

"...You...know its true face..."

"...Of course - this power is the natural enemy of our generation. The curse that the devil lord Typhon branded into the body of my grandson is the real power from hell."

"demon……"

"It's a bad taste, isn't it? Although you are the descendant of the Lord God, you didn't inherit even a little bit of divine power. You can only use the power of the curse to fight, and the more you fight, the more it will grow, especially if you have excessive contact with monsters from hell - you just killed a lot of hellhounds, right?"

"! 』

Only then did Jack realize that it was not just the fire of karma, but even killing that would make it grow. He had always developed an irresistible dependence on this power of his. After all, if it weren't for it, Jack wouldn't even have normal fighting methods and would be just a fool with brute force.

The magician was right. It was my own weakness that led me to choose this path. If I hadn't relied on this power, I wouldn't have fallen to this point.

"Typhon is the biological father of Cerberus... Nemean Lion... Hydra... various great monsters. Because your ancestor Hercules had excessive contact with them, this curse was gradually passed on to you. Some grandchildren inherited Hydra's poison bow, some inherited the ability to summon hell creatures, and some descendants, like you, inherited the Nemean Lion's invulnerable armor and claws that can cut through everything. Although Hera can control them freely, it is only through the power of power. It was Typhon who really created these monsters. Although we have defeated it in the past, we have also lost to it. Now there is no way to interfere with it."

"…So what you mean is…"

"... What I want to tell you is that you can't win with just this armor. You can't even touch the magician's hair. He is the only pioneer in this world who has reached the outer realm. Chi is also the holder of the magic eye with the power to interfere with everything. As long as he wants... you will be reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye."

"..."

Jack knew that his strength had actually reached its limit a long time ago.

Facing monsters that can regenerate and revive infinitely, and enemies like that, with a magician in charge of all intelligence standing behind them, if he were to control the consciousness of these monsters, or use his power to amplify the power of the hellhounds - the consequences would be simply unimaginable and absurd to the extreme.

"...So... you are here to inform me of my death date..."

"…Are you going to give up…?"

"...Otherwise... that's enough... My power alone... can't change anything... I can't save anyone... I can't protect anyone... Everyone... will die in front of me... How can I allow myself to continue living in this world...?"

Jack lowered his head in despair and knew that he had done enough.

At this point, how could the world still need someone like me?

Even if I can't do it myself, that guy will do it for me.

Even if that guy can't do it, the magician will save the future of people on his behalf.

The only one who couldn't do anything was me from the very beginning.

"I'm not that omnipotent magician... I'm not that kind elf... I'm everyone... I'm just an ordinary person... an ordinary person you can see everywhere on the street! How do you want me to save so many people! How do you want me to save this hopeless world? ! It's no use anymore! Please don't force me to fight anymore, okay? ! "

"...Do you really think so...Do you think you can't do anything?"

"...Isn't it...No matter how hard I try to get everything...No matter how hard I try to find that glimmer of hope...Isn't it still hell and hell that await me in the end...This...This...I've already...Uu ...

After witnessing tragedy again and again, the frustrated Jack could no longer hold his head high with confidence - because he was still a human being, a human being with blood and tears, and after he lost his self-confidence due to his own powerlessness, he could no longer stand up again.

"...Stand up...Stand up if you're a man, Jack."

"Stop making so much noise... or you can do it for me... Why does it always have to be me! Why do I always have to bear all this! Why do I have to live selfishly after losing all this! How can I do what no one else can do! ! Am I not a human being! Do I have to do these unreasonable things! The magician is right! Human nature is so sloppy after all! Can't stand any setbacks! Once you lose confidence, you will fail again and again! Why should I work so hard if we will all die in the end! ! I've had enough of this world! ! Wouldn't it be better if everyone disappeared!"

"…You didn't create the world, but the world created you; it wasn't choices that created you, but you created choices. From the beginning, the only thing you can do is to make choices. You can't blame the world, and you can't bear the world. You are a human, but also a hero. And the only one who can create heroes is a human."