“Parker Dominic Opus...”

“Holy Mother, have mercy...”

Roughly four hundred refugees had gathered inside the cathedral. The sounds of prayers fell among them.

“It’s okay, Louis... As long as you’re with Mommy, you’re safe... It’s okay...”

“......”

A mother held her child close, repeating reassurances over and over.

That anxiety stretched on—until someone shouted.

“...It’s coming!”

It was one of the soldiers guarding the shelter.

Everyone turned.

“Everyone, stand up! A giant monster is approaching! Evacuate underground immediately!”

“What?!”

“I said, a monster is headed this way! Go underground! Don’t go outside!”

The area turned into chaos in an instant.

“What do you mean ‘don’t go outside’?! If it’s coming here, we should run!”

“If we go underground and the floor collapses, we’re all dead!”

“Please follow orders! Move now! The cathedral’s basement is safe!”

Confusion and disagreement spread through the crowd. The soldier tried desperately to push people underground, but the frightened flock refused to be controlled.

“Everyone, calm down!”

Then, one man stepped forward and calmed the crowd.

A tall, well-built man in full plate armor—a noble and imposing knight.

“I am Havaten, knight of the Count! From now on, I will take responsibility for your safety!”

A knight of the Count!

The very mention brought visible relief to the eyes of the territory’s people.

“C-Can you handle it alone? I heard the monster broke through the castle gates...”

“Our knights, and all military forces, are already on their way! They will defend this place!”

“B-But still...”

“You must calm yourselves!”

He shouted loudly.

“In times of crisis, the greatest casualties come from panic! For now, stay put! I’ll assess the situation and guide you again afterward!”

A mother whispered to her child.

“It’s okay. The knight will protect us, Louis.”

“......”

The child nodded.

He looked like a strong, righteous knight. Even as he left the entrance, he kept turning to look back at the citizens, as if concerned.

But if only he had turned his head to look forward instead...

His death was meaningless.

The sky of stone fell on him as he walked away with his back turned. Crushed before he could even scream, his body was flattened along with the ground—slowly compressed into nothingness.

Boom—!!

A deafening roar shook the basement as an enormous boulder rolled in, smashing through one side of the cathedral wall.

Suddenly, darkness swallowed the inside of the cathedral.

The civilians, all at once, felt something uncanny. What they had thought was simply a massive boulder now felt unmistakably like a human skull.

Even with the ten-meter-high cathedral wall collapsed, all they could see was a single eye socket and nose bridge.

Breaths held across the cathedral.

Then, a slit opened down the center of the eyelid. A single red, shattered eye slowly moved—then stopped.

It had made eye contact with the child nestled in his mother’s arms.

“......”

There were hundreds of citizens present, but not a single one could scream or move.

Within that eerie silence—

Outside the window, the monster’s massive, half-remaining jaw began to open.

As if it would take one giant bite.

***

The Hero ran. Toward the cathedral. I was running too, but he was faster. He would arrive first—just barely—at the same time as Eymon’s knights ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) charging in from the other side.

Glory, the Hero.

I had spoken with him a few times. Summoned him to strategy briefings and explained our plans. But the Hero always had that vacant, doll-like stare.

“Do you understand the plan?”

When I asked, the disheveled, sky-blue-haired Hero stared blankly at me, his eyes loose like someone drugged. Then, with split lips—who knows who had punched him—he mumbled:

“...If there are demons, I kill them.”

“To kill them, you have to understand the plan.”

“...If people are in danger, I save them.”

“So. The plan?”

“......”

No answer.

After the meeting, he simply left, pulled out a cheap bottle of liquor from his pocket, downed it, picked up someone else’s discarded cigarette butt, started smoking... then curled up on the ground and passed out.

An enigma of a man.

“He’s... kind of weird, isn’t he?”

“He’s strong, that’s for sure. But you can’t really communicate with him. Don’t worry too much.”

“Ugh... I don’t like him.”

The Dante Assassination Squad had basically written him off.

But once war broke out, I was forced to recognize him as the real Hero.

He was absurdly strong. He wielded [Divine†] power, and each blow he struck rivaled or surpassed even [Grandmasters].

Based on his strength alone, I’d place him somewhere in the top 700 rankings. Yet he looked barely mid-twenties.

Without him, the outer wall would have fallen to siege weapons a long time ago.

His name and title were well earned.

● Hero Glory

The entire time I prepared for the Bomiteka battle, I kept thinking about this world’s structure.

The DLC title, [Professor of a Heroic Tale], inherently acknowledged the setup of Hero versus Demon King. It also declared that the one to defeat the Demon King would be the Hero.

Which meant... the fate of this world rested with that hopeless bastard.

At the same time, according to the Synchronized information, the Empire possessed a 「Holy Sword†」. And soon, the Hero was supposed to draw it.

In other words, he would save the world.

My job, whether it was teaching him, or reshaping the world’s stance toward demons—whatever it took—was to act as a professor.

So with the Hero alive and now running toward Bomiteka, I assumed this mess would wrap up relatively cleanly.

Bomiteka had only 5–10% HP remaining.

But still, I decided to double-check the outcome, because I couldn’t stop thinking about one troubling detail: the report that the Hero had a [Bug].

⋮

『 World Spoof: Time Spoof [60 sec / 20 frames] 』

⋮

The Hero reached the cathedral and struck Bomiteka’s massive jaw.

At the same moment, Bomiteka bit down on the cathedral.

As the building collapsed, the Hero continued to swing his sword, and like an explosion at the tip of a toothpick, Bomiteka’s massive body began to rupture.

Eymon: Glory! What the hell are you doing?!

And that’s when the problem occurred.

Just after two people—apparently a mother and child—were sucked into Bomiteka’s jaw, the Hero changed.

“HHHAAAAAAHHHH...!!”

The Hero screamed and charged into Bomiteka’s mouth.

He shattered the monster’s teeth.

But during the clash, something inside the mouth struck and broke Glory’s sword.

Eymon: Glory! Pull back! Pull back!! You don’t even need to do this, we already almost won!!

Even with half its jaw broken, the reinforced hide held.

Glory screamed like a madman, slammed his fists into the incisors, headbutted the front teeth, and forced his way in.

“Someone pull that bastard out!”

“He’s done for! He’s completely insane!!”

As knights looked on in horror, Glory slipped right into the shattered teeth.

Eymon: What the hell are you doing, you bastard━!!

As Eymon screamed like he’d choked on raw potatoes, I arrived—just in time to see Bomiteka crush its own teeth shut. Crack crack crack!

The Hero had been swallowed.

“Glory got eaten!”

“What the hell is that guy?! Why did he do that?!”

The soldiers who had just arrived were all in shock.

I stood frozen. I didn’t know how to respond.

Then, Bomiteka cracked open from the inside and died.

But a despairing status screen appeared:

GAME OVER

Followed by a series of notifications:

⋮

「 Bad Ending: Hero’s Death 」

⋮

「 Bad Ending: Hero’s Death 」)

「 Bad Ending: Hero’s Death 」ㅇ)

「 Bad Ending: Hero’s Death 」ㅅㅇ)

⋮

Time moved rapidly. The sky was pitch black. No stars.

After years of effort, we stood before the Demon King—but something incomprehensible had brought it all to a halt.

At the very end of the farthest timeline, we could not kill the Demon King.

There was no way to kill him.

Because Glory was gone.

The moment I realized that, everything—including me and this faded world—crumbled.

“......”

When I opened my eyes, I saw the cathedral.

Glory’s blow splitting open Bomiteka’s jaw.

Bomiteka clamping its mouth shut.

The Hero’s crazed, desperate assault.

Eymon: Glory! What the hell are you doing?!

Lastly, I heard Eymon’s scream.

Ah.

Goddamn it.

Eymon: That’s dangerous! Pull back right now!!

Eymon: Pull back! Hey! Hey, damn it! Why are you doing this?!

Voices I hadn’t heard in the skipped frames came through more clearly—Eymon’s panic and confusion.

“HHHAAAAAAHHHH...!!”

And then I understood.

The mother and child were eaten by Bomiteka.

The Hero was trying to save them.

He wasn’t thinking about how his own death would doom the world.

Now I understood Glory a little better. He was someone who hated demons and wanted to save people. A blindly self-sacrificing Hero—almost idiotically so.

Eymon: Glory! Pull back! Pull back!! You don’t even need to do this, we already almost won!!

I clenched my teeth and ran harder toward the cathedral.

Just as Glory headbutted his way into Bomiteka’s shattered teeth.

“No—stop!!”

“That idiot...!”

Nearby knights and assassins screamed as they protected civilians or tried to evacuate the area.

Eymon: What the hell are you doing, you bastard━!!

Right now.

This was the moment.

I had to act.

There was only one thing I could do.

But I had no idea if I would survive doing it.

Bomiteka’s jaw, massive as a skyscraper, began to close. Glory was inside, and the beast was trying to make sure he would never come out—shattering its own teeth to do so.

No time for options. No time to think.

“P-Professor Dante?!”

“You can’t go in there!”

I rushed toward those closing jaws.

Eymon: Professor Dante!? What are you doing!!

As Eymon lost it over comms, I reached Bomiteka’s mouth and raised my 「Giant Soldier’s Sword○」 to full output. I stabbed the sword into the monster’s maw, then reached out with both arms to brace the upper and lower jaws.

“Professor Dante, what are you—?!”

“It’s too dangerous! Please come back—!!”

It felt like the world itself was trying to crush me between two cliffs.

BOOOOOOOM━

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

The magical pressure on the sword connected directly to my body.

With both arms spread wide, I felt the entire universe pressing in to flatten me. I resisted.

That alone was my limit. I could do nothing more.

Barely holding the jaw open, my arms trembled. My body screamed under the pressure.

But Bomiteka’s jaws didn’t close.

I was holding them.

Eymon: Ah!

Eymon finally realized something and shouted.

Eymon: Break the jaw—!!

The soldiers who had fallen back sensed it too and rushed in.

“We have to save Professor Dante! Break the jaw!!”

“Smash its jaw—!! Artillery! Mages!!”

Magic. Cannon fire. Enlarged warriors.

Everyone nearby threw everything they had at the jaw.

“Professor!!”

Elize’s desperate voice. Balmung’s lightning blade. Kendreik’s war axe crashing down with a roar—“Hrrraahh!!” wielding “Santa Barbara.”

“Professor! This is all because of that lunatic Glory?!”

Quick-witted Gray finally understood the situation and rushed in to stand before me.

I wanted to tell him to get out.

But I was at my limit—just holding out.

My eyes were already bleeding.

Gray shouted into Bomiteka’s mouth.

“Glory, you dumb bastard—get the hell out—!!”

Get out right now...

Get out right now...

Get out right now......

The echo rang through the beast’s skull.

And then—

Footsteps.

Emerging from the darkness, Glory appeared carrying the mother and child—just before they could be melted and consumed.

He was covered in blood. He must’ve fought whatever small “Bomiteka” existed inside its throat.

“What the hell are you standing around for?! Get the fuck out already—!!”

Glory got slapped by Gray and pushed out.

“Professor, let’s get out too. Please...?”

The cat showed a rare expression of concern.

At that moment, Bomiteka’s jaw shattered.

Gray caught me as I collapsed.

We had won the war.

⋮

⧉ You have repelled [Corrosion – Hiaka].

⧉ With only [Total Combat Strength: 35.2M], you killed the one-horned demon Bomiteka, ensured 96.2% survival inside the [Isolation Wall], saved the Hero, and preserved all major characters.

⧉ Completion Rating: SSS

⧉ This is an incredible feat!

⧉ You are awarded 1 「[Rare] Lucky Box□」 as a [Corrosion] reward.

⧉ For achieving SSS, you receive bonus rewards: 「[Heroic] Lucky Box□」 and 「[Legendary] Lucky Box□」.

⧉ You have earned 50 Star Fragments from [Corrosion]!

⧉ Of the 33 Stars, 12 have observed you. Multiple Stars grant rewards for this thrilling spectacle.

♥ rejoices in the many lives you saved. [25]

ж enjoyed your struggle. [10]

⁺₊⋆ is pleased to have lent its light. [30]

† thanks you for protecting the cathedral. [33]

火 had fun!! [10]

↑ reluctantly admits—due to someone’s persistent nagging—that this zone showed the best performance among all seven Isolation Walls. [25]

○ leaves its report. [30]

⚉ is annoyed, but begrudgingly sponsors you, due to pressure to fulfill Hiaka constellation duties. [20]

“Peace Star☮” wanted to give more, but encountered a problem... ㅠㅠㅠ [50]

│ㅅㅇ)’s viewership fee [1]

Total Star Fragments: 284

But 284 isn’t a neat number.

⧉ grants an additional 16 fragments. Total: 300

Several Stars will now pay closer attention to you. Depending on your choices, a [Stigma] may be awarded.