Chapter 385: The Last One
As soon as those words left the mouth of the hero of death, everything returned to normal, and the destroyed body of that man appeared in front of him again.
"I didn’t expect you to be able to use the innate skill of the sword."
"Why? Isn’t it supposed to be usable once it evolves?" Daniel asked with curiosity.
The last skill he had used was naturally the innate skill of his sword, the one he gained after its evolution. Until now, he had wanted to use it, and finally, he found the chance.
"No. The innate skills of that sword are extremely powerful. To use them, you must be able to provide the exact amount of power the sword needs at that moment. Normally, after using it, you should end up in a weakened state." The hero of death looked at him with a bit of hesitation and said,
"But I’m completely fine."
"It’s probably related to your spiritual power. I didn’t expect you to have the soul of a dragon. And not just a simple dragon, but a very powerful one. How did you even obtain something like that?"
Daniel shrugged and said nothing. Not that he wanted to hide it on purpose, but he didn’t feel like explaining either.
"In any case... you really exceeded my expectations. I didn’t think you’d be able to defeat me, but you proved I was wrong. Maybe you really can surpass me." A smile appeared on the hero’s face.
"Also, be careful. The state of your world isn’t good. At any moment, you might face a calamity."
"What kind of calamity?" Daniel asked, frowning.
"Those corruption beasts are planning one of their biggest assaults. Bad things may happen. With your current strength, you can’t stop them, but it’s better if you stay alert," the hero of death warned.
Even though one might expect that he wouldn’t know about corruption beasts, that wasn’t true. He and the other heroes were also fighting them in different ways.
Still, this world completely underestimates the true power of those monsters. That’s probably because the stronger, higher-ranked corruption beasts haven’t yet come to this world.
The day even one of them appears, the world will realize just how dangerous they are, and everyone will have to devote all their time and effort to eradicating them.
Otherwise, the world really could fall and be destroyed.
"Understood, I’ll be careful. Thanks for the warning." Daniel expressed his gratitude. He felt like all these heroes knew something but simply weren’t saying it.
"Before leaving, can I ask—will there be a hero in this era? And if yes, who will it be?"
"A hero? Of course there will. Probably the strongest hero that has ever existed." The hero of death paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"A hero is chosen based on various criteria, and afterward, the fate of the world is entrusted to them. This luck and destiny they receive accompanies us throughout our journey and shapes what we become."
"However, the hero chosen in this era will carry the luck and fate of two worlds behind them," the hero of death explained.
"I see. I think it’s time to say goodbye then." Daniel nodded.
The hero of death raised his hand, and a small white floating orb appeared, flying toward Daniel and entering his body.
"This is your reward, given directly by the stairway. I told you, if you could defeat me, you’d also receive a reward from me." He took a step forward and appeared in front of Daniel.
He placed his finger on Daniel’s forehead, and countless streams of information poured into Daniel’s mind.
"Here, you should be able to find things that will bring your understanding of the law of death to its peak, along with treasures and items that once belonged to me... and also the Book of Death."
Daniel’s expression shifted slightly, gratitude showing on his face. He hadn’t expected such a reward.
The Book of Death! A divine book. If he could obtain it, his comprehension of the law of death would increase drastically, allowing him to grasp its secrets.
He might even be able to control death itself.
Then he began to fade, and his awareness slowly returned to his body.
After he left, the hero of death sighed and looked upward. He had told this boy the location of his home, though Daniel couldn’t go there yet.
The place where his home was located was extremely dangerous. To even think of going there, one had to reach at least rank S, otherwise there would be no chance of survival at all.
"I didn’t think he would become the successor of the Religion of Eternity. He’s even learned the law of the moon, and it seems he’ll soon grasp the law of destruction too." He didn’t know what kind of reaction he should have.
It hadn’t been long since he last saw this boy, and yet, in that short time, he had progressed this much.
"Maybe he really can stop the apocalypse," he murmured to himself.
"I just hope the prophecy isn’t true... otherwise he will be the one to start the apocalypse." Then he sighed, and his body slowly disappeared.
At the same time, Daniel’s awareness returned to his body. The moment he came back, he took a breath and looked around.
This had been the longest battle he had ever experienced on the stairway. The hero of death truly deserved to be known as the strongest hero.
While Daniel could hold back against others, against the hero, he had been forced to use everything he had—well, not literally everything, but he had been forced to get completely serious.
That alone showed that whoever his final opponent would be, he would most likely have to use his full strength against them.
Before moving forward, he turned and looked back. To his surprise, the only one still climbing was Andreas, who was only two steps away from reaching the fiftieth step.
Tormyn and Selera had clearly either left or been defeated. Olivia too—there was no trace of her.
At that moment, only he and Andreas remained on the stairway, and strangely enough, Daniel could feel that all eyes were on him.
Some looked with admiration, some with hatred, some with fear, and some even with eyes that saw him as a monster or thought he was cheating.
He simply ignored them and continued his climb upward. This time, the pressure was much heavier, as if he were carrying a mountain on his back.
Still, it wasn’t enough to stop him or make the path difficult yet.
When he reached the hundredth step, he stepped onto it without hesitation. Suddenly, his awareness was pulled into another dimension, and he found himself in a completely different yet familiar place.
"Here?" Daniel frowned in surprise.
He knew exactly where this was. This was inside the Church of Eternity, the place where the Prophet of the Religion of Eternity had spoken his final words.
"It’s been a while, my friend." A familiar voice echoed in his ears.
Daniel turned and looked at the man sitting there, his face glowing with light and impossible to see clearly.
"Prophet of Eternity?"