The Fake Hero Is Too Strong Chapter 3

“Urgh?”

Suddenly, the core that Kaeld was holding began to vibrate.

It pierced into Kaeld’s body in an instant.

“What, what the hell—?”

Kaeld writhed in agony.

Blood gushed from every hole—his eyes, nose, mouth—thick and dark red.

A few seconds later.

His eyes had turned golden.

And with Kaeld’s voice—but not his voice—he spoke.

“What a dull conclusion.”

“What the hell are you?”

“Did you think I played dead just to watch it end like this? I rely stepped off the stage for a mont to beco part of the audience—but I was so disgusted, I climbed right back on.”

“……”

“You’re all fired. Actors who can’t entertain their audience have no reason to exist.”

Soone muttered in a daze—

“The Demon King…?”

The Demon King of lies and deception—Idria.

No, wait.

His head had clearly been cut off…

No, I’m the one who said we shouldn’t assu that was enough to kill him.

But to co back to life?

So quickly?

And he says he voluntarily stepped down from the stage?

Because he wanted to watch how we played around?

Kaeld’s sches, my desperate struggle—were they just entertainnt for him?

“Lies must be eternal. A lie that doesn’t last, a lie that gets exposed, is no longer a lie.”

“……”

“That one nad Mide did sothing I despise most. He’ll have to pay. I’m not the forgiving type.”

The Demon King of lies and deception, Idria, raised his index finger.

And at that very mont—

Flash.

It felt like sothing struck my pupils.

Neril whipped her head around and scread—

“Mide! Get aw—”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Her entire body disintegrated in an instant, vanishing.

Just like the other party mbers.

Just like .

Ah… I see.

Only a true hero can kill the Demon King.

But the real hero, Bion Kunze, is dead. Kaeld killed him.

‘Which ans, from that mont…’

The continent’s fate was already sealed.

Stupid bastard Kaeld.

If you deceived the entire continent, then you should’ve taken responsibility for it.

If you couldn’t, you should never have killed the real hero, Bion Kunze.

Because of you, all my glorious retirent plans were destroyed.

‘If it were , I wouldn’t have done that.’

[Then what would you have done?]

‘I’d have taken responsibility. I would’ve actually killed the Demon King. Not stepped off the stage—I would’ve thrown him out of the whole damn theater.’

[Oh? But wasn’t the Demon King only able to be killed by the true hero?]

‘Then I’ll beco the true hero myself.’

I burst out laughing the mont I said it.

Beco the hero? What the hell does that even an?

A hero is soone blessed by the gods to oppose the Demon King.

A miracle determined from the start.

Kaeld was still a fool, but even if I were in his place, nothing would’ve changed.

But the voice rejected my thoughts.

[That’s an excellent idea.]

“What?”

[Beco the hero. Not a half-wit like Kaeld, but a real hero.]

……

Uh, now that I think about it—this is kind of a weird thing to say at this point, but—

‘Who are you?’

And with that thought, my mory cut off.

—

Fwoosh.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was brilliant flas.

Ah. So it really is Hell.

Through my eyes, I can’t see the sins I’ve committed.

Still, I thought I’d tried to live sincerely and decently—but I guess that wasn’t enough.

I let out a small sigh.

‘The flas of Hell, huh. They really are scarily ho—’

…they’re not?

The flas are weaker than I expected?

Rather than hot, they feel… warm.

What the hell?

Is this so kind of special section of Hell reserved for model prisoners?

[It’s a campfire. Not Hell.]

Startled, I jumped to my feet.

The scenery slowly ca into focus.

A deep forest.

Thick trees and underbrush.

From the chill, it looked to be sowhere between fall and winter. Get full chapters from nοvelfire

[Let’s have a little talk.]

Then ca a heavy voice, echoing in my ears. Huh?

‘Wh-What is this?’

[Calm down.]

‘You try calming down in this situation!’

[…]

‘What is this?!’

[Calm down.]

‘You try calming down!’

The voice chose silence.

I wandered about, breathing heavily, and after a while, I finally cald down.

Then I quietly sat down and crossed my legs.

‘Whew. To think you got so worked up… you’re not ordinary, are you?’

[I didn’t even do anything.]

‘Ever since I started rcenary work, it’s been a while since I t soone of your caliber. In honor of your skill, I’ll spare you a mont for conversation.’

[Even now, you won’t admit you got excited all on your own.]

‘What the hell are you? Why don’t you show yourself first?’

The voice replied calmly.

[Don’t you already know? You can tell where my voice is coming from. And besides, you’re not speaking out loud either.]

“……”

[Anyway, take a look at this.]

I summoned every ounce of my life experience and ntal discipline to barely keep my expression from faltering.

‘What… is this.’

A translucent screen floated in front of my eyes.

At the top, it read:

The voice returned.

[Didn’t you say this before you died? ‘Then I’ll beco the true hero myself.’]

‘…I did. But just saying it doesn’t make it happen, does it? Wanting it, trying—none of that matters.’

[Who says it doesn’t?]

‘I an, heroes are chosen by divine prophecy!’

[Then how do you explain that Kaeld, or whatever his na was, beca a hero?]

……

That bastard wasn’t even a real hero.

Which is why he couldn’t kill the Demon King.

[Half right, half wrong. He was a half-baked Hero. In other words, he was half a proper Hero.]

‘I don’t get it.’

[You said a Hero is soone who receives an oracle, right? But that doesn’t an the gods of the heavens directly bestow the power of a Hero.]

‘…….’

[The oracle’s role is simply to inform everyone that ‘this person is a Hero,’ so that they can build up ‘fa.’ The fact that a god personally guarantees it is what makes an ordinary person a Hero.]

It’s only half making sense.

The voice continued on calmly.

[In other words, what makes soone a Hero is the recognition and belief of the people on this continent. I call that fa.]

‘You’re saying soone becos a real Hero just because people believe he is?’

[Yeah, sounds easy, right?]

‘…….’

[Of course, it’s easier said than done. Gaining that belief and recognition… in other words, building fa, is a grueling task. We’re not just talking about a knight commander or general here, but a Hero. You need to build a truly unparalleled level of fa.]

‘…….’

[Well, you don’t have to understand it all right away. You can learn it step by step. For now, just morize the main point—‘To beco a Hero, you need to accumulate fa.’]

Fa, huh.

It didn’t quite click with any strong sense of conviction.

And just then—

Rustle.

Along with the sound of bushes being disturbed, soone’s voice rang out.

“Heh heh. What do we have here?”

“Seriously. Boss, our luck’s finally turning around.”

“Hey there. I’m not asking for much—just leave us two things: the money pouch and your head.”

Before I knew it, more than twenty rough-looking thugs had surrounded .

…….

Wait a second. Déjà vu?

I’m sure I’ve seen this scene before, long ago.

[Of course you have. It happened seven years ago.]

‘What are you talking about now?’

[It ans we’ve gone back in ti. The Demon King hasn’t even appeared in the world yet.]

‘Wh-What did you say?’

[Calm down.]

‘Would you be calm in this situation!?’

[Ah, this again……]

Anyway, just like the voice said.

I clearly rembered this scene.

Seven years ago.

When I was starting to make a na for myself as a wandering rcenary.

I’d been staying in one place too long and was about to move on to the next territory when I ran into this scene.

To put it simply, it was your typical group of bandits.

“Tch. Look at the punk flinch.”

“Don’t worry. Our bro’s got a sharp blade. Won’t hurt a bit.”

“Got any last words?”

They sneered as they slowly closed in on .

Just like I did seven years ago, I instinctively checked the blood letters over their heads.

‘Hmm. My na’s not on any of them. As expected.’

[What were you planning to do if it was?]

‘I’d have made sure to destroy them more thoroughly and rcilessly. I don’t forgive anyone who commits a cri against .’

…….

But wait a second?

‘Do you even understand what I’m saying? Can you see the letters too?’

[No idea what you’re talking about. I’m just reading your thoughts like usual.]

‘Yeah, sure. “Usual.”’

Just then, the most hot-headed-looking guy charged at .

“Die! Uhaaaaaaaaargh!!!”

His laughter turned into a scream.

Thud!

I had launched a front kick straight into his stomach.

He flew through the air and slamd into a giant tree.

Boom. Whoooosh…

The tree, already weakened by the weight of deep autumn, couldn’t withstand the impact and gave up its leaves.

It wasn’t until the fifth maple leaf landed on the fallen man’s face that the rest of the bandits snapped back to their senses.

“Huh? Wh-What the hell, Dreil!?”

“Bastard! What did you just do?!”

I slowly lowered my raised leg and said,

“I was in the middle of interrogating this fool, you know? Don’t interrupt.”

[Hm? Are you talking about ?]

“Co at all at once. I’m already in a foul mood.”

When faced with an unbelievable situation, most people start with denial.

Even though they had just seen a clear display of my skill, the idiots foad at the mouth and charged.

“This bastard’s hiding so moves, but it won’t work—urk!”

“Die! Guh!”

“Arrogant little—hek!”

“Deht!?”

“Het!?”

“Thwok?”

“Swoosh?”

Who knows how many colorful screams rang out.

After about five minutes, twenty grown n were sprawled on the ground before .

I casually dusted off my hands.

The bandits sobbed like children and rolled around on the ground.

“Ughhh… It hurts… it really hurts…”

“Sniff… Mom…”

“Grandma… I miss you…”

“Shut up.”

At my final words, the wailing stopped.

Now it was finally quiet.

‘Alright. Let’s continue the conversation.’

[You’re really sothing. Your skills are no joke—doesn’t match your appearance.]

‘That’s kind of a backhanded complint.’

[I wasn’t trying to hide it.]

‘Anyway, let’s move. This isn’t a good place to have a deep talk.’

I gathered my things and was about to put out the campfire.

That’s when the voice hurriedly stopped .

[No no, wait wait. Hold on a sec.]

‘You don’t have to repeat yourself. I get it the first ti.’

[You’re just going to walk away from this golden opportunity?]

‘Opportunity?’

[Sigh From the look of it, even before the regression, you just beat those guys up and left. Try a different approach this ti. Before your death, your total fa barely hit 10,000. Not even close to the soles of Kaeld’s feet.]

‘…….’

[If you live your life the sa way as before, your fa will just hover around that sa 10,000.]

I didn’t know if 10,000 was high or not.

But the transparent screen I saw earlier definitely said this:

< Fa points needed for next level: 120 / 1,000 >

In other words, my current fa was 120.

If this really was seven years ago, then it was a ti when I was already known in the field as a fairly skilled rcenary.

And yet I only had 120. That made it easy to imagine just how impressive the 10,000 from right before my death was.

But even that 10,000 wasn’t enough to reach the soles of Kaeld’s feet?

[Rember this. When raising your fa, you always need to consider the happiness of the greatest number of people.]

‘That’s suddenly very philosophical.’

[It’s practical advice. In a single event, you need to bring happiness to as many people as possible. That’s the shortcut to quickly raising your fa.]

‘Easy to say. But how am I supposed to know which choice makes the most people happy?’

[I don’t know the right answer either, but I can give you hints.]

At the word “hint,” my ears perked up.