The Second Salvation Myth of a Retired Regressed Hero

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Haineken squatted before the bound assassin, tapping his cheek.

Haineken clicked his tongue.

“This guy doesn’t seem like he’ll talk even if tortured.”

Haineken suppressed the rising sigh, holding it in before Doyun.

For him, this issue overshadowed even Doyun’s presence.

‘To think this fellow was a high-ranking Demon Lord assassin…’

It was appalling.

The Minister of Finance held power second only to the King in Vielorn. Yet such an individual had been concealing his assassin identity for decades.

Vielorn may have already been compromised by them.

‘Perhaps even the coup d’état 20 years ago…’

Vielorn had undergone a coup 20 years prior, with the royal lineage changing once. The new regime installed then still held power.

And this Minister of Finance had been a founding contributor to the coup government, appointed by the current king.

‘…’

As the hero Haineken of Vielorn, he suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.

“Is it common for assassins to attack the Cradle?”

“Not once.”

The Cradle was each nation’s most vital institution. Fundamentally, its grounds were reinforced with myriad protective wards and spells while guaranteed independence from external powers.

It was only this instance’s exceptional circumstances of the Cradle’s gates being forcibly opened that had led to this incident.

More than that, it was exceedingly rare for the Demon Lord’s forces to operate within city limits at all.

Each nation possessed ‘Holy Stones’ to suppress demons, after all.

“I assume you’ve studied about Holy Stones?”

“Yes.”

No need to study them – Holy Stones had existed since Doyun’s era.

Holy Stones were artifacts bestowed upon the allied forces by this world’s deities, maintaining a vast area-encompassing barrier that suppressed demons’ abilities and entry.

Within Holy Stones’ spheres, demons’ powers were greatly diminished, with Commanders unable to even set foot inside.

For a Commander to manifest their power within required the Demon Lord’s forces to bear immense sacrifices.

Hence, Commanders rarely took to the frontlines historically, as the allied forces had always been on the defensive against demon offensives.

“They must have been quite desperate with the boss monster killer’s emergence to go this far – like how they had felt about Hwangbojun and Salamander, the greatest obstacles they had no choice but to nip in the bud, no matter the cost.”

Haineken glanced at Doyun.

Certainly… it made sense. The Demon Lord’s decision had been utterly rational. The previous two boss monster killers alone had been formidable enough, but Doyun was an even greater monster.

However, there had been a slight miscalculation – they had underestimated Doyun’s true prowess.

This assassin had been powerful too. At that level despite the Holy Stone’s suppression, he must have ranked exceptionally high within the Demon Lord’s forces – effectively deploying their strongest operational assassin.

But if they had known Doyun was of this caliber, they would have strained themselves to dispatch a Commander instead, no matter the cost.

Not that they had been foolish, but simply because Doyun was such an outrageous monster beyond normal parameters.

Haineken gulped heavily before deliberately turning his gaze forward again, addressing Doyun nonchalantly over his shoulder.

“You, join our guild.”

“…”

“We’ll groom you as Vielorn’s next hero.”

While speaking in a composed tone, inwardly Haineken had become utterly captivated by Doyun.

He coveted Doyun – truly coveted him. In all his years as a hero, guild master, and talent hunter, he had never encountered such a desirable talent before.

Though Haineken himself was still far too young to retire, these were wartime conditions – he could die any day without surprise.

The Lion King’s nation had staunchly held the frontlines stalled for a decade, but such circumstances couldn’t last forever.

‘If I die in this war, Vielorn will lack a successor for the hero’s mantle.’

Which made Haineken covet Doyun even more fervently.

He wished to focus on nurturing him while the war’s tides flowed relatively calmly like now.

For such a monstrous existence to grow not under some ordinary guild’s profit-oriented handling, but with a hero’s full backing…

Perhaps a legend exceeding even the Lion King and Martial Saint could be born.

“…”

Doyun remained reticent, his destination already effectively decided. But he didn’t forget Haineken’s overtures of goodwill.

Haineken seemed a truly admirable man. More than anything, Doyun sensed his pursuit of the allied cause over mere self-interest. Coupled with his unexpectedly formidable prowess, it gave Doyun a reassuring impression.

Had it not been for Eloah, he might have indeed entrusted himself to Haineken’s guidance.

“I’ll consider it.”

“Tsk.”

Haineken clicked his tongue at the lukewarm response, remarking, “You’re quite the picky brat, huh?”

“You’re rather inept at flattery.”

“…You really want to die, huh?”

As the two bantered, the instructors and inspection party arrived on the scene.

Before grasping the situation, they couldn’t help but be aghast at Doyun’s condition.

“This is…”
“Heavens above…”

Eloah and Sophie pushed through the crowd, laying eyes on Doyun.

“Ah, ah…”

Seeing them, Doyun frowned slightly.

Having received prior news of Doyun’s attack, Eloah’s complexion was deathly pale, only growing more ashen upon witnessing his actual state.

Sophie reacted even more severely, her legs giving out as she collapsed to her knees in tears.

As a student, she lacked the desensitization to such sights compared to Eloah and the others.

Even Dewshy, who had firmly believed Doyun to be unassailable, set his jaw grimly at the gruesome sight.

Millaine, the World Tree’s vice guild master and their finest healer, swiftly knelt by Doyun’s side.

“All healers gather! Any mages capable of reinforcement spells too!”

The healer instructors and some high-ranking healers from the inspection party all swarmed over.

First laying Doyun down, they assessed his condition.

“At this rate, he’ll die from hypovolemic shock! He’s lost far too much blood!”
“Focus healing on the femoral artery in his thigh first.”
“He’s holding his entrails in with his arm. We need to reposition his organs before healing.”
“Student, move your hand for a bit… Oh no.”
“Inspection party members! See if you can find any severed fingers nearby!”

There was no time to move him to the infirmary – his condition was too critical.

Emergency field surgery began in earnest, the assassin’s identity and situation assessment taking a backseat – he had already been restrained by Haineken anyway.

For now, the top priority was saving the allied forces’ treasure.

“Is this… a finger?”
“A finger? It’s so mangled, just looks like a chunk of meat…”
“Hurry up and bring it over, what are you doing!?”
“Y, yes!”

The scene descended into frantic chaos, amid which Sophie approached unsteadily before kneeling by Doyun’s side.

Sobbing, she placed her hands over his, her delicate skin staining with his drying blood.

“Do, Doyun… Plea, se…”

Her voice trembled terribly.

“I’m fine. Don’t cry, Sophie. I’m perfectly alright.”

Doyun’s mouth was severely lacerated, slurring his words as he reassured Sophie. Whenever he spoke, his white muscle fibers, teeth, and tongue were visibly exposed through the gaping wound.

Yet Doyun remained utterly composed, not even flinching as the healers prodded his organs.

Witnessing this, Sophie only cried harder, unable to hold back her tears at his abnormal desensitization to such anguish that seemed all too familiar to him. His pitiable state broke her heart.

She wept bitterly by his side.

“His heart rate is far more stable than expected, and no shock during treatment. The patient’s condition is extremely stable.”
“His self-recovery rate is… insane? Let’s forgo reattaching the fingers and focus on regenerating them instead.”

The onlookers could only shake their heads in dismay.

How could one remain so calm despite such horrific injuries? Even the legendary veteran Hwangcho the Seasoned Hero wouldn’t be able to match that composure.

And upon witnessing this sight, Eloah’s pupils trembled once more.

‘Exactly the same…’

Vividly etched into her memories was that shocking scene from her childhood.

The hero, striding confidently into the march while waving and smiling, only to return covered in blood to the guild house after an ambush by assassins lying in wait before the city gates.

Even as he bled profusely, the hero had carried wounded comrades over his shoulders, focused solely on their well-being over his own grievous injuries.

Utterly oblivious to his own suffering, his demeanor had been all the more heart-rending. So desensitized to agony that it seemed something within him had simply broken.

Doyun’s current appearance was identical to the hero’s back then.

“Hmm…”

Meanwhile, seated with the bound Minister of Finance’s back against him, Haineken spoke up as he observed Doyun.

“By the way, how did you realize the Minister was an assassin? Even I didn’t notice.”

At those words, the others turned towards Haineken in shock.