Chapter 3: Bonds Shattered: The Undertaker’s Resolve

The heroes were all imprisoned.

All except for one: Jang’s assistant.

The one who imprisoned the heroes was none other than the Saintess herself. She locked up the other female heroes, sparing no one but Jang’s assistant, which soon drew much criticism from many people in less than a single night.

“How could you, Saintess! How can you imprison the heroes in such a merciless way?!”

At the entrance of the underground prison where the four heroes were sealed, the Saintess stood guard. Several priests approached her, raising their voices in outrage.

“It’s disrespectful to treat the heroes who saved humanity like this!”

“That’s right! If you continue to imprison them this way, ‘they’ might become furious.”

“Indeed. One of them is already on the way… having abandoned their duties to come here!”

Despite their loud concerns, the Saintess remained steadfast at the entrance, refusing to move.

“Yaaahhh! You crazy wench! Get out here right now!!”

From inside, there was a scream, like a howl of pure hatred. It was undoubtedly the agonized cry of the female heroes locked in the underground prison—a place that used to be reserved for the interrogation of demons or heretics.

“We’re the ones who killed the Demon King, and this is how they repay us?!”

What truly instilled fear into the priests was the anger of the heroes.

“Everyone, please do not worry. The imprisonment of the heroes is the will of the Goddess and also my decision,” the Saintess declared firmly, pointing inside.

“The Goddess told me that the Demon King planted his seed inside the female heroes.”

“Huh…!”

The priests, who had been protesting moments before, fell silent and froze at the mention of the Demon King.

“Th-The Demon King’s seed…?!”

“Yes. The Demon King intends to use their bodies to resurrect himself.”

Is it the truth?

No. The Saintess lied.

She fabricated this reasoning on behalf of someone, making up an excuse to imprison them.

“That’s why all four of them are locked up. They could be… carrying the Demon King within them.”

“Th-That’s… outrageous!”

The priests were in an uproar.

“But the heroes are saying something completely different…?”

“Don’t be fooled. They’re not in their right minds. The Demon King’s essence may already be growing inside them, and they might not even realize it.”

“Gasp…! You mean they could be carrying the Demon King’s offspring without even knowing it?”

“The Demon King would do anything to survive.”

The Saintess clasped her hands together in prayer.

“I just hope that the Goddess was mistaken. Or that we can purify them here and destroy the Demon King from within their wombs. That’s why we cannot let them out. They could become… the mothers of the Demon King.”

“Then… does that mean they could become ‘witches’?”

“Yes. Just as the Holy Mother gave birth to the Goddess, one of them could give birth to the Demon King and become a witch.”

“That’s… horrifying!”

The Demon King is the symbol of pure terror. So many people had died, over half of the continent’s population wiped out, and even among the 108 heroes summoned from another world, only 5 survived.

The Demon King’s army was formidable, but it was the Demon King himself, the absolute evil, who unified them. If he were to be reborn after they barely managed to defeat him, nothing could be more disastrous for humanity.

“We should kill them all, heroes or not!”

“Calm down. How could we kill the heroes who saved us?”

“Even if we keep killing them…!”

“It’s impossible. The only ones capable of killing heroes are the demons. You’re not suggesting we summon demons to the church, are you?”

“Ugh…!”

Heroes don’t die.

While people in this world might be able to wound them, they cannot fully kill a hero. After all, these are the very heroes who defeated the Demon King. Even if they did it together, they are still heroes.

“I’ve only sealed them in the underground prison as a precaution. At this moment, I can’t confirm whether or not they’re truly carrying the Demon King.”

“Can’t we use magic to check?”

“They are ‘heroes,’ blessed by the Goddess. Our magic cannot affect them.”

“Ugh…!”

Though the confusion only grew, everyone believed the Saintess’s words.

“One year. If the child is born, it will take one year. If any signs of pregnancy appear, there’s a possibility that the Demon King will be reborn as a child. Until then, we must watch over them.”

“Wouldn’t it be best to kill them outright?”

“Have you forgotten? Two of the heroes are the wives of… ‘those people.’”

“Ah…!”

At the Saintess’s words, the priests groaned in frustration, pulling at their hair.

“The Emperor of the Empire, the Grand Swordmaster, the Master of the Magic Tower. The child could belong to any of them. The same goes for the others—they may not be pregnant at all, and even if they are, it could be an ordinary child, not the Demon King. It could even be a miracle child sent by the Goddess, as they are the children of heroes.”

The priests found themselves trapped in a dilemma.

“Are they pregnant or not? And if a child is born, will it be the child of a hero or the offspring of a demon? Only the Goddess and time can reveal the answer.”

If the Saintess’s words were true, the safest and most reasonable course of action was to seal the remaining four heroes for a year and wait to see what happens.

“Saintess, some of the heroes have called you a ‘liar’…”

If the Saintess’s words were true…

“There are also those who say you’ve imprisoned them for a different reason. That you’re using the heroes as hostages, having outlived their usefulness, to blackmail the Empire, the Magic Tower, and other powerful factions.”

“Blackmail?”

“Yes. Many would be willing to give anything to the Church until their beloved is rescued from captivity.”

Even though the Saintess was said to hear the words of the Goddess directly, the heroes’ status and power were sometimes enough to overshadow the authority of the church.

“Rest assured, there are no ulterior motives. I simply wish to verify whether there’s any lingering trace of evil within them.”

The Saintess did not budge an inch.

“Humanity needs time.”

Propaganda and deception must be met with more of the same.

‘Even I know how horrifying it sounds to claim the heroes are carrying the Demon King’s child.’

When I said I needed time, the Saintess spun the tale of witches to buy us some.

– The Demon King cursed the female heroes before his death!

– One or all of them might be carrying the Demon King’s child!

– We need to observe them for a year to confirm whether or not they’re carrying the Demon King’s offspring!!

The Saintess’s plan worked, and the people were quickly convinced by her.

Of course, those locked in the underground prison screamed in furious protest, but there was no one who would listen to their words.

– Hero, please understand. We’re all terrified of the Demon King’s resurrection…!

The people of this continent had been so traumatized by the brutal and exhausting battle with the Demon King that even the mention of his return was enough to send them into panic.

Yes.

The battle against the Demon King had been overwhelming.

The stone tablet in the corner of the temple, where I briefly visited, bore the names of all 108 heroes. Of those, 103 names had already been erased.

Each of those names was one I had personally buried.

Even for those I couldn’t bury myself, I gathered their belongings and made graves for them.

Friends.

Comrades.

There were those I had played soccer with.

People I only knew by name.

And even those I had briefly flirted with.

All of them were dead.

The only ones left alive were me and the four women.

Scraaaape.

I raised my dagger and drew a slash across my name.

“Undertaker? What are you doing?”

“There’s no need for a hero in this world anymore.”

The priests who had been watching me from behind approached in shock, but I completely erased my name from the tombstone.

“The ‘Undertaker,’ the Goddess’s hero you speak of, no longer exists. I’m going back to my original world.”

“But that’s…!”

“Heroes are no longer needed in this world, right?”

My words made the priests visibly uncomfortable.

In this world, no one could kill us. Only demons or those carrying the Demon King’s mana could kill the Goddess’s apostles.

“I don’t want to stay in this world any longer. And I know some of you feel the same way. People are afraid of those who can’t die, who possess immense power and only grow stronger. I get it. You’re afraid that people like us will eventually take over the world.”

“But you, Undertaker, surely…!”

“There are people who think that way, even if you don’t.”

A hunting dog is boiled and eaten once the hunt is over.

If I don’t want to end up like that, I need to leave.

Or, like some of the women locked underground, I could become a pet instead of a hunting dog.

“I’m leaving. I’m going to find the ‘return point’ the Goddess mentioned. That’s my goal now—to find it and return to my original world.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

Who I’d leave with, that was the only difference.

“What about the Saintess?”

“She’s entrusted the entrance to the High Priests and gone to rest.”

“Then… I’ll head inside for a bit, too.”

I was ready to just leave.

Honestly, I could’ve just walked away right then and there.

“Ah, Undertaker, sir. What brings you here?”

“I came to check on the condition of my ‘companions.’ The Saintess gave me permission.”

“Understood. As long as you’re here, there shouldn’t be any problem but…”

However.

“Please be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

There was one person.

One person I wanted to meet and talk to.

Thud. Thud.

As I descended into the underground prison, my footsteps echoed, and someone reacted to the sound from inside.

In one corner of the prison, which was divided into four sections…

“…What?”

I met her.

“Hey, Chae Yuri.”

“…You!”

Before we were dragged into this world, she was my “girlfriend.”

“How’s it going?”

“You, you’re not here to…?”

“This is probably the pettiest thing I could ever say, but I have to say it.”

I took out one of the rings the Goddess had given me, slipped it onto my middle finger, and aimed it at Chae Yuri.

“Just like how you dumped me like garbage because I was an undertaker, I’m here to dump you.”

“You… you…!”

“Even if it means going back with someone else, or even if I can’t return at all…”

No matter what.

“I’m never going back with trash like you, even if it kills me.”