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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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Coincidences piled upon coincidences, strokes of luck so improbable they moved even the gods to offer their silent support. Win. You can win. Persevere. A hero forged by the hands of gods, wielding a divine blade to enact justice. The scene resonated deeply within the hearts of the observing deities.
“Ur, was it? Good eye. You’ve chosen well.”
“I was chosen, more like.”
Ur clenched her fists, gazing at the hero in the mirror. The long trial was nearing its end.
Crack…!
“…Huh…?”
The situation shifted abruptly.
[…Grr… Roar!!!]
“No… no…!”
He fell, struck by the club. The divine dagger shattered. The blessings of the gods faded, leaving only despair.
[…Cough…!]
“Chrono… get up! Just a little more…!”
The troll was not itself. Driven to the brink, it had surpassed its limits. It was cornered, desperate. One more attack, just one more.
[…Unfairness… is…]
“…Ugh…!”
Get up. You can do it. You can. Endure the pain. Persevere. He could overcome this. He wouldn’t be broken by this trial.
“…Chrono…”
I believe in you. Ur prayed, a ridiculous act for a goddess, but she prayed nonetheless.
[…Familiar…]
“…Ah…!”
Her prayer was answered. He was trying to stand. He stumbled, but he rose. And then…
[…Haa…!]
“…Chrono…?”
…he was crying. His face was contorted in pain and despair.
[…Ugh…!]
He tried to stop the tears, to compose himself, but he couldn’t. The tears flowed freely, his body crumbling in defeat.
[…Gah…!!!]
“…”
The troll trampled him, stomped on his head, kicked him. He curled up, trying to protect himself, his body trembling uncontrollably. He was at his limit.
[…Fuck…!]
“…Chrono…”
He was already at his limit. Driven by the will to survive, he had pushed himself beyond his limits, enduring, persevering, gritting his teeth. And what awaited him was not sweet victory, but bitter defeat, the brink of death.
[…Ugh…!]
“…Ugh…!”
Tears and groans of pain. His limbs trembled, his body covered in blood. The hero, or rather, the boy who had tried to be a hero, was defeated. No matter how hard he tried, how much he resisted, some walls were insurmountable. His broken spirit cried out—
[…Help…]
“—!!!”
—for help.
[…Help… me…!]
He crawled, begging, his face contorted in fear and despair. A pathetic, ugly, desperate plea, not from a hero, but from a weak, ordinary boy. The goddess watched and said,
“Finally accepting your place.”
“Ugh—!!!”
What did you say?
“That foolish human thought he could defy a god.”
“Take that back!”
He had tried! He had fought! She was the one who had broken her promise!
“What does it matter?”
“What… what nonsense— Kyaa?!”
Chronos stepped on Ur, pinning her to the ground.
“Effort is not required to worship a god. Courage, thought, consideration… these are human arrogance. You merely exist to worship. I’m merely teaching you your place. You, too, should learn your place.”
Your tongue is too short for such insolence.
“…Ugh…!”
Chronos’s foot pressed down on her back. Ur groaned in pain, but her eyes were fixed on the mirror. ‘Chrono…’ I’m sorry. I tried to protect you. I tried my best.
[…Ah…!]
A cry of terror—
[…Aaaaaaaaaah!!!]
—turned into a scream. The troll’s club was about to crush him when—
—Clang!
[…Huh…?]
“…Chrono?”
Something had protected him. A sword, strapped to his side, emitting a faint red aura. A thin barrier shielded him.
“Persistent. How arrogant.”
A futile delay. The outcome is inevitable. Chronos smiled, but Ur thought differently.
[…From Mars…]
‘His eyes…’ They were calm. The fog had lifted, and a spark had ignited. Small, faint, but undeniably there. A flame that refused to be extinguished. The flame of humanity.
[…Haa…]
He was standing. Battered, broken, every breath a struggle, but he stood. He rose, defying pain, fear, despair. A spark of courage, a flicker of life, in the face of overwhelming darkness.
“…Roar!!!”
“…Haa…”
He conquered his fear, endured the pain, pushed back the despair with a sliver of hope.
“[Counter—!!!!]”
He punched. He faced the violence with nothing but his fist.
—Crack…!
“…Hah…!”
His hand shattered. His body screamed in protest, but—
“…Not… yet!”
—a broken wrist didn’t mean a lost arm. He absorbed the impact with his forearm, activating [Counter].
“…Pathetic!”
‘Guts.’ The skill that allowed humans to endure even fatal blows. The reason they could surpass even gods.
“…Haaaaaaaa…!!!”
“…Grr—?!”
Limited knowledge, insufficient wisdom, inferior physical abilities…
“…Grr—Crack!!!”
“…Gah…!”
…but he held on, even as his shoulder was crushed, even as he faced death. This was why humanity could rule the world. Guts, willpower, love.
“…Die…!!!”
“…Grrr!!!”
A miracle born from desperation.
—Crack!
“…Ugh…”
Despair crumbled, and the human whispered,
“…I’m dying…”
He collapsed, a hero who had defeated a despair even gods couldn’t overcome. He looked at the sword in his hand, a faint smile on his lips.
“…At least… I didn’t break this…”
He closed his eyes, seemingly content, even as his body gave out.
“…”
The gods were silent. This day would be remembered. A brave warrior, a cunning tactician, a resourceful rogue, a hero who had defied even a god.
“…Haa”
A foolish human. I told you, you could do it. I told you to trust me. But he’d resisted, and this had happened. It was his fault. His youthful arrogance, his ignorance.
“…I admit it.”
Young, foolish, ignorant, but he had endured, persevered, and won. It was a victory for humanity, but—
“…Chrono…”
—no one could celebrate. It wasn’t a hero’s victory. It wasn’t a victory to be celebrated. It wasn’t a glorious battle, a beautiful tale, a song of courage. It was a struggle, a desperate act of survival, a miracle born from a series of improbable coincidences. A desperate, ordinary man’s tale that had captivated even the gods.
“I’ve decided.”
They said,
“He’s the one.”
A beacon of hope in the face of despair. He knew despair, he knew fear, and that’s why he was courageous. He could inspire courage. A hero. The Queen of the Gods, Hera, declared,
“Heracles. (My child.)”
…
“…Um, Lady Hera? Sorry to interrupt, but…”
“…Hermes?”
Hermes appeared, pointing at the mirror.
“Isn’t the hero… dying?”
“…Ah.”
Hera, after all, was Chronos’s daughter. She was cut from the same cloth.
I was does it feel like half the chapter is content from the last chapter repeating?
Yeah this whole fight feels out of place/forced