World's Last Hope-Chapter 77: Birth of the Cursed Hero

Saint Gabriel’s voice echoed across the room,

"As we all know, there were a total of five expeditions sent to liberate cathedrals,"

His expression grew heavy.

"The one that we had the most confidence in was where we sent Grandmaster Lucas and 22 Masters with him to liberate a cathedral of the God of the Ocean,"

Everybody held their breath as they waited for his next words.

"All 23 members of the expedition have been confirmed dead."

Heavy silence fell upon the room as the Masters present took some time to register what the Saint was conveying.

"A Grandmaster... one of the hopes of humanity... had died?" The weak voice of a scared Master echoed across the room. In response, he was met with silence.

"A Grandmaster... dead?"

"No, NO! Impossible!"

"If they can die too, what about us?"

Panic began to spread around the room as the Masters became visibly scared.

The dire news was a very heavy blow to their motivation.

Even if they had lost a portion of the city, all could be fixed as it could be regained back quickly... but the loss of a Grandmaster?

It was a very heavy loss.

"Silence," Saint Gabriel’s words halted the panic, or at least that was what it looked like. Even if the Masters were too scared to speak, it was visible from their faces that they were just barely keeping it together.

"I will announce the progress for the other attempts—

*****

At the end, the tension was even higher than before. Everybody, even the Grandmasters, maybe even the Saint himself, were able to see the writing on the wall from a kilometer away.

In total, forty-one Masters have been lost with the addition of one Grandmaster.

In that moment, it seemed as if there was no hope to be found.

So many expeditions, so many lives lost... and yet there wasn’t a single liberated cathedral?

What did that speak about the future of humanity?

"And lastly," Saint Gabriel continued, though he hesitated to deliver all the news before they began to consider their next course of action.

"As you all know, the chosen by the gods, as well as Aria and Olivia, were also sent to the death zone, but as their pillars have disappeared, we have to pronounce them de—"

"Saint Gabriel!" The Saint was interrupted as a guard stationed outside suddenly burst through the gates.

The Saint grunted as he asked, "Interrupting us during the talk? You better have a valid reason."

Usually, the guard would have trembled under the Saint’s furious gaze, but at that moment, he didn’t. It seemed that his emotions had overwhelmed his fear—was he feeling... excitement?

"There... there are people that have come for the meeting," the guard spoke as everybody in the room, the Masters and the Grandmasters, were looking at him with curiosity.

Saint Gabriel sighed, "You know that the rules state once the meeting begins, no matter what, even a Master that has been late shall not disturb us."

"But... I think it is better to see for yourself, sir!" the guard spoke as he bowed his head deeply in apology.

’Nothing matters at this point, the atmosphere can’t get any worse,’ Saint Gabriel thought as he gestured with his hand, signaling that he was permitting the people who had been late for the meeting to enter.

The guard smiled and bowed again, "Thank you, Saint Gabriel!"

With that, the guard left to allow the latecomers to enter.

Silence fell in the room as everybody waited.

Then, a set of footsteps echoed in the hallway.

One... two... three...

Three individuals were approaching.

Saint Gabriel raised an eyebrow. What was this energy he was feeling?

He looked around, every alive Grandmaster was present at the moment...

So why did it feel like one was approaching? No, not one... but two.

The gates slowly opened as everybody watching held their breath.

A woman with golden hair and deep blue mesmerizing eyes shined like a star, bringing hope to the people around.

Next to her, a woman with a presence similar to that of death itself, with her black armor and hair, the only thing that hinted she was a mortal was her purple eyes.

And between them, a man with raven black hair and crimson eyes, walked forward without hesitation, holding his head high.

Grandmaster Aldemar looked at Olivia, his mind was frozen, so many questions, so many thoughts suddenly burst forward. Even in a million years, he had never expected to see his niece—a Grandmaster, no less.

Grandmaster Gryndor’s gaze fell on Aria, his heart beating unsteadily as his eyes slowly began to tear up. Was it all just an illusion? he wondered.

His granddaughter was standing before him. And just by her presence alone, everyone was able to tell in an instant, she was a Grandmaster.

Saint Gabriel was looking into Eric’s crimson eyes. The Saint had many doubts, but beneath all that doubt, there was hope. The first time he saw Eric, he saw something in him, something he couldn’t quite explain.

The only way to describe it was like he was looking at hope itself.

And in the critical moment... that hope had returned?

Bringing with him not only one... but two Grandmasters?

Everybody present looked at the trio with their eyes wide open, and their minds racing.

In the mind of everyone, a single thought echoed.

The cursed hero has returned, his mission accomplished.

*****

A giant mass of creature, camouflaged to be impossible to notice, slowly drifted, with only one goal in mind, to quench its hunger.

An entity of unfathomable strength slowly walked forward toward its target, the one it would hunt no matter where it ran off to.

A Kraken stirring in the waters, searching for its next prey.

An army of colossus spiders searching for a new home after their last one had been conquered.

All with a single destination in their minds.

The last city.

[End of Prologue]

[End of volume one: Birth of the Cursed Hero]

[Next volume: The Shining Stars Amidst the Darkness]