The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 1: The Hero Has Fallen (Part 1)

The current emperor has gone mad!

By the time rumors began spilling over the palace walls, the situation was already beyond saving.

The emperor had gone beyond tyranny into full-blown madness, and the citizens of the empire had devolved into a fanatical cult worshiping him.

A storm of blood and slaughter swept across the continent.
Kingdoms burned. Surrender was not an option.

One year.
That was how long it took for every kingdom and city on the continent to vanish from the map.

But in chaotic times, heroes are born—and it is said the brightest light shines in the darkest hour.

One man raised his sword against the emperor.

People laughed at him.
But when the empire’s fortresses began to fall one after another, and legion after legion crumbled, no one was laughing anymore.

People began calling him the Hero, singing his praises.
As tales of victory spread, other heroes who had been hiding from the emperor’s gaze began to reemerge, one by one.

The one called the Saintess stood by the Hero’s side.
Under her miracles, the slaughter wrought by the emperor was halted.

The one called the Archmage joined the Hero’s party.
With his magic, the advancing imperial forces were driven back.

The one called the Blacksmith forged weapons and armor for the Hero and his companions.
The gear he made shattered the empire’s shields and armor like they were nothing.

The one called the Spirit Master came seeking the Hero.
Her spirits embraced all things—except the emperor and his empire.

Blades gleamed under the rising sun.
The roar of counterattack echoed across the land.

Around the Hero and the assembled champions, an allied force was formed.
The armies of the entire continent united and declared war on the emperor and his empire.

And then…

…they all died.

The Saintess’s miracles were nothing more than cheap tricks before the emperor’s power.
The Archmage’s spells turned to ash before the emperor’s overwhelming magic.
The Blacksmith’s weapons were reduced to toys before the emperor’s sacred relics.
The Spirit Master’s spirits bowed before the emperor’s power.

The allied forces were crushed and ravaged by the empire’s army.

The emperor won.
We lost.

But one man—
The Hero did not fall.

The man stumbling beside me, leaning against my shoulder—

Commander of the allied army.
The Hero, Ian.

Ian was still alive.
The allied forces were defeated. The champions had perished. But Ian survived.

No—we made sure he did.
Everyone in the alliance gave their lives to keep Ian alive.

And now, it’s my turn to keep him that way.

“Stop, Adrian. It’s pointless.”

I heard Ian’s voice call out to me.
But I ignored it.
Even now, the empire’s army was hot on our trail.

We had no time to rest.

“You know as well as I do. There’s no hope left.”

His voice came again, weaker this time. There wasn’t a trace of strength left in it.

I didn’t have many words I could offer him.

“Don’t talk like that.”

Ian is the last hope of the alliance.
No matter what, he has to survive.

As long as Ian lives, the allied forces can rise again.

“Please, Adrian.”

Ian’s lifeless eyes met mine once more.
Eyes at the edge of life.
Why couldn’t I turn away from them?

Was it because Ian wasn’t just the Hero of the continent or the alliance’s hope—
He was also my dearest friend.

“I don’t want to see anyone else sacrifice themselves for me.”

It might’ve been his final request.

“……”

If it were up to my heart, I’d grant my friend’s wish.
But I carry the duty of keeping him alive.
If I have to, I’ll throw away my life to ensure it.

That… is the last mission given to me.

Right now, Ian is… just exhausted. That’s all.

“…Let’s rest a bit.”

After some deliberation, I finally stopped walking.
I helped Ian sit down, leaning him against a tree in the forest.

His eyes filled with deep regret.

The defeat in the final battle against the emperor.
A total, crushing defeat.

It’d be stranger if he didn’t have regrets.

“Adrian. You know what I regret the most?”

“When you confessed to the Saintess and got rejected?”

“No.”

“There’s something you regret more than that?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“When I had to kill your sister.”

My sister?

Oh, right. He did kill my sister, didn’t he?

“That was unavoidable.”

My sister had fallen into darkness.

Known as the Monarch of Frost.
She was acknowledged by the emperor as a true Monarch, and became a core figure in the imperial army—
The one responsible for massacring countless comrades of the alliance.

Killing her was necessary.
There was no room to blame Ian.

And besides, she was only my sister in name.
She was adopted to replace me, the black sheep of the family.
We didn’t share a drop of blood.
There wasn’t any real bond between us.

It was originally the alliance that gave me the order to kill her.

A kind of ideological loyalty test.

From their point of view, it was natural—
She was the empire’s strongest weapon.

I accepted the order without hesitation.
But Ian… this guy tried to stop me.

“She’s still your family,” he said. And in my place, he went instead.

Family.

That word has always been difficult for me.

“How was she? My sister.”

“Your sister… she was incredible.”

“You bastard. Now I get why the Saintess dumped you.”

“What can I say? She really was incredible.”

Ian let out a raspy laugh.

It sounded crude, like a dirty joke—
But I knew he didn’t mean it that way.

Ian’s missing left arm—
That was my sister’s doing.

Because of that, the alliance lost a critical chunk of its strength.

Maybe that’s why we lost the final battle.

After all, the one person who could match the emperor ended up like that.

“Was there really no other way? Did I have to kill her? That’s what I regret the most.”

“You’re telling me you wanted to spare the Monarch of Frost? Don’t tell me you had a thing for her?”

“She was the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen. Even more than the Saintess.”

“A Hero falling for a witch? No wonder you got dumped.”

My words made Ian laugh again.

But his eyes… were still filled with regret.

He regretted killing my sister.
And because of that, I regretted it too.

It should’ve been me, not Ian.

I should’ve been the one to kill her.

Translatin_Otaku

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