The Demon Goes to Work Today As Well - Chapter 172

Chapter 172: A Hopeless Fight (1)

The Hero, who had resolved himself to protect humanity, fought hard and resisted with all his might.

‘It feels like I’m walking in place…’

Despite his determination, he hadn’t made any noticeable progress in the five years that had passed.

‘Sigh…’

The Hero let out a soft sigh and looked at the mirror hanging on the wall.

He looked emaciated compared to five years ago.

Even though he was a Hero who could go without food for months without any problems.

‘When was the last time I ate…?’

If that went on for years, even a high-level Hero like him would inevitably have problems with his body.

‘If this continues, my body won’t be able to hold on.’

He didn’t have an appetite and didn’t want to eat, but seeing his condition, he thought he should force himself to eat.

‘I should… eat after this regular meeting.’

Regular meeting.

A gathering held to break through the current situation.

It was the fifth regular meeting since the prisoners’ escape.

‘I hope there’s some positive news at this meeting…’

Since the previous meetings had mostly been filled with gloomy news, he thought it was time for some positive news.

‘Should I eat before the meeting…? I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything after the meeting.’

As the Hero was contemplating whether to stop by the dining hall.

Knock, knock-

“Hero-nim, are you in there?”

The Cardinal knocked on the door, indicating that it was time for the meeting.

‘Tsk… I guess I’ll have to eat after the meeting.’

He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

Creak-

“Ah, you were inside!”
T hi s w as c op i e d f r om k i n g m t l. o r g

The Cardinal was waiting at the door with an artificial smile.

His eyes were twitching, showing how hard he was forcing himself to smile.

“…You don’t have to force a smile like that.”

The Hero reluctantly told him that there was no need to manage his expression.

“I wanted to give you strength with a smile, but it seems it wasn’t effective…”

The Cardinal scratched his head and returned to his usual gloomy expression.

Normally, he would have replied that a smile alone gave him strength.
T hi s w as c o p ie d f r om k i ng m t l. o r g

“…Please lead the way.”

Unable to lie, he changed the subject.

Someone seeing this might have rebuked him, asking if it was that hard to say a single word of encouragement.

But for the Hero, who had to tell disgusting lies every day in front of the people, saying that a bright future awaited them.

‘That’s enough.’

He was fed up with it, so he didn’t even want to think about lying.

“I understand…”

The Cardinal smiled wryly and led him to the meeting room.

T h i s wa s c o p i e d fr om k i ng m t l . o rg
As he entered the meeting room, guided by the Cardinal.

“You’re here?”

The Saint, looking unusually bright, greeted him.

“…You look cheerful today?”

He asked the reason, feeling curious.

“You’ll find out at the meeting.”

The Saint smiled sweetly and replied that she would tell him at the meeting.

‘Can I look forward to it this time…?’

The Hero felt a faint sense of anticipation and sat down on his chair.

‘What news could it be?’

As he was wondering what kind of news it could be.

Creak-

“Everyone’s here.”

The Pope opened the door and entered.

“Greetings, Your Holiness…”

The Hero knelt on one knee, trying to greet him.

“Considering the situation, let’s skip the greetings.”

The Pope omitted the greetings and sat down on his chair.

“Let’s begin the fifth regular meeting.”

He then announced the start of the regular meeting.

The Saint stood up from her seat as the meeting began and said.

T h i s wa s c opied fr o m k in g mtl.org
“Everyone, please take a parchment.”

She took out a parchment from her pocket and handed it to the Pope and the Hero with a meaningful smile.

As he took the parchment from the Saint.

T his was co pie d f r o m k i n g m tl . org
“You both know that two-tenths of the world has fallen into the hands of the invaders.”

She began to explain the current situation.
T hi s w a s c op i e d f r om k i ng m t l . or g

“Two-tenths…”

A wry smile automatically formed on the Hero’s face as he heard that two-tenths of the world had been invaded in just five years, not even fifty.

However, he couldn’t help but relax his expression at the Saint’s continued explanation.

“At this rate, many countries should be invaded this month as well, but fortunately, no countries have been invaded so far.”

It was understandable, as she had just said that for the first time, there were no countries that had been invaded, even though it had become a daily occurrence for countries to be invaded every month.

“What…? You’re saying no countries have been invaded…?”

The Hero asked again to confirm what he had heard, as it was the first positive news he had heard at a regular meeting.

“Yes, upon confirmation, there were no countries that had been invaded.”

“Ah…”

A faint smile formed on the Hero’s face at the Saint’s confirmation.

“Could you perhaps explain the reason why there haven’t been any invasions…?”

Although it was good news, he had to confirm the reason, as it could be a trick by the invaders.

“Recently, all of humanity has agreed to provide support, even if it means risking casualties.”

T his w a s copi e d f r o m k i n g m tl .o r g
“…An agreement?”

“Yes, before, we were invaded without being able to do anything, but now, thanks to the agreement, we have been able to take an offensive approach, and we have succeeded in significantly slowing down the invasion.”

In other words, the invaders had faltered because humanity had fought back with all their might.

‘It’s not the enemy’s trick, but humanity’s achievement…!’

His heart swelled with emotion at the fact that humanity had begun to overcome adversity by joining forces.

‘I’m starting to feel hope now.’

If they didn’t lose hope here and continued to fight, they would be able to drive out the invaders.

‘This is our chance to turn the tide.’

As the Hero was thinking about how to seize this opportunity.

“If we continue with this offensive approach and finish selecting heroes, we will be able to completely turn the tide.”

The Saint, as if reading his mind, offered a way to turn the tide.

“Once the hero selection is complete, we will have troops to protect the Holy Empire, and from then on, Hero-nim, you can actively go on subjugation missions.”

“Go on subjugation missions…”

“The tide will completely turn once you start going on subjugation missions, Hero-nim.”

“To be able to move freely, that’s welcome news.”

Until now, the Hero had been stationed in the Holy Empire unless a nearby country was being invaded.

One might wonder why he was stationed in the Holy Empire when he should be stopping the invaders.

“…I know the Holy Empire plays an important role as a strategic point, but it’s been a little frustrating to be stuck here.”

The Holy Empire was where paladins and priests could exert their strongest power, as the land was imbued with holy power due to Raphael’s blessing.

The Hero had been guarding it all this time because if he allowed those with demonic energy to enter, the holy power would become tainted and they wouldn’t be able to exert their full power.

“I’m sorry that we had to keep you in the Holy Empire for so long, Hero-nim, because the number of troops we could deploy decreased due to the fight with the Demon Lord.”

“…It’s okay. It was an unavoidable situation.”

The Saint, as if knowing the Hero’s frustration, patted him on the shoulder and comforted him.

“After the hero selection, if humanity joins forces and fights under your leadership, Hero-nim, we will be able to end this within ten years, so let’s do our best until then!”

Ten years.

It was by no means a short time for higher beings.

“Ten years… I hope it ends within that time.”

Considering that he had fought the Demon Lord for a hundred years, it wasn’t that long, so it could be said to be hopeful.

“Yes! Let’s defeat the invaders within ten years and return to a peaceful world.”

“Haha, I understand. Let’s work together and end the war within ten years.”

“Let’s do our best, Hero-nim.”

As they were encouraging each other.

“By the way, can you tell me how many candidates have been identified as heroes?”

The Pope asked the Saint how many prospective heroes had been gathered.

“Currently, we have about ten thousand people.”

At the Saint’s answer, the Pope tilted his head and said.

T h i s w a s c o pi ed f r om k i ngm t l .or g
“That’s more than I expected.”

He expressed his surprise at the number of people, which was more than he had anticipated.

“We recruited them without any age restrictions.”

“You didn’t have any age restrictions…?”

“Yes, we gathered everyone from elderly people with outstanding skills to young people with visible talent.”

The Pope stroked his chin at the Saint’s answer and said.

“Is there a need to bring even young children? We expect the fight to end within ten years anyway.”

He asked why they were bringing in personnel who couldn’t be used immediately.

“We are looking at it within ten years, but it’s good to be prepared, just in case.”

“Prepared…”

“And if these people grow up and become a pillar of the Holy Empire, they will become a great force in the future.”

“…You’re right. I was being too short-sighted.”

“No, you weren’t.”

The Pope nodded, as if he fully understood.

“Then, when will these people arrive at the Holy Empire?”

“They are heading to the Holy Empire now, so they will arrive within a week.”

“We need to thoroughly search them when they enter, as the invaders’ minions could be mixed in.”
T h is was co p i e d fr om k i n g m tl . o rg

“I’m keeping that in mind. We will conduct a thorough search.”

They had been subjected to countless vicious tactics for nearly five years, so they couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

“I’m going to report to Raphael-nim that the prospective heroes will arrive in a week. Are there any other topics to discuss?”

The Hero and the Saint shook their heads at the Pope’s question.

“If there are no other topics to discuss, let’s end the meeting here.”

They decided to end the meeting.

“I’ll see you all in a week.”

“Yes, sir.”

“See you then.”

After that, they each returned to their respective positions and spent their time fulfilling their duties.

And a week passed quickly, the day for the prospective heroes to arrive came.

⊱ ஓ๑๑ஓ ⊰

The day the prospective heroes headed towards the Holy Empire.

‘…I’m nervous.’

A young man was walking with a tense face, keeping pace with the line.

‘I wonder if I have the talent to become a hero?’

He had been included in the ranks of the prospective heroes at the priest’s suggestion, but he wasn’t sure of his own abilities.

He was worried about what would happen if he failed, and then.

‘No, I have to believe that I have the talent. That’s the only way I can become a hero and get revenge…!’

He shook his head and steeled his resolve.

T hi s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i ng mt l . o rg
‘If I don’t have the talent and can’t become a hero, I’ll go directly to Raphael-nim and beg!’

The determination and desperation in the young man, who had just shed his childishness, were hard to believe.

If someone saw this, they might dismiss it as a childish vow.

But if they heard the young man’s story, they would never think that way.

The reason he could have such determination and desperation was because he had witnessed the death of his beloved parents and the villagers he had been close to.

‘I will definitely get stronger… and crush that skeleton with my own hands.’

He needed great power to get revenge, which was why he was putting his life on the line to become a hero.

‘You’ll regret not killing me on the spot for the rest of your life…’

The young man once again vowed to become a hero and kill Isaac with his own hands.

The name of the young man who had the goal of killing Isaac was.

George.

The sole survivor of the village.