Chapter 447 - I'll wait even if a thousand years passes...?

Hugo screamed, “What?! That damn thing fell again?!”

“...Yes...! Lee Gun-nim’s house was destroyed once again.”

“Damn it! That damn money sink!”

They referred to it as Lee Gun’s house, but it was none other than the old building of the Sagittarius temple, the place that Lee Gun had invaded and turned into his living room.

They were referring to Lee Gun’s Building, which Lee Gun had remodeled using his power.

As soon as he had gone away, the building had turned dangerous.

‘Well, it started breaking down after Gun’s power went away.’

In the end, it was determined humans couldn’t live within this building. So Hugo and the Archer disciples had to acquire a new house and office.

However, Hugo didn’t want to bulldoze the building; he didn’t want to erase the trace of his friend. Therefore, every time the building was destroyed, he asked the Capricorn temple to restore it to normal!

“It fell again?!”

“Yes...! It seems only Lee Gun-nim’s power can fix it for real.”

Hugo grabbed the back of his neck. It meant nothing would be solved until Lee Gun returned with his items and memories.

“Damn it! It can't be helped. Let’s fix it again.”

“A-Are you sure about that? This is the seventeenth time. The funds needed to fix it just once are quite high...”

Hugo groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course, he had asked for funding from the other Zodiac Saints to restore the building. But was it because the memories of Lee Gun had faded away?

[Kevin: Lee Gun? 그 Who the hell is thatㅋ? I don’t know who that isㅋ? ㅋ?]

[Stevens: Lee Gun? You mean that goddess?]

[Sophie: Who is that???]

They seemed to be unable to remember(?) Lee Gun. As for Heiji...

[You destroyed it again?!!]

Heiji had helped him a lot, but Hugo had gotten into a fight with her not too long ago. She still seemed miffed, so he was unable to reach her.

“I also have a lot of expenditures. Problems keep cropping up...”

When Hugo groaned, his disciples laughed awkwardly.

“P-Please do not worry too much about it! Like Hugo-nim, we are working hard on leaving behind the records of Lee Gun-nim. The disciples of the Serpent Bearer temple are doing the same thing. Lee Gun-nim will be back in no time...!”

“That’s right. We just have to hold out until Lee Gun-nim comes back...”

“No.”

“!”

“At the very least, we won’t be able to see Lee Gun within this century.”

“...!”

“My only wish is for Gun to be able to retire and live while doing nothing.”

Lee Jaewon was unable to say anything.

The disciples knew what going to the World of Emptiness meant.

While others might be unaware, Hugo already had a prediction that he thought would come true.

‘Even if he’s able to come back, it'd take at least a couple hundred years. No, it might take a couple thousand years.’

This was why some said, “Lee Gun is already dead,” “His memories would disappear faster than you can preserve them,” and “Give up.”

What was the point of Hugo working hard if everyone forgot about Lee Gun? Still, Hugo didn’t plan on giving up. He promised to wait until the end.

With the power of Eternal Change, Hugo could live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. This was why it didn’t matter if everyone forgot him. It didn’t matter if everyone who remembered Lee Gun died.

‘I just have to never forget him.’

The people of this generation would no longer be able to see Lee Gun, but Hugo would wait for Lee Gun. He would wait even if he had to spend thousands or tens of thousands of years. That was his resolve.

“This time, I’ll make sure you’ll be able to live an idle life. It’ll be as you wanted.”

“What? Hugo-nim? What did you just say...”

“Ah. It’s nothing. Let’s go see it. We have to see how damaged the building is to get an estimate on the cost of fixing it.”

“Yes!”

Hugo was about to follow his disciples outside when...

Boom!!!

An incredibly loud noise rang out. Along with the loud noise, a large earthquake erupted.

Boom!!

“Kuh-huhk!!”

It was such a powerful earthquake that they were barely able to stay upright. That wasn’t all.

Puhng-pung-puhng!

“Kyahhhk!!”

The light bulbs popped, and cracks started to appear on buildings. The city had instantly turned into a scene of mayhem.

Everyone wondered what was going on when a hair-raising sound rang throughout the entire city.

Ehhhhhhng!

The residents of the city froze. It was to be expected.

“H...Hugo-nim!! This sound is...!”

“Red Zone alert?!”

It was an evacuation order: a sound that rang out when monsters appeared within the city. And since this was a Red Zone alert, a monster capable of wiping out at least half the country must have shown up. It was the sound of death!

The sound had never rung out after peace had returned to the earth! And it would ring out for only one reason.

“I...It must be a monster!”

There was no mistaking it. When Lee Gun’s power had disappeared, the power protecting the earth had weakened too.

Beings like the Cluders invading the earth again wouldn’t be odd.

‘Cluders naturally come into existence within the World of Emptiness.’

Koo-goo-goohng!!

A chaotic aura surged up from the ground, making everyone gulp.

“Zodiac Saint-nim! As expected, that power is...!”

“Damn it! It is the enemies!”

A new round of invasion was starting. At that moment, an enormous shadow appeared as if it was trying to cover up the earth.

The disciples became frightened when they looked up at the sky.

“M...Meteor?!”

Infused with killing intent, an attack was falling toward the earth. Then there was the shadow of an unknown monster in the sky!

At that moment, a meteor fell toward the earth.

Kwahng!!!

“Ahhhk!!!”

Then a pillar of fire surged into the sky.

Several years had passed since they had been confronted by a calamity. But the disciples naturally gathered when it was time for war.

“Get ready for battle!!!”

“Monsters have appeared once again!”

All the countries around the world received an emergency alert. There was no mistaking it. It was similar to the first invasion when the general-rank monsters and the monarchs had appeared on the earth.

The murderous intent they were feeling right now was comparable to that present back then!

Hugo checked his badge, which used to contain Lee Gun’s power, just in case. He was hopeful that Lee Gun would appear in this situation. However, that didn't happen.

Lee Gun’s power didn’t reappear.

“Damn it!”

Hugo and Lee Jaewon rushed to their warehouse for weapons and searched for their bows.

“Damn it! Since we had no reason to fight monsters, the bows for fighting monsters were put away...!”

Where did he put them away? They were desperately trying to search through the warehouse for weapons when...

Sssk!

As if they knew Hugo was looking for this bow, someone threw the black bow toward Hugo.

After taking up the bow, Hugo immediately said, “You were there. Thank you, Jaewon...”

However, he was surprised to see who it was. It had happened in a flash, but the one to throw the bow and disappear was none other than a slime!

‘Aslan?’

It was the slime, which had disappeared without a trace when Lee Gun had ceased to exist.

Hugo wondered if he had been mistaken when...

Flash!!!

A familiar green light surged upward from the warehouse. Accompanying the light, something appeared in the empty air.

Everyone was shocked by the sight.

“H...Hugo-nim!”

The objects that had suddenly appeared in the air were Lee Gun’s items! They had been lost once Lee Gun disappeared! All the items that Lee Gun had manufactured had returned!

However, something more surprising happened at that moment.

Brrr.

“Hugo-nim. Phone!! Your phone...!!”

Hugo’s heart sank when he felt the vibrating phone. It was an unregistered number. Hugo had experienced something similar before.

In the end, Hugo used his shaking hands to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

[Husband!!!]

Taken aback by the voice, Hugo looked at his phone’s screen. “J-Jiwoo? Why are you calling from this number?”

[When my phone broke, Jisoo brought it to me! That’s not important right now!! Something big happened!! A child...!]

Hugo froze when he heard Jiwoo’s desperate voice. “What! Did Jisoo get into trouble again?! Did she fly over there and cause trouble?!!”

[No! I have a child here!!!]

Silence ensued for a second, and Hugo turned pale for an entirely different reason. “You are pregnant?!!”

[No! A child appeared in front of our house!]

Hugo’s expression was a sight to behold. “...???”

A child had appeared in front of his house? What did she mean by that?

In the end, Hugo and his disciples quickly headed toward Hugo’s house.

And when the owner arrived at his house, he screamed. A single-family home, which had been standing by itself on a large plot of land, had been destroyed.

“Ahhhk!!! I still have five years left to pay off the loan!!!”

Everyone was abuzz as they looked at the scene before them. It seemed the house had been destroyed by the meteor that had fallen from the sky.

Hugo and the disciples rushed toward Chun Jiwoo when they located her.

“Darling! Are you ok?!”

“Ah. yes. I came back from buying groceries, and it was already like this...”

Thankfully, no one was hurt. Hugo’s next-door neighbors seemed fine too.

Still, Chun Jiwoo looked way too calm for this situation.

“We have a child!!”

“A child??!”

“Yes. Over there!”

Yes, the sound of a baby crying came from the deep crater that had formed in the garden. The disciples became guarded when they saw the child.

“It seems the monster alert system is pointing at that baby!”

“He must have fallen with the meteor...”

“Is he a human-type Cluder?!”

In contrast to the others’ reactions, Hugo’s expression changed when he heard the cries of the newborn baby.

‘Could it be...!!’

It couldn’t be.

‘I was sure it was the murderous intent of a monster.’

An alert notifying a calamity had been sent out, so the power had to be enormous! However, the urgent alarm had already stopped.

The item that he had thought was a meteor falling from the sky had broken up and scattered across his garden. It appeared to be a mysterious-looking skin that had sloughed off.

Seeing this, Hugo felt a surge of emotion.

‘No way! There is no way he defeated all his enemies in the World of Emptiness in just three years...!’

He was the one who had said it would take more than twenty years!

The others were abuzz as they looked at the baby. This baby possessed enormous power. Just the thought of approaching him made them feel fear.

“I...Is he a monster?”

“I’m sure of it. He’s a monarch... Primordial god... No, he’s a strange monster that far outstrips them! He isn’t human!”

One person among them reacted differently. Hugo looked like he was crying and laughing at the same time. He then stepped forward, shocking everyone.

“Hugo-nim?! No! It’s too dangerous! You shouldn’t approach him!”

Hugo merely laughed as he approached the child. He suddenly remembered something. They were the words he had heard along with Lee Gun’s laughter for the last time.

- When I meet you next time, I’m going to ask a lot of things from you.

Hugo touched the words on the baby’s small hand.

All your wealth belongs to me.

VAT and childcare costs are excluded.

“When you said you’ll ask a lot from me, this is what you meant?”

Crazy bastard!

At that moment...

“Zodiac Saint-nim! Are you ok?”

“Dad!!!”

“Hugo!”

Various people came running to Hugo when they heard Hugo’s house had been attacked.

Heiji, the Chun siblings, and all the other Zodiac Saints had gathered here, worried for him.

“What the hell happened to your house?”

“What is up with that kid?!!”

“Is that a monster?! What’s up with the sudden calamity?”

“This kid is the culprit!”

The power emanating from the child was the power of a monster that they had never sensed before.

“Get out of the way! I’ll get rid of him right now!”

Hugo stopped them as he held the baby’s hand. “It’s fine. You don’t need to do that.”

He laughed as he looked at the child, who was peacefully sleeping after destroying someone else’s house.

“It really is the return of the disaster-class hero.”

The damn hero had returned.

NaughtyOtter's Thoughts

Translator Note: Hello. This is NaughtyOtter. While the main story has ended, there are epilogues for book 1 (40 chapters) and book 2 (20 chapters) that I will translate. Please look forward to those. I made the choice to translate the epilogue of book 1 at the end alongside the epilogues for book 2. I made this choice since the epilogue doesn't really affect the main story, and the gap between book 1 and book 2 would have been too long if I had chosen to translate the epilogue at the end of book 1, about 40 days. I hope that makes sense. I also translated the Author's Note for this chapter, which was directed at his Korean readers, but I thought it might be relevant for international readers as well.

Author’s Note:

Hello. This is SAN.G.

First, I want to thank the readers for accompanying me on a long journey in telling the story of “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero.”

Also, I would like to give credit to the team leader and producer for keeping me on track from Book 1 of “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero.” I was able to publish the series on time. I would like to take the opportunity to thank them.

Book 1 included the Revenge arc, where Gun awakened as a god and grew as a Zodiac. Book 2 included the Divine world arc, where the relics of the “Tomb Raider King” were created.

While these are two different stories, I thought this information might act as a spoiler, so I wasn’t able to tell the readers about it.

As you have probably guessed, “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero” was written with it being the prequel to my previous work “Tomb Raider King.” It was a story written with the birth of the relics in mind.

This is why the gods within “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero” are the same as the ones within “Tomb Raider King.” (For example, the Egyptian gods and the imprisoned gods are the same. The Cluders within “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero” become the Cthulhu relics within the “Tomb Raider King.”)

Moreover, the story of Life and Death, which couldn’t be handled within “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero” is resolved in the latter part of “Tomb Raider King.”

Spoilers for Tomb Raider King

(In truth, these parts fall between the two novels, so I had no idea where I should unwind those stories. It was regrettable that these topics fell into a gray area....)

In my previous novel, I dealt with tradition and belief. In this novel, I tried to use faith as the groundwork. That is why the causes behind the birth of a god and the birth of a relic share similar mechanisms.

(Of course, the two novels are separate stories that take place in their own worlds. This is why you do not need to know both stories...!)

I have a lot more to say, but that would make the afterward too long. That is why I’ll try to keep it short.

There were more stories I wanted to tell and stories that I was unable to write. However, I decided to end “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero.”

While “The Return of the Disaster-Class Hero” ends on chapter 447, the stories that couldn’t be told within the main story and the behind-the-scenes stories will be written as short supplemental stories.

I will probably create short stories from topics that were briefly discussed in the main story. I will also freely write occasional stories about the heroines. Please think of them as stories separate from the main story, and please enjoy it in a light-hearted manner!

If you have a scene that you want to see aside from that, please leave a comment. You can read it when it is included in the supplemental stories.

I am still lacking in many ways as an author as I write my stories, but I want to thank you for staying with me until the end.

I will upload the with other goodies. The dates will be updated on further notice.

Thank you very much!