Exiled to the Graveyard of Heroes, I Revived Them All and Now an Unprecedented Nation of Legends Has Been Born - Chapter 01: The Hero of [Resurrection] Falls into the Abyss

Chapter 01: The Hero of [Resurrection] Falls into the Abyss

A hero.

One born with the same golden eyes as the goddess herself, blessed with a divine power.

Their role was simple: to defeat the Demon Lord waiting deep within the dungeon.

When I was a child, monsters attacked my hometown. My parents, my friends—everyone was slaughtered.

Back then, the king of the Ixion Kingdom told me, “That is the purpose of a hero. To defeat the Demon Lord.”

And I believed him without question.

If I had been calmer, I should have realized it.

The monsters that destroyed my village had no true connection to the Demon Lord sealed away in that dungeon.

But blinded by hatred, I refused to see the truth. I spent every day cutting down monsters, believing it was justice.

And where did that lead me?

“Hero Elott, you stand accused of assaulting the princess.”

“W-What!? That’s not true! I never did anything like that!!”

My name is Elott.

Right now, I was standing trial for a crime I had no memory of committing.

This happened the very day after I returned to the kingdom—after defeating the Demon Lord.

I had been resting in the chamber the king himself had given me. Without warning, soldiers stormed in, dragged me from bed, and bound my wrists in shackles.

Before I even knew what was happening, I was hauled into the grand hall of the Ixion Kingdom—where the king and the highest nobles awaited.

From his throne, the king spoke in a heavy, condemning voice.

“…Many attendants witnessed you sneaking into my daughter Melia’s chambers in the middle of the night.”

“T-That’s because Princess Melia herself asked me to come to her room…!!”

“You still refuse to admit your crime? Very well. Melia, step forward and tell us the truth of what was done to you.”

At the king’s command, a girl stepped out from the crowd—Melia Le Ixion, first princess of the Ixion Kingdom.

A beautiful young woman with refined, elegant features.

“L-Late at night, Lord Elott suddenly came to my room. He forced his way inside, and then I was…”

“That’s not true!! Princess Melia really did summon me!!”

“I’ve had enough of you, Elott!!”

“Glenn…”

As Melia wept, a handsome man wrapped his arm around her shoulders and glared at me with burning contempt.

His name was Glenn.

The comrade I trusted more than anyone. The friend who had fought beside me through countless battles, through life and death.

And yet, that very friend now looked at me with nothing but disgust.

“Glenn!! I swear I didn’t do it!! You have to believe me!!”

“Hah. Big words. Then why is Princess Melia crying like this, huh?”

“I-I don’t know!! It’s a misunderstanding!!”

“…Pathetic. I really misjudged you, trash.”

“Gl…Glenn…”

It seemed Glenn truly believed I had assaulted the princess. No matter how much I pleaded, he wouldn’t believe me.

I looked around the hall once more.

The nobles gathered there—including the king himself—stared at me with the same cold expression, as if I were nothing more than a criminal.

And yet, among the sea of nobles in their ceremonial robes, one figure stood out.

A blonde girl in a nun’s habit, her eyes on me—different from the rest.

Her name was Nia.

Like Glenn, she had been my comrade. The saintess who healed our wounds, who supported our party.

And just the other day, she had accepted my confession. She was my lover.

Surely—surely she would believe me.

“N-Nia!! It wasn’t me!! This is all some kind of mistake!!”

“…I’m sorry.”

Her apology came in a soft whisper. Then, without hesitation, she crossed the hall—standing beside Glenn and shielding Princess Melia.

“I’ve long been persistently harassed by Lord Elott. …Even though I was already in a relationship with Lord Glenn.”

“…Huh? Wh-What are you talking about…?”

“Perhaps, after I rejected him, he set his sights on Princess Melia instead.”

I was speechless.

Nia—who until yesterday I believed loved me—was now declaring me the culprit.

I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. All I could do was stand frozen in shock.

“Y-You’ve gotta be kidding me!! I’m innocent!! Your Majesty, I swear on the goddess herself—I didn’t do it!!”

“…Even daring to invoke the holy mother’s name, and still you refuse to confess. Had you admitted the truth, I might have granted you a pardon in recognition of your service in defeating the Demon Lord. But alas… Melia, continue.”

“Yes, Father. …While Lord Elott was violating me, he said, ‘I’ll kill the king and make every woman in this country mine.’”

“Y-You lying little—!!”

The words burst from my mouth before I could stop them.

Melia squealed, “Hii!”, and pressed herself tighter against Glenn, her chest squashing against his arm.

Glenn, savoring the feel of her, sneered down at me.

“You’re the lowest, Elott. To have your crimes laid bare, and then scream at a girl on top of it.”

“T-That’s not—!”

And then I saw it. Both Glenn and the princess… were smiling. Twisted, malicious smiles.

“Glenn!! You bastard!! This was all you, wasn’t it!!”

“No idea what you’re talking about. First you blame Melia, now me? Pathetic.”

“Y-Your Majesty!! Please, you have to listen!! It’s their scheme!!”

I begged with every ounce of sincerity I had—but the king’s voice was colder than ice.

“Former Hero Elott, you are hereby convicted of rape and treason. Your punishment… is banishment into the Great Pit.”

“W-What!? W-Wait, please!! Your Majesty!! I’m innocent!! This is their plot!!”

“…Take him away.”

By order of the king, I was thrown into a cell—where soldiers beat me without mercy, their fists and boots slamming into me again and again.

They said it was payback, for daring to lay hands on the princess they adored.

I thought about breaking free, tearing the prison apart and escaping.

But the shackles clamped onto my wrists sealed away a hero’s power. I couldn’t even resist.

Beaten down, over and over, I could only let my spirit snap in two… and wait for the day of my execution.

And that day came far too soon.

“So this is… the Great Pit…”

The Great Pit.

At the far edge of the Ixion Kingdom yawned a colossal vertical hole, over a kilometer wide.

So deep and black, the bottom could not be seen.

It was, in short, an execution ground built solely for heroes.

Even with their strength sealed, a hero’s body was far too durable—no guillotine could take our heads.

So instead, they hurled us into the Pit, letting us fall until death claimed us.

Some said its depths led straight to hell. Others whispered of swarms of unspeakable monsters.

But the truth? No one knew.

One thing was certain: throughout history, dozens of “criminal” heroes had been thrown into the Pit in the name of banishment.

And now, I was about to join them.

“From this moment forth, the former Hero Elott shall be cast into the Great Pit!!”

The executioner bellowed with pride, and the crowd roared in response.

Stones flew, pelting me, smashing against my skull until blood ran freely—yet no one raised a hand to stop it.

As I reeled in pain, my vision blurring, one person’s words suddenly echoed in my mind.

“Hero, Demon Lord—why do we keep fighting? It’s all just pointless and sad, isn’t it?”

Those were the last words of the Demon Lord I slew.

Back then, when monsters destroyed my village and took everything from me, I was blinded by rage.

But looking back now, I realized… the Demon Lord had been right.

I fought for the country. I fought for the people.

And in the end, my reward was condemnation—death for crimes I never committed.

Pointless. Completely pointless.

And yet, even if I understood those words now, it was already far too late.

“You look pathetic, Elott.”

“…Glenn.”

Just before my execution, of all people, Glenn chose to speak to me.

“What do you want?”

“No need to be so cold. You’re about to die anyway, so I figured I’d tell you the truth.”

“…The truth? I already know. You and the princess schemed to get rid of me.”

Glenn clicked his tongue, annoyed at my calm tone.

Even so, he grinned, flashing a wicked smile, and continued.

“You know how heroes get stronger the more monsters they kill?”

“…Yeah. And what of it?”

“Heroes eventually become too powerful—too dangerous for humans to control. So once a hero defeats the Demon Lord, they slap him with some fake crime and execute him.”

“…So it really was the kingdom’s conspiracy.”

Honestly, I had already suspected it.

The moment the princess herself joined in framing me, the truth became obvious.

No wonder my pleas of innocence had never mattered.

“So, that’s all you came to say? I don’t give a damn anymore—now get lost.”

“Hey now, show a little gratitude. Thanks to you, I’m set to marry the princess. The tale goes like this: the poor princess, defiled by the scum hero, sought comfort in my arms, and one thing led to another. Not a bad script, huh?”

“Good for you. Congratulations. You have my blessing.”

My hollow, empty words made Glenn’s face twitch—but he pressed on anyway.

“Say, Elott. Want me to help you?”

“…And if I said yes, would you actually help me?”

“Pfft, not a chance, idiot!! This is my one chance to prove to everyone I wasn’t just some sidekick to the great hero. So do me a favor—die nice and properly for my sake!!”

“…I never once thought of you as a sidekick.”

That was the truth.

I had trusted Glenn as a comrade. I had considered him an irreplaceable friend.

But clearly, he had never felt the same.

“Oh, and about Nia—the girl you loved so much—she’ll be my mistress. Sorry, but I already had a taste before you ever touched her. How’s it feel, huh? To have your rank, your fame, your lover—all of it stolen?”

“…Like I said before—I don’t care anymore.”

My heart had already been broken long ago.

The princess. The king. The comrades I thought were friends. Even the lover I believed loved me.

All of them had betrayed me.

And now, even the common people hurled stones at me.

What more was left for me to grieve?

I thought nothing anyone said could shake me anymore.

I never imagined Glenn’s next words would ignite a fury inside me.

“Oh, right!! I almost forgot the funniest part!! This is something I heard straight from Melia—your village? The kingdom’s the one that let the monsters in.”

“…What?”

For a moment, I couldn’t even process the words.

“Glenn. What the hell did you just say?”

“They did it to brainwash a kid like you. Fill you with hate for monsters, make you easier to use. Pretty hilarious, huh? You risked your life for revenge on the wrong enemy and even killed an innocent Demon Lord. What a joke!!”

“…Don’t fuck with me.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

All at once, blood rushed to my head, and rage consumed me.

“D-Don’t—don’t fuck with me!! You… you bastards killed my father, my mother—my whole village!! I’ll never forgive you!! I’ll kill you!! I’ll slaughter every last one of you!!”

“Careful, Elott. Shout like that and everyone will just say, ‘See? The hero really was a villain all along.’”

“I’ll kill you!! No matter what— even if I die, I’ll drag you and this entire rotten kingdom down with me!! I’ll massacre every last one of you!!!!”

“Pfft, yeah right. With those shackles sealing your power, you’re nothing more than a slightly tougher weakling. Just die quietly, oh mighty ex-hero.”

“I’ll drag you all down to hell with my own hands!! Remember that!!”

“Sure, sure. Later.”

Glenn shoved me into the Great Pit.

The blue sky above shrank, smaller and smaller, until it disappeared entirely.

I fell. Endlessly, endlessly falling.

All that filled my chest was hatred.

Hatred for the Ixion Kingdom. Hatred so deep I could think of nothing but killing them all.

And then, I struck the abyssal darkness. My life should have ended there.

…Should have.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in pitch blackness.

I forced myself upright and looked around, but the darkness swallowed everything.

The only thing visible when I glanced up was a tiny speck of sky—no bigger than the eye of a needle.

“Huh…? Where is this…?”

And then it all came rushing back.

That’s right. Glenn and Melia had framed me. I’d been cast into the Great Pit.

Which meant… this had to be the bottom of the abyss.

“No… wait. How am I even alive!?”

The realization struck me all at once.

Even with a hero’s resilient body, there was no way anyone could survive a fall into the Great Pit.

Only one explanation made sense.

“My [Resurrection] must have activated.”

Every hero was given not just a body that grew stronger through battle, but also one unique gift bestowed by the goddess.

Mine was [Resurrection].

As the name implied, it granted me the power to bring the dead back to life.

It couldn’t restore those who died of old age, or bodies too heavily damaged or missing vital parts… but otherwise, it could revive the fallen.

If too much time passed after death, the strain on my body skyrocketed—but beyond that, there weren’t many limitations.

“I thought it wouldn’t work on myself… but I guess I was wrong. Lucky me.”

I had never once tested it on my own body, so I hadn’t realized.

But judging from what just happened, that had to be it.

And yet… the shackles on my wrists were supposed to seal my power. [Resurrection] shouldn’t have worked at all.

That was when I noticed—the shackles were shattered.

“They must’ve broken during the fall. …Guess my luck hasn’t run out just yet.”

Now that I finally grasped the situation, my eyes began to adjust to the darkness.

And that was when my hand brushed against… something.

“Huh? This is… a bone!?”

I lifted it, squinting in the dark—only to realize it was a human skull.

I’d seen my share of corpses as a warrior.

But a skull, caved in and bleached white with age… that was a first. It sent a chill through me, and panic bubbled up in my chest.

I staggered back in alarm—only for my foot to strike something else.

“Ah…”

Another corpse.

And not just one or two. Hundreds. No—easily thousands of skeletal remains carpeted the ground around me.

The Great Pit was an execution ground made for heroes.

Which meant… every single skeleton here belonged to a fallen hero of the past.

There was no way this many bodies had piled up in just a century or two.

Over countless ages, wave after wave of heroes had been hurled into this abyss to rot.

Heroes who had lost their families. Heroes who had been used, discarded, and thrown away.

And this pit had become their final resting place.

Rage seared through me.

“I… I was fighting for scum who do this?!”

All this time, I had fought for the Ixion Kingdom.

But that very kingdom had, for all of history, betrayed and discarded every hero who bled for its people.

Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.

That kingdom had to be erased from the map.

“I’ll crawl back up from here… and slaughter them. I’ll destroy it all—every last thing!!!!”

I swore vengeance upon the Ixion Kingdom.

But blinded by rage, I knew I couldn’t carry it out as I was.

I forced myself to take a deep breath, steadying my mind.

First—I had to find a way out of this abyss and back to the surface.

“If I try climbing the wall… no. I’d run out of stamina halfway and fall to my death.”

Even if I could use [Resurrection] on myself, I had no desire to suffer through that kind of agony.

I needed another plan. Something safer.

I looked up at the distant speck of sky, racking my brain for answers—

When suddenly, a low growl rumbled behind me.

I spun around on instinct.

And froze.

An enormous wolf stood there—taller than me, upright on two legs. 

I hadn’t sensed it at all.

“W-When did it—!!”

“GRUAAHH!!”

The beast lunged, faster than my eyes could track, its claws flashing through the dark.

A searing pain tore across my abdomen.

My stomach split open. My insides spilled out.

Blood splattered the ground, painting the darkness a vivid red.

“Gghhh… i-impossible!! Stronger than… the Demon Lord!?”

The shackles were gone. My hero’s body was restored, back at full power.

And yet… this wolf had ripped open my stomach with a single swipe—something even the Demon Lord had only barely managed.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Blood gushed from my wounds, blurring my vision.

If I left it like this, I’d die for sure. But the wolf wasn’t finished—it charged at me again.

I braced myself.

“GRUAAHH!!”

“Ghh—gaaahh!!”

This time, its claws drove straight through my heart. My life ended instantly.

“—Not yet!!”

“GRUAAHH!!”

“Ghhkk—gahhh!!”

I forced [Resurrection] on myself. With only the briefest delay, I was alive again.

And again. And again. And again.

Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over…

I revived myself endlessly.

The cycle of death and rebirth nearly drove me mad.

But my seething hatred—my vow of vengeance—refused to let me break.

By the time I had died and resurrected nearly a hundred times, the wolf finally began to falter. Its breath came ragged. Its movements slowed.

“Now!!”

“Grruuhh!?”

I lunged, wrapping my arms tight around its throat.

As long as a monster breathed, its airway could be crushed. And if it could be crushed, it could be killed.

The wolf thrashed violently, but I clung to it with all my strength, tightening my grip.

At last, foam bubbled from its mouth, and its massive body crashed to the ground.

“Haa… haahhh… I-I did it… I won…”

Stronger than the Demon Lord—and yet I had killed it.

My body felt lighter.

I must have grown stronger.

Relief washed over me, tinged with the faintest sense of triumph… but it didn’t last long.

From behind me, another growl echoed.

No— not one. Three.

“Grrrrrrr…”

“Hah… hahaha… yeah, of course. Wolves hunt in packs.”

“GRUAAHH!!”

And once again, I was killed.

Dozens of times. Hundreds of times.

With each death and resurrection, the same thoughts echoed in my skull.

It hurts.

It’s suffocating.

I can’t breathe.

Every time I came back, the agony carved itself deeper into me.

Until finally—I reached a single conclusion.

“I DON’T GIVE A SHIT!!!!”

Even if I die a thousand times, ten thousand times—I will never give up!!

I killed one wolf before. That means killing three more isn’t impossible.

And after that… I’ll kill every last piece of scum on the surface too!!

“GRUAAHH!!”

“Gghhh!!”

Once again, its claws ripped through my guts. I died—only to revive again.

“Haa… haa… stay calm… keep your heart burning, but your head cool…”

“GRUAAHH!!”

“Ughhh!!”

Death. Resurrection. Death. Resurrection.

Unless I found another way, this cycle of hell would never end.

“There has to be… some way… If only I had one more person, someone to fight beside me—ah.”

The thought slipped from my lips. And with it, the answer became obvious.

Simple. Too simple.

Because this was the bottom of the Great Pit—the graveyard of heroes.

“Heroes of the past!! Lend me your strength!!”

I slammed my hand against the nearest skeleton and unleashed [Resurrection].

At the same moment, a wolf lunged, claws gleaming, ready to tear me apart once more.

But before they could strike—

The wolf’s head went spinning through the air.

“…I don’t really understand the situation, but—”

She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Her long silver hair shimmered, even in the darkness.

Her golden eyes—the unmistakable mark of a true hero—locked onto the wolves.

Her waist was slender, her chest full.

Her pale skin, paired with her calm, unreadable expression, gave her an almost divine aura.

She spared me a brief glance and spoke.

“I can tell just by looking—you need help, don’t you?”

With a single sweep of her arm, the two remaining wolves were cleaved clean in half.

…Hahaha.

“So heroes really do come in all kinds, huh…”

I had defeated the Demon Lord, and it made me arrogant.

I believed no one could stand against me head-on.

But that had been nothing more than pride.

There were heroes far stronger than me in the past—

And this girl was clearly one of them.

“…Are you alright?”

“S-Sorry… I’d like to explain, but I burned through too much power… I’m really sleepy, so… I’ll sleep now…”

“Alright. Get some rest.”

“Ah… yeah. Thanks… I’ll rest.”

It had to be because I resurrected a corpse that had long since decayed to bone.

As the exhaustion hit me, I let my consciousness quietly slip away.

◆

Meanwhile, on the surface—

“W-What do you mean by this!?”

“It is exactly as I’ve told you.”

Princess Melia Le Ixion, first princess of the Ixion Kingdom, was shouting at an old crone.

The woman was the kingdom’s long-serving fortune-teller, renowned for her ability to glimpse the future.

Thanks to her visions, the kingdom had always been able to pinpoint the exact regions where new heroes would be born.

But this time, the prophecy she delivered was not about the birth of a hero.

“‘In the depths of the abyss, a hero dwells. The time has come for the kingdom to face judgment. Ruin draws ever closer.’ That is the prophecy I deliver to you.”

The fortune-teller recited the words calmly, without a flicker of emotion.

Melia knew well—the woman’s predictions had never once been wrong.

Which was why she took the words seriously, her voice trembling as she pleaded for a way to avoid destruction.

“What should we do!?”

“…”

“Hey!! I’m asking you!!”

“…”

The old woman simply formed a circle with her thumb and forefinger, moving it up and down.

—If you want answers, pay up.

A vein throbbed on Melia’s forehead, but she ground her teeth and promised to pay twice the usual fee.

“Thank you for your payment. If you wish to avoid this judgment, there is only one path—summon those from another world.”

“O-Otherworlders, you say?”

“Indeed. Those from beyond possess knowledge this world does not. With their wisdom, perhaps you may avert destruction.”

“And how do we summon these… otherworlders?”

“…”

“I’ll pay ten times the usual fee.”

“Thank you for your generosity. In the castle’s forbidden archive rests a book that details the ritual of summoning people from another world. Follow its instructions, and it shall be done.”

Melia wasted no time in setting the plan into motion.

Three months later, the Ixion Kingdom—armed with foreign knowledge and overflowing with advanced weaponry—stood as an invincible power.

But what Melia did not yet know…

The heroes who would crawl up from the abyss far outstripped even those weapons.

―――――――――――――――――――――

[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

The silver-haired girl’s chest? Bowl-shaped.

If you’re into that, smash those ★s.

And if you thought, “A new series!” or “Sounds interesting!” or even “Glad for the afterword!” —then please don’t forget to leave a comment, bookmark, rating, or review!