Exiled to the Graveyard of Heroes, I Revived Them All and Now an Unprecedented Nation of Legends Has Been Born - Chapter 07: The Hero of [Resurrection] Challenges the Wicked Dragon

Chapter 07: The Hero of [Resurrection] Challenges the Wicked Dragon

It had been three months since I fell into the abyss.

After cutting down wave after endless wave of monsters, and feeling my body undergo “growth” again and again, the destined day finally arrived.

…Gulp.

“Hey, mister, are you nervous?”

“W-Well, yeah, I mean… of course.”

“Heh, you’ll be fine. You’re already stronger now than I was when I first got resurrected.”

“T-Thanks.”

I stood at the temple gates alongside Silesta and dozens of other heroes.

Back then, I hadn’t even been able to get close to this place. That alone proved how much stronger I had become.

Even so… the oppressive aura spilling out from within still reminded me that we were about to face the Wicked Dragon itself.

There was no way I could stay calm.

Sensing my nerves, Tiara spoke up to reassure me.

“D-Don’t worry, Elott!! I’ll be everyone’s shield!!”

“R-Right. Then let’s go over the plan one last time.”

I looked around at the faces of the heroes gathered for this fight.

“First, the basic flow. Once we enter the temple, Tiara will use [Gigantification] to grow to her maximum size and pin the dragon down.”

“Yes!! I’ll hold it as best I can!!”

“During that time, all of us heroes will unleash a full-on assault.”

“That’s right. And whatever you do, don’t hit Tiara while she’s holding the dragon.”

“““““Okaaaay~”””””

“And finally—”

I turned my gaze to another hero.

A beastman boy, ears perked high, tail wagging furiously from side to side.

“…Hachi.”

“Boss!! Hachi will do his best!!”

“I’m counting on you. …Sorry for giving you the toughest role.”

“No problem!! If it’s for Boss, Hachi will do anything!!”

This was Hachi, the Hero of [Devotion].

His ability meshed perfectly with mine, and because of that, he’d taken to calling me “Boss,” following me with the loyalty of a puppy.

But the role I had assigned him in battle was harsh. Crushing guilt gnawed at me every time.

And yet, if I told him not to do anything dangerous, his ears and tail would droop, eyes shimmering with tears.

Honestly… what was I supposed to do with him?

Not that I doubted his strength. In terms of raw physical ability, Hachi ranked among the top of the resurrected heroes.

It was just that the task he had to carry out against the Wicked Dragon was brutal beyond belief.

…Still, I had explained it to him again and again, and Hachi insisted he wanted to take it on.

Trying to stop him now would only trample all over his resolve.

Besides, I had no room to be worrying about someone else’s role.

I slapped both cheeks with my hands and forced myself to focus.

“Alright—let’s move out!!”

“““““YEAHHHHHH!!”””””

We charged into the temple.

A spiral staircase stretched downward into darkness, so deep the bottom couldn’t even be seen.

“If we keep descending these steps, we’ll reach the grand chamber where the Wicked Dragon waits.”

“…What a strange building.”

The moment we stepped into the temple, a spiral staircase greeted us—so narrow that even Tiara could barely squeeze through in single file.

From the outside it looked like a tower, but once inside, the stairs descended instead.

If Iltar hadn’t already scouted the temple’s interior, I would’ve been completely thrown by such a bizarre layout.

Forming a line, the veteran heroes descended step by step.

Eventually, we reached a vast, pitch-black chamber.

Nothing was there—except for pale blue flames floating in the air, just enough to dimly light the space.

“It’s coming!!”

Iltar’s warning rang out just as a massive shadow began to stir in the darkness.

Boom… boom… Each step shook the ground as the creature revealed itself—

A titanic dragon with nine heads.

Its body stretched nearly a hundred meters long, covered in jet-black scales, radiating an aura so foul it felt like the air itself was rotting.

And then, in the next instant, the Wicked Dragon drew in a deep, thunderous breath.

“Block your ears, now!!”

“GRUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

The roar exploded from all nine throats, shaking the chamber so violently it felt as if the very walls would collapse.

If Iltar hadn’t warned us beforehand, our eardrums would’ve been shredded instantly.

Several of the dragon’s heads drew in another breath—

But this time, it wasn’t for a roar. The flickering blue flames spilling from its jaws made that all too clear.

“I won’t let you!!”

Tiara surged forward, activating [Gigantification] in an instant, and seized one of the dragon’s necks with her now fifty-meter-tall body.

For just a heartbeat, the Wicked Dragon actually faltered at her sudden transformation…

“GRUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Several of the dragon’s heads lunged, sinking their fangs into Tiara’s arms, legs, and side.

Razor-sharp teeth tore into her flesh, twisting her face in agony.

At that moment, Silesta kicked off Tiara’s shoulder and launched herself high into the air.

“—Wild Slash!!”

Her arm swept down.

In the same instant, countless [Blade]s rained upon the Wicked Dragon.

Back when she had just been resurrected, Silesta’s strikes might have only scratched its scales.

But now, after months of slaying monsters and growing stronger, her blades cut deep.

One powerful strike carved into a neck—

And the next wave of slashes went even further, severing one of the dragon’s heads completely.

“Ooh!! Nice one, Silesta!!”

“Gyahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

Iltar and Rocoro charged in right after her, following up with their own brutal attacks.

Dozens of other heroes unleashed their powers as well, joining the assault.

“Boss, Boss!! Everyone’s crazy strong!!”

“They sure are!! That’s why we need to stay out of the way!!”

“Got it!!”

If we got caught between Tiara’s grappling and the dragon’s thrashing, we’d be crushed instantly.

So I scooped Hachi into my arms and pulled us both back to a safe distance.

“Waaah!! Boss, Boss!! The head’s growing back!!”

Hachi pointed frantically.

Sure enough, the spot where Silesta had just lopped off a neck was bubbling with flesh, the dragon’s head regenerating before our eyes.

…We’d been warned about this. Its healing was absurd.

But if the information Imuru had dug up from those ancient myth-age books was correct, it wasn’t truly immortal.

If all nine heads were destroyed at the same time, the beast would lose its ability to think—and be unable to regenerate.

Which meant… this was going to be a battle of endurance.

Tiara would pin the dragon down.

Silesta, Rocoro, and Iltar would go for the necks, one after another.

Of course, the Wicked Dragon wasn’t just going to sit there and take it.

“GRUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“““!?”””

One head spewed a torrent of breath.

Another fired beams from its eyes, turning everything they touched to stone.

“Ghh… took that one full on. My insides are crushed.”

“Over here too. My arm’s torn clean off…”

“Damn, half my body’s already stone…”

One after another, heroes were battered and broken.

Normally, this would be the point to call a retreat.

But we had already planned for this exact situation.

“Boss!! Time for Hachi to use Hachi’s power!!”

“…I’m counting on you.”

“Aye aye—[Devotion]!!”

In the very next instant, all the grievous wounds Silesta and the others had suffered on the front line healed completely—like they had never been injured at all.

“Gahbahhh!!”

“Hachi!!”

At the same moment the front line was healed, Hachi’s body crumbled.

His organs ruptured, blood poured from his mouth, one arm tore off, and half his body turned to stone.

That was the power of Hachi, the Hero of [Devotion].

His ability transferred injuries, illnesses, exhaustion—even status effects—from others onto himself.

A power that let him shoulder the suffering of others—

But more often than not, it meant Hachi himself would die.

And right now, he had taken on all the other heroes’ wounds and collapsed lifeless on the spot.

And this was where my [Resurrection] came in.

“—[Resurrection]!!”

“Aye! Hachi’s back!!”

“Any problems with your body!?”

“All good, all good!! Compared to when I took on the pain of a nationwide plague, this is nothing!!”

That was such a horrifying benchmark… yet he brushed it off like it was nothing.

Apparently, Hachi came from an even older era than Silesta—

And even at his young age, he had once borne the agony of an entire nation stricken with disease.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but respect him deeply.

“Boss!! Don’t zone out now!!”

“Ah, r-right!!”

From there, the fight dragged on and on.

Silesta and the others hammered the Wicked Dragon relentlessly.

Hachi absorbed the damage.

When Hachi fell, I resurrected him.

We repeated that cycle—over and over, for days.

Until finally—

Silesta’s blade came down and severed the Wicked Dragon’s ninth and final head.



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[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

Hachi is a beautiful shota.

He insists he’s a wolf beastman, but in reality… he’s just a dog beastman with a slightly fancier coat of fur.

If you thought, “Hachi’s cute, but his past is kinda heavy…” then drop those ★s!

And if you found yourself thinking, “Tiara’s ridiculously good as a shield,” “That combo’s broken as hell,” or “It’s adorable how he thinks he’s a wolf,” —then don’t forget to leave a comment, bookmark, rating, or review!