And so, the protagonist of the game resolutely returned.
With the Saintess acting as a bridge, the Hero and the nobles put aside their past grudges. With the help of various countries and the Radiant Temple, they finally defeated the demon race and saved the world.
But from the images of Freya in the memories, it could be clearly seen.
Those nobles who superficially praised the Hero, their mouths overflowing with words of admiration, while accepting the Hero's protection, still privately looked down on and mocked the Hero behind his back.
The reason was simple.
They had humiliated the Hero so much before, but in the end, the Hero still had to obediently come back to protect them.
Just like a stray dog.
Indeed, they had kicked him a few times before.
But as long as they threw him a bone, he would still immediately wag his tail and run over.
"After all, he's the Hero. He has to do it for the people."
Sitting in the absolute safety of the rear, a noble swirled the red wine glass in his hand and sighed with relish.
On the table in front of him was a newspaper reporting the progress of the human-demon war. The hundreds of thousands of human troops on the front lines, led by the Hero, were fighting fiercely against the demon race. Every day, no... every minute and second, warriors were bleeding and sacrificing their lives.
However, because the Hero had defeated the enemy apostle leader, causing the demon race to be routed, the situation in this war zone was basically set for victory.
In response, another noble shook his head, expressing great regret, "Where is the demon race's previous momentum? If this continues, this human-demon war will soon be ended by the Hero."
"End? No way. I still have over a hundred thousand weapons and equipment stockpiled that haven't been sold. Without the demon race, the value of these weapons will greatly diminish. Who knows how much loss I'll suffer." The head of a merchant guild that controlled several mines immediately disagreed.
"You're right. We can't let the war end so quickly. It would be such a pity to lose the demon race as a useful slogan. Those commoners, as long as they hear it's for defeating the demon race, they become so enthusiastic about giving money and effort. Aren't they more useful than slaves?"
"Hahaha, don't even mention it. Last time I went to the square to give a speech, saying it was to raise funds to buy supplies for the frontline soldiers. As a result, those cement masons, carpenters, and tailors who are usually so stingy, acting like being taxed is killing them, all gave money so readily. Even beggars with only half a leg left still crawled over to give us a few copper coins.
Hmph, I knew these people still had money!"
"But guess what? After raising the money, I pretended to organize a transport team in front of them, but in reality, those cargo trucks were all empty, with nothing inside. When they reached halfway, I arranged for a group of bandits to burn down this empty transport team. Hahaha."
This pot-bellied noble, as if getting excited, happily patted his belly and couldn't stop laughing.
"This way, back and forth, I only lost a few empty trucks, but those people still thought it was real bandits who destroyed the transport team. Then I can cry about it again and have them raise more money to go and exterminate the bandits."
"Brilliant, truly brilliant!"
"So we need to find a way to send the Hero away and drag out the war a bit longer."
"That's easy. Coincidentally, some monster appeared in my mining area, injuring quite a few of my workers. When the time comes, we'll just send a mission to the Hero, and he'll obediently come back."
"What kind of damn Hero, he's just running errands for us."
"Hey, how can you say that? Without the Hero, how could we still be here chatting and laughing? We should still be grateful. Although we're not on the battlefield, we can still toast to the Hero."
The nobles who had threatened her before came knocking again.
The nobles had also witnessed this scene.
They comforted Freya.
But their actual ugly hearts were seen clearly by Freya.
The Hero had disappeared.
The savior no longer existed.
Was there anything more worthy of celebration than this?
The upturned corners of the nobles' mouths could no longer be concealed.
Some began to covet the Hero's power, wanting to inquire about relics.
Some began to covet the Hero's reputation, preparing to manufacture public opinion.
Through their propaganda, as a hundred years passed, the Hero's deeds became increasingly diluted. Compared to the truth, people believed more in the lies from the mouths of the nobles.
Humans once again became the supreme race.
The demon race was just a flash in the pan.
The unforgiven Hero was brought out by them again, becoming a sinner. While they, who had stolen the Hero's original prestige and fame, gained the support of the masses and continued to satisfy their inflated capital and desires.
But what the nobles didn't know was.
The entire "script" had long been written.
They were just pawns as well.
When the statue of the Hero was toppled and smashed by the indignant crowd, this also became the final switch that released Freya's restraints.
At that moment, surging evil thoughts occupied the Saintess.
It turned out that unknowingly.
Freya had been absorbing evil thoughts as a "vessel" all along. The evil brought about by the brutal fighting between the two races in the human-demon war was precisely the long steps to physical godhood.
And the "Hero's" death, the disappearance of his physical body, the muddying of his reputation, were the long steps to spiritual godhood.
When both were fully satisfied.
This "script" that was written from the beginning reached its end.
At that moment, the Saintess Freya disappeared.
And in her place was...
The Evil God, the Emperor.