I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun - Chapter 717: HQ (1)

In the wake of the first wave of shadow creatures, the world was plunged into ruin, a desolate yet enchanted wasteland. Humanity, driven underground, clung to survival while desperately plotting to reclaim their shattered world.But from the abyss of darkness, something miraculous stirred—a mysterious tree, shimmering with ancient power, appeared overnight. It chose only the strongest of heart, those with unbreakable will, gifting them extraordinary abilities. With these powers, humanity rose from the depths, waging war against the shadows.Yet beneath the surface of their heroic deeds lay a hidden rot. Corruption seeped into their ranks, and arrogance clouded their judgment. As their powers grew, so did the whispers of betrayal. The true battle may not be against the creatures lurking in the shadows—but against the darkness festering within their own hearts.A question lingers: When heroes fall, who will rise to take their place?

[Character Deleted.]I deleted the character I had been raising for over 5 years.To finally defeat the final boss of Demon Fantasy—the one I could never quite beat.For the sake of defeating ‘Baal’.“…I can just start over. I can do it.”And then…[Special reward has been granted!]“What? A mythic-tier trait?”The perfect opportunity had arrived.“This time, for sure!”I’ll raise the strongest mage and take down Baal!At least, that’s what I thought when—[Welcome to Demon Fantasy.]I found myself inside a world teeming with 666 kinds of demons.And I had the ‘special reward’ I just received!“…Fine. Let’s see who wins this.”I was confident.After all, I’ve been a veteran of this game for 10 years.

The nuclear holocaust which caused the collapse of the Old Times on Earth should have wiped out all human life on the planet. Yes, the gods set up their beautiful Elysiums to provide sanctuaries for their chosen, but by all rights everyone outside the elysian lands should’ve perished long ago. Yet somehow, human life still managed to persist, even in the deadly, mutant-infested wastelands.

Cloudhawk was a young scavenger who dreamed of being as free as the hawks in the skies, yet seemed destined to live out his life scrounging for scraps in the wasteland ruins. Fate, however, is ever-fickle. A chance meeting with a ragtag group of mercenaries changed the trajectory of his life, bringing him into a world with mutants and metahumans, demonhunters and godslayers, and even gods and demons. Cloudhawk would find his own place in a world that was far greater than he had imagined, find his own path between the zealous light of Sumeru and the whispering darkness of the Abyss… and one day, he would find that even gods may fall.

Honjou Kaede was invited by her friend, Shiromine Risa to play a VRMMO.

I don’t hate games, but painful things are a little……no, I hate it very, very much.

Eh!…the pain would be reduced if I placed stats on defense power?

Then, the only place where I can place it, is there right? Right?

Solidly fortify everything into defense, now here I come!