World's Last Hope-Chapter 113: Unyielding
The words of the Saint echoed in the grand room as everybody needed a moment to let the words sink in.
The Saint, the strongest human in the city and the sole reason humanity was still standing, just said that a monster was approaching, and that monster was stronger than him?
Eric felt goosebumps all over his body. Usually, he tried to think in a positive light, even if the current circumstances were dire... but right now, It seemed as though the city was on the brink of inevitable doom.
He shifted his gaze to the people present in the room. The eyes of every single person in the room looked empty, almost like they had lost hope.
Not only the Masters, but the Grandmasters as well, seemed frozen—unable to think of a way to act.
Eric gulped audibly, as realization hit him. With each second, the heavier the despair in the room became, the less morale humanity’s strongest troops would have, making their odds of winning even slimmer.
He was scared. Just trying to imagine what was about to come made him feel dread. His lips had dried up, and his heart felt like it was about to explode.
There were few things scarier than the inevitable end.
And yet, despite that fear, he felt a fire burning within him. Not only felt it, but it was like the more dangerous the situation, the less the odds were in his favor, the more that fire burned in his soul.
He knew what he was supposed to do. Everything up until now had just been the tutorial. This was probably the reason he was sent into this world by the gods.
Somebody had to dispel the despair and replace it with hope. Somebody had to become the hero.
Somebody had to become this world’s last hope.
Eric had a duty to fulfill. He had made a promise to himself that he wasn’t going to run away from problems. He wasn’t going to fail again.
Steeling his resolve, he took a deep breath, made his voice as relaxed as possible despite the terror he was feeling, and spoke.
"So what?"
His question echoed in the silent room. Everybody turned their gaze on the man with crimson eyes, wondering if he was sane at all.
One Grandmaster could hardly hold back his shock as he spoke, "Excuse me?"
"So what?" Eric repeated the question, crossing one leg over the other.
"A monster stronger than the Saint is coming, so what? It’s not like Saint Gabriel, is the only person capable of fighting in this city—"
Eric shifted his gaze and looked every Grandmaster present in the eyes.
"If one man isn’t enough, then we send two. If they aren’t enough, we’ll send five, ten, a hundred, until we win. If the enemy is stronger, then we’ll simply overwhelm them with our numbers."
Nobody interrupted him as they listened closely to his words.
"In this room, there are more than three hundred powerful individuals. The city as a whole has more than ten million civilians. No matter how strong that monster is, it is alone, while we are many. Hope is not lost yet."
The Saint took a shallow breath before speaking, "Are you suggesting that—"
"Many would probably die," Eric interrupted the Saint. Had there ever been a person bold... insane enough to do that? Nevertheless, the Saint didn’t seem to take offense, at least not in the moment.
"But some things can’t be changed, isn’t that right? We are the last of humanity, so we aren’t going to just give up and accept our end."
After a moment of silence, Grandmaster Aldemar spoke.
"You may speak with bravery, but that’s because you haven’t seen a monster of such scale up close. No matter even if everybody in this room attacked, winning is simply impo—"
"Impossible?" Eric interrupted the man as he smiled, there was a hint of mockery in his voice.
"It was impossible for me, with Aria and Olivia, to liberate a cathedral, and yet we liberated two. It was ’impossible’ for us to stop the attack of monsters, and yet we did, killing seven Grade-5 monsters."
Eric extended his arms to the side as he stood up.
"Have I not shown you that there isn’t something as ridiculous as ’impossible’? If I, with just a few people supporting me, managed to achieve so much, then imagine what all of us will be able to do if we work as a whole!"
A woman in a red robe began to speak her voice, laced with irritation, "You are just—"
"Just one more chosen one, isn’t that right?!" Eric interrupted her as he began to pace toward the center of the room.
"And yet, this ’just one’ has been chosen by the gods. This chosen one has shown you multiple times that the impossible is possible."
Reaching the center of the room, he spoke, glancing briefly at the eyes of every person in the room.
"Were you all about to despair? You were about to do something pathetic, weren’t you?"
He heard a voice in his head.
[The people were on the edge of despair. Fear and doubt were about to obstruct their judgment.]
"This city has survived for so many years despite the constant challenges. One more wouldn’t—no, shouldn’t scare us!"
[And yet in that despair, you appeared and began to plant a seed in their souls. The seed of hope.]
"Then do you have an idea? How could we overcome that threat?" The Saint spoke as he eyed the man. His expression was unreadable, making it impossible to guess what the man was thinking.
"Of course! We will simply kill it!" Eric declared.
"Kill a high Grade-6?"
"Impossible!"
"Not even the Saint could do that!"
A few mutters of the scared Masters began to appear. Eric didn’t mind them as he spoke louder, silencing all doubt.
"The monster coming from the coast, is it not? Then we will take as many units as we can from the other gates and station them there!"
"But even if we do that, our manpower will simply be inadequate!" one Grandmaster spoke.
"There is no need to worry. They will simply be our second line of defense! In case the assault team isn’t able to finish the job."
"Who will be in that assault team then?!" one irritated Master shouted.
Aria sighed as she massaged her forehead. It was pretty clear where this was going.
"The Saint and me!" Eric exclaimed. "I have ’Soul Flame,’ do I not? Just a scratch, and the creature’s soul will begin to be slowly destroyed. Even if it manages to reach the city, it will be severely weakened, making it possible to kill by the defense team!"
There were a lot of murmurs in the room, so the Saint slammed his fist onto the table. Silence followed.
"For your plan to work, then you will have to be able to scratch it, and yet you are just a Master. How can you say that you will be able to do that?"
Eric smiled as he heard the system, his eyes began to shine a darker shade of crimson.
[You have moved the masses.]
[The gods have seen your resolve.]
[Soul is beginning to evolve.]
"I will become a Grandmaster. There is a cathedral that has yet to find its new master, is there not?"
He might have failed once because his soul hadn’t been strong enough, but now that it had started evolving, things were bound to be different.
The Saint leaned in closer from his chair as he observed the cursed one.
"And you think you will be able to?" the Saint asked as his eyes were shining, waiting to see if Eric’s next words would be the truth or a lie.
He smiled in response,
"Think? No, I know."
Taking a second or two, Gabriel leaned back in his chair with a sigh as he massaged his forehead, wondering how to decipher the situation.
Because in the entirety of the speech Eric had given,
He hadn’t lied even once.
A minute or two of silence passed as the Saint took his time to organize his thoughts. Finally, opening his eyes, he gestured with his hand for Eric to return to his seat.
’I... We... This is the first time I’ve been on the verge of being swallowed by despair... To think that such a young man would be able to pinpoint the fear that I... we were feeling as a whole...’ The Saint thought, as he parted his lips. His voice was cold as he spoke.
"Master Eric is right. We will not give in to despair. We have survived many greater tragedies already."
Before the Saint finished, the eyes of everybody in the room seemed to brighten, almost as if the hope that had been absent moments before was beginning to return.
"From now on, we will begin to formulate a plan on how to deal with the threat."
