Reincarnated as a failed hero?! Watch me Defy Fate! - Chapter 186

Chapter 186: The Valkyrie’s Roar, the Patriarch’s Blade
Freya’s POV:

The chaos that once engulfed the battlefield had finally been brought under control. Princess Aria, the Divine Valkyrie herself, stood at the frontlines, fighting side by side with Lucius von Starlight, striking down the waves of invading demons with overwhelming power.

The synergy between Aria-sama’s Divine Magic and Lucius-sama’s swordplay was awe-inspiring. Together, they effortlessly decimated the advancing demons that threatened to break our lines.

Their valor reignited the spirits of our knights. Following their lead, the 5,000 Braveheart knights and 1000 Sorcerer of Solara Kingdom surged forward, clashing against a horde of demons whose numbers only grew. The enemy force now comprised approximately 5,000 mid-class demons (comparable to C-rank knights), 2,800 high-mid-class demons (B-rank), and 200 elite demons (A-rank).

But even worse… lurking beyond the battlefield were two terrifying presences—Overlord-class demons.

These creatures were on par with, or perhaps even beyond, the might of the Braveheart Kingdom’s heroes—EX-rank threats. And now, two of them had appeared. This was no longer a battle—it was a war on the edge of despair.

Even so, Aria-sama and Lucius-sama showed no fear. They pressed forward with unwavering resolve, determined to face the Overlords head-on.

This was my first time seeing Princess Aria fight. She reminded me of Amelia, using close-combat Divine Magic. But Aria-sama wielded a massive golden battle axe with such grace, it seemed weightless in her hands.

That weapon—[Divine Executioner Axe]—was a legendary Braveheart heirloom, a symbol of divine strength forged to slay demons. Each time she swung it, Divine Magic surged through it, eradicating elite demons in a single blow.

She was calm, composed, almost serene amid the storm. Even as she cut through hundreds of high-level demons, she didn’t break a sweat. Truly, the title Divine Valkyrie was hers by right.

Beside her, Lucius-sama, a royal hero of the Starlight family, unleashed his power. His Starlight Swordsmanship was unmatched—even more refined than Julius’s. He moved like a beam of light, slicing a path through the demon ranks so that Aria-sama could push forward.

Aria-sama and Lucius-sama followed by the two magi from Solara also helped them on the front lines. Diamantus-sama used his diamond magic to block attacks and also attacked hard. Silvanya-sama used her silver magic to attack in a wide area, making a quick path open.

I glanced at Julius—his eyes were shining with admiration, inspired by his brother’s strength. Fueled by this, he charged ahead with newfound determination.

But this battle was far from over.

To win this war, we would have to slaughter the demon army and bring down their commanders—the Overlords.

As the clash dragged on, we began gaining ground. We pushed the demon army back. Hope was flickering again—until the Overlords began their ritual.

They summoned the Gate of Gehenna.

It was an omen of catastrophe—a cursed gate that drained the mana from the battlefield, just like during the Solara Academy Incident and the Final Dungeon Trial.

From within the blood-red light of the Gate, two monstrous figures emerged—creatures we had once defeated.

Zorx the Apocalypse Inferno, the second-ranked Demon Warlord…Vorx the Labyrinth Lord, the third-ranked Warlord…We had defeated them during the Braveheart Academy’s Final Exam when the dungeon broke loose.

They were both S-rank demons, and they had fallen to Cain-sama and Naoki-sama. So how were they alive now?

Something was wrong.

Their eyes… were hollow, filled with nothing but darkness. As if their souls were gone. They were shells of their former selves.

Then, the Overlord who summoned them withdrew from the battlefield, leaving only one Overlord behind.

Why?

We didn’t know. But the remaining Overlord… smiled. A grotesque, sinister grin, radiating murderous intent that made our skin crawl.

Even with just one Overlord left, we couldn’t let our guard down.

Suddenly, Cain-sama saw Zorx and Vorx entering the fray—obliterating knights one by one. Rage burned in his eyes.

He released a towering pillar of flame magic into the sky, roaring like a vengeful god.

Consumed by fury, he marched toward Princess Aria and requested permission to face Zorx alone. She granted it with a nod, and at the same time, ordered Patriarch Blackmore to confront Vorx.

Cain-sama charged at Zorx like a storm unleashed. He still remembered how Zorx had murdered Kael with his black flames. And now, those same cursed flames were engulfing our knights again.

The eastern battlefield became an inferno, and Cain-sama’s wrath turned it into his personal crucible. He wanted to defeat Zorx again—with his own hands.

Meanwhile, I—alongside Julius, Marius, Leopold and Luna—was ordered to assist Patriarch Blackmore in taking down Vorx.

It was only the second time I had met him—Naoki-sama’s father.

Naoki had always described him as terrifying. But now that I saw him… I saw someone calm, wise, and incredibly reliable.

Despite his age, he cut through demons with nothing but pure swordsmanship and aura. It made sense—he was once one of the kingdom’s greatest heroes in his prime.

Even now, he stood on equal ground with King Aslan von Braveheart, unlike other heroes whose power had waned with age and divine blessings that now weighed them down.

Patriarch Tetsu now led us into battle against Vorx.

“Facing a Demon Warlord, huh? I think this old man still has what it takes,” he said, glancing back at us with a smirk. “Besides… wasn’t it Naoki who beat that demon before? Right, Freya?”

“Yes, that’s right, Patriarch-sama,” I replied. “Naoki-sama defeated Vorx with great effort. That demon used powerful mental attacks.”

Tetsu let out a small laugh. “No need to be so stiff. Just call me Tetsu. I’m not your family’s patriarch, after all.”

“Y-Yes, Tetsu-sama,” we all responded in unison.

“Mental attacks, huh?” he mused. “That might be annoying. But from the look of him, he’s just an empty shell now. He’s probably weaker than before. This should be easier.”

With that, Tetsu-sama drew his sword and walked toward Vorx with the air of a warrior who’d fought a hundred battles and feared none.

But before we could move, Julius stepped forward.

He looked troubled.

He made a request to Tetsu-sama—he wanted to break formation… and assist his brother, Lucius-sama, in fighting the Overlord.

Tetsu-sama smiled gently, placing a firm hand on Julius’s shoulder.

“You’d only get in their way, Julius,” he said honestly but kindly. “Lucius and Aria-sama are already EX-Rank knights, and they were accompanied by two magi from Solara. Anyone below that level would only slow them down.”

Julius looked down, clearly disheartened by those words.

But Tetsu-sama quickly added with a confident grin,”If anyone can help them—it’s me. Tetsu von Blackmore, Patriarch of the Blackmore family. I’ve reached EX-Rank as well. So let’s finish this demon Vorx quickly… so I can join Aria and Lucius against the Overlord.”

His words reignited Julius’s spirit. A sense of hope returned to his face.

Maybe Naoki-sama already knew his father’s true nature but hid it—or perhaps was just too embarrassed to admit it. But I could clearly feel it now—Tetsu-sama truly loved his son.

Once we were ready, we advanced toward Vorx, who had created multiple dungeons and was releasing monsters from within them.

Julius, Marius, Leopold, Luna, and I took on the task of eliminating those monsters, giving Tetsu-sama a clear path to confront Vorx directly.

I could feel it—the moment Tetsu-sama drew his sword, a wave of Supreme-Level Forced Aura exploded outward. The air itself grew heavy under its weight.

And then the battle began—Tetsu-sama vs. Vorx. They exchanged fierce blows, shockwaves shaking the very ground.

…

Patriarch’s POV (Corrected):

It had been a long time since I’d fought a high-tier demon—especially a Demon Warlord like her.

The moment our blades clashed, I realized it—this wasn’t the full-strength Vorx that Freya described. She had been revived incompletely. Her aura was weaker. Fainter than it should be.

With ease, I struck her using [Blackmore Swordsmanship: Mitsugiri (Triple Slash)]—three cutting arcs of aura slicing into her body. She staggered, wounded.

But she didn’t fall.

Instead, her wounds regenerated rapidly. Annoying. Worse yet, she continued creating dungeons, summoning an endless stream of monsters.

I needed to end this quickly—with a decisive blow.

I powered up my aura, ready to go all in—but Vorx’s fighting style was difficult. She employed invisible attacks, and her scythe carried devastating mental strikes. Each swing bombarded my mind, filling it with terrifying illusions and painful memories.

Then—she showed me Ayame.

…

Ayame von Blackmore.My beloved wife. The woman I lost when she gave birth to Naoki.

That day shattered me. After her death, my world became a nightmare. Especially because Naoki resembled her so much—not just her eyes, but even her playful, teasing nature.

Ayame… she always teased me. She wasn’t afraid of me, even though I was once one of the strongest men in the kingdom.

She’d sneak up on me, provoke me, even once tried to peek at me bathing—just to gather material for some 18+ novel she wanted to publish. She claimed that genre was popular back then.

What a woman. Infuriating, bold, impossible to predict—but I loved her more than anything.

Even as she lay dying, she smiled and told me,”Remarry someday, okay? I want you to be happy…”

She died smiling. That day felt like the end of the world. But I endured it.

Maybe that’s why I’ve always struggled with Naoki. I’ve been hard on him—not because I don’t care, but because he reminds me too much of Ayame. It’s painful. Constantly painful.

But that’s the past. Ayame still lives on—in my heart.

….

That moment remained unchanged—painful, heartbreaking. And now that I knew it was Vorx who dared to manipulate my memories, it only infuriated me more.

“How dare you wear her face… That illusion doesn’t even come close. Ayame was 100 times more beautiful than your pathetic trick!”

With speed doubled from [Kasoseki], I slipped behind her.

With full force, I unleashed [Blackmore Swordsmanship: Dark Aura Sword]—a massive, dark aura blade erupting from my sword, slamming into Vorx from behind.

BOOM!

The blow exploded against her, sending a shockwave that cracked the earth and completely destroyed her body.

The dungeons collapsed. Every summoned monster vanished with her.

We had won.

Cheers erupted around me—Freya, Julius, Marius, Leopold, Luna, and the Blackmore knights. They all shouted in triumph.

But there was no time to waste.

We regrouped and rushed to the frontlines.

I saw Cain there too—his battle already over. Once again, he had defeated Zorx. That stubborn kid never gives up. Strong and relentless.

Cain nodded and joined me as we ran toward the front—toward the place where Aria-sama and Lucius now faced the Overlord.

What we saw when we arrived…

Was hell.

Hundreds—maybe thousands—of knights were either wounded or already dead.

Diamantus-sama and Silvanya-sama lay dying with severe injuries.

Only Aria-sama and Lucius were still standing—both gravely injured, barely holding their ground.

The difference in power between them and the Overlord was staggering.

He is a male demon with a very strong killing aura and magic. He looks like a human but has bloodthirsty red eyes, pale skin, black hair, and looks like he is wearing a black nobleman’s clothes. He has two demon horns on his head and a pair of demon wings. He casually flies while eating apples.

He does all that with his surroundings full of blood. Or you could say he controls the blood of our troops, monsters, or even his own comrades’ blood freely. It becomes his defensive magic and offensive magic.

He can casually injure Aria-sama and Lucius without even the slightest wound.

“Wow, there’s a new prey, it seems… Welcome to the end of your lives~” The Overlord Demon said in a mocking tone.

All of our troops trembled in fear seeing the terror from him.

I started to think “Could we really win?”

I clutched the pendant hanging at my neck—a photo of Ayame, Lilia, and our children inside.

“I… can’t fall here. I have to fight too.”

I whispered to myself, calling out to Ayame’s memory.

“Ayame… lend me your strength.”

And I stepped forward, joining Aria-sama and Lucius.

Behind me, Cain followed silently, eyes burning with resolve.

Now—three heroes and one princess of Braveheart will face the Overlord.

This… will be our final stand.

…