Antihero In the Hero Academy: I Can Connect the Past Heroes-Chapter 165: Heaviest Of Them All

At the same time, Atlas bowed his head and said, "Thank you, sir," over and over again.

After that, the memory began to fade again, and everything changed once more. The last thing the Sages saw was Atlas smiling for the first time since they had begun to see the memories.

The Sages were struggling to keep their heads from spinning.

"Life... Isn’t it so hard? Like...really really hard?"

When a soft female voice echoed in everyone’s ears, the Sages realised they were inside a room. There were only four people in the room: Arthur, Helena, Atlas, and finally Irene herself.

"Even if it’s hard, it goes on anyway," Atlas had said, his eyes dark circles under his eyes, it was impossible to know when he had last slept.

They were young, and each of them looked young.

When Bellatrix began to walk from where she was, she realised that the delicate female voice had come from Irene and, of course, she could tell who the voice belonged to.

Seeing that the girl she had trained as her student was covered in wounds had destroyed Bellatrix from the inside out.

It wasn’t just Irene; Arthur and Helena were also covered in wounds. The three of them stood there with wounds that weren’t bleeding but were open, along with torn clothing. Something seemed off, but no one could quite figure out what was going on.

"Every one of the western continents has fallen, Atlas. Frankly, I don’t know what to do. The Kingdom of Nirdorth is surviving thanks to its mechanisms, but... we can’t say the same for the Elf Queen," Irene said suddenly.

Atlas took a deep breath at these words and then said, "Lady Thalia is finally dead, is she? We owe her so much. She was the one who held back the angels despite the fact that her home was right next to where they had opened up... It’s such a shame."

Even though he was trying to stay calm, everyone could see that Atlas’s hands were trembling with grief.

No one in the room could utter a single word. Everyone’s gaze seemed to darken.

"How much more will we lose?" Atlas asked suddenly. No one seemed to be expecting this question.

"What?" Helena asked suddenly.

"What if I lose you too?" Atlas asked again.

"Haha... Atlas, you should stop deceiving yourself," Helena said.

"Come on, Atlas, you created us. Are you afraid of losing us?" Arthur replied.

With these words, neither the Sages nor the observers in the sacred land could believe their ears. None of them understood what these words meant. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Nevertheless, at that very moment, Irene stood up.

"We... have already died," Irene said.

With the wounded woman’s words, the gazes turned to Atlas, and it was seen that his eyes were tearful.

At that moment, the trio’s bodies began to glow.

"Come on, you created a spell just because you missed us, and you’re talking to us as if we were alive, pulling us out of your memories. Let it go, Atlas... Leave us behind and start looking forward," Arthur said.

"I—I don’t know how..." Atlas muttered, never once looking into the trio’s eyes, as if afraid of the failure he had experienced, as if unwilling to confront it, continuing to stare at the table.

"It’s very simple... You always forget what you say, dear," Helena said suddenly.

"That’s right. You always said that, didn’t you?" Arthur added.

"Do you think people are chosen? To live, to die, to suffer or perhaps to be happy?" Helena said, and with that, Irene giggled and immediately said the following words:

"Whatever they are chosen for, I am Atlas. I do what I want, I live how I want, and I die how I want. That’s why I always look forward!"

As the trio began to fade away, their laughter reached Atlas’s ears, and Atlas fell silent, tears streaming down his face.

"Atlas. The world is big. Even if there is war, even if you have lost us all, you are still alive. For us, it is enough that you look ahead, that you are still alive. Just... smile... Smile at death and life, and no matter what happens, don’t let go of life... Don’t die," Irene said.

As Atlas’s spell began to fade, Arthur, Helena, and Irene had all vanished. In the room, there was only a burning candle and Atlas, sitting in the chair in front of it, weeping uncontrollably.

"Damn it..." Atlas muttered suddenly.

The emptiness in Atlas’s eyes and the fatigue in his body were evident. Yet even someone who knew him only a little, someone who had spoken to him only a few times, could sense his emotions. Atlas’s emotions were like an open book.

He was angry. Very, very angry. Even though his sadness was holding him back, there was no way to describe the extent of his anger. He was just bursting with rage and looking for a way to calm himself down, but... How could someone who had lost everything remain calm?

"Is it victory when you lose everything?" Atlas said suddenly, he breathed heavly. He wiped the tears from his face, stood up from where he was sitting, and grabbed his staff next to the table. With that, he opened the door to his room and stepped outside.

He left behind Juliet, who had begun to sob uncontrollably, and even the gods and goddesses.

As the memory began to change again, the Sages found it difficult to breathe.

The memories came one by one, and the responsibilities Atlas had voluntarily taken upon himself became even more evident.

Hundreds of thousands of people had fought in wars. Millions of lives had been lost in Atlas’s hands. Every demon and angel he had killed with his own hands. The moments when he fought alongside Cosmo against Mommon and Asmodeus, and much more, had been witnessed by everyone watching the memories.

When the memories came to an end, something unexpected had happened...