I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 61: They Called Me Hope [2]

The moment I arrived at the scene, I felt my whole body tense up.

I felt as if I had been witnessing my own past refection.

A man stood there, his back was facing me.

But even from a distance, I knew— I knew.

Because—How can I even forget?

That person…

Same height.

Same build.

Even the way his hair curled slightly at the ends was identical.

It was like staring at my past self.

The resemblance was hauntingly same. His body proportions, posture, even the subtle way he shifted his weight between his legs—it was all me.

Everything except… those eyes.

I couldn’t see them yet, but I could feel it in my bones.

The moment he turned around, I knew they wouldn’t be but the same as mine.

Because no matter how perfect the imitation was, they weren’t my eyes.

But that wasn’t what struck me the most.

My gaze shifted downward—to the mangled body lying at his feet.

A woman.

Her crimson eyes were frozen in horror, wide open, as if the terror of her last moments had burned into them permanently.

Her once pure gothic red gown was nothing but shredded fabric now, it was barely clinging to her bruised, dismantle frame.

Blood pooled around her broken form, soaking into the soil below. Her obsidian black hair, was now tangled and drenched in filthy mud and crimson blood.

Her face— Oh gods! Her face.

The skin had been peeled off in places, revealing the grotesque sight of raw flesh and torn muscle. It was as if something had tried to erase her existence—violently, mercilessly.

Then, from within my consciousness, Sera’s voice erupted.

’That’s Lilith!’

Anger laced in her words.

’Lilith?’ I repeated in my mind.

Sera’s voice remained sharp and full of anger as she described her.

’Lilith was the only daughter of Will, the inheritor of Authority Will.’

She paused.

’She was a deity herself.’

A deity?

I am not even surprised, for the past few days I had been witnessed and even met a Goddess. In front of that, the term deity didn’t flinched me a bit.

And yet, she was reduced to this… this pitiful state.

My gaze flickered back to the person standing in front of her, holding a silver katana, my mind was at full speed, confirmed the possibilities.

There’s no reason to ask—

Who—or, what—could have done this?

And why was he standing over her body like this was just another casualty for him?

Everything is clear.

He is the one responsible for all this.

And at last, we finally met.

The person who took my identity.

The person who stole my legacy.

The humanity’s strongest.

In front of him—even a deity felt powerless.

An obnoxious grin tugged on my lips.

I can’t control it.

I am ashamed to admit it, that he—

That he is worthy of the name Hope.

Rustle. Rustle.

My feet slowly reached towards him, I can’t find myself to stop them.

I want to know.

I want to see.

I want to ask.

Step. Step.

Everything that happened to me.

Everything they did to me.

Every answered I seek.

Step. Step.

He knowns it all.

My steps halted behind his back. Just a few meters away, he stood looking down on the dismantled figure.

I streched my hand.

My lips parted away.

Before a name escaped from it.

A name that I would never forgot.

A name that chained me to them.

A name worshiped by the others.

A name feared by the demons.

A name that once belonged to me.

"Hope."

That name.

They Once called me by that name.

They once called me Hope.

I reached out to him, my fingers barely grazing his shoulder—

And in an instant, he moved.

A flash of silver lightning illuminated the surrounding.

The cold edge of his sleek, polished katana pressed against my neck.

A bead of blood slid down the cut.

I didn’t flinch.

For the first time, I truly looked at him.

His face was hidden behind a black metallic mask, hiding his expression. And his silver hair shimmered under the moonlight from above, every strand of it catching its glow.

Then, he saw me.

His silver eyes widened—not in fear, not in shock, but in something deeper. As if he recognized me.

A strange connection flickered between us.

’His eyes… they were just like mine.’

Embedded with confidence. Authority. And most important… Purpose.

"Ah…!"

It was as if I were staring into a perfect reflection of my past self.

I was envious.

Time seemed to stop between us.

Like two lost halves of the same existence, like two faces of same coin, like Romeo finally meeting his Juliet, we simply stood there—wordless, motionless.

My gaze studied him. And he did the same.

I had longed for this moment.

To meet him.

To see him.

Even just once.

Slowly, he lowered his katana.

His gaze lingered on me for a few moments, his expression still unreadable.

Then, in a calm, composed tone, he finally spoke.

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"Kid. Are you lost?"

"Eh?"

That’s the first thing that escaped my lips.

’Pfttt—Hahahahahahhaha hahahahaha… Oh God! Kid! So much build up… Pfttt— just to get—just to get called, Kid are you lost?—Haha hahaha.’

It’s laughable.

I lowed my hand in embarrassment, but in my mind, I concluded one thing—

He doesn’t know me.

That means, to everyone eyes the previous Hope was dead.

That alone made me satisfied.

Hope repeated again.

"Kid. Go back to you group."

He pointed to the right.

I shifted my gaze only to witness something unhinged.

Almost every first and second years were laying on the ground, their clothes torn, covered in dust.

Their body cover in blood and puss, their eyes dark, their lips dried of dehydration. But… their faces still glowing.

Their eyes still has shine.

A shine that stripped away from any despair.

All of their gaze fixed on the same person. To the person who stood before me.

That person is the reason for their will, which is still flickered inside them.

A smiled tugged my lips.

A heavy weight lifted off my chest.

I was free from the burden.

The old Hope died that day.

The world now had a new ray of Hope.

End of Chapter.