The Retired Hero is an Extra

The ominous black eye vanished from the atmosphere before reappearing at the location of the dying Victor.

It had spanned two entirely different areas and gleaned information worth hours in fractions of a second.

Yet its invisibility forbade anyone from even knowing of its existence.

The pupil crinkled in amusement as its focus turned to the sky before returning to the events on the ground.

Luc', who remained unmoving and indifferent, finally moved to check Victor's condition, appearing 'worried'.

However, she noticed his lips moving and tried to read what he was trying to say.

"There... shall... be... no... escape..."

It took her a few seconds until she succeeded, but her blood turned cold at his dying words.

Still, she moved, and to ensure her goal was achieved, she stabbed his heart from behind.

Victor barely felt the stab as blood filled his mouth, making it hard for him to breathe.

His already tightening chest was one factor, but the blood and stabbed heart were the final straw.

The light in his eyes started dimming as his creepy smile turned serene.

His lips quivered for one last time, trying to convey his final thoughts, which Luc' struggled to understand.

It wasn't that she was interested in a dying man's words, but the notion of no escape unnerved her despite her professionalism.

Her deeply honed instincts warned her of an ominous outcome should she continue to ignore the signs.

Alas, who knew that her attempt to understand by staying longer than she should would be the cause of her demise.

"As... planned..."

Reading his expression, her eyes focused on his dying state, unable to understand how it went according to plan.

Yet she didn't wish to take any chances and chose to decisively leave the vicinity.

Victor, on the ground, taking his last breath, thought to himself, 'Would life turn out to be better if I didn't choose this path?'

Sadly, there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Suddenly, his dimming eyes lost all their light, shattering his dying thoughts as an invisible black light passed through his body.

The pupil in the sky turned into a crescent shape as if its objective was achieved and disappeared without anyone noticing it.

Back on the ground, the guards were busy discussing their next plans, and Luc' was running when a chill went past their spines cumulatively.

Everyone in the vicinity felt the ominous sensation of dread and tried to locate its source.

"L-look," one of the guards stumbled, falling on his butt as he pointed at the sky.

All the guards turned to look in the direction of his finger, only to find an approaching missile.

"Oh, that's a missile," one of them exclaimed in recognition.

—Snap!

The guard next to him snapped and shouted hysterically, "You stupid mongrel! That's freaking coming toward us!!"

Only then did the guy finally understand their reactions and panic also started to take root within him.

Not to mention the armed guards, even Luc' was having a hard time believing it.

She cast a hateful glance at Victor's corpse and cursed inwardly, 'Why the frick did I wait here!? I should've left immediately!'

Unable to calm her agitated heart, she pinned all her grievances onto Victor.

Unfortunately for her, he was dead, or at least that's how his body appeared to be, and nothing could save her from her plight.

The missile approached at a speed far beyond human capability. Its sound lagged, trailing behind as it exceeded the speed of sound.

With each acceleration, a sound barrier shattered as it easily crossed the speed of Mach 10.

At that speed, the missile would obliterate everything within a 1-kilometer radius, decimated by just the sheer impact.

That was not even considering the aftereffects and thermal impact, which could easily gross over a 5 kilometer radius.

If it actually carried radioactive bombs, then the devastation would easily extend over tens of kilometers.

Sadly, no one knew what it contained or where it would truly strike as they tried their best to escape, but it was approaching.

And it was approaching fast.

Before they could even exit their patrolling area, it was just a few kilometers in the air, accelerating further due to gravity after its midpoint.

Then...

There was no then.

—BOOM!

Only dust rose and traveled far and wide, destroying everything in the vicinity before the loud explosion sounded.

Any living being's body was reduced to dust as the heat rose in the area due to the extreme temperature.

In the next instant, numerous small explosions sounded in the surrounding area of a few tens of kilometers.

The missile landing had set up a chain reaction as all the bombs and mines underneath the ground started to explode.

—Boom!

—Boom!

Though not as loud as the first strike, it was more than enough to make anyone deaf—if they somehow survived the missile, that is.

Not even the ground was spared as it got overturned due to the manifold explosions rocking the entire area around Victor's dead body.

Of course, his remains too were not left.

In the end, the people of Megrale tried to find out what happened but the extreme heat prevented anyone from even getting close.

The land had already turned into glass in some places, the rest was scorched black.

Meanwhile, the family of three and those in their vicinity also witnessed the missile launch into the air.

The aftershocks of the earthquake-like landing seemed to have impacted them too as they sought support from nearby trees.

The man held his wife and daughter closely, his face serene.

'So that's how you chose to off yourself, huh?' he mused to himself, ensuring his family was secure.

His entire life was ironic, filled with duality.

He hid everything from his wife and daughter yet hoped to live a normal life with them.

'How stupid,' he chided himself as he shook his head when a smile appeared on his face to comfort his family.

…

A few days passed before all media outlets in the world displayed the news of the President of the Megrale nation perishing.

However, that wasn't the end of it.

The elusive Victor Aller was also supposed to have died in that missile attack, which was credited to the stellar sacrificial hero, Aoife.

"Quite ironic," the man muttered to himself as he watched the news with his wife in his arms.

Although it seemed she heard him, she didn't.

Her mind was wandering in her sea of memories as a sad expression painted her face, as she reminisced, 'Victor...'

"It's fine," patted her husband, knowing about her past.

"Mhm." His wife sniffled slightly.

It was truly hard for her to know that her first love was defamed by such titles when she knew he wasn't such a person.

At the same time, her husband didn't get angry over her recalling another man while in his arms, as though he didn't care.

In truth, he did care, but he didn't want to hurt her and this was the first time she reminisced about Victor as he died.

Victor truly remained an enigma to the world even after his death, with his origins and real name a mystery.

Except for the couple who were the only two people alive who knew him.

Or so the couple thought.

He wasn't dead, at least not in the truest sense.