Chapter 669: Doubts Settled, Resolve In Spite

"That does make sense, but are we- no, am I up to the task?"

Aurora continued to doubt herself as she was in a semi-state of extreme depression.

Knowing the whole story was something that she had been obsessed with as of late. However, now that she knew it, she felt like she had opened Pandora’s forbidden box.

With more than one invader who possessed powers beyond her imagination eyeing their world, their chances of survival felt exceedingly slim.

Sure, according to Leo’s explanation, the equally small Encroachment rate meant that the power they would exert would be considerably limited, but would they really be able to handle even that?

’What do I bring to the table?’

Looking back, would someone like her who failed to recognize the truth about the city she ran around to protect be able to do something?

Someone who was used and tossed without meaning, someone who became a Hero just because the City Council made it so... Would someone like this be able to handle an interdimensional threat?

From one way or another, Aurora could picture Leo and Kara somehow pulling it off; she couldn’t see herself standing by their side.

Who knew? Perhaps when the critical moment came, she would once again be tricked into turning her blade against them, losing all the clarity she barely found.

Truly! She was nothing but dead weight! An absolute burden!

"Of course, that’s a given. If there is a single person that is capable of this, it can only be you."

That was the truth of the matter. In the novel, the only person who stood to face the threat even when she was ousted by everyone was Aurora.

Even when she was already in a rough shape that her healing factor could never patch up, she still stood up to fight.

In this reality, her indomitable spirit was fading due to the mysterious evolution she was undergoing, but that didn’t change who she was.

’It’s partially due to her Light’s influence, but that Light chose her for a reason.’

"No, that’s-"

"Do you really think you were picked by the City Council for no reason? If anyone could do this, why didn’t they just send someone from their side to fail miserably in your place?"

Alongside the reveal of the Foreign Cult’s existence, Aurora’s identity was also mentioned in glimpses all around the final arc of the novel.

She wasn’t just an unlucky person chosen by the higher-ups to act as their pawn.

Aurora was this world’s chosen being! She was bestowed that Light specifically so she could save it!

"This was Fate. That foreign entity mentioned this part clearly. In order for any invader to succeed in their invasion, the world’s chosen one has to perish; simple means could never do the trick."

"Nonsense! What chosen-"

"Let me finish. Before choosing to build up the image of the Hero of Light at its peak, you think the City Council didn’t attempt to dispose of you? They tried and failed many times, which is precisely why they chose to manipulate you in the way they did."

Not that different from the hidden concept of the Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly Strength Society that Leo discovered in Murim Supremacy, Aurora’s existence was something akin to a Guardian, one whose purpose couldn’t be thwarted until the deciding moment came.

"Regardless of whether they pointed you in that direction or not, you were destined to access both Encroachment Gates. For you, challenging their Trials was simply inevitable!"

This was beyond the basic concept of a protagonist. A protagonist was someone whose path was paved towards their goal, while a Guardian had a specific mission across all novels and realms.

"Since your march couldn’t be stopped, they chose to be the ones holding your horse’s leash, pushing it in the direction they thought would harm you the most without posing any actual threat. After all, such threats would be immediately nullified due to your special nature."

A Guardian could be a Protagonist, but not every Protagonist was a Guardian, and even within Guardians, not all of them were as special as Aurora.

"Attaching leeches by your side, throwing a fool’s errand in your way to decelerate your growth, pairing you with actual villains... These were all just attempts at slightly tipping the scale in the invaders’ favor."

Just as it was the case with Protagonists, plot armor would manifest to maintain their lives against absurd obstacles until the novel came to an end.

However, against simple annoyances that chipped away at their sanity and physical well-being? These were the whetstones that any Main Character had to go through to reach their ultimate form.

"Ultimately, their target was to backstab you in the way they did, precisely putting you in this headspace that is so unlike you, giving the invaders the edge they needed."

Unfortunately, as this wasn’t a shounen or a munchkin novel, these whetstones didn’t just provide her with growth; they slowly chipped away at the fragile shell holding the incomprehensible power of light.

’At least, that was what the original novel intended.’

A bittersweet, tragic ending where the Heroine does protect her world but perishes in the process; there were some self-torturing readers who were into that setting.

"You were deceived precisely because you were truly honest about saving people. Now, will the Hero of Light let them get away with it? Will you let them achieve their objective? The reason they tormented you all along?"

However, Leo wasn’t one of these people. He had absolutely hated that ending. Now that he was tasked with changing it, Leo was more than willing to give it his all!

’Perhaps...’

In his rumination, Leo felt as if he had touched upon a clue to the process behind the creation of the Main Quests.

"I..."

Being told the whole story again from a whole other perspective, the depression that was taking over Aurora was dismantled by the many personas inside of her head as she contemplated the validity of Leo’s words.

A part of her didn’t believe in the whole chosen one sales pitch, but the majority of the words made sense.

In fact, she even felt the out-of-place sense of familiarity that popped up on other random but vital occasions just by listening to Leo’s explanation.

Most importantly, the rebellious spirit in her heart greatly resonated with Leo’s challenging words.

’Why?!’

Why was she the one who had to wallow in pain and self-deprecation when she was the one who was tricked?!

"Sure, you might need to learn to scrutinize others more in the future, but you were put in that position because you were inherently good to begin with, a quality which made you the chosen one to begin with."

’Right!’

They were the ones in the wrong to begin with! Why did she have to be harsh on herself and not them?

In such situations where a certain attribute landed you in trouble, some people would advise getting rid of it, or exchanging it for the exact opposite to avoid falling into these traps in the future, but such advice wasn’t universal.

Suffering for doing good could never mean that one should go bad, and choosing to do nothing was even worse.

Within just a couple of minutes, Aurora had already found her answer.

"No! I will give them a taste of their own medicine!"

Didn’t they do all of that for the sake of their invader lords? Then she would make sure to decimate every single one of them or die trying!

’No. Anything but that.’