The battlefield had calmed down. It was not the kind of quiet you would expect to hear after achieving victory; instead, it almost seemed like his efforts had been in vain.

However, the proof was right there, on the ground: a never-ending pile of corpses—the corpses of monsters he had slain to protect the people.

As well as the rowdy bunch who called themselves heroes; instead, they had all been reduced to mere cannon fodder the moment the monsters poured out of the rift to attack.

Jeremy's gone. Can't say I liked him, but it's a pity. He was the least useless one of them all, Neraxis expressed with a sigh. They were not friends by any means, more like acquaintances, but nonetheless, he had developed a sense of camaraderie with the others.

The same as the other 'heroes,' but here he was—bloody and beaten—while they were most likely hidden somewhere.

That was supposed to be the final rift, although humanity had been saying that for the last couple of decades. The cycle never ends, and it certainly does not wait for you to grow stronger.

The rift this time around was the first S-ranked rift in the entirety of recorded human history. The highest humanity had faced up until this point was an A-ranked rift.

At least I can get the last laugh. I'm glad I put in the extra training while the others were slacking off, Neraxis exclaimed with a shallow breath. Even as strong as he was, injuries could not be avoided.

But that did not matter. After all, Alice was one of the best healers in the world as well as the one he loved. The fact that she was also somewhere nearby made him feel a bit at ease.

What is taking those fuckers so long? Neraxis was growing a bit impatient. They were most definitely aware that the fight had ended, so where were they?

The silence had not lifted even slightly. It felt ominous to even stand by, and though he had killed all of the monsters, there was still a fair bit of tension in the air.

Most importantly, there was malice directed right at him from many sides.

The heroes who had hidden all this time finally appeared in his vision—eight people in total, and behind them was a crowd of the people he had saved.

A faint smile appeared on Neraxis's face. It seemed like his effort had not been for nothing; he managed to save them all. He just felt a bit strange seeing his party of heroes looking at him like that.

It was caution, fear, and lastly... Resolve?

Suddenly, a few messages appeared right in front of his eyes that he opted to ignore. The system had been pestering him about random stuff ever since the rift opened up, so he muted it.

[Task Failed Successfully!]

[Generating Evaluation: ETA 5 Minutes]

"The fuck does that even mean?" he muttered under his breath, making sure no one heard him. The situation did seem a little strange.

"Hey Nera, good work out there," Lar said while slowly walking toward him. The man behind the wheel, the one who was supposed to be the actual hero according to the media, yet here he was, reduced to a coward who had to abandon his party members.

What a pathetic guy. If I had been any weaker, his stunt would have got me killed, Neraxis expressed inside his mind and stretched out his hand. He wanted to lean on Lar since he did not have that much strength left. The adrenaline was slowly disappearing.

However, he did not receive a hand to lean on. Instead, Lar stopped just a few meters away from him and looked down at him with disgust clearly visible on his face.

"How far you have fallen, to think you would resort to killing humans..."

Neraxis was left stunned at that comment. "What bullshit are you spouting?" However, Lar completely ignored him and continued speaking.

"What do you all think? What should we do with this traitor of humanity?" He was trying his best to hide the grin forming on his face but failed. The only one who could notice it was Neraxis.

What is he doing...?

The people all around were cheering, screaming all sorts of things he never imagined hearing in his entire life.

"Kill him!"

"End him already!"

All different kinds of insults were being hurled at him, and for what? What had he done to deserve any of this?

He fought for them, he defended them, he nearly died for them, yet they were returning that gratitude by alienating him.

You worthless sacks of shit...

"Now, now, everyone, calm down. There is a time for such things," Lar said with a single finger over his lips, signifying for everyone present to quiet down.

"Alice, why don't you come over and heal him? He is looking a little roughed up." At his words, Alice, the girl Neraxis had been in love with for the past couple of years, walked up right next to him.

The gentle smile he had grown accustomed to was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she had a scowl on her face, looking down at him as if he were mere trash "You really expected me to help you... Pathetic."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"You fuck—" Neraxis was about to use his signature attack, Hell Scythe, however, the blue system window appeared before his eyes again.

[Usage Of Skills Blocked | Rating Evaluation In Progress]

[Generating Evaluation: ETA 2 Minutes]

System, are you fucking crazy!? Stop the generation or I am about to die! Neraxis exclaimed, but nothing happened. He was practically doomed to die.

Lar and Alice flinched upon realizing what he was about to do, but once they realized nothing happened, they heaved a sigh of relief and walked over to him, the other heroes following closely by.

"Someone's a little shy today. What's wrong, Neraxis?" The hero who used the spear, Bale, came over, an arrogant grin plastered on his face, yet he was powerless against his taunts.

"It's nice seeing you again, Neraxis," Asher, the hero who used daggers, said. Out of all the heroes present, his and Lar's animosity was evenly matched.

The other heroes stood back, they were quite afraid of him since he did do his due diligence in making sure they did not step out of line.

However, that seemed to not matter, since the only people he had put his trust in were about to end his life.

[Generating Evaluation: ETA 20 Seconds]

"Lar, why?" Neraxis asked in a helpless tone. This was not how he had planned on dying. He wanted to become rich, get married, start a family, be normal.

But that was all but a fool's dream... He let out an exhausted sigh and waited for an answer.

[Generating Evaluation: ETA 10 Seconds]

These system messages are really annoying, though...

"Why else, Neraxis..." Lar said out loud for all the people to hear and then began coming closer, close enough to whisper in his ear.

"You offset the balance. Now that there would be no more rifts, why would we risk having someone as strong and unpredictable as you kept alive?"

"Hah...hahaha," Neraxis let out a laugh, finding his answer hilarious. "For that reason alone, you are planning to kill me?"

[Generating Evaluation: ETA 5 Seconds]

Just a few more seconds until I blast you all to bits. A small smile appeared on Neraxis's face. However, as he stared at the countdown, a sudden pain in his chest assaulted him.

Looking down, he saw a single dagger piercing right through his heart. It was the same dagger he had bought as a gift for Alice.

Even at the end... you...

"You bitch..." He groaned and noticed the other heroes unsheathing their weapons as well.

[Generating Evaluation: ETA 1 Second]

However, just as he resigned to his fate, the system messages began appearing once again, and at the same time, the ground began rumbling.

A pair of daggers, a sword, and even a spear headed straight for him and pierced his body. In his last moments, he could swear he saw a massive pillar coming out of the ground.

But he could not make sure as he began losing consciousness, until finally, he drew his last breath.

Yet even in his dying moments, the blue system window was clearly visible.

[Evaluation Complete: SSS-Rank]

[Host Is Unable To Receive Rewards: Recompiling]

I don't give a shit. Neraxis exclaimed with the last of his will and closed his eyes, succumbing to the total darkness.

[Using Unique One-Time-Use Skill: Rebirth]

He was expecting to die. After all, he had lost most of his senses just a few moments ago. However, he was now feeling itchy instead.

The fuck? Neraxis's eyes shot open, and he saw a familiar ceiling right above his head.

This is... my home? It's not destroyed? His thoughts were racing with confusion, that was until an obnoxious knock on his door appeared, followed by a voice he had not heard in many years.

"Wake up, idiot! You will be late!"

My sister... Elara... she is alive? Neraxis's heart began beating at an incredibly fast rate. The last time he had seen her was when he was picking up what remained of her from the rubble.

He quickly got out of bed and darted straight to the mirror, and upon seeing the person in the reflection, his eyes widened.

A young man who looked to be 16 years old, with completely white hair and crystal-like purple eyes, was staring right back at him.

This is how I looked just before I entered the academy..? He lifted up his shirt and saw the flawless skin, a stark contrast to his body mere moments ago; it had been riddled with scars.

"Neraxis! Are you deaf!?" Elara's voice once again resounded as she began kicking his door.

...What in the actual fuck is going on?