Just as the readers of Naruto were still reeling from the shocking revelation of Obito's true identity, the story of Cautious Hero was also nearing its conclusion.
In the ninth episode, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, a dwarf, sacrificed his beloved and his own life to summon the Grim Reaper.
The power of the Grim Reaper was absolutely overwhelming—so strong that even its stats appeared as a garbled mess, making it theoretically invincible. The party's usual trump card, the "Return Home" spell, was useless against this terrifying opponent.
Although the group managed to flee back to the realm of the gods, they were horrified to find that the Grim Reaper followed them there.
The gods themselves couldn't withstand the Grim Reaper's devastating power, and soon most of them were defeated. Seiya and his companions found themselves in an unprecedented crisis.
Fortunately, the Destruction Goddess appeared. Although many of her techniques were ineffective against the Grim Reaper, she had one powerful intermediate-level spell—Heaven's Prison Gate. This technique worked similarly to the cause-and-effect reversal ability seen in Fate/Stay Night's Lancer, except it was even stronger.
In the end, the Destruction Goddess managed to defeat the Grim Reaper.
Seeing this powerful technique, Seiya's eyes lit up. Despite already having reached the max level and learning the Archery of the Goddesses, he realized that only the Destruction Goddess could help him continue to grow stronger. He asked her to train him further.
Seiya's relentless pursuit of power, even at the brink of death, amazed the Destruction Goddess, and she agreed to teach him the techniques of destruction.
Fans like Daniel couldn't help but wonder what would become of the Destruction Goddess after training Seiya.
Previously, the Sword God had been reduced to a chef after training Seiya. The War God had transformed from a gloomy warrior into a lovesick girl. Even the Bow Goddess... well, she was always a bit crazy, so nothing much changed there.
What would happen to the Destruction Goddess? Daniel joked that she might turn into a masochist, considering that after using her strongest move, Heaven's Prison Gate, she seemed to enjoy the pain it caused her body.
Maybe during Seiya's training, he'd accidentally hit her with the destruction technique, and she'd beg him to keep attacking her?
Filled with these humorous speculations, the fans eagerly continued reading.
Then, they froze.
"What the…?!"
"Darn it, why is there a 'Holy Light' censoring everything?!"
In the next panel, the Destruction Goddess was sitting on top of Seiya in bed, with only a sliver of holy light covering them.
When the silly goddess questioned them, Seiya and the Destruction Goddess calmly explained that this was part of the training.
Many readers were enraged, half-jokingly.
"I want this kind of training too!!!"
"So jealous…"
After this surprising scene, Seiya and his party returned to the human world. When they met the King of the Human Realm, the Battle Emperor, the king helped them defeat another of the Four Heavenly Kings in an instant.
But who could have guessed that the Battle Emperor had made a deal with the Evil God to stay young forever? He wielded a soul-destroying weapon that could even kill gods. Fortunately, Seiya, always cautious, had prepared for even this and managed to barely defeat him.
"It looks like the final battle with the Demon King is coming soon."
"I have to admit, this Demon King is the smartest villain I've ever seen in a hero's journey."
"Right? He's not only guarding the starting town but also managed to bribe the strongest ally of the hero's party—the Battle Emperor."
Though Cautious Hero was known for its comedic moments, readers realized that compared to other stories in the same genre, this one had surprisingly intelligent characters and plot twists.
As the finale drew near, fans eagerly anticipated how Seiya would humorously defeat the Demon King.
But none of them were prepared for the dark turn that the final chapter would take.
A week later, the much-anticipated eleventh episode of Cautious Hero was released. Fans crowded outside bookstores, eager to grab the latest issue of Picca Comics.
Among them was Claire, a high school freshman and straight-A student. While she might have seemed like a model student to her classmates, Claire was secretly a proud otaku, loving anime and manga far more than her schoolwork.
Fullmetal Alchemist had been her first introduction to the Porter's works. She loved how the characters were so complex, with detailed motivations and personalities that made it hard to hate even the villains outright. After finishing Fullmetal Alchemist, she became an avid follower of the Porter's other works, with Cautious Hero being her latest obsession.
The over-the-top cautiousness of Seiya and his hilarious antics had kept her hooked from the start. She especially loved how each of the supporting characters added to the comedy. She couldn't wait to see what happened next.
However, when she opened the latest chapter, Claire froze.
The title alone felt ominous: The Heavy Truth.
What heavy truth? Was the Porter about to pull one of his infamous plot twists?
Claire had heard of how the Porter was known for turning lighthearted stories into unexpectedly dark ones.
But could he really pull it off in Cautious Hero?
Curiosity got the better of her, and she eagerly turned the page, her mind racing with possibilities.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
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