When the goofy goddess and Seiya's companions arrived at the Demon King's castle, they witnessed Seiya fighting the Demon King. However, both the goddess and readers felt a deep sense of dread.
Seiya appeared to be fighting with all his might, but the Demon King treated the battle like a game, almost toying with Seiya. Without the Holy Sword, Seiya couldn't hurt him at all. Instead, Seiya was the one suffering more and more injuries. If things continued this way, Seiya would surely lose in the end!
Many readers wanted to scream in frustration.
How could Seiya defeat such an enemy without the Holy Sword?
After all, Seiya had already maxed out his level! There was no time to escape back to the god realm and train further.
Fortunately, Seiya had prepared a backup plan, predicting the Demon King's strength and training with the Destruction God beforehand.
To defeat the Demon King, Seiya resorted to using the "Gate of Heaven's Punishment" because there was no other way to counter the Demon King's regeneration.
"Wait, didn't the Destruction God say she wouldn't teach him that move?"
"Exactly! How did he learn it now?"
Readers were surprised. In a previous chapter, although Seiya trained with the Destruction God, she had specifically told him she wouldn't teach him that technique.
But then a flashback appeared in the panels.
"This time, I must save the world, my companions, and the ones I care about! So please, teach me that move!"
The scene showed Seiya pleading with the Destruction God, showing her his predictions and the message he'd inscribed in his attribute panel. Even the Destruction God was moved.
"Well, there's no helping it!" The Destruction God scratched her head. "But… don't use it unless you absolutely have to. After all, you're human, not a god. If you use this move, you will die!"
Indeed, while the Gate of Heaven's Punishment could instantly annihilate even the Death God, it came at a cost. The move would severely drain HP. Gods had an immense HP limit, so they could survive using it. But for a human like Seiya, using it would be fatal.
Both Seiya and the readers understood the risks, but there was no other way. Without the Holy Sword, Seiya couldn't kill the Demon King, who would just keep regenerating.
So, Seiya unleashed the Gate of Heaven's Punishment.
As the Demon King was struck by the attack, the readers felt a glimmer of hope for victory.
But then, the side effects of the move hit Seiya. The backlash was immediate, causing Seiya's body to start breaking apart.
"No way! Is the Porter really going to kill off Seiya like this?"
"Of course! Haven't you heard? He's the king of tragic endings! He loves watching his readers fall from hope to despair, and now his student is following in his footsteps!"
"If the Porter kills off Seiya, I'm going to flood his social media with complaints every day!"
However, just when readers started panicking, they sighed with relief.
To save Seiya, the goofy goddess broke divine rules and unleashed her full goddess powers. Luckily, since she was a healing goddess, she used her strongest healing magic to keep Seiya alive.
"The Porter finally did something good for once!"
"Phew, everything's okay now. See? This was never supposed to be a tragic story in the first place!"
But just as the readers began to relax, they were thrown back into panic.
"WHAT?!"
"Are you kidding me? Is this for real?"
"Is this the ultimate 'enemy that won't die'?"
In the next panels, readers watched in horror as the Gate of Heaven's Punishment, which had already closed, was torn open by the Demon King!
This was the Destruction God's ultimate move—how could it not kill him?
The sheer strength of the Demon King was overwhelming, leaving readers feeling hopeless.
"How can Seiya and the others possibly win against someone this powerful?"
"Will Seiya have to use the Gate of Heaven's Punishment again?"
But could that really work a second time?
Despite the dangers, Seiya, in his weakened state, used the Gate of Heaven's Punishment once more.
This time, it worked. The Demon King was finally defeated, but Seiya's body couldn't be saved by the goofy goddess.
Even worse, the castle was surrounded by a soul-breaking barrier!
This meant that if Seiya died here, he wouldn't just lose his life—his soul would be completely destroyed, unable to return to his original world.
As readers watched the goofy goddess desperately try to heal Seiya, only for his body to fall apart again and again, they became completely absorbed in the tragic scene.
They silently prayed for Seiya to survive.
But it was no use. As the two embraced, some readers with softer hearts began to tear up.
"So… you were…"
In the panels, Seiya looked at the crying goddess. He briefly remembered a flash of someone from his past, and a soft smile appeared on his face. "I'm glad… I saved you this time…"
He reached out to touch the goddess's face, but before his fingers could make contact, his body crumbled into dust, vanishing completely.
According to the original story, there was supposed to be a continuation. The goofy goddess would later learn that Seiya wasn't truly gone and would be punished by the divine realm for breaking the rules. She would then go on a mission to save an SS-ranked world.
However, Ren wasn't sure if he would draw that part, so instead of giving readers hope, he decided to leave it unresolved.
Rather than continue with that storyline, Ren filled the remaining pages with an extended version of the final fight against the Demon King, giving readers more action-packed moments to enjoy.
After all, if he ever decided to adapt the next part of the story, he could use this as an opportunity to hype it up and attract more readers.
With that, Cautious Hero came to an end.
But many readers were left feeling hollow.
They had become deeply attached to Seiya's character, and the abrupt, tragic ending left them in shock.
In an instant, the word "tragic" echoed in their minds, along with the image of the Porter's face.
He hadn't changed at all. The Porter was still the same!
But really, Porter-sensei, this is just too cruel!
It wasn't fair at all!
People might say that not all good deeds are rewarded, but Seiya deserved better than to have his soul completely obliterated for his sacrifices.
What about the promise that heroes could return to their world?
Was that promise made just to make Seiya's death seem more tragic?
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