The Fukaros Familia, starting from DanMachi.

Chapter 94 Hero's Bridge

Over the long years, this heroic bridge has been destroyed several times, whether by monster attacks, terrible natural disasters, or struggles between humans.

But each time, someone always steps forward and rebuilds the bridge and the statues at all costs, which is why it has been able to continue to this day.

These silent stone statues seem to be telling all the passersby a single sentence:

We must never lose our pride.

Together with Lefia and Ais, Fenyu walked slowly across the stone bridge tower onto the "Hero's Bridge".

Under the afternoon sun of the festival, the faces of the heroes were clearly visible.

Thirty-one statues are arranged at equal intervals along the railings on both sides of the bridge, silently watching over the city they once protected.

They are the thirty-one individuals who achieved the most glorious feats in the thousands of years of Orario's history, in an era teeming with heroes.

The order of the statues is not related to their birth or death years; they are simply arranged randomly.

Among them, Fenyu quickly spotted the figure of Flander, the knight they had just visited in his memorial hall.

He also saw many names he had only read about in heroic epics.

Saluon, a descendant of the Wolf Emperor, has a statue that exudes a wild and domineering aura, as if he is about to unleash a roar that will shake the entire army.

The Amazonian queen Ivelda, holding a battle axe, gazes down with an air of dominance, exuding the majesty and grandeur of a queen.

The Immortal Lord Garzhanev, his statue is shrouded in a mysterious aura, as if he has seen through the boundary between life and death.

The mighty spear-wielding Sidu, pointing his spear straight to the sky, radiating fearless battle spirit, stood alongside Sphia, the founder of the elven dynasty, and Celia, the pure and innocent royal elven saintess—

Fen Yu noticed that beside many of the hero statues, there was another, slightly smaller statue. These were beautiful and powerful fairy spirits of various shapes and sizes. They quietly nestled beside the heroes, together forming that magnificent ancient epic.

"Heroes' Bridge—we've arrived! How does it feel?"

Lefia put her hands behind her back, turned her head slightly, and looked at Fenyu beside her with a hint of expectation in her blue eyes.

"How should I put it—"

Burning Feather's self-light swept over the silent stone statues. He gently covered his chest, as if he could feel the weight and heat that spanned thousands of years, and sincerely exclaimed, "There's a feeling of—blood boiling."

""

He wasn't lying.

The moment he saw these statues of heroes, he felt as if he could pierce through the mists of time and witness firsthand that dark age when monsters roamed and humanity struggled in despair.

The heroes represented by these statues are solitary figures who saved the world from endless calamities at the cost of their own flesh and blood and lives.

The Hero Bridge was bustling with activity at this moment.

As the spiritual symbol of the labyrinth city, this bridge undoubtedly enjoys the highest popularity in Orario during festivals.

Countless adventurers and citizens come here to admire the glory of their ancestors and draw strength for their journey.

The three carefully squeezed through the bustling crowd and stepped onto the stone bridge that carries history.

When she reached the center of the bridge, Ais suddenly stopped.

She stood there quietly, looking up at the statue of a hero in front of her.

It was a statue unlike any other hero.

He held a long, sharp sword, wore simple light armor, and a long scarf fluttered in the wind around his neck, as if he were about to embark on a journey at any moment.

Beside him, there was no great fairy to cuddle with, only an empty, cold stone platform.

Fen Yu raised his head and looked at the hero who had been repeatedly praised as the "strongest" in the long epic of heroes, his face still angular despite the erosion of time, and whispered his name.

"Great hero, Albert—"

Upon hearing the name, Lefia also looked solemnly at the statue.

Albert is the undisputed strongest hero, appearing in the "Labyrinth Oratorio," a record of the deeds of ancient heroes.

He leads a group known in ancient times as mercenaries and explorers, which are now adventurers.

In other words, the King of Mercenaries is the King of Adventurers.

In the epic, he has many names and titles: Albert Oseres, the Sword Master, and — Mercenary King Valentstan.

Fenyu's gaze swept across the statue and then landed on Ais's expressionless profile beside him.

The great deeds of Albert, a great hero, are equivalent to the end of the 'Ancient' era.

His birth and death were inextricably linked to the arrival of the later Age of Gods.

This is an indelible legend engraved in the final chapter of "The Sacred Tale of the Labyrinth".

His greatest achievement was defeating the "Black Dragon".

In that dark era, the black calamity bred by the underground city brought collapse and destruction to everything on this land.

So the great hero, all alone, challenged the embodiment of despair, and ultimately, at the cost of his own life, drove it to the ends of the earth.

Legend has it that the dragon king, whose eye was taken by the hero's sword—now known as the "One-Eyed Dragon"—let out a mournful cry that shook the world, flew to the distant northern lands, and disappeared without a trace.

After the Black Dragon departed, some time passed before the gods of the heavens descended to the mortal realm, ushering in a new era of gods.

In other words, it was the great hero who single-handedly ended the ancient era and connected the new era with the fate of the lower realm.

Therefore, everyone agrees that he is the undisputed "strongest hero".

"The strongest hero, huh? —"

Fen Yu looked at the statue in front of Ais, and a barely perceptible smile slowly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

He liked this title very much.

There may be no single hero, but there can only ever be one "strongest" hero.

"Miss Ais, are you very concerned about Lord Albert?"

Lefia looked at Ais, who was motionless and seemed to have turned into a stone statue, and asked her in a low voice with curiosity.

She had always wanted to know more about Ais, but it seemed that only a handful of people, such as Loki and Captain Finn, knew about Ais's past.

"Hmm," Ais only uttered a very soft syllable from her throat and nodded slightly, her golden eyes still fixed on that stone-carved face.

Fenyu also looked at Ais, sighing inwardly.

How could I not care? Albert and Ais's relationship is anything but ordinary.

After all, he was her father.

Of course, Fen Yu wouldn't say it; it was a secret that couldn't be told.

"Fenyu, do you know why?"

Seeing that Ais didn't intend to say anything more, Lefia turned to Fenyu and pointed to the opposite side of Albert's statue, "On this bridge, only the opposite side of Lord Albert's statue is empty, while the other hero statues are all facing each other in pairs."