"I Quit Being a Hero" will begin airing in April 2022. The story follows a hero who has been fighting for humanity until a certain incident leads him to quit his job and join the Demon King's army. While other works, such as "Maoyu," feature a demon king and a hero teaming up, what exactly is the story behind this one? Here's a sneak peek at the story of "I Quit Being a Hero."
Leo, the Hero, Takes the Demon King's Recruitment Exam
The story begins right from the start, with Leo the Hero arriving at the Demon King's Castle and taking the recruitment exam. Leo confidently submits his resume and begins to promote himself to the Demon King Echidna. He even mentions his achievement of defeating Echidna one-on-one... Leo was smug and confident of his acceptance, but Echidna's response was, "You're definitely not going to get hired, you idiot!" Ultimately rejected, Leo begs the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army to somehow arrange a second exam for him, and begins to share his story. He reveals that despite his role as a protector of humans, he was feared, rejected, and even had assassins sent against him. After hearing his story, the Four Heavenly Kings decide to recruit Leo into the Demon King's Army, on the condition that he conceal his true identity from Echidna.
Leo, the hero, now known as Sir Onyx. First Job
To conceal his true identity, Leo calls himself Lord Onyx and clads himself in black armor. Lord Onyx's first job was to supply magical power to the furnaces. Among the Four Heavenly Kings, the busiest was Leo's auditor, Stina. While she usually works at a desk, she was also in charge of supplying magical power to the four furnaces. These furnaces are the power source that runs the castle's facilities, and Stina is in charge of supplying magical power to all four of them. Only the person who built the furnaces can supply magical power. Because of this rule, Stina was always busy, but Leo decided to solve the task in 30 minutes and 2 hours. Leo successfully solved the problem in 30 minutes and 2 hours, but in the end, he stepped on Stina's landmine and was kicked out of the room.
The Idiot Lili's Tutor
Leo's next task was helping out the logistics unit. The logistics unit is headed by Lili, one of the Four Heavenly Kings' Beast Generals. However, the "idiot" Lili is simply dumber than Leo expected. A job that would normally take a day to complete took six days for Lili, and she was still only halfway there. Her slow pace led to numerous complaints from Stina and the local residents, who were busy at the Demon King's Castle. Leo then staged a series of challenges for Lili, requiring her to cooperate with her subordinates. Leo imagined a snake bite and required herbs, and Lili brute-forced her way through each one. However, after overcoming all the challenges, Lili realized that "working together makes the job easier." She learned about work efficiency from Leo, and from that day on, the logistics unit's work efficiency dramatically improved. (At first, Leo thought that Lili was stupid and that it would be pointless to tell her directly.)
Drinking Party in Hell with the Demon Lord Echidna
Stabilizing the furnace's magical power supply and streamlining the logistics unit. Thanks to Leo's efforts, Steina's work has become easier, and she blurts out in front of Echidna, "Thanks to Lord Onyx, my work has become easier." Upon hearing this, the Demon Lord Echidna expresses her desire to meet Lord Onyx, creating a drinking party from hell for Leo. Leo uses magic to change his face and joins the drinking party with just the two of them. While anxious about when they'll be found out, Leo tries to overcome the crisis by utilizing a secret technique to make drinking parties with his boss more comfortable. However, the conversation gradually becomes more serious, and after hearing Echidna's true feelings, Leo finally tries to reveal his true identity... But then, Stina appears in a panic and shows Leo and Echidna two shocking notes.
Shadowless General Melnes Sets Out on a Journey
"I'm going on a journey. Please don't look for me." Leaving behind this note was Melnes, the Shadowless General and one of the Four Heavenly Kings. When Leo finds Melnes and asks him why he left that note and disappeared, Melnes mutters, "Interview." Melnes had a job as an interviewer in three days, but he's not good at talking and can't communicate properly, so he intended to travel around to different towns to get some clues. However, when Leo showed up, he made an unreasonable request: "Make me a communication expert by the end of the three days." Leo, scratching his head at the unreasonable request, decides to have Melnes dress up as a woman and work as a waitress at a diner so he can gain communication experience. Melnes works surprisingly diligently and shows his learning ability. In the end, the two practice for the interview together, and the interview went smoothly.
The Annoying Super Muscle-Brained Edvard
The other person who left a note was the Dragon General Edvard. He vanished after writing, "I take responsibility for my failure to train my subordinates and will commit suicide." Leo, who was consulted by Julietta, Edvard's daughter and his aide-de-camp, heard how Edvard's muscle-brained thinking had caused trouble for his subordinates. He came up with a plan to use machine golems to correct Edvard's thinking. Machine golems are dangerous creatures that far surpass S-rank monsters and have even been called "forbidden weapons." It is said to be nearly impossible to deal with on first sight. However, until now, Edvard had assumed that his subordinates should be able to do things they couldn't do on first sight, saying, "It's only natural that they should be able to do it. If they can't, it's because they haven't tried hard enough." Leo did the exact same thing to Edvard, scolding him for not being able to deal with the machine golem on first sight. This made Edvard realize that his thinking was wrong, and from then on he began to train his soldiers using the correct training methods.
Where is the Philosopher's Stone?
With less than a week left until the Great Spirit Hole connecting the Demon World and the Human World begins to close, Echidna is forced to choose between remaining in the Human World or returning to the Demon World. Echidna's reason for coming to the Human World was to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. She believed that with it, the Demon World would prosper. However, unable to obtain the Philosopher's Stone, Echidna is forced to choose between the two...and then Lord Onyx reveals his true identity and claims to know the location of another Philosopher's Stone. Reluctantly, Leo and his friends believe him and head toward the Philosopher's Stone, which is said to be "guarded by a strong guardian." Leo stops at their destination and tells them that he is the "strong guardian" and that the "Philosopher's Stone" is his heart. If they want the Philosopher's Stone, they must kill him and rip out his heart. Echidna and her friends were defeated by Leo once before, but they will face him again.
Conclusion of the Battle
Despite the five-on-one battle, Leo overwhelms the Demon King's army executives and the Demon King with his overwhelming strength. The Four Heavenly Kings were quickly defeated, leaving only Echidna and Stina behind. Echidna asked Stina to "buy 42 seconds," and with a desperate determination, she and Leo engaged in a magical exchange. 42 seconds later, Echidna unleashed the spell "Anti-Leo." It was a spell passed down through generations of Demon Kings, designed to render Leo powerless. Even Echidna, who unleashed the spell, thought Leo would be able to avoid it at such a speed, but Leo accepted the spell with a smile. With Leo completely powerless, the Four Heavenly Kings launched a simultaneous attack with mixed emotions. Leo's body was destroyed, and he was pushed to the point where the Philosopher's Stone in his heart was exposed.
Leo Officially Becomes a Member of the Demon King's Army
After being defeated by the Four Heavenly Kings, Leo cuts off their energy supply and tells them they have 300 seconds to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone. However, Echidna and all the other members of the Four Heavenly Kings oppose Leo's plan. Not a single one of them tries to take the Philosopher's Stone from Leo. Echidna then offers to officially hire Leo in the Demon King's Army as a "peace envoy" between the demon world and the human world. Thus, freed from the allusion to "protect humanity from evil," Leo officially joins the Demon King's army.
"I Quit Being a Hero" Story Summary
So far, we've introduced the plot of "I Quit Being a Hero." What did you think? While the series also includes backstories between the storylines, this was a quick, general introduction to the story without including those. I expect the anime will delve deeper into the characters, so please look forward to that!
