Chapter 146
The elves wore expressions of shock as they gazed at the brilliant light of the Polium.
Lunia also looked back and forth between Leo and Luna, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Leo, what is that staff?”
“Polium.”
“What? Polium?”
Polium was originally a magic staff symbolizing the Elf King.
But by now, it had come to symbolize only Luna.
It was said that Polium shone most brilliantly when used by Luna.
‘As if it was made just for Luna.’
Even now, it was radiating a brilliance incomparable to when Leo had touched it.
“How do you have the Polium?”
“I happened to acquire it.”
Leo shrugged in response to Lunia’s question.
“Well then.”
Leo looked up at the World Tree.
“Shall we go?”
“Go where?”
“To defeat Erebos.”
Lunia trembled at Leo’s words.
“Defeat Erebos?”
“Yes.”
“Is that possible?”
Lunia’s face darkened.
Defeating a great calamity.
It sounded like something out of a fairy tale.
Lunia, who had seen Erebos in person, thought it was nearly impossible.
“There’s no other way to conquer this world.”
“What?”
Lunia looked at Leo in surprise.
‘It’s still not certain. How did Tartarus enter the Hero’s World? Why is there a piece of Erebos in Luna’s world?’
Leo clenched and unclenched his hands.
‘But if Tartarus can enter the Hero’s World, it must be deeply connected to the Erebos Lunia saw.’
And it would be related to the damage to the Hero Record pages as well.
Certain of this, Leo spoke.
“You don’t have to be too scared. I’m sure the Erebos you saw is different from the Erebos we know.”
“What?”
Three thousand years ago.
When just one fragment of Erebos was resurrected from the many pieces it was split into, the surface suffered catastrophic damage.
That day, called the Return of Calamity, marked the first crack in the peace established by the great heroes.
‘Just one fragment was enough to threaten the world.’
That presence would likely never be forgotten.
But right now, the energy of Erebos, which should have been palpable, could not be felt.
‘It’s not because it’s asleep. The Erebos in this world isn’t whole. It might only be a shard.’
If so, it wouldn’t be impossible to defeat it with their current strength.
Judging this, Leo spoke to Luna, who was examining the Polium with a fascinated look.
“Luna, let’s go.”
“Huh?”
Luna paused at Leo’s familiar call.
She looked at him for a moment before asking,
“I did agree to help you, but shouldn’t you tell me exactly what I’m supposed to help with first? And it doesn’t seem like the time to go anywhere right now.”
She was right.
This was the party venue for the Elf King’s birthday.
Leo and Lunia were nothing more than mysterious intruders here.
In fact, everyone was still watching Leo and Lunia with wary eyes.
But since they had clearly seen Leo draw the Polium, no one could act rashly.
Amidst this, Leo approached the Elf King, Ergen.
“Human boy, why have you disguised yourself as a high elf and trespassed on this sacred land? And why do you have the Polium?”
Ergen calmly asked, trying to grasp the situation.
“I am here by the will of a god.”
“A god?”
“Yes. By the will of Pibua.”
At the mention of Pibua, Ergen exhaled deeply.
Pibua.
Officially known only as the principal of Barharloon.
But only a few high elves knew that he was a god who had existed since the city’s founding.
By invoking Pibua’s name, Leo was effectively stating that he had come here at Pibua’s summons.
‘And this boy even brought the Polium.’
Even if he hadn’t been chosen by the Polium, he could at least distinguish the real from the fake.
In Ergen’s eyes, the Polium was real.
Pibua must have anticipated this and entrusted Leo with the Polium.
“What is Pibua’s will?”
“To vanquish the darkness over the World Tree.”
“The darkness over the World Tree? Can you do it alone?”
“This is something only we can do.”
After hearing Leo’s words, Ergen nodded.
“Very well. The elves will not stand in your way.”
Upon hearing this, the elves at the party opened their eyes wide.
“Your Highness! A human entering here is something that must be punished! And not only are you letting him go, but allowing him to step into the World Tree with filthy feet?”
One elf spoke urgently.
Ergen sighed at the elf.
“You saw it, didn’t you? The light of the Polium chose this human boy. And also.”
His gaze turned to Luna, who wore the Barharloon school uniform.
“Chose that student.”
Only those chosen by the Polium could become king.
That was the elves’ tradition and culture.
To deny the Polium’s light was to deny the honor they so valued.
“There’s no way that’s the real Polium!”
“That’s right! It must be a fake brought by these wretches!”
But the protests did not subside.
Ergen dismissed them.
“I’ll handle things here. Go ahead, human boy.”
At his words, Leo bowed his head and approached Luna and Lunia.
‘He’s worthy of being the last king of the elves.’
Ergen was the king who fought against Tartarus to the very end during the era of calamity.
All the elf kings who succeeded him had been corrupt, but Ergen had risked his life for his people.
“Let’s go.”
At Leo’s words, Luna and Lunia followed behind him.
“So this really is the Polium.”
Luna marveled, examining the Polium.
Then she tilted her head as she looked at Leo and Lunia.
“So, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we?”
At that, Lunia spoke hurriedly.
“Hello, Luna! My name is Lunia El Lunda! It’s an honor to meet you!”
“Lunia El Lunda, hmm! Nice to meet you. But is it really such an honor to meet me?”
“Of course! You’re famous, Luna!”
“What? My reputation has spread that much outside? Hmph. I guess a genius like me can’t hide my brilliance!”
Lunia squeezed her eyes shut at Luna’s smug smile.
Leo frowned as he asked Lunia,
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re just too dazzling! So beautiful! So cute! I can’t believe I get to talk to the Founder!”
‘…She’s just a boastful fool. What’s so dazzling about her?’
Leo let out a deep sigh.
“Ar was weird too when he saw Arron. Why are you just like her?”
At that, Lunia flinched and looked at Leo, forgetting for a moment that Luna was there.
“Ar? Do you mean the top first-year of Azonia?”
“Yeah.”
“And how do you know how she reacted when she saw Arron?”
“I conquered Arron’s world with her.”
“What?! How?!”
“It’s a long story for now.”
Lunia frowned.
“What was she like, that Ar?”
“He was excellent. Just like you’d expect from Azonia’s class representative.”
“And?”
“And? She was just cute.”
“C-cute…?”
Lunia was flustered.
Luna, who had been watching, spoke up.
“Hey. The two of you can have your private talk later. What’s your name?”
“Leo Plov.”
“Okay. Leo, Lunia. So? What do I need to do to help? I heard you say something about darkness over the World Tree earlier?”
“Right. There’s a monster hiding in the World Tree right now. We’re going to subjugate it.”
“A monster? Not bad for my first achievement.”
Luna responded confidently.
“What about the Polium?”
“You hold onto it.”
“Huh?”
“It’s yours, after all.”
Leo smiled as he opened the gates of Barharloon.
Creak—
This castle was a kind of entrance connected to the inside of the World Tree.
“There will be a lot of obstacles. Be on your guard.”
Luna and Lunia looked inside the gate and were horrified.
The interior of Barharloon, called the holy sanctuary of the elves, was filled with hideous demonic beasts.
“Where did all these things come from?!”
Leo replied as he saw Lunia’s shock.
“If Erebos is here, this much is to be expected.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Right now, it’s no exaggeration to call this place a den of demons.”
Leo drew his sword.
Whoosh—!
Flames of [Aura] wrapped around the blade.
Seeing that, Lunia also roused her magic power.
Whoosh—!
Luna gasped in admiration at the [Aura] and magic power imbued with the power of the [Phoenix].
“Amazing ability.”
With the usual competitive spirit among peers, Luna grinned.
“Then I’ll show off my skills too!”
Luna spun the Polium in her hand with a flourish.
Snap—!
Then, gripping it tightly, she unleashed her magic power.
Silvery magic power shimmered.
Lunia looked on with an expression of awe.
‘To see the Founder’s magic right in front of me!’
Could there be any greater honor for an elf?
As he saw the two elves finish their preparations, Leo gathered his magic and shot it into the sky.
Whoosh—! Bang—!
The magic projectile soared high and exploded brightly.
A signal flare,
A spell to let Elena and Haddin somewhere in Barharloon know their location.
Leo turned his gaze back inside the castle.
Looking at the swarm of demonic beasts radiating killing intent, Leo spoke.
“Let’s go.”
With those words, Leo charged forward.
Behind him, Luna’s voice rang out.
It was like a beautiful melody, a chant.
As he heard it, Leo felt strength fill his hands.
‘I never thought the day would come when we’d fight in sync again.’
The unease that had lingered deep in his chest disappeared.
The voice that had pushed him forward and saved his life countless times on the battlefield awakened his senses.
The voice that had overcome countless trials with him gave him courage again.
Crunch—!
Leo severed the neck of a demonic beast before him.
What followed was a dazzling display of blood fountains.
Leo’s movements as he weaved through the demonic beasts were almost supernatural.
He reacted to attacks from every direction as if he had eyes on his back.
He slaughtered the demonic beasts with minimal motion.
Lunia’s eyes widened as she watched.
‘I knew he was stronger… but I didn’t expect this much.’
He was far stronger than he’d been on the school trip.
Lunia could feel her emotions trembling.
‘I can’t lose.’
Beside her was the Founder she had admired since childhood.
In front of her was the boy she had set her sights on and chosen to chase after.
‘I can’t lose.’
Determination filled Lunia’s red eyes.
Whoosh—
Lunia raised her index finger.
A small flame formed above it.
The flame quickly compressed and began to spin fiercely in the shape of a disc.
“Crimson Disc.”
It was Lunia’s unique magic, perfected after months of effort since the school trip.
With determination, her magic weaved through the demonic beasts and cut them down.
“Impressive.”
Luna, watching the two fight, was impressed.
‘I can’t lose either.’
“Fireball.”
Whoosh—
The completed spell was unexpectedly simple.
As Luna finished casting the basic fire magic, Lunia looked at her in confusion.
But Luna added one more technique to the [Fireball].
“Multiplication.”
Lunia stared in shock at the [Fireballs] filling the entire space.
The magic before her was incredibly simple.
It was merely a spell that duplicated magic.
But the result defied common sense.
Luna simply repeated the duplication technique over and over.
The number of [Fireballs] multiplied rapidly and were multiplied again.
A simple, brute-force approach.
The more she developed the multiplication, the harder it became.
Normally, one or two times would be the limit.
But Luna continued without much difficulty.
‘This is the Founder’s skill.’
She was not called a genius just for creating the great [Star Magic].
Her sense for magic, her reserves of power, were on another level.
“I guess this should be enough.”
Luna snapped her fingers.
Snap—!
Boom boom—!
The multiplied [Fireballs] shot toward the demonic beasts.
Boom boom boom boom—!
Kraaaah!
The screams of demonic beasts echoed.
With just simple [Fireballs], she ravaged a whole battalion of demonic beasts.
It was something impossible even in this era of overwhelming magical advancement.
“Amazing.”
She was still the Founder as a girl.
But her power was overwhelming.
‘This is the Founder of the Nebula, Luna Lubinence.’
Lunia didn’t even dare to evaluate Luna.
She shuddered at the power of the Founder.
Watching Lunia, Luna cleared her throat.
Luna’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lunia.
Like a child wanting praise.
But Lunia couldn’t figure out what Luna wanted.
‘What does she want?’
The idea that the Founder would want praise never even crossed her mind.
As the flustered Lunia stared blankly, Luna was about to look disappointed.
Just then, Leo returned and, as if it was natural, reached out his hand.
He ruffled Luna’s hair.
“Good job, that was amazing.”
At Leo’s praise, Luna beamed, puffed out her chest, and nodded.
Then she paused, suddenly getting worked up.
“Hey! Aren’t you younger than me? Why are you treating your older sister like a kid!?”
“You’re the one who wanted praise, acting all childish.”
“Wha—? How did you—? Anyway, I’m your older sister! I don’t need praise from someone younger! I should be praising you instead!”
Luna lunged at Leo and messed up his hair in return.
Leo just smiled and accepted her antics.
Lunia felt a strange feeling as she watched.
‘How does Leo know exactly what Luna wants?’
Ahead walked Leo and Luna.
For some reason, the two seemed extremely close.
‘Like old friends.’
How could anyone be so casual with a great hero?
It was a mystery.
At the same time, Lunia felt a strange feeling seeing how close Leo and Luna seemed—closer even than herself.
As Lunia watched the two with complicated feelings,
“Lunia.”
“Yeah?”
“That new magic was impressive. You’ve been working hard, huh?”
Leo smiled as he patted her on the head.
Lunia frowned at Leo’s gesture.
“Hey, I’m older than you, you know?”
“Really? Should I treat you like an old lady then?”
“You brat! Do you want to die?!”
Lunia glared at Leo and charged at him.
Leo laughed as he watched his old and current companions tussling.
Then he looked toward the inner part of the castle.
‘How much farther do we have to go?’