Chapter 148
Sssss—
Leo’s body cooled rapidly after pushing his firepower to the limit.
“Leo! When did you learn our family’s magic?”
“I learned by watching yours.”
“What? But you only saw it once!”
Leo smiled at the astonished Lunia.
“I used yours as a reference and came up with a spell. Of course, compared to the real thing, it’s pretty crude.”
Just as Leo said, he created the spell by referencing Lunia’s flames, but it was rough compared to the original.
“How is that crude? It was plenty powerful.”
“There’s a price to pay.”
“A price? What price?”
Leo grabbed his collar and pulled down his shirt slightly.
Lunia flinched when she saw the burns on Leo’s chest.
She knew Leo had used flames beyond his limits, even at the cost of hurting his own body.
‘But isn’t this a bit much?’
Lunia, looking flustered, tried to cast a healing spell.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it myself.”
Casting a healing spell, Leo looked over at Erebos.
His eyes were drawn to the black flames.
The detestable flames that once plunged the world into calamity.
The catastrophe that brought fear and despair to the world was right in front of him.
Murderous intent flickered in Leo’s eyes as he gripped his sword tighter.
Lunia followed Leo into the audience chamber and swallowed hard.
Even seeing it again, it was overwhelming.
‘Is Leo really not fazed?’
Thinking that, she cautiously approached and looked at Leo’s profile.
“Le… Leo?”
At some point, Leo’s face had lost all expression.
The Leo Plov Lunia knew was a younger boy who, despite his age, always seemed more mature than her.
Not pride or arrogance or reckless bravado, but a genuine adult-like presence.
A composure that never seemed to falter in any situation.
Sometimes as sly as an old man, even annoyingly so, but always someone she could trust.
That was the Leo she knew.
But now, none of that remained in him.
A chillingly blank face.
Red eyes radiating a murderous aura so strong it made her want to shrink away.
The boy she knew was nowhere to be found.
For some reason, Lunia felt both uneasy and scared. Unconsciously, she reached out her hand.
Tug—
Leo looked at Lunia tugging at his clothes.
Seeing her uneasy expression, Leo smiled softly.
As Leo returned to his usual self, Lunia felt relieved and let go of his sleeve.
Regaining his composure, Leo calmly assessed the situation.
‘This is a fragment of Erebos.’
Just as he thought, the Erebos here was nothing but a mere fragment.
It had no will—a pure mass of power.
Even that power was so weak, it was almost an insult to call it Erebos.
‘Still, even just that is on the level of a catastrophe.’
This fragment alone was enough to distort the Hero’s World.
It was only a shard of power, but even now, it was a terrifying monster that would be difficult to handle.
‘At least, if it had a will.’
Leo flexed his grip on his sword.
‘So, how do I deal with this damned thing?’
Even if it was just a mass of power, if it was the everlasting flame of calamity, it would be tricky to destroy.
As Leo narrowed his eyes—
“What is this, anyway?”
Luna’s startled voice rang out.
Leo and Lunia looked at Luna.
Luna was staring at Erebos with wary eyes.
“Why is something like this in the audience chamber?”
“Luna, can you see it?”
Lunia asked in surprise.
As far as she knew, the residents of the Hero’s World couldn’t see Erebos.
No matter how great a hero Luna was, she was still a past existence, already gone.
No matter how real she seemed, she was just an illusion—like other figures of Hero Worlds, she shouldn’t be able to perceive Erebos.
“Of course. It’s huge, how could I not see it?”
Luna looked at Lunia like she was saying something strange.
“Lunia, does Erebos look any different now than before?”
At Leo’s question, Lunia looked at Erebos with a tense face.
“No, it’s the same.”
At Lunia’s answer, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘What’s the difference?’
“So that’s the monster you were talking about? Then it’s simple! Let’s just take care of it before it wakes up!”
“W-wait, Luna! You can’t just rush in!”
Lunia tried to stop Luna in alarm.
But Luna was the type to act first and talk later.
Holding the Polium, Luna unleashed her magic power.
Flash—!
Dozens of magic circles filled the air.
Luna’s immense magic swelled.
Before Lunia could even stop her, Luna’s spells rained down.
Boom-boom-boom-boom—!
Magnificent magic filled the air.
At the overwhelming display, Lunia’s mouth dropped open.
She was once again awed by Luna’s unfathomable strength.
A cloud of smoke filled the entire audience chamber from the explosions.
When the smoke cleared, Luna’s expression twisted at the sight of Erebos.
Even after being hit by Luna’s powerful magic head-on, Erebos was unharmed.
Luna grew stubborn at the sight of Erebos, completely unscathed.
“Oh? Is that how it’s going to be?”
“L-Luna, please calm down!”
In storybooks and records, the Founder of the Nebula was described as gentle and gracious.
An archmage who remained calm and supported the great heroes, no matter what happened.
That was the general image of Luna.
‘That’s why those storybooks are all lies.’
The real Luna was hot-tempered and unstoppable once she snapped.
She was the most destructive force in the subjugation party.
Her personality could be guessed just from the destructive power of the spells she created.
And now, Luna was fired up.
Once that happened, it was almost impossible to stop her.
‘Almost.’
Leo walked over to Luna.
He smacked her on the head with a ‘whap!’
“Owwww!”
Luna crouched down, clutching her head, glaring at Leo with teary eyes.
Seeing this, Lunia rushed to comfort her.
“L-Luna, are you alright? Leo! How could you hit Luna!”
“She was about to go on a rampage like an idiot.”
“Who are you calling an idiot!”
Luna grabbed Leo by the collar, growling.
Leo shoved her away and said,
“Calm down. You can’t just charge at that thing blindly.”
At his words, Luna paused.
She growled, then glared at Erebos.
Lunia looked at Leo in amazement, seeing how he calmed Luna down so quickly.
Even in a past life, it was always Leo’s job to calm Luna when she lost control.
‘Why didn’t Luna’s magic work?’
Even though she hadn’t perfected [Star Magic], Luna’s spells were overwhelming.
No matter how strong Erebos was, it was strange for even a fragment to be completely unaffected.
As Leo was making a grim face—
“Arrogant…!”
A voice filled with murderous intent rang out.
Leo turned to see Sid, fully recovered, looking at him with indifference.
“You’re still alive? Persistent, aren’t you.”
“I won’t forgive you for defiling this place with your filthy feet—”
“Oh my, there’s still a bug here?”
Wham—!
With a cheerful voice, a dainty leather shoe stomped on Sid’s head.
It was a surprisingly rough and ruthless act for a beautiful girl.
“Ugh…”
Elena brushed Sid’s flesh and blood off her shoe in disgust.
Though she was protected by magic, she couldn’t avoid the revulsion.
“I came because I was worried, but you two are both fine?”
Elena entered the audience chamber with a bright smile, her eyes widening when she spotted Luna.
“The Founder of the Nebula?”
“The Founder of the Nebula? What’s that? I don’t know why anyone would call me something so grand, but it sounds pretty cool!”
Luna’s eyes sparkled in admiration.
“Uh, Miss Elena, actually—”
“It’s okay, I get it.”
With her experience in conquering Hero Worlds, Elena quickly grasped the situation.
She approached Luna and politely introduced herself.
“I’m Elena Zeron. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Huh? Yeah. Nice to meet you. I’m Luna Lubinence.”
Elena smiled gently, then walked over to Leo.
“Oh my! Leo, are you hurt?”
Elena fussed over Leo, making Lunia a little flustered.
‘Is that all the reaction she has to meeting a legendary hero?’
As Elena hurried to Leo’s side, she suddenly stopped.
“What is that?”
For the first time, Elena’s calm expression stiffened.
Her eyes were fixed precisely on the dormant Erebos.
“Erebos.”
“Erebos?”
She recalled what Viner had said before she arrived.
‘She said the god had awakened… Was this what she meant?’
Elena’s face grew tense.
Even she, who never lost her composure, couldn’t help but tense up before the terrifying disaster from legend.
But seeing Erebos show no reaction, Elena looked puzzled.
“It’s asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. In that case, it’s simple.”
Elena smiled and poked Leo on the cheek with her finger.
“If a monster can’t move, there’s nothing to fear. Let’s just get rid of it.”
Leo brushed Elena’s hand aside and stepped forward.
Fwoooosh—
[Aura] and [Magic Power] surged through Leo’s body.
“Oh?”
Elena exclaimed in admiration.
‘Impressive.’
The power surging from Leo was far beyond first-year level.
‘He really is more than I expected.’
Elena’s eyes sparkled.
Meeting a legendary hero from the past was amazing.
But unlike others, she didn’t place special meaning on it.
Not because she didn’t respect heroes, but because she didn’t dwell on the past.
‘The present matters most.’
Her interest was always in those who could become new heroes, not the ones who closed their eyes long ago.
Just as Leo was about to cast a spell—
“Arrogant!”
Sid, revived after being stomped by Elena, regenerated and blocked Leo’s path.
“Such a persistent bug.”
Elena looked annoyed.
“How dare you run your filthy mouth here!”
Murderous intent flashed in Sid’s eyes.
Elena sneered at Sid.
“What makes you so confident you can do anything?”
Thump—!
Suddenly, a massive heartbeat echoed.
Everyone looked startled at the sound.
Thump-thump—
Whoosh—
The once-quiet black flames began to blaze furiously.
Sid turned, disbelief written across his face.
Flash—!
Erebos’s crimson eyes opened.
“E-Erebos!”
Sid’s face was overcome with rapture.
“Hahaha! The god! The great god has awakened! The will of the god has awakened!”
Lunia and Elena both turned pale at the sight of Sid trembling and laughing madly.
“Bow and worship! Tremble in fear before the great flames of calamity, you wretched remnants of heroes—”
Crash—!
“Gah—!”
Erebos’s giant foot stomped Sid flat.
Whoosh—!
Sid was burned to nothing.
Fwoooooosh—!
As Erebos rose, black flames swept across the World Tree.
ROOOOOOOOAR—!
With a furious roar, black flames surged from Erebos’s body.
At that moment, Lunia and Elena’s instincts screamed at them.
‘We’ll die.’
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom—!
A massive wave of black fire engulfed everything.
Lunia squeezed her eyes shut.
Then, realizing she was still alive, she cautiously opened her eyes.
Elena stood beside her, arms crossed.
‘I had no way to block that… She’s the Founder for a reason, even if she’s young.’
Elena’s gaze shifted from Luna’s back to the figure ahead.
‘Still, that boy…’
“Are you alright? That monster’s terrifying.”
Luna, who had always worn a relaxed expression until now, looked tense.
“Did it wake up because of me?”
Lunia shook her head at Luna’s clenched teeth.
“I don’t think so. B-but where’s Leo? Did he get caught in the flames?”
“If you mean Leo, he’s over there.”
Elena pointed straight ahead.
There stood Leo, protecting himself with gray magic.
He wiped blood from his mouth.
‘Is this my limit for now?’
He had taken significant damage.
But he wasn’t weak enough to be finished off by just a fragment of Erebos.
Having once defeated Erebos, Leo had prepared countermeasures against those eternal black flames.
Everything around the World Tree had disappeared.
The castle had collapsed, and the world was engulfed in black fire.
It was like the end of the world.
ROOOOOAR!
Amidst it all, the fragment of Erebos roared.
‘Why did it suddenly start moving?’
Leo frowned.
The shell of Erebos, which had been nothing but a will-less husk, suddenly began to act.
‘Did it suddenly gain will? No. There’s still no will coming from that thing.’
The only thing in Erebos’s eyes was a ferocious madness.
And yet, it was rampaging.
‘Is it because of me?’
Just as Leo hated Erebos, Erebos hated Kyle—now Leo—for breaking him into pieces.
If Erebos’s power awakened by instinct, that wouldn’t be strange.
Leo clenched and unclenched his fists.
“What do we do now?”
Elena bit her nails anxiously.
Lunia gritted her teeth.
For those who knew what Erebos was, there was only one feeling.
Overwhelming despair.
“What do you mean, what do we do? Isn’t it obvious?”
At that moment, Luna dispelled her barrier and spoke calmly.
Lunia and Elena looked at Luna’s back.
Luna smiled as she turned around.
“We defeat that monster.”
At her smile, Elena and Lunia’s eyes widened.
For a moment, that confident look overlapped with someone else.
“Right, Leo?”
Luna called to Leo.
Leo gave a small smile.
“Of course.”
Even in the face of catastrophe, Luna showed no fear. Watching her, Elena murmured,
“How strange.”
“Huh?”
“Just now, Luna gave us courage.”
Elena smiled.
“Doesn’t she look like Leo?”
“…!”
Lunia’s eyes widened.
She looked ahead.
It was true.
Thinking back to the school trip, Lunia was astonished.
With her hands clasped behind her, Elena quietly looked at Leo.
“So this is how the first-year kids felt during Gigantes.”
Her heart was pounding.
She had never felt this way in her life.
‘A hero…’
It was a word she’d never admired.
Even if she respected someone, she’d never once thought of following in their footsteps.
She thought she never would.
But now, Leo’s back caught her eye.
She couldn’t help but admire him.
That dazzling figure drew her heart in.
As she realized it, Elena thought,
‘Maybe this isn’t so bad after all.’
Even in such despair, for the first time in her life, the girl who had never admired anyone smiled brightly as she longed for a hero.