Chapter 150
Luna’s eyes widened as she saw Leo’s magic.
“It’s beautiful.”
The pure white magic was so dazzling that it drew an involuntary gasp of admiration.
The moment Erebos, spewing black flames, saw Leo’s magic, it radiated a ferocious killing intent.
There was unmistakable hostility.
‘As expected, it’s targeting me.’
With a cold expression, Leo launched [Innocence] at Erebos.
Fwoosh—!
The pure white sphere of magic flew forward.
Whoosh—!
The all-consuming black flames blazed furiously.
Like a savage beast, the flames opened wide and swallowed [Innocence] whole.
ROOOOAAAR—!
The black flames raged wildly.
At that moment—
Boom—!
Erebos’s flames, swollen like a balloon, exploded.
Bang—!
Flames scattered in all directions.
But the black flames dispersed in the air, unable to burn any longer, and faded out.
Not only that.
Erebos’s main body, hit by the explosion, also staggered.
Thud—!
ROAR!
Erebos let out a roar of rage.
“Attack!”
Leo shouted.
At once, Luna unleashed her magic power.
Flash—!
Dozens of magic circles filled the air.
The young archmage, awe-inspiring in her power, swung her staff.
Flash! Boom-boom-boom-boom—!
A storm of magic far greater than before swept through the air.
But even after being hit directly by so many spells, Erebos remained unharmed.
“Even this isn’t working?”
Luna looked shocked.
Leo frowned as he watched.
‘Why aren’t Luna’s attacks working?’
He swung his gray [Aura].
Slash—!
ROOOAAAR!
Erebos’s furious roar echoed.
It worked.
Compared to Luna’s attacks, Leo’s strike was much weaker, but it worked.
‘Is it because Luna is a being of the Hero’s World, so her attacks don’t affect him?’
It was certainly possible.
Leo’s face grew tense.
In this party, Luna was both the vanguard and the mage with the strongest attack.
‘If Luna’s attacks don’t work, that’s a huge problem.’
As Leo’s anxiety grew—
Behind them, flames erupted from Lunia.
Whoosh—!
Lunia grasped a small, burning flame in her hand.
Fwoosh—!
For an instant, wings of flame spread wide.
The symbol of the Lunda family.
The flames passed down for generations as the phoenix’s Oathbound.
“Holy Flame.”
The forbidden fire that even burns its user blazed fiercely.
It was Lunia, and Lunia alone, who kept the flame alive.
As long as her will didn’t falter, her body would continue to burn like firewood.
Elena smiled as she watched.
“So this is the Lunda family’s flame.”
She approached Lunia, who was contorted with pain.
“Wait! It’s dangerous—”
Lunia tried to back away in alarm.
But Elena hugged her first.
The madly raging flames threatened Elena.
But she didn’t care—she hugged Lunia tighter and rested her chin on Lunia’s shoulder.
“The scent of wild flame. I see. You’re a little dangerous too, aren’t you?”
She charged toward her goal without hesitation.
Even if it meant burning herself up, this elf girl would not hesitate.
Elena let go of Lunia and smiled gently.
Pink magic power flowed from Elena’s body.
Whoosh—!
Elena’s body burst into flames.
Lunia’s eyes went wide.
“This magic is—”
“Sacrifice. The hero magic left by the elven saint Menamel.”
“Wait! Sacrifice is—!”
“Yes. The strongest healing magic. Menamel is said to have even revived the dead with it.”
“Yes, but this magic—!”
It transfers the recipient’s wounds to the caster.
It is, quite literally, a magic of equivalent exchange.
“Right now, you’re the one with the greatest attack power.”
Elena smiled.
As long as it burns, the phoenix’s flame grows endlessly stronger.
The Lunda flame, too, only grows stronger as it burns.
But unlike the phoenix, it has limits.
For the phoenix, blessed with infinite life force, it’s a mighty power. But for an elf, it’s a double-edged sword.
In other words, the moment her body can’t endure it is the limit of the Lunda flame.
Elena removed that limitation for Lunia.
“But what about you, Elena—!”
“My, a third-year shouldn’t be so weak that a first-year has to worry.”
Elena shrugged as if nothing was wrong.
“So burn even brighter.”
With the dignified air of a queen, Elena spoke.
“Show your worth, Lunia El Lunda.”
“…I won’t be responsible if you regret it.”
Whooosh—!
The wings of flame grew even larger.
Elena’s pain increased along with them.
But she kept her noble smile.
‘Honestly… even Seiren can’t be careless with her.’
Thud—rumble—!
Erebos, having fallen, rose up again.
Seeing Lunia’s blazing flames, it roared.
ROOOOAAAR!
A lance of flame formed at Erebos’s fingertips.
It hurled the lance straight at Lunia and Elena.
To stop it, Haddin flew toward Erebos’s spear.
Whoooom—!
The air responded to Haddin’s call.
Having mastered the wind, Haddin focused [Aura] at his sword’s tip.
With both hands, he struck.
Whoosh! Boom-boom-boom—!
A blade of wind shot up and knocked away Erebos’s flaming spear.
The chilling heat left Haddin tense and bracing his whole body.
Boom—!
The flaming spear scattered.
‘So this is the legendary calamity…!’
Just blocking a single blow sapped all his strength.
Haddin caught sight of Leo up front, fighting Erebos alongside Luna.
‘…Leo Plov.’
First-year representative of Lumene.
Maybe his strength surpassed Leo’s for now.
‘But we stand in different places.’
He realized this boy was somewhere unreachable.
First-year and third-year… the difference in grade would be closed in no time.
He felt no sense of inferiority or jealousy.
He was just in awe.
It was different from how he felt about Elena, his original goal.
‘Yeah.’
Realizing what he felt, Haddin laughed.
‘It’s awe.’
Haddin, older than Leo, felt awe toward a human boy younger than himself.
He was in a place he could never stand.
He felt awe for Leo, who stood alongside legendary heroes.
At that moment—
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
A pillar of red flame shot up behind him.
Haddin turned.
There stood Lunia, unleashing an incredible blaze.
“Here I go!”
With both hands, Lunia hurled the massive flame at Erebos.
Leo saw it and remembered something.
“Luna.”
“What?”
“Can you make that magic even stronger?”
Leo gestured toward Lunia’s ‘Holy Flame.’
Luna looked at him incredulously.
“Make a high-level spell like that even stronger? Dispelling it would be way easier!”
“You can’t?”
“Talk about what’s possible! You’re a mage too, aren’t you? Be reasonable!”
To take control of someone else’s magic, an overwhelming difference in skill is required.
Even with such a gap, if the other’s magic was a complex high-level spell, it was almost impossible to seize control.
Even if you somehow took control, its power would be pitifully weak.
But to make it stronger?
It was ridiculous.
Leo looked at Luna and said,
“You can do it.”
“What?”
“You’re a genius.”
Luna’s ears perked up at his words.
She, so easily flattered, was flattered again by Leo.
“Well, I am a genius.”
Luna cleared her throat.
“Come to think of it, it’s not theoretically impossible, right?”
Grinning, Luna gripped the Polium.
“Alright! Fine! Let’s give it a try.”
“So simple.”
“What was that?”
“I’m counting on you.”
Luna turned and smiled as she saw Leo giving her a thumbs-up.
She closed her eyes and drew up her magic power.
Whoooom—!
Luna’s magic enveloped Lunia’s Holy Flame.
For a moment, Luna’s consciousness drifted into a trance.
‘Huh? This spell formula… it’s familiar.’
Luna felt a strange sense of wonder.
Just like with Leo’s magic before—
And with this magic—
It was similar to the magic she was researching.
Luna marveled as she analyzed the structure.
‘Whoever created this formula is a genius. As much as me!’
It was exactly what she’d always dreamed of.
She delved deeper into the formula her future self had created.
For a brief instant, Luna lost herself in the trance.
And then, she understood something.
ROOOOAAAR—!
At that moment, Erebos lunged at Luna.
But lost in the magic, Luna didn’t react.
Slash—!
Suddenly, a gray sword energy severed Erebos’s wrist.
“Not a second time.”
Leo’s voice was icy.
“I won’t let you take it a second time.”
The fragment of calamity flinched at the murderous intent in his voice.
For a moment, Leo’s glare overwhelmed Erebos.
ROOOOAAAR—!
Enraged, Erebos swung its arm at Leo, who had stepped between it and Luna.
Leo didn’t dodge.
Dodging would put Luna in danger.
Crunch—!
Erebos’s giant hand grabbed Leo.
Crackle—
Black flames erupted from Erebos’s hand.
Haddin, Lunia, and Elena’s eyes widened in shock.
At that moment—
[Objective: Assist the Founder of the Nebula, Luna, in completing [Star Magic].]
[The Founder of the Nebula, Luna, has completed [Star Magic].]
A message appeared before the conquerors’ eyes.
While everyone was shocked—
“You’re not dying from just that, right?”
Luna asked brightly.
Flash! Slash—!
With a flash of gray [Aura], Leo cut off Erebos’s hand and broke free, grinning.
“Of course not.”
His whole body was burning.
Black flames crawled along his skin.
Though pain twisted his face, he was still smiling.
“Alright, then.”
Luna smiled as she saw she had taken control of the magic.
“It’s over, you damned shadow.”
Flash—!
A brilliant sphere of flame, like a miniature sun, shot toward Erebos.
ROOOOAAAR—!
Thud!
Erebos caught the spell as if to hold it back.
Boom—!
But its knees buckled.
ROOAAAR—!
Screaming in agony, Erebos was overwhelmed and crushed by the magic.
Thud! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
A giant pillar of flame soared into the sky.
SKREEEEEEEE!
Erebos’s scream pierced the heavens.
But soon, it burned until there was nothing left but unrecognizable ashes.
—
The ominous sky returned to normal.
All that remained was the half-destroyed Barharloon Castle.
In the midst of it, Lunia murmured,
“I-it’s over.”
Her body trembled with joy.
“We actually defeated Erebos… eek?”
“Hmm. I thought it’d smell burnt, but it’s surprisingly fresh most of the time.”
Lunia panicked and shook off Elena, who was nuzzling the back of her neck.
“What are you doing!”
Elena giggled at the now beet-red Lunia.
“Such cute reactions. I like you. Maybe I’ll kidnap you and take you back to Lumene.”
“Absolutely not! I’m a proud Seiren class representative!”
Lunia shook her red face at Elena, who looked at her like a kid who’d found a new toy.
“Oh, what a shame.”
Just then—
“We did it! We defeated that monster! And I finally completed the magic I’d been researching!”
Hahaha! Luna let out a loud, cheerful laugh.
“Not bad! I thought all elves were stuffy, but I see there are some like you!”
“It’s an honor to be praised like that… huh?”
As Haddin answered politely, Luna slung her arm around his shoulder like a headlock, leaving him shocked.
Then Luna threw her remaining arm around Lunia’s neck, laughing brightly.
“L-Lady Luna is putting her arm around me…!”
“This must be a dream! No! It can’t be a dream!”
Elena giggled as she watched the two dazed elves.
“Photos of the Seiren class reps acting like idiots—those would be worth seeing.”
“It’s not that strange for a legendary hero, right?”
Leo approached Elena.
He tried to help her up.
But Elena just smiled and slapped his hand away.
“You shouldn’t touch a lady carelessly.”
Leo made a slightly annoyed face.
“But you had no trouble leaning on Lunia.”
Though he’d brushed it off as a joke, in truth, Elena could barely lift her head.
“Heh. Sharp eyes.”
Elena’s gaze was listless.
She acted calm, but in truth, her condition was the worst of all.
The only reason Lunia was okay despite using such magic was that Elena had absorbed all the flame’s burden for her.
“But there’s no need for that sort of concern.”
Elena smiled brightly.
“A queen is meant to be left as a noble flower, Leo.”
“Aren’t you a little too young to be a queen? Maybe a princess.”
“Heh. Well, I always liked princesses in fairy tales more than the heroes. I admired them more.”
Elena chuckled.
“But I’m the type to escape before the prince or hero comes to save me.”
She paused and narrowed her eyes.
“Anyway, instead of worrying about me, shouldn’t you worry about yourself?”
The most seriously injured of the party was none other than Leo.
“I’m used to it.”
But Leo smiled nonchalantly and shrugged.
He and Elena walked over to Luna.
“This puts me one step closer to my ultimate magic!”
Luna exclaimed, full of excitement.
Elena’s eyes sparkled as she asked,
“What is this ultimate magic you’re after, Luna?”
“Don’t be surprised when you hear! It’s the magic of making flowers bloom!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Lunia, Elena, and Haddin stared blankly.
It wasn’t because Luna’s goal was so ridiculous.
Their gazes naturally shifted to Leo.
The magic to make flowers bloom that Luna spoke of—
It was the very forgotten spell of the Founder that Leo had managed to restore during the class trip.
“Anyway! I’m coming with you!”
Luna grinned.
“You’re leaving, right? Out into the world? Take me with you!”
“No.”
Leo replied firmly.
Luna pouted.
“Aw, don’t be so stingy. Take me.”
“No. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“We have our own path. You have yours.”
Leo drew a line.
How nice it would be if they could go together.
‘…There’s nothing that would make me happier.’
But it was impossible.
It was different from with Elci.
Elci was, in the end, a ‘power’ Leo had contracted.
But Luna was the owner of this world.
No matter how great the Hero’s World was, it couldn’t revive a legendary hero.
Luna’s face, which had been sulky, suddenly filled with surprise.
“You…?”
Lunia, Elena, and Haddin didn’t notice.
But Leo was biting his lip hard.
He clenched his hand.
And in that moment—
As if saying goodbye after a sudden meeting—
[Luna’s World: Epilogue – Barharloon has been conquered.]
The world signaled its end.
Fwoosh—!
At the same time, all the conquerors except Leo vanished.
They returned to their original world.
That was reality.
Luna, who had to live in the past, and Leo, who had to live in the future.
The gap between them was too great.
Forcing his face to remain neutral, Leo spoke.
“You’ll definitely meet them—amazing comrades who will do great things with you.”
“…”
“Your own adventure awaits you.”
“…Are you leaving too?”
“I guess I have to.”
Luna instinctively understood.
She couldn’t be with the boy before her.
Her shoulders drooped.
Even Luna’s ears, usually so perky, drooped.
Suddenly, the world began to crack.
The end was near.
At that moment, Leo reached out.
“Luna Lubinence.”
“Yeah?”
Fwoosh—!
A flower bloomed from Leo’s hand.
Luna’s eyes widened in amazement.
“You’ll become a greater mage than anyone. You’ll save the world… and be respected by all elves as the Founder of the Nebula.”
Leo wrung out the last of his [Mana].
The ruined wasteland was, for a moment, transformed into a field of flowers.
“Your future… will be more brilliant than anyone’s.”
Luna’s eyes went wide in astonishment.
“So don’t lose heart. You—”
Leo ruffled Luna’s hair.
“Confidence suits you.”
“…Yeah!”
Luna beamed.
Seeing her bright smile, Leo took a step back.
He returned her smile.
A bright light filled his vision.