Chapter 168
“What the—?”
“Is that guy insane?”
Faces around them filled with shock at the sudden outbreak.
“No matter what, isn’t this way too reckless?”
As Leo smirked, the boy gave a twisted grin.
“Doesn’t matter. I plan to kill every brat in this area, including you.”
“You think that’s possible?”
Fwoosh—!
Leo summoned his Aura.
The boy, seeing the blazing crimson Aura, grinned and reached into the air.
Whoooom—!
The air split open, as if torn apart.
A black rift appeared, and from it burst a massive, blood-red greatsword.
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
‘A cursed sword? A melee-type demon.’
“Let’s see just how strong you really are!”
The demon swung the greatsword.
Whoooosh! Crashcrashcrashcrash—!
A storm of crimson sword energy swept forth.
The attack, which devastated the area, hurtled straight for Leo.
Leo leaped aside.
Boom—!
With his Aura of flame, Leo pushed back the vortex of sword energy.
But the demon’s Aura shredded Leo’s flames apart.
Leo leapt again.
Tap—
Crashcrashcrash—!
The crimson vortex destroyed the spot where Leo had just been before dissipating.
“Hmph. All Class, huh? I was expecting more. This is all you’ve got?”
At the demon’s words, Leo gripped his sword.
‘A demon of this level causing havoc in Lumene?’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
The demon before him was strong.
But only by first-year Lumene standards.
It made no sense for someone this weak to attack Lumene.
Just as Leo thought this—
Boom—!
A loud explosion echoed from the cafeteria.
Students who had been panicking now stared toward the cafeteria in shock.
“Wh-what the heck was that?!”
“What’s happening!?”
As the students gaped in horror at the sudden chaos—
Crackle—!
A fierce spark crackled.
Then—
Babababababam! Crash!
“Kraaaagh!”
A golden lightning bolt struck from the sky.
The demon targeting Leo screamed in agony.
“You must have a death wish, rampaging in the middle of Lumene at your level.”
Whoosh—!
Duran landed from above, a cold smile on his lips.
A few students from Duran’s faction joined him, preparing for battle.
“Heh heh heh…”
Twisting in pain, the demon glared at Duran.
“Duran Moira, I don’t have time for you. My target is the first-year representative, Leo Plov.”
Duran’s eyes flickered.
“Hah, arrogant. You’re aiming for Leo Plov over me?”
Duran’s mouth twisted.
Golden sparks flashed in his eyes.
Students nearby flinched.
“Eek!”
“Get back! He’s mad!”
As the students hurriedly backed away, the demon reached out in midair.
Zing—! Clack—! Clack—! Clack—!
A rift opened, and an army armed with armor and weapons began to pour out.
The students stared in horror.
“Teleportation shouldn’t be possible inside Lumene!”
“How did he summon those troops!?”
Everyone was shocked to realize the demon wasn’t acting alone.
‘He didn’t summon them from outside. These are all his underlings.’
Leo examined the summoned army closely.
‘Corpses.’
A being capable of invading Lumene with an army of corpses.
A certain monster flashed through Leo’s mind.
‘Necromancer King Hell Kaiser?’
But he quickly shook his head.
The Necromancer King was cunning and skilled at planning in secret.
‘No. This kind of brute-force attack isn’t his style.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘It’s more like something the Monster Queen would do.’
A ruthless, aggressive monster came to mind.
Either way, this demon wasn’t a subordinate of the Necromancer King or Monster Queen.
He felt none of the aura of the two Legion Commanders.
Crucially, the animation of the corpses wasn’t necromancy.
‘Then what is this?’
Just then—
“Prepare yourself, Leo Plov!”
Leaving Duran to his subordinates, the demon lunged at Leo with a sinister grin.
The greatsword slashed for Leo’s neck, but he blocked it.
Clang—! Thud—!
With a sharp sound, Leo’s feet dug deep into the ground.
As he tried to push the demon back—
Crackle—!
“Taking your eyes off me for someone else? Pretty bold.”
Duran cut through the demon’s army, sneering coldly as he attacked from behind.
The demon quickly jumped back, widening the distance.
Crash—!
A golden Aura filled the air.
Tap—!
Landing lightly, Duran glared at the demon.
“What did you do to my army?”
“You mean those pieces of trash?”
Duran sneered, jutting his chin at the demon’s summoned troops.
All around, corpses melted and mangled by lightning lay scattered.
“Duran. There are demon attacks elsewhere too.”
“I know.”
Duran smirked.
“So you go handle the others. This one’s my prey.”
“You sure about this?”
The demon before them was no pushover.
“Hah?”
Duran looked incredulous.
“Who do you think I am, Leo Plov?”
Duran grinned.
Crackle—!
Lightning Aura surged around Duran.
“I don’t need your concern.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
At Duran’s words, Leo took off.
“You!”
The demon tried to chase after Leo.
Crackle!
But a wall of golden lightning blocked his path.
“Now’s not the time to be distracted, is it?”
Duran spoke in a chilling tone.
“You’ll regret ever crawling into Lumene.”
—
Chaos unfolded around the first-year dormitory.
Suddenly, demons started appearing everywhere.
Each one summoned countless corpses to attack the students.
Every time, capable students rallied quickly to fend off the sudden demonic onslaught.
The ones who suffered most were, as expected, students from the three major class academies.
Unlike Lumene students, they couldn’t react quickly to the unexpected situation.
The gap between hero candidates and the others became painfully obvious.
‘Are they only attacking where the first years are?’
Leo’s face hardened as he gathered his Spirit Power.
Vmmm—!
A summoning circle appeared, and Ahti materialized.
[What’s happening, Master?]
Leo quickly mounted Ahti and grabbed the reins.
“As high as you can!”
Whoosh—!
At his command, Ahti soared upward at incredible speed.
Whoosh—!
Reaching a height where he could see all of Lumene, Leo opened his eyes wide.
It wasn’t just the first-year area.
All of Lumene was under attack.
‘What is this? Why are they attacking so recklessly?’
Leo quickly assessed the situation.
Lumene was in chaos from the surprise attack.
But that was only because of the initial shock.
Once they regained composure and fought back, these invaders would be wiped out in no time.
This was the home base of hero candidates.
Even those with strength comparable to heroes were here.
‘No matter how much they attack, they won’t do any real damage—just waste their strength. Why do this?’
No matter how reckless Sillatna was, she wouldn’t mount such a pointless attack.
‘If they were this reckless, they would’ve been wiped out long ago.’
As Leo’s expression hardened, something flashed through his mind.
‘The Hall of Heroes.’
Leo tightened the reins.
‘Whatever they’re plotting, their goal is in the Hall of Heroes.’
Whoosh—!
Leo flew swiftly toward Lumene’s Great Library.
—
Top floor of the Hero’s Tower.
In the principal’s office, Kalian and Lieven were the first to notice the school’s anomaly.
Kalian rose from his desk.
Lieven, too, rushed toward the office window.
Vmmm—!
Suddenly, black magic surrounded the office, and both their eyes narrowed.
‘A curse of severance?’
A powerful curse erupted, making both Kalian and Lieven turn to the office door.
Creak—!
The door opened, and the principal’s secretary, Erena, appeared.
“So. You were closer than I thought.”
Lieven sighed deeply, while Erena smiled.
“How was my acting? Wasn’t I convincing?”
“Where’s the real Erena?”
“She’s right here.”
She pointed at her stomach.
“She’s been in my belly for a long time.”
Her tone shifted as her smile twisted.
Lieven unleashed his magic.
Crack—!
The demon’s head was severed and flew into the air.
“Lizards really are heartless. After all that time together, you’re still so ruthless.”
The demon’s head, floating in midair, let out a cackling laugh.
Lieven’s face didn’t change as he extended his hand.
Thin, long threads of magic formed around the demon.
Snap—!
When Lieven clenched his fist, the threads wound together like a skein.
Crunch—!
Blood and flesh splattered between the threads of magic.
Lieven dispelled his magic, leaving no trace of the demon’s form.
Splat—!
A grotesque lump of flesh hit the floor.
Ssssss—!
Toxic fumes spewed from the floor as it melted.
Twitch—!
But the flesh and blood began to gather and take human shape once again.
Lieven frowned.
‘Incredible regeneration. At this rate…’
“Are you a Legion Commander?”
With half her face restored, the demon grinned darkly.
“Correct. Heeheehee.”
With a chilling laugh, the lump of flesh reshaped itself.
Squirm—crack—!
“Shall I introduce myself? Heeheehee—”
The woman’s face formed, twisted with madness.
“My name is Sillatna.”
At those words, Lieven’s face hardened.
“I’m the one you all fear so much—the one they call the Monster Queen.”
—
Step—step—
The Great Library was as silent as a grave.
It was no wonder.
Tartarus’s invasion had begun without warning.
In the history of Lumene, the academy had never been attacked by Tartarus.
All attention was naturally focused on rooting out the invaders responsible for this unprecedented incident.
‘The most troublesome swordsman and dragon should be kept busy by Sillatna.’
Of course, they wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
Currently, there were three Legion Commanders leading Tartarus.
The Monster Queen, the Necromancer King, the Giant King.
Even among Legion Commanders, these monsters—born after the Age of Calamity—were unbelievably powerful.
But even so, they were only ‘fragments.’
There was no way a single fragment could hold off the swordsman who once defeated a Legion Commander.
‘Still, just a little time will be enough!’
If they could just infiltrate before anyone realized Tartarus was after the Hall of Heroes.
‘If I can just get my hands on that detestable sword…! Then I’ll be—again! Again!’
His blood-red eyes gleamed.
As he reached for the doors to the Hall of Heroes, eyes shining with ecstasy—
Whoosh—! Thwack!
“…!”
A sword wreathed in gray Aura flew in and pierced the back of his hand.
“So you were aiming for this place after all.”
A cold voice sounded.
“My instincts aren’t dead yet. If I can still predict your behavior patterns, it means you haven’t changed a bit.”
Turning, he saw a boy with white hair, mouth curled in a faint smile.
“Or maybe you’re just not improving.”
Chapter 168