Chapter 171
“Do you know me?”
“I know you very well.”
Sillatna crossed her arms as she watched Leo respond with a smirk.
With a voice full of obvious ridicule, Sillatna asked, “Come to think of it, there was that time in Lumeria City when the Mage of the Evil Eye defeated another piece of mine. You were there then, weren’t you?”
Sillatna let out a chilling laugh. “But wasn’t that just a brief encounter? What are we to each other, really?”
“A truly beautiful relationship.”
Step—step—
Leo walked right up to Sillatna.
“You, the legion commanders, and even Erebos. I’m going to tear every last one of you to pieces.”
“Oh my, so full of bravado that you don’t even know your place, you little brat.”
Sillatna burst into laughter.
“Just because you’re doing well in all your classes, you think that makes you something special? You’re nothing but a worthless bug—”
Wham—!
Crunch—!
Without hesitation, Leo kicked Sillatna in the shin.
Thud—
Sillatna lost her balance and fell to her knees as her shin snapped.
If this had been a piece of Sillatna in perfect condition, Leo wouldn’t have dared to take her on so recklessly.
But now, this piece of Sillatna had been driven to the brink of destruction by the Sword Star.
She was so weakened that she posed no threat to Leo at all.
“How annoying.”
Sillatna frowned and looked up at Leo.
“How dare a first-year brat treat me like this…”
Sillatna stopped mid-sentence.
Her face hardened.
She sensed something strange in Leo’s eyes as he looked down at her.
Sillatna, the Monster Queen.
The legion commander of Tartarus who had reigned as a terrifying calamity since before the Age of Catastrophe.
Without a doubt, countless heroes over thousands of years had feared Sillatna.
Great figures whose names were etched into history tried to subjugate her, but not one ever succeeded.
In fact, it was Sillatna who hunted heroes.
Devourer of Heroes.
Another name for the Monster Queen.
She possessed the greatest power among the legion commanders but never stepped to the front lines, unlike the Necromancer King.
The Giant King, just as powerful as Sillatna, was known for caution.
Unlike those two, the Monster Queen was aggressive and brutal.
She devoured countless heroes by confronting them head-on.
Now, Sillatna ruled as an even more terrifying presence than the Necromancer King or the Giant King.
But Leo’s gaze as he looked at Sillatna was different from everyone else’s.
‘Is this… really the look of a first-year brat?’
The hatred and anger in his eyes were no different from all the others.
If it had been anyone else, Sillatna would have simply scoffed.
But she couldn’t do that with Leo.
The way Leo looked at her was unmistakably the gaze of a hunter looking at prey.
It was the same way Sillatna had always looked at the heroes she had devoured.
Sillatna felt a chill run down her spine.
‘What is with this brat?’
Hatred and rage welled up from deep inside.
Along with it came a creeping sense of dread.
“A mere human.”
Murderous intent flickered in Sillatna’s voice.
“A mere human dares to look at me like that—”
Crunch—!
Leo’s sword was shoved into Sillatna’s mouth.
“Stop barking. I’m tired of hearing it.”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Blood gushed from Sillatna’s mouth as she covered it with both hands, her eyes blazing with killing intent.
Her broken knee healed.
As Sillatna tried to rise, Leo kicked her other knee.
Crunch—!
“Kneel.”
Thud—!
Losing her balance again, Sillatna collapsed forward.
Blood poured from her mouth.
Squish—!
Leo stomped on Sillatna’s head.
Sillatna’s body trembled.
The intense humiliation wasn’t the reason she was shaking.
From the depths of her memory, a scene surfaced.
Back then, Sillatna had been paralyzed with fear.
A presence that made even a terrifying legion commander tremble.
The one who had boldly set out to defeat her greatest and only remaining foe.
Sillatna had to face terror and despair head-on.
It was just like now.
‘No way… No way…’
Squish—!
Sillatna strained her arms and neck.
She barely managed to lift her head, pushing away Leo’s foot pressing down on her.
Leo stepped back a few paces.
‘It can’t be. That’s impossible.’
Still kneeling, Sillatna stared straight into Leo’s eyes.
In that instant.
She felt as if the world changed.
A gloomy, ashen sky.
A world heading toward destruction.
It was a sight she had always longed for, but now it terrified her more than anything.
Kneeling before her stood a human.
The great hero who looked down on her with cold eyes—the Hero of Beginnings, Kyle.
Flash—!
Sillatna snapped out of the vision.
“This… can’t be.”
Sillatna’s body shook uncontrollably.
That terrifying Hero of Beginnings overlapped perfectly with the brat before her eyes.
She tried to deny what came to mind.
But as if mocking her denial, Leo curled his lips into a smile.
“Ka… yle!”
Spitting the name through clenched teeth, Sillatna stared at Leo.
“This time, I won’t leave a single one behind.”
Crunch—!
“Ugh?”
Leo’s sword pierced Sillatna’s chest.
Splatter—!
Leo ruthlessly sliced upward, cutting Sillatna’s upper body in half.
Shhh—!
Sillatna’s body scattered into black dust.
She had perished.
A clone destroyed like this couldn’t even pass the situation to the original.
Sillatna’s body crumbled away.
“Heh—heh—!”
Sillatna’s shoulders shook.
“Keheheh! Kehahahaha!”
As she vanished in madness, Sillatna’s piece let out a crazed scream.
“So it’s you! Kyle! So what? What do you think you can do alone?!”
Clutching her head and trembling, she burst into insane laughter.
“Who do you have by your side? The always-frightened Arron? The pathetic Dweno making junk? The obnoxious braggart Luna? Or the hopelessly stupid Lysinas? Who do you have? Do you really think you can defeat us all by yourself? The great Primordial Flame? Dream on! Kehahahaha!”
Ssssh—!
Turning to black dust as she vanished, Sillatna mocked Leo.
“You can’t do anything! You’ll just watch helplessly as the world you barely saved burns again! Hero of Beginnings, Kyle!”
Glint—!
Sillatna’s eyes flashed.
“You’ll fail just like your companions! You’ll die in despair! Ahahahaha!”
Annoyed, Leo stomped on Sillatna’s head.
Crunch—!
Like shattered pottery, her head broke apart.
Ssshhh—
Only Sillatna’s mouth remained, sneering.
“Looking forward to that day. Ohohohoho.”
Ssssh—!
Sillatna disappeared without a trace, and Leo muttered as he looked down at the spot.
“Alone, huh…”
“Leo?!”
“Hey! What are you doing over there?”
Someone called out urgently from a distance.
Celia and Chloe could be seen hurrying over.
“Are you alright?”
Chloe asked urgently, and Leo nodded.
“I’m fine. What about you two?”
“I’m totally fine, of course.”
Celia answered confidently.
“The demons are pretty much all taken care of.”
“Good.”
“…? Did something happen?”
Chloe asked with a puzzled look, and Leo gave a small smile.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Leo reached out and ruffled Chloe’s hair.
“I just feel reassured.”
With that, Leo started walking ahead.
Celia, arms crossed, tilted her head as she watched his back.
“What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?”
Then, seeing Chloe’s face turn red and her lips quivering, Celia spoke.
“Chloe.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Lucky you, huh?”
Chloe lightly tapped Celia’s shoulder and fanned her face.
‘I’m not alone.’
Leo looked out at the landscape of Lumene and muttered to himself.
‘I have new companions now, and…’
Leo clenched and unclenched his fist.
‘It’s not like my bond with the others has been severed.’
The knowledge his friends passed on.
And the strength they left behind, remaining in the form of the Hero Record.
‘You’re still afraid, aren’t you?’
Leo made a fist.
‘The great heroes who disappeared long ago, and those who will be born again someday.’
—
The Tartarus attack on Lumene.
This incident caused an enormous shock.
And the fact that the intruder was from one of the three main academy classes rocked society even further.
“Several countries are in trouble now.”
Carr clicked his tongue.
“After putting political pressure on us all semester, now it’s backfired on them.”
The powerful figures in other countries who tried to pressure Lumene for being under threat from Tartarus now gave Lumene an excuse to push back.
At Carr’s words, Chelsea made a bored face.
“Lumene isn’t going to use this as a political or diplomatic card. Lumene’s always been neutral, remember?”
“True. But maybe now they’ll finally stop whining.”
Flip—!
Carr closed the newspaper with a smirk.
“By the way, the principal’s strength was truly amazing.”
The Sword Star Kalian’s single strike splitting the sky was enough to leave everyone stunned.
The Sword Star’s fame was well known.
His achievements were legendary.
Still, he’d been away from the front lines for so long that nobody these days had experienced his true power firsthand.
But in this incident, his full abilities were revealed.
“How can you even do something like that with a sword?”
Carr muttered in disbelief, and Chelsea crossed her arms.
“Hmm! Even if my father used all his magic power, I doubt he could manage that.”
Not just Carr and Chelsea, but the other students were also still talking about the principal.
Just then, Eliana entered the classroom looking miserable.
“What’s with that face?”
Chelsea asked, and Eliana slumped her shoulders.
“They’ve posted the dates for midterms on the class board.”
A chorus of groans rose from all around.
Carr grabbed his head.
The students of Class 5 all looked depressed.
Seeing this, Leo spoke up.
“Why are you acting surprised? We all knew exams were coming up soon.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Chelsea agreed with Leo.
“Sure, it’s because you guys are honors students, right?”
“Lucky you, you honors students! Teach us your study secrets!”
“We couldn’t even study properly because of the joint classes!”
When Eliana shouted on behalf of everyone, Tide spoke dryly.
“You never study even when there aren’t joint classes…”
“You brat, hitting me with facts so fearlessly!”
“Let go!”
Tide shook off Eliana, who was holding his mouth.
As the classroom grew rowdy, Chelsea spoke up.
“But this time’s midterms are easier, right? There’s more emphasis on the practical than the written exams.”
At those words, Carr put his clasped hands behind his head.
“True. This time, the sparring evaluation is what matters most.”
“Right. Even if you lose, you still get a good score. It’s all about how you fight.”
“I heard that the sparring matchups are random, but you can also pick someone to ‘challenge’…”
Creak—!
Before Carr could finish, the door swung open.
Everyone looked toward the person who entered.
It was none other than Duran.
Step—step—
Duran walked up to Leo.
“Leo Plov.”
“What is it?”
“You heard about the sparring evaluation, right?”
Duran’s golden eyes flashed.
“This time, I’ll prove once and for all who’s the best.”
“Aren’t you tired of this?”
Chelsea said with a crooked smile.
“Shut up, Chelsea Lewellin.”
“Hmph!”
As always, Duran and Chelsea glared at each other.
Just then, things started getting noisy outside.
The students of Class 5, curious, peeked outside and were startled.
“Wait! Why is that guy here in the first-year building?”
“Wow! He’s so handsome!”
Excited voices rose here and there.
A moment later, a young man entered the Class 5 room.
The entire class held their breath.
He was an extremely famous student.
Step—step—
“Leo.”
“Rhys!”
The student council president, Rhys Zerdinger, stood before Leo.
Rhys smiled at Leo.
“Can we have a quick chat?”