Chapter 209
“Stop them!”
“Don’t let the legion breach the defense line!”
The Hero Alliance shouted as they struggled to hold back the legion’s advance.
Sillatna, having emerged victorious from her battle with the Sword Star, was steadily approaching.
After continuous attacks, even the wall Sedgen had erected was reaching its limit.
“We can’t hold them any longer! Shouldn’t we retreat to Seiren’s inner walls?”
One of the instructors from Seiren spoke to Professor Harrid.
At that, Harrid looked toward the approaching Monster Queen.
“If we do that, we risk letting her join forces with the unidentified Legion Commander already inside Seiren.”
The instructor from Seiren swallowed hard at his words.
“Can you stop that from happening?”
Harrid was right.
If the two Legion Commanders joined forces, it truly would be the end.
A stalemate.
The word “despair” began to clearly surface in the minds of the Hero Alliance.
FWOOOSH—CLANG—!
At that moment, someone appeared in the sky.
“Who are you?!”
One of Seiren’s heroes shouted at the gray-haired young man standing before him.
The young man—Leo—glanced at the elf.
“Reinforcements.”
“What?”
The curt reply left the elven hero dumbfounded.
Then—
ZIIIING—!
A massive magic circle formed above Sillatna’s head.
The crimson circle pulsed with destructive power and shot out a deadly beam of light.
FLASH—!
“Dodge it!”
“Fall back, everyone!”
Sillatna’s terrifying black magic annihilated everything in its path.
Those who had witnessed her battle with the Sword Star knew just how devastating her attacks could be.
As the Hero Alliance withdrew, Leo raised his sword.
BZZZZZ—!
A gray [Aura] gathered at the tip of his blade.
“What are you doing?!”
“Get back!”
Everyone watched in horror as Leo stood his ground to take Sillatna’s attack head-on.
‘He’ll die!’
Everyone who saw him thought the same.
They expected him to be reduced to ash, without even a corpse remaining.
Then—
FLASH—!
A gray sword slash cleaved Sillatna’s spell in two.
KRAKOOM—!
A massive explosion tore through the sky and swept across the legion.
The entire Hero Alliance stared at Leo’s back.
SSSSSHHHH—
The downpour didn’t stop.
Leo opened his mouth.
“How long are you going to cower?”
His voice was quiet.
But amplified by [Aura], it reached the ears of every single person in the Hero Alliance.
“Aren’t you all heroes?”
He turned to face them.
“You earned that title because you accomplished feats acknowledged by the gods, didn’t you?”
“Who… are you?”
Sedgen asked in shock.
That slash just now—
‘A strike as powerful as… no, stronger than the headmaster’s…’
“Who are you?”
Leo lowered his sword and answered calmly.
“My name is Kyle.”
He faced forward.
“The one you call the Hero of the Beginning.” (T/N: FKKKK. I’m squealing right now!!!)
“What?”
“Hero of the Beginning?!”
“That’s impossible…!”
He had long been dismissed as a mythical figure.
Only recently had the truth of his existence even surfaced.
It was hard for the Hero Alliance to accept Leo’s claim.
But Leo didn’t care.
Whether they believed him or not—it didn’t matter.
What mattered now was subjugating Sillatna.
“If you’re heroes, then prove it.”
Leo said coldly to the frozen warriors.
“If you’ve truly been acknowledged by the gods, then show me your valor.”
The young man who called himself the Hero of the Beginning made his voice resound in the hearts of every hero.
“The Monster Queen will be defeated here today.”
Leo raised his sword to the sky.
FLASH—!
KRAKOOOOOM—!
Lightning struck the blade.
“[Lightning Storm].”
At his command, a storm of lightning burst forth.
CRACKLE—!
“He cast a spell with that much power?!”
“I thought he was a knight?!”
The spell’s sheer magnitude far exceeded that of an average archmage. The heroes were stunned.
Ain clenched his fist.
“Could it be… the real Hero of the Beginning?”
According to legend, the Hero of the Beginning was an All-Class.
If that man truly was the Hero of the Beginning, it wasn’t strange that he could wield both powerful [Aura] and magic.
Sillatna’s legion was struck and convulsed under the lightning.
—No way. No way. NO WAY!
Sillatna, watching from afar, froze in disbelief.
This couldn’t be real.
Why was he—the one who disappeared 5,000 years ago—here now?
‘Zegdiac returned to the present with Erebos’s power!’
Thanks to that power, he had escaped the Hero’s World and crossed into the present.
If Zegdiac crossed over, then theoretically Kyle could as well.
But—
‘The gods vanished from the world long ago!’
There was no one left who could lend divine power to summon a great hero into the present.
So how could the Hero of the Beginning be standing there now?
Sillatna raised her massive arm.
CRACKLE—!
Dark red sparks flared.
A spear formed in her hand—a weapon forged from dark magic.
—Begone! Wraith of the past!
With a roar filled with killing intent, she hurled the destructive spear toward the source of Kyle’s power.
BOOM—!
Power met power.
Gray [Aura] collided with crimson-black magic, creating a beam of light that shot skyward.
FWOOSH—!
The rainclouds above were blown away in an instant.
The rain stopped, and sunlight pierced through the darkened sky.
And standing in that beam of light—was Leo.
Sillatna trembled.
—Kyle!
She spat his name like venom.
Leo gripped his sword again.
“I’ve come to end our cursed bond, Monster Queen.”
As he spoke, three summoning circles appeared around him.
“Summoning magic?”
“Wait! That power…!”
The summoners opened their eyes wide.
Scarlet red, pure white, and vibrant green—colors brimming with life.
They knew what those meant.
Three Summoned Beasts emerged from the magic circles.
A phoenix with massive wings perched on Leo’s forearm.
A tiny fairy fluttered onto his shoulder.
And a beautiful pegasus lifted him into the air.
[Peep?]
[Huh? Who are you?]
[Are you really our master?]
Fiora, Kirran, and Ahti all reacted in shock as they recognized their contractor.
Leo spoke to them.
“I’ll explain everything later. Right now, we have to fight that.”
The three turned to face Sillatna.
[What’s that ugly monster?]
[The Monster Queen.]
[Peep! Peep!]
Kirran grimaced, Ahti narrowed her eyes, and Fiora flapped her wings with excitement.
“I need your strength.”
Leo’s current power came from a divine blessing that momentarily recalled his strength from the past.
He could fight Sillatna alone—but not defeat her alone.
‘This isn’t my peak.’
And his time was limited.
To fully bring Sillatna down, he needed Luna’s help.
But she was currently fighting Zegdiac.
‘Even if he was revived by Erebos’s power, Zegdiac’s body had already died once. He shouldn’t be at full strength.’
Until then, Leo needed to hold Sillatna back with everything he had.
“Fiora, Kirran—bless the heroes with your power.”
At his command, Fiora and Kirran flew toward the fortress.
“Ahti, you’re with me.”
Leo tugged the reins.
[That feeling! Ahh! You really are my master!]
Ahti cried in joy at Leo’s touch and charged toward Sillatna at incredible speed.
[How did you make it to the present?!]
“Zegdiac came here. So why can’t we?”
[Grr!]
Leo sneered at her outburst and swung his sword.
FLASH—! KRAKAKAKAKAK!
A massive gray [Aura] slash shot toward Sillatna’s neck.
But the barrier around her activated and blocked the strike.
[I’ll kill you again!]
Chunks of flesh from her body transformed into a massive serpent.
Like a hydra, the snake lunged with gaping jaws toward Leo.
Leo pulled on the reins and soared higher into the sky.
Then he began chanting.
Luna’s most powerful spell.
BZZZZZ—!
A complex spell formula rose over his palm.
Leo completed the spell and chanted.
“[Dawn].”
FLASH—!
A chilling, starlit brilliance surged forth.
The massive serpent Sillatna had conjured disintegrated into dust.
[Ggh!]
Sillatna’s eyes widened.
Looking down at her, Leo spoke.
“Monster Queen.”
He declared, as if passing judgment.
“Your time ends today.”
SHING—!
Leo adjusted his grip on his sword.
“Just like your comrade Zegdiac, I’ll bury you as a calamity of the past.”
—
Step—step—
With light, unfitting steps for the intensity of the battlefield, Luna walked through the center of the chaos.
All eyes turned to her.
No one failed to recognize her.
From textbooks, from history.
Her image had been engraved in their minds.
The admiration of all.
The beacon of peace in a broken world.
The greatest elf in existence.
That was Luna.
Zegdiac’s frenzied legion rushed from all sides.
But Luna didn’t even look at them. She raised her magic.
FLASH—!
Hundreds of golden magic circles appeared.
Known as the strongest mage in history, Luna might not be at her peak—
But these mindless monsters were no match for her.
CRACKLE—!
Needles of light formed around her and poured down like rain.
SHHHHHH—
Luna looked up at the rain that soaked her hair.
It wasn’t that dreadful black rain.
It was a pure, clear rain.
To Lumene and Seiren, this rain had once signaled disaster.
Sillatna’s mere presence twisted the climate.
But for Luna, this rain was precious.
‘How many years has it been… since I last saw clear rain?’
At that moment—
FLASH—!
Far away, a pillar of light burst forth and swept away the storm clouds.
Sunlight, hidden behind them, poured down.
Luna looked to the sky.
Her golden eyes reflected a cloudless, brilliant blue.
Clench—
She tightened her grip on her [Polium].
‘We… really did save the world.’
Tears almost welled up.
She had once been consumed by despair.
Fighting Erebos and Tartarus, she told people to believe in hope—
Even as she trembled in fear herself.
Worried she might never succeed in saving the world.
She had accepted her death.
She thought she’d never see a restored world with her own eyes.
So this sky was special.
It felt like every past pain and despair had been repaid in full.
STEP—
Luna stopped walking.
‘I don’t have much time left here.’
The more she used her power, the more her divine energy dwindled.
Her time was brief.
But she could still do much.
Luna looked at an elderly elf using [Star Magic].
It was their first meeting, yet that elf used magic as if Luna herself had taught him.
She was struck again by the realization—this was the future.
CHOMP—!
Zegdiac opened his mouth.
A torrent of venomous breath surged out.
“Ggh!”
Benette squeezed out his magic to block it.
Luna raised her [Polium].
FLASH—! KRAKAKAKAKAK!
A barrier of light repelled the breath.
“…!”
The heroes fighting Zegdiac turned to Luna in shock.
Their eyes widened.
“Don’t lose hope.”
Luna smiled gently.
“I hope this light is never taken from us again.”
BZZZZZ—!
A surge of immense magic stirred the earth.
RUMBLE—
The ground shook under Luna’s power.
“Don’t let the same tragedies repeat again.”
A six-pointed star magic circle rose over her palm.
Benette’s hands trembled.
As the First Star of the Founders, he knew this spell.
He had used it himself.
But—
This was on another level.
‘The original.’
Looking at the golden-haired elf radiating power, Benette called her name in a trembling voice.
“Lady Luna?”
Luna smiled gently as she finished the spell.
“[Starlight].”
Beams of starlight burst from her hand and rained down on Zegdiac.
—KIAAAAAAAAAAH!
Zegdiac’s body twisted and tore in agony.
‘He already died once by Kyle’s hand. He’s not whole.’
He had lost his reason—and now suffered serious damage from the heroes.
To Luna, he no longer resembled a Legion Commander—
Just a beast driven by destruction.
Zegdiac roared and summoned his massive sword, [Venom].
—KUOOOOOOOOH!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
He charged at Luna.
Benette quickly cast a spell.
“[Chain Stella]!”
ZAPPPPPP—!
Chains of light erupted from the magic circle and wrapped around Zegdiac’s body.
BOOM—!
CRACKLE—
His muscles twitched under the restraint.
“Beings of the past don’t belong in the present.”
Luna pointed her [Polium] at Zegdiac.
“You only bring chaos.”
BZZZZZ—!
A massive magic circle formed.
“So disappear already.”
FLASH!
“[Stella Radius].”
A magic never recorded in history.
Not even in Leo’s Bible.
Only Luna could wield this flash of starlight from the [Polium].
KRAKOOOOOM—!
The beam surged skyward with incredible force.
Zegdiac’s upper body was obliterated.
SSSSSHHH—
His body crumbled like sand and vanished.
So too did the legion he summoned.
Luna lowered her staff and looked around.
Students from Lumene and Seiren began to gather.
“Founder…?”
An elf asked in disbelief.
Luna didn’t answer—she simply smiled.
“Founder!”
“Oh, great Founder of the Nebula!”
Seiren students knelt and bowed their heads.
Even some Lumene students showed reverence to the legendary hero.
“Lady Luna.”
Benette approached with a trembling voice.
Luna said to him—
“Sorry, but I don’t have much time.”
“What?”
BZZZZZ—!
Using magic, Luna opened a warp gate.
“I have to go.”
“Where are you going?” Allan asked quickly.
Luna smiled as if it were obvious.
“To Kyle.”