Chapter 287
“Let’s break out.”
At Ar’s words, Carr lifted his shackled wrists.
“Our mana is suppressed. How do you expect us to escape?”
Ar stood up.
“Break free, then escape.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
Carr’s voice trembled with unease.
Ar closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Ssshh—!
Her aura shifted.
Her nails lengthened, her fangs sharpened.
Her fur bristled as her eyes snapped open—blue feline eyes gleaming in the dark.
Grrroooarrr—!
Mana surged wildly around Ar’s body.
“Rrrrghhh—!”
A low growl rumbled from her throat.
Carr’s face twisted in shock.
“W-What the hell?”
Driana realized what she was seeing, her eyes widening.
“A transformation? But there’s no full moon!”
Kiiiing—! Boom—!
The mana seal restraining Ar shattered, fragments scattering everywhere.
“I acted recklessly. That’s why she got captured.”
Even with her body strained from the forced surge of mana, Ar didn’t care.
“No matter what it takes—I’ll save her.”
Crrrk—!
With brute strength, Ar ripped the iron bars wide open. Carr gaped in disbelief.
Watching her, Lunia stepped forward.
“I’m coming too.”
“Sorry, but I can’t take someone still bound by a mana seal.”
The one who had crafted the seals restraining them was none other than Dweno.
Breaking them from the outside was far harder than from within.
At her words, Lunia’s eyes burned.
Fwoom—!
Flames burst forth from her entire body.
Boom—!
“You think I can’t do it? Eiran’s my friend. I’ll save her myself!”
“…Fine. Let’s go together.”
Lunia glanced at Carr and Driana.
“Once we’ve dealt with the guards, follow after us.”
Ar cracked her knuckles and stared at the prison door.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
“Urrraaahhh!”
Crash!
“W-What the—!”
“They’re breaking out! Prison break!”
Ar’s kick smashed the door apart as guards rushed in.
“Out of the way!”
Ar barreled through them, sending bodies flying, Lunia’s flames surging close behind.
Whooosh—! Craaashhh!
Fire magic swept across the prison halls.
Watching their backs, Driana muttered to Carr,
“Those two are monsters enough. Just how much worse is Leo Plov?”
Carr sighed.
“Beyond imagination.”
He recalled Leo’s face.
‘What are you doing right now, Leo?’
—
Leo stared into Arron’s golden eyes.
He had never enjoyed dueling.
Beastkin—descendants of a race that revered strength.
Fighting was their way of life.
That instinct made beastkin powerful.
But Arron was different. He was the least beastkin-like of them all.
Not because he was a coward.
He simply hated hurting others—and being hurt himself.
‘Too kind.’
Leo smiled bitterly.
Born too kind.
A hero who fought only for the sake of others.
That was Arron, the Brave.
‘He doesn’t seem like a bad guy.’
Arron’s instincts told him as much.
‘Even if I don’t know his intentions…’
Because this concerned his student, he had no choice but to accept the provocation.
Shiiing—
Arron drew his blade.
‘Brave.’
Seeing it, Leo unsheathed his own sword.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never sparred with Arron before.’
He had fought countless times against Luna and Dweno.
But never once against Arron.
Because Arron hated fighting—even with friends.
‘If anything, I was the one stopping fights with him.’
Kyle always restrained the battle-hungry Luna from charging at Arron.
‘Not that I didn’t know the outcome already.’
Arron was a martial arts prodigy.
Even though Kyle had mastered countless weapons, he knew better than anyone—he could never surpass Arron.
A man who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts.
That was Arron, the Brave.
‘No wonder he was worshiped as the Martial God by later generations.’
To Leo, Arron was truly like a god of war.
He raised his blade.
Shiiing—
‘That’s why…’
Fwoom—!
Flame aura erupted along Leo’s sword.
Arron’s face tensed.
‘I guess I can go all out.’
Swoooshhh—!
Leo swung, and a wall of flame roared skyward.
Fwoosh—!
Arron’s sword cleaved through it, dispersing the strike with ease.
Leo didn’t falter, closing the gap.
Flash—!
Stepping with [Aura Step], he dashed forward.
Arron lifted his free hand.
Leo exploded with aura, accelerating.
Crack—!
Using Arron’s arm as leverage, Leo vaulted.
Clang—!
In a blink, Leo struck from behind.
But Arron blocked.
Arron didn’t know Leo.
Leo, on the other hand, knew everything about Arron.
His rhythm, his habits, his openings—
Leo had fought beside him countless times.
That strike should have been flawless.
Arron’s breathing faltered, his timing stolen.
And yet, he blocked with ease.
Not because of raw strength.
‘Hyper Sense.’
A technique that pushed his senses to their limits by manipulating aura.
Leo knew it too.
‘But the original is on another level.’
For Leo, it required razor-sharp focus.
But for Arron—
It was as natural as breathing.
Beyond mere technique.
His instincts sharpened until he could almost predict the future.
‘No wonder he’s the strongest warrior.’
Leo opened his own [Hyper Sense], parrying Arron’s strike.
Arron’s eyes widened.
Tap—!
Landing on the ground, Leo smirked despite the sting on his cheek.
‘A monster, through and through.’
Sixteen years since his reincarnation, Leo had worked tirelessly to grow his body—
To build a vessel strong enough to hold Kyle’s power.
This body was greater than his last life’s, and his growth had been rapid.
He hadn’t neglected technique either.
His martial arts, magic, and summoning had all advanced.
If he returned to his past body now, this Leo would easily surpass Kyle.
But even with everything—
He still couldn’t surpass Arron in swordsmanship.
‘We’re about equal… no, he’s slightly above.’
Leo steadied his blade.
And this wasn’t even Arron’s prime.
He hadn’t transformed.
Yet Leo still couldn’t keep up.
Arron had reached the ultimate peak as a warrior.
Leo firmed his grip.
‘But I never planned to fight him with swordsmanship alone.’
“A Magic Swordsman?”
Arron’s eyes widened.
‘He looks no older than Velkia…’
Velkia herself was leagues above her peers.
But Leo’s swordsmanship left even her in the dust.
And on top of that—he wielded magic.
Fwoom—!
Leo’s blade blazed with both aura and mana.
He raised it.
Tap—
Fwoosh—
“Fiora.”
At his whisper, Fiora poked her head out from his uniform pocket.
She looked like a chubby chick, but she was still a Phoenix.
Vmmm—!
As Leo called upon his [Spirit Power], the contract seal flared on his hand.
Fwoom—!
The seal roared with flames—Fiora’s fire.
Arron’s eyes went wide.
‘Summoning too?’
“All Classes?”
Arron’s face froze.
“Another All-Class besides Kyle?”
He knew the truth better than anyone.
In all history, there had only ever been one All-Class—Kyle.
Yet another had appeared.
And with a Phoenix no less!
As Arron reeled in disbelief—
Fwoosh—!
Fiora transformed into flames and merged into Leo’s sword.
Screeeech—!
The Phoenix fire devoured both aura and mana.
A pair of fiery wings spread from the blade.
Leo now held his strongest technique.
“Here I come.”
As Leo raised his sword, golden aura surged from Arron’s.
Craaaashhh—!
The flaming column and golden aura clashed, consuming the forest.
Fwoosh—!
The trees caught fire, but Leo gathered the flames back into his blade.
Smirking, he eyed Arron—untouched, save for a singed hem.
“Terrifying power.”
Arron wiped cold sweat.
“Not terrifying enough—you’re still standing.”
Leo stoked Fiora’s fire higher.
“One more strike.”
Crackkk—!
Seeing Leo’s blazing form, Arron felt something strange.
He hated fighting.
But now—his heart pounded.
Not from excitement—
But because the boy before him carried a shadow.
‘Kyle…’
The face was different.
But the boy reminded him of his friend.
Leo flared with even greater fire.
This strike would end it.
‘This fight wasn’t in vain.’
The technique he prepared was a fusion of all three powers—
A new art he had created after reincarnation.
And this battle had shown him its flaws.
‘I can draw out more of Fiora’s power.’
He pressed more [Spirit Power] into the seal.
Suddenly—
Fwoom—!
White flames erupted.
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
Arron’s widened.
From Leo’s hand burned pure white fire.
‘What… is this?’
Leo stiffened.
Chirp—?
Even Fiora seemed startled.
It wasn’t her fire.
And yet—it was Phoenix flame.
Only one Phoenix of pure white fire existed in memory.
‘The royal bloodline that vanished at the end of the Calamity Era.’
Then—
Fwooshhh—!
The seal blazed, and a bird with white feathers tinged with red appeared.
“Katariu!”
Arron’s voice shook at the sight of his friend’s covenant beast.
Leo too stared in disbelief.
The very beast bound to Lysinas had answered his call.
[ …Who are you, human? ]
Katariu’s eyes narrowed.
[ Why do you bear my contract seal? I never made a pact with the likes of you. ]