Chapter 288
Everyone stared in shock at Katariu, wreathed in surging white flames.
‘Why was ‘he’ summoned?’
But no one was more shocked than Leo himself.
He had only tried to draw out more of Fiora’s power with [Spirit Power].
Yet Katariu had appeared.
And in a contracted form.
Leo had never formed a pact with Katariu.
Not in this life, nor even back when he was Kyle.
A contract he never made… had somehow bound itself to him.
‘Is something like this… even possible?’
Leo gazed at Katariu in disbelief.
[ I’ll ask again, human. Why do you bear my contract seal? ]
At his words, Leo replied,
“I don’t know either. I only used [Spirit Power] to call upon my own familiar’s strength.”
[ …Familiar? ]
Katariu’s eyes flicked toward Leo’s sword.
Fwoosh—
The flame rippling along the blade condensed into a tiny bird.
“Cheep.”
[…]
Katariu looked dumbfounded at the chubby, fist-sized chick.
[ A young Phoenix? …Why is it so fat? ]
“How should I know.”
It was, of course, the result of Fiora accepting endless snacks from the other students, but Leo felt no guilt.
‘Not my fault.’
After a long glance at Fiora, Katariu narrowed her eyes at Leo.
[ Are you… an All-Class? ]
In an instant, she saw through him.
Her body flared with fire.
Tap—!
When she landed, she had taken the form of a woman with flowing white hair and crimson eyes.
“To think another besides that insolent Kyle could wield the power of an All-Class. Surprising indeed.”
She studied Leo closely.
“Tell me—does your family have deep ties to the Phoenix?”
Katariu pierced straight through to the Zerdinger blood flowing in Leo’s veins.
“Yeah.”
“Hm. I see. Then perhaps this is inheritance through bloodline? A contract once forged by the former Phoenix King, passed down generation to generation… and now awakened within you.”
She reasoned that the mystery lay in a hereditary pact.
Leo, however, thought of something else.
‘So that’s it… because I inherited Lysinas’s Dragon Heart.’
Right before the final battle with Erebos, Leo had received the dying Lysinas’s heart—her willful gift.
Through it, he had inherited not only her power, but also her contracts with spirits and familiars.
Though her mana had faded when Kyle’s body perished, the proof of succession had been etched not into flesh, but into soul.
‘Mel once told me—the magic I inherited from Lysinas obeys me because of that succession.’
It was the same for her contracts.
To them, Leo was “Lysinas.”
He glanced down at his hand.
Katariu smirked.
“To contract with a Phoenix at such a young age, no less.”
Her eyes twinkled with curiosity.
“And to think an infant Phoenix I knew nothing of still lived. Fascinating.”
Chirp chirp—
Fiora flapped her wings excitedly, circling around Katariu.
For a moment, the arrogance in Katariu’s gaze softened.
She was harsh to most, but gentle toward her kind—and her bonded.
“I adore the talented.”
The last Phoenix King extended her hand gracefully toward Leo.
“Consider it an honor. Kiss the back of my hand and show me your respect, young familiar’s master. Of course, once that’s done, you’ll break the contract.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“I’ve no desire to remain bound to a human. Least of all through a pact I never agreed to.”
Chirp! Chirp!
Fiora toddled up to Leo, urging him on.
Though she hadn’t existed in Katariu’s age, she instinctively recognized her as the Phoenix King.
“You little traitor.”
Leo sighed and knelt.
Katariu smirked triumphantly.
Chirp?
Instead, Leo scooped up Fiora and rubbed her against Katariu’s face.
“Pfft?!”
Screeech—!
Katariu flailed, while Fiora shrieked.
“You insolent brat! Do you even know who I am?! Do you want to be turned to ash?!”
“Didn’t Lysinas forbid you from harming people?”
Her eyes widened.
“You—how do you know the terms of our pact?!”
Chirp chirp chirp!
Not once in her long life had the Phoenix King met a contractor reckless enough to smear their familiar across her face.
As the three squabbled noisily—
“Ah! Master Arron! What brings you here?”
“You’re safe, Velkia.”
“Of course I am. But more importantly…”
Velkia had returned. She frowned at the scene before her.
“Why is that arrogant Phoenix here, and why is she fighting with ‘him’?”
“…It’s complicated.”
Arron scratched his cheek with an awkward smile.
Then, watching Leo clutching Katariu by the collar, he muttered,
“He really does remind me of Kyle.”
Looking at this boy he’d only just met, yet who evoked his old friend so strongly, Arron smiled faintly.
—
Boom—!
“Ghhhk?!”
A beastkin soldier’s eyes rolled back as Ar’s powerful kick sent him flying.
Tap—!
Landing, she bent her left knee, extended her right leg, and spun like a top.
Whack whack whack—!
“Ugh?!”
“Ghk?!”
The soldiers encircling her collapsed one by one from the lightning-fast sweep.
Ar’s white ears twitched.
Crash—!
A massive battle axe slammed into the spot she had just vacated.
“Impressive technique.”
“Thanks.”
“And to wield transformation without a full moon… Just who are you?”
The towering bear beastkin retrieved his axe, eyes flashing.
Ar raised her claws.
“A fine lady always keeps her secrets.”
“Heh. I’d love to test you longer, but I can’t allow suspicious intruders to run free.”
Roooaaarrr—!
Killing intent and aura burst from his body.
‘Strong.’
Ar tensed. This was no ordinary guard.
He charged.
But before he could strike—
“Flame Explosion.”
A chant rang out. Scarlet sparks flared right before Ar.
She leapt away in alarm.
KABOOOM—!
“Guuaaarghhh!”
The bear beastkin was blasted back, engulfed in flames.
“What the hell was that?!”
Ar shoved her face into Lunia’s.
“It’s fine. He won’t die from that.”
Ssss—
The charred figure twitched. Lunia spoke flatly.
“You nearly roasted me too!”
“You ambush when they’re distracted, right? If he reached your nose, you wouldn’t have noticed me. With your reflexes, I figured you’d dodge it anyway.”
“Oh, ‘that’s’ your reasoning?”
“Even if you got hit, your transformed state would’ve kept you fine.”
“So you’re saying you didn’t care if I got caught in it?!”
Ar hissed, baring fangs.
“We don’t have time! Besides, the stairs to the first floor are just ahead!”
Breaking through with mana unsealed, they tore through the dungeon like a storm.
Even the bear beastkin who had stood as the final gatekeeper had fallen to Lunia’s fire.
‘Eiran! Just hold on!’
Grinding her teeth, Lunia charged up the stairs—
“You two certainly know how to make a scene.”
“…!”
At the top stood a dwarf.
Lunia’s face fell pale.
Ar’s tail shot up stiff.
It was Dweno.
The prison’s entrance opened into a wide clearing.
No one else was there.
But despair weighed down like a mountain.
A legendary hero.
Not someone they could ever hope to defy.
‘We need to run…!’
Lunia’s eyes darted, searching for a path.
Whiiish—! Thunk!
An enormous axe slammed into the gap she’d been eyeing.
“Best not think of running.”
Dweno had read her intent instantly.
Lunia clenched her teeth.
“Seiren’s representative. Go.”
Ar stepped forward.
“I’ll hold him off!”
“You can’t alone!”
Ar grinned.
“Not even the two of us together could win. He’s Dweno, after all.”
“…!”
“But I can at least buy you a way out.”
Dweno tilted his head.
“Reckless little kitten.”
“If it were Master Arron, he wouldn’t run—”
“He’d run immediately.”
“…What?”
Ar froze.
“Arron is the most cowardly man alive.”
“Don’t insult Master Arron!”
Fur bristling, Ar roared.
“That idiot…”
Lunia covered her face.
“Hah! Entertaining girl.”
But Dweno’s gaze turned sharp.
‘Transformation without a full moon?’
He glanced upward, then back to Ar charging in.
It looked like a blind rush—
But her movements were precise, her eyes calculating.
‘She’s trying to keep me from interfering with the elf girl.’
Dweno smirked.
‘Remarkable. Both of them are extraordinary.’
Ar’s pace shifted erratically, dazzling to the eye.
‘Just one opening…!’
She broke into sweat. She knew full well the gap between them.
Dweno wasn’t a legend only for forging divine arms.
He had stood at the very frontlines with Arron—
a warrior among warriors.
Wham—!
Her fist shot toward his face.
She braced for the counter—
BOOOOM—!
Wind blasted outward, dust scattering.
Ar’s eyes went wide.
Her punch had landed flush on Dweno’s cheek.
But he hadn’t budged an inch.
Her strongest blow hadn’t even made him blink.
And she remembered his other name.
If Arron was the sword that slaughtered at the front—
Then Dweno, the Divine Blacksmith, was…
‘The Absolute Shield…!’
The pillar of the heroes.
Not even her best strike could move him.
“Well done.”
Dweno praised, then seized her wrist.
Crash—!
“Ghhhk!”
He slammed her into the ground.
As she writhed, a sudden blaze erupted.
‘This spell…!’
His eyes widened as Phoenix fire coiled around him.
Fwoooosh—!
But golden flame from his own hand devoured it whole.
“Ah. A born wielder of fire.”
His smile was warm, though his eyes were hard.
“Go on, elf. Weren’t you trying to rescue your friend?”
“I will. With her at my side!”
Lunia screamed defiantly.
“You can’t. You’re impressive, but to me you’re still chicks. You should’ve abandoned one to save the other.”
Dweno nudged Ar’s limp body with his boot.
“If you must choose, leave this one behind.”
“Don’t… mock me!”
Flash—!
Fragments of light shimmered around Lunia.
‘Flame won’t work on him! Then—!’
She turned to [Star Magic].
Starlight shards shot toward Dweno.
He inhaled.
“Waaahhh!”
His roar shattered the spell.
“Crude.”
Lunia’s face blanched.
‘So this is a Hero… one who saved the world…’
Strength beyond comprehension.
“Yield. It’s best for you.”
—
As the uproar died, Carr and Driana crept out.
When they reached the first floor, Carr froze.
Ar dangled from Dweno’s grip, limp.
Lunia lay pinned beneath his boot, gasping.
The dwarf hadn’t suffered a scratch.
“Escaped too, did you?”
His cold gaze fell upon them.
The pressure alone was crushing.
Driana quaked in fear.
Carr clenched the crossbow he’d snatched during the escape.
‘Most people would be paralyzed, like her.’
That was normal, when faced with such despair.
But Dweno noticed.
The frail human boy was preparing to fight.
‘Why resist, knowing it’s futile?’
Suddenly, Ar’s weak hand clutched his wrist.
Her blue eyes flared.
Grrrhhh—!
Lunia, crushed underfoot, forced mana into her spell.
‘Ignorant bravado? …No.’
Dweno realized.
They knew his strength.
They had felt his power firsthand.
And yet they still refused to yield.
“Foolish stubbornness.”
He looked at them with pity.
“…I know someone who never gave up, no matter what.”
Lunia’s voice trembled, but her eyes burned.
“I won’t disgrace myself before him.”
Dweno stared silently at her.
Then at Ar gripping his wrist.
‘They remind me of Arron and Luna… but those eyes…’
He narrowed his gaze.
‘They’re Kyle’s eyes. Even that boy magician’s.’
His lips curled.
“That’s enough.”
A crooked voice cut through the tension.
Lunia, Ar, Carr, and Driana turned wide-eyed.
Dweno noted the new boy’s identical uniform to Carr.
“Part of their crew? Come to save your friend, have you?”
Leo stepped forward.
“Velkia has already returned to Guardslone with Arron.”
Even with Dweno’s killing aura pressing down, Leo didn’t flinch.
“And you, who love beauty so much—wouldn’t it displease you to mar theirs?”
“…You speak as if you know me well.”
Mana swirled.
Fwooom—!
Golden flames roared to incinerate Leo.
“Leo!”
Carr cried out—
But the fire did not burn him.
“Is this test enough?”
“…Aren’t you afraid?”
Dweno asked quietly.
Leo shook his head.
“Not really.”
In the heart of the flames, he said,
“The essence of fire isn’t destruction, is it?”
Dweno’s eyes narrowed.
“…Who are you?”
“My name is Leo Plov.”
Dweno studied him, then gestured to the others.
“And these children?”
Leo smiled.
“Hope.”