Chapter 299
Leo released his [Spirit Power].
Vwooom—!
The Spirit Orbs containing Lysinas’s energy resonated with his own.
Roooooar—!
The immense power of Lysinas began to flow under Leo’s command.
Fwoooosh!
Whoooosh—
Bubble… bubble…
Rumble—!
Flames surged, wind swirled, water formed, and the earth trembled around him.
Soon, four great spirits appeared before Leo.
The Great Spirits, who had slumbered within the orbs, looked startled to see the human before them.
-Who are you?
Sillesta frowned at the unfamiliar summoner.
-How did you summon us?
Everyone watching was speechless.
During the Age of Calamity, only one Spirit Master had ever made contracts with the Great Spirits—Lysinas.
And since those contracts had been sealed, no other summoner could call them forth unless Lysinas herself lifted the seal.
In other words, the contracts belonged solely to her.
To see a human boy summon them now—it was unbelievable.
And the ones most bewildered were the spirits themselves.
Leo met Sillesta’s gaze.
“I’m the proxy of your contractor.”
-Proxy?
The Great Spirit of Fire, Ifta, crossed her arms.
“Yes. I was granted the authority to use her Mana.”
At that, the Great Spirit of Water, Erham, looked doubtful.
-Never heard of such a thing.
“She probably didn’t tell you before it happened. What matters is that I hold the seal of your contract with Lysinas.”
Leo raised his hand, showing the sigil on the back.
The mark that proved the bond between Spirit Master and Spirit clearly belonged to Lysinas.
Seeing this, the Great Spirit of Earth, Darden, who had been silently observing Leo, finally spoke.
-What is your relationship with Lysinas?
“……”
Leo closed his eyes at the question.
‘We’ll save the world together.’
The memory of his friend’s confident smile, hand outstretched, surfaced vividly.
Opening his eyes, Leo answered.
“Partners.”
He smiled faintly.
“Partners who will save the world together.”
That same unwavering smile—the one that mirrored their contractor’s—made the Great Spirits decide to set their doubts aside.
-We’ll understand this situation in time.
Ifta chuckled softly, brushing back her fiery red hair as she approached Arron.
-Hey there, Arron.
“Ifta, I’ll explain. Right now, Guardslone—”
-No need. I can already tell.
She smirked.
-The Giant King’s invading Guardslone, isn’t he?
“That’s right.”
-And that crazy dwarf?
“He’s stopping another Giant King.”
-What?
Ifta blinked, confused.
“It’s a long story. Right now, we just need to take that bastard’s head.”
Leo joined in.
“Exactly.”
Shing—
Arron drew [Brave].
“I’ll handle the Giant King.”
He exhaled and bent his knees.
“You keep the legion in check.”
Boom—!
In an instant, Arron’s body vanished, moving faster than sight.
With [Aura Step], he raced through the air, sword in hand.
The distance between Guardslone’s walls and the ancient Gias was immense—yet Arron closed it in seconds.
Golden aura flared around him, dazzling the sky.
Seeing it, Leo clutched the Wind Orb.
Whooooosh—!
Winds roared around him.
-I understand that you’re Lysinas’s proxy.
Erham crossed his arms before Leo.
-We also grasp how urgent this is, so we’ll lend you our strength. The question is you.
He eyed Leo skeptically.
-You’re just a boy. Do you really think you can handle our power? You can barely manage one of us, let alone all four.
It was a fair doubt.
Leo was still a teenager.
Even with immense talent and the borrowed energy of Lysinas, there were limits.
At least for an ordinary human.
But Leo smirked faintly.
‘Ordinary, huh?’
He summoned his [Spirit Power].
Vwooom—!
In an instant, Sillesta’s form turned into a stream of wind and wrapped around Leo’s feet.
The Great Spirits gasped.
-[Spirit Armored]?
The advanced art of fusing with a spirit to wield its power directly—one of the most difficult techniques in spirit arts.
The stronger the spirit, the harder the fusion.
To merge with a Great Spirit at all placed a summoner among the top ten in the world.
To selectively merge portions of their power—it was a feat that could rival Lysinas herself.
Fwoooosh—!
Ifta became a spear of fire and infused into Leo’s hand.
Rumble—!
Darden formed into armor that covered his body.
Finally, Erham transformed into a shield of water.
On the rampart, the young dragon Jers stared blankly.
“L-Lysinas?”
Fully clad in Great Spirits, Leo looked exactly like the Spirit King himself in battle stance.
“It’s just an imitation.”
Leo gave a wry smile and glanced at his reflection on the watery shield.
‘It’s been a while… since I’ve seen this form.’
“Who… who are you?” Jers asked, his voice trembling.
Leo replied quietly.
“The Hero of Beginning.”
He became a gust of wind and followed behind Arron.
—
Fwoooosh—!
Black flames blazed.
Facing Erebos’s fragment head-on, the young heroes trembled.
It was the embodiment of the primordial evil.
The Age of Calamity.
The Return of Calamity.
The destroyer that nearly ended the world twice.
Back then, five Great Heroes had saved the world.
During the second catastrophe, five New Dawn Heroes had carried on their will.
Even the greatest among history’s heroes had barely prevailed.
And now, that same burden fell on mere students—children far too young.
Though they stood their ground bravely, the overwhelming power of Erebos’s fragment crushed their confidence.
Lunia bit her lip.
‘They…’
Luna, Dweno, Arron—they all came to mind.
‘And Leo… did he overcome this same fear? Did he defy the impossible like this?’
In Luna’s world, she hadn’t been alone.
Luna was there. So was Harun, her senior. And Elena, the Queen of Lumene.
And Leo.
But not this time.
‘My role matters the most now.’
She was the only one capable of casting large-scale magic.
Driana stood at the front as the vanguard, blocking Erebos’s blows with her shield.
Behind her, Ar, Eiran, and Velkia supported her with fluid attacks.
Carr held the rearguard as support.
Lunia—the mage—was their final line.
‘Can I really defeat that monster that even Master Arron couldn’t destroy completely?’
She summoned her staff from the subspace and gripped it tightly.
‘In the Hero’s World… I haven’t gained anything. Can I really do this?’
Her eyes wavered.
Ar had grown stronger after meeting Arron, inheriting his [Aura].
Eiran had learned from Velkia how to properly wield fairy magic.
Even Driana, always scolded by Dweno, had honed her craft day after day.
But Lunia—she had made no progress.
She still couldn’t fully control Dweno’s [Essence of Flame].
Katariu mocked her failures.
Her hands trembled.
“Why the dazed look?”
Ar stood in front of her.
“What, scared already?”
She had expected her to mock her playfully, as usual.
Both were academy representatives—rivals by nature.
But Lunia just clenched her teeth.
“I am scared.”
She admitted it honestly.
“What about you?”
“Of course I’m scared. I’m the descendant of the great Hero Arron!”
Ar grinned brightly.
“I’m terrified.”
Lunia blinked.
She reached out and grabbed her hand. Her tremor ran through to her.
“Up till now, I kept pretending I wasn’t afraid—telling myself heroes like Arron don’t feel fear.”
Her smile didn’t falter.
“But I realized that wasn’t courage—it was just ignoring fear. So!”
She snorted proudly.
“I’ll play the part of Arron! You be Luna!”
“What are you even talking about?”
Momentarily forgetting the danger, Lunia gawked.
“I asked Arron once—how could he be so brave? You know what he said?”
– ‘I’m not brave. I can only move forward because my friends are with me. When I can’t take another step, Kyle’s back leads me on. And Luna’s runes push me forward.’
– ‘Then what gives you the most courage, Master Arron?’
– ‘Luna’s runes.’
“So now, I’ll be Arron, and you’ll be Luna!”
Ar’s eyes sparkled.
“No rune gives a warrior more courage than a mage’s spell!”
Lunia couldn’t help but laugh.
From her ridiculous confidence, she found courage of her own.
‘Yeah… now’s not the time to sulk.’
She slapped her cheeks.
‘Snap out of it, Lunia El Lunda!’
“All right. I’ll—”
Awooooooo—!
A wolf’s howl echoed across Guardslone.
The heroes’ hearts steadied; courage welled up within them.
“Master Arron’s howl…!”
Eiran’s eyes widened.
Ar’s ears perked up, her tail twitching with excitement.
Then she smirked.
“See? He just gave me courage himself. Don’t think I need you anymore.”
“You stupid cat! You wanna die?!”
Furious, Lunia grabbed her by the collar.
“Hey, you two can fight later,” Carr interrupted tensely. “That thing’s moving again.”
Above Erebos’s fragment, a massive magic circle appeared.
Vwooom—!
“[Star Magic]?”
Lunia gasped.
Flare—!
Ar dashed forward at blinding speed.
“Found an opening!”
[Spirit Aura] surged around her feet.
Boom—!
She kicked off the air like a bullet, slamming her heel into Erebos’s abdomen.
Thunk—!
The fragment’s body folded backward, sent flying.
“Watch where you’re kicking that thing!”
Driana dove aside, shouting.
“Sorry!”
Crash—!
Erebos’s body tore through several buildings before coming to a stop.
Ar stomped her foot proudly.
“How’s that?!”
Flare—!
“Huh?”
“Don’t let your guard down, idiot cat. That thing’s imitating Master Kyle.”
Velkia kicked her aside and drew [Erquint], slashing through the fragment.
But she bumped into Eiran mid-strike.
“Why are you here?!”
“S-sorry!”
Eiran stumbled back.
“This coordination is awful,” Driana muttered, grimacing.
Erebos’s fragment rose again, stretching out a hand.
Ziiiing—!
A magic circle appeared—Lunia instantly responded with her own spell.
Crackle!
Fwoooosh—!
A massive spike of ice erupted from the ground.
Her flames surged to melt it—
Crack!
But the ice cut through the fire unharmed.
‘Its magic output… it’s stronger than mine?!’
Normally, fire overpowered ice.
Yet her flames couldn’t melt this one.
Its spell had been instant-cast—and still rivaled her fully prepared magic.
“Form up!”
At her command, the heroes raised their weapons.
“Let’s bring it down.”
—
Kraaaash—!
Lunia’s flames swept across the battlefield.
Ar and Velkia cut through the summoned monsters while closing in.
But Erebos’s fragment blocked their strikes with ease.
“Carr! Potion!”
At Driana’s shout, Carr tossed a potion vial to her.
She splashed it over her blade and charged again.
Vwooom—!
“Miss Lunia! Look out!”
Whoooosh—!
A wind blade spell erupted, forcing Eiran to shield her.
“Eiran! Here, potion!”
Carr threw another vial.
“Thank you, Carr!”
‘Thank me? This is all I can do… ha.’
Carr gave a bitter laugh.
‘Some leader I am.’
Leo had appointed him party leader—
But here, he was useless.
‘Some support I am.’
He clenched his jaw.
He couldn’t attack or defend—just hand out potions.
‘Damn it…’
He knew his limits better than anyone.
‘What kind of hero candidate am I?’
The motto of Lumene was to overcome one’s limits.
But every time he did, a new wall appeared.
Compared to others, he was always standing still.
He’d accepted that long ago.
But here, facing death itself and unable to do anything, that helplessness was unbearable.
His eyes fixed on Erebos’s fragment.
‘That monster… it’s like a perfected Leo.’
Leo had no weaknesses in battle.
His [All Class] ability let him balance every strength and cover every flaw.
He was flawless.
His only weakness was heavy Mana consumption.
But this creature didn’t even have that.
Endless, unpredictable attacks kept the vanguard on the brink.
Carr gritted his teeth.
‘If it were Leo… he’d summon beasts.’
Vwooom—!
The fragment summoned monsters mid-fight.
‘Then he’d dodge and counter with a sword strike…’
Slash—!
“It’s too unpredictable!”
Ar shouted as she narrowly avoided a blow.
She wasn’t used to facing someone who fought like Leo—someone beyond reason.
“Huh?”
Carr gasped.
Then shouted, “Driana! Fall back! It’s casting magic!”
“Huh?!”
She leapt back just as spikes of earth erupted where she’d stood.
“Lunia! Don’t cast—Velkia’s in your line of fire!”
“What?”
Lunia stopped her spell just in time as Velkia dashed past.
Wide-eyed, she turned to Carr.
“Carr… you can predict its movements?”
“Uh… yeah. I just thought of it like Leo, and it made sense?”
“And our positioning overlaps too?”
“Yeah, I… started to see that too.”
“Then you can coordinate us.”
“…Guess I can.”
The moment he admitted it, the others all shouted in unison.
“You idiot! Why didn’t you say that sooner?!”
“Nyaaa! I’m gonna claw your face later!”
“You should’ve told us!”
“Why now of all times?!”
“Uh… well…”
Carr, who had been sulking in silence, shrank even further.
Lunia grabbed his collar and yanked him upright.
“We don’t have time to complain! You’re our leader—so lead!”
“What?!”
“You’re the party leader! Act like it!”
“F-fine!”
Carr straightened, finally ready to command.
(T/N: WOOHOOOOOO! It’s Carr’s time to shine now!!! Please be a Carr show next chapter!!)