Chapter 303
“Waaaaaah!”
“We did it!”
“We defeated the Giant King’s army!”
Cheers erupted from atop Guardslone’s walls as countless people embraced one another, rejoicing in victory.
Watching the scene, Leo smiled faintly as he gazed out over the city.
When he had rushed back from Reysar, the situation in Guardslone had been utterly hopeless.
Even the hope they had barely regained had been stolen away.
‘But the people overcame it.’
It was Lysinas who had given them hope.
But the strength to rise again and rebuild the world had come from these people.
Leo looked up at the sky.
The conquest of the Hero Record was ending—he could see this world fading away.
Step, step—
“You okay?”
Arron approached him.
“Worry about yourself.”
“You look just as bad as I do.”
Both Leo and Arron were in shambles.
Had Arron taken even a moment longer to defeat Gias,
Leo might have lost his life.
“Why didn’t you drop the Water Shield?”
At Arron’s question, Leo gave a small laugh.
“Because I believed.”
Arron stared at him calmly.
Just then—
“That damned Giant King escaped after all!”
With a frustrated growl, Dweno appeared atop the wall.
“Master Dweno, are you all right?”
“Your wounds are severe.”
“I’m fine. Tend to your own injuries first.”
Step, step—
Covered in wounds, Dweno walked toward Leo and Arron.
Thud—
Standing before Leo, he said,
“The Giant King got away.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of him.”
“…Sorry for dumping that on you.”
Dweno let out a long sigh.
“Still, tonight we can raise a toast to victory.”
He smiled warmly.
“Won’t you share a drink with me?”
Leo gave a bitter smile.
“Thanks for the offer, but… we have to go.”
“What? In that condition?”
Arron looked alarmed.
Leo stood.
“Our part ends here.”
He could feel Dweno’s world beginning to fade.
He wanted to talk more—to share a drink with his dear friends, Dweno and Arron.
But…
‘This is as far as time allows.’
Leo bit his lip.
He hadn’t been able to save them.
All he had done was watch them die.
He couldn’t bring himself to tell them that he was Kyle.
‘They wouldn’t believe me anyway.’
Step, step—
As Leo began to walk away, Dweno spoke.
“Why do you carry guilt over our deaths?”
Leo froze.
His eyes widened as he slowly turned around.
“What’s with that stunned look? You didn’t think I wouldn’t notice, did you?”
Dweno burst out laughing.
“Dweno, so Leo really is…”
“Yes, Arron. He’s Kyle, from the future.”
Arron’s eyes widened as he looked at Leo.
Dweno crossed his arms.
“Even Arron had his suspicions, yet you thought you fooled us. Now you see why I’ve always called you a fool?”
“You damn old man.”
Leo smiled crookedly, his expression wavering between amusement and sorrow.
Seeing that, Dweno chuckled softly and stepped forward.
“I don’t know what the future holds, Kyle.”
Thump—!
He placed his thick, calloused hand on Leo’s shoulder.
“But all of us followed Lysinas with our hearts set and our resolve made—even if what awaited us was death.”
Dweno smiled.
“If the world was saved, then we’re ready to accept that future gladly. So don’t carry guilt.”
Leo clenched his fists.
Crackle—!
The world began to fracture.
There wasn’t much time left.
“Take care of the future.”
“I will.”
Satisfied with that answer, the Dwarven warrior released his shoulder.
Then, with a grin, he gave Leo a firm push forward.
“Go on, now.”
“Yeah.”
Step, step—
As Leo took a few steps away, the world around him vanished.
[Conquest Reward: Dweno’s Legacy, Dweno’s Flame.]
—
When he opened his eyes, the sky above was clear and blue.
Everyone around him wore dazed smiles.
It was hard to believe such a massive battle had just taken place.
“Whoa?!”
Ar let out a shocked cry.
“Look at this! These are the greaves and gauntlets Master Dweno made!”
She bounced with excitement as she admired the beautifully crafted gear.
She wasn’t the only one.
“Lady Katariu’s feathered staff…?!”
Lunia stared blankly at the staff in her hands, a work of art more than a weapon.
“My Erquint… it’s as good as new! And it’s a shield now!”
Eiran marveled at the perfectly restored weapon and shield.
“I got… a grimoire.”
Carr looked at the alchemy tome in disbelief.
Opening it, he saw blank pages—but soon words began to appear as if responding to him, and his eyes widened.
Lastly, Driana looked down at the hammer in her hands.
‘I’ll say it again. Quit being an artist.’
Dweno had worn a scowl when he handed her his hammer.
Then, with a gentler expression, he had patted her head.
‘You have talent as a Smith, child. So don’t stray—devote yourself to your forge. I am me, and you are you.’
Remembering the kind Divine Blacksmith who had encouraged her when she was lost, Driana made a vow.
‘Master Dweno, I’ll become a blacksmith and an artist worthy of your name.’
If he’d heard that, he probably would’ve snatched the hammer back and whacked her with it—but Driana gripped it tightly all the same.
Each member of the party received a gift from Dweno as a conquest reward.
It was, without exaggeration, an unprecedented reward.
Weapons and artifacts of divine grade—crafted by the Divine Blacksmith himself.
But these were completely new relics, never recorded in history.
They had returned to reality carrying that incredible legacy.
Just as everyone was still in disbelief—
“Where’s Leo?”
Fwoosh—
Leo stared expressionlessly at the black flames before him.
The Giant King Gias had long since vanished.
But Erebos’s Thought Projection remained, burning with hatred toward him.
“Stubborn to a ridiculous degree.”
“Lord Leo!”
At that moment, a rift opened in the air and Melina appeared.
“Right after the Giant King appeared, the Gigantes army began invading Tarkam…”
Sensing Leo’s mana, she had warped there immediately—and upon seeing Erebos’s Thought Projection, her face hardened.
Long ago, when she had conquered the Hero Record of the Heroes of Genesis, Melina had faced fragments of Erebos before.
So she recognized it at once.
As murderous intent flared in her eyes, Leo raised his hand to stop her.
“I’ll handle this.”
“Lord Leo?”
She looked at him in confusion.
Step, step—
Leo approached Erebos’s Thought Projection.
Then, extending his hand, he spoke.
“Posteritas.”
Flash—!
With golden light, a half-melted longsword appeared.
Melina’s eyes widened in shock.
Aside from the broken tip of the blade once known as ‘Beginning,’ it had returned to its original form.
‘Did it respond to Lord Leo’s flame and restore itself? But back then, it never fully recovered…’
The Flame of Dweno that Leo carried had the power, for a brief moment, to restore weapons crafted by Dweno to their original state.
The Divine Blacksmith had once used that same power to renew broken weapons like new.
But Leo could only do it for a fleeting instant—his flame was but a small spark.
Now, however, things were different.
He had inherited the complete Flame of Dweno as his conquest reward.
‘Of course, even Dweno’s power couldn’t restore a weapon whose lifespan had completely ended…’
The sword Dweno had made for Leo, ‘Posteritas’, had long since reached the end of its life as a weapon.
But it responded to Leo’s call and returned to its former form—because it still had something left to do.
Fwoosh—!
Golden fire flared upon ‘Posteritas.’
“Let’s do this… and—”
Leo looked at the sword that had been with him to the end and whispered.
“Thank you.”
Voom! Voom!
As if answering him, ‘Posteritas’ released a surge of gray mana.
A fragment of the last power Kyle once drew forth.
Slash—!
Leo drove ‘Posteritas’ straight through Erebos’s Thought Projection.
Crackle—!
Cracks ran along the blade.
The shard that contained Erebos’s essence fractured as well.
Gwaaaaaah!
The projection let out a final, agonized scream, vomiting black fire in a last burst of fury.
Ping—!
Then, ‘Posteritas’ shattered into fragments of light.
Gwoooooooh!
A mass of black flame appeared in the air, writhing in torment before it began to fade.
Thud—!
Just before it vanished completely, Leo seized it by the throat.
His eyes blazed coldly.
“This time, the events of five thousand years ago won’t repeat.”
A fierce killing intent radiated from Leo’s gaze.
“Get ready—because this time,” he growled through clenched teeth,
“I’ll kill you for good.”
—
A woman with black hair watched the slowly rebuilding city with weary eyes.
So many had died.
‘They must’ve suffered heavy losses too, so technically, this is our victory… but still…’
She looked at the despair in the townspeople’s eyes.
Not long ago, the city had been full of hope.
Now it looked as if that hope had vanished again.
‘…Can we really do this?’
Her intelligent black eyes wavered with uncertainty.
Returning home, Lysinas looked exhausted.
She entered her study and sank into her chair with a deep sigh.
Then she noticed a familiar notebook sitting on her desk and frowned slightly.
‘Did I leave my journal out?’
Opening it, she froze.
“……”
Her lips curved into a soft smile as she read the familiar handwriting.
‘Lysinas, don’t lose heart over this. Like you said, we’ll save the world. So stay strong.’
“When did you become someone who writes encouraging words like that?”
The gloom in her heart lifted.
Resting her chin on her hand, she smiled gently— then suddenly stiffened.
‘Wait a second… how did he know this was my journal? And when did he even come into my house?’
Her shoulders trembled, her face turning bright red.
‘If he wrote this, that means he read my journal…!’
“Lysinas! We finished cleaning up the debris. Good thing that perverted old man’s a genius at construction. Whew~ manual labor really wears you out.”
“You only used magic! Arron, Dweno, and I did the real work. Why are you taking the credit?”
“Mana consumption counts as labor too!”
Luna glared at Kyle.
“Hey! Kyle!”
Lysinas suddenly stood up, her face flushed scarlet.
“You! You, you, you! When did you sneak into my house?! And rummage through my study to read my journal?! Do you have a death wish?!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?! Why would I sneak into your house and rummage around? You said I could come by anytime! You even taught me how to open the door!”
“When did I—wait, what?! I don’t care! That doesn’t mean you can barge into my study and read my journal!”
“I told you, I never went in there!”
As the wise dragon who would one day guide the world to salvation and the human who would save it bickered childishly, the elf who had crafted the spell that saved the world pondered quietly.
‘…Why did Lysinas ever teach Kyle how to open her door in the first place?’