Chapter 326
Seeing Leo’s expression vanish, Carr tensed up.
‘Leo.’
To Carr, Leo was the first friend he made after entering Lumene.
‘Meeting you was an incredible stroke of luck for me.’
Carr had barely managed to enter Lumene by the skin of his teeth.
But he never thought he’d be able to last long there.
That’s how clearly he knew his own limits.
In truth, Carr’s school life had always been a series of limits.
On the surface, he pretended to be calm.
He acted sly and easygoing.
But he always felt the painful gap between himself and the other students.
Through all that, Leo was always by his side.
The class representative, the unprecedented All-Class student.
The youngest student council president in Lumene’s history.
Carr, who had always watched Leo—always under the spotlight—knew better than anyone.
That the Leo who seemed to act as if there were no limits, was always pushing himself beyond them.
The sight of Leo endlessly striving and running forward had a tremendous impact on Carr.
Having watched Leo for so long, Carr knew.
‘It’s not impossible for them to defeat Leo.’
From the rear, Carr took a deep breath and looked at Leo.
He recalled the time he fought against the fragment of Erebos that had recreated the image of the Hero of Beginning, Kyle, in Dweno’s world.
“Are you ready to feel the difference?”
Abad raised his staff with his usual gentle smile.
“Leo, I’m sorry, but that difference… I’ve already felt it to the bone.”
Rumble—!
As Abad swung his staff, the ground began to quake.
Rumble—!
Boulders hidden beneath the earth rose into the air.
It wasn’t telekinesis.
He had controlled the wind to lift them.
Whirrr—!
A magic circle floated in midair.
Abad’s Original Magic, [Tempest], was activated.
Kwooooooosh—!
The boulders merged together to form a massive pillar.
The wind howled around it as the pillar of stone came crashing down on Leo.
Boom—!
A massive shockwave spread out from the point of impact.
Crack—! Fwoooosh—!
Cracks began to spread along the stone pillar that had struck Leo.
Crackle! Crunch! Whooosh—!
The shattered fragments—each the size of a fist—hovered around Leo.
Leo smiled at Abad.
“I don’t need this, so I’ll return it to you.”
Whoosh—! Crackle—!
The stones, now wreathed in flames, flew back toward Abad in a fiery storm.
Whoosh—!
At that moment, Eliza summoned her Wind Wyvern and quickly carried Abad up into the sky.
Seeing that, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘So, they’re going to focus entirely on offense as rear dealers, huh.’
The greatest advantage of a versatile mage was being able to take any position.
Like Chelsea, they could fight on the front lines as a battle mage, or like Chloe, serve as a rear cannon that bombarded enemies from afar.
Or, they could move between both sides, supporting wherever needed.
Versatile—but not without bias.
‘Abad’s closer to the traditional type, like Chloe.’
The strength of traditional mages lay in their overwhelming magical power.
But their weakness was mobility.
Eliza was assisting Abad to cover that weakness.
‘Though, Eliza isn’t just assisting Abad.’
Leo looked at Chelsea and Walden standing before him.
Around them stood two people blessed by Spirit Beasts.
Earlier, when they’d faced Leo as a hastily formed team, it was different.
Now, they’d come to a conclusion: Leo was an enemy they had to take down together.
They had prepared thoroughly for that goal.
And the difference between being prepared and not was vast.
Spiritual energy wrapped around Leo’s arm.
“What is he doing?”
Carr muttered in confusion, and Walden answered.
“Spirit summoning.”
“Everyone, be careful! If his Spirit Power is that strong, something big is coming!”
At Carr’s shout, everyone tensed.
Gathering blue light at his fingertips, Leo slammed his hand into the ground.
Flash—!
The energy sank into the earth and disappeared.
“……”
“……”
Chelsea, who had been bracing herself, glanced at Carr with a drained expression.
“Nothing’s happening.”
“……He summoned something.”
Walden narrowed his eyes.
“What did he summon?”
“How should I know? But we should defeat Leo Plov quickly.”
Walden equipped [Spirit Armor].
Fwoosh—
A fire spirit wrapped around him like armor.
Seeing that, Chelsea gripped her staff tightly and released the magic she’d been preparing.
“Heatstorm.”
Whooooosh—!
A fierce wind swirled around Chelsea.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘Chelsea’s Original Magic.’
Like Chloe’s [Ice World], it was a Field Magic.
But there was a key difference.
Chloe’s magic froze everything around her, a wide-area spell.
It not only attacked with intense cold but also slowed enemies’ movements, giving allies an advantage.
But Chelsea’s Heatstorm was different.
By itself, it lacked destructive power.
The real trouble was—
Fwoosh—!
Chelsea charged at Leo.
Leo summoned [Lancea] and swung it.
Using the long reach of his spear, he aimed to keep her in check.
Swish—!
At that moment—
Chelsea’s body moved unpredictably.
Like a fish gliding through water.
With movements unlike her usual ones, she dodged Leo’s attack.
“Wind Sword.”
A blade of wind formed at the tip of Chelsea’s staff.
Clang—!
The wind blade and Leo’s flame-wrapped spear collided.
Leo reached out, trying to grab her.
Whoosh—!
But Chelsea dodged again with incredible agility.
Whoom—!
As Leo tried to chase, a gust of wind blocked him.
The Heatstorm drastically boosted Chelsea’s close-combat ability.
That wasn’t all.
The one controlling the surrounding winds—
Leo looked up.
Eliza was manipulating the air with her Wind Wyvern and spirit arts.
A battlefield completely in their favor.
“Even for you, Leo, you won’t beat this teamwork!”
Chelsea shouted confidently.
Fwoosh—!
Walden, now right in front of Leo, threw a punch.
Boom—!
Leo blocked it with his hand.
Crack—!
The ground beneath his feet sank from the impact.
Leo kicked Walden in the stomach in retaliation.
Whoooosh! Boom—!
Walden crashed into the ground.
Rumble—
Brushing off the dirt, Walden cracked his neck.
Crack—crack—
The sound of bones echoed faintly.
“You okay?”
Carr asked, face pale.
“Don’t mind me. Focus on commanding. Your predictions are spot-on.”
“Got it.”
Carr looked at Leo.
‘The front line is definitely the biggest risk.’
Chelsea was a battle mage with overwhelming close-combat prowess.
Walden’s melee attacks, empowered by Spirit Armor, were fearsome.
But compared to Celia or Duran—true frontline specialists—they were at a disadvantage.
Right now, they were barely holding Leo at bay.
If even one of them fell, the front would collapse.
Then Eliza and Abad would become Leo’s next targets.
‘Or maybe me. No, even Chelsea—if she’s hit by Leo, it’s over.’
Chelsea, the King of Harmony.
For her to face Leo head-on was incredibly dangerous.
Carr pressed his hand to his ear.
Bzzt—! A communication spell activated.
“Chelsea! Walden! Leo’s about to use magic! Fall back!”
Boom—!
An explosion erupted around Leo.
“Abad! Now!”
Abad, riding the Wind Wyvern, raised his staff high.
Whooooosh—!
“[Cutter Storm]!”
As the magic unleashed, a massive cyclone tore through the air toward Leo.
Screeeech—!
From within the storm came a chilling sound.
Each layer of wind carried countless spinning blades.
A storm that was, in itself, a colossal weapon.
Fwoosh!
Abad’s [Cutter Storm] swallowed Leo whole.
“Incredible.”
“As long as the wind’s on our side, Chelsea and I can only get stronger.”
Abad grinned and winked at Eliza.
Eliza smirked.
Then—
Boom—!
“……!”
With a deafening burst, the Cutter Storm vanished.
“……Not even a scratch? That’s rough.”
Abad smiled bitterly.
“Still, we’re doing fine! Leo’s weakness is his limited Mana capacity! If we endure, we can win!”
Carr’s voice came through the communication spell.
“Hmph, Carr. That’s where you’re wrong.”
Eliza scoffed.
“We joined forces even if it meant swallowing our pride.”
She pulled the Wind Wyvern’s reins.
“Winning by stalling for time? That kind of hollow victory means nothing. Even if we lose, unless we face Leo Plov’s power head-on… I won’t be satisfied.”
At Eliza’s growl, Carr replied.
“You might not need to worry about that.”
Rumble—!
Flames burst upward from Leo’s body.
Fwoosh—!
Cold sweat ran down Carr’s temple.
“He’s coming.”
Fwoooosh—!
A blazing Aura swept across the field.
Chelsea flinched and backed away, and Walden stepped forward to shield her.
And then—
“-!”
A massive roar erupted from Leo’s mouth.
“Urgh?”
“W-What?”
Walden flinched, retreating instinctively, and Chelsea’s body trembled.
“Howling?” (T/N: A special skill made for Beastfolks only.)
Abad muttered in disbelief.
“Is there anything that man can’t do!?”
“Quite a few things, actually.”
“……!”
The reply came from above.
Fwoosh—
“I can’t do ‘everything,’ you know.”
In the instant their bodies froze under [Howling], Leo closed the distance.
With overwhelming speed, he launched a kick.
The blazing Aura flickering around his leg caught Abad and Eliza’s eyes.
Boom—!
Walden darted in, blocking Leo’s kick with his arm.
Whoooosh—! Boom—!
Unable to withstand the force, Walden was sent crashing into the ground.
Fwoosh—
Leo tightened his grip on [Lancea].
“Come to think of it, both of you were defeated by this spear, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, that spear… I hate looking at it!”
Kieeeek—!
The Wind Wyvern let out a shriek and opened its jaws.
A Wind Breath engulfed Leo.
As they widened the distance—
Flap—!
Dozens of small birds rushed toward Leo.
Crack—!
Their sharp, beak-like tips seemed ready to pierce him.
“[Reflection].”
Leo deployed a shield spell.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The birds’ beaks struck the barrier in a rapid flurry.
“……Wind birds?”
They were familiars crafted through magic.
But wind birds had almost no offensive power.
Leo turned his head.
Chelsea stood there.
“They’re my familiars.”
Chelsea grinned.
“The Heatstorm strengthens them.”
The wind birds circled around her.
“Don’t worry, Leo Plov. We’re not going to drag this fight out.”
Walden’s Spirit Power flared.
“We’ll take you down with our full strength.”
Abad chanted countless spells.
‘Impressive.’
Even after feeling the wall between them, they didn’t hesitate to challenge it.
Even knowing the difference, they threw everything they had into achieving victory.
They weren’t afraid to move forward.
They squeezed out every last bit of strength and pointed their blades.
“I don’t mind dragging it out.”
Leo smiled faintly, raising his hand.
“Because I’ll win before that.”
He swung his hand downward.
—
‘……Even for Leo, handling both Phoenix and Fairy power at once is tough. He might dominate briefly, but it won’t last long. Now that we know about the Fairy, we have countermeasures ready.’
Carr thought as he analyzed the fight.
He predicted Leo’s attack patterns and issued commands.
The only reason the four could synchronize perfectly was because Carr, watching from afar, coordinated them.
Thanks to him, they were managing to hold their own against Leo.
But then—
‘Why… isn’t he using summoning?’
Leo possessed two powerful familiars—the Phoenix and the Fairy.
They were likely his strongest cards.
Yet since the battle began, Leo hadn’t summoned either of them.
‘No, wait. He did—once.’
For an instant, he’d used spirit arts.
‘So that was…’
Rumble—!
Carr’s confusion deepened as the ground trembled.
Kwooooooosh—!
Then came a strange sound.
‘……Waves?’
Realizing what it was, Carr’s head snapped around.
His jaw dropped.
“Hey… come on, that’s…”
He let out a weary sigh, then screamed.
“This is way too much!”
Kwoooosh—!
A massive tidal wave engulfed the battlefield.