Chapter 355
[Grooooooar—!]
Erebos roared.
He raised his arm.
Fwoooosh—!
Black flames surged wildly.
Seiren’s students backed away in panic.
Leo charged forward without hesitation.
“H-Hey! Wait—!”
Lunia tried to stop him, shocked.
Everyone preparing to defend against Erebos froze in disbelief at Leo’s sudden move.
The tip of Leo’s sword trembled.
Kiiiing—!
A sharp tone rang out as gray aura burst forth.
BOOM—!
Erebos’ fist slammed into the ground.
A forest of black flame pillars erupted.
Like rising whirlwinds, the massive pillars twisted like living serpents, targeting Leo.
Leo dove directly into their center.
His red eyes tracked every trajectory of the flames closing in on him.
‘As expected, this is only a fragment of Erebos’ power. There’s no consciousness.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
The true body was still beyond the Hero Record.
‘Seiren is what’s holding Erebos back.’
Leo kicked off the air.
Whoooosh—!
A pillar of fire skimmed past him.
Like refracted beams of light, the flame pillars twisted chaotically toward him.
A single mistake would reduce him to ashes.
But Leo avoided all of Erebos’ attacks with minimal movement.
Lunia’s jaw dropped.
“Incredible…”
Anyone else would’ve been dead ten times over.
Yet Leo, unfazed, moved straight toward Erebos.
“Amazing…”
Eiran stared blankly, captivated.
As a knight, she knew just how impossible Leo’s movements were.
This wasn’t merely ‘skillful’—it was far beyond that.
Even with death inches away, Leo moved calmly.
Whoooosh—!
A pillar of fire grazed him, and Leo lifted his sword.
He had fought Erebos multiple times before.
This was merely a tiny portion of its power—mindless, instinctive.
Avoiding such attacks was easy.
Instead, the pressure awakened the senses of a great hero.
Leo’s sword traced a spiral arc through the air.
‘Haven’t used this in a while.’
Kyle’s aura technique—[Spiral].
CRACK-CRACK-CRASH—!
The spiral aura shredded Erebos.
Its body split open.
Leo immediately slipped inside the gap.
There he saw the Hero Record.
Whooosh—!
He reached for the burning Hero Record—
—but clicked his tongue.
Erebos’ power was swelling.
‘It’s going to explode.’
Leo escaped the core at once.
Thud—!
He landed and rose quickly.
KA-BOOOM—!
A violent explosion burst from within, flames scattering everywhere.
Leo didn’t look back.
He gripped his sword and walked toward Lunia.
‘With my current strength, I can’t reach the Hero Record alone.’
And destroying it recklessly was impossible.
‘The Hero Record is a doorway for Erebos. Destroying it while the connection to the outside remains could cause something disastrous.’
He might even help Erebos escape.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘It has to be resolved inside Seiren’s Heroic World.’
“How did you cut it? No matter how we attacked, it didn’t cut at all!”
Hadin asked, still fighting nearby undead.
“Ordinary attacks won’t affect it.”
Leo looked down at his sword calmly.
Ssssss—!
The blade was melting from cutting Erebos.
It was a masterpiece crafted by a master smith.
Yet cutting Erebos had nearly ruined it instantly.
“So your attack wasn’t ordinary, then?”
“Something like that.”
Leo shook off Erebos’ power from the blade.
His mana trait—[Purity].
Combined with swordsmanship honed over countless years.
‘I was always good at cutting things—just like Arron.’
Kyle, the Hero of Beginning, had never reached the pinnacle of martial arts like Arron.
Arron, an unmatched martial genius, wielded terrifying power in battle.
Kyle never fully mastered Arron’s aura.
But there was one thing—
Cutting.
Kyle was second only to Arron in that.
Leo watched Erebos begin regenerating.
Only a tiny fragment stood before them.
If the true body came through—
—the world would face catastrophe again, 3000 years later.
‘We have to close the gateway.’
Leo stared at the rising black flames.
“Lunia.”
“Mm.”
“I’m going into Seiren’s Heroic World.”
“What?”
Lunia looked shocked.
“There’s clearly something happening inside it. I’m going to find out.”
“That’s insane! To do that, you have to go into the core of the black flames!”
“Exactly.”
Leo stared at the flames.
“That’s why your role is important.”
He met Lunia’s eyes and smiled.
“Open a path. With your flame, it’s possible.”
“But… all I can do right now is block the black flames.”
Lunia gritted her teeth.
Her purification flames could counter the black flames—
—but only small fragments.
They couldn’t harm the main body at all.
Her white flames were swallowed instantly.
Leo reached out his hand.
“Huh?”
He gently held Lunia’s chin, making her look at him.
“Believe in yourself.”
Leo smiled.
“It’s your academy’s motto, isn’t it?”
Lunia stared blankly at his mature smile.
“You’re the sole inheritor of the magic Luna created to defeat Erebos.”
Lunia’s eyes widened at seeing his red eyes—so much like hers.
“Believe in Luna’s magic—and believe in me, who passed it on to you.”
Leo tapped her cheek lightly and turned toward Erebos.
Lunia slapped her own cheek, blushing.
“Seriously…”
Her face scrunched in frustration.
“Why does he look so good acting like an adult…?”
Her anxiety faded.
She took a deep breath.
“Eiran, protect— Wait, what’s wrong?”
Eiran was fidgeting.
“That was… um… really spicy…” (T/N: Yep! Totally Ruined the mood. hahahah)
“What are you even thinking at a time like this?!”
“S-Sorry?!”
Eiran squeaked and rushed forward with her sword and shield.
Lunia sighed deeply.
She began preparing magic.
Students gathered to protect her.
‘Let’s do this.’
White flames blossomed around Lunia.
Leo sensed she was ready and lowered his stance.
Lunia chanted runes—
Star Runes.
Erebos in front.
Luna’s magic behind.
‘Even after 5000 years, Luna… you still give me courage.’
Feeling his friend’s presence, Leo smiled.
Rumble—!
Mana swelled.
Warmth enveloped Leo.
“Pyre.”
Lunia unleashed her magic.
Leo charged forward the same instant.
The white flame pierced Erebos.
Leo slipped into the opening.
Toward the Hero Record—
Leo reached out—
Grab.
The burning Hero Record landed in his hand.
[Hero Record Open. ■■■’s Wo■ld. Pa■e: ■■■■■■]
Unreadable messages blurred his vision.
FWOOOSH—!
Leo was sucked into the Heroic World.
He opened his eyes to ash.
Everything burned.
A familiar sight.
Erebos had consumed everything.
In the distance, an elf sat collapsed—
Holding a broken staff.
Her platinum hair dim.
‘Seiren Tingel.’
Leo moved toward her—
“I… failed…”
Seiren whispered, shoulders trembling.
The ground collapsed beneath them—
Like sinking into a swamp.
Both Leo and Seiren were dragged into the darkness.
—
KRRRRSH—!
Black flames rose.
[You can accomplish nothing alone.]
Erebos declared.
[Your struggle is meaningless.]
Seiren’s expression crumbled.
The world burned.
The Heroic World warped.
Fwoosh—!
Everything turned to ash.
The entire Heroic World burned.
‘The end.’
A thought flashed across her mind.
A hero’s world was connected to all.
A hero entering could move freely across pages—
—but only their own allies.
The Genesis Heroes shared only one world:
The final chapter—
Where they defeated a fragment of Erebos.
They could not enter other heroes’ worlds.
But Erebos—
—a divine existence—
His very presence distorted the laws of the world.
Other heroes’ pages became gateways.
So the Genesis Heroes ordered:
Before entering the final chapter—
Destroy your own Hero Record.
‘…Someone didn’t destroy theirs.’
Seiren slumped in despair.
Her legs gave out.
Her body had long reached its limit.
Erebos looked down at her.
[Remain trapped here and die with your world, foolish mortal.]
It turned away.
‘It’s… over.’
What did she have left?
Lumene wasn’t here.
Damienne wasn’t here.
Azonia wasn’t—
Rodia wasn’t—
“All of you… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Seiren wept, apologizing to her comrades.
“I… failed…”
Darkness swallowed her.
“I couldn’t save the world…”
Her body sank deeper.
Once the Heroic World ended—
Seiren would die.
And Erebos would fully awaken.
Her body sank completely.
A suffocating weight engulfed her chest.
She thrashed desperately.
Her heart was broken.
Her will shattered.
But—
She still struggled.
Until her last breath—
She resisted—
—to stop Erebos.
But her strength soon ran out.
As she sank into oblivion—
A hand grabbed her wrist.
Thump—!
A powerful grip.
Someone pulled her upward—
Like rescuing someone drowning.
Fwoosh—!
Her upper body emerged from the darkness.
She saw white hair.
“…Who are you?”
Seiren asked blankly.
“Why do you think you failed?”
The boy smiled.
“See? You’re still not giving up.”
His gentle smile looked as though he knew exactly how hard her struggle had been.
He pulled her fully out of the darkness.
Seiren stared at him.
She had seen that smile once before.
A man who once saved the world gave that smile—
To a fellow mage who achieved a great feat.
She remembered that mage—
Blushing furiously at the gentle smile.
A smile she could never forget.
“You didn’t fail.”
Who had the right to deny the despair of a hero who saved the world before?
Perhaps—
“Raise your head, Seiren Tingel.”
Only someone who had already saved the world.
“You saved it.”
[Your achievement has been recorded.]
A message appeared before Seiren’s eyes.
The burned world restored itself instantly.
Her achievement was written again.
A Hero Record—
A divine legacy left in the mortal realm.
Only the Hero Record’s true owner could overwrite its pages.
And Seiren knew—
Who that owner was.
“The Hero of Beginning?”
Leo smiled in affirmation.
(T/N: WAIIIITTTT, so this is Leo/Kyle’s world?)
Ok, now it’s getting fun