Chapter 358

The highest place in Seiren.

The Star Plaza.

It was an area only the principal had authority to enter.

Used only for major internal meetings within Seiren or during the Elf Council, the Star Plaza held an important position in elf society.

And in that very place, an undead imbued with the Death King’s power had appeared.

That left only one possible suspect.

And with the appearance of elf shadows as well—

Once the situation was stabilized, the Pureblood Society members were all detained for investigation.

Afterward, Leo immediately pursued Acting Principal Luhagen, bringing them to the present.

“Running away?”

“Running?”

Luhagen’s face twisted.

“Why would I run? Just because you’re the Student Council President of Lumene, you think you can speak however you like? How dare you spout such—”

“Because the best thing you could do right now is flee before people find out you struck a deal with Tartarus.”

Luhagen’s expression hardened.

But he quickly replaced it with anger.

“Deal with Tartarus? What do you take me for?! I follow the will of the Founder of the Nebula and the Comet Mage more than anyone—!”

“If you truly followed Luna and Seiren’s will…”

Leo’s expression emptied of all emotion.

“…you wouldn’t have discriminated against students like that.”

Step—

A cold killing intent flowed from Leo’s eyes.

“You claim you followed Luna and Seiren’s will? Don’t make me laugh. You interpreted their will however it suited you.”

“Such insolence! A mere human dares lecture me about the will of the Founder of the Nebula and the Comet Mage? Know your place!”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know his place. If you truly followed their will, you wouldn’t have uttered nonsense about dealing with Tartarus.”

“Heh… heheheh.”

Luhagen let out a low, twisted laugh.

“A child still wet behind the ears couldn’t possibly understand.”

“So you’re not even denying it anymore?”

Leo’s expression chilled.

“All of this is for the peace of the world. To protect this world as successors of Lady Luna and Lady Seiren!”

Luhagen glared at Leo.

“The foolish Death King revealed his pathetic desire to me! He begged me to eliminate Erebos so he could fully seize Tartarus! And in return, I was to receive the remains of Lady Seiren! To a necromancer like me! Do you understand what that means, Leo Plov? My noble sacrifice—unafraid to walk the dirty path for the sake of the world!”

Luhagen spoke without a shred of guilt or shame.

Leo looked at him.

“One thing is clear.”

Leo drew his sword.

“You’re an idiot.”

“…What?”

“Tartarus has always belonged to the Death King.”

Cold murderous aura poured from Leo.

“And the Legion Commanders are zealots. They would never betray Erebos. To them, Erebos is a god.”

Leo’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“You endangered the world for your own greed. Don’t you dare insult Luna and Seiren again.”

Vwoooom—!

Power erupted from Luhagen’s body.

“Insult? Of course someone as foolish as you wouldn’t understand my will!”

Woooong—!

A massive magic circle formed above him.

“I’ll make you regret opposing me! So you became Lumene’s Student Council President at your young age—so what? The world is far bigger!”

A blinding flash struck down toward Leo as Luhagen roared.

“You are nothing more than another footnote in the long history of hero candidates!”

Flash—! KWA-GAGAGAGANG—!

White lightning destroyed everything around Leo.

Seeing Leo struck dead-on by a spell of such magnitude, Luhagen smirked.

At that moment—

Fwoosh—!

Leo burst through the lightning storm and charged straight toward him.

Luhagen’s eyes flew open in horror.

Slice—!

Leo’s sword severed Luhagen’s wrist.

Clang! Splatter—!

“Graaahhh!”

The severed hand hit the ground as blood sprayed everywhere.

Clutching his wrist in agony, Luhagen stared at Leo in disbelief.

“H-how…?!”

He hadn’t sensed even a hint of magical resistance from Leo.

“What trickery did you use?!”

“Trickery?”

Leo looked down at the kneeling Luhagen with a blank expression.

“I simply dispelled your magic.”

Luhagen’s face twisted grotesquely.

“Mocking me now?! That’s impossible!”

Magic erupted violently from him, fueled by blind rage.

Star Magic surged toward Leo.

But the spell shattered into fragments of mana before it even reached him.

“N-no… this is a nightmare… this can’t be real!”

Luhagen muttered in terror.

He understood what had just happened.

His Star Magic—dispelled by a single glance from Leo.

Before Leo, Luhagen’s Star Magic was nothing but a childish trick.

‘Impossible… this can’t be real…’

It felt like his life’s work was being denied.

“How… how can this be?! How can a mere human step into such a realm?! Who taught you Star Magic?!”

“The one who taught me?”

Leo reached him and whispered softly.

“Luna Lubinence.”

“You damned—!”

Blood vessels bulged in Luhagen’s eyes.

Slice—!

Leo’s blade flashed.

Luhagen’s head flew into the air.

Splatter—! Thud—! Roll—

Blood gushed like a fountain.

Leo approached the twitching body with an emotionless face and drove his sword into its heart.

Thud—!

Ending Luhagen completely, Leo spoke.

“How long do you plan to just watch from the shadows?”

At his words, the Lord of the Northern Tower, Algren, emerged from behind.

The Shadow Lord of the elves bowed deeply to Leo.

“I greet the Master of Shan.”

A bizarre sight—an academy student being bowed to by the master of the Northern Tower.

But Leo found nothing strange.

Algren wasn’t bowing as the Tower Lord, but as the Shadow Lord paying respect to the Master of the Shan Empire and Shadow Codex—Leo.

“Remarkable. Luhagen was not a weak elf, yet you dealt with him so effortlessly.”

Algren approached with interest.

“And how did you pursue him faster than I could?”

Algren had begun pursuit the moment he sensed Luhagen flee.

Yet Leo caught him earlier.

Stealthily pursuing and eliminating targets was the specialty of shadows.

Algren couldn’t understand how a hero candidate, who lived in the light rather than the dark, outpaced him.

Leo answered his unspoken question.

“Do you think the Emperor Shao handed the Shan Empire to me merely because I’m the master of the Shadow Codex?”

Algren widened his eyes slightly, then smiled.

‘So Anias wasn’t speaking nonsense after all.’

Last night, when his daughter Anias told him Leo was worthy of serving, Algren still had doubts.

Not because Leo lacked ability.

Even judging by his feats as a hero candidate, Leo was undeniably extraordinary.

He would undoubtedly become a hero capable of influencing the world.

But heroes who lived in the light and shadows who lived in the dark were different.

‘Young shadows tend to follow heroes instinctively.’

For thousands of years, shadows had carried out the dirty work heroes couldn’t.

But their role was not limited to mere cleanup.

They were the hidden followers of heroes—literally the heroes’ shadows.

Some prestigious hero families even had shadows serving them.

Algren thought Anias was simply charmed by Leo’s radiant presence.

‘But this… this is someone who has stepped into deep darkness.’

As the Shadow Lord, who had stood in darkness for countless years, Algren understood.

Leo wasn’t just a hero.

He was a shadow as well.

Someone who had long walked deep within darkness.

A being with both light and shadow.

‘Gray… so such a person truly exists.’

Algren bowed deeply.

“My apologies for the discourtesy.”

Leo walked ahead.

Following behind, Algren asked:

“How did you know he was the traitor?”

“I’ve seen similar methods before.”

The Age of Calamity.

The Death King had once infiltrated the elves through the same tactics.

Five thousand years.

Plenty of time to repeat mistakes.

“And how did you find out?”

“We found traces of the Hero Slayer contacting the Pureblood Society.”

Leo stopped walking.

Algren bowed his head.

“He is a traitor who slaughtered countless heroes.”

“I know.”

The Hero Slayer.

The worst hero killer in history, responsible for the deaths of countless heroes.

His name was infamous enough to be recorded in history books.

No one did not know of him.

“But I heard the Hero Slayer disappeared 500 years ago.”

One day, after bathing the world in blood, he simply vanished from history.

Some claimed heroes had defeated him.

Others claimed the shadows had erased him.

But one thing was certain—he was a figure from 500 years ago.

“That is correct. However, shadows in the northern continent encountered someone using power identical to the Hero Slayer’s. Only one survived.”

“…”

“We currently suspect the Death King. And the Pureblood Society has close ties to him.”

Leo narrowed his eyes.

“We will report details through Anias once we uncover more.”

“I’m curious about something. Why are you being so loyal to me already? Anias is still young—she’s driven by emotion. But you aren’t.”

“My daughter is older than you, Leo.”

Leo frowned flatly at Algren’s odd expression.

“That’s not the point.”

Algren laughed.

“You are the master of the Shadow Codex. If you acknowledge the shadows, they can earn their names in the Hero Record. That alone would make countless shadows willing to die for you.”

For thousands of years, shadows had been discriminated against.

Leo could grant them what they’d always desired.

“That’s not the only reason, is it?”

“As a Shadow Lord, I also want to see your capability.”

Algren bowed again.

“To know whether you are someone we can entrust our fate to… or not.”

“I hope I can live up to your expectations.”

Algren smiled.

‘Perhaps he truly can. Not by leading shadows with light, but by embracing them with darkness.’

Not a hero who lives solely in light, nor a shadow who lives solely in darkness.

But someone who quietly holds both within himself.

‘Just like Sir Kyle, the beginning of everything.’