Chapter 387

Gooooooo—!

The world was burning.

Unquenchable black flames swallowed everything around them.

A deadly sea of Calamity Flame where even a graze meant death.

Yet the gray-haired man and the black-haired woman walking through it showed no fear.

“…We’ve finally arrived.”

Kyle muttered, staring at the black tower burning in the distance.

A colossal tower of immeasurable height, as though it pierced the sky itself.

The Tower of Calamity—the lair of Erebos, the primordial evil.

The place where the Calamity Flame first ignited.

The final destination of the subjugation party.

Murderous intent flared in Kyle’s eyes.

His clenched fist trembled, nails biting into flesh.

Drip. Drip.

Seeing the blood fall from Kyle’s hand, Lysinas spoke.

“Kyle, calm down.”

“Don’t worry.”

Kyle slowly opened his hand.

The marks of a long, desperate struggle covered it.

Scars that proved he had never abandoned hope, even in endless despair—proof that he kept reaching forward.

He had been wounded so many times it was a wonder his hand was still intact.

Each time, he barely recovered, then picked up his weapon again.

At a glance, it was just an ugly, mangled hand.

But to the great heroes, it was the most meaningful hand of all.

—

“It’s something I’m realizing anew. Kyle, your hand is truly beautiful.”

Before they set out, Dweno said that while looking at Kyle’s hand as it held a glass.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? This kind of hand isn’t your type, is it?”

“It certainly isn’t my type.”

Dweno glanced down at his own hand.

It was just as scarred as Kyle’s—same for Arron’s.

Even Lysinas, who usually stayed in the rear during battles, had plenty of scars, though fewer than the three of them.

Luna had many as well, but they weren’t visible—she wore gloves, or hid them with magic.

Dweno took a sip of his drink.

“But isn’t that the hand that created hope in this world? Even if it doesn’t look like my type on the surface, the beauty it holds doesn’t change.”

“Gulp, gulp—phew! I think this is the first time Dweno’s called Kyle beautiful.”

Luna said with a look of amazement, draining a large beer glass of golden liquid in one go and wiping her mouth.

“Yeah. The only beautiful thing about this guy is his hand. And we all have the same kind of hand.”

“…So in the end, Dweno. Are you saying there’s no beauty unique to Kyle in your eyes?”

Arron tilted his head as he blew on his hot tea.

“Of course not.”

“What a pity. The self-proclaimed aesthetician says you’re not beautiful.”

“Hm… Kyle must have something beautiful about him. Don’t give up.”

“You guys are unbelievable. Are you going to keep judging me by your standards?”

Enraged by the dwarf’s firm nod, Luna’s laughter, and Arron’s genuine concern, Kyle lunged at the three of them.

After the commotion died down, Kyle returned to his seat and rested his chin on his hand.

“They’re all so carefree, it’s hard to believe we’re about to embark on our final journey.”

Kyle shook his head, dumbfounded.

No matter what anyone said, this would be the worst battle.

There was no guarantee of success.

No—if anything, the odds of failure were higher.

And yet, he couldn’t sense any tension from his companions.

He sighed as he watched Luna recklessly challenge Dweno to a drinking contest.

He also saw Arron being pressured into drinking, panicking as he refused.

“There’s no sense of urgency at all.”

Lysinas, carrying a beer glass, sat down across from Kyle and smiled.

“It’s not a bad thing. I think it’s good that everyone’s hopeful.”

Looking around the tavern, Lysinas nodded in satisfaction and took a sip of beer, the fatigue fading from her face.

“It’s better than being afraid in advance.”

“What took you so long?”

“I was writing my notes.”

Lysinas mirrored Kyle, resting her chin on her hand.

“Come to think of it, you and I used to have meetings here. Just the two of us.”

“Did we?”

Kyle clinked his glass against hers with an indifferent expression.

Lysinas drank, wiped her mouth, then said,

“I told you, Kyle.”

“What?”

“We’re going to save the world.”

Seeing his friend smile with such confidence, Kyle burst into laughter.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re amazing.”

“Apologize right now for being so cynical in the beginning.”

“I feel like I’ve apologized countless times already.”

“That’s not enough.”

With her face flushed from alcohol, Lysinas leaned in, sneering as she stared at Kyle.

“Yeah, yeah. I was wrong. You were right.”

At Kyle’s annoyed reply, Lysinas smiled in satisfaction.

“And I’m going to keep the promise I made to you, too.”

“……?”

“You promised, didn’t you?”

Lysinas crossed her arms, smiling.

“That you wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“……Yeah.”

Kyle smiled.

“Kyle, you’re no longer a surviving hero. You are…”

Lysinas grinned.

“A new beginning.”

—

“I’m more composed than anyone else.”

Kyle spoke calmly.

“I’ve lost so much.”

With sunken eyes, Kyle looked at Lysinas.

“I have so much to carry. So I have to do it.”

“…….”

“Failure is not an option.”

At those words, Lysinas clenched her fist.

“Yeah.”

Biting her lip tightly, she nodded.

“Don’t worry, Kyle. I won’t let you carry it all alone.”

Lysinas said.

“The promise we made at the beginning—I’ll keep it.”

—

Knock, knock, knock—

Slam!

Leo opened his eyes at the sound of knocking.

Sitting up, he covered his face.

“Wake up, Kyle. It’s morning.”

Leo got out of bed.

‘That’s strange. To dream about that time.’

After their talk last night, Rodia had left the inn room.

The Erebos subjugation party began yesterday.

Still, it was just Leo and Lysinas.

A party of only two.

Rodia, who wasn’t part of the original schedule, couldn’t suddenly be added here.

‘If other variables appear, there’s no telling how the Hero Record will twist.’

No matter what anyone said, Leo had already overcome this trial once.

From his perspective, it was simply repeating the past.

So he believed it was best to clear the Hero Record while excluding as many variables as possible—and Rodia agreed.

That was why Rodia decided she would join later.

Leo opened the door.

Lysinas stood there with her arms crossed, looking up at him.

“Good morning, Kyle.”

Leo smiled as he greeted her back.

“Yeah. Good morning.”

Lysinas looked a little flustered at his expression.

“Why?”

“I can’t get used to your attitude since yesterday.”

“Can’t get used to it?”

“You, who’ve been so prickly and twisted for the past few weeks, suddenly became gentle overnight.”

Still bewildered, Lysinas continued.

“I thought that even if we ended up forming a party, we’d argue a lot. Even today.”

A shadow fell over her face.

“There was a big battle yesterday.”

“…….”

Leo recalled the past.

From his perspective, it was distant.

But for those living in this world, it was only yesterday.

After a life-or-death battle, Kyle always drank heavily.

To force himself to shake off the memories of the battlefield.

But Leo wasn’t that man.

That version of him had vanished long ago.

What stood before Lysinas now wasn’t a man with eyes like ashes, emptied of hope, but a man who had confronted the primordial disaster and saved the world while carrying the dreams his companions entrusted to him.

Even if it was the same person, it was only natural she would find him unfamiliar.

“Someone taught me.”

“What?”

Leo smiled.

It was the same smile he often gave the hero candidates.

“If you never give up and keep moving forward, you’ll be able to grasp hope.”

Lysinas blinked at his words.

“Let’s go get breakfast.”

Leo stepped out and headed down to the first floor.

Lysinas stood there blankly, watching his back.

Whirr—

-What’s with that dazed look?

White flames flickered above Lysinas’s head, and a woman the size of a palm appeared.

Katariu lay sideways atop Lysinas’s head, resting her cheek on one hand, and tugged at Lysinas’s black hair with the other.

-It’s a different kind of look.

A small Light Orb appeared, and with it, the Spirit of Radiance, Luminus. With a gentle motion, she climbed onto Lysinas’s shoulder.

“What is it?”

Lysinas asked, puzzled by the questions from the Phoenix King and the Great Spirit of Light—two Oathbound.

Katariu made a pathetic face.

-Why don’t you look in the mirror?

“Why a mirror?”

-It’s the face of a girl who fell in love at first sight?

“What?! What are you talking about!”

Luminus laughed as Lysinas flared up.

-I think it suits you. Lysinas, you’ve always been bound by your convictions with no room to spare. Seeing you make a face like a girl your age—it’s nice.

-It’s a masterpiece.

“That’s not it!”

Lysinas shouted, snorted, and started down to the first floor.

“I was just surprised because he showed me a completely different side from the surviving hero I knew.”

-Isn’t that a good thing?

Katariu asked with a mischievous smile.

“Of course it’s good. Isn’t that kind of face better than looking like you’ve lived your whole life?”

-What kind of face is that?

“A face like the heroes in fairy tales.”

-So that’s my Oathbound’s taste.

“It’s not!”

Grumbling, Lysinas sent the two Oathbound back.

Step, step.

As she descended the stairs, Lysinas pressed a hand to her chest.

‘My heart has been fluttering since yesterday.’

It started the moment Leo took her hand.

‘Kyle has changed since then.’

Lysinas couldn’t miss that change.

‘Yeah. It’s like the hero I’ve been hoping for.’

A person who never gives up, and keeps moving forward.

A faint smile touched Lysinas’s lips as her thoughts reached that point.

‘I see. I’ve been waiting for a hero like that for a long time.’

—

While eating breakfast, Lysinas said,

“Before we leave for the Elven Forest, there’s something we need to do.”

“What is it?”

“We need to form a subjugation party to fight Sillatuna, the Monster Queen who cursed the Elven Forest.”

Lysinas and Kyle’s first achievement—the subjugation of Jormungandr—hadn’t been accomplished by the two of them alone.

If it weren’t for the helpers who aided them back then, even they might have failed.

The powerful guardians of Guardslone at the time.

They were the ones who held Jormungandr back.

They didn’t leave their names in history, but they too were companions who endured the age of despair together.

Originally, the subjugation party had been formed by Lysinas to fight Sillatuna.

However, when they encountered Jormungandr, the party suffered enormous losses.

In the end, even after bringing Luna into the party, they gave up on the Elven Forest.

“It’s going to be busy for the next few days.”

“Yeah. I’ll handle the preparations. You can rest until then.”

At Lysinas’s words, Leo rested his chin on his hand.

“No. I have something to do too.”

“Something to do? What is it?”

Leo smiled at Lysinas’s question.

“A contract.”

“A contract?”

Lysinas looked a little taken aback by the answer.

‘Originally, it’s a contract that happens much later. But I can meet her now.’

A partner he had fought alongside across countless battlefields.

The leader of Pegasus, called the White King.

‘Albus.’