Chapter 400

Hearing Ar’s howl, the students of Azonia transformed.

And they weren’t the only ones.

‘Gash-!’

The transformed Shadow Lord, Kirin, moved at an incredible speed, sending the Hero Hunters’ heads flying.

‘Crack-‘

After tearing off a neck with her claws, Kirin cracked her knuckles.

Amidst the chaos, she watched Chen Xia hunt the Hero Hunters and muttered to herself.

The way she cut them down with such fluid movements was captivating.

‘The princess has learned to shine even after stepping into the darkness.’

As a shadow, she had seen countless heroes.

And Chen Xia’s form resembled them.

‘And that cat… she’s incredible.’

She didn’t know how she did it, but Ar’s howl had granted the Beastmen an effect similar to a full moon.

‘The world is definitely changing.’

For long ages, Kirin—who had lived as a shadow—could feel that with certainty.

‘And at the center of it all must be Leo Plov.’

===

The second-ranked student of Azonia’s second year.

Dion swung his massive greatsword with ferocity.

‘Kwaang-!’

“Hahaha! Not bad!”

A Hero Hunter burst out laughing as he blocked Dion’s greatsword.

But the laughter was soaked in ridicule.

“For a milk-smelling brat, that is!”

The cackling Hero Hunter’s expression turned venomous.

“What’s the point of running your mouth about being a descendant of Arron? You can’t even properly use the transformation ability he left behind!”

At those words, Dion stared at him with a blank face.

“Hey. Brat. Are we—who use Arron’s transformation ability—the descendants of Arron? Or are you—who cannot—the descendants of Arron?”

The Hero Hunter kept mocking him.

Dion spoke again.

“At the very least, someone as vulgar-looking as you doesn’t seem to be a descendant of Lord Arron.”

“What?”

The Hero Hunter’s face hardened.

“You damn brat! I’ll kill you!”

Eyes bloodshot, enraged by Dion’s calm, heavy-handed remark, the Hero Hunter bared his teeth and charged.

Dion clenched his fist.

‘A strong enemy… and on top of that, he has the transformation ability.’

A tough opponent for the current Dion.

‘But I can’t back down. Not when my opponent is someone who defiles the Hero’s name.’

Just as fighting spirit flared in Dion’s eyes—

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawl!”

A howl echoed.

As if answering it, Dion’s ears twitched.

At the same time, his heart began to pound.

Power started overflowing through his body.

Dion knew exactly what this change was.

‘Transformation?’

Dion’s eyes widened in shock.

He wasn’t the only one.

The Hero Hunter facing him also widened his eyes.

“What in the world is this!”

Dion looked down at the golden Aura rising from his body.

It was identical to the Aura of Arron described in the literature.

But there was another power dwelling within that Aura.

‘Ar…!’

Dion clenched his fist.

‘I don’t know how she did it, but…’

He tightened his grip.

‘For now, I’ll execute the traitor before me.’

‘Gwoooooooooo-!’

An extraordinary fighting spirit erupted from Dion.

“This brat…!”

Sparks flew in the Hero Hunter’s eyes.

“If you’re a kid, act like a kid!”

‘Kwaaaaaaa-!’

The Hero Hunter roared, unleashing his Aura.

“Stop picking fights with your elders and stay down!”

‘Kwagagagagagang! Hudadadadak-!’

Aura crashed down from the Hero Hunter’s sword toward Dion.

A thick cloud of dust rose, and dirt rained down.

“Serves you right for acting up without knowing how scary the world is!”

Just as he curled his lips into a sneer—

‘Fwoosh-!’

“…!”

Covered in blood, Dion burst through the dust and appeared right in front of him.

His wounds were so severe it wouldn’t have been strange if he were on the verge of death.

But Dion’s eyes still burned with fighting spirit.

“What… the hell. Those eyes…”

The Hero Hunter muttered as if he couldn’t accept it.

“What gives you the right to glare like that and keep charging at me? Just give up and break already!”

Faced with Dion’s unyielding spirit—endlessly surging forward—the Hero Hunter felt fed up, despite having the power to overwhelm him.

At that shout, Dion replied.

“I cannot break before a traitor who has already broken and fled.”

‘Fwoosh-!’

Dion swung his greatsword.

“If I have received courage, I will press forward, even if it means death.”

‘Gash-!’

Dion’s blade sent the Hero Hunter’s head flying.

“That is the teaching of Lord Arron that I have learned!”

The severed head spun through the air before dropping to the ground.

‘Thud-!’

Dion coughed up blood and fell to his knees.

Then he looked toward where Ar was.

“I don’t know how you did it… but now I feel like a true successor to the Hero.”

===

‘Pajijijijik-!’

Golden Divine Lightning raged around Duran.

His eyes flashing with golden light, he charged at the giant mass of darkness.

A two-handed sword was gripped in both hands.

‘Kwagagagak-!’

Turning into a single massive bolt of lightning, Duran closed in at incredible speed.

‘Kwagagagagak-!’

In that instant, a blade of darkness rose like a shadow and shot toward him.

‘Jiiiiing-! Kwaang-!’

Just before it could strike—

A spell from behind altered the blade’s trajectory.

Juen’s sniping magic.

And that wasn’t all.

‘Jjeojeojeojeok-!’

Betty—Chloe’s mentee—trapped the shadow with ice magic.

Two first-year mages, pouring in everything they had.

Even so, their magic only barely managed to halt the Dragon Speech Magic.

But it was enough.

‘Flash-!’

Duran slipped through that fleeting gap at terrifying speed and reached the main body.

Among Lumene’s second-years—known as the golden generation—Duran boasted the greatest speed.

He swung his sword with both hands.

‘Flash! Pababababababat-!’

With a thunderous flash, lightning sparks burst in every direction.

‘Pababababababat-!’

Firepower reminiscent of a spell.

The darkness seemed to weaken under the intense light.

Duran’s blade cut into it.

But a blade erupting from the darkness immediately tried to pierce him.

‘Fwoosh-!’

A gale arrived faster—snatching Duran away.

“I could’ve cut it if I had a little more time.”

“You would’ve been a skewer then!”

“Wouldn’t it have been fine if you’d supported me a little faster?”

“Do you think I’m your personal cleanup crew?!”

Chelsea shouted, eyes wide.

Duran scoffed.

“Too slow.”

“I’ll throw you off!”

Chelsea ground her teeth.

Among the second-years, she was second only to Duran in speed.

Abad was also a wind mage like Chelsea, but because he was a traditional mage, Chelsea—a combat mage—was much faster than her older brother.

Even so, she couldn’t be faster than Duran.

‘Kwaaaaaaaa-!’

The blade of darkness chased Chelsea at high speed.

Scoffing, Chelsea raised her staff.

“Cyclone.”

‘Fwooooooooooo!’

With effortless fast-chanting, she blew the shadow away.

“Rafale.”

Chelsea completed another spell aimed at the shadow.

‘Kugwagagagagagaga-!’

A fierce gale swallowed the darkness.

Blades of vacuum hidden within it shredded the shadow to pieces.

Seeing that, Juen clenched her teeth.

“She’s the same age as me…!”

Both Cyclone and Rafale were high-level spells, difficult even for ordinary mages.

And she had cast them with fast-chanting.

At Lumene, a one-year difference was enormous.

Even so, seeing someone only a year older stand on a completely different stage was shocking.

Meanwhile—

‘Gwooooooo-!’

A wind incomparable to Chelsea’s began to rise.

‘Fwoosh-!’

As if that weren’t enough, a massive flame appeared as well.

“Are you ready? Abad.”

“I’d rather hope you are, Celia.”

“As long as you’re ready, that’s enough.”

Celia scoffed.

Abad gave her a faint smile and released his magic.

“Tempest.”

Abad cast his Original Magic.

‘Kwagagagagagaga-!’

The wind converged on Celia’s sword.

“Prominence.”

Lewellin’s wind and Zerdinger’s flame fused together, burning fiercely.

Wringing out their maximum firepower, Abad and Celia aimed at the darkness.

‘Flash! Hwarurururuk-!’

Wind of Magic Power and flame of Aura engulfed the shadow.

‘Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!’

Most of it was blown away, revealing a human figure within.

But it wasn’t over.

‘Smeaaar.’

Dragon Speech Magic activated again, and pitch-black darkness surged.

Just then—

‘Kooooooooooo-!’

A giant’s fist slammed down from mid-air.

It was the fist of Walden’s Oathbound, the Earth Great Spirit Titaum.

‘Kwaaaaaaaaaang-!’

The darkness warped from an impact beyond imagination.

But even that wasn’t the end.

‘Jjeojeojeojeojeojeok-!’

The ground began to freeze.

At the very rear of the Lumene students, Chloe stood cloaked in icy Magic Power.

A terrifying amount of Magic Power swirled around her.

Among the second-years, if one considered pure “power” alone, Chloe—the purest mage—was the strongest.

Since the battle began, she had been chanting continuously.

For a mage, time was power.

Chloe’s blue eyes stared directly at the darkness.

The darkness sensed the threat and lunged toward her.

‘Gwak-!’

Walden seized the darkness.

Its charge faltered under his brutish strength.

But it immediately unleashed a blade of darkness aimed at Chloe.

“Block it!”

Chelsea shouted.

Aina, Haviden, and Sasha—who had been guarding Chloe for emergencies—stepped in.

Haviden used wind Aura to block the blade.

Sasha blocked it with her Summoned Beast.

But the blade split into multiple streams.

Aina swung her sword.

‘Fwoosh! Chaejaejaejaejaejaeng-!’

A golden flash flickered, and she parried the multiple dark streams at incredible speed.

Jaw-dropping swordsmanship.

For a moment, her brilliant blade halted the darkness.

‘Gash-!’

But a blade of darkness that even Aina couldn’t fully stop slipped through, shooting toward Chloe.

Chloe—eyes closed in concentration—opened them.

The moment a mage unleashed their firepower was despair for the enemy.

But until that moment, the mage was defenseless.

Still, Chloe had prepared for that contingency.

A short-range spatial teleportation spell.

Its power would be reduced since she couldn’t focus solely on it—

But she had gathered enough Magic Power to deal a severe blow.

Just as Chloe was about to unleash her magic—

A silver flash parried the blade of darkness.

(T/N: The teamwork, the team fight, i love it! It feels like Black Clover manga when they fight.)

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