Book 1 Chapter 1013
1013.
Watching the dragon wielding black flames before her eyes, Rena gripped the sword in her hand tightly.
A longsword with an ordinary appearance.
It looked exactly like someone else's sword.
A sword named Future.
During the Age of Calamity.
The sword used by the Hero of Beginnings, later inherited by the King of Beginnings.
Of course, it wasn't the original.
A replica created by Driania, the successor to the Divine Blacksmith Dweno, to commemorate the end of a new era.
However, even as a replica, the sword, imbued with the essence of the great blacksmith Driania, could display the exact same performance as the original.
Seeing the sword clutched in Rena's hand, the man who wielded the flames of calamity let out a sneer.
“Isn’t it truly strange, Princess Rena?”
“……”
“That you, the most incompetent among those of the King of Beginnings’ bloodline, inherited that sword.”
His tone was polite, but behind it was clear mockery.
Looking at the Dragon Lord, Rena said nonchalantly.
“I know too.”
Rena glared at the dragon before her.
Dragon Lord Bellian.
After the subjugation of Erebus, Enkinias became the Dragon Lord, succeeding Melina.
However, Enkinias could not hold the position of Lord for long due to the aftereffects of injuries sustained in the final decisive battle for the fate of the world.
Eventually, the dragon before her, born in the new era and capable of wielding three unique abilities, became the Dragon Lord, succeeding Enkinias.
“I know it well.”
Rena bit her lip.
“That I am the most incompetent person among those with the blood of the King of Beginnings.”
Rena did not deny Bellian’s words.
Because those words were the truth.
Among those descended from Leo Flobe.
Rena had the least talent.
She was slow to sense mana, and even slower to sublimate that mana into magic power.
While other relatives with the blood of the King of Beginnings moved forward.
Rena always stood still.
That was why it was truly ironic.
That her mother, King Arhi, passed down Posteritas, a symbol of Leo Flobe, to Rena.
It is still the same now.
Within this loop, which has repeated an untold number of times.
Rena has never once managed to hinder Bellian.
Bellian's repeated failures in this endlessly repeating time, difficult to even remember, were solely thanks to the great predecessors.
The heroes who achieved great deeds alongside the King of Beginnings.
Despite the unreasonableness of the loop, they endlessly blocked Bellian.
Rena bit her lip.
‘I have to stop him.’
Rena knew Bellian’s objective.
To bring the calamity of the past to the future.
An act that anyone could see as insane.
She could not tolerate such an action driven by incomprehensible madness.
‘I am… Leo Flobe’s… my grandfather’s granddaughter.’
If it was the bloodline of the King of Beginnings, she had to throw everything to stop it.
To stop the embers of calamity from spreading into the future!
In the current situation, the only person who could perfectly stop Bellian.
It was Rena, who, like Bellian, was not subject to the constraints of the loop.
Fwoosh-
Rena, gripping her sword, ignited an aura of flames.
Enveloped in crimson flames, Rena closed the distance with Bellian.
Seeing Rena, Bellian chuckled and unleashed a golden spirit power.
“Ack!”
Rena flinched.
Summoned light spirits conjured shining spears and hurled them at Rena.
Seeing hundreds of spears, Rena gritted her teeth.
Fwoosh-!
Flames erupted.
Flash-!
A massive sword strike of flames incinerated all the light spears.
“Hoo. So you, too, are making progress?”
Bellian was impressed.
“Well, born with such an excellent lineage, it’s only natural. But it’s a pity.”
Bellian shook his head.
“To merely imitate Celia Zerdinger, you say.”
Rena bit her lip tightly.
Meanwhile, Rena’s shadow began to move as if alive.
Sensing the movement of dark spirits, Rena quickly cut her own shadow with her sword.
Flicker-!
Seeing Rena freed from her binds, Bellian clapped his hands.
“You’ve finally completely overcome the Shadow Binding Technique.”
Rena glared at the admiring Bellian with frightening eyes.
Looking at Rena, Bellian said.
“But it’s merely a foolish rebellion. Quickly hand over the key to returning to the original timeline.”
“Don’t make me laugh! This is the peace the predecessors barely achieved! I won’t let the likes of you ruin it!”
“You don’t understand.”
Bellian clicked his tongue.
“I do not wish for the destruction of the world. If I did, I would have slain Leo Flobe.”
Bellian curled up the corners of his mouth.
“What I desire is the advancement of the world. When there is an enemy to be defeated. Only then can the world truly unite.”
Boom-!
A massive golden magic power swirled violently.
“The descendants of the King of Beginnings, every single one of them, fail to comprehend this grand purpose.”
Rena’s face hardened as she saw the gigantic magic circle etched in the air.
“If you use ‘Annihilation’ here and now, the people living in Sayrun won’t be safe!”
“It doesn’t matter. I can just ‘turn back’ time.”
Bellian smiled faintly.
“If you see this space destroyed countless times, Princess Rena, you too will give up and meekly accept your fate.”
Rena gritted her teeth and charged at Bellian.
‘He can’t get rid of me!’
She intended to block the Annihilation magic with her entire body.
“Self-sacrifice, hmm. A foolish struggle.”
The moment Bellian clicked his tongue and released the magic.
Click-!
With a snap of his fingers, Bellian’s Annihilation magic was dispelled.
Bellian’s eyes twitched.
Rena flinched and looked up at the sky.
There, a beautiful woman sat cross-legged on a white Pegasus.
Her arrogant expression, slightly tilting her head as she looked down at Bellian, was itself a work of art.
“Empress?”
A startled Bellian hastily summoned spirits.
An aura imbued with warm evergreen light, aimed at Bellian’s sword, unleashed a chilling slash.
Mana imbued with infinite life force.
But to an enemy, it was an utterly merciless force.
“Fairy Blade.”
Seeing Eyran glare at him with cold eyes, Bellian hastily retreated.
“Empress, huh… I don’t like that epithet.”
Elena twirled a strand of hair gently with her hand, a vexed expression on her face.
Eyran, who heard her muttering, tilted her head and raised her voice toward Elena.
“It suits you wonderfully!”
“Oh? Did you hear that?”
It was a monologue, but Eyran’s hyper-sensitive ears picked it up.
“Do you have some kind of voyeurism? Why are you eavesdropping?”
“No, I don’t have anything like that! It just happened to be audible!”
Elena clicked her tongue, seeing Eyran protesting with a tearful face, and rested her chin on her hand.
“The Queen of Beginnings. I thought it would be an epithet like that.”
Elena grumbled and then glanced down at Bellian.
“Anyway, it seems like you’re living comfortably in the future, huh? I heard you were spouting all sorts of crazy nonsense.”
Bellian's face hardened as he looked at Elena, who was ridiculing him.
“If you lived in a future where possibilities were lost, you wouldn’t be saying such things.”
“Possibilities, my foot. Are you really spouting such carefree nonsense to someone who lived in an era with a giant bomb on their hands?”
Seeing Elena smile cynically, Bellian snorted.
“Speak as you wish. I will only uphold my convictions.”
“There are always those kinds of kids, aren’t there?”
Elena twirled her hair gently and mumbled in a bored tone.
“I have absolutely no ability, but I won’t break. I have conviction. I am not wrong. I am working for the greater good.”
Bellian’s expression stiffened.
“Those kinds of kids always end up doing things beyond their capabilities, things they can’t handle, right? And then, if you just poke them, they collapse without any conviction.”
Elena rested her chin on one hand and let out a deep sigh.
“Leo must be so fed up too. I’m certainly fed up. It’s always one person making trouble and another cleaning it up, isn’t it?”
Elena looked at Bellian with disdain, then turned her gaze to Rena.
“Right?”
“I can’t listen to this anymore.”
“Yeah. The truth usually hurts when you’re hit by it.”
“Nonsense!”
Fwoosh-
Black flames surged from Bellian’s body.
Seeing that, Elena stroked Arty’s neck.
“Could you move aside?”
-Yes! My Queen! But!
“Hmm?”
-Could you scold me like you did that guy later too?!
“……”
Elena sighed internally.
‘Leo must have a lot of worries because of his summons. None of them are normal.’
“Would whipping be enough?”
-Meow~ Queen is the best!
Flash-!
Arty rejoiced sincerely and moved with invisible speed.
Despite the dizzying speed, Elena chanted a spell.
“Hmph. I’ll never fall for such old-fashioned magic…”
Thud-!
Suddenly, strong pressure was applied to Bellian’s body.
“To be unable to even counter such simple gravity magic. The future generation is utterly useless.”
-My Queen!
“Hmm?”
-That old-fashionedness! You resemble Master.
At those words, Elena flinched and covered her mouth.
‘Wow… Surely Leo doesn’t feel this way about me, does he?’
***
Clang-!
Leo, with emotionless eyes, followed the trajectory of Bellian’s swinging sword.
‘The world regressed because the great hero's will and teachings weren't passed down to later generations.’
Leo recalled Bellian's resentment from a moment ago and let out a small laugh.
From Leo's perspective, it was absurd resentment.
‘Petty convictions aren’t worth listening to.’
The problem, however, was that the dragon before him had traveled back in time in some form.
‘Bringing a piece of Erebus to the future…’
He would naturally stop it.
But there was something peculiar.
His opponent had revealed his objective strangely straightforwardly.
‘As if it didn’t matter.’
As if he could win.
And…
‘He knows my movements perfectly.’
It wasn’t a feeling of having his moves read.
It was as if time had been ‘rewound’.
And the occasional déjà vu flashing in his mind.
Thinking that far, Leo curled up the corners of his mouth.
‘I see. A loop?’
Considering the sword skills of the dragon before him, that was the only possibility.
An enemy who could attack him under the same conditions infinitely.
It was, literally, an unreasonable fight itself.
Because all his attack patterns would be read.
Yet, seeing the loop repeat, it was clear that the opponent had not yet managed to defeat him.
Once the answer of a loop emerged, the puzzle quickly fell into place.
‘That means this guy can’t perfectly control the loop either, right?’
Leo curled up the corners of his mouth.
‘And there must be conditions for the loop.’
Clang-!
Sword struck sword.
Each time their swords clashed, the déjà vu that flashed through his mind disappeared.
Leo scoffed at Bellian, who was closing the distance.
“It’s a loop, then.”
At that moment, Bellian’s eyes widened.
Slash-!
Leo easily slashed Bellian’s shoulder.
Thud-!
Bellian, who hastily dodged Leo’s sword and tumbled to the ground, urgently created distance.
“Hoo?”
Leo toyed with the tip of his sword.
Leo’s sword, which had never touched his opponent despite countless complex movements and elaborate feint attacks.
But with a simple slash, he had wounded the enemy.
The movements, as if peering perfectly into the future, suddenly vanished.
‘Is the condition of the loop that someone not bound by the loop’s time realizes that a loop is happening? And judging by that reaction…’
Leo chuckled, looking at Bellian, who made no effort to hide his astonished expression.
“It seems no matter how many times you loop now, a different result won’t come out, huh?”
Seeing Bellian frozen, Leo nodded.
“It looks like it was forcibly saved at the point just now.”
He still appeared to be attempting a loop.
But it seemed no matter how many times he repeated it, a different result couldn't be created.
He couldn't read thoughts, but he could tell from the expression.
As soon as Leo discovered the loop, all outcome values were fixed.
“Nothing else?”
Leo scoffed at the dragon, who could no longer escape into the other side of time.
“Then it’s checkmate, isn’t it?”