Book 1 Chapter 1036
1036.
Leo narrowed his eyes, looking at Erebus, who had taken over Bellian’s body.
‘To call him a dragon now would be a stretch.’
A terrible stench emanated from head to toe.
He had literally been reduced to a vessel for Erebus.
‘This was the destined end from the moment he tried to use Erebus’s power anyway.’
Leo clicked his tongue, a look of pity on his face.
It was a pathetic end for someone who, deluded by self-importance, had tried to plunge the world into crisis, not even worthy of sympathy.
He was ignorant, which is why he committed such acts without hesitation.
It wasn't even surprising.
He had seen countless people who couldn't gauge their own abilities causing trouble.
As he looked at Bellian with disgust, Leo felt a question arise.
‘Why did Chloe create magic that can go back in time?’
The Chloe Leo knew was a wise and intelligent person.
Her passion and love for magic reminded him of Luna, while her broad perspective on situations brought Lisinas to mind.
While Kal possessed the best command ability in ‘combat,’ Chloe was the best commander in large-scale battles, capable of reading the grand scheme.
‘There’s no way Chloe couldn't have foreseen this situation.’
Leo’s questions piled up.
‘She said she wanted to see me, but for such a reason, she created magic that could bring such danger?’
Moreover, Chloe said she didn't use this magic herself.
It was Bellian who forcibly stole and used the magic.
Despite his questions, Leo stared with cold eyes at Bellian, who was spewing a foul odor.
‘In the end, he’s the problem.’
The one who created the magic is not guilty.
If there is guilt, it lies with the one who misused the magic.
As Leo glared, Erebus glanced over at Luna.
“There’s another abomination.”
“Ugh. Who are you calling an abomination?”
Luna scrunched up her face and made a gesture of retching.
Even Luna, sensitive to mana, could clearly feel the stench Erebus emitted.
Erebus’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Luna.
At that moment,
*Gush—!*
A wound, as if cut by a sharp blade, appeared on Erebus’s forehead.
*Pop—!*
It soon burst open, splattering blood, and an eyeball popped out.
The eyeball rolled around and then stared into space.
“Indeed…”
Erebus curled the corner of his mouth.
The third eye that suddenly appeared was staring directly at none other than Luna in her spiritual form.
“You truly are an old acquaintance. King of Destruction. I never imagined we’d meet in such a state. It’s truly a pleasure.”
[Is it because I’ve been stuck with my limbs severed for 5000 years that I've become so talkative?]
“Hehehe. Perhaps if you were a hero who survived. But how could you compare to someone like you, who lingers in this world in such an ugly state due to attachment to life?”
Luna smiled sweetly, raising her middle finger at Erebus, who was scoffing at her.
Leo, watching the scene, clicked his tongue.
‘Is it the Eye of Insight?’
One of Erebus’s authorities.
The Eye of Insight.
It was literally an authority that could see through everything.
As the primordial evil with all sorts of destructive authorities, it might seem like a relatively less threatening ability.
However, in actual combat, it was one of the most terrifying abilities.
Because the Eye of Insight could discern everything.
Not only the opponent’s weaknesses, but also their mental vulnerabilities.
Their attack intentions.
Even the outcome of the battle.
At first glance, it seemed similar to Arion’s ability, which could perceive everything with super-senses and even glimpse the future.
Of course, Arion’s ability is precognition, and Erebus’s is merely seeing, so they are fundamentally different.
In reality, even if Arion were present, he wouldn’t be able to see Luna in her spiritual form.
‘Well, Arion’s super-senses have already surpassed that guy’s authority.’
Leo recalled a time when he fought alongside Arion against a fragment of Erebus.
‘But Arion isn’t here now.’
Ultimately, Leo had to overcome that authority alone.
It was a threatening ability, but not a desperate situation.
Whatever it was, 5000 years ago, Leo defeated that authority.
In the final battle, Erebus's winning probability, as determined by the Eye of Insight, was 100%.
But as if mocking that authority, Leo won demonstrably.
‘Proof that his predictions are not absolute.’
Just as Leo was fiddling with the sword in his hand, Erebus’s third eye turned towards Lena.
Lena’s body flinched.
The moment she faced the absolute evil she had only heard about, her entire body felt as if it had frozen.
A monster that made her feel horrific just by facing it.
As Lena trembled,
“Unpleasant.”
Erebus showed a rare, irritated reaction.
At that moment,
*Quagagagak—!*
Flames erupted in front of Lena’s eyes.
It was a split second Lena couldn't even perceive.
Leo, who had parried the attack with his sword, said coldly,
“Don’t touch her.”
“She looks very similar to the body you acquired in this life. O surviving hero.”
Erebus said with an air of disgust.
“Is she of your bloodline?”
“It seems so.”
He could tell through the Eye of Insight.
The girl before him was not a being from the current timeline.
A being from the distant future.
For Erebus, Lena’s existence could only be unpleasant.
Lena was the very symbol of his defeat.
*Hwa-reureuk—*
Black flames flared up from Erebus’s body.
“Luna.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll stop him, protect Lena. And with your future self’s help, find the way to the Akashic Records.”
“Understood.”
Now that he had met Erebus, Leo couldn't move.
Slowly raising his sword, Leo assessed Erebus’s objective.
‘If he’s come all this way… is he aiming for the Akashic Records after all?’
The Akashic Records.
That was the essence of the Hero Records managed by Lian.
The ultimate record that meticulously documented the world itself.
Even the gods who created it found it difficult to grasp its vast information.
There was only one reason why the transcendent gods created the Akashic Records.
It was for the manifestation of the hero’s world through the Hero Records.
And those Akashic Records were managed by Lian at the center of the world.
Even though the Heroes of Genesis tore the Hero Records to seal Erebus, they could still be maintained because they were linked to the Akashic Records.
‘In other words, if something happens to the Akashic Records, the Hero Records themselves could disappear.’
Leo didn't think Erebus simply came to the past to merge with his past self.
In the worst-case scenario, even if he succeeded, there would be a much higher risk of being stopped by the future Seyrun, led by Leo, and the Rodias of the current timeline, joining forces.
But what if he destroyed the Hero Records themselves, which could nurture heroes?
The means to seal Erebus would disappear.
Countless heroes who would be born after the discovery of the hero’s world would also cease to exist.
‘Considering Erebus, this would be the more likely probability.’
Leo curled the corner of his mouth.
“What now? Your plan is ruined.”
“Do you think you alone can stop me?”
“Of course.”
Leo gripped his sword.
*Gooooooo—!*
Black flames erupted from Erebus’s body.
“Then, shall we test it? To see if you can survive this time too.”
***
*Kyaoooooo—!*
Jormungand was laying waste to the fortress.
Seeing this, Rodia shouted irritably.
“Why have the past Legion Commanders been resurrected in the present world! Seriously! And why has King Ziam been resurrected again!”
Rodia couldn’t help but be furious at the resurrection of King Ziam, who had died once more.
At that moment, Lumerne, who was beside Rodia, hardened his face.
“Rodia. They’re here.”
“What?”
*Quagagagagang—!*
Something crashed to the ground from the sky.
The highest-ranking demons who had plunged the world into terror.
And the Legion Commanders who had been vanquished by the Heroes of Genesis.
Seeing all of them return alive, veins bulged on Rodia’s forehead.
“Hah. Really. I’m so annoyed I could die.”
Rodia’s face flared with anger.
“So what? If dead things come back alive, does the outcome change?”
Rodia gnashed her teeth, a murderous expression on her face.
“I’ll just put them back in their coffins. You damned corpses!”
*Gooooooo—!*
Rodia transformed back into her original form.
And she roared, unleashing a breath towards the resurrected Legion Commanders.
Lumerne followed behind her, drawing his sword.
After all, Azonia and Damian would arrive soon.
Even with the resurrected Legion Commanders, it wasn't a desperate situation.
Because the Heroes of Genesis who vanquished them before were different from the current Heroes of Genesis.
At this point, the Heroes of Genesis were approaching the Great Heroes.
Lumerne, following Rodia, swung his sword.
Meanwhile, Seyrun’s eyes, the only one who understood the current situation, were trembling.
‘He called it the Legion World, didn’t he?’
The Legion Records that Erebus created by defiling the Hero Records.
And through those Legion Records, he said he could open the Legion World.
‘Lord Kyle said he could bring other Great Heroes from within the Hero World.’
But to do so, divine power was needed.
On a world where gods had disappeared, there was only one way to obtain divine power.
To vanquish Erebus and transform the primordial evil into divine power through the power of purity.
‘Wouldn’t Erebus be capable of that too?’
At first, he thought the Legion World had gone berserk, resurrecting the King of Gluttony and King Ziam.
But this surpassed that level.
Then there was only one possibility.
Erebus was also summoning Legion Commanders from within the Legion World.
‘But there must be a price.’
If he could freely resurrect past Legion Commanders, the world would have already perished.
He wouldn’t have bothered coming to the past.
No matter how great the Hero of Beginning was, if he could summon past Legion Commanders without any conditions, stopping him would be impossible.
The power to summon Great Heroes to the present world was divine power.
Erebus must have paid a comparable price to summon the Legion Commanders.
And that price was…
‘Himself!’
He was sacrificing himself to resurrect the Legion Commanders.
‘He’s buying time.’
Seyrun bit her lip.
‘What exactly is he aiming for?’
***
Lian narrowed his eyes, looking at the flames that completely filled the entrance to the Akashic Records.
Then he spread open the Akashic Records.
“It’s not being recorded.”
The current situation wasn’t being recorded.
“Has the function of the Akashic Records been paralyzed? That can’t be right?”
Only the situation right before his eyes wasn’t being recorded.
“Huh?”
Someone was seen running through the black flames in the distance.
“A guest? Huh?”
One of them was a familiar presence.
“Luna Rubinance?”
As Lian was startled, another girl was also seen.
“That one is also a being outside the causal relationship, isn’t she?”
Lian, tilting his head, soon clicked his tongue.
“I see. Time itself was distorted.”
Having grasped the situation, Lian crossed his arms.
And looking once again at the white-haired girl, Lena, he let out a deep sigh.
“It seems people born with the power of purity are still born in the future.”