Book 1 Chapter 1037

1037.

Luna looked at the space spread out before her eyes.

'It's a twisted space.'

She had heard about it from Leo, but this was her first time seeing it for herself.

"Lady Luna?"

Just then, she heard Rena's flustered voice beside her.

Turning her head, she saw her younger self, pale with shock, sitting on the floor as if her legs had given out.

-What's wrong?

"Suddenly… I… don't have any strength."

"A-are you alright? Why suddenly…"

Rena, not knowing what to do, checked Luna's physical condition.

Luna, in her spirit form, wearing a frustrated expression, looked behind her.

Black flames were chasing them.

This space was currently being invaded by Erebus.

They had managed to escape the black flames and come inside, but at this rate, they would be caught.

'There's no other way!'

Luna tried to manifest magic by borrowing her younger self's body.

It would be a heavy blow to both her younger self and her spirit self, but there was no other choice.

Whoosh-!

At that moment, the black flames that were engulfing Luna and Rena were repelled.

At that, Luna paused and turned her head.

"Don't just stand there, hurry up and come."

Lian gestured with her hand.

Rena, who had been flustered by the sight, came to her senses and helped Luna, following behind Lian.

Soon, a door appeared.

As they passed through the door, it quickly closed, and the threat of the black flames disappeared.

Rena's mouth fell open as she gazed at the infinitely stretching bookshelves beyond the door.

Lian sat on a single-person sofa with an unenthusiastic expression.

Seeing Lian, Rena came to her senses and hastily asked.

"A-are you perhaps a god?"

"I quit the title of 'god' a long time ago."

Lian responded very snappily.

Rena, undeterred by Lian's reaction, spoke.

"Uhm, excuse me, Lady Luna's condition suddenly worsened here, could you please heal her?"

"I can't do anything about that."

"Pardon?"

"I don't know how you got out, but the Luna over there is Luna from the world of heroes, isn't she?"

Lian made an unenthusiastic expression.

"This realm is a world situated somewhere between reality and the world of heroes."

Lian, resting her chin in her hand, looked at the weakening Luna and said.

"When a being from a lower dimension comes to an ambiguous boundary that is neither a higher nor a lower dimension, they inevitably lose their power. It's perfectly natural, so there's no way to fix it."

"Th-that's…"

"Well. By the way, seeing your existence, I finally understand the appearance of that monstrous being. It came from the future."

Lian nodded.

'With just the power of the Hero of Creation, it's impossible to defeat Erebus. So, they'll come looking for me soon.'

In the current situation, there was only one way to seal the fragment of Erebus.

'Seal it within the Hero Record.'

It couldn't be helped.

It was already anticipated that in the worst-case scenario, the Hero Record could be used in such a way.

However, not even the gods, including Lian, had anticipated the catastrophe of a future Erebus fragment escaping into the past.

Rena flinched, seeing Lian, who seemed displeased.

"Uhm… excuse me… are you angry?"

"Yes. I'm not in a good mood."

What was disturbing Lian's mood right now was not the existence of Erebus from the future.

"Pathetic. You're supposedly born with the power of purity like Lord Kyle, yet you can't even reach his toes. So, of course, I'm not in a good mood."

"Pardon? I was born with the power of purity?"

"Huh? You didn't even know that?"

"A-am I. An All-Class like my grandfather?"

"Wow, this is truly absurd… What did you say?"

Lian, who had been making an exasperated expression, paused.

And looking at Rena, who was staring at her with wide, astonished eyes, she asked with an even more astonished face.

"You are Lord Kyle's what?"

"My grandfather! More importantly, am I really an All-Class…"

"Why is your grandfather Lord Kyle? You came from the future, and Lord Kyle died 2000 years ago! Don't lie!"

"W-well, because he reincarnates in the future…"

"What did you say?!"

Lian's eyes widened.

At that, Rena yelped and flinched.

"So, you're saying Lord Kyle will be resurrected in the future?!"

Before she knew it, Lian's tone had changed.

"Pardon? Y-yes, that's right?"

"Hwaaaaaaang!"

Lian twisted her body and shrieked.

Rena was terrified watching Lian.

Meanwhile, Luna, who was losing strength, distorted her face at the sight.

"What in the world… is that madman…"

[Just a common god.]

"…Yeah, you're right."

Luna, a non-believer, felt an even greater aversion towards gods.

***

Flash-! Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang!

With a chilling flash, the surrounding area was devastated.

Leo narrowed his eyes, looking at Erebus, who was emitting dark-red flashes from the eye on his forehead.

'This bastard.'

Shiver-!

Erebus's three eyes, which had conjured a giant sword from his hand, stared at Leo.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak-!

In a fleeting moment, Erebus, kicking off the ground, closed the distance with Leo at an immeasurable speed.

'Supersense.'

Leo's senses transcended their limits.

Leo, holding his sword with both hands, swung it straight ahead.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak-!

Leo's sword and Erebus's greatsword clashed.

"Now you mimic that cowardly beast-man quite well! Surviving Hero!"

Erebus shouted as if amused.

As the catastrophic flames spewing from the greatsword flared up to incinerate Leo.

Hwa-reu-reu-reuk-!

Golden flames erupted from Leo's body.

Goo-ooo-oh-!

Black flames and golden flames mingled.

The ground glowed crimson and began to melt.

Soon, it started to boil, reminiscent of a hellish scene.

Gazing at the sight, Erebus burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! You're just like that kindling dwarf! Surviving Hero!"

Kka-ha-a-ak!

The firepower of the flames emanating from Erebus's body grew even stronger.

If swept away by these flames, everyone except one person would vanish without even a trace of ash.

It was only Leo, the man who inherited Dwenno's power, who could endure these terrible flames.

Leo, gripping the sword tighter with both hands, invoked his spiritual power.

"Fiora."

Hwa-reu-reu-reuk-!

Fiora, the sworn ally who came to the past with him, unleashed white flames at Erebus.

"Hoh?"

Erebus let out an exclamation of surprise.

"Astonishing. Has the flame of purification been passed down to a later generation?"

Erebus, who had exclaimed in surprise, soon scoffed.

"I thought it had vanished forever with that foolish one."

Leo, watching Erebus continuously mention his comrades, said irritably.

"Do you think I'd fall for such a trivial provocation?"

"Weren't you quite passionate 5000 years ago?! Surviving Hero!"

Erebus shouted, recalling the final battle 5000 years ago.

"Weren't you burning with hatred back then?"

He couldn't help it.

Back then, Erebus had taken everything from Leo.

The world? What did he care about the world?

At that time, Leo had only one thought in his mind: to tear Erebus apart and kill him.

Mentioning the events of 5000 years ago, Erebus continued to taunt Leo.

"So, you don't fall for such trivial provocations anymore?! Indeed, humans are progressing beings!"

Leo, upon hearing Erebus's words, enchanted his sword with the summoned Fiora.

Flash-!

A slash imbued with purifying flames streaked across the air.

Erebus was split into thousands of pieces.

But soon, Erebus regenerated with catastrophic flames, laughing manically and shouting.

"Or! Like an animal of oblivion, have you forgotten your comrades!"

At that taunt, Leo's face turned utterly cold.

Leo raised one hand and, as if spitting out a curse, called out his sworn ally's name.

"Arty."

Pa-ji-ji-ji-jik-!

Pure white lightning raged above Leo's palm.

Flash-!

With that, Leo opened a subspace and summoned a giant spear.

Pa-ba-ba-bat-!

Like Fiora, Arty's body transformed into lightning and imbued the spear.

But that wasn't the end.

He enchanted the lightning spear, imbued with the power of the Pegasus King, with magic.

Speed enhancement, power amplification, compression. Pursuit.

Four spells maximized the power of the lightning spear.

Though seemingly simple, each one was the crystallization of complex magical formulas that even moderately skilled mages wouldn't dare attempt.

To simultaneously fuse and manifest those spells was a crazy act that could potentially cook his brain due to overload if done incorrectly.

But Leo didn't care.

It was nothing new.

From the perspective of an ordinary person, he had been doing crazy things without hesitation from the beginning.

Battles that were close to suicidal acts, disregarding his own life, accumulated day by day, creating the Leo Flove of today.

For the current Leo, such recklessness wasn't even recklessness.

Literally, a hero who *had* to survive.

Senses maximized by supersense accurately pinpointed Erebus.

Finally, a gray aura coiled around the spear.

A single strike fusing summoning, magic, and aura enhancement.

Leo hurled the spear into the air.

Two-kwak-!

Tearing through the air, shockwaves spread in all directions.

Erebus's eyes twitched.

Despite being an attack containing immense power, it couldn't be perceived.

Literally, the spear, once it left Leo's hand, vanished without a trace.

The third eye on his forehead scanned all directions.

'It's not just flying at a fast speed!'

Erebus's eyes flashed open.

'Did it tear through space?!'

His piercing eyes quickly predicted where the spear would fly.

Kwak-!

But before he could react, the lightning spear, having crossed space, pierced Erebus's chest.

"Kuaaaaaaaak!"

A pained scream burst from Erebus's mouth.

Pa-ji-ji-ji-ji-jik-!

The Pegasus's lightning seared Erebus.

And that wasn't all.

The aura of purity contained within the lightning spear was the very antithesis of Erebus.

The power of the lightning spear, imbued with even power-boosting magic, transcended imagination.

"Kuaaah… Kuh… Kuh-hehehehehehehe!"

But soon, an eerie laughter flowed from Erebus's mouth.

Erebus's hate-filled eyes turned towards Leo.

That hatred was no less than the emotion Leo felt looking at Erebus.

Just as Leo hated Erebus.

Erebus also hated Leo.

There was no special meaning behind mentioning the great heroes he had killed to provoke Leo.

This was because Erebus knew well that even if the provocation succeeded, Leo would never waver.

Nevertheless, the reason for the provocation was simple.

He simply wished for Leo to be angry and suffer.

Seeing Leo, enveloped in the Phoenix King's flames and the aura of purity, preparing for an additional attack, Erebus gave a sardonic laugh and reached for the lightning spear embedded in his body.

'I thought you wouldn't waver, but I made a mistake, Surviving Hero.'

For a summoner, a summoned beast is the most powerful weapon.

Leo, an All-Class, possessed countless means of attack.

But among them, the one showing the most exceptional power was undoubtedly the King of Phantom Beasts.

Clearly, the current lightning spear was powerful.

But if the Pegasus King was impaled in Erebus's body, he could suppress it.

The Pegasus King's power was the very antithesis of Erebus.

That meant Erebus's power was fatal to the Pegasus King as well.

No matter how strong the King of Phantom Beasts' mental fortitude was, it couldn't defy pain far exceeding it.

Kwak-!

Erebus gripped the lightning spear.

'Blame your foolish sworn ally! Oh, Pegasus King!'

-Hwaaaaaaaaaaaang! The filthy flames of catastrophe are defiling my bodyyyyyyy!

Arty's pained scream, residing in the lightning spear, echoed in Erebus's mind.

Hearing that scream, Erebus paused for a moment.

'What is this?'

Clearly a voice filled with pain.

But it seemed strangely joyful.

Erebus, thinking he was mistaken, tried to forcibly pull out the lightning spear.

Hwa-reu-reu-reuk!

Erebus unleashed even more powerful flames to suppress Arty.

Pa-ji-ji-ji-ji-jik-!

But in defiance, Arty unleashed even stronger lightning.

Seeing such an Arty, Erebus sneered.

"Foolish one! The more you resist, the greater pain you will feel!"

-What did you say? That's the besttttttt!

'What?'

-Haaaaaaang! Pain is the besttttttt!

The Pegasus King, joyful while in pain, surprised even the mighty Erebus, who was caught off guard.

As Leo, who knew Arty's tendencies, expected, Arty was not suppressed by Erebus; instead, he persistently emitted lightning, hindering Erebus's movements.

"How can there be such a vulgar Pegasus King?"

"Judging by your words, it seems you're also behind the times."

Leo, who scoffed at the astonished Erebus.

Whoosh-!

He instantly closed the distance with Erebus.