Book 1 Chapter 1039
1039.
Luna didn’t even expect that remark.
“Why did you make such a choice?”
“Why, you ask? We couldn’t imagine a world completely free from our influence could exist. But it turns out such a world can exist. How… incredible.”
Rian was genuinely delighted.
It also represented the feelings of all the gods.
“Is it the unknown possibility you’ve been searching for?”
In the new era, gods are no longer needed.
If so, even the gods, who were the world’s administrators, have no reason to exist.
“Actually, we didn’t even know. That someone capable of completely subjugating Erebus’s fragment would be reborn.”
The gods thought that someday the world would perish again.
But as if mocking their thoughts, Kyle, the Hero of Genesis, was reborn.
“With Lord Kyle’s reincarnation, we truly became useless beings.”
Rian’s face looked relieved.
Luna thought as she watched Rian.
‘Even the gods… had affection for this world.’
It was something Luna, who had lived a negligible amount of time compared to the gods, could not possibly understand.
But their love for the world was clearly greater than her own.
While blankly listening to the gods’ story about gladly accepting their end.
“But… I’m still worried.”
“About what?”
Rena asked with a puzzled face.
“The deepest darkness came when the light was brightest.”
Rian’s face clouded over.
“And when the world was in its deepest abyss… the brightest light illuminated the world.”
From the Age of Gods to the Age of Calamity.
And Rian referred to the moment that led from the Age of Calamity to the Age of Heroes.
“Then… this very moment must be the brightest moment for the world.”
A moment shining brilliantly with the hope that darkness will completely disappear.
But, in other words.
“Erebus will never accept that future willingly.”
Just as the great heroes changed the future.
Erebus can also change the future.
The future always changes its form.
And the right to change that form is equal for everyone.
Whoosh-!
Then, a black flame erupted from the closed entrance.
Luna bit her lip.
“Can you… fight that?”
Rian shook her head at Luna’s question.
“There’s only one thing that can extinguish the Calamity Flame…”
At that, Luna’s gaze turned to Rena.
Rian also looked at Rena.
“The power of purity.”
“…Have I… truly been born with the power of purity?”
Rian smiled faintly at her words.
“Yes, I guarantee it. Though you’re inexperienced… you seem to resemble Lord Kyle.”
“Why?”
“That’s obvious…”
Rian shrugged her shoulders, looking at young Luna.
Young Luna gave a wry smile.
“I don’t know much about Leo, but… I know that man is disgustingly persistent.”
“Huh?”
“It means he never gives up. Like someone else.”
Rian added with a faint smile.
At that, Rena bit her lip.
In Rena’s era, the Hero Academy had disappeared, but its lessons were passed down.
Words passed down by the Heroes of the Great Genesis to later generations.
‘Overcome your limits, trust yourself, move forward, pursue possibilities.’
These became the milestones pursued by the heroes of each race.
But it wasn’t so in Rena’s era.
In a new era that would someday come…
‘Virtues that all races should pursue.’
Humans once obsessed with only overcoming limits, thereby becoming trapped by those very limits.
Elves became arrogant, trusting only themselves, beast-folk acted recklessly, and dwarves, obsessed with possibilities, turned away from anything with even a slight lack of potential.
But the new era is different.
All races challenged their limits and trusted themselves.
Based on that trust, they moved forward and reached out for possibilities.
Rena advanced towards the black flame.
‘Have we regressed?’
It might seem that way.
As Bellian said he would change the past, the disappearance of the Hero Record and breaking free from the gods’ arrangements might appear as regression.
But watching the god smile brightly before their own demise, she realized.
‘It’s not regression, but merely a process of finding the right answer.’
The countless individuals who would become heroes in Rena’s era were no different from the hero trainees in Leo’s era.
‘Even if we have regressed… we just need to find the way again and move forward.’
That is the courtesy due to those who trusted later generations and bequeathed the world to them.
Woong-
Aura gathered on Rena’s sword.
Seeing that, the spirit Luna gaped blankly.
-The power of purity… is that right?
It was different from what she knew.
It wasn’t gray.
Nor was it pure white.
-Transparency?
Untainted transparency.
Literally, a state of being able to become anything.
Unlike the Hero of Genesis, who had to protect the world and pass it on to future generations.
The color of the person who must now imbue that world will inevitably be transparent.
Watching that transparency, Rian murmured.
“As expected… it was a good decision to become the administrator of the Hero Record.”
There are no regrets.
However… there are worries.
‘Darkness will come.’
As deep as the Age of Calamity.
No, perhaps even deeper darkness.
The Calamity Flame before her eyes is not the real threat.
Rian’s instincts told her so.
Rian clenched her fist, feeling an unsettling anxiety creep into her chest.
‘Lord Kyle.’
There are worries… but she would not despair.
‘Even if the future changes… I just have to change it again.’
Everyone has the right to change the future.
Looking at the Calamity Flame, Rian sent infinite trust to the Hero of Genesis.
***
Crunch!
Kwoooaaaaaaah!
Lumerne’s sword sliced through Jörmungandr’s neck.
Woong-!
Rhodia’s Dragon Tongue magic relentlessly pierced Jörmungandr’s bleeding body.
Kyaaaaaaaaah!
Just as the King of Wisdom and the Hero of Genesis did in the past.
The Dragon of Genesis and the Knight of Twilight subjugated the Gluttony King, the strongest legion commander.
But…
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak-!
Suddenly, another Jörmungandr shot up from the ground.
“Damn it! What the hell is that?!”
Rhodia cried out irritably.
“Azonya and Damian will be here soon!”
Lumerne shouted.
Meanwhile.
Seirun, who was fighting other legion commanders, clenched her fist.
Before her, her friend Annelie was panting heavily, gasping for breath.
“Seirun… Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
“…”
Seirun clenched her fist.
She knew.
Annelie would keep this promise.
Even at the cost of her own life.
‘I… won’t be able to stop that, will I?’
Seirun bit her lip.
Just then.
Gooooo-!
Black flames erupted from the ground.
Kwoooooooo!
“Erebus?!”
“What the…!”
Rhodia and Lumerne shrieked in horror.
‘No… no!’
But Seirun saw through the true identity of the Erebus that appeared.
Its form couldn’t be maintained, as if reason didn’t exist.
‘A fake Erebus created with the Legion Record! But to summon that Erebus from the Legion’s world would require an outrageous amount of power…’
The summoned fake Erebus roared towards the sky.
Kwoooooooo!
‘It’s calling…!’
Its own fragment existing in this time period.
The irrational Erebus stretched its hand towards the sky.
Seirun could feel an immense power running wild there.
A power similar to when she herself appeared in reality in the future.
‘That’s the Legion Record!’
Seirun’s face hardened at that thought.
‘Erebus’s goal is to hand over the Legion Record to the Erebus of this time period!’
At that moment.
Gooooo-!
The sky turned ash-gray, and a giant arm wreathed in black flames burst forth.
“Gah!”
Seirun unleashed magic.
At that moment.
Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeo-jeo-jeo-jeok-!
“…”
A spine-chilling cold blast swept through.
And with it, the Legion Record and the fake Erebus were frozen.
Lumerne and Rhodia’s gazes fell on Seirun.
“Seirun… you did that?”
“No…”
Seirun shook her head.
This magic belonged to someone who didn’t exist in this era.
But Seirun knew the identity of the magic power that cast this spell.
The girl mage who shone brilliantly with countless possibilities.
‘Chloe… Müller!’
Seirun bit her lip.
“We have to stop it! We have to stop Erebus from making contact!”
At Seirun’s cry, Lumerne and Rhodia moved in a hurry.
But Erebus’s fragment was faster, grasping its own hand, which was formed from the world of the Legion.
Crunch-!
The ice was fleetingly destroyed.
“Ah…”
Seirun made a despairing expression.
And with that…
The world stopped.
The rampaging Calamity Flame.
The friends trying to stop it.
Everything stopped.
***
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-! Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle-!
The sword and spear imbued with the power of the Phoenix King and the Pegasus King scattered fierce energy.
Leo looked at Erebus with a stern face.
Bellian’s body, which it had possessed, was mercilessly shattered repeatedly.
An overwhelming battle.
Erebus’s fragment was thoroughly ravaged by Leo.
But Leo’s face was grim.
[Hehehe… Hehehehe…! Indeed, the surviving hero. Hahahaha! I can’t do anything with just one fragment!]
Leo asked coldly, watching Erebus laugh madly.
“What have you done? No, to begin with, you…”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“Where did you expend all your power?”
“The first plan was to merge with the fragment of the past. But it was impossible.”
Erebus looked up at Leo with cold eyes and said.
“The second plan was to destroy the Hero Record in the past. But even this ultimately proved impossible.”
Erebus staggered and got up.
Gooooo-
Its body grew enormous.
“The final plan. To entrust the world of the Legion to my past self.”
“…”
“Honestly, the outcome was unknown. I couldn’t know how the future would change with just one fragment of the Legion.”
“…”
“But as you can see! I seem to have gained infinite possibilities! Look! Surviving hero! The world!”
Erebus’s eyes gleamed.
“The world has stopped! Hahahahahaha!”
Leo, without hesitation, swung his sword at the now powerless fifth fragment.
Slice-!
The fifth fragment tumbled to the ground.
“Your defeat, surviving hero. Khuhuhuhu!”
Watching Erebus mock him, Leo, without hesitation, stomped on its head.
Crunch-!
Erebus’s power, purified by the power of purity, was converted into divine power and resided in Leo’s body.
However, compared to the fragments he had subjugated before, the divine power was negligible.
‘Did it aim for this…?’
Leo clenched his fist tightly.
The future had changed.
That thought filled his mind.
‘Find a way. A way…’
Leo furiously racked his brain.
“Grandfather!”
Then a bright voice was heard.
Leo turned his head.
Rena was running towards him with a bright face.
“Grandfather! You know what? The power of purity… Uh, oh?”
Rena looked around with a bewildered expression.
Young Luna also looked surprised.
“What’s going on?”
-Time… stopped, didn’t it?
Even the spirit Luna was astonished.
“It seems Erebus succeeded in the alteration.”
Rian said with a dark face.
“…”
Leo looked at the Rian of the past and said.
“Can you summarize the situation for me?”
“…Yes. Before that.”
Rian bowed her head.
“Let’s go to where the culprit who stopped the flow of time is.”