Book 1 Chapter 1040

1040.

Standing alone in the middle of a frozen world, Seyrun looked up at the sky in silence.

A grotesque hand extended from the ashen sky.

Seeing it, Seyrun bit his lip.

As a mage, he tried to analyze the current phenomenon.

Situation, process, phenomenon, reason.

He synthesized everything.

The puzzle pieces didn't fit perfectly, but the general outline was clear.

'…Defeat.'

A moment ago, the world was defeated when Erebus and the Legion's Record made contact.

Seyrun bit his lip even harder.

'What should I do…!'

Everything stopped.

Even the flow of mana.

A world literally at a standstill.

Seyrun could move here probably because he himself was an existence outside the confines of time.

But that would only be for a moment.

The moment the world began to collapse.

Everything would end.

'What should I do.'

It was then that Seyrun's eyes wavered.

Space opened in the air, and Leo appeared.

"Lord Kyle! And… Rian?"

Seyrun's eyes widened when he recognized Rian, the administrator of the Hero Record, whom he had sought advice from 3000 years ago to seal Erebus.

In response to Seyrun, Rian said,

"As expected, your future self came looking for me."

Rian, who nodded as if he knew everything, looked at the fragment of Erebus and let out a deep sigh.

Leo looked at Erebus with an impassive face.

"Lord Kyle. What should we do now…?"

As Seyrun asked with an anxious face, Leo brought his index finger to his lips.

And then he looked at Rian in silence.

A moment later.

Rian took a deep breath.

And looking at Leo, he said,

"Lord Kyle. You mentioned that in the future, something called the Legion's Record would appear, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"…"

Rian had been briefly told about what happened in the future.

Hearing Leo's answer, Rian said,

"That Legion's Record will play a decisive role in changing the future."

"A decisive role?"

"Yes."

Rian nodded.

"We don't know who created the magic that allows one to travel between past and present. But this magic is in the realm of miracles, far beyond the scope of ordinary magic."

"That's right."

"As such, it possesses powerful deterrents to prevent changes to the past. The most prominent deterrent is memory manipulation."

Rian tapped his temple with his finger.

"Perhaps when Lord Kyle returns to the future, I will lose my memories. Not just me, but even the gods who know of Lord Kyle's existence will forget him."

"It's that powerful?"

"Yes. Even in the Akasha Record, which records everything in this world, Lord Kyle's arrival in the past was not recorded."

Rian said,

"However, the Legion's Record can create cracks in that deterrent."

With a slightly complicated expression, Rian looked at the fragment of Erebus.

"Therefore, even if memories are lost, Erebus will immediately recognize what the Legion's Record is."

"…"

"And after being sealed within the Hero Record by the Heroes of Creation, Erebus will be able to use the Legion's Record to corrupt the Hero Record even faster and grow stronger."

The Legion's Record was like Erebus's last desperate struggle after being confined within the Hero Record for 3000 years.

"The future has changed. To a future where the world is defeated. This frozen space will probably also gradually collapse over time."

"…"

It was then that Leo furrowed his brows at Rian's words.

"It's over just because the Legion's Record was taken? We should be able to seize it back, shouldn't we?"

"Lord Leo, you probably won't have time."

"Why?"

"As I said before, the magic that brought you to the past is incredibly powerful. And the reason you can exist in the past is because the magic's user is maintaining the spell."

"Does that mean… there's no more time left to maintain the magic?"

"Yes. To be honest, it's nothing short of a miracle that you've lasted this long."

"…"

Leo clenched his fist tightly.

Erebus must have accounted for that time.

The defeat due to the information gap was painful.

"I, because of me…"

As Lena spoke with a pale face, Leo reached out his hand.

"It's not your fault. All you did was try to stop this situation somehow."

At Leo's words, Lena hung her head.

"However… it's not all despair."

"Is there a way?"

"…Normally, there shouldn't even be time for a conversation like this. The moment the world's destruction is confirmed, the future should disappear. But we can have this conversation."

"That's…"

"Someone bought us time."

At those words, Seyrun said,

"Now that you mention it, Chloe Mueller's magic stopped Erebus before he could get his hands on the Legion's Record."

At those words, Leo looked at the frozen Erebus.

'Chloe…'

It was highly probable that it was Chloe from the future.

"Is there a way?"

"Erebus will keep overwriting new pages onto the Legion's Record."

Rian's expression hardened.

"Because he has plenty of material."

The Hero Record where Erebus would be imprisoned.

To prevent Erebus from escaping and corrupting it, the Hero Record would be torn apart.

But even if it was torn, the connection wouldn't disappear.

He would use the fragments of the Hero Record scattered across the world to record the Legion's Record.

The divine power of the gods and Erebus's Flame of Calamity are two sides of the same coin.

In other words, their essence is the same.

"Someone just needs to… destroy the Legion's Record every time something is recorded on it. Of course, at some point, new recordings will be faster than destruction… But it could delay the world's destruction."

"Is that possible?"

"Yes. If you use divine power within the world of heroes, it's possible to travel between worlds within the Record."

At those words, Leo said without hesitation,

"I'll do it then."

"No."

As soon as Leo finished speaking, Seyrun firmly said,

"Lord Leo, you have something you must do. You must return to the future and prepare for the battle with Erebus."

"If you're not there, how will the others hold on?"

"It's alright. Everyone has grown a step thanks to Lord Kyle. They'll be able to hold on a little longer even without me."

Seyrun smiled brightly, then said to Rian,

"I can do it too, right?"

Rian nodded in response.

"Then can I too?"

Young Luna tilted her head.

Rian nodded in response.

"Since you were originally an existence within the world of heroes, you will be able to maintain your existence even in the world of the Legion."

"Then I'll go too! Another me will surely be able to help Seyrun!"

Luna said with a bright smile.

Looking at the two elves, Leo said,

"It's a difficult task."

At that question, Seyrun chuckled.

"When was anything not difficult?"

Having said that, Seyrun turned his head.

And looking at his frozen friends, he said,

"I will buy Lord Kyle time to save the world. So please trust me and leave it to me."

Watching Seyrun speak with a firm voice, Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm counting on you."

At those words, young Luna approached Leo.

And then she spread her palm.

Flash-

With a bright flash, a flower bloomed in Luna's hand.

"Have you ever received a flower?"

"…No."

"I'll give it to you."

Luna smiled sweetly and handed the flower to Leo.

"When did you learn magic to make flowers bloom?"

"Hmph. This body is a genius, you know."

Luna put on a smug expression.

"It was quick."

The way she winked one eye resembled the Luna Leo knew.

As Leo was thinking that.

Young Luna's aura changed.

Luna, who had been staring up at Leo, took off the flower-adorned ring from her finger and handed it to Leo.

"Give it to me next time we meet."

"What?"

"Then, put it on my hand yourself in front of Lisinas."

At those words, Leo let out a hollow laugh and took the ring.

"I'll do that."

"You promised? You definitely promised?!"

Luna, who had borrowed the body for a moment, grabbed Leo by the collar and shook him wildly.

"Keep your promise! Understood!"

"Understood."

Having received confirmation, Luna smiled broadly and stepped back.

"What should I do now?"

Leo, having composed himself, asked Rian.

"Lord Leo. Your divine power."

At Rian's words, Leo unleashed his divine power.

Rian cupped Leo's divine power in his hands, formed it into a small orb, and handed it to Seyrun.

"This will be the key to crossing between worlds. When you tackle the Legion's Record, a message will appear, allowing you to go to the next world."

Rian, who had handed over the reconstructed key to the system, said,

"Now, you just need to dive into the Legion's Record."

At those words, Luna and Seyrun lifted themselves into the air with magic.

"See you next time!"

Luna waved goodbye and then vanished into the Legion's Record.

A moment later.

A magic circle appeared on Lena's body.

"Ah?"

"It's time to return to your original timeline now."

"…Right."

Leo approached Lena.

"Lord Kyle."

"…"

Just then, Rian called out to Leo.

"I… I was a god who mocked Lord Kyle until the moment he defeated Erebus."

"…"

"Saying that you wouldn't give up even knowing it was impossible."

Rian's voice trembled.

"Could you please not give up, just one more time?"

At those words, Leo looked at Rian for a moment and then said,

"Not giving up is natural."

Leo stroked Lena's head.

"Of course, I'll save the world this time too."

"…"

At those words, Rian smiled brightly.

With that, a white light engulfed the world.

***

When Leo regained consciousness, he was in a pure white space.

"What is this? It's different from when I came to the past? Lena, do you know anything about this space…?"

Leo, who was turning his head towards Lena, closed his mouth.

Thud-!

The bear hairpin that had been floating in the air fell to the floor.

It was an item Leo had bought for her at a festival.

Leo knelt and picked up the bear hairpin.

'Did I return to the future?'

Leo's hand trembled.

He wanted to believe that.

But it wasn't true.

Lena's existence had vanished.

The only evidence that Leo Flove's granddaughter had existed was now the hairpin Leo had given her in the past.

It was then that Leo bit his lip.

Step-step-

Footsteps were heard from behind.

Leo stood up and turned his head.

"Chloe…?"

Chloe was there.

She looked different from the Chloe Leo knew.

A mature appearance, with no trace of a girl left.

Her entire aura was different.

"Long time no see, Leo."

Chloe smiled brightly.

"…"

Leo glanced at Chloe's hand.

The tips of her clenched fist were trembling.

Looking at Chloe, Leo said,

"It's not your fault."

At those words, Chloe's eyes widened, and then she let out a quiet chuckle.

"Even after all this time, you can still see right through me, can't you?"

"No matter how much time passes, you're still you."

"Still treating me like a child. I'm an old woman just waiting for my dying day now, you know?"

"For that, you're still quite young, aren't you?"

"Heh heh."

Chloe burst out laughing.

And then she closed the distance between herself and Leo.

Chloe, reaching out her hand, said with wistful eyes,

"I wanted to meet you one more time."

"…"

"That's why I created this magic to go to the past."

Chloe gave a bitter smile.

"But the worst outcome has come to pass."

"Worst outcome, my foot. We can just change the future."

"Heh heh heh."

At Leo's words, Chloe burst out laughing.

"It turned out for the better, actually."

"What?"

"Chloe. My memories… you can make sure I don't forget them, right?"

"It will be very difficult. The pressure you have to bear will also be stronger."

The fact that there is no future.

The mental pressure Leo would experience from knowing that fact would inevitably be intense.

"If you falter… there really will be no future, Leo."

"I'm already used to this kind of pressure anyway. So there's no way I'll waver."

Leo looked down at his hands.

Looking at Leo, Chloe said,

"Aside from Lord Lisinas, are you going to save the other great heroes too?"

"…You noticed?"

"Of course I did. How many years have we seen together?"

"Oh? Saying it like that makes you sound a bit like a grandma, doesn't it?"

At those words, Chloe made a sullen face and poked Leo in the side!

Leo chuckled.

Crack-

At that moment, cracks appeared on Chloe's body.

"…"

Leo's face hardened.

"Ah, it's nothing. It just became harder to maintain the magic. So, Leo."

Chloe spoke as if it was truly nothing.

"I'll be waiting in the future."

"What?"

"Nothing has changed. What we have to do is ultimately one thing, isn't it?"

Chloe grasped her staff.

"To defeat that damned fireball and save the world."

Leo's eyes widened.

Then he let out a hollow laugh.

"That sounds like something I once told someone, doesn't it?"

"Yes. It's something I heard from someone a long time ago too."

For Chloe, the beginning was the very moment she was subjugating Chubarn with Leo.

Chloe, smiling brightly, tapped the floor with the tip of her staff.

Space opened up.

Leo stood before it with a hardened face.

He pretended to be calm, but the pressure was overwhelming him.

'Can I do it?'

As Leo felt fear.

Gently-

Chloe's hand gently pushed Leo's back.

As if giving him courage.

With that, Leo, clenching his fist, took a step forward.