Book 1 Chapter 116
116.
“You bastards!”
“Do you think you’ll get away with this!”
Arga revealed her killing intent, looking at Reysar’s hero corps shouting.
“What makes you think you’re so great, spewing such shameless nonsense?”
Her usual soft atmosphere was gone.
Ar’s demeanor was sharp with disgust and anger towards those who had tried to cut down a young girl without hesitation.
At Ar’s presence, the members of the hero corps flinched and backed away.
Seeing this, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘They’re a training corps, not a formal hero corps.’
If you put someone unprepared on the battlefield, all you get is death.
Even in this era, there was a process of training heroes.
These people could also be called hero candidates, just like Ar.
‘Of course, they’re different from Ar.’
It’s not because the era is different.
Even in the Age of Calamity, there were many candidates who dreamed of becoming true heroes.
But not these people.
They joined the hero corps to satisfy a petty sense of superiority or lust for power.
You could tell by their eyes.
It wasn't a matter of innate talent or inherent power.
‘It’s a fundamental difference.’
“I am Jerin of Reysar’s Hero Corps! Interfering with our work is like disobeying the Lord’s command!”
The woman at the front, Jerin, shouted at Ar in a sharp voice.
“The Lord’s command? Or Lebayton’s command?”
Jerin flinched at Leo’s cold question.
“As expected, it seems they used the excuse of a non-existent plague to order you to kill all the children and retrieve Schatten.”
The faces of the orphanage children turned pale.
Ar’s face, having understood the situation from Leo’s words, also turned cold.
Step- step-
Leo stepped forward.
“No matter how messed up this era is, there’s a line.”
Shing-
Leo, his expression gone, pointed his sword at Reysar’s hero corps.
“If you want to call yourselves heroes, you should at least uphold the minimum line.”
Anger flashed in Leo’s eyes.
“Otherwise, it’s an insult to those who truly put their lives on the line to save the world.”
“Right! Don’t you dare call yourselves heroes!”
Ar also shouted at Leo’s words.
“Insolent… So you’re saying you’ll interfere with us to the very end.”
Jerin stirred up her aura.
“It seems having a bit of skill blinds you. I’ll show you how vast the world is.”
Clank- clank- clank-!
Armor began to envelop Jerin’s body.
Instantly, Jerin, clad in silver full plate mail, adjusted her shield and spear and approached Leo.
Seeing this, Leo spoke to Ar.
“I’ll handle her. You take care of the others.”
“Got it.”
The hero corps numbered five in total.
It wouldn't be difficult for those who use aura to slaughter civilian children.
‘If proper individuals had come, it would have been a headache, but sending these greenhorns implies that the hero corps isn’t completely under control yet.’
The true powerhouses of the hero corps were veterans who had endured the Age of Calamity.
They were formidable opponents, too much for the current Leo or Ar to handle.
‘Well, those types wouldn't listen to Lebayton’s orders in the first place, though.’
Jerin sneered as she watched Leo approach defencelessly.
“Foolish one!”
Gooooo-!
Jerin, gripping her spear, aimed a sharp thrust at Leo.
Crunch-!
As Jerin pushed off the ground, her foot dug deep into the earth.
Seeing her opponent close the distance at high speed, Leo brought his sword up from below.
‘He thinks he can block my attack with such a simple move…!’
Clang-!
“…!”
Jerin’s eyes widened.
Leo, who had so easily deflected the aura-infused spear, spoke.
“You call yourselves a hero corps with that skill, do you?”
“Are you insulting me!”
The woman, shouting sharply, charged at Leo with her shield imbued with aura.
Seeing this, Leo raised his right hand, which wasn’t holding a sword.
Whoosh-!
Flames of aura gathered in his right hand.
“Fire attribute aura? A unique ability!”
In this era, with the development of aura, infusing aura with attributes was common, but not in the Age of Calamity.
Jerin, who was surprised by Leo’s flames, curled her lips.
“But can that much fire stop my shield?”
Leo clenched his fist, looking at the shield.
“It seems to be an aura specialized in defense.”
Whoosh-!
Leo’s red eyes glinted.
“So what?”
Boom-! Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-!
Flames raged.
The furiously rising flames not only blew away Jerin’s aura but also melted her shield.
“Kyaaaak!”
Jerin screamed, covered in molten metal.
“Your skill and equipment are both crude.”
Leo sheathed his sword and turned his gaze towards Ar, who was fighting the other four.
Thump-!
As Ar leaped, a peculiar sound was heard.
Crunch-!
“Cough!”
One of the hero corps members’ armor was shattered by Ar’s kick.
Ar, baring her teeth like an angry cat, felt the killing intent of a sword aimed at her back and lightly leaped.
Thump-!
Another peculiar sound was heard, and Ar’s body shot upwards as if bouncing.
Thump-!
She kicked off the air, changing direction mid-flight.
‘Elasticity?’
A peculiar light gleamed in Leo’s eyes as he observed Ar’s aura characteristics.
Every time Ar deployed her aura, her body bounced freely.
With such incredible speed and complex movements, the four hero corps members Ar was fighting were utterly overwhelmed and toyed with.
‘It’s like a cat playing with mice.’
She kicked the back of the last hero corps member.
The four knights foamed at the mouth and fainted.
Seeing this, Ar snorted.
“Hmph. Hero corps, my foot.”
Then she narrowed her eyes, looking at Leo.
“So fire aura was your aura characteristic.”
As a beastkin, the best at handling aura among all races, Ar could predict how powerful Leo’s aura was just by seeing it.
“It would be an interesting fight if we ever went at it.”
Ar, having confirmed Leo’s skill, smiled a combative smile.
Her previous playful demeanor had vanished, leaving only the dignified appearance of an Azonia recommended candidate.
“Well, since we’ll be going to the same school, we’ll probably have a chance to settle things soon. Life at school will be really fun with you around.”
Ar, with her usual cheerful smile, looked at Leo and said,
“You and me! And if we add the scrawny wolf, we can beat Lumen!”
Ar snorted and clenched her fist.
‘They’re looking forward to it so much, I feel bad revealing that I’m Lumen.’
It was when Leo was scratching his cheek.
“Heheheh, foolish ones.”
Jerin let out a sneer.
Her entire body was ravaged by burns, and her eyes were filled with venom.
“How dare you touch us, the Hero Corps? Do you think Lord Lebayton will let you off easy?”
Grind-!
Jerin gritted her teeth and spewed curses.
“How stupid! You’ve made Reysar your enemy for the sake of dirty orphans!”
Ar, who had been staring at the mocking Jerin with a sullen face, cracked her finger joints.
“Are you saying you want to be beaten?”
Jerin flinched, seeing the murderous cat approaching with a growl.
Leo raised his hand, stopping Ar.
“Can you please take the children and get out of here?”
“What?”
“I have something to discuss with this one.”
The moment Ar saw Leo’s smiling face, she felt goosebumps rise on her back.
‘A dangerous atmosphere.’
Her wild instincts sensed danger.
Seeing Ar perk up her ears and tail, unable to move, Leo said,
“Please.”
“Alright. Kids, let’s get out of here for a moment.”
At the words imbued with irresistible power, Ar led the children out of the clearing.
Jerin sneered, looking at Leo.
“Ha? You foolishly played the hero, and now you’re afraid to die, aren’t you? Are you going to beg for your life? Did you send those children away because you didn’t want them to see that? You too are utterly despicable…”
“I think you’re mistaken about something.”
Shing-
Leo drew his sword and approached Jerin.
“I just told them to get out of the way because it’s not something for children to see.”
Jerin felt goosebumps all over her body, looking at Leo, who spoke with an unperturbed face.
The moment her eyes met Leo’s red ones, Jerin instantly realized.
The boy in front of her had no compunctions about killing.
“Oh, don’t come!”
Jerin scrambled back, her face pale.
“If you kill me, Lord Lebayton won’t let you off…”
“He’s not going to leave me alone whether I kill you or not anyway. If your report doesn’t come in by the promised time, he’ll come himself.”
Leo’s cold gaze turned to Jerin.
“And I have no intention of letting him do as he pleases. There’s no reason to keep you alive.”
“Th-Then take me hostage…”
“Are you worth that much?”
Leo raised his sword.
Beneath the gray sky of the setting sun.
Leo’s eyes, devoid of any emotion, were terrifyingly chilling.
Leo’s sword came down like a guillotine.
“Wait…!”
Slash-!
Leo, having cleanly severed her neck, also took the lives of the remaining four without hesitation.
Leo shook the blood from his sword.
If they had simply been following orders, Leo would not have taken their lives.
‘But these guys knew everything when they came.’
There was no reason anywhere to keep them alive.
“You show no hesitation.”
“I’m used to it.”
Leo said calmly in response to Elsye’s words from behind.
“Dealing with such renegades and traitors.”
It wasn’t just Erebus and Tartarus that made the Age of Calamity a hell.
There were countless individuals like Lebayton and Jerin, who called themselves heroes and killed the innocent to satisfy their own desires.
And it was none other than Kyle who ended their lives.
He didn't want to burden his friends, who each had their own goals to achieve, with such dirty work.
“…Did they really try to kill my friends to get Schatten?”
Elsye’s voice trembled slightly.
“Yes.”
“….”
Elsye was a Great Spirit, but still young and inexperienced.
From birth, she fought Tartarus on the battlefield and later waited with Agon for the true hero who would someday appear.
She wouldn't have had the opportunity to encounter human malice.
Perhaps this was the first ugly aspect of the world Elsye had ever seen.
‘Originally, she would have seen Arion’s siblings murdered.’
Leo made a troubled expression, realizing why he had asked if this world was worth saving when they first met.
‘Saving the world means saving these kinds of people too.’
In the end, he didn't even make the contract with Lysinas he had yearned for so much.
‘Do you think this world is worth saving?’
‘Of course.’
Lysinas had not hesitated for a moment.
Luna and Arion, Dwenno too, were the same.
Only Kyle had not given a proper answer to Elsye’s question.
That’s why Elsye had chosen Kyle.
‘Even though he was disappointed with the world, the reason he participated in our journey was… because he still wanted to save the world, I suppose.’
He recalled Elsye, who had smiled for the first and last time amidst her demise after the battle with Hell Kaiser ended.
‘Still, I hope you find it.’
‘What?’
‘The reason to save the world.’
Recalling his contractor’s last will, Leo opened his mouth.
“Elsye.”
Elsye’s face was already expressionless, just as it had been when Kyle first met her.
“I promise you.”
On the day he was reborn.
Leo smiled, recalling the night sky outside the window that he had seen from his cradle.
“The starlight in the night sky will be more beautiful than you imagine.”
Elsye’s eyes widened slightly.
“So, this world is worth saving.”
Elsye, who had been staring at Leo with a blank expression, smiled brightly.
“Yes!”