Book 1 Chapter 118
“Do you know me?”
Arion looked at the boy he’d never seen before with a slightly bewildered expression.
“I do.”
Leo nodded at the sight.
He wanted to talk more.
There was much he wanted to say.
But for now, what needed to be done was to awaken the hero before him.
And for Leo, who had fought alongside him on the battlefield for a long time, it wasn't a difficult task.
“Your siblings are in danger.”
“What?”
Arion, who had looked confused, was surprised by Leo’s words.
“Tonight, your siblings might all die. I need your power.”
Arion turned his head with a grim expression towards the southern edge.
Towards where his home was.
He could definitely feel something ominous.
Roar—!
Aura swirled around him.
The pupils of his usually gentle golden eyes narrowed vertically.
His eyes opened sharply, and the muscles in his body bulged slightly.
His fangs protruded.
Arion placed his foot on the railing to leap instantly.
Then, he suddenly looked back at Leo.
“Did we… meet somewhere before?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“In the not-too-distant future.”
For a moment, Arion wore an expression of utter confusion.
“Now is not the time to dwell on that.”
“Ah!”
Hearing Leo’s words, Arion kicked off the railing.
Thump—!
Watching Arion’s back disappear at invisible speed, Leo smiled.
‘Running for someone precious, it hasn’t changed then or now.’
***
The southern edge of Reisar.
Two figures appeared in a place called the cursed land.
“Why do I have to come back to such a disgusting place?”
Even as the true power of Rebaiton, he couldn’t order just anyone to kill the residents of a place afflicted by plague.
Especially if it turned out there was no actual plague, it could get troublesome.
That’s why he sent only a few people who followed him perfectly.
“Incompetent fools.”
Ultimately, it failed, so Rebaiton had to come here himself.
A moment later.
Rebaiton arrived at the clearing.
And seeing Ar, who stood there as if waiting for him, his eye twitched.
“Ha, seriously? You were defeated by a brat like that?”
“If you don’t want to end up like your subordinates, you should get out of here.”
“Impertinent brat, who are you talking to right now?”
Rebaiton curled the corners of his lips.
“I am destined to become the lord of Reisar. I will become a hero praised by the people of the surface for generations to come.”
“Don’t make me laugh. No one in the future will praise someone like you.”
“What did you say?”
“Someone like you won’t even be recorded in the annals of history. Oh, you will be recorded.”
Ar laughed savagely.
“Even trash like you existed in the Age of Calamity.”
The Hero Record is the path of heroes recorded by the gods.
Everything that happens in the world of heroes is a ‘truth’ guaranteed in the name of the gods.
With the discovery of new Hero Records, existing historical texts were sometimes discarded and new ones were written.
If Leo and Ar conquer this world, Rebaiton, a person from 5,000 years ago, will be recorded in history.
And future generations will forever condemn him.
Hearing Ar’s words, Rebaiton’s face turned bright red.
“How dare you!”
Rebaiton, agitated, charged towards Ar.
BOOM—!
Rebaiton, who now wielded a massive greatsword, swung it with terrifying momentum.
Each strike was so fearsome that a mere graze could be fatal.
But Ar’s eyes clearly tracked the sword’s trajectory.
WHOOSH—!
“……!”
“A clumsy attack with only brute strength.”
“Eek!”
Rebaiton, seeing Ar standing on the greatsword and mocking him, unleashed magic into the sword.
Fshshshshsh—!
Blue sparks flew.
But before the magic could hit, Ar hopped away, widening the distance between him and Rebaiton.
“You don’t seem like a warrior. Your weapon is wasted on you.”
Rebaiton, who could freely use powerful weapons from the lord’s castle armory, was armed with all sorts of powerful magical weapons.
But that was it.
Ar, who had encountered all sorts of abilities since childhood and trained to become a hero, was no match for Rebaiton, who relied solely on his weapons.
“A mage pretending to be a warrior.”
Ar, who had seen through Rebaiton’s true skill, narrowed his eyes.
It was as Ar said.
Close combat was purely aided by the power of magical artifacts.
Rebaiton was purely a mage.
Therefore, his swordsmanship was pathetic.
“Pathetic!”
Despite his flashy appearance, he lacked substance.
“Who are you calling pathetic! You messy fellow!”
Rebaiton bellowed.
“You call me trash? I am a hero! I will become the great hero who will rule Reisar!”
Malice blazed in Ar’s eyes.
“Don’t utter the words ‘great hero’!”
Ar, in his rage, felt every hair on his body stand on end.
He compressed aura into the tips of his toes.
CRASH—!
Ar’s body shot towards Rebaiton like an arrow due to the condensed elasticity.
“Kch! R-Reflection Shield!”
BOOM—!
Ar’s kick was blocked by Rebaiton’s protective magic.
Crack—!
Cracks formed on the wall of magic Rebaiton had created.
Seeing that, Rebaiton’s face turned pale.
But it didn’t penetrate.
As all his magic was poured into it, Rebaiton’s protective magic was solid.
“Uraaaaaaaa!”
Feeling his own power reflected back by the magic, Ar roared and used the breath of the hero.
The power of the aura contained in his toes exploded.
By letting the returning power flow away, he could prepare for the next attack without taking significant damage.
But Ar didn’t back down.
He could not forgive the renegade before him who carelessly uttered the title of ‘great hero’.
He defiantly sent his returning power back.
His right foot felt a pain as if being squeezed by something enormous.
However, Ar didn’t care and kicked forward, lifting his eyes.
‘If I don’t kick this bastard in the face, I won’t be satisfied!’
CRUNCH—BOOM!
“Keeek?!”
Ar’s kick landed squarely on Rebaiton’s body.
Rebaiton was sent flying brutally, smashing through building walls multiple times.
“Huuuk. Huuuk.”
Ar gasped, feeling the pain in his right foot.
Clap— clap— clap—
“Not bad. No, astonishing.”
Ar’s gaze shifted to the woman.
“Mother was right. The heroes of the surface are still dangerous.”
“Hmph! I’ll blast you away too, so come here!”
Ar snarled, swinging his foot through the air.
Watching Ar like that, the woman smiled.
“Oh my, can you really do that? Little kitten?”
CRUNCH—! CRUNCH-CRUNCH—! CRACKLE—!
Seeing the woman, who had shed her human skin and grown enormous, Ar’s face stiffened.
“Wouldn’t it be fortunate if you weren’t eaten by me instead?”
A demoness with the lower body of a giant spider and the upper body of a human taunted Ar.
A disgusting mouth twitched from the oral cavity at the base of her waist.
“D-Demon?”
Ar’s face turned pale.
Overwhelming fear washed over him.
“How? Why doesn’t there seem to be any demon scent?”
There was not the slightest foul stench of a demon from the demoness before him.
Instead, it smelled like a lush forest.
As Ar backed away, the woman, Talatunia, smiled sweetly.
“Well. Perhaps it’s because I chewed off the Fairy King’s arm?”
The daughter of the monster queen, Silatuna.
Having learned that her demon aura was erased thanks to the Fairy King’s ring, she had infiltrated the refugee city in secret.
This was because she knew that the great spirit resided in Schatten, the sword Arion had used in the battle against the Hero Alliance ten years ago.
This greedy demon, who had chewed off the Fairy King’s arm and swallowed the ring, was using Rebaiton to achieve her goal of devouring the great spirit.
“Then.”
Her grotesque spider legs were lifted.
“Die.”
WHOOSH—!
Like a giant awl, the spider’s foreleg pierced towards Ar.
THWACK—!
Suddenly, a shadow shot out in front of Ar and blocked the attack.
“You’ve finally shown yourself, Schatten.”
Talatunia licked her lips.
Looking at Talatunia, Elsie said,
“Schatten is merely the name of the sword I resided in. My name is Elsie.”
“Your name doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m going to eat you.”
CRACKLE—!
Opening her mouth, Talatunia lunged to bite Elsie.
THWACK—!
Suddenly, Talatunia’s body froze.
Frowning, Talatunia turned her head and glared at her captured shadow.
Elsie, whose expression was unreadable, used her power.
“Huh?”
Talatunia’s forelegs, having their shadow stolen, trembled and were raised.
WHOOSH—!
THWACK—!
And Talatunia’s foreleg, without hesitation, pierced her own throat.
Not only that.
Her other spider legs twisted at grotesque angles.
Without her shadow, Talatunia was literally a marionette with strings.
And the one controlling those strings was none other than Elsie.
“Nothing has changed from ten years ago. Spider Princess.”
Elsie, who had once defeated Argon and Talatunia, smiled and waved her hand.
CRUNCH—!
Talatunia felt her vision invert.
Her neck had snapped horribly.
Blinking, Talatunia burst into maniacal laughter.
“Hahahahahahahahaha! This is fun! So much fun!”
CRUNCH! CRUNCH-CRUNCH!
Her legs, which had been twisted at grotesque angles, instantly healed.
Her pierced and twisted body returned to its original form in an instant.
Her near-infinite vitality was given to the terrifying Spider Princess, who could even destroy nations.
Seeing Talatunia heal instantly, Elsie was also taken aback.
CRASH—!
“Gack?”
Talatunia’s foreleg, which had moved in an instant, pierced Elsie’s body.
Elsie’s face contorted.
CRAGAGAGAG—!
Shards of darkness spewing from the wound shredded Talatunia’s body.
In an instant, she was torn to pieces beyond recognition.
“How is it? Different from ten years ago?”
Talatunia, with only her mouth remaining, a piece of her head missing, gave a slimy smile.
“Do you think a novice great spirit without a contractor can defeat me, Silatuna’s daughter, alone?”
“Kch!”
“Well, I wonder what a great spirit tastes like. Shall I take a bite?”
CRACKLE—!
Even as she was brutally shredded, Talatunia greedily opened her mouth.
With infinite vitality, Talatunia was literally an undying disaster.
Just as she was about to bite Elsie’s neck.
WHOOSH—! CRUNCH!
Ar flew in and kicked Talatunia’s jaw.
Talatunia, twisted at an odd angle, wore an irritated expression.
“You little kitten.”
Ar, though terrified, rekindled his fighting spirit.
“That coward saved the world.”
For some reason, Leo’s voice echoed in his mind.
‘If I’m following the hero! I can’t just stand here in fear!’
Gritting his teeth, Ar was about to launch his next attack at Talatunia.
WHAM!
“Gack!”
Ar felt his head spin for a moment.
One of the spider legs had struck his head.
“I’ll eat you for dessert later.”
Talatunia sneered at Ar, bleeding from his head and cornered, and turned her attention back to Elsie.
“Ugh……”
Ar grit his teeth and tried to get up.
“Are you alright?”
“Huh?”
Ar quickly raised his head at the voice from behind.
And his eyes widened.
“You fought well.”
Ar’s body trembled.
He looked different from the Arion he knew.
Specifically, he was younger.
But he recognized him instantly.
The figure from the fairy tale who had given him courage in his childhood.
The object of his admiration who had saved the world.
“Arion-nim.”