Book 1 Chapter 144

144

Upon seeing Leo's gaze, Sid felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.

'What is this gaze?'

There were no particular emotions in Leo's eyes.

Hostility towards demons, fear, etc.

There were none of the emotions that a human being should possess.

He was just calm.

Only a slight disgust, as if clearing trash from the street, was discernible.

He had never seen anyone with such eyes, he swore.

Even those called heroes did not have such eyes.

For an instant, Sid, overwhelmed by Leo's killing intent, felt fear.

Coming to his senses, Sid felt cold sweat dripping all over his body.

"What do you think you can do?"

Sid sneered and quickly regained his composure.

"We have completely taken over this world. It seems you managed to discover our existence… but that's all. What exactly do you think you can do?"

"We can do more than you think."

Sid contorted his face, looking at Leo's cold smile.

'Should I kill him right here, right now?'

He briefly entertained the thought but then looked around.

'Too many eyes watching.'

Sid was currently possessing the body of the vice-principal of Balharlun.

And he had controlled the entire school for a long time.

It was true that he could manipulate all of Balharlun.

But that was only behind the scenes.

He couldn't openly use his power in front of others.

Erebos and Tartaros had been hostile towards gods and terrestrial races for a long time.

The same was true before the Age of Disaster.

The moment his identity was exposed here, everything he had done so far would turn to foam.

Leo had accurately seen through that and acted accordingly.

He couldn't use his power in a public place.

Nor did he have any justification to oppress Akint using his authority.

Knowing that, Leo had openly declared war.

Leo, who had been staring at Sid with cold eyes, turned away.

Sid, who had been glaring at him, curled up the corners of his mouth.

'You won't be able to do anything.'

He had been preparing for a long time.

'You will see the great hero you worshipped burn and disappear helplessly!'

Tartaros's goal was not just to destroy Luna's world.

It was to completely burn it down.

So that power could no longer be inherited!

Imagining that face twisted in despair, Sid trembled with ecstasy.

'I will personally cut off your head as you despair watching the great hero burn and disappear!'

Leo paid no mind to Sid's glaring eyes.

He simply approached Luna.

'The conquest of this world will be complete the moment Luna creates the foundation of star magic.'

Leo was lost in thought, watching Luna approach after greeting the princess.

'But that must be accomplished solely by Luna's power.'

Star magic was, quite literally, creating something out of nothing.

A completely new magical law that had never existed.

Magic completed purely by the power of a single person.

No assistance whatsoever should be given in creating that magic.

At that moment, star magic would cease to be magic created by Luna and would become magic completed with someone's help, losing its light.

"Luna. Did you speak with Her Royal Highness?"

"Yes! But I think Her Royal Highness has changed a lot."

"Changed?"

"Yes. Before, she disliked me, but now she smiled brightly at me?"

At those words, Leo looked towards the princess.

Most of the elves at the party had already finished greeting her.

Therefore, there wasn were only a few people left in line.

Leo's eyes sparkled as he got in line to greet the princess.

A moment later.

When it was his turn, Leo bowed his head.

"Akint greets Her Royal Highness, the Princess."

"Nice to meet you, Akint."

"Yes. But, Your Royal Highness, do you know anything about Lumeren?"

Leo, kneeling, looked up at Sergia and smiled.

At that question, her eyes changed for an instant.

"Yes. I know. It's a name I've heard before. Do you know about Seirun, Akint?"

"Of course I do."

After answering that much, Leo smiled and stepped back.

To others, it would have sounded like a strange conversation.

Indeed, those around them looked at Leo with puzzled eyes.

But for the two of them, it was an efficient code to confirm each other.

'No one in this era would know about the future Hero Academy.'

Leo thought to himself as he returned to Luna.

'Lunia is the princess. Things might unfold more easily.'

Meanwhile, Lunia also watched Leo's retreating figure, her eyes sparkling.

'It's definitely Leo.'

It could have been Elena, but judging by his tone and demeanor, it was Leo.

Lunia took a deep breath.

'I need to tell Leo about Erebos.'

As she was thinking that.

The music in the party hall stopped.

With that, the protagonist of the day, the Elf King Ergen, appeared at the entrance of the party hall.

All the elves in the hall respectfully knelt.

"Happy birthday to Your Majesty."

"Happy birthday!"

Ergen smiled at the congratulations from the high elves.

"To have gathered to celebrate my birthday… Thank you. I appreciate you all gracing this occasion. Don't mind me, and I hope you enjoy the party today."

Having said that, Ergen went and sat at the head seat.

In front of Ergen, the elves gathered at the party lined up.

The music flowed, and the party began again.

Luna was taking deep breaths in a corner.

"You're nervous, which is unlike you."

"Of course! Whether I receive sponsorship from His Majesty Ergen again or not will be decided!"

Luna said, clenching her fists tightly.

The reason she came to this party was to report her research achievements to the Elf King and receive sponsorship.

Although isolated, Luna had been striving to overcome the situation somehow.

"Things might unfold a little more easily."

"Huh?"

Luna wore a puzzled expression at Leo's words.

Then, Luna's eyes widened as she looked in the direction Leo pointed.

None other than Lunia was approaching.

Luna bowed her head in respect.

Lunia, who had taken a deep breath looking at Luna, spoke to Leo.

"Would you… like to dance?"

Both in ancient times and now, elves love music and dance.

Dancing together at a party was their culture.

Therefore, asking for a dance was not strange.

"It would be an honor."

Leo smiled gently and led Lunia to the center of the party hall.

The two began to dance to the music.

"You're Leo, aren't you?"

"Yes, Lunia."

Lunia sighed in relief at Leo's words and said,

"How much have you found out about this world?"

"That it's before the Age of Disaster and that it's Luna's world."

"I've found out that much too. Do you have any guesses about the conquest conditions?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Luna creating star magic."

"I see."

Lunia nodded, listening to Leo's words.

"And one more thing."

"Hm?"

"Tartaros is in this world."

At those words, Lunia's face slightly hardened.

"They're even in this party hall right now."

Lunia's hand, holding Leo's, tightened.

"Are you saying it's Tartaros from the past?"

"No. They're outsiders, like us, who have entered here."

Lunia wore a stiff expression.

"That could be."

"That could be? You've found something out too?"

Leo wore a puzzled expression, seeing Lunia quickly grasp the situation without being surprised.

Never before had demons invaded the hero's world.

It was, literally, an enormous event that could overturn the world.

Yet, Lunia had no doubts about Leo's words and readily accepted them.

Leo was sure that Lunia had discovered something he didn't know.

At Leo's question, Lunia took a deep breath.

"Leo, listen without being surprised."

"What is it?"

"Erebos… is in this world."

Leo couldn't understand the words for a moment, hearing Lunia's slightly trembling voice.

"Erebos is here?"

"Yes."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw him myself."

The hands they naturally held while dancing tightened.

His body, which had barely calmed down after seeing Luna, trembled again.

"Lunia."

Lunia raised her head at Leo's call.

There wasn't much difference in height in their original forms, but now there clearly was.

Leo smiled, looking at Lunia who was looking up at him.

"It's okay."

This was not Leo's voice that she knew.

It was the voice of a person from the past whom Lunia did not know.

But the power contained in that voice was Leo's.

It was as if when she had just seen Luna.

The fear and anxiety in her heart vanished.

Feeling Lunia's trembling cease, Leo said,

"Could you tell me more about that story?"

***

"This war of attrition is boring."

Elena twirled her finger with a bored expression.

*Fzzzzzt-!*

Blue lightning spread in all directions.

*Pababababat-!*

*Groooooowl!*

Screams erupted from the electrocuted Skeleton Knights.

*Clack-!*

*Crumble-!*

With a flick of her finger, the Skeleton Knights turned to dust and disappeared.

The alley was, quite literally, a paradise of corpses.

Undead poured out endlessly.

Not only were they numerous, but their types were also diverse.

From low-ranking undead to high-ranking undead.

It was, literally, a nest.

*Groooowl!*

A ghoul walked out from deeper in the alley.

But it was different from a typical ghoul.

It was wearing armor and held a crude weapon in its hand.

"Ghoul Soldier."

Elena furrowed her brows at the stench wafting from it.

Hadin re-gripped his sword.

*Rustle-* The wind blew, carrying away the stench.

The stench emitted by the ghoul carried poison.

Of course, it had no effect whatsoever on skilled individuals like Elena and Hadin.

However, Elena and Hadin were currently with Merin.

At this point, Merin was too deeply involved to send her back.

'If we're discovered, we might end up in a difficult situation.'

Elena stroked Merin's head, who was trembling with fear.

She was merely a person who existed in the past.

There was no reason to protect a non-existent person.

But neither Elena nor Hadin abandoned Merin.

No matter how great a hero, they cannot save everyone in the world.

If so, they had to at least protect those who were doing their best to live right before their eyes.

That was the virtue of a hero candidate.

Even if that person had already disappeared in the past.

'Hadin would think that. He's so rigid.'

Elena took her hand off Merin's head and pointed at the ghouls with her finger.

*Zing-!*

Particles of light generated at her fingertip.

There was no particular reason why Elena protected Merin.

She had simply been taught to.

*Flash-!*

A white beam of light, emitted with a bright flash, blew away the ghoul soldiers.

'And because I have the strength to protect them.'

*Thump-thump-*

Elena, walking ahead, gently twirled a strand of her hair.

"This is getting annoying."

Annoyance flickered in her eyes.

"Should I just blow up this whole dirty alley?"

"You can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because using magic would blow up the surrounding area."

"Hmm. It's just a den of trash anyway. What if it gets blown up a bit?"

"Hmm- That's not a very hero candidate-like thought."

*Click-clack-!*

A charming voice came from deeper in the alley.

Along with the sound of high heels, an elf appeared from the darkness.

But both Elena and Hadin could identify the identity of the female student in a uniform.

"You finally crawled out."

Elena wore an expression of welcome.

"You're a rude girl. What do you mean by 'crawled out'? Am I a dog or something?"

At that question, Elena's eyes widened, then she wore a pitiful expression.

"Oh, I made you misunderstand. Did you mistake yourself for being at least a dog? I thought you were a cockroach…"

"What?"

"Dogs are at least cute, but you're just a disgusting bug, aren't you? So cockroach is perfect."

"This girl has a dirty mouth…!"

The necromancer's face contorted with rage.

But soon she put on a relaxed smile.

"Well, talk all you want. You'll die soon anyway."

"Oh, no matter how disgusting, a cockroach is just a cockroach. Have you ever seen someone die from a bug?"

The necromancer scoffed as Elena smiled brightly and said,

"No, you will die."

The necromancer smiled coldly.

"Because the gods will soon open their eyes."