Book 1 Chapter 145
“Shin?”
Elena tilted her head.
“Are you talking about Erebus?”
“Don’t you dare speak His name with that filthy mouth.”
“My mouth is clean. I brush my teeth every morning, noon, and night.”
Elena, showing her teeth, grinned.
“Ah, you wouldn’t have such a concept since you lack manners, would you? Besides, being a necromancer among demons, only picking up corpses, you must smell particularly foul.”
Elena scrunched up her face as if she had smelled a severe stench.
At that reaction, the necromancer, Viner, trembled.
“You, you damn slut…!”
There was something in Elena’s tone that pricked at Viner.
More accurately, it was Elena’s attitude.
Having lived as a demon, Viner was accustomed to all sorts of curses and insults.
No matter how harsh the venom, it wouldn’t be enough to lose reason.
But Elena’s gaze and attitude.
That condescending demeanor, as if truly dealing with an insect, was enough to make her blood boil.
In reality, Elena was treating Viner as nothing more than an insect that she could kill at any moment.
“How dare a mere human insult me, Viner, who has been chosen by the King of the Dead!”
Kwakagagagagag-!
As Viner unleashed dark magic, a black magic circle was created.
And from within it, bone blades rained down.
“I’ll tear you to shreds and kill you!”
Kagagagagagag-!
The dark magic swept over Elena, devastating the surrounding area.
Seeing that, Hardin narrowed his eyes.
‘Quite a high-ranking demon. Rank 3. No, at this level, is it Rank 4?’
Demonic ranks are divided into seven levels.
And at Rank 4 level, it was a high-ranking demon capable of easily annihilating the vanguard knights of any ordinary country.
Literally, a target of fear.
It wasn’t to the extent of being treated like ‘insects’ as Elena had said.
“Ahahaha! You spout whatever comes out of your mouth, and now look at you! Serves you right!”
Viner pointed at the pile of bones as if she were relieved.
Each of those bones was a sharp and hard weapon capable of easily tearing human flesh just by brushing against it.
To be buried under such bone blades, there was no way she could survive.
“Next is you.”
Viner’s venomous killing intent turned towards Hardin.
“How should I kill you?”
Seeing Viner sneer, Hardin said,
“Unfortunately, you cannot kill me.”
“The hero candidates these days don’t know their place.”
Viner shook her head.
“Do you know how many hero candidates I’ve killed? You lot are no match for me. You’ve heard of me, right? Viner. I’m famous among you guys, aren’t I?”
“Bone-eating Viner?”
Bone-eating Viner.
A notorious demon active for 100 years, who had murdered numerous hero candidates.
“That’s right. I am Bone-eating Viner.”
Viner licked her lips.
It was the same with every hero candidate she had met.
‘At first, they talk as if they are heroes, acting all high and mighty. There were many brats who talked so arrogantly like that woman just now.’
But that was only for a moment.
The moment they heard her name.
They were either terrified or busy running away.
The moment that confident face was filled with fear was when Viner felt the most pleasure.
Hardin would be no different.
Viner harbored such expectations.
But she faltered the moment their eyes met.
Hardin wasn’t looking at Viner.
He was stroking Merin’s head, who was terrified, without even glancing her way.
“Don’t worry.”
“But… the angel… En…”
“Huh? You have plenty of time?”
Viner looked dumbfounded.
“It’s not the time to be worrying about such a fake!”
“It’s not the time for you to be worrying about me either.”
“What?”
“If she were the type to be taken down by this much, she wouldn’t have been worth my target.”
Click- Clack-
The pile of bones began to tremble.
Viner’s expression immediately changed.
‘What? She’s alive?’
Viner’s magic wasn’t just sharp.
Each of those bone blades was heavier than an average adult male.
To be buried under such a thing head-on.
There was no way she could be alive.
No, even if she were alive, there was no way she could have escaped.
But…
Kwaaaaaaaaang-!
The pile of bones exploded upwards as if erupting.
But they didn’t scatter in all directions.
Elena, enveloped in pink mana, smiled sweetly.
Seeing that, Viner’s eyes widened.
Viner had heard rumors too.
‘There is a wicked woman with pink mana in Rumern.’
“Elena… Zeron.”
“Ding dong, correct.”
Elena, smiling cheerfully, unleashed her mana.
Viner’s face was filled with shock.
Under Elena’s mana, the bone blades suspended in mid-air trembled, and began to emit black smoke.
It was none other than Viner’s dark magic.
Along with it, Elena’s mana seeped into the bone blades.
Necromancer magic is broadly divided into two types.
Necromancy, which controls corpses.
Corpse magic, which uses corpses.
Either way, it was impossible for ground-dwelling races to steal control of necromancer magic.
But…
‘She stole control of my magic?!’
If it had been dispelled, she would have understood.
But to steal control of magic?
“Here, I don’t need this, so I’ll give it back to you.”
Elena smiled radiantly and pointed her finger at Viner.
In an instant, the bone blades turned towards Viner.
“Wait… Kyaaaak!”
Kwakagagagag-!
Viner’s desperate scream echoed as she was buried under the bone blades.
“Humans die from that! As expected of cockroaches, your vitality is different.”
Elena, turning her back with an air of superiority, grumbled as she approached.
Then, she went to Merin and stroked her head.
“You were worried about me? Oh my, how thoughtful.”
Saying that, Elena glared at Hardin.
“It seems you didn’t worry about me at all.”
“Do I have a reason to waste my mental energy worrying about you?”
“Oh my, look at how you talk?”
Elena, who had a displeased expression, faltered.
Crack-
Hardin’s body began to crack.
It wasn’t just Hardin.
Elena’s body was the same.
Both of them showed surprised expressions simultaneously.
*Pachin-*!
As if glass were breaking.
Fragments of their bodies scattered.
Along with that, Elena and Hardin shed their false world forms and revealed their true selves.
“What is this…?”
Hardin looked surprised.
Elena looked at Merin.
Merin was also disappearing into fragments of light.
‘A phenomenon similar to when we conquered the hero’s world.’
But it was clearly different.
“Kikikikiki.”
Then, a laugh was heard.
Elena glanced at Viner.
“You lowly beings… How dare you be so arrogant until now?”
“Weren’t you the one who was arrogant without knowing your place?”
“You bitch, I’ll kill you!”
Seeing Elena, who didn’t back down an inch and kept sneering, Viner’s eyes reddened.
But soon, she smirked.
“Your arrogance ends now!”
Viner’s face was filled with delight.
“The God… the Great Calamity Flame awakens!”
*Hwaruruk-*!
Suddenly, black flames engulfed Viner’s body.
“Ah! I hear His voice…!”
Viner’s body trembled, and her eyes rolled back.
“Ahahahaha! Voice! I hear the voice! Kyahahahahaha!”
Seeing Viner bursting into mad laughter, Elena waved her hand.
*Kwadeuk-*!
Particles of light fell from the sky like a guillotine, severing Viner’s neck.
“Hahahahahahahahahaha!”
But Viner didn’t stop laughing madly.
“It seems… God refers to Erebus, doesn’t it?”
Elena narrowed her eyes.
“It seems so.”
Hardin, with a tense expression, unleashed his aura.
Creep- Creep-
Viner’s body twisted and began to grow.
“This is your true form.”
Elena clicked her tongue.
“Though you don’t seem sane.”
“Elena. We absolutely must conquer this dungeon.”
“Yes. It’s not just a matter of whether we conquer the world of a great hero or not.”
Elena unleashed her mana.
“It’s clearly deeply connected to the great calamity.”
***
Leo and Lunia noticed the anomaly when they were discussing Erebus.
“Leo… you!”
Lunia’s eyes widened as she saw Leo return to his original form.
Leo also frowned as he saw Lunia return to her original form.
‘What is it?’
He looked up at the sky.
The sky, full of starlight.
There was a crack in it.
As if the world had been conquered.
But it was different from a conquest.
Instead of bright light, a gloomy black light flickered in the cracked areas.
And that darkness was a color Leo knew all too well.
‘Erebus’s flame.’
The eternal flame of calamity.
Its color was too similar to the flames that had once burned this world.
‘There is… a fragment of Erebus in this world.’
Everything Fivga had said made sense.
‘It wasn’t referring to Tartarus or anything like that.’
Leo’s grip tightened.
‘It was referring to Erebus.’
An fated enmity that continued from his past life.
He could distinctly feel the presence of that terrifying being here.
The party leader also murmured, looking at Leo and Lunia.
“Who are you people!”
“What did you do to the princess!”
Some elves raised their voices.
Seeing that, Cid shouted,
“With what intentions did you invade on this joyous day!”
A human was in a place humans absolutely could not enter.
Moreover, to the residents of this world, Leo and Lunia would appear to be disguised as Akint and Princess Seijar.
In the face of this sudden situation, hostility arose among the elves.
Normally, this would be a failed conquest.
But now, that was irrelevant.
‘The world is breaking.’
A fragment of Kyle’s page flashed through Leo’s mind.
Like his own page, which was broken and left with only fragments.
The proof that Luna had existed in this world was disappearing.
What would happen if his friends’ pages were broken and disappeared like his own?
In this world where only the Hero Record proves a hero’s existence,
What would happen if all the pages disappeared?
‘Everything we achieved.’
Leo closed his eyes.
‘Our stories would be forgotten.’
It didn’t matter to him.
He was already forgotten.
But what about his friends?
The great heroes who tried to save the world with their own ideals?
Leo turned his gaze and looked at Luna, who was looking at him with wide eyes.
Luna’s eyes trembled at the fact that he wasn’t Akint.
That sight overlapped with her last memory.
Luna’s appearance, always smiling brightly.
But her eyes were trembling with anxiety.
This elf was always boastful but was also a strange elf who could be easily discouraged.
‘Hey…!’
‘Kyle….’
‘Don’t.’
‘If one of us has to live… you who carries Arion and Dwenno are the ones who should remain, right?’
‘Don’t do it! You damn woman!’
He screamed, spitting blood.
But that stubborn elf, as usual, didn’t listen to his words until the end.
‘This is for the best. If you were me, you would have done the same!’
‘No…! It’s not!’
‘I’m sorry for burdening you too.’
The friend who didn’t hesitate to save him, believing that if both were to die, the one carrying more should live.
The damn friend who apologized with a face that looked like she was about to cry at the end.
If all the pages disappear.
They would be forgotten, just like him.
Leo approached Luna.
Luna stepped back with a wary expression.
“Who are you? Where is Teacher Akint?”
“Luna.”
The world was already starting to break.
There was no time for conquest or anything else.
The page of the progenitor.
There was only one way to protect Luna’s story.
‘Eliminate the culprit who is destroying the world.’
In the past, 5000 years ago, even working together, they couldn’t defeat him.
But…
‘Now, we defeat him.’
Leo touched his bracelet.
*Hwaak-*!
Along with it, Folium appeared in Leo’s hand.
The noble staff that chose the great Elf King shone in Leo’s hand.
Seeing that, the elves gasped.
Luna also opened her eyes wide.
“It’s time to save the world again.”
“What?”
“I need your strength.”
Leo handed Folium to Luna.
*Flash-*!
An incomparably brighter light than when Leo held it emitted.
As if it had met its true owner.
Leo looked at the surprised Luna and said,
“Help me.”
*Ggwaak-*
Luna’s grip tightened on Folium.
A strange boy.
A human to be wary of.
But why?
Why was the voice calling her familiarly so desperately missed that it brought tears to her eyes?
Why did the smile that looked brightly at her seem so sad?
She didn’t know.
Unfathomable words.
But… Luna’s instinct told her.
To that plea for help…
“Yes.”
She had to say yes.