Book 1 Chapter 168
“What is it?”
“Is that bastard crazy?”
The sudden, unexpected situation caused bewildered expressions around them.
“Even so, isn’t he going too wild, too openly?”
As Leo’s lips curled upwards, the male student grinned.
“It doesn’t matter. At the very least, I intend to kill all the brats in this area, including you.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
*Fwoosh-!*
Leo summoned his aura.
Seeing the crimson aura burning like flames, the male student grinned and reached out into the air.
*Goooooo-!*
The space ripped open as if it were splitting.
A black space opened, and a 검붉은 greatsword shot out from it.
Leo’s eyes twitched upon seeing it.
‘Cursed sword? A melee demon?’
“Let’s see what you’ve got?!”
The demon, letting out a roar, swung the greatsword.
*Whooooooosh! Kwagagagagak-!*
A vortex of 검붉은 sword energy swirled.
The attack, which devastated the surrounding area, flew towards Leo.
Seeing it, Leo threw himself forward.
*Kwaaang-!*
Leo pushed back the vortex of sword energy with his fiery aura.
But the demon’s aura tore Leo’s flames to shreds.
Leo threw himself forward.
*Tak-*
*Kwagagagak-!*
The 검붉은 vortex destroyed the spot where Leo had been and then dissipated.
“Hmph. I expected more from an All-Class, or whatever. You’re nothing special.”
Hearing the demon’s words, Leo gripped his sword.
‘A demon of this level is causing trouble in Lumern?’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
The demon before him was strong.
But that was only by Lumern’s first-year standards.
It didn’t make sense for Lumern to be attacked by a demon of this level.
At that moment.
*Kwaang-!*
A loud explosion echoed from the cafeteria.
The students, who had been in disarray due to the sudden situation, looked towards the cafeteria with surprised expressions.
“Wh-what in the world!”
“What’s happening?”
As the students reacted with shock to the sudden event.
*Pajijijik-!*
The sound of intense sparks crackling was heard.
And with it.
*Pababababa-! Kwagaga-!*
“Kuaaak!”
Golden lightning struck from the sky.
The demon, which had been targeting Leo, let out a scream of pain.
“You’re really asking for death. To be running wild in the middle of Lumern at this level.”
*Hwak-!*
Duran landed from the sky with a cold smile.
Along with him, several students from Duran’s faction prepared for battle by Duran’s side.
“Kekekek.”
The demon, writhing in pain, soon flashed its eyes at Duran.
“Duran Moira, I don’t have time to deal with you. My target is Leo Flove, the first-year class representative.”
Duran’s eyes twitched.
“Hmph, insolent. You intend to aim for Leo Flove over me?”
Duran’s lips twisted.
Sparks crackled from his golden eyes.
The surrounding students flinched.
“Oops!”
“Get away! He’s angry!”
As the students clamored and hastily spread out, the demon reached out into the air.
*Jijijijijijik-! Cheok-! Cheok-! Cheok-!*
Space opened in the air, and troops armed with armor and weapons began to emerge.
The students were shocked to see this.
“Spatial movement shouldn’t be possible within Lumern!?”
“How in the world did you bring in troops!?”
Everyone was shocked by the fact that the demon before them wasn’t just acting alone.
‘They weren’t summoned from outside. All these troops are this guy’s subordinates.’
Leo, frowning, carefully observed the troops summoned by the demon.
‘Corpses.’
Someone who could use corpses to launch a large-scale invasion of Lumern.
A monster flashed through Leo’s mind.
‘Necromancer King Hell Kaiser?’
But he shook his head.
The Necromancer King was cunning and adept at secret schemes.
‘No. Such a brute-force method isn’t his style.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘It’s more like something a demon queen would do.’
He thought of a reckless and brutal monster.
Whatever it was, the demon before him wasn’t a subordinate of the Necromancer King or the Demon Queen.
The aura of either of the two legion commanders was completely absent.
Crucially, it wasn’t necromancy that was animating the corpses.
‘Then what is it?’
Leo frowned.
“Prepare yourself! Leo Flove!”
The demon, having handed Duran over to his subordinates, attacked with a sinister laugh.
Leo blocked the greatsword swung at his neck.
*Jjeoong-! Kawk-!*
With a sharp sound, Leo’s feet sank deeply into the ground.
As they clashed swords, Leo narrowed his eyes and tried to push the opponent away.
*Pajijijik-!*
“You’re quite bold to be distracted by someone else.”
Duran, breaking through the troops, sneered coldly and aimed for the demon’s back.
In an instant, the demon hurriedly distanced itself from Leo.
*Kwagagagak-!*
Golden aura filled the air.
*Tatak-!*
Duran, landing lightly, looked at the demon with glowing eyes.
“What did you do to my troops?”
“You mean those trash?”
Duran sneered and gestured with his chin towards the troops summoned by the demon.
There, charred and crushed by lightning, lay corpses.
“Duran. There are attacks by demons elsewhere too.”
“I know.”
Duran’s lips curled upwards.
“So you go take care of the others. This one is my prey.”
“Are you sure?”
The demon before them was by no means an easy opponent.
“Huh?”
Duran looked incredulous.
“Who do you think I am, Leo Flove?”
Duran’s lips curled upwards.
*Pajijijik-!*
Lightning aura surged from Duran’s body.
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
At Duran’s words, Leo threw himself forward.
“Him!”
The demon urgently tried to pursue Leo.
*Pajijijik!*
But a wall of golden lightning blocked his path.
“It’s not the time to be distracted, is it?”
Duran said in a cold voice.
“I’ll make you regret crawling into Lumern.”
***
The area around the first-year dormitory was literally in chaos.
Demons suddenly began to appear.
They all summoned countless corpses and targeted students.
Each time, skilled students quickly responded to the sudden demonic attacks.
The students of the three major academies suffered the most damage.
Unlike Lumern students, they couldn’t respond quickly to the sudden situation.
The difference between hero candidates and other students was starkly revealed.
‘Are only the places with first-years being attacked?’
Leo’s face hardened, and he summoned his spirit energy.
*Uuung-!*
A summoning circle opened, and Atti appeared.
[What is it, Master?]
Leo quickly climbed onto Atti’s back and pulled on the reins.
“As high as possible!”
*Hwak-!*
At that moment, Atti soared into the sky at incredible speed.
*Hwak-!*
Leo, who had risen to a height where he could see all of Lumern, opened his eyes wide.
It wasn’t just the first-year area.
All of Lumern was under attack.
‘What is it? Why are they attacking so recklessly?’
Leo calmly assessed the situation.
Lumern was clearly thrown into confusion by the sudden attack.
But that was only due to the surprise element of the sudden attack.
If they recovered and counterattacked, they would undoubtedly be wiped out in an instant.
This was the stronghold of hero candidates.
There were even those with hero-level strength.
‘Attacking Lumern won’t inflict significant damage and will only be a waste of resources. Why on earth?’
No matter how crude Silatuna was, they wouldn’t launch such a reckless attack.
‘If they were this reckless, they could have been annihilated long ago.’
Something flashed through Leo’s mind as his expression hardened.
‘The Hall of Heroes.’
Leo pulled on the reins.
‘Whatever their scheme is, they plan to do something at the Hall of Heroes.’
*Hwak-!*
Leo quickly flew towards Lumern’s Grand Library.
***
On the top floor of the Hero Tower.
Kalian and Riben, in the principal’s office, noticed the school’s anomaly faster than anyone else.
Kalian, sitting at his desk, stood up.
Riben also moved quickly towards the principal’s office window.
*Uuung-!*
Suddenly, dark magic enveloped the principal’s office, causing Kalian and Riben’s eyes to twitch.
‘Curse of Isolation?’
Kalian and Riben simultaneously turned their heads towards the principal’s office door due to the sudden, powerful curse.
*Kiiik-!*
The door opened, and the principal’s secretary, Elena, appeared.
“As expected. Closer than I thought.”
Riben sighed deeply, and Elena smiled.
“How was my acting? Wasn’t it perfect?”
“Where is the real Elena?”
“She’s right here.”
She pointed to her stomach with her finger.
“In my belly, for a long time.”
Seeing Elena, whose speech had also changed, Riben unleashed his magic.
*Kwaduk-!*
In an instant, the demon’s head flew into the air.
“As expected, lizards have no affection. After living so close, you’re still so ruthless.”
The demon’s head, floating in the air, burst into laughter.
Riben, without any change in his expression, spread his hand.
Thin, long lines of magic appeared around the demon.
*Kwak-!*
As Riben clenched his fist, the magic threads began to bunch up like yarn.
*Kwajik-!*
Blood and flesh splattered between the magic threads.
Seeing the demon crushed without a trace, Riben retracted his magic.
*Cheolpeok-!*
A grotesque chunk of flesh fell to the floor.
*Chiiiiiiiiiik-!*
The principal’s office floor melted, and powerful venom emanated.
*Kwitl-!*
However, the flesh and blood began to clump together, reforming into a human shape.
Riben narrowed his brows upon seeing this.
‘Incredible recovery speed. With this recovery speed…’
“Are you a legion commander?”
The demon, whose lower face had recovered, smiled deeply at the question.
“Correct. Kihhiik.”
With a chilling laugh, the chunk of flesh took shape.
*Kkumu-kkumu- Kwaduk-!*
“Shall I introduce myself? Kikik-”
The woman, whose face had formed, wore a crazed expression.
“My name is Silatuna.”
At those words, Riben’s face stiffened.
“The existence you fear so much, the Demon Queen.”
***
*Teobeok- Teobeok-*
The Grand Library was deathly quiet.
It had to be.
The sudden invasion of Tartarus.
Never in Lumern’s history had the school been attacked by Tartarus.
It was natural that all attention was focused on eliminating the invaders of this unprecedented event.
‘The most troublesome Sword Saint and Dragon will be dealt with by Silatuna.’
Of course, they wouldn’t be able to hold out for that long.
The three legion commanders currently leading Tartarus.
The Demon Queen, the Necromancer King, and the Giant King.
Even as legion commanders, they were terrifyingly powerful monsters compared to those born after the Age of Calamity.
But even so, they were merely ‘fragments.’
It was difficult to stop the Sword Saint, who had once defeated a legion commander, with just a fragment.
‘Still, a little time is enough!’
As long as they could infiltrate before anyone realized Tartarus was targeting the Hall of Heroes.
‘If I just get my hands on that hateful sword…! I will again! Again!’
His 검붉은 eyes flashed.
With eyes filled with exhilaration, he reached out towards the door of the Hall of Heroes.
*Hwi-i-i-ik-! Kwak!*
“……!”
A sword enveloped in gray aura flew and pierced the back of his hand.
“As expected, you were targeting this place.”
A cold voice was heard.
“My senses haven’t dulled either. Judging by the fact that I can still predict your patterns of action.”
Turning his head, a boy with white hair curled his lips upwards.
“Or perhaps you haven’t improved at all?”