Book 1 Chapter 171
171
“Do you know me?”
“I know you very well.”
Shilatoona crossed her arms, watching Leo reply with a scoff.
Shilatoona asked in a voice filled with clear derision.
“Now that I think about it, a while ago in Rumeria City, the wizard of the Evil Eye defeated another one of my fragments. Were you there then?”
Shilatoona let out a chilling cackle and said.
“But wasn’t seeing me briefly then the extent of it? What exactly is our relationship?”
“A very beautiful relationship.”
Thump- thump-
Leo walked right up to Shilatoona.
“You, including the Legion Commanders, and even Erebus. I’m going to rip you all to shreds.”
“Oh my. You’re such a cocky brat, you don’t know your place.”
Shilatoona let out a loud laugh.
“Do you think you’re something just because you’re an All-Class and a little well-known? You’re just one of those insignificant bugs…”
Thwack-!
Crunch-!
Leo kicked Shilatoona’s shin without hesitation.
Thud-
Shilatoona lost her balance as her shin broke and she fell to her knees.
If it had been Shilatoona’s fragment in its complete state, Leo wouldn’t have been able to face her so carelessly either.
But this fragment of Shilatoona was one on the verge of annihilation, driven there by the Sword Saint.
Being in a greatly weakened state, she posed no threat to Leo.
“How crude.”
Shilatoona frowned and looked up at Leo.
“How dare a first-year brat treat me like this…”
Shilatoona, who had been speaking, paused.
Then her face hardened.
She felt something strange in Leo’s gaze, looking down at her.
Monster Queen Shilatoona.
A Legion Commander of Tartarus who had reigned as a terrifying calamity since before the Age of Calamity.
Undoubtedly, countless heroes had feared Shilatoona for thousands of years.
Great figures who left their names in history had tried to subjugate Shilatoona, but not a single one had ever succeeded.
No, rather, Shilatoona was the one who hunted heroes.
Hero Devourer.
Another epithet of the Monster Queen.
The Necromancer King, who possessed the greatest power among the Legion Commanders but was insidious and never came to the forefront.
The Giant King, who possessed power equal to Shilatoona but was cautious.
Unlike those two Legion Commanders, the Monster Queen was impulsive and cruel.
She had come to the forefront and devoured countless heroes.
By now, it was Shilatoona who reigned as a more terrifying entity than even the Necromancer King and the Giant King.
Leo’s gaze upon Shilatoona was different from others.
‘Is this… the gaze of a first-year brat?’
The emotions of hatred and rage in his eyes were no different from others.
Normally, Shilatoona would have scoffed.
But she couldn’t do that to Leo.
Leo’s gaze upon Shilatoona was clearly the gaze of someone looking at prey.
It was exactly like how Shilatoona had looked at the heroes she had devoured all this time.
Shilatoona felt a shiver run down her spine.
‘What is this brat?’
Hatred and rage welled up from deep within her heart.
Along with an ominous feeling that swept over her.
“A mere human.”
A murderous aura flickered in Shilatoona’s voice.
“Don’t you dare, a mere human, look at me with such insolent eyes…”
Crunch-!
Leo’s sword was thrust into Shilatoona’s mouth.
“Stop barking. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Shilatoona’s eyes flickered with murderous intent as she clutched her mouth with both hands, blood gushing out.
Her broken knee had healed.
As Shilatoona tried to stand, Leo kicked her other knee this time.
Crunch-!
“Kneel.”
Thud-!
Shilatoona, losing her balance, fell forward this time.
Gurgle- Gurgle- Blood poured from her mouth.
Stomp-!
Leo stomped on Shilatoona’s head with his foot.
Shilatoona’s body trembled.
She felt immense humiliation, but that wasn’t why her body was trembling.
From the depths of distant memory.
A scene flashed into her mind.
At that time, Shilatoona was trembling in fear.
A being that made even the terrifying Legion Commander tremble.
At that time, she had boldly stepped forward to eliminate the greatest formidable foe, the last remaining person.
Shilatoona had to face terror and despair.
That time was just like now.
‘No way… no way…’
Stomp-!
Shilatoona put strength into her arms and head.
Pushing away Leo’s foot that was pressing down on her head, she barely managed to lift her head.
Leo took a few steps back.
‘It can’t be. It’s impossible.’
Shilatoona, with her head raised, stared directly into Leo’s eyes.
For a moment.
She had the illusion that the scenery had changed.
A gloomy, ashen sky.
A world hurtling towards destruction.
It was a scenery she had longed for, but it was also the most terrifying scenery for Shilatoona.
In front of the kneeling Monster Queen stood a human.
The great hero, Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings, looking down at her with cold eyes.
Whoosh-!
She instantly awoke from that hallucination.
“It’s… impossible.”
Shilatoona’s body trembled.
The terrifying Hero of Beginnings and the brat in front of her were overlapping now.
She denied the situation that came to her mind.
But as if mocking her denial, Leo curled the corners of his lips at Shilatoona’s words.
“Ky…le!”
Leo said, watching Shilatoona utter that name as if spitting it out.
“This time, not a single one will be left.”
Crunch-!
“Gasp?”
Leo’s sword was plunged into Shilatoona’s chest.
Splurt-!
Leo then mercilessly swung his sword upwards, brutally slicing Shilatoona’s upper body.
Swoosh-!
Shilatoona’s body turned into black dust and scattered.
She met her annihilation.
A fragment annihilated in this way cannot transmit the current situation to the main body.
Shilatoona’s body crumbled.
“Heh- heh-!”
Shilatoona’s shoulders convulsed.
“Kih-hee-hee-hee! Kih-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
The fragment of Shilatoona, annihilating amidst mad laughter, spoke in a voice filled with madness.
“It’s you! Kyle! So? What can you do alone?!”
Clutching her head and convulsing, she burst into mad laughter.
“Who is by your side? Arion, who was always afraid? Dweno, who only made clumsy garbage? Luna, the detestable braggart? Or Lysinas, who was incredibly foolish? Who exactly is there? You alone, you’ll subjugate us! The great primordial flame?! You dream big! Kih-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Whoosh-!
Turning into black dust and disappearing, Shilatoona mocked Leo.
“You can do nothing! You’ll just watch the world you barely saved with your finger in your mouth burn again! Kyle, Hero of Beginnings!”
Flash-!
Shilatoona’s eyes gleamed.
“You, too, will ultimately fail just like your companions! You will die in despair! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
With an annoyed expression, Leo stomped on Shilatoona’s head as she uttered curses.
Crunch-!
Her head shattered like porcelain.
Hiss-!
Shilatoona, with only her mouth remaining, sneered.
“I look forward to that time. Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo.”
Swoosh-!
Looking down at Shilatoona, who vanished as if disappearing without a trace, Leo muttered.
“Alone…”
“Leo?!”
“Hey! What are you doing there?”
Someone’s urgent voice was heard from afar.
Celia and Chloe were seen approaching.
“Are you okay?”
Leo nodded at Chloe’s urgent question.
“I’m fine. How about you two?”
“Of course, I’m perfectly fine.”
Celia replied confidently.
“The demon race has mostly been dealt with too.”
“Right.”
“…? Is something wrong?”
Leo chuckled, looking at Chloe who asked with a puzzled expression.
“No, nothing.”
Leo reached out and ruffled Chloe’s hair.
“I just feel reassured.”
Having said that, Leo walked forward.
Watching his retreating figure, Celia, with her arms crossed, tilted her head.
“Why is he suddenly like that?”
Then, seeing Chloe, whose face was red and whose mouth was agape, she said.
“Chloe.”
“Uh, uh, yes!”
“Lucky you, huh?”
Seeing her friend teasing her, Chloe lightly hit Celia’s shoulder, then fanned her face.
‘I’m not alone.’
Leo muttered, looking at the scenery of Rumerin.
‘I have new companions, and…’
Leo clenched and unclenched his fist.
‘My bond with them hasn’t been severed either.’
The knowledge his friends had passed on.
And the power his friends had left behind remained in the form of Hero Records.
‘You’re still afraid.’
Leo clenched his fist.
‘Of the great heroes who disappeared long ago, and of the great heroes who will be born again someday.’
***
The Tartarus raid on Rumerin.
This incident, in essence, brought about an enormous ripple effect.
And the fact that the invaders were people from the Three Great Class Academies also shook the world.
“Many countries must be in trouble.”
Kal clicked his tongue.
“They politically pressured Rumerin over various incidents in the first semester, and now they’re on the receiving end.”
From the perspective of the powerful in other countries who had pressured Rumerin, not trusting it to be threatened by Tartarus, it was tantamount to giving Rumerin an excuse to refuse.
Chelsea made a bored expression at Kal’s words.
“Well, Rumerin won’t use this as a political or diplomatic card. Rumerin was neutral from the start, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right. Still, don’t you think they’ll tell them to stop whining?”
Flap-!
Kal chuckled, closing the newspaper.
“By the way, I’m once again amazed by the Principal’s power.”
Kalian’s sword strike, which split the sky with a single blow, was enough to shock everyone.
The Sword Saint’s reputation was famous.
His achievements were also called living legends.
But even so, he had long since retired from the front lines, so none of the people nowadays had directly experienced the Sword Saint’s power.
However, in this incident, he revealed his true nature.
“How is that possible with a sword?”
As Kal muttered in disbelief, Chelsea crossed her arms.
“Hmm! I don’t even know if my father could do that even if he used magic with maximum mana.”
Besides Kal and Chelsea, other students were also buzzing about the Principal.
Just then, Illiana entered the classroom with a tearful face.
“What’s wrong? Why the long face?”
Illiana drooped her shoulders at Chelsea’s question.
“The midterm exam period has been posted on the grade bulletin board.”
Hearing that, groans erupted from various places.
Kal clutched his head.
The students of Class 5 also wore gloomy expressions.
Seeing them, Leo said.
“You knew the exam period was coming soon, so why the reactions?”
“Right, right.”
Chelsea agreed with Leo.
“Yeah, you guys are honor students, right?”
“Lucky you! You honor students! Teach me your study secrets!”
“We couldn’t study properly because of the joint classes!”
As Illiana shouted as their representative, Tate said with a bored expression.
“You don’t study even without joint classes anyway…”
“Is this insolent mouth the one that fearlessly strikes with facts?!”
“Let go of me!”
Tate shook off Illiana, who was grabbing and pulling his mouth.
Looking at the classroom, which was starting to get noisy, Chelsea said.
“Still, this midterm exam is a bit better, isn’t it? The practical component has more weight than the written one.”
At her words, Kal placed his interlaced hands on the back of his head.
“True. This midterm exam’s ‘duel evaluation’ accounts for the largest score.”
“Right. You get high points even if you lose. It’s literally a duel evaluation, so how you fight is important.”
“I hear this duel evaluation is random, but you can also ‘challenge’ a specific opponent…”
Creeeeak-!
Before Kal could finish his sentence, the door burst open roughly.
Everyone’s gaze turned to the person who opened the door and entered.
It was none other than Duran.
Thump- thump-
Duran approached Leo.
“Leo Flobe.”
“Why?”
“You must have heard about this duel evaluation?”
Duran’s golden eyes gleamed.
“This time, I will clearly prove who is the best.”
“Don’t you ever get tired?”
Chelsea said with a crooked expression.
“Quiet, Chelsea Ruewalyn.”
“Hmph!”
It was a moment when Duran and Chelsea were having their usual staring contest.
Just then, it suddenly started to get noisy outside.
The Class 5 students, who poked their heads out with puzzled expressions, were startled.
“Wait! Why is that person in the first-year classroom building?”
“Wow! Amazing! He’s handsome!”
Exclamations erupted from everywhere.
A moment later, a young man entered the Class 5 door.
The entire Class 5 held their breath.
He was a very famous student.
Thump- thump-
“Leo.”
“Brother Rhys.”
Student Council President Rhys Zerdinger stood in front of Leo.
Rhys smiled faintly at Leo.
“Shall we talk for a bit?”