Book 1 Chapter 175
175
Click-
Leo returned to his dorm room and sat at his desk.
Before he knew it, the sun had set.
‘Is summer slowly coming to an end now?’
Feeling the cooler weather, Leo looked up at the moonlit sky.
Then, he took out an old journal from his pocket.
Swipe-
He carefully ran his hand over the leather cover.
From the moment he first met Lysinas.
He had often seen her writing in it every evening.
Leo took a deep breath and opened the journal.
He saw a blank page, just like the one he had seen in the forbidden library earlier, with nothing written on it.
Seeing this, Leo conjured mana at his fingertips.
A faint light emanated from the page, and Lysinas's neat handwriting appeared.
The journal began before she met Kyle.
More precisely, it started when the Age of Calamity began.
Flutter- Flutter-
‘These are all stories I heard from Lysinas a long time ago.’
Flutter-
Stories his friend had told him in the past came back to him.
Leo's hand, reminiscing about the conversations he had with his friend, paused.
[Today, I met the 'Surviving Hero.' As the rumors say, he's a guy with a terribly twisted personality. His abilities are definite, but how in the world am I supposed to fix this pessimistic personality? How am I supposed to lead this guy?]
‘This guy. He intended to drag me into the subjugation team from the beginning?’
Leo let out a hollow laugh.
He remembered his first meeting with Lysinas in Gadsron.
‘Our first meeting was at the mercenary guild.’
At the time, Lysinas was called "the Fool."
In a world full of despair, Lysinas, who boasted that she would subjugate Erebus, would not have seemed sane to the people of that time.
‘Because it was such a desperate era.’
A desperate time when people simply hoped that Erebus and Tartarus would not invade, spending each day as it came.
Kyle, too, was busy drinking at the mercenary guild as always.
‘You're Kyle, the Surviving Hero, aren't you?’
‘Then are you the lizard called the Fool? What do you want with me?’
‘You. Won't you become my comrade?’
He was surprised by the sudden offer.
At that time, the 'Surviving Hero' was a symbol of misfortune.
No one wanted to form a party with Kyle.
A hand was extended to him, who was used to being alone.
But for Kyle, Lysinas's offer was not welcome.
‘Sorry, but I refuse. I don't have a hobby of suicide.’
“Our first meeting was the worst.”
Even after that, Lysinas persistently sought out Kyle for several weeks.
The sporadically written journal was recorded daily during that period.
‘She cursed me out a lot. Well, I guess it couldn't be helped. I was so prickly.’
Slurp- Leo savored the memories of that time, even as he licked his lips.
Lysinas could have given up, but she didn't.
Then, one day.
Tartarus launched a massive invasion of Gadsron.
To defend against the invasion, Kyle and Lysinas formed a party for the first time.
And on the plain piled with corpses, Lysinas said.
“No matter how I think about it, my choice wasn’t wrong.”
Lysinas looked up at the gray sky and said.
“It really can only be you, Kyle.”
Lysinas smiled brightly.
Kyle saw an inexplicable light in that smile.
“You are the beginning.”
A fair, delicate hand, extended countless times without giving up.
“Come with me, Kyle. I need you.”
A world filled only with despair.
In that world, Lysinas smiling so hopefully initially bothered him.
At that time, Kyle was no different from others.
The destruction of the world was not far off.
It was a time when he spent his days in debauchery, merely trying to live as happily as possible today, endlessly plummeting.
Perhaps it was natural for Lysinas to bother him.
If Kyle was stepping towards darkness… Lysinas was stepping towards light.
“Why me?”
“Because you are strong. You will survive to the end, and.”
“And?”
“Even if you've given up and despaired, your eyes are still alive.”
Lysinas smiled gently.
“You're shining in the darkness.”
It was the first time in his life.
The moment someone looked so noble.
“What you wish for is too foolish a prayer. It’s impossible.”
But until the very end, Kyle denied Lysinas's earnest wish.
But even with such denial, this foolish woman remained constant.
“You’re right, Kyle. My earnest wish is too foolish.”
Without withdrawing the hand she offered, she said.
“But Kyle. We will save the world.”
That unyielding heart.
That consistently noble appearance.
“Let's go together. You won't have to see your comrades dying before your eyes anymore. Because I'm strong too.”
She saved Kyle.
At the moment he took her extended hand, Kyle had thought.
He wanted to make this incredibly foolish wish come true.
[Finally, this goddamn disobedient guy has joined the subjugation team. He's such a stubbornly disobedient one. But still, now he's taken one step forward. This meeting will surely change the fate of the world.]
The journal continued after that.
The day Luna joined.
The day Arion joined.
And the day Dwayno was gathered as well.
The subjugation team took shape.
And as Lysinas had boasted, the world began to regain its light.
[Tomorrow, the final expedition begins. All preparations are complete. We've done everything we can. Now, only the subjugation of Erebus remains. May my ideals be realized.]
With that, the journal ended.
Lysinas left this journal behind on the final expedition.
Leo, who had read through the journal, quickly flipped through the blank pages.
Then, he paused at the last page.
[To Kyle]
Leo held his breath.
It was clearly a letter Lysinas had written to Kyle.
‘This is a letter Lysinas left for her comrades… The fact that a letter left for me appeared must be due to its reaction to my mana.’
He took a deep breath before reading his friend's letter and turned the page.
[If you, not I, are reading this letter… it means the world has been saved, but I died on the final expedition.]
Squeeze-
Leo's hand tightened.
[You're a twisted character. You're always sarcastic and cursing. Honestly, there were many times I really wanted to punch you hard in the solar plexus, but I always held back.]
‘…No. What about all those dropkicks you aimed at my solar plexus? Is that not counted because it wasn't a punch, or what?’
He let out a hollow laugh, yet continued reading the letter.
[But… my choice wasn't wrong. If you are reading this letter, it's because you were there that the world could be saved.]
“…I couldn't do anything alone.”
He denied Lysinas's words.
[Kyle. Thank you for following me on my reckless expedition.
And I'm sorry.
I wished you wouldn't become the Surviving Hero.
But in the end, I ended up showing you a friend dying.
I promised that wouldn't happen… I'm so sorry I couldn't keep it.
So, I hope your future is happy. No longer left alone.
I hope you are no longer the one who survives alone.
It was a pleasure to be with you.
If the world becomes peaceful… I truly hope you find happiness, Kyle.]
Drip- Drip-
[May blessings be upon you as you begin a new era. Lysinas.]
The contents of the letter looked blurry.
Tears, which had begun to stream down his cheeks, now soaked the letter's contents.
“You damn lizard… You said you wouldn't show me yourself dying…”
He had never turned away from the death of his comrades.
Nor had he overcome or conquered it.
He simply thought he had become stoic.
But the tears wouldn't stop.
How could he not shed tears at a letter from a friend who worried about him even after death?
Recalling his unkind comrade who had left first, Leo composed himself.
[P.S. I really didn't want to say this much? But I just can't hold it in.]
And reading the words at the bottom of the page, he turned the page with a puzzled expression.
[Bastard. Idiot. Moron. Don't breathe. Go die. Stick your nose in water and die.]
Leo's face instantly took on a dumbfounded expression at the insults and curses, written so large they filled the page and completely shattered the emotional atmosphere.
Unlike the neat handwriting, it was very frantic.
“No, what in the world suddenly…”
Feeling his tears stop, he turned the page with a bewildered face.
[I liked you. You never knew until the end, did you?]
“…”
Leo blinked, seeing Lysinas's final words.
And he pondered the words over and over again.
Still, he didn't understand.
‘So. This is a letter written by Lysinas, so I am Lysinas. And this letter was written to be seen only by me, so 'you' means me, right? Then 'I liked you' means Lysinas liked me?’
“Huh?”
Leo made an uncharacteristic dumb sound and leaned his face close to the journal.
“Huuuh?”
Still with a foolish look, he looked at the journal from a distance, then finally understood the content, and let out a shriek of astonishment, his face flushed red.
“WHAT THE HELL!!!”
***
Whoosh-
A wind mixed with a foul stench blew.
It was the smell of corpses.
Perhaps a normal creature would have suffocated and died from the toxicity and smell the moment it caught a whiff.
This was indeed the most horrific place on earth.
It was the headquarters of the Grand Commander of Tartarus, the Necromancer King.
“Long time no see, Hell Kaiser.”
At the words of the Monster Queen, Shilathuna, the Necromancer King Hell Kaiser curled up the corners of his mouth.
“Has it been 100 years?”
For humans, it was a long time, a generation.
But for monsters who had lived for thousands of years, it wasn't that long.
“I heard all about what happened in Lumern this time. It seems you've lost all your subordinates.”
“Not just subordinates. The Curse King was completely annihilated too.”
Shilathuna crossed her arms.
“We brought him 'out' with quite a lot of sacrifice, you know.”
Shilathuna's plan to resurrect the Curse King.
It had all fallen apart because of this incident.
Thanks to that, everything they had infiltrated into Lumern for a long time was lost.
“I'm in such a bad mood, I was just thinking of destroying a country or something.”
“Which country?”
“What was the name of that brat, All-Class or whatever? Leo Flobe? His country is a small kingdom on the frontier, I hear.”
Shilathuna said, as if trampling a passing ant.
“I was thinking of crushing that country.”
“That place is a frontier, but it's in front of the Rodren Empire. It's not a place you can just lightly attack.”
“But I'm bored.”
Legion Commanders.
They were terrifying monsters who, if they set their minds to it, could destroy a small kingdom overnight.
At Shilathuna's words, the Necromancer King said.
“There's still a lot lacking to run wild as you please, Shilathuna. It's been a long time since we started raising our successor Legion Commanders.”
“Yes, you're right. We raised them well 3000 years ago, but they were subjugated by those damn things.”
Annoyance flickered across Shilathuna's face.
At that time, when the Seven Legion Commanders were subjugated, the power of the terrestrial races was also half destroyed.
But in terms of the level of damage, Tartarus suffered even greater losses.
“After that, repeated subjugations… In the end, we're just treading water.”
To the terrestrial races, 'Legion Commander' means terrifying fear.
But from the perspective of the Necromancer King and the Monster Queen, they are still mere brats.
“So, recently, I conducted an experiment.”
“What kind?”
“To 'bring out' our old comrades.”
“Isn't that impossible?”
“Our god's power is growing stronger and stronger.”
Hell Kaiser bared his teeth and laughed.
As crimson-black eyes gleamed, a skull was revealed.
A white skull, with an appearance as if large rubies were embedded in it.
“In that case, it's not impossible. Of course, a complete state would be impossible, but.”
“It might be worth a try. So, how far has that plan progressed?”
At Shilathuna's question, Hell Kaiser clicked- clicked- clicked- and laughed.
“Soon.”