Book 1 Chapter 205

The atmosphere inside Seirune's grounds was grim.

It couldn't be helped.

Everyone here was a civilian.

Their hearts fluttered with tales of admiration for heroes, but they were not heroes.

They weren't even hero candidates.

Even the Tartarus Legion Commanders were distant beings, only encountered in stories.

For such people, the news that a Tartarus Legion Commander had invaded Seirune could only evoke great fear.

"Is the Warp Gate ready yet!"

"Let us escape from here quickly!"

"Damn it! I wasn't coming to watch this Luce battle!"

People in panic, causing a commotion everywhere.

"Great Nebula's Progenitor, defeat the evil and save us."

"Watch over the heroes fighting our enemies."

Or those quietly praying to the Great Heroes.

Those holding their breath, paying attention to the sounds outside.

"The heroes will take care of it!"

"That's right! That's right!"

Children clenched their fists and spoke of hope.

Meanwhile, Lunia approached those clamoring to activate the Warp Gate.

"Please calm down, you are making many people anxious!"

"Who are you?"

"I am Lunia El Lundia, the representative of Seirune's first-year students."

Lunia spoke to the humans in a firm voice.

Seeing Lunia, a human spectator contorted his face.

"Seirune's first-year representative? Then you must be a formidable talent."

"I am not a formidable talent. I am lacking, but I barely maintain my position as the first-year representative."

"I don't care about that! If you're a hero candidate, then don't stay in a safe place like this with us, go out and fight!"

He, who appeared to be a human noble, shouted irritably.

Lunia said coldly, watching him.

"The mission for first and second-year students is to protect the people within the school grounds."

"Hmph! Are you scared and tucking your tail? You boast about being a hero candidate, but what are you? Are you on the same level as us?"

Lunia scowled, watching him mock her with a snicker.

'Should I smash him?'

"Oh? Looking at your face, you're going to hit me? Go on, hit me. I'm a special guest of Lumern and came to watch this Luce battle! I'll reveal that Seirune's year representative assaulted me in a crisis, so go ahead and hit me…"

*Thwack-!*

It was when Lunia was about to throw a hesitant punch.

A fist extended from behind her smashed into his face.

The man, who flew into the air, now fell to the ground miserably.

*Thud!*

"Kekeeeeeek!"

Lunia stared blankly at the human noble screaming while clutching his face.

Durin, who had punched Lunia, spoke to her.

"He is a guest from Lumern. If you touch him carelessly, it will become an diplomatic issue."

Durin looked at the blood on his hand with displeasure and reached out to the side.

"I'd like to borrow a handkerchief, Iliana Laden."

"Hey, I'm not your handmaiden, you know?"

Iliana, who was with Durin, grumbled but still readily lent him a handkerchief.

Durin wiped his hand with it and threw it at the man writhing in pain.

"Ah! Hey! Why are you throwing it away without asking? That's expensive!"

Iliana protested, and Durin scoffed.

"Forget it. Bringing back a handkerchief wiped with the blood of such a vulgar person will only lower one's dignity. I'll buy you a better one."

"Oh my. A prince, as expected, is something else?"

Iliana laughed happily, saying "Assa~".

"No, if they are your guests, then you shouldn't touch them either, right?"

Lunia asked in a dry voice, and Iliana shrugged her shoulders.

"Normally, I shouldn't."

"You shouldn't?"

"It's okay because it's Durin."

It was when Lunia wore an expression of disbelief.

"Eek! You! You're a Lumern student, aren't you? State your year and name! I'll report you to the board immediately…! No! No need to report! With our family's power…"

"Durin Moira. Is that answer enough?"

"Hah!"

The man, who had been shouting in excitement, turned pale.

Durin was not simply a student with the top rank in his year.

He was the prince of the Kingdom of Moira on the Central Continent.

Furthermore, he was close to being the Crown Prince, a likely successor to the throne.

Although the Kingdom of Moira was merely a Duchy, its reputation was comparable to that of any major power.

As a kingdom known for its knights, many renowned knights gathered under the banner of Moira.

Moira's army consisted of thousands of knights.

No matter how small its scale, its influence on the world was immense.

As such, he was a student whose position could absolutely not be trifled with, even if he were a distinguished guest of Lumern.

"Prince Durin! I apologize for my rudeness!"

As the man bowed his head deeply, Durin smiled coldly.

"If you have committed a transgression, you must pay the price, right?"

"Th-that!"

"Tell me the name of your esteemed family."

"Prince Durin! Please, forgive me!"

Lunia looked on with a curious expression at the man kneeling and begging.

The human who had been so arrogant moments ago was now kneeling to a boy much younger than him.

'I don't understand human power dynamics.'

Lunia, as an elf, found this sight very peculiar.

Meanwhile, Iliana sighed.

"Chloe was right, it was good to do a patrol."

Because so many Luce battle spectators had entered Seirune's grounds at once, the first and second-year students were busy calming people down.

During this time, Durin and Iliana were patrolling to ensure there were no troublemakers.

"Thank you for your help."

Once the situation was resolved, Lunia smiled and said.

Durin scoffed in response.

"I only silenced someone who was shaming his race. Gratitude is not needed."

At his reaction, Lunia cautiously asked Iliana.

"Is this person always this prickly?"

"Yeah. That's why sometimes I find him cute… Ouch ouch ouch!"

"We don't have time to dawdle here, let's go to the next location."

"Leave this… Ouch! Ouch!"

Durin dragged Iliana, who was flailing while having her ear grabbed, to the next location.

Lunia chuckled with a dry laugh, watching their retreating figures, and sat down.

'What's happening outside?'

Lunia's hands trembled slightly.

Although she had experienced many things for a first-year student, she couldn't help but be scared by this incident.

Many teachers were outside.

Senior students she was close to.

And her father was fighting for his life.

For heroes and hero candidates, this was natural.

But even so, she couldn't help but be scared and worried.

'Heroes aren't completely perfect beings.'

Lunia's eyes wavered.

Even Luna, who was praised as perfect, had a weak side.

There were no perfect heroes in this world as people spoke of.

Heroes would also be scared and want to run away.

But they would gather courage for what they carried.

'What would Leo have done in this situation?'

She was thinking of her friend, who dealt with any situation with composure.

*Rumble-rumble-rumble-*

Seirune's school building began to shake.

As the entire Seirune, shaped like a giant castle, shook, murmurs spread among the spectators.

'What in the world is happening?'

Lunia, who had sprung to her feet, wore a bewildered expression.

"Lunia! Evacuate the people to the deeper parts of the school!"

"What's happening?"

To the second-year senior's words, Lunia urgently asked.

The second-year student of Seirune looked at Lunia with a pale face and shouted.

"Another legion has invaded!"

***

The Hero Alliance noticed the anomaly about a minute after Rivend noticed a hole in the sky.

"What is that?"

"A hole?"

"When did that appear?"

The Hero Alliance wore bewildered expressions at the black hole in the sky.

"What in the world is that? It looks incredibly ominous,"

Hark grumbled, frowning.

"I agree, it's like…"

Elena, who was unleashing magic next to him, scowled.

"It looks like something monstrous will pop out."

Just then.

*Crack-*

As if tearing the hole in the sky.

A strangely shaped long arm stretched out and began to widen the hole in the sky with madness.

As if digging the ground.

The voraciously dug hole soon spat out the upper body of a strangely shaped monster.

Seeing that, the faces of the Hero Alliance were filled with shock.

"Wh-what is that!"

"Judging by its aura, it's a demon?"

"And not just any demon! A monster with the magic of a Legion Commander!"

The Hero Alliance fell into a panic at the appearance of another Legion Commander.

The upper body of that Legion Commander was covered in hard scales.

Judging by its appearance alone, it was reminiscent of a dragon.

Its face was similar.

But it was clearly different from a dragon.

Instead of the blunt, short legs of a dragon, it had long arms covered in deformed scales.

It also had a human-like upper body, though it resembled a hunchback.

The fangs revealed in its mouth looked sharp and merciless, as if they could crush anything.

Overall, it had the appearance of a giant dragonewt.

An appearance that instilled fear in those who saw it.

But what filled the Hero Alliance with terror the most was…

"Was there a Legion Commander like that?"

An elf hero muttered with a pale face.

Indeed.

The Legion Commander before them was literally an unknown, unidentified Legion Commander.

*Kiiiaaaaaaak!*

The Legion Commander, Zerdiac, roared with its mouth open.

*Chomp-*

Zerdiac, with its mouth wide open, unleashed a purple breath towards the wall created by Sedgen.

*Kiiiiiing! Qwagagagagagagagang-!*

The breath, arriving with immense speed, not only destroyed one side of Sedgen's wall but also evaporated Silatuna's army.

Silatuna scowled, seeing that.

'Is there no reason? It seems it didn't come to the current world in a complete state. Was this what it meant for the plan to be ruined?'

Hel Kaiser, who was going to greet his compatriot, entrusted the invasion of Seirune to Silatuna, saying the plan had gone awry.

The reason was likely that Hel Kaiser had predicted that Zerdiac would come to the current world as a destructive monster with only instincts left.

'Well, it doesn't matter.'

Whether his past compatriot was a monster with only destructive instincts left or not.

In any case, Zerdiac was a Legion Commander.

Its abilities were not gone.

'Isn't stupidity easier to handle?'

Silatuna's eyes gleamed.

'Wow, it actually succeeded.'

This was Hel Kaiser's plan.

To summon a past Legion Commander recorded in the Hero Record of the Great Hero.

'I knew the day would come when the hateful legacy of the gods would be of help to us.'

Joy appeared in Silatuna's eyes.

'With this, I can burn this hateful world.'

Silatuna's body trembled.

'We can fulfill the mission that the gods have given us!'

The world will burn.

The creatures on the ground will fall into despair.

Although the gods are still asleep, it will not be long.

5000 years ago.

The day will come when they return to those cherished times.

Silatuna was certain that the day to see the scenery of that time was not far off.

"Tremble in fear, you vermin! Lumern and Seirune will be destroyed, and the world will be engulfed in darkness once again!"

*Giweeeeeeerrrr!*

As if agreeing with Silatuna's words, Zerdiac also roared.

A Legion Commander in front, a Legion Commander behind, a situation of despair.

Despair appeared on the faces of the Hero Alliance.

"Benet."

Kalian called Benet calmly.

"You will lead Albi, Ellen, and Chade to stop that Legion Commander."

"What?"

Benet, the headmaster of Seirune, frowned and looked at Kalian.

"What about you and Rivend?"

"We will stop the Demon Queen."

*Swish-*

"It's impossible alone."

Albi said in a firm voice.

"I will not tolerate insubordination. This is an order."

Kalian smiled faintly.

"The greatest hope of our world right now is the young sprouts, Albi."

*Thump- thump-*

Kalian walked towards Silatuna.

"We have an obligation to pass on our era to the children who have not yet reached their time.

Kalian's sword pointed at Silatuna.

"This is also an obligation as someone who carries the era. So, don't worry about me and go."

"Headmaster."

Chade gritted his teeth.

"Let's go."

Albi said with a blank expression, and Chade let out a groan, leaving the battlefield.

Ellen also lowered her head and left. Finally, Benet said.

"I'm counting on you, Sword Saint."

As they left the front lines, Silatuna clicked his tongue.

"Ah, so it's just the two of you left. To face an old human and a dragon in the end. How boring."

Silatuna said with a nonchalant expression.

"You just said it yourself a moment ago. Sword Saint, stopping me is an obligation as one who carries the era. Yes, that's right. I've seen countless heroes who carried their eras. The great predecessors you speak of. So I can guarantee this."

A smirk formed on the Demon Queen's lips.

"You are the most pathetic hero among the heroes who carried their eras that I know of."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You're still being sarcastic to the end."

*Goooooo-*

A strange dark magic emanated from the Demon Queen's body.

"Still, I'll show you some courtesy. Heroes who are prepared to die are the most troublesome."

*Grind- crackle-*

Silatuna's form began to grow larger.

[I will crush your final moments most brutally.]

*Rumble-rumble-*

Kalian smiled, looking up at Silatuna, who revealed his ferocious true form.

'I wonder how long it's been.'

The Sword Saint smiled, despite facing impossible despair.

'Challenging the impossible.'