Book 1 Chapter 256

256

Wooooooooh-!

Melina gazed at the monster before her with eyes filled with despair.

The sky was turning black.

The world was burning.

The giant of despair, engulfed in black flames, roared towards the sky.

"This… is the primordial evil…"

Melina's jaw trembled.

The Dragon Lord, the greatest hero of the era, destined to be recorded as a great hero in history, was as terrified as a frightened girl.

The final chapter of the heroes of creation.

The Hero Record, which had consumed countless heroes over the past 3,000 years.

Yet, it was a global aspiration that had to be overcome someday.

Melina thought it was possible.

Her companions were magnificent.

They were highly regarded, even among the long history of heroes.

She herself was no different.

She was determined to accomplish the world's task and reclaim true peace.

And she challenged the specter of past calamities.

The result…

"Everyone…"

Melina's face contorted.

"Please… please… open your eyes…"

She pleaded in a faint voice.

She desperately called out to her companions, who had collapsed on the ground or vanished.

But there was no answer.

The gap was too great.

Fear and despair, unlike anything she had ever experienced, washed over Melina.

Wooooooooh-!

Fwoosh-!

Erebos raised his arm.

Black flames swirled.

The flames of disaster moved to burn Melina, the last one remaining.

Melina resigned herself and bowed her head.

KWA-GA-GANG-!

Flames swirled.

Then, Melina realized someone had stopped Erebos and raised her head.

Behind her stood a woman with pure white hair.

Melina's eyes widened.

The woman who turned around smiled at Melina.

She was an extremely famous figure.

Of course, Melina knew about her.

Her distant predecessor.

"Rodia… Madam?"

Melina was surprised by the appearance of the Dragon of Creation.

Splash- KWA-GA-GA-GANG-!

At that moment, a giant wave from the sky struck the ground.

Hiss-!

The water evaporated by the black flames, and thick steam billowed out.

GOOOOOOOH!

The giant wave soon became a waterspout, repelling the black flames.

Melina murmured as she saw the face of the beast-like woman at its center.

"Azonia-nim."

CRUNCH-!

From afar, a dwarf warrior bravely swung a giant axe and severed Erebos's arm.

Along with it, a human wielding a longsword swung his sword, carving a massive gash across Erebos's chest.

It was Demian and Lumern.

Finally, starlight adorned the sky.

Shards of starlight pierced Erebos's body.

Seirun.

Melina could not believe the situation with the appearance of the heroes of creation.

The final chapter of the heroes of creation was a world of possessed heroes.

Then how had they appeared?

"What's your name?"

"M-Melina, I am."

"Melina."

Rodia smiled gently.

"Blessings upon this meeting… and thanks to the King of Great Wisdom."

After offering a dragon's greeting, Rodia asked,

"Can you tell us how many years it has been since we sealed that damned ball of fire?"

"About 2900 years…"

"I see."

Rodia nodded.

She said with a gentle smile,

"Leave the rest to us."

"I'll fight too!"

As Melina eagerly stood up, Rodia reached out her hand.

Swish-!

Melina's eyes widened as Rodia's hand passed through her.

"You and your companions can no longer fight. You will be leaving soon."

Rodia smiled faintly.

"Th-that…"

Melina realized.

The reason why the heroes of creation had appeared in the world of possessed heroes.

They had failed.

And… those who had been repeating this fight endlessly for thousands of years had started fighting again.

Seeing Melina's despairing expression, Rodia, with wide eyes, smiled faintly.

"You haven't failed."

"Huh?"

"Yes. This is a strategic retreat. Like we did, you are still inexperienced, so you can become even stronger."

Rodia said, reassuring her distant descendant.

"I believe that someday, descendants will appear who will slay that damned ball of fire."

Despite the desperate situation, Rodia did not let go of the thread of hope.

"Someday, great heroes like those will appear and save the world once again. So, can you promise me?"

Rodia turned towards her companions fighting against Erebos and said,

"That you won't give up."

She could not answer.

Before she could answer, the world was engulfed in darkness.

Her companions, who had barely survived, were rendered useless, and others had not even left behind their corpses.

Before Melina, only the cold message of [攻略失敗] (攻略失敗 - Failed to Conquer) appeared.

***

"They succeeded in sealing Erebos within their Hero Records and weakening him by tearing the Hero Records… but Erebos himself tried to break the seal and come out."

Erebos is the nemesis of gods.

It was clear that he would eventually burn the Hero Record and return to the world.

"So, to stop Erebos, they entered their own world?"

"Yes."

Mel nodded.

The Erebos in the final chapter of the heroes of creation was truly 'real'.

"If you look at the records left by those who attempted to conquer the final chapter of creation and barely returned alive… it seems the heroes of creation are continuously repeating the process of sealing Erebos within the Hero Record."

"A loop?"

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. And with each repetition of the world, they seem to lose the memories of the previous conquest."

Leo's face stiffened.

Hero Records are divine artifacts.

And Erebos is the nemesis of gods.

If they directly entered the world where Erebos was imprisoned, it would not be strange for the Hero Record to go berserk.

'So they're trapped.'

And perhaps the heroes of creation had anticipated this.

"And now, the Hero Record that is sealing Erebos is starting to crack…"

"Yes."

Leo let out a deep sigh.

The more fire burns, the stronger it becomes.

'In the world of heroes, Erebos's fragments have burned for 3,000 years, increasing its power. Eventually, it is becoming too strong for the heroes of creation to handle.'

In the endless loop, there must have been countless instances where the heroes of creation were defeated.

It wasn't because the heroes of creation lacked power.

Erebos is an immortal being.

The greatest reason the great heroes could defeat Erebos was because of Kyle, who possessed characteristics similar to Erebos's nemesis.

"Within 100 years at most, Erebos will defeat the heroes of creation and emerge into the world. Therefore, heroes are needed to conquer the final chapter before then."

After failing to conquer the final chapter, Mel endlessly prepared for another attempt.

However, a second conquest did not occur in Mel's generation.

The companions who barely survived died soon after.

Later, a Sword Master appeared, but he was only one person.

Even in Kalian's generation, five heroes worthy of challenging did not emerge.

Having survived the final chapter, Mel knew better than anyone.

'In the final chapter of creation, mere luck doesn't work.'

What is needed is the power to defeat Erebos.

Mel worked tirelessly to achieve this.

And now…

"The target has been set."

At Leo's words, Mel smiled faintly.

The person who will put an end to the unseen threat is before them.

"Let's start now."

Leo's red eyes blazed with determination.

"Preparation for conquering the final chapter of creation."

"Yes."

The era was shifting.

***

Fwoosh!

The intermediate wind mythical beasts stirred the wind.

Leo's white hair soared into the sky.

Seeing this, Leo waved his hand lightly.

Fwoooooo-!

With a small whirlwind, a low-level wind spirit, a Sylph, appeared before Leo.

The Sylph circled around Leo and protected him from Shasha's attack.

"Kruugh!"

Shasha, having depleted all her spiritual energy, staggered and collapsed.

Gritting her teeth, Shasha turned her head.

"Senior Leo's friend! How much time is left?!"

"Geez, I have a name, you know? It's Kal. Junior?"

Kal grumbled, took out a watch from his pocket, checked it, and shrugged.

"There's about an hour left."

At Kal's words, Shasha stood up on trembling legs.

'I understand the problem clearly.'

Shasha gritted her teeth.

'I can't counter Senior Leo's spirit magic.'

Leo had not used various abilities since the five who had challenged him at the entrance exam remained, with most other challengers eliminated.

He only used Aura when facing Aina, Haviden, and Luke.

He used magic against Juen, and summoning arts against Shasha.

To them, facing Leo in such a manner felt like an insurmountable wall.

Shasha realized.

With her current skills, she couldn't even touch a single hair on Leo's head.

"Are you giving up?"

At Leo's question, Shasha paused, then gritted her teeth.

"Yes."

"So, three of you have given up."

At Leo's words, Shasha's shoulders drooped, and she walked towards Kal.

Haviden, Shasha, and Juen had declared their surrender.

"What about you two?"

Leo turned his gaze to Aina and Luke.

Luke looked at Aina and said,

"Aina-ssi. Would you like to go first?"

At that question, Aina clenched her fist.

"No. With my current skills, I can never reach that person."

She had persistently challenged, but Aina realized that further challenges were meaningless.

It wasn't just Aina.

The others felt the same way.

'Among the first-year students, there's no one who can land a hit on that person right now.'

"Wow! You're really tenacious! So tenacious! Even though the juniors are trying so hard, you could give them a break just once~"

Kal chuckled at Juen's muttering, who was lying sprawled on the ground.

"There's no such thing in Leo's dictionary? By the way, don't you two need to find mentors quickly?"

At those words, Juen sat up abruptly and crossed her legs.

"I can just grab any magic department senior and ask."

Juen showed confidence.

After all, the foundation of her magic was from the Southern Mage Tower.

She was confident that no matter which mage she took as a mentor, it wouldn't significantly help her develop her skills as a mage.

"Besides, I can receive private tutoring from Torua-unni."

Torua, who graduated last year and immediately attained the status of Archmage, was also affiliated with the Southern Mage Tower.

And Juen, as the daughter of the Southern Mage Tower Master, had been very close to Torua since childhood.

If she could receive tutoring from her, it was no exaggeration to say that there was nothing to learn from a second-year student.

"How about receiving it from Chloe?"

"The Southern and Northern Mage Towers are rivals. I'm sure you know that."

At Kal's words, Juen squinted her eyes.

Just then, Luke approached Leo.

"Luke, stop it. Don't waste time. Find a mentor quickly too. If you don't find a mentor, you might be expelled."

Halind didn't say what would happen if a mentor wasn't found.

But like the name of the Lumern Wall of Lamentation, it could lead to expulsion.

"I want to try one more time."

Luke, who smiled awkwardly and scratched his head, walked towards Leo.

And took a deep breath.

"Please take care of me."

At Luke's words, Leo drew his sword and said,

"Let's do our best."