Book 1 Chapter 285

285

"This golem seems to have strong fire resistance."

"Hmph!" Drian swung the battle hammer she held in both hands.

The sight was quite cute, as she looked like a small girl exerting strength.

CRASH! Of course, what happened before her eyes was far from cute.

The giant golem flew and slammed into the ground.

THUD! The golem rose, seemingly unfazed, but Drian didn't bat an eye.

Her role was merely to stop the enemy as a vanguard.

And as for defeating the enemy…

WHOOSH! Flames blazed in Lunia's hand.

The flames soon took the shape of a giant spear.

As she spread her palm, the spear floated above it.

WHOOSH! At Lunia's gesture, the spear flew towards the golem with ferocious speed.

BOOM! The spear, directly hitting the golem, created a gigantic firestorm.

Drian, seeing that, muttered.

"What terrifying magic power."

It was just that she tended to be overshadowed by Leo, Rumern's youngest student council president, but Lunia was also a genius, evaluated as possibly rising to the position of student council president by the end of this year at the earliest, or next year at the latest.

FLAMES ROAR! The temperature around Lunia soared.

Her eyes shone as if burning.

'If it's Dweno-nim's world… won't I be able to meet him again?'

Recalling the person she had always admired since childhood, Lunia grinned.

The surging flames around her grew even more ferocious.

WHOOSH! Wings of flame were generated behind Lunia's back.

The flames grew even more ferocious, burning mana and spiritual power.

The flame of the Rundia family.

"Holy Flame."

The flames bursting from Lunia's body swallowed the surrounding flames, becoming even stronger.

The flames burned Lunia's body.

But Lunia didn't mind.

'Stronger.'

Lunia's eyes blazed fiercely.

'Like Luna-nim…'

She recalled the admired figure who always smiled gently.

'Like Leo!'

Recalling the mature back view of the boy walking ahead, Lunia unleashed her magic.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE! The Holy Flame swallowed the golem.

CRASH! The golem's body collapsed.

Watching that sight, Drian marveled.

"To subdue a golem with fire resistance using flames. She's like a monster."

Just as the golem's movements stopped.

"Excellent."

From within the flames of the Holy Flame, a voice of admiration was heard.

At that voice, Lunia and Drian wore wary expressions.

"But it's a dangerous flame."

Thud-thud- The two girls' eyes widened as they saw the dwarf's face, who emerged, pushing through the flames.

"My name is Dweno."

Wearing a benevolent expression, Dweno stroked his beard and said.

"You have now trespassed into one of Guardsron's sanctuaries. Carelessly setting foot here is a grave crime. Are you, by any chance, Tartaros's spies?"

"Ah, no!"

"We are…!"

Seeing the two flustered girls, Dweno chuckled.

"In that case, I shall give you two choices. First, will you obediently follow me as you are and be investigated? Or will you be subdued by me and then investigated?"

It was a gentle smile, but it held firmness.

At the naturally emanating overwhelming presence, Lunia and Drian couldn't help but tremble.

Both Lunia and Drian came from prestigious families.

Thanks to that, they had grown up seeing not only well-known adults of their households but also many heroes since childhood.

But the dwarf before their eyes was different from the heroes the two girls had seen.

The overwhelming presence naturally emanating from his body.

The charisma of a battle-hardened hero who had saved the world from ruin pressed down on the two girls.

Lunia and Drian withdrew their power.

Dweno, seeing that, stroked his beard.

"Good girls."

***

Half a day had passed since Ar, Eiran, and Kal were imprisoned.

Now, in the darkened underground prison, Kal tore at his hair.

"What are you going to do now?! We could have resolved the misunderstanding peacefully, but it got messed up because of you!"

"O-ooh?!"

Ar recoiled.

Seeing Ar, whose cat ears and tail drooped, Eiran calmed Kal.

"Don't be too hard on her, Kal-nim. He was the Hero-nim, of all people, wasn't he? For beastfolk, meeting someone they truly want to meet, Ar-yang just couldn't control her emotions. And even amidst that, Arion-nim told us that we weren't Tartaros's spies, didn't he?"

At Eiran's words, Kal slumped onto the underground prison floor.

"Yeah, that's true."

"As expected! Arion-nim! He's benevolent!"

"Yeah. The problem is that he got scared because of you."

'W-well, he was scared, so I guess putting us in jail was right.'

Recalling Arion, who had looked at Ar with a disgusted expression, Kal said.

"But it's a bit shocking."

"In what way?"

"Arion-nim, I mean. How should I put it? Didn't he seem a little timid?"

Arion's appearance was exactly as described in historical records.

White hair and golden eyes.

But Eiran and Kal's first impression of Arion was different from what was written in historical records.

The vanguard of the Erebus subjugation force, possessing unwavering courage.

A hero like a god of war, who had slaughtered countless enemies at the forefront.

The symbol of courage.

That was Arion's image.

But the Arion they had just seen was quite different from the records.

Of course, even though Ar had charged at him with crazed eyes, he shouldn't have been that terrified.

Hearing Kal's words, Eiran also nodded her head.

"Yes. Arion-nim clearly looked terrified when he saw Ar-yang."

"What are you talking about? Arion-nim wouldn't get scared."

Ar, wearing an expression of not understanding, blinked her blue eyes.

"I get why Leo called you a stupid cat."

It was when Kal let out a deep sigh.

CREAK! The door of the underground prison opened, and someone entered.

"It seems like other prisoners."

"The security must be brutal. Since it's the Era of Calamity."

As Eiran muttered softly, Kal let out a sigh.

"Eiran?"

A surprised voice was heard.

Eiran, turning her head beyond the bars, opened her eyes wide.

"Lunia-yang!"

The ones there were none other than Lunia and Drian.

"You came to save us!"

It was when Eiran smiled brightly.

"Hurry, hurry and walk!"

Behind Lunia and Drian, jailers appeared.

The jailers imprisoned the two in the opposite cell where the other three were confined.

CREAK! BANG!

After the jailers left, Lunia, a little late, answered Eiran's question.

"No, we got caught too."

At Lunia's answer, Eiran slumped her shoulders.

"Where is Leo Flobe?"

Drian asked, crossing her arms.

At that question, Kal tilted his head.

"Wasn't he with you?"

"No. He wasn't where we were."

"In that case, it seems he landed in a completely different place from us."

Kal, stroking his chin, quickly surveyed the surroundings.

Inside the prison, there were no jailers.

'They must be guarding outside.'

Kal, recalling the strict guard beyond the door, took a deep breath.

"First, since we've gathered, let's put together the information we've gathered."

"Alright. We'll go first."

Lunia nodded her head and crossed her arms.

"We landed in a restricted area. It was a place full of the power of fire spirits. We were caught by Dweno-nim there."

At Lunia's words, Kal paused.

"We started in a place called the Lake of Spirits. And the one who caught us was Arion-nim."

"Arion-nim?"

Lunia wore a surprised expression.

"And he said this place is Guardsron. In that case, it wouldn't be strange to have other great heroes besides Dweno-nim. Perhaps we might even meet all five great heroes."

At Drian's words, the entire party wore surprised expressions.

The five great heroes in one place!

Since the Hero Records of the Great Heroes were largely fragmented, a Hero Record featuring all Great Heroes gathered in one place had never been discovered until now in the history of clearing Hero Records.

"This scale is no joke, is it?"

Kal broke out in a cold sweat.

The King of Wisdom, the Progenitor of Nebulae, the Hero, the Divine Blacksmith. And the Hero of Beginnings.

A world of heroes where those who saved the world are gathered in one place?!

That meant it would be just as difficult to clear.

"Well, it's just a prediction. Fortunately, moreover, this Hero's World isn't a possession-type Hero's World."

Possession-type Hero's World.

A Hero's World where one could become one of the characters recorded in the Hero Record, or even the hero themselves.

"Yeah. It's a relief that it's not a possession-type world."

Kal let out a deep sigh.

What if it was a possession-type world and they had to play the role of a Great Hero?

Just thinking about it was dizzying.

"But it's not a normal Hero's World; it's a Hero Dungeon. We mustn't let our guard down."

Lunia said seriously.

At her words, Ar said.

"First, let's set our top priority and move. I think our primary goal is to reunite with the Black Rabbit and figure out the clearing objective."

"I think so too."

Although they would have fumbled around in their first year, now that they had gained a lot of experience, they calmly prepared to clear the Hero's World.

"First, since we're being treated as suspicious people, let's start by clearing our suspicions. Since Dweno-nim said he'd investigate us, there will be a movement soon. At that time, don't do anything that could raise suspicion."

CREAK! BANG!

The door was opened ajar.

At that, the five tensed up.

Thud-thud-

A man with blonde hair and golden eyes appeared.

The five people were surprised to see his sharp eyes, like those of an investigator.

'Dragon!'

Dragon opened his eyes, swept his gaze over the five people, and took out an object wrapped in cloth from his bosom.

"A very interesting item was found from your belongings."

SWISH! As he unveiled the cloth, there was a uniquely shaped dagger.

"Oh! That's mine."

Eiran wore a flustered expression.

Seeing such an Eiran, Dragon's eyes flashed.

"Yes. You are the culprit."

"Huh?"

"This sword is an item Luna-nim gifted to her disciple, Verkia-yang."

"…!"

"The appraisal results concluded it was genuine."

As the ancestor's name was mentioned, Eiran wore a startled expression.

"And Verkia-yang left the castle a week ago for training."

Dragon wore a chilling expression.

"Why do you possess the sword that Verkia-yang cherishes more than anyone? You rascals. What did you do to Verkia-yang?"

Eiran's face turned pale.

Not just Eiran.

The faces of the other four also stiffened.

Dragon was emitting a fierce aura.

'We're in big trouble.'

Lunia swallowed dry.

Given the circumstances, it was a situation where they couldn't help but be suspected.

In this era, an Erquinte that couldn't exist in two copies was found among Eiran's belongings.

Things were thoroughly tangled.

"Verkia-yang is… Kyle-nim's, Luna-nim's, and Arion-nim's precious disciple. And also the future of the world. To dare to (do something to) such a Verkia-yang…"

"Ah, no! I would never (do something to) Verkia-nim…!"

"Shut up!"

Dragon, who let out a roar, pointed at Eiran.

"Drag this wench out at once! I will interrogate her myself!"

"H-hold on! Listen to us!"

Kal urgently shouted, and Ar hissed at the jailers entering the cell.

Lunia and Drian grabbed the bars and shouted.

But the five people, whose mana had been sealed while being imprisoned, could do nothing.

Eiran said as she was dragged away.

"H-hey, everyone! Don't worry! Surely… surely we can clear up the misunderstanding!"

Eiran, reassuring her flustered companions, followed the jailers.

After Eiran left the prison, Dragon's chilling gaze turned to the four people.

"Once that wench's interrogation is over, it's your turn next."

CREAK! BANG!

Silence settled in the prison.

Lunia gritted her teeth.

The situation became serious.

They had been subjected to a ridiculous misunderstanding.

But a counter-argument did not come to mind.

'This way is dangerous.'

This era is the Era of Calamity.

Regarding anything related to demons, it was obvious that they would be unyielding to an incomparable degree with the era they lived in.

'On top of that, Fairy Knight Verkia is Luna-nim's and Arion-nim's disciple! And they even said she was Kyle-nim's disciple!'

Seeing Dragon use honorifics for the three people, it was clear they were already the world's hope.

They were suspected of harming the disciple of those three.

The evidence also existed.

It was dangerous.

Lunia, her shoulders trembling, gritted her teeth.

'I have to save her!'