Book 1 Chapter 287
287
“Let’s break out of prison.”
At Ar’s words, Carl showed the handcuffs on his wrist and said,
“How are we supposed to break out when our mana has been suppressed?”
Ar stood up.
“We just need to break free and escape.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
Carl showed his anxiety.
Ar closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Shhh-!
Ar’s demeanor completely changed.
His nails grew long, and his fangs became even sharper.
Ar, whose fur stood on end all over his body, opened his eyes.
His blue cat eyes sparkled in the darkness.
Grrrrooowwwl-!
Mana swirled around Ar’s body.
“Grrrr-!”
A low cat growl emanated from Ar’s throat.
Seeing this, Carl’s expression was aghast.
“W-what is that?”
Dryana realized what the phenomenon before her eyes was and her expression was startled.
“Transformation? But there’s no full moon?”
Kiiing-! Bang-!
The mana-sealing device that had been suppressing Ar’s power exploded, scattering fragments in all directions.
“I acted rashly, which is why that child was captured.”
Ar was still affected by the excessive use of mana, but he didn’t care.
“So, no matter what it takes, I’ll save her.”
Creak-creak-creak-!
Carl’s jaw dropped as he watched Ar forcibly open the iron bars with sheer strength.
Looking at Ar, Lunia said,
“I’m coming too.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t take someone with a mana-sealing device.”
The creator of the sealing device that was currently sealing the party’s mana was none other than Dweno.
It was harder to break the sealing device with external force than to break the seal from within with one’s own power.
Hearing Ar’s words, Lunia roused her magic power.
Whoosh-!
Strong flames erupted from Lunia’s entire body.
Boom-!
“Do you think I can’t do what you can? Eiran is my friend. I’ll save her with my own hands.”
“Alright. Let’s go together.”
Lunia looked at Carl and Dryana.
“You two follow us once we’ve subdued the guards.”
Ar cracked his finger joints and looked at the prison door.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
“Uryaaaahhh!”
Clang!
“W-what?!”
“Prison break! They’re trying to escape!”
As Ar kicked the door, shattering it, the guards rushed forward to subdue the two.
“Get out of the way! Get out of the way!”
Ar blasted the guards away and charged forward, with Lunia following behind him.
Whoosh-! Kwa-ga-ga-gang!
Flame magic swept through the inside of the prison.
Dryana, watching their backs, asked Carl,
“Those two are monstrous enough, but just how much more of a monster is Leo Flobe?”
Carl sighed in response to Dryana’s question and replied,
“He’s a monster beyond imagination.”
Carl recalled Leo’s appearance.
‘What is Leo doing right now?’
***
Leo stared intently into the golden eyes of Arion, who was looking at him.
He didn’t like sparring with anyone.
Beastfolk were a race that revered strength.
Therefore, many Beastfolk lived a life of struggle.
And such a racial tendency made the Beastfolk a strong race.
But Arion was a Beastfolk who was less like a Beastfolk than anyone else.
It wasn't because Arion was a coward.
He hated getting hurt himself and hurting others.
‘He’s too kind.’
Recalling Arion, Leo smiled bitterly.
He was born with too kind a nature.
A hero who fought only for others.
That was the Brave, Arion.
‘He doesn’t look like a bad person.’
Arion’s senses told him so.
‘Though I don’t know his intentions.’
It was an matter concerning his disciple, so he had no choice but to respond to the provocation.
Shring-
Arion drew his sword.
‘Brave.’
Seeing the sword, Leo also drew his sword.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never sparred with Arion.’
He had sparred with Luna and Dweno many times, but never once with Arion.
Because Arion, who disliked fighting, even avoided sparring with friends.
‘I was more often the one to stop Arion from sparring than to spar with him.’
Kyle was the one who stopped Luna, the most belligerent of the expedition members, from charging at Arion.
‘Though it was also because the outcome was obvious.’
Arion was a genius born with an innate talent for martial arts.
Kyle, who skillfully handled all weapons to the level of a master, knew all too well that no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t defeat Arion.
The one who reached the ultimate peak of martial arts.
That was the Brave, Arion.
‘He’s not worshipped as a martial god in later generations for nothing.’
In Leo’s eyes, Arion truly was like a martial god.
Leo drew his sword.
Shring-
‘Because he’s Arion.’
Whoosh-!
A flame aura generated on Leo’s sword.
Arion’s expression became tense.
‘It’s okay to go all out, isn’t it?’
Kwa-ga-ga-gang-!
As Leo swung his sword, a wall of flames soared high into the sky.
Whoosh-!
Arion swung his sword, deflecting Leo’s sword strike.
His attack was neutralized too easily, but Leo didn’t mind and closed the distance with Arion.
Pa-ba-bat-!
Seeing Leo approaching with an aura step, Arion raised his left hand, which wasn’t holding a sword.
Seeing Arion, Leo accelerated his body by exploding the aura all over him.
Clang-!
Leo jumped, using Arion’s left hand, which tried to grab him, as a foothold to launch himself into the air.
Cha-ang-!
Leo, who had instantly gotten behind Arion, swung his sword.
Leo’s sword was blocked by Arion.
Arion didn’t know Leo.
Conversely, Leo knew Arion all too well.
Arion’s breathing and habits in combat.
And even his weaknesses.
Leo, who had fought alongside Arion on countless battlefields, saw through everything about Arion.
That’s why the previous attack was also an attack that perfectly caught Arion off guard.
His breathing was disturbed, and the timing was completely stolen by Leo.
Yet, Arion blocked Leo’s attack without much difficulty.
It wasn’t simply because Arion was overwhelmingly stronger than Leo.
‘Ultra-senses.’
Arion’s technique of finely controlling aura to push all his senses to the extreme.
It was a technique Leo also used.
‘As expected, the original is on a different level.’
For Leo to use ultra-senses, he needed to sharpen his senses acutely.
But Arion was different.
As naturally as breathing.
He used ultra-senses as if replacing his original senses.
A realm beyond the scope of mere technique.
Moreover, his sixth sense was so sharpened that he could move his body to the point of predicting the future.
‘He’s not the strongest martial artist for nothing.’
Leo also activated his ultra-senses.
Along with that, he parried Arion’s sword, which was moving to subdue him.
Seeing that, Arion’s expression was surprised.
Tap-!
Leo, who landed on the ground, chuckled at the sting he felt on his cheek.
‘It makes me realize again, he’s a monster.’
Sixteen years since his reincarnation.
During that time, Leo had strived to grow the vessel of his body.
Leo’s vessel was too small to contain Kyle’s power.
Fortunately, it was a better vessel than in his previous life, so his growth was unimpeded.
‘But that doesn’t mean I neglected my skills.’
He continuously honed his martial arts through training and researched new spells for magic.
For summoning, he constantly thought of techniques to better utilize summoned beasts.
Perhaps if he returned to his previous life’s body, the current Leo would be even stronger than Kyle in his previous life.
But despite pouring so much effort, he couldn’t surpass Arion in swordsmanship.
‘An equal level. No, Arion is slightly superior.’
Leo gripped his sword tighter.
Furthermore, the current Arion was neither in his prime nor in a transformed state.
Yet, he couldn’t catch up to Arion in swordsmanship.
The pinnacle of a martial artist who reached the ultimate peak.
Looking at the Brave, Arion, Leo gripped his sword tighter.
‘Well, I never intended to fight this guy with just swordsmanship anyway.’
“Magic Swordsman?”
Arion’s expression was surprised.
‘He looks to be about the same age as Berkia, at most.’
Berkia was also a skilled individual incomparable to his peers.
Looking at his swordsmanship, Leo’s skill far surpassed even such a Berkia.
And on top of that, magic?
Whoosh-!
Leo’s sword was enveloped in flames of aura and flames of magic power.
Leo, readjusting his sword, gripped it firmly.
Tap-!
Whoosh-
“Fiora.”
Simultaneously with Leo’s murmur, Fiora, who was curled up in the inside pocket of his school uniform, peeped out her face.
She looked like a chubby chick, but she was still a phoenix.
Whoosh-!
As Leo aroused his spiritual power, Fiora’s contract emblem appeared on the back of his hand.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-!
The contract emblem, which had swallowed Leo’s spiritual power, soon spewed out flames.
It was Fiora’s flames.
Seeing that, Arion’s eyes widened.
‘Even summoning magic?’
“All-Class?”
Arion’s expression was aghast.
“Another All-Class besides Kyle?”
He couldn’t help but be surprised.
Arion knew better than anyone how special the power of an All-Class was.
In fact, throughout long history, there was only one All-Class.
Kyle alone.
But now, a new All-Class had appeared.
And a phoenix on top of that!
It was when Arion had an unbelievable expression.
Whoosh!
Fiora transformed into flames and resided in Leo’s sword.
Kwa-aaah-aaah-aaah-!
Fiora, residing in the sword, swallowed the flames of aura and magic power.
Kwa-aaah-aaah-!
Phoenix wings generated from Leo’s sword.
It was the most powerful technique among the offensive means Leo could currently use.
“Here I come.”
As Leo raised his sword, golden aura surged from Arion’s sword.
Kwa-ga-ga-gang-!
A giant pillar of flames and a pillar of golden aura clashed, sweeping the surroundings.
Whoosh-!
The surrounding forest caught fire.
Leo controlled the flames and gathered them into his sword.
And looking at Arion, who stood perfectly fine with his sword pointed at himself, Leo chuckled.
The tip of Arion’s clothes was slightly singed.
“What fearsome power.”
Arion broke into a cold sweat.
“You look perfectly fine for someone who says that.”
Leo further intensified the firepower of the flames residing in his sword.
“One more time.”
Kwa-ga-ga-gak-!
Watching Leo spew flames, Arion felt a strange emotion.
Arion was someone who hated fighting.
But now he felt his heart pounding.
It wasn’t because the fight was enjoyable.
It was because he caught a glimpse of someone’s shadow in Leo’s appearance.
‘Kyle.’
Though their appearances were completely different, the boy before him reminded him of his friend.
Looking at such an Arion, Leo further intensified his firepower.
This attack was the last one.
‘This fight wasn’t in vain.’
The technique he was currently using was a fusion of three abilities, based on summoning magic.
It was a new technique he had created since his reincarnation.
As such, there were points that needed refinement, and he found those points in this battle.
‘I wonder if I can handle pushing the phoenix’s power even further?’
Leo felt the phoenix’s power on the back of his hand.
Leo poured even stronger spiritual power into the contract emblem.
At that instant-
Whoosh-whoosh!
White flames blazed.
Leo’s eyes twitched.
Arion also had a surprised expression.
Pure white flames blazed from Leo’s hand.
‘What… is this?’
Leo’s expression hardened.
Peep-?
Fiora, residing in the sword, also seemed flustered.
Anyone could tell it wasn’t Fiora’s flames.
Fiora couldn’t emit pure white flames.
But it was definitely phoenix flames.
And… as far as Leo could remember, there was only one pure white phoenix.
‘The royal bloodline that disappeared at the end of the age of disaster.’
The moment that thought reached him.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-!
White flames shot up from the back of Leo’s hand, and a bird with white feathers tinged with a red aura appeared.
“Cataliu!”
Arion looked at his friend’s sworn beast with an aghast expression.
Leo also looked at Rysinas’s sworn beast, who had responded to his summoning, with disbelieving eyes.
[…What are you, human.]
Cataliu narrowed his eyes.
[Why do you have my contract emblem? I never made a contract with a guy like you?]