Book 1 Chapter 303
303
“Waaaahhhhh!”
“We won!”
“We defeated the Giant King’s army!”
On the walls of Guardslon, many embraced each other, reveling in their joy.
Watching them, Leo faintly smiled and gazed at the full view of Guardslon.
At the time, when he had hastily returned from Leysar, Guardslon’s situation had been desperate.
Even the hope they had barely regained was snatched away.
‘Still, the people overcame it.’
It was clearly Lisinas who had given them hope.
But it was thanks to these people that they received that hope and had the strength to rebuild the world again.
Leo looked up at the sky.
The capture of the Hero Record.
This world seemed to be coming to an end.
Step- Step-
“Are you okay?”
Arion approached and asked.
“Worry about your own body.”
“You’re as much of a mess as I am.”
Both Leo and Arion were in terrible condition.
Perhaps if Arion had been even slightly late in defeating Ghias.
Leo might have lost his life.
“Why didn’t you remove the Water Shield?”
Leo chuckled at Arion’s question.
“Because I trusted you.”
Arion looked at Leo with calm eyes.
In the midst of that.
“That damn Giant King, he managed to escape in the end!”
Dwenno appeared on the city wall, sighing in angry exasperation.
“Lord Dwenno, are you alright?”
“Your injuries are severe.”
“I’m fine. Rather, tend to your own wounds.”
Thump- Thump-
Dwenno, covered in wounds, approached Leo and Arion.
Thump-
Dwenno stood before Leo and said.
“I missed the Giant King.”
“Don’t worry about him; we’ll take him down.”
“…I apologize for passing the buck.”
Dwenno let out a long breath.
“Still, we can raise a toast to victory tonight.”
Dwenno gave a warm smile.
“Why don’t we share a pleasant drink?”
Leo smiled bitterly.
“Thank you for the offer, but… I think we have to go now.”
“What? Where are you going in that state?”
Arion was flustered.
Leo stood up.
“Our role ends here.”
Feeling Dwenno’s world closing, Leo turned his back.
He wanted to share many stories.
Dwenno and Arion, friends and comrades dearer than anyone else.
He wanted to share a drink with them.
However…
‘The allowed time is only until here.’
Leo bit his lip hard.
He couldn’t save his comrades.
As Leo, who had only been able to watch their deaths.
He couldn’t bring himself to tell Dwenno and Arion that he was Kyle.
‘They wouldn’t believe it anyway.’
Tap- Tap-
Dwenno spoke to Leo’s retreating back.
“Why do you feel guilty about our deaths?”
Stop-
Leo halted his steps.
Leo’s eyes widened as he turned around.
“Why the dazed expression? Did you really think I wouldn’t know?”
Dwenno chuckled.
“Dwenno, surely Leo is…”
“That’s right, Arion. He’s Kyle from the future.”
Arion looked at Leo with surprised eyes.
Dwenno crossed his arms.
“To think you believed you fooled me, even when Arion vaguely noticed. Do you understand now why I called you an idiot?”
“This damn old geezer.”
Leo forced a distorted smile.
Seeing Leo’s expression, which looked somehow on the verge of tears, Dwenno chuckled and approached Leo.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future, Kyle. But.”
Thump-!
Dwenno’s thick hand patted Leo’s shoulder.
“We all made our resolve and embarked on the journey following Lisinas. Even if what awaited us was death.”
Dwenno smiled.
“If the world is saved, we are willing to accept that future. So, don’t feel guilty.”
Leo clenched his fist tightly.
Crackle-!
The world began to crack.
There really wasn’t much time left.
“I entrust the future to you.”
“Alright.”
The dwarf warrior, satisfied with the answer, smiled and took his hand off Leo’s shoulder.
And pushed Leo as if urging him on.
“Now, go forth.”
“Yeah.”
Thump- Thump-
As Leo took a few steps.
Soon, the world vanished.
[Completion Reward: Dwenno’s Legacy, Dwenno’s Flame.]
***
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was a clear sky.
Everyone wore a dazed smile.
It was as if no great battle had ever taken place.
“Uooohhhhh?!”
Ar shrieked in astonishment.
“Look at this! These are greaves and gauntlets made by Lord Dwenno!”
Ar jumped up and down, looking at the beautiful greaves and gauntlets in her hands.
It wasn't just Ar.
“Katarieu-nim’s feather-imbued staff…?!”
Lunia was lost in thought, gazing at the staff in her hand, which was like a work of art.
“Erquint… it’s as good as new! And it’s a shield!”
Eiran exclaimed, looking at Erquint and the shield that had returned to her hands.
“I got an alchemy book.”
Karl looked at Dwenno’s alchemy book in his hands with an incredulous expression.
When he opened the book, there were blank pages.
Karl, initially puzzled, then watched in surprise as text appeared, reacting to him.
Lastly, Driana stared at the hammer in her hand.
‘Let me say it again. Quit being an artist.’
Dwenno had given her his hammer with a stern expression.
Dwenno patted Driana's head, who flinched at his words.
‘You are a child with outstanding talent as a smith. So, don't be distracted and strive as a blacksmith. I am me, and you are you.’
Recalling the benevolent god blacksmith who had encouraged her when she was lost, Driana made a promise.
‘Lord Dwenno. I will become a blacksmith and artist worthy of your name.’
Driana tightly gripped the hammer, adding a superfluous remark that would have made Dwenno snatch the hammer and swing it wildly if he had heard it.
The party all received gifts prepared by Dwenno as their completion rewards.
It was, quite literally, an unprecedented reward.
As items from Dwenno, the god blacksmith, they were all divine-grade armaments.
Yet, completely new divine artifacts not recorded in history.
They had returned to reality with that great legacy.
It was a moment when everyone wore incredulous expressions.
“What about Leo?”
Whoosh-
Leo stared at the black flames before him with a bland gaze.
The Giant King Ghias had vanished long ago.
But Erebus’s lingering consciousness remained, burning with hatred towards Leo.
“Stubborn to a damn fault.”
“Lord Leo!”
Just then, the void opened, and Melina appeared.
“Suddenly, after the Giant King Ghias appeared, the Gigantes invaded Tarkam…”
Melina, who had hastily warped there sensing Leo’s magic, hardened her face upon seeing Erebus’s consciousness.
Long ago.
Melina, who had completed the Hero Record of the heroes of creation, had once fought against fragments of Erebus.
That’s why she recognized it at a glance.
Seeing Melina unleash her killing intent, Leo raised a hand to stop her.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Lord Leo?”
Melina wore a bewildered expression.
Step- Step-
He approached Erebus’s consciousness.
And, extending his hand, he spoke.
“Posteritas.”
Flash-!
With a golden light, a half-melted longsword appeared.
Melina looked surprised at this.
The sword named ‘Beginning’ had returned to its original form, save for the broken blade that was snapped in half.
‘Did it react to Lord Leo’s flame and regain its old form? But that sword didn’t regain its original form back then?’
The Dwenno’s Flame Leo possessed had the power to restore armaments made by Dwenno to their past appearance, if only for a fleeting moment.
Dwenno, the god blacksmith, would often restore broken armaments to new condition with that ability.
However, Leo could only restore Dwenno’s armaments to their past form for a very brief instant.
Because the Dwenno’s Flame Leo possessed was merely a small ember.
But now, it was different.
He had inherited the complete Dwenno’s Flame as a completion reward.
‘Of course, an item whose lifespan has completely ended couldn't be restored to its original form even with Dwenno’s power.’
The sword Dwenno had made for Leo.
Posteritas, too, had long since reached the end of its lifespan as an armament.
But Posteritas had returned to its past form at Leo’s call.
Because it still had a role to play.
Whoosh-!
Golden flames shimmered on Posteritas.
“Please, and…”
Leo bid farewell to the sword that had been with him until his last moments.
“Thank you.”
Hum! Hum!
As if responding to Leo’s greeting.
Posteritas spewed out gray mana.
A fragment of the last power Kyle had wrung out in the past.
Thud-!
Leo pierced Erebus’s consciousness with Posteritas.
Crackle-!
Posteritas cracked.
The fragment of the sword containing Erebus’s consciousness also cracked.
Gwoooooohhhhh!
The consciousness spat out black flames as if making a final desperate effort.
Snap-!
But soon, Posteritas scattered into shards of light.
Goooooohhhhh!
A mass of black flames appeared in the void.
The flames writhed in pain, then began to disperse.
Thud-!
Just before the consciousness vanished, Leo grabbed it as if seizing it by the collar.
And, with eyes blazing, he said.
“This time, what happened 5000 years ago won’t be repeated.”
A strong killing intent flowed from Leo’s eyes.
“Be prepared, this time for real.”
Leo declared, as if spitting it out.
“Because I will kill you.”
***
The black-haired woman gazed with sunken eyes at the city before her, where reconstruction had begun.
Many had died.
‘Surely they also suffered fatal blows, so in the end, it’s our victory, but…’
The woman saw the gloomy despair reflected in the eyes of the people on the street.
The city, which had been full of hope just recently, seemed to have lost hope again.
‘…Can we do it?’
Her wisely shining black eyes wavered.
The woman, Lisinas, returned home, looking exhausted.
She entered her study, slumped onto the desk, and let out a deep sigh.
Then, she suddenly noticed her diary lying on the desk and looked puzzled.
‘Did I take out my diary?’
As she opened her diary, Lisinas paused.
“…”
At the familiar handwriting in the diary, Lisinas’s lips formed a gentle curve.
<Lisinas, don’t be disheartened by this. As you said, we will save the world. So, cheer up.>
“When did I become able to cheer others on like this?”
Her gloomy mood lifted.
Lisinas, who had been resting her chin and smiling softly, her face suddenly hardened.
‘Wait. How did that guy know this was my diary? No, how did he even get into my house in the first place?’
Lisinas’s shoulders trembled.
Her face was flushed red.
‘The fact that he wrote this means he saw my diary in the first place…’
“Lisinas, I cleared all the debris. It’s a good thing that perverted old man has a knack for civil engineering. Phew~ work is really tiring.”
“You just used magic. Arion, Dwenno, and I did all the hard work, so why are you taking credit?”
“Consuming magic is also incredibly hard work, you know?”
Luna glared at Kyle.
“Hey! Kyle!”
Just then, Lisinas stood up abruptly, her face deeply flushed.
“You! You, you, you! When did you sneak into our house! And rummage through my house to secretly read my diary? Do you want to die?!”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Am I crazy? To sneak into your house and rummage through it? You said I could come in whenever I wanted anyway! And I even taught you how to open the door!”
“When did I! I taught you how to open the door… Ah! I don’t know! Anyway, I didn’t tell you to rummage through the study like this!”
“I said I didn’t go in!”
In the distant future, watching the childish fight between the wise dragon who led the world to salvation and the human who saved the world, the elf who created the spell to save the world fell into contemplation.
‘…Why did Lisinas teach Kyle how to open the door?’