Book 1 Chapter 303
“Waaaaaaah!”
“We won!”
“We defeated the Giant King’s army!”
On the walls of Guards Throne, many people hugged each other and reveled in their joy.
Watching the scene, Leo smiled faintly and gazed at the panoramic view of Guards Throne.
When he had urgently returned from Leisar at that time, the situation in Guards Throne was desperate.
Even the hope he had barely regained was taken away.
‘Still, people overcame it.’
It was surely Lisinas who gave them hope.
However, it was thanks to these people that they were able to receive that hope and regain the strength to rebuild the world.
Leo looked up at the sky.
Conquest of the Hero Record.
He could see this world ending.
Thump- thump-
“Are you okay?”
Arion approached and asked.
“Worry about your own body.”
“You’re as wrecked as I am.”
Both Leo and Arion were in terrible shape.
Perhaps if Arion had been even a little later in defeating Gias.
Leo might have lost his life.
“Why didn’t you withdraw the Water Shield?”
To Arion’s question, Leo let out a small chuckle.
“Because I trusted you.”
Arion looked at Leo with calm eyes.
In the meantime.
“That damn Giant King, he got away in the end!”
Dwenno appeared on the wall, letting out a roar of anger.
“Lord Dwenno, are you alright?”
“Your wounds are severe.”
“I’m fine. More importantly, take care of your own wounds.”
Stumble- stumble-
Dwenno, covered in wounds all over his body, approached Leo and Arion.
Thump-
Standing before Leo, Dwenno said.
“I let the Giant King slip away.”
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll defeat him.”
“…I’m sorry for passing it on to you.”
Dwenno let out a long sigh.
“Still, we can toast to victory tonight.”
Dwenno gave a warm smile.
“Won’t you join us for a drink?”
Leo smiled bitterly.
“Thank you for the offer… but I think we need to go now.”
“What? Where are you going in that state?”
Arion was surprised.
Leo got to his feet.
“Our role is over here.”
Feeling Dwenno’s world closing, Leo turned around.
He wanted to share many stories.
Dwenno and Arion, who were more precious friends and comrades than anyone else.
He wanted to share a drink with them.
But…
‘This is the extent of our allotted time.’
Leo clenched his lips.
He couldn't save his comrades.
For Leo, who could only watch their deaths,
He couldn't bring himself to tell Dwenno and Arion that he was Kyle.
‘They wouldn’t believe me anyway.’
Tap- tap-
As Leo walked away, Dwenno spoke behind him.
“Why do you feel guilty about our deaths?”
Freeze-
Leo stopped walking.
Leo, with wide eyes, turned around.
“Why the blank look? Did you really think I wouldn’t know?”
Dwenno burst into laughter.
“Dwenno, as expected, Leo is…”
“That’s right, Arion. He is Kyle from the future.”
Arion looked at Leo with surprised eyes.
Dwenno crossed his arms.
“Even Arion vaguely suspected, yet you thought you were doing well at deceiving us. Do you understand now why I called you an idiot?”
“You damn old geezer.”
Leo gave a twisted smile.
Dwenno chuckled, seeing Leo with a look that seemed on the verge of tears, and approached Leo.
“I don’t know what will happen in the future, but Kyle.”
Thump-!
Dwenno’s heavy hand patted Leo’s shoulder.
“We all braced ourselves and embarked on our journey following Lisinas. Even if death awaits us.”
Dwenno smiled.
“If the world is saved, we are ready to gladly accept that future. So don’t feel guilty.”
Leo clenched his fist tightly.
Crackle-!
The world began to crack.
There was really not much time left.
“I entrust the future to you.”
“Understood.”
Satisfied with the reply, the dwarf warrior removed his hand from Leo’s shoulder.
Then he pushed Leo as if to hurry him along.
“Now, move forward.”
“Yes.”
Thump- thump-
As Leo took a few steps.
Eventually, the world disappeared.
[Conquest Reward: Dwenno’s Legacy, Dwenno’s Flame.]
***
When he opened his eyes, he saw a clear sky.
Everyone had a bewildered smile.
It was hard to believe a great battle had just taken place.
“Uoooooooh?!”
Arga let out a scream of astonishment.
“Look at this! These are the greaves and gauntlets made by Lord Dwenno!”
Arga hopped around, looking at the beautiful greaves and gauntlets in his hands.
Arga wasn't the only one.
“A staff imbued with Katariou’s feather…?”
Lunias stared blankly at the staff in her hand, which was like a work of art.
“Erkint is… as good as new! And it’s a shield!”
Eiran marveled at Erkint and the shield returned to her hands.
“I got an alchemy book.”
Kal looked at Dwenno’s alchemy book in his hand with disbelief.
When he opened the book, there was blank paper.
Kal, who was flustered, was surprised to see the text appear as it reacted to him.
Finally, Dryana looked at the hammer in her hand.
‘I’ll say it again. Quit being an artist.’
Dwenno handed her his hammer with a stern expression.
Dryana flinched, and Dwenno patted her head.
‘You have outstanding talent as a smith, child. So don’t be distracted and devote yourself to being a blacksmith. I am me, and you are you.’
Remembering the benevolent god’s blacksmith who had encouraged her when she was lost, Dryana made a resolution.
‘Lord Dwenno. I will become a blacksmith and artist who is not ashamed of your name.’
Dryana tightly gripped the hammer, adding a flourish that Dwenno would have snatched it away and swung it wildly if he had heard it.
The party all received gifts prepared by Dwenno as conquest rewards.
It was truly an unprecedented reward.
As items of the divine blacksmith, Dwenno, they were all divine-grade weapons.
However, they were completely new divine artifacts, not recorded in history.
They had returned to reality with that great legacy.
Just as everyone was looking on in disbelief.
“Where is Leo?”
Hwaaareureuk-
Leo stared at the black flames before him with dull eyes.
The Giant King Gias had already disappeared long ago.
However, the remnants of Erebus’s thoughts remained, burning with hatred towards Leo.
“Damn persistent.”
“Lord Leo!”
Just then, the air opened, and Mellina appeared.
“Suddenly, the Giant King Gias appeared, and the Ganthes army invaded Tarcam…”
Mellina, who had urgently warped after sensing Leo’s magic, frowned upon seeing Erebus’s thoughts.
A long time ago.
Mellina, who had conquered the Hero Records of the Primal Heroes, had fought against a fragment of Erebus.
Therefore, she recognized it at a glance.
Seeing Mellina reveal her killing intent, Leo raised his hand to stop her.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Lord Leo?”
Mellina looked bewildered.
Stumble- stumble-
He approached Erebus’s thoughts.
Then he reached out and spoke.
“Fossteritas.”
Flash-!
With golden light, a half-melted longsword appeared.
Seeing it, Mellina looked surprised.
The sword named “Beginning” was restored to its original form, except for its broken blade.
‘Did it regain its original form in response to Lord Leo’s flames? But that sword didn’t regain its original form back then?’
Leo’s Dwenno’s flame had the power to restore Dwenno’s manufactured weapons to their past state for a fleeting moment.
The divine blacksmith, Dwenno, used that ability to restore damaged weapons to like new.
However, Leo could only restore Dwenno’s weapons to their past state for a very brief moment.
Because Leo’s Dwenno’s flame was merely a small ember.
But it was different now.
He had inherited the complete Dwenno’s flame as a conquest reward.
‘Of course, even Dwenno’s power cannot restore items that have completely run out of lifespan.’
The sword Dwenno had made for Leo.
Fossteritas had long since ended its lifespan as a weapon.
But Fossteritas returned to its past form upon Leo’s call.
Because there was still something it had to do.
Hwaaareureuk-!
Golden flames flickered around Fossteritas.
“Please, and…”
Leo bid farewell to the sword that had accompanied him through his final moments.
“Thank you.”
Woong! Woong!
As if responding to Leo’s greeting.
Fossteritas spat out gray mana.
A fragment of the last power that Kyle had squeezed out.
Snap-!
Leo pierced Erebus’s thoughts with Fossteritas.
Crack-!
Fossteritas cracked.
The fragment of the sword containing Erebus’s thoughts also cracked.
Gwaaaeaeaeaeaeae!
The thoughts spewed black flames as if making a final struggle.
Pach-!
But soon Fossteritas shattered into fragments of light.
Guaoaoaoaoaoao!
A lump of black flame appeared in the air.
The flames writhed in pain and then began to scatter.
Snap-!
Just before the thoughts vanished, Leo grabbed the thoughts as if seizing them by the collar.
And with a glint in his eyes, he said.
“This time, the events of 5,000 years ago will not be repeated.”
A deep killing intent flowed from Leo’s eyes.
“Prepare yourself, because this time for sure.”
Leo declared, spitting the words out.
“I will kill you.”
***
The black-haired woman gazed with a somber expression at the city where reconstruction had begun before her.
Many people had died.
‘Surely they also suffered fatal blows, so in the end, it’s our victory, but still…’
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 a short while ago, seemed to have lost hope again.
‘…Can I do it?’
The woman’s wise, shining black eyes wavered.
Lisinas, who had returned home, returned home as if tired.
She went into the study, slumped down at the desk, and let out a deep sigh.
Then, she suddenly noticed her notebook placed on the desk and looked surprised.
‘Did I leave my notebook out?’
As she opened the notebook, Lisinas paused.
“…”
Seeing the familiar handwriting in the notebook, Lisinas’s lips curved into a gentle arc.
<Lisinas, don’t be discouraged by this. As you said, we will save the world. So cheer up.>
“When did you become able to cheer others up like this?”
The gloomy mood lifted.
Lisinas, who had been resting her chin and smiling gently, suddenly stiffened.
‘Wait. How did he know this was my notebook? No, when did he even enter my house?’
Lisinas’s shoulders trembled.
Her face turned bright red.
‘In the first place, if he wrote this, it means he saw my notebook…’
“I cleaned up all the Lisinas remnants. It’s a good thing the perverted old man had a knack for civil engineering. Phew~ Labor is indeed hard.”
“You only used magic. It was me, Arion, and Dwenno who actually suffered, so why are you taking the credit?”
“Magic consumption is also hard labor, you know?”
Luna glared at Kyle.
“Hey! Kyle!”
Just then, Lisinas shot up from her seat, her face flushed.
“You! You, you, you, you! When did you sneak into my house! And did you rummage through my house and secretly read my notebook? You want to die!”
“What nonsense? Am I crazy? Sneaking into your house and rummaging through it? You said I could come in whenever I wanted! You even taught me how to open the door!”
“When did I! I taught you how to open the door… Ah! I don’t know! Anyway, I never told you to search my study like this!”
“That’s why I’m telling you I didn’t go in!”
Watching the childish argument between the wise dragon who led the world to salvation in the distant future and the world-saving human, the elf who created the spell to save the world fell into thought.
‘…Why did Lisinas teach Kyle how to open the door?’