Book 1 Chapter 354
354
Whirring-!
Black flames spewed from the Hero Record, engulfing the entire hall.
“Wh-What is this?!”
A shriek of horror burst from Lehagen’s lips.
Whoosh-!
The rampaging black flames soon engulfed the audience seats.
Flash-!
But among the people present, not a single one would be easily overcome by the black flames.
Crackle-crackle-crack-!
Walls of ice shot up.
A chilling aura emanated from the elven mage seated at the very front of the audience.
Those around them gasped in admiration.
“North Tower Master!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to the North Tower Master, Algren.
Gooooo-!
Frost-like magic power flowed from Algren’s body.
Crack-crack-clack-!
The ice walls began to move freely, like living slimes.
Whoosh-!
Algren’s ice, moving at tremendous speed, instantly enveloped the black flames.
Seeing this, Lehagen shouted.
“North Tower Master! What are you doing?!”
Algren looked at Lehagen, whose eyes were bloodshot, and replied in a cold voice.
“Can’t you see? Black flames are spewing from that Hero Record. The culprit of this situation is none other than the Hero Record. Isn't it only natural to punish it?”
“Are you going to damage the records of the great Seirun-nim now?!”
“When it comes to black flames, there’s only one. Isn't it only natural to eliminate that culprit?”
Everyone gasped at Algren’s words.
Everyone was flustered by the sudden turn of events, but upon hearing Algren’s words, they understood.
Black flames.
It was a symbol of disaster, too dreadful to even utter.
“You can’t just conclude that black flames are necessarily the primordial evil!”
Lehagen shouted, as if screaming in agony.
“This is the Hero Record of the great Comet Mage Seirun-nim! A record of a hero that has never been found except for those kept by dragons until now! It is outrageous to commit the rudeness of destroying this record with infinite possibilities!”
Lehagen shrieked with fury.
At that moment.
Crack-crack-!
A crack appeared in Algren’s magic.
Seeing this, Algren’s expression changed drastically.
‘Already?’
The moment Algren was surprised.
Kwaaaaaaaah-!
The black flames pierced through the ice and burned everything around them.
Everyone in the hall used magic.
They cast spells to somehow extinguish the black flames.
But as if mocking their efforts, the black flames devoured the magic power and raged even more fiercely.
“This can’t be! How could the Comet Mage’s Hero Record that I finally got my hands on! What is this?!”
Lehagen screamed, his eyes bloodshot.
But no magic worked against the black flames.
It was when they were helplessly watching the black flames burn.
Gooooo-!
Pure white flames blocked the black flames.
The momentum of the unstoppable black flames died down.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the person emitting the white flames.
Step- Step-
The girl, shrouded in white flames, who stepped forward looked almost sacred.
“Lunia El Lunda.”
Someone murmured the girl’s name.
In the distant past.
The one who inherited the Phoenix King’s flame, which disappeared 5000 years ago.
Lunia glared at Seirun’s Hero Record and said.
“This is definitely Erebus’s flame.”
Lunia had faced Erebus twice in the Hero’s World.
Of course, what she fought against was a very small fragment of Erebus.
But even that much was only barely defeatable by squeezing out all her strength.
‘But this… it’s different from the black flames back then!’
A deeper darkness was felt.
Lunia, who inherited the flame of purification, felt endless fear from Erebus’s flame.
‘I have to stop it!’
Lunia gritted her teeth and unleashed an even more intense flame.
Her fiery red hair, which seemed to burn, turned pure white.
Everyone was mesmerized by the sight.
The black flames, which had been raging wildly, also seemed to recognize Lunia and flew towards her.
Kwagagagagaga-! Whoosh-!
Eiran stood in front of Lunia.
In Eiran’s hand was a shield emitting the light of life.
It was a shield imbued with the power of fairies, a gift from Dweno.
Eiran frowned, her usually gentle expression creased, as she blocked the black flames.
At that moment, a powerful aura of wind surged.
The wind aura pushed back the black flames.
It was Seirun’s student council president, Hardian.
“Students of Seirun, listen. This is Erebus’s flame!”
Hardian, having also fought Erebus in Luna’s world, immediately recognized the flame’s true nature.
Seirun’s students looked surprised at Hardian’s shout.
“From now on, we will eliminate the source of the flames.”
“Student Hardian!”
Lehagen reacted hysterically.
“Is Seirun’s student council president daring to destroy Seirun-nim’s record?!”
“Even if that is Seirun-nim’s record, I believe that neglecting the source of this situation goes against not only Seirun-nim’s will but also Luna-nim’s will.”
“Well, well. Our student council president speaks well.”
“What are you doing? If you follow in the footsteps of the great Progenitor of the Nebula and the Comet Mage, fighting Erebus is your duty.”
At the words of Marven, the fifth-year top student, and Evertun, the second-place student, the students moved in perfect order.
Seeing Seirun’s students quickly enter battle formation, the mages attending the conference also prepared to cast spells.
Leo, who was watching the scene, glared at the black flames and said.
“Anias.”
“Yes, Leo-nim.”
Anias, the daughter of the North Tower Master, appeared behind Leo as if she had been waiting, and answered politely.
“With the North Tower Master’s ability, can you forcibly warp everyone here outside the Hall of Comets?”
“It’s impossible from outside to inside, but it should be possible from inside to outside.”
Leo glared at Seirun’s Hero Record and said.
“Tell them to do that immediately.”
“Understood.”
Anias bowed her head and quickly ran to the North Tower Master.
Algren, who heard the message, looked at Leo for a moment, then instantly unleashed his magic power.
As befitting the master of the Northern Magic Tower, Algren warped everyone in the entire hall to the outside.
Whoosh-!
Those who were in battle formation looked flustered by the sudden situation.
“What is this…?”
“North Tower Master! What are you…!”
Kwajaaaaaaang! Whirring-!
With that, the black flames exploded and swallowed the Hall of Comets.
Kugugugugugugugu-!
Along with that, the towering Hall of Comets collapsed.
Seirun’s records, preserved for a long time, burned and vanished.
Everyone was dumbfounded watching the Hall of Comets, a symbol of Seirun, turn to ashes and crumble.
At the same time.
A sense of death was detected in the Star Plaza, located at the highest point of Seirun.
A gate opened, and undead poured out from it.
“Wh-What is that?!”
“Lich King…?”
“How long has it been since the Monster Queen invaded Seirun, and the Lich King’s power can reach this place?!”
“Acting Headmaster Lehagen! Explain this situation! The Star Plaza is a place you, the acting headmaster, manage, isn’t it?!”
Seirun’s teachers reacted heatedly.
But Lehagen had vanished.
The anger of Seirun’s teachers turned towards those belonging to the Pureblood Society.
The Pureblood Society members turned pale.
“W-We don’t know anything about this!”
“That’s right!”
They protested desperately, but it was no use.
Undead had already appeared in the first-year midterm exams previously overseen by the Pureblood Society.
With another unusual incident occurring in such a situation, the only possible culprit was the Pureblood Society.
It was then.
Goooooo-!
The black flames that had turned the Hall of Comets to ashes began to converge.
Everyone’s faces stiffened as they watched Erebus take on the form of a gigantic flame giant.
[Groooooooo-!]
A massive roar echoed.
Everyone who heard the roar was seized with fear.
The primordial evil.
The roar of disaster, capable of destroying the world, was enough to make living beings lose their will to fight.
Everyone stepped back.
Terrified, they sensed death.
At that moment.
“Snap out of it!”
A thunderous shout echoed through Seirun.
“Howling?”
Everyone looked at the one who shouted with surprised eyes.
There stood Leo, shrouded in a golden aura.
Step- Step-
“Now is not the time to argue about right and wrong. Especially not when you’re scared.”
Leo stood before Erebus.
“If you respect the Progenitor of the Nebula.”
Leo looked Erebus straight in the eye and spoke clearly.
“If you follow the will of the Comet Mage.”
Gooooo-!
Gray mana surged around Leo’s body.
“Believe in yourselves and fight against him. That is your duty, having entered this school.”
The absolute fear vanished.
Leo, whose fighting spirit was roused, glared at Erebus.
‘As expected, Seirun’s Hero Record is acting as a conduit.’
Excluding the Hero Records of Creation stored in Dragonia, the Hero Records of the Heroes of Creation do not remain in this world.
Even the Hero Records of the Great Heroes, intensively destroyed in Tartarus, still remain.
However, the Hero Records of the Heroes of Creation remain far fewer than that.
Leo knew the reason for this from Mel.
Before the Heroes of Creation entered the Hero’s World to stop Erebus.
To prevent them from being used as conduits, they themselves destroyed their Hero Records, and also left instructions for later generations to destroy any Hero Records they couldn't reach in time.
Whirring-!
At that moment, pure white flames shot up.
Leo turned his head towards Lunia.
There, Lunia was unleashing her magic power, having created a sphere of flames in her hand.
The magic Luna had left to counter Erebus.
Flame Emperor.
Whoosh-!
The pure white flames, symbolizing purification, swallowed the black flames.
[Graaaaaaah!]
Erebus’s enraged roar echoed.
In response, Leo drew his sword.
Whirring-!
Crimson phoenix flames soared high into the sky.
Leo unleashed a flame sword strike towards the opening Lunia had created.
Kwagagagagak-!
[Woahhhhhhh!]
Erebus’s hateful cry echoed.
‘…He’s not fully unleashed yet.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
Definitely threatening.
But it was weak for a fragment of Erebus that the Heroes of Creation had fought against.
At that moment.
Stumble-! Thud-!
Erebus staggered and then fell to one knee.
“Is it taking damage?”
A mage urgently shouted.
‘…No. My or Lunia’s attacks didn’t inflict that much damage.’
Leo, narrowing his eyes, instantly felt the flames distort at Erebus’s core.
As if being sucked in.
Seeing that, Leo realized.
‘They’re fighting inside.’
***
Whoooosh-!
Black flames were everywhere.
Only ashes remained of the landscape.
Seirun, clutching Kometes, unleashed magic power throughout her body.
Magic formulas floated in the air.
“Cessation.”
As the spell was completed, a light of destruction surged.
Kwaaaaaaaah-!
The black flames scattered transiently.
Seirun, her body covered in burns, slammed her staff down onto the black flames trying to revive.
Thud-!
“You! You can’t get out of here!”
Seirun, shouting as if screaming in agony, looked at the black flames coalescing before her eyes.
Goooooo-!
A giant of disaster, shrouded in black flames, appeared.
[How foolish.]
The black flames looked down at Seirun indifferently.
[Your comrades cannot come to this world.]
There was nothing in that voice.
It did not mock Seirun struggling, nor did it feel anger at being blocked.
It didn't even feel annoyance towards the bothersome Seirun.
As if looking at a transient life form.
Erebus spoke, as if unable to understand her struggle.
[What can you possibly do alone?]
“I…”
Seirun clutched Kometes and gritted her teeth.
“I promised!”
Blood burst from her bitten lip.
“I promised Luna-nim! That I would definitely protect the world they left for us!”
Seirun’s hand trembled.
Death was not frightening.
The moment she saw the sacrifice of the great heroes.
She had already braced herself for death.
What was frightening was the thought that she might not be able to protect the world they left behind.
And her own powerlessness at not being able to keep her promise.
“To Luna-nim… I told her… to trust only me…!”
Erebus spoke, watching Seirun compose herself with a trembling voice.
[What value does a promise made with a dead illusion hold?]
“…!”
[And… even if you did make a promise, what good is it?]
For the first time, a sneer entered Erebus’s voice.
[You are merely a foolish mortal who overestimates yourself.]
Seirun’s hand trembled.
[Luna Rubinen was a great being. A treasure of the lower world worthy of challenging me, an immortal being. But you are not Luna Rubinen. Nor are you as great as Luna Rubinen.]
Seirun’s face contorted.
[Would Luna Rubinen have believed you if she saw you like this?]
She was speechless.
[Do not make promises you cannot keep, mortal.]
She knew better than anyone.
That what she was doing now was a meaningless struggle.
It had been a long time since she had been unable to trust herself.
Her mind was wearing away.
The will she had barely held onto was breaking.
Still…
‘I can’t give up.’
Seirun wore a tearful expression.
‘Because I promised them.’