Book 1 Chapter 358
358
The highest place in Seirun.
The Plaza of Stars.
It is a place accessible only with the dean's authority.
Important agenda meetings within Seirun.
Or, the Plaza of Stars held such an important position in elf society that it was only used during Elf Council meetings.
In such a place, an undead imbued with the power of the Necromancer King appeared.
If so, there is only one person to suspect.
And even the shadows of the elves.
When the situation reached that point, after the incident was dealt with, all members of Seirun's Pureblood Society were detained for investigation.
Thereafter, Leo immediately pursued Rügen, the acting dean, leading to the current situation.
“Are you trying to escape?”
“Escape?”
Rügen’s face contorted.
“Why would I escape? Just because you're the student council president of Lumerne, do you see nothing? Where do you get such nonsense….”
“Because to keep the fact that you traded with Tartarus from being exposed, it would be best to escape now.”
Rügen’s face stiffened.
But he soon wore an enraged expression.
“Trade with Tartarus? What do you take me for! I, more than anyone, follow the will of the Founder of the Nebula and the Comet Mage…!”
“If you had followed the will of Luna and Seirun.”
The expression vanished from Leo's face.
“You wouldn't have discriminated against students like that.”
Thud-
A chilling bloodlust emanated from Leo's eyes.
“You followed the will of Luna and Seirun more than anyone? Don't make me laugh. You merely interpreted their will as you wished.”
“Spouting nonsense! How dare a mere human try to teach me the will of the Founder of the Nebula and the Comet Mage? You don't know your place!”
“You're the one who doesn't know your place. If you had truly followed their will, you wouldn't have babbled about trading with Tartarus.”
“Hahahaha… Heh.”
Rügen let out a low laugh.
“A mere suckling brat like you wouldn't understand.”
“Are you not even denying it now?”
Leo's expression turned cold.
“All of this is for the peace of this world. It is the path to protect this world, following in the footsteps of Lady Luna and Lord Seirun!”
Rügen looked at Leo.
“The foolish Necromancer King revealed his idiotic intentions to me! To completely seize control of Tartarus! He asked me to eliminate Erebus! In exchange for that trade, I was to receive the remains of Lord Seirun! To me, a necromancer! Do you understand what that means? Leo Flobe! Do you understand my nobility, refusing no dirty path for the sake of the world?!”
Rügen spoke with a face that showed no hint of guilt or wrongdoing.
Looking at Rügen, Leo spoke.
“I don't know about anything else, but I know one thing.”
Leo drew his sword.
“That you're a dim-witted fool.”
“What did you say?”
“From the beginning, Tartarus was practically the Necromancer King's.”
Bloodlust surged from Leo's body.
“And the Legion Commander is a fanatic. He would never betray Erebus. To them, Erebus is a god.”
Leo's eyes flashed.
“You merely drove the world into danger for your own greed. Do not insult Luna and Seirun any further.”
Gooooooh-!
A powerful magical energy erupted from Rügen's body.
“Insult? Of course, a dullard like you couldn't understand my intentions!”
Whoosh-!
A gigantic magic circle formed in the air.
“I'll make you regret showing hostility towards me! You may have become conceited after becoming the student council president of Lumerne at a young age, but the world is vast!”
As Rügen roared, a dazzling flash of light plunged down towards Leo.
“You are merely a mere hero candidate existing in a long history!”
Flash! Kwa-ga-ga-gang!
A pure white lightning bolt destroyed the area around Leo.
Rügen curled his lips, watching Leo, who had been directly hit by the magic imbued with immense power.
At that moment.
Whoosh-!
Leo charged towards Rügen, tearing through the lightning storm.
The moment Rügen's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected situation.
Swish-!
Leo's sword severed Rügen's wrist.
Clang! Splat-!
“Aaaaargh!”
The hand holding the staff rolled on the floor, splashing blood.
Clutching his wrist and writhing in pain, Rügen stared at Leo in disbelief.
“H-how…!”
There was no sign of him defending against the magic.
“What cowardly trickery did you use?!”
“Cowardly trickery?”
Leo looked at the kneeling Rügen with an expressionless face.
“I merely dispelled your magic.”
Rügen’s face distorted.
“Are you mocking me?! Is such a thing even possible?!”
Magical energy surged uncontrollably from Rügen's enraged body.
Rügen's Star Magic flew towards Leo.
But before the magic could even reach Leo, it shattered into fragments of magical energy and dispersed.
“Th-this is a nightmare… it's impossible!”
Rügen mumbled with a pale face at the situation that defied common sense.
Rügen also knew.
That his Star Magic was being dispelled with a single glance from Leo.
In front of Leo, Rügen's Star Magic was nothing more than a clumsy parlor trick.
‘Is this even possible?’
It felt as if the Star Magic, to which he had dedicated his entire life, was being denied.
“How… how is such a thing possible?! How can a mere human step into such a realm?! Who, pray tell, taught you Star Magic?!”
“The person who taught me Star Magic?”
Leo, who had come right in front of Rügen, whispered softly.
“Luna Rubinance.”
“You… to the very end!”
Bloodshot veins appeared in Rügen's eyes.
Thunk-!
At that moment, Leo's sword flashed.
Rügen's head soared into the air.
Thwack-! Thud- Roll-!
Blood gushed like a fountain.
Leo, with an emotionless face, approached Rügen's body and plunged his sword into his heart.
Thrust-!
Leo, having completely extinguished Rügen's life, opened his mouth.
“How long do you intend to hide and watch?”
With Leo's words, Algrene, the Northern Magic Tower Master, appeared from behind.
He, the Shadow Lord of the Elves, bowed his head to Leo.
“I greet the Master of Shan.”
It was a peculiar sight: the head of the Northern Magic Tower bowing to a mere student, no matter that student was the student council president of Lumerne.
However, Leo found nothing strange about it.
Algrene was paying respects to Leo, not as the Northern Magic Tower Master, but as the Shadow Lord, the master of the Shan Empire and the Book of Shadows.
“Remarkable. Rügen must have been a formidable elf, yet you dealt with him so simply.”
Algrene approached Leo with an intrigued expression.
“Furthermore, how were you able to pursue him earlier than I did?”
Algrene had pursued Rügen from the moment he realized he had disappeared.
But Leo pursued Rügen much faster than Algrene.
Moving stealthily in the dark, pursuing and eliminating targets, was the specialty of a shadow.
Algrene wondered why Leo, a hero candidate who lived in light, not darkness, could reach Rügen faster than he, the Shadow Lord.
To Algrene's question, Leo replied.
“Do you think Emperor Shau offered the Shan Empire to me merely because I am the master of the Book of Shadows?”
At Leo's question, Algrene's eyes widened slightly, then he smiled.
‘Indeed. Anya wasn't speaking idly after all.’
Even last night, when his daughter Anya said that Leo was a master worth serving, Algrene couldn't shake his doubts about Leo.
It wasn't because he doubted Leo's abilities.
Even just looking at his accomplishments as a hero candidate, it was clear that Leo was remarkable.
He would undoubtedly become a hero who could control the world in the future.
However, a hero who lives in the light is different from a shadow who lives in the dark.
‘Young shadows easily become enchanted by and want to follow a hero.’
For thousands of years, shadows had done the dirty work that heroes could not.
But they haven't merely done cleanup work.
Literally, they also undertook the mission of following heroes as their shadows.
In fact, even in ancient hero noble families, there are shadows beyond the darkness.
Anya, too, he thought, had been captivated by the intense light of Leo.
‘But this… this is like falling into deep darkness.’
Algrene, who had steeped himself in deep darkness as a Shadow Lord, could tell.
That the one who executed a traitor without hesitation was both a hero and a shadow.
That he was someone who had already delved deep into darkness a long time ago.
A being with duality, light and darkness.
‘Gray… such a person can exist.’
Algrene bowed his head towards Leo.
“I have committed a discourtesy.”
Leo moved on.
Following behind Leo, Algrene spoke.
“How did Lord Leo know he was a traitor?”
“I've seen similar methods before.”
The Age of Calamity.
The Necromancer King's method of exploiting the rifts among the elves and making them fester was similar to the current situation.
5,000 years.
Enough time to repeat the same mistakes.
“How did you find out?”
“We found traces of the Hero Slayer contacting the Pureblood Society.”
Leo stopped walking and looked at Algrene.
Seeing Leo, Algrene bowed his head.
“He is a traitor who has murdered countless heroes.”
“I know that.”
The Hero Slayer.
The worst hero killer in history, who murdered countless heroes.
His name remains in history books due to his terrifying notoriety.
No one doesn't know him.
“I thought the Hero Slayer vanished 500 years ago?”
One day, after scattering the blood of countless heroes and plunging the world into fear, he abruptly disappeared into the forgotten pages of history.
There are claims that he was vanquished by heroes or annihilated by shadows.
But regardless, what is certain is that he is a figure from 500 years ago.
“That's right. However, shadows in the northern continent encountered someone wielding the same power as the Hero Slayer. Only one survivor remained.”
“……”
“Currently, we suspect the Necromancer King's involvement. Coincidentally, the Pureblood Society also has close ties to the Necromancer King.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Once we uncover more details, I will report them to Lord Leo through Anya.”
“I have a question. Since when have you been treating me so loyally? Anya might be swayed by her emotions because she's still young, but you're not, are you?”
“My daughter is older than Lord Leo, however.”
Watching Algrene reply with a peculiar expression, Leo wore a nonchalant face.
“That's not what's important, is it?”
At Leo's reply, Algrene smiled.
“It's because you are the master of the Book of Shadows. If you acknowledge them, shadows can also have their names recorded in the Hero Records. That fact alone will make many shadows willing to sacrifice their lives for your command.”
A being who could fulfill the long-cherished wish of shadows who had been discriminated against for thousands of years.
That was Leo.
“It can't be just for that reason, can it?”
“As the Shadow Lord, I also wish to witness your abilities.”
Algrene bowed his head towards Leo and spoke.
“Whether you are the person to whom we can entrust our fate… or not.”
“I hope I can live up to your expectations.”
At Leo's reply, Algrene smiled.
‘This boy might be capable of it. Not leading shadows with light, but embracing shadows with darkness.’
He is neither a hero who lives in bright light, nor a shadow who lives in deep darkness.
Just silently, as if embodying his own enigma.
One who grasps both light and darkness.
‘Perhaps he is like Lord Kyle, the beginning of all things.’