Book 1 Chapter 387

387.

Goooooo-!

The world was burning.

Unquenchable black flames engulfed the surroundings.

A dangerous sea of catastrophic fire that could take one's life with just a touch.

Even as they walked through it, no fear could be found in the eyes of the grey-haired man and the black-haired woman.

"…We've finally arrived."

Kyle murmured, looking at the black tower burning in the distance.

A colossal tower of endless height, as if it would pierce the very sky.

It was the Tower of Disaster, the dwelling of Erebus, the primordial evil.

The place where the flames of disaster first erupted.

The final destination of the expedition.

A murderous aura emanated from Kyle's eyes.

His fingernails dug into his flesh in his clenched hand.

Drip- Drip-

Watching the blood stream from Kyle's hand, Lisinas said.

"Kyle, calm down."

"Don't worry."

Kyle spread his hand.

Traces of a long and desperate struggle remained all over his hand.

Those wounds were proof that he had continued to reach for hope, never giving up even in the face of endless despair.

He had suffered gruesome wounds countless times, so much so that it was a wonder his hand remained.

Each time, he barely recovered and gripped his weapon.

At first glance, it was just a scarred, unsightly hand.

But to the great heroes, it was a hand more meaningful than any other.

***

"I'm realizing it anew, Kyle. Your hands are truly beautiful."

Before they embarked on their journey.

Dwenno said, looking at Kyle's hand holding a drink.

"What are you suddenly talking about? These hands, they aren't your type, are they?"

"Certainly, they aren't my type of hands."

Dwenno looked down at his own hands.

They were as scarred as Kyle's, and the same went for Arion.

Lisinas, who was in the rear during battles, also had many wounds on her hands, though not as many as the three men.

Luna also had many wounds, but she wore gloves or covered them with magic, so they weren't noticeable.

Dwenno took a sip of his drink.

"But aren't those the hands that cultivated hope in this world? Even if they don't outwardly suit my taste, the fact that they hold beauty remains unchanged."

"Gulp- Gulp- Phew! I think it's the first time Dwenno has called Kyle beautiful."

Luna, wiping her mouth after chugging the golden liquid from a large beer mug, said with a curious expression.

"Yes. The only beautiful thing about this guy is his hands. And we all have the same hands."

"…So, in the end, Dwenno. You're saying Kyle has no unique beauty in your eyes?"

Arion tilted his head, blowing on his hot tea.

"Of course."

"Oh dear? The self-proclaimed aesthetician says you're not beautiful."

"Hmm… Kyle surely has beautiful aspects too. Don't give up."

"These guys, really. Are you going to keep judging me by your standards!"

The dwarf, nodding resolutely, and Luna, giggling and laughing.

Seeing Arion genuinely worried, an enraged Kyle lunged at the three of them.

After a brief commotion, Kyle returned to his seat and rested his chin on his hand.

"Everyone is so nonchalant, as if they aren't about to embark on their final journey."

Kyle shook his head with an incredulous expression.

No matter what anyone said, it was clear this would be the worst struggle.

There was absolutely no guarantee of success.

No, rather, it was a final journey with a higher probability of failure.

Despite facing such an enormous ordeal, no tension could be found among his friends.

Kyle sighed, watching Luna forcefully trying to out-drink Dwenno.

He also saw Arion, flustered and refusing drinks offered by others.

"I can't find any tension at all."

Lisinas, who brought a beer mug and sat in front of Kyle, smiled gently.

"It's not a bad thing. On the contrary, it's good to see everyone full of hope."

Lisinas, watching the bustling tavern with a satisfied nod and taking a mouthful of beer, wore a relieved expression.

"That's much better than being needlessly afraid."

"What kept you?"

"I was writing my journal."

Lisinas rested her chin on her hand, just like Kyle.

"Come to think of it, you and I used to have meetings here, back in the day."

"Did we?"

Kyle, with a bored expression, clinked his glass with Lisinas's.

Gulp- Gulp- Lisinas, after downing her drink and wiping her mouth, said.

"I told you, Kyle."

"What?"

"That we would save the world."

Watching his confident friend smile, Kyle let out a scoff.

"Yeah, yeah. Amazing."

"The way you kept being cynical in the early days. Apologize right now."

"I think I've apologized countless times already?"

"That's not enough."

Lisinas, scoffing, stared intently at Kyle's face, her own flushed with alcohol.

"Alright, alright. I was wrong. You were right."

Watching Kyle speak with an annoyed tone, Lisinas smiled contentedly.

"And I'll keep the promise I made with you."

"…?"

"You promised, didn't you?"

Lisinas, with her arms crossed, smiled.

"That you wouldn't leave me alone."

"…Right."

Kyle smiled.

"Kyle, you are no longer a hero who simply survives. You are."

Lisinas smiled broadly-

smiled.

"A new beginning."

***

"I am colder than anyone."

Kyle said blandly.

"I've lost too much."

Kyle looked at Lisinas with sunken eyes.

"I carry a lot of burdens. So I must succeed."

"…"

"Failure is unacceptable."

At his words, Lisinas clenched her fist.

"Yes."

Lisinas bit her lip tightly.

"Don't worry, Kyle. I won't let you bear it alone."

Lisinas said.

"Because I will definitely… keep the promise we first made."

***

Knock-knock-knock-

WHOOSH-!

At the sound of the knock, Leo opened his eyes.

Leo sat up and covered his face with his hands.

"Wake up, Kyle. It's morning."

At the voice from outside, Leo got out of bed.

'How strange. To dream of that time.'

After their conversation last night, Rodia left the inn room.

The Erebus expedition began yesterday.

Still just Leo and Lisinas.

A party of only two.

They couldn't suddenly have Rodia, who wasn't part of the original plan, join them in such a situation.

'If another variable were to appear in the original event, there's no telling how twisted the hero's world might become.'

Whatever anyone said, Leo had overcome this trial once before.

From Leo's perspective, it was akin to repeating the past.

Therefore, he thought it best to clear the hero's world by eliminating variables as much as possible, and Rodia also agreed with this opinion.

Thus, Rodia decided to join later.

Leo opened the door.

Lisinas stood with her arms crossed, looking up at Leo.

"Good morning, Kyle."

Seeing Lisinas, who greeted him with her arms crossed and a somewhat stern expression, Leo greeted back.

"Yes, good morning."

Leo smiled gently as he greeted her.

Lisinas looked a little flustered seeing such a Leo.

"Why?"

"Because I can't adapt to your attitude since yesterday."

"Can't adapt?"

"You were so rough and twisted for the past few weeks, but you've become mild-mannered overnight."

Lisinas, revealing her bewilderment, continued.

"I thought we'd argue quite a lot even if we ended up forming a party. Even today, I expected us to."

A shadow fell across Lisinas's face.

"There was a big battle yesterday, wasn't there?"

"…"

Leo recalled the past.

From Leo's perspective, it was a distant past.

But to those living in this world, it was only yesterday.

After going through a life-or-death battle, Kyle always drank heavily.

In order to forcibly shake off the memories of the battlefield, one way or another.

But the current Leo was not like that.

That version of himself had already vanished into the distant past.

The man standing before Lisinas now was not the one who had lived with empty, ash-like eyes, devoid of all hope, but the man who had carried the dreams entrusted to him by his companions and saved the world against the primordial disaster.

It was, in a way, natural for the same person to feel unfamiliar.

"Someone taught me."

"What?"

Leo smiled gently.

It was the smile Leo often bestowed upon hero candidates.

"That if you never give up and keep moving forward, you can grasp hope."

At Leo's words, Lisinas blinked her eyes.

"Let's go eat breakfast."

Leo left the room and went down to the first floor.

Watching his retreating back, Lisinas wore a blank expression.

Fwoosh-

-"What's that dumbfounded look?"

White flames flickered on Lisinas's head, and then a palm-sized woman appeared.

Katariou, lying on her side on Lisinas's head with her head resting on one hand, tugged at Lisinas's black hair.

-"This is a bit of a fresh sight."

Luminus, the Spirit of Radiance, appearing with a small halo of light, gracefully alighted on Lisinas's shoulder.

"What?"

The Phoenix King and the Great Spirit of Light.

Lisinas asked with a puzzled expression at the question from her two contractors.

At her question, Katariou made a pathetic expression.

-"Want to look in a mirror?"

"Why a mirror?"

-"Because that's the face of a girl who's fallen in love at first sight."

"What?! What are you talking about!"

Luminus smiled, watching the indignant Lisinas.

-"I think it's lovely, actually. Seeing Lisinas, who was always bound by her convictions and had no leisure, make a face like a girl her age."

-"It is a masterpiece, indeed."

"It's not like that!"

Lisinas yelled back, then scoffed and went down to the first floor.

"I was just surprised that he showed a completely different side from the hero I knew, the one who survived."

-"So, isn't that a good thing?"

Katariou said with a mischievous smile.

"Of course it's good. Isn't that kind of appearance better than looking like he's lived his whole life?"

-"What kind of appearance is that?"

"Like heroes in fairy tales."

-"So that was my contractor's type."

"I told you it's not."

Lisinas grumbled and sent the two contractors back.

Thump- Thump-

As she descended the stairs, Lisinas brushed her left chest.

'My heart has been restless since yesterday.'

It was from the moment Leo took her hand.

'From then on, Kyle changed.'

Lisinas clearly noticed that change.

'Yes, it's exactly the image of the hero I longed for.'

Someone who never gives up and keeps moving forward.

Having reached that thought, Lisinas quietly smiled.

'So that's it. I've been waiting for such a hero for a long time.'

***

While eating breakfast, Lisinas said.

"Before we leave for the Elf Forest. There's something we need to do."

"What is it?"

"It's about forming an expeditionary force to fight against the Monster Queen Shilatoona, who cursed the Elf Forest."

Lisinas and Kyle, and their first great feat: the subjugation of Jörmungandr.

That feat was not accomplished by their strength alone.

If it hadn't been for the allies who helped Lisinas and Kyle at that time, even the two of them might have failed.

The powerful guardians of Guardsron of that era.

It was possible because they held Jörmungandr back.

Although their names were not recorded in history, they were also companions who had weathered the age of despair together.

Originally, it was an expeditionary force that Lisinas had assembled to fight against Shilatoona.

However, upon encountering Jörmungandr, the expeditionary force also suffered immense damage.

Thus, they were content with Luna joining the party and abandoned the Elf Forest.

"It looks like we'll be busy for the next few days."

"Yes. I'll handle the preparations. You should rest until then."

At Lisinas's words, Leo rested his chin on his hand.

"No, I also have something I need to do."

"Something to do? What is it?"

Leo smiled at Lisinas's question.

"A contract."

"A contract?"

At that answer, Lisinas looked slightly flustered.

'Originally, this contract would have been made much later. But now, I can meet him.'

A partner who had overcome countless battlefields together.

The leader of the pegasi, known as the King of Pure White.

'Albus.'