Book 1 Chapter 393

393.

Lisinas was walking through his study.

Then, a strange voice was heard.

"The final expedition is about to begin."

Drawn by the unfamiliar woman's voice, he headed towards its source.

Upon arrival, he saw an elven woman.

With soft silver hair and golden eyes.

She was more beautiful than anyone Lisinas had ever met.

A shadow fell over her face.

"Can we do it?"

Her ears drooped, full of worry and anxiety.

As he thought her appearance was strangely familiar.

"It's natural for you to worry."

"Huh?"

The voice that followed made Lisinas gasp unconsciously.

"But it's something only we can do."

The owner of the voice soothed the elven woman with a gentle tone.

"I believe in you, who has overcome all the impossible."

The woman with black hair offered a trustworthy smile.

"Trust us, who have journeyed together."

She spoke with conviction.

"We will defeat the primeval evil and save the world."

Lisinas's eyes widened.

"Me?"

***

The desperate night passed.

An ominous dawn broke.

Lisinas opened his eyes.

'A dream?'

It was a vivid dream that deeply impressed him.

'What kind of dream was that?'

He rose from his seat, recalling the elf he saw in his dream.

'It was a woman I'd never seen before.'

It wasn't something that had happened in the past.

'A precognitive dream?'

He had such a thought but shook his head.

Among those with special mana affinities, there are those who can foresee future events.

The most common form is precognitive dreams that appear in the form of dreams.

Lisinas also possessed a special mana affinity, but not the ability to see the future.

'Through spirit arts, I see what has already happened in the past.'

Among those with talent in summoning, only a very few are born with the talent of a spirit summoner.

Spirits come in many forms.

But their essence is one.

'Fragments of memory contained within mana.'

Souls with strong power leave a strong residue in the mana they possessed during their lifetime.

A spirit summoner embodies that mana as spiritual power, manifesting the person's abilities and memories from when they were alive.

'It's just a strange dream.'

Lisinas came to that conclusion.

Then, he approached the expedition members who were having breakfast.

"Lisinas, I heard you acted alone last night. Was there a fight? Kyle said you were just scouting, but I was worried."

In response to Allox's question, Lisinas looked at Leo, who was eating jerky.

'Kyle didn't say anything?'

He recalled dealing with the traitors last night.

Lisinas had simply done what he had to do.

'Even so, Kyle looked shocked.'

If Kyle was the hero who would save the world.

He was willing to sacrifice for him if he was the hero who would fulfill his wish.

"I felt a suspicious presence, so I scouted, but I found nothing."

"Is that so?"

Allox nodded and turned away.

He sat down to eat breakfast.

Rodia approached Lisinas and chatted cheerfully.

'Why did Lisinas choose the path of shadows?'

Leo mused inwardly, watching the scene.

'Did something change in my appearance?'

Things were unfolding in a different direction than the memories he knew.

'I don't know everything about Lisinas either.'

Just as everyone has something they want to hide.

Lisinas must be the same.

In those days, Lisinas led Kyle to hope.

But surely, there were also unexpressed struggles and pains he had.

'I wanted to lessen that even a little.'

From Lisinas's perspective, he had just taken one step.

However…

Leo knew the end of this journey.

Lisinas, who had just begun the story, and Leo, who had already completed it.

They were not starting from the same point.

'Just as I was captivated by the light Lisinas showed me. This time, Lisinas is captivated.'

Perhaps that's why he made the choice Lisinas made.

This is a story of the past, of days gone by.

Even if things change now, the future will not change.

In any case, the world of heroes is a facade.

And whether it's leading people to hope in the light or bringing despair to traitors in the darkness.

In the end, it's Lisinas.

But.

'……Is it truly right to leave Lisinas like that?'

Leo looked at Lisinas with slightly confused eyes.

***

"They're coming!"

"Mages and summoners! Forward!"

Kiiiiiioooooooh!

As the expedition saw the swarm of top-tier magical beasts, Fafnirs, appear before them, tense voices echoed.

Fafnir.

It was one of the most dangerous magical beasts during the Age of Calamity.

Great heroes had made it their mission to subjugate them, and by the end of the Age of Calamity, they had gone extinct, leaving no trace for future generations.

The most terrifying aspect of Fafnir was its strength in aerial combat.

There was nothing more dreadful than a top-tier mythical beast, on par with a wyvern, dominating the skies.

While everyone's faces were tense,

Leo stepped forward.

"Mages, prepare your spells."

With that, Leo crouched.

Aura gathered at Leo's feet.

Quack-!

As he leaped, Leo shot into the sky at incredible speed.

Seeing this, the elven magic caster, Ferik, twitched his eyes.

"What is that technique? Is it magic?"

"No, that's… Aura!"

Allox exclaimed in admiration.

Aura Step.

A future technique developed through research into Aura techniques.

After Aura Step was developed, the battlefield for knights expanded beyond the ground to the sky and water.

It was literally an innovation in Aura studies.

'Even in the Age of Calamity 5,000 years ago, there were those who could run through the sky using Aura, but it wasn't a technique that could be performed so universally as it is now.'

While any student at Lumen's Knight Academy could do it from their second year, in this era, even those who could be called heroes could not do it easily.

Running through the sky, Leo drew his sword.

'Of course, the knights and warriors of this era were by no means weak just because they couldn't use Aura Step.'

Gugugugugugung-!

The earth trembled.

Kwagagagang-!

Giant centipede monsters emerged from the ground.

"It's Great Wors! Alene and I will handle those earthworms! You handle the flying insects in the sky!"

Allox grinned.

The Great Worm, with its hardened exterior, was a calamitous monster that could devastate the surrounding area on its own.

And here, not one, but five Great Worms appeared.

This was the heart of the Age of Calamity.

A place where such immense threats were constant.

But no one flinched at such a threat.

No, they didn't even bat an eye.

Woong-!

As Alene took a step forward, a pure white summoning circle formed around her.

Flash-

With a bright light, the Pegasus, Arpia, appeared.

-Did you call, covenant bearer?

"Please, Arpia."

-Leave it to me.

Whoosh-!

The knight riding the Pegasus soared into the sky.

Hooong-!

A spear materialized in her white hand.

As a Pegasus Knight, she was the vanguard, taking the front line.

Woong-!

White Aura surged from Alene's spear.

"Hooop-!"

Allox followed behind Alene.

Grasping the large battle axe that had been strapped to his back with both hands, he began to spin it around.

A gust of wind swirled around them.

"Here I coooooome!"

The bear-like Allox roared and stomped on the ground.

Tzerrk-!

His footprints left marks on the ground, and the surrounding area split open.

Whoosh-!

Allox, turned into a projectile of invisible physical force, swung his axe blade towards the Great Worm in the lead.

Kwagagagagak-!

His axe blade mercilessly tore through the Great Worm's body.

Puhak-!

Green blood splattered everywhere.

Chiiiiik-!

The highly toxic blood of the Great Worm melted the ground.

"Kwahahahahahahaha!"

Despite being covered in acidic blood, Allox laughed heartily and continued to slaughter the Great Worm.

As for the other Great Worms, Alene's stab created a huge hole in their bodies.

While the Great Worms' attack was being blocked by the two.

In the sky, Leo was fending off Fafnir's aerial assault.

Puhak-!

Severing the neck of a Fafnir that tried to bite him, Leo ran through the air as if he were on the ground.

Fast, and sure.

The Fafnir unit was held back by Leo alone.

Watching him, Ferik, who was chanting a spell, clicked his tongue.

"He's gotten stronger!"

At his words, Rodia, who had been watching Leo's fight, shook her head.

'No, if you compare him to Kyle back then, the current Kyle is much weaker.'

Even at the start of his great journey, Kyle was already immensely powerful.

Leo, barely in his mid-teens, was incomparable to him.

But still, the reason others thought Leo had gotten stronger was simple.

'Experience.'

The experience of ending the Age of Calamity and saving the world enabled his current overwhelming combat.

Meanwhile, Ferik completed his magic.

"Saint Arrow."

Flash-!

Countless arrows of light appeared in the sky.

As Leo quickly retreated from the magic's range, the light arrows rained down on the Fafnirs.

As an elf Lisinas had intended to recruit into the expedition, he was a magician of incredible skill.

Watching him, Rodia clenched her fist.

'We can conquer this.'

The hero's world, which had failed countless times.

Its conquest was within reach.

***

Gugugugung-!

The earth trembled.

A giant snake was devouring everything on the ground.

Kwadeuk-!

The monstrous creature, chewing on the head of the colossal magical beast, Gigantes, raised its head.

Krrrrrr-

Six eyes on its head.

A powerful killing intent emanated from them.

Jormungandr, the King of Gluttony, flared its nostrils.

-Strange.

With a slightly annoyed voice, Jormungandr slithered across the ground.

He was a monster that devoured everything.

Living beings.

Sturdy city walls.

Lush forests.

He even devoured bright light and hope, scattering darkness upon the world.

This was why he was evaluated as specially as the King of Command among Tartarus's commanders.

The place where he devoured everything and scattered darkness became Erebus's domain.

In other words, Erebus appeared where he had passed.

Gugugugung-!

His body moved.

His transcendent sense of smell detected a ghastly scent from afar.

-I smell the blood shed by the Great Calamity.

All commanders drink the blood shed by calamities.

It is a baptism and an honor.

Therefore, Jormungandr had smelled Erebus's blood before.

But it was different from that blood.

It smelled like someone who had been covered in blood that flowed endlessly, splitting a god's body.

-Yes, like…

He had never smelled it.

But if such a hateful being existed.

It would give off this scent.

Jormungandr uttered a blasphemous word.

-God-slayer.