Book 1 Chapter 397
397.
Stomp- Stomp-
Every step he took, his entire body screamed.
‘My body has already surpassed its limits.’
It was natural, as he had continuously squeezed out power beyond his limits.
Moreover, even if Lycinus had protected him, the fact that he was directly hit by Jormungandr’s breath head-on remained unchanged.
‘That damned lizard, I’ll give it a piece of my mind later.’
The pain of his entire body burning felt like it would make him lose consciousness.
‘Endure it.’
Leo gritted his teeth.
Grind-! The sound of grinding teeth echoed.
‘I’ll save the world I’m going to save?’
Yes, he would save the world.
But he couldn’t do it alone.
‘You said you’d save the world!’
Clench-!
Leo gripped his staff.
‘It’s your aspiration!’
Mana pulsed.
Kyle knew the end of this journey.
Someday, he would bear the hopes entrusted to him by Lycinus, Luna, Dweno, and Arion, and confront the primordial evil.
‘It wasn’t just their burdens I carried.’
Heroes who willingly risked their lives for the world and fell before disaster.
Their single aspiration.
And the wishes of those who, to live in the future, did not succumb to despair but looked towards hope and moved forward.
‘It wasn't that I didn’t give up. It was that I couldn’t give up!’
What Lycinus entrusted to Leo at the last moment was the world.
He knew it was too massive for her frail shoulders to bear, yet he couldn't bring himself to bear it with her.
‘If you entrusted it to me so I couldn’t give up….’
Squeeze-!
Leo clenched his hand.
Grey mana surged from Leo’s body.
‘You can’t give up either!’
His grey eyes flashed.
-Fool! Useless struggling!
Goooooooooo-!
Jormungandr stumbled backward at the killing intent emanating from Leo’s body.
Realizing that he had been pushed back in momentum without his knowledge, he roared in rage.
-A dying fool!
Hwa-rurururuk-!
Dark red flames shot up from Jormungandr.
Leo looked at Rodia, burning the remaining mana in his body.
Thump- Thump- Thump-
Rodia felt her Dragon Heart beating wildly.
‘My mana is reacting to Kyle-nim’s will.’
Specifically, Lycinus’s mana, obtained as a reward for conquering the Heroes’ World, was reacting.
‘…Yes. Kyle-nim received the Dragon Heart from Lycinus-nim in the final battle. In other words, Lycinus-nim’s power is also Kyle-nim’s power.’
Thump- Thump- Thump-
It was a natural principle for power to follow the will of its original owner.
‘I can’t move right now. In that case….’
Rodia nodded towards Leo.
‘I’ll entrust all my power to Kyle-nim!’
Gooooooooooooo-!
As if responding to Leo’s will, Rodia drew out Lycinus’s magic power.
Her heart began to pound as if running wild.
Blood poured from her mouth, but she didn’t care.
‘Even if my heart bursts. I’ll help Kyle-nim with all my strength!’
Seeing such Rodia, Leo put strength into his hands.
‘Sorry, just help me a little.’
Leo lowered his stance.
Goooooo! Hwa-ruk-!
Golden aura and flames shot up from Leo’s body.
Arion’s aura and Dweno’s flames.
Crush-!
Leo’s feet dug into the ground.
Boom-!
As he leaped, the ground where he stood caved in with a massive shockwave.
He closed the distance with Jormungandr at tremendous speed.
-What…!
Jormungandr’s eyes widened.
A speed that even he, who could foresee the future, could not grasp!
Whack-!
Leo kicked Jormungandr from below upwards.
Whoosh-!
Jormungandr’s massive body shot up into the sky.
Leo’s body rushed once more.
Leo, who appeared in the direction Jormungandr had flown, launched another kick.
Thwack-!
Kwagagagagagagang-!
Jormungandr’s massive body was driven into the ground.
The Flames of Disaster tried to devour Leo’s body, but Dweno’s flames protected Leo like armor.
Leo raised his spear.
He materialized Arion’s aura and Dweno’s flames based on Lycinus’s mana.
A power far beyond the permissible limits.
Every time Leo moved his body, his muscles tore and his bones shattered.
But his wounds instantly recovered thanks to Rodia’s healing magic.
Only the pain, as if his brain was burning, remained.
Thud-!
Leo hurled the spear.
A massive golden spear pierced Jormungandr’s body.
Kieeeeeeeeeek!
Jormungandr writhed madly as a massive impact, no less than the pain of his body burning from the Flames of Disaster, struck him.
Jormungandr, with a massive spear embedded in his body, could not escape.
‘Not yet!’
Leo gritted his teeth.
This attack was merely buying time at the cost of his life.
He couldn't finish Jormungandr with just this.
Leo had no power left to subdue Jormungandr.
‘I’m far too lacking as I am now.’
This time-buying would not last much longer.
But he believed.
‘He won’t die here.’
Leo raised his staff.
‘He won’t be broken here.’
Whoosh-!
‘The Lycinus I know… is foolishly dedicated to her beliefs!’
Leo put strength into his staff.
‘Because he is the savior of the world!’
Even after long exceeding his limits, Leo pressed on.
A brilliant magic circle was embroidered in the air.
Phelic, the elf mage watching the scene, opened her eyes wide.
A magic formula she had never seen before.
But…
“How can it be so beautiful?”
An exclamation naturally burst out.
That magic, as if carved from stars.
Another light to brightly illuminate the world.
Whoosh-!
The world, where night had fallen, shone brightly as if it were daytime.
The light shining from the tip of Leo’s staff seemed to drive away the desperate darkness.
Leo unleashed the magic his friend had given him.
The primordial evil.
The unquenchable Flames of Disaster.
The only magic to destroy an immortal being.
Leo called its name.
“Innocence.”
***
It was deep darkness.
Lycinus stared blankly at her hands in the darkness.
As a spirit user, Lycinus knew that she was in a state where only her soul remained.
At that moment, the darkness disappeared.
In the middle of a forest.
A beautiful elf woman, who had just shed her girlish innocence, wore a sullen expression.
“You defeated the King of Gluttony? That’s amazing. But if I had been there, defeating him would have been my job.”
‘Is this about the future?’
To defeat the King of Gluttony.
It seemed Kyle had accomplished a great feat.
“Anyway, that’s amazing! You deserve to be my comrade!”
Her boastful appearance made her seem like a childish lady, yet somehow she wasn't unlikable.
Soon, the elf woman smiled brightly and extended her hand.
“My name is Luna! Luna Rubinens! I’m going to be a great archmage, please take care of me, Lycinus.”
“What?”
Lycinus was flustered when the woman she had never met greeted her.
At that moment, the scenery changed again.
A place where abandoned houses stood.
A small cemetery.
With eyes that were somehow scared but held firm resolve.
The beast-man boy said.
“I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”
The timid-looking beast-man boy clenched his fists.
“I’ll go with you too. I can’t do great things, but… standing in front and blocking enemies on your behalf… I think I can do that. I’ll try to be brave!”
The beast-man boy introduced himself.
“My name is Arion. Nice to meet you, Lycinus-ssi.”
Again, an unknown person called her name.
‘It’s like… reading the memories of a soul.’
But this was clearly her own memory to anyone who saw it.
‘What on earth….’
Even she, wise with vast knowledge, could not properly comprehend the current situation.
“Hmm! Those are bright, beautiful eyes. You might just save the world.”
Again, the scenery changed, and the dwarf grinned.
“Those eyes will surely shine even in the darkness. Don’t worry about weapons. I, Dweno, will make them for you. Please take care of me, Lycinus.”
It was indeed Dweno, whom she had considered as a potential comrade.
As if watching someone else’s memories of their life, she was reading her own memories that were not hers.
But it wasn’t the end.
The beast-man youth, now grown into a young man, wept, left an apology, and passed away.
The dwarf left a message asking them to take care of what was behind him… The elf conveyed her trust and passed away.
It felt as if her heart was burning at the final farewells of these strangers she had never met.
Every time she saw these unknown people leave, her heart felt torn, as if she had lost something precious.
Tap- Tap- Tap-
Before she knew it, Lycinus was standing in the midst of a disaster where black flames blazed.
A grey-haired man knelt before a massive black dragon, screaming.
And behind him, the back of a black-haired woman watching the scene was visible.
Her back, as she watched the young man’s screams, seemed terribly distressed and sorrowful somehow.
“Kyle…”
She softly called the name of the familiar man who was screaming.
And the black dragon that had passed away was…
“Me?”
She muttered without realizing it.
As if responding to that call, the woman who had been watching the black dragon’s death and Kyle’s screams turned around.
“It’s… me.”
Lycinus muttered blankly.
Seeing such Lycinus, another Lycinus smiled faintly.
“It’s you, but not you.”
“What?”
“You are the foolish one. And I am Lycinus, the King of Wisdom.”
The King of Wisdom smiled and said.
“You… what exactly are you?”
“I am you.”
The King of Wisdom said.
“The future you, who will embark on a journey with Kyle… and confront Erebus with Luna, Arion, and Dweno.”
Stomp- Stomp-
The King of Wisdom approached Lycinus.
“But ultimately, you are the one who will send off friends who are irreplaceable, and in the end, entrust everything to Kyle and leave first.”
Lycinus held her breath.
“Foolish one, Lycinus. You cannot save the world alone.”
At the King of Wisdom’s words, Lycinus’s face distorted.
She saw Kyle screaming.
Only utter despair came to mind.
Lycinus’s hands trembled.
Then.
Slide-
Kyle, who had been screaming, got up.
Stumble- Stumble-
And he stumbled forward.
“But Kyle cannot save the world alone either.”
The King of Wisdom said.
“Because it was ‘us’. We were able to save the world.”
Even in a desperate situation, the last hero did not give up and moved forward.
“My past self.”
The King of Wisdom made a sad expression.
“Kyle will surely fulfill our fervent wish. But… that’s because you… I… we… burdened Kyle with so much.”
Lycinus gritted her teeth.
“The reason we didn’t give up despite suffering frustration… despair… and pain worse than death… is because we bore too much.”
The King of Wisdom looked directly at Lycinus.
“Let’s not be ashamed before the people who believed in us and entrusted their future to us.”
The King of Wisdom said with emphasis.
“Let’s be proud of Kyle’s back, the one who will never give up until the end.”
Lycinus looked at Kyle, who was moving forward alone.
“The promise not to leave him alone… We ultimately won’t be able to keep it.”
Lycinus recalled Kyle, who had smiled and said he would save the world while holding her hand.
She couldn’t imagine how he must have felt when he held her hand, having made a promise he couldn’t keep.
“But… not now.”
The King of Wisdom said.
“Kyle needs you now. He’s waiting for you.”
Even a promise that ultimately couldn’t be kept, not now.
Breaking the promise is a story for far in the future.
“Kyle is doing his best.”
The King of Wisdom reached out her hand with emphasis.
“Let’s try a little harder.”
The foolish one took that hand.
As if… Kyle had taken her hand.
“Yes.”
At the foolish one’s answer, the King of Wisdom smiled brightly.