Book 1 Chapter 415

415.

At Shan's sudden appearance, the atmosphere began to stir.

It wasn't just the Lumerne students.

The same went for the leaders and heroes from various countries who had gathered for the summit.

Amidst all of this, everyone's gaze turned to the middle-aged man standing at the very forefront of the Shan Empire.

A man dressed in traditional Eastern attire, with an inexplicably bored expression.

The aura he exuded was extraordinary.

As if one would be cut if they approached him.

He was a man who possessed such sharpness.

No one recognized his face, yet everyone knew immediately who he was.

Everyone swallowed dryly.

The Emperor of Shadows, who had never appeared in the light.

Those who had been called the strongest shadows for generations.

'The Emperor of Shan.'

He overwhelmed the audience, even in a place where numerous heroes and hero candidates gathered.

Thump- Thump-

Shau, leading the imperial retainers, stood before Liina, the principal of Lumerne.

"It's been a long time."

At Liina's words, Shau smiled faintly.

"It has been a long time, Baroness Liina. Or rather, I should now call you Principal Liina of Lumerne."

Wherever there is light, there is shadow.

Naturally, there are shadows in Lumerne as well.

As the head of Lumerne's shadows, Liina had reason to confront Shau.

"I didn't expect you to attend."

"The world is undergoing great changes, isn't it?"

Shau stroked his beard and said calmly.

"It seems Shan also needs to take action in earnest."

"Welcome. If Shan attends the summit, it will be a great help."

It was, literally, a historic moment.

Ignoring everyone's attention, Shau made eye contact with Leo while heading to Shan's designated seat.

When Shau smiled and greeted him with his eyes, Leo also nodded his head.

***

Even with the stir caused by the Shan Empire's appearance, leaders continued to arrive via warp gates.

Soon, starting with Damian, then Azonia, and Seirun, external representatives from other hero academies appeared one after another.

Flash-!

Seirun, always making a flamboyant entrance, attracted much attention.

From last year until the beginning of this year.

Seirun's internal situation was chaotic due to a series of major incidents.

The reappearance of Luna, the progenitor of the nebula, and Seirun, the comet mage, seemed like good events for Seirun at first glance, but in reality, they were not.

The invasion of the Monster Queen Shilatuuna, which was resolved by the efforts of the Hero of Beginnings and the Progenitor of the Nebula.

And the Necromancer King's scheme, orchestrated by Rhagen, the leader of the Pureblood Council.

The physical damage from the Monster Queen's invasion was one thing, but the biggest shock was the fact that the Pureblood Council had colluded with Tartaros.

Elves are a highly reclusive race compared to others.

Unless it was a special occasion, they did not venture outside their territory, and other races could not enter the elves' territory without permission.

The fact of such collusion among the reclusive elves was enough to surprise other races.

Therefore, despite the major issue of Luna and Seirun's reappearance in the present world, elf society was busy dealing with its internal situation.

It was none other than Rune Ersar who took on the role of acting principal of Seirun to resolve this chaos.

As an elder of elf society, and having kept his distance from the troublesome Pureblood Council, he was chosen as the suitable candidate by the Elf Council.

After the Seirun students led by Rune exchanged greetings with Liina, they walked to their seats.

As they walked, Leo made eye contact with familiar faces.

They were Lunia and Eiran from the second year.

Seeing Leo's face, Lunia gave a slightly haughty nod of greeting, and Eiran smiled brightly and waved her hand.

Leo chuckled and waved back.

Thus, the leaders of all nations and all hero academies were gathered.

However, the Lumerne officials in charge of the conference debated whether to conclude the welcome ceremony as it was.

"Dragonia still hasn't arrived."

"Is this summit also going to send only a representative during the meeting?"

"It seems the Dragon Lord doesn't intend to move."

The Lumerne students began to murmur.

The summit can only be held with the Dragon Lord's permission.

Therefore, Dragonia also attends the summit, but the Dragon Lord does not necessarily attend.

Especially the current Dragon Lord, Melina, the Silent Dragon, is an even more secretive being.

Many in the world paid attention to whether the Silent Dragon would participate, but it was expected that she would send another representative this time as well.

Still, some held out hope, but Dragonia showed no signs of appearing.

Just as the emcee was about to open her mouth.

Flash-!

The warp gate glowed once again.

Everyone's eyes widened the moment they saw the warp gate.

Five people appeared.

In the very center was a girl wearing a veil that obscured her face.

Her long silver hair, almost touching the floor, was sporadically mixed with black.

Though her face was hidden by the veil, she exuded a very noble aura.

As if guarding such a girl.

Four people stood around the girl, occupying each direction.

The girl moved with a rustle.

Everyone stared at them intently.

Meanwhile, Melina, who arrived before Liina, the principal of Lumerne, smiled faintly, then tapped her left chest three times, bowed her head, and slightly bent her knee.

Liina, surprised by the unfamiliar greeting, awkwardly tried to imitate the gesture.

"Nice to meet you, Principal of Lumerne. I am Melina, the Dragon Lord."

"It is an honor to meet you. I am Liina Flix, Principal of Lumerne."

Melina smiled faintly at Liina's polite reply and said,

"If the opening speech for the summit hasn't concluded, may I deliver it?"

"It would be an immense honor if you would."

At Liina's words, Melina smiled gently and headed to the highest podium.

As she did, Melina looked at Leo from behind her veil.

A slight smile formed on her lips, visible through the gaps.

In fact, the dragon race's etiquette performed just now was not directed at Liina, but at Leo, who was standing beside Liina.

From Melina's perspective, it was her first official appearance as the Dragon Lord in a very long time.

Moreover, unknown to others, this was a summit attended by the Hero of Beginnings.

Melina judged it necessary to show respect and courtesy to Leo in such a place, and so she greeted him with long-forgotten ancient etiquette.

"Leo, didn't the Dragon Lord smile at you?"

"Did she?"

Leo feigned ignorance.

The meaning of the smile was probably 'I did well, didn't I?'

'You got the etiquette wrong.'

Of course, Leo was thinking something completely different.

'Rodia did the same thing.'

You're supposed to tap your right chest, not your left.

While Leo was pondering whether he should correct Melina's etiquette.

Melina ascended the podium.

Everyone held their breath, focusing on Melina.

The Silent Dragon opened her mouth.

"Nice to meet you, Heroes and Shadows. And all you hero candidates who follow them."

Everyone focused on Melina.

"This era is facing transformation. Perhaps in this very era we live in, we might be able to bring an end to a long struggle."

At those words, the audience began to murmur.

The words of the Dragon Lord, of all people, were never taken lightly.

"Therefore, I believe this summit is extremely important. I hope this can be a meaningful time to discuss all matters concerning the strange incidents and miracles happening in each region, and the events yet to come. That is all."

When Melina finished speaking, applause erupted from everywhere.

Thus, the World Summit began.

***

That place was, literally, the realm of death.

A domain that the living could absolutely not approach.

The abode of the Commander of Tartaros, the Necromancer King Hel Kaiser.

"The Silent Dragon has moved?"

The Necromancer King, seated on the throne of death, narrowed his eyes at the report.

To him, Atkan, the Grand Duke of Funeral, bowed his head.

"It is so."

At his subordinate's reply, the Necromancer King's dark red eyes narrowed.

The King of the Undead, a skeleton clad in colossal bone armor, was feeling extremely uncomfortable with the current situation.

Watching the Necromancer King, a woman opened her mouth.

"What troubles you so?"

The Necromancer King's gaze turned to the woman.

"Are you perhaps feeling fear towards a feeble old dragon who lost her power long ago?"

The Necromancer King, watching the woman curl her lips into a smirk, raised his skeletal hand.

"Cough? Cough-cough-cough?"

"The Queen, though belligerent and simple, had thoughts. Witch."

Annoyance flickered in the Necromancer King's eyes.

The one called a witch, whose throat was being choked by the Necromancer King's power, began to thrash madly.

"If you usurped a commander's position merely because it was vacant, without qualification, shouldn't you at least be capable of using your head?"

"P-Pardon… Pardon me…! If I am gone, who will be the commander to lead the monsters…!"

"There are many replacements."

The Necromancer King smiled coldly and withdrew his gaze.

Thump-!

With that, the witch's body slumped.

Thud-

The new commander, the witch, sprawled on the floor, was sucked into the bones.

The other commanders, seeing this, fell silent.

Everyone present knew that she was not suited to be a commander.

But even so, she was a high-ranking demon, worthy of the title of commander.

To kill such a high-ranking demon like an insect.

It was, literally, strength of a different caliber.

"The Monster Queen was vanquished, and the Giant King fell into slumber. And the Silent Dragon, who had been inactive for a long time, has moved."

The Necromancer King looked at the other commanders.

"Do you know what this means?"

"It means something is orchestrating this situation has appeared."

"You are at least better. King of Blood."

The Necromancer King curled his lips.

The King of Blood.

He was the strongest commander besides the Necromancer King and the Giant King.

"At the center of everything is this one."

As the Necromancer King stirred dark magic, someone appeared in the air.

A boy with white hair and red eyes.

"Leo Flobe. At first, I focused on him being an All-Class."

The Necromancer King narrowed his eyes.

"But now, he has transcended the category of merely possessing the same characteristics as the Hero of Beginnings."

The achievements he made in just one year after rising to prominence were truly astonishing.

"The death of the Monster Queen, the defeat of the Giant King. This one was present in all those situations."

"Do you mean Leo Flobe is as threatening as the Hero of Beginnings?"

"It would be good if he were merely as threatening as that hateful Hero of Beginnings. But he might be more than that."

"What do you mean…?"

The commanders showed puzzled expressions.

Meanwhile, Hel Kaiser merely glared at Leo.

'This one was always at the center of impossible miracles.'

He cannot be explained as simply someone with the characteristics of an All-Class.

No matter what, he is just an adolescent in his mid-teens.

'But, but what if.'

Hatred gleamed in Hel Kaiser's eyes.

'If he is that hateful Hero of Beginnings himself, then these things are not impossible.'