Book 1 Chapter 420

“Hero Records?”

“Shadow Scroll? What in the world is that!”

A commotion arose within the assembly hall.

“What do you think, brother?”

The head of the Zerion family, one of the three great families of Lumern and the chairman of Lumern.

Altech Zerion asked his younger brother.

Albi, who had received the Eye of Insight from the Elf King, possessed the ability to pierce through falsehoods.

In response to Altech’s question, Albi, who had been gazing at the Shadow Scroll, opened his mouth.

“I feel the same power as the Hero Records we know.”

At Albi’s reply, Altech stroked his chin.

“A new Hero Record.”

Altech looked at the Shadow Scroll with apparent interest.

Not only that.

Dejean Ligard, standing beside him, as well as Nishella Tursia, let out gasps of surprise and closely examined the Hero Record.

Dejean Ligard.

The head of the Ligard family, who ruled Lumelia City.

In other words, he could be called the master of Lumelia, the center of the world.

Nishella Tursia was the guild master of Twilight, the world’s largest hero guild.

The Twilight Guild originated from the Knights of Twilight, led by Lumern 3000 years ago.

The Zerion, Ligard, and Tursia families, known as the three great families of Lumern.

All of them were disciples who had followed Lumern long ago.

Zerion, according to Lumern’s will, inherited the academy he founded.

Ligard inherited the land Lumern had cultivated.

Tursia inherited the knights Lumern had led.

These three families have been protecting and managing the Hero Records of Lumern Academy for the past 3000 years.

Therefore, the heads of these three families know more about Hero Records than anyone else.

Even about the history of Hero Records.

“Altech-nim, have you ever heard of something called the Shadow Scroll?”

“No.”

“Dejean-nim?”

“Nor I, Tursia family head.”

Nishella, in her mid-twenties, looked at the Shadow Scroll with intrigue.

Nishella Tursia.

A woman who became the head of the Tursia family at the age of 26.

She was a young hero who, as a sworn ally of the Great Spirit of Wind and a Phoenix, had her name recorded in the Hero Records by repelling the invasion of the Undead Legion five years ago.

As everyone’s attention was focused on the Shadow Scroll,

King Ruckit spoke.

“Shadow Scroll? What is that?”

“It’s a Hero Record where the shadows have their names inscribed.”

“That’s preposterous…! Even if it were true, it would be a fake!”

“King Ruckit, I don’t think you have the right to distinguish whether the Hero Record is real or fake. You are neither a hero nor a shadow, are you?”

“Hmph!”

At Shaw’s words, King Ruckit’s expression turned resentful.

Heroes earned their right through overcoming hardships and trials with their own strength, while kings inherited their right merely through bloodline.

The current nations were all founded by individuals whose names were inscribed in the Hero Records, so they could be considered descendants of great heroes.

However, being a descendant of a hero did not automatically mean one would ascend to the position of a hero.

Therefore, many of the kings attending the summit were not heroes, and King Ruckit was one of them.

As everyone gazed at the Shadow Scroll with disbelief,

Melina raised her hand.

Then, one of the dragons waiting behind her approached the central podium, requested permission from Shaw, and brought the Shadow Scroll to Melina.

Melina received it carefully and opened the Hero Record.

Everyone held their breath and watched the scene.

What was felt from the Shadow Scroll was undeniably the power of the Hero Records.

‘Records of shadows, whose names have never been inscribed in the Hero Records for 5000 years, are now being discovered?’

‘And in such a complete state?’

Even with the evidence presented, it was difficult to accept a fact that had been considered truth for 5000 years.

However, if the Dragon Lord Melina acknowledged it, they had no choice but to accept it as well.

That shadows were also heroes, equal to those whose names were proudly inscribed in the Hero Records.

Meanwhile, Melina, who was examining the Hero Record, spoke.

“…Indeed, these are the records of the shadows.”

“What…!”

“Impossible…!”

“It’s not a fake?”

“It is real. Furthermore…”

“Furthermore?”

“The deeds of the first hero, Kyle-nim, are recorded here.”

“The record of the Great Hero?”

“K-Kyle-nim’s record is there!”

A shock similar to when the existence of the Shadow Scroll was announced,

No, an even greater astonishment erupted.

As everyone stood up in surprise,

“Yes.”

Melina nodded with a gentle smile.

“Could it be that the First Hero was a shadow?”

“If so, it makes sense that the records of the First Hero were unknown until now.”

The heroes showed bewildered reactions.

Meanwhile, Melina asked Shaw,

“Emperor Shaw of Shan, where did you find this Hero Record?”

Melina already knew the identity of the Shadow Scroll.

Moreover, she had already heard from Leo how this Shadow Scroll came into existence.

However, she could not simply reveal the truth.

Shaw glanced at Leo.

Then he opened his mouth.

“It had been stored deep underground in Shan for a long time and was only recently discovered. After various verification processes, we determined it to be a Hero Record that had never been revealed to the world until now, and thus decided to make it public.”

At Shaw’s words, Rune, the acting principal of Seirun, spoke.

“That’s good. It is true that shadows have been discriminated against for a long time simply because their names were not inscribed in the Hero Records.”

Rune, who was as old as an elder in elven society despite his youthful appearance, said with a smile that conveyed his years of experience.

“Isn’t it proven that shadows have also protected the world for the past 5000 years?”

“Ahem.”

“That may be so, but…”

Several individuals showed discomfort.

“It is indeed surprising that the First Hero was a shadow. So, it was hidden behind history along with the shadows’ records.”

King Ruckit grumbled, not hiding his discomfort.

“Ahem. Are you equating the one who was a shadow with the Great Hero?”

“Shouldn’t there be a discussion about that?”

Several kings showed their displeasure.

Even though the Dragon Lord had acknowledged it and the Hero Record with their records had been discovered, the perception that had endured for thousands of years showed no signs of easily changing.

There were as many who held negative views of shadows as those who held positive ones.

It was then.

“Do you know why the First Hero is called the First Hero?”

All eyes turned to Melina.

“It’s something you all don’t know…”

Melina closed the Shadow Scroll and said with a calm expression.

“The first among the Great Heroes to lose their lives was Aron-nim.”

At those words, everyone held their breath.

They all knew the story of the Great Heroes defeating Erebus, the primordial evil.

This world was the proof.

But…

There were no remaining stories about the final battle between the Great Heroes and Erebus.

3000 years ago.

Much of the record was burned and lost during the process of the Heroes of Creation sealing the endlessly reviving fragments of Erebus into the Hero Records.

And then, more records were lost during the tearing apart.

Countless lost records were burned and destroyed by Tartarus.

In that process, the records of the Great Heroes’ final journey also disappeared behind history.

Therefore, it was not known who ultimately defeated Erebus.

What was known was that all the Great Heroes had died in the process of defeating Erebus.

Since Great Heroes were revered beings by each race, the stories of the final battles varied by race.

However, hero scholars and historians unanimously speculated that.

The final battle was where all the Great Heroes combined their strength to barely defeat Erebus, and in the process, all of them lost their lives.

The truth of history was known to no one.

A story that had disappeared into the annals of history.

Melina, having heard the story from the parties involved, spoke the forgotten history.

“The Brave sacrificed himself because he was afraid of his comrades dying. And he entrusted everything to the First Hero.”

‘He took the shield upon himself because… he was afraid of seeing us die.’

It was not the grand or courageous sacrifice that many people imagined.

In the most Aron-like way, he met an unheroic end, still cowardly.

‘I’m sorry… I couldn’t keep my promise to protect you until the end.’

Leo closed his eyes, remembering the coward who apologized while crying.

“Even after Aron-nim’s sacrifice, the Great Heroes did not stop.”

At Melina’s solemn words, everyone’s mouths fell open.

Everyone realized.

What Melina was now speaking was the truth of the forgotten history.

“The second person to lose their life was Dweino-nim. He closed his eyes after leaving behind the weapon to defeat Erebus.”

‘Move forward, Kyle. Make a path for those who will follow… this sword is for that purpose.’

Dweino closed his eyes, leaving behind his only creation, a weapon he called ‘Beginning’.

“The third was Luna-nim.”

‘I’m sorry for passing it on to you too.’

Luna, who entrusted everything, saying you would be better than one of them.

“The fourth was Lisinas-nim.”

‘We will save the world.’

Lisinas, who until the end never doubted that truth.

“Kyle-nim, who defeated Erebus alone on behalf of all the Great Heroes, was the final hero, and…”

Melina looked at the heroes who were holding their breath.

“He was the First Hero who opened the era of heroes. That is why he is called the First Hero.”

“Lord… how do you know that?”

Someone asked in a trembling voice, and Melina smiled.

“Many truths from various worlds are slumbering within Draconia.”

Melina gently stroked the Shadow Scroll and said.

“Surely, in that era, there was no such distinction as ‘hero’ or ‘shadow’… Someone had to do it, so… the First Hero willingly took on that burden.”

Melina stood up and personally returned the Shadow Scroll to the podium.

“The world is in chaos. The reappearance of the First Hero and the Progenitor of the Constellation, followed by the reappearance of the Comet Mage.”

Melina looked towards Seirun, then towards Demian.

“The emergence of hero candidates who have inherited Dweino-nim’s legacy.”

Finally, Melina’s gaze briefly fell on Leo.

“And the records of the First Hero.”

Melina took a deep breath.

“The forgotten Great Heroes and the legacy of the Heroes of Creation are returning to us. Accordingly, Tartarus’s movements are also unusual. For how long will you cling to the customs of the past?”

“Hmph!”

“Th-that’s…”

“A hero, before being a being with immense power who achieves divinely recognized feats, is a being who brings about change.”

Each word spoken by Melina, with emphasis, captured everyone’s attention.

“It’s not the time to worry about things like ‘heroes’ or ‘shadows’. Now is the time to completely uproot the threat of disaster that has persisted for 5000 years. I declare this as the Dragon Lord.”

Everyone held their breath.

“From now on, shadows are beings equal to heroes.”