Book 1 Chapter 424
424.
Sizzzzzle- Crackle-
A black crack appeared in the air.
As if it had fractured.
Crack- A dark red energy poured out from the fractured gap in the darkness.
A moment later.
The dark red smoke that poured from the crack contained a terrible aura of death.
The green grass on the ground began to rot.
Had a student witnessed it, they would have been so terrified upon seeing the scene that they wouldn't even have been able to scream properly.
The aura of death soon took on a human form.
Before long, a man in a black robe gazed at the scenery of Rumerne.
The man's identity.
It was none other than Hell Kaiser, the Commander-in-Chief of Tartarus, the Necromancer King, who had reigned as a horrifying disaster for the past 5000 years.
Every time he exhaled, the air was polluted, and everything his foot touched met death.
The Legion Commander who wielded 'Death,' the most dangerous power among Tartarus's legions.
He was, quite literally, the incarnation of death.
Thud-
Someone appeared before Hell Kaiser.
A boy with pure white hair and crimson eyes.
Hell Kaiser curled the corner of his mouth.
The reason he came to Rumerne today.
“I wanted to meet you, Leo Flobe.”
***
Leo was not the only one who realized the presence of the Necromancer King invading Rumerne.
-Lord Leo.
“I know.”
Leo calmly replied to Melina's urgent call, which came through magic.
-I will go too.
“No, there’s no need for that. You should prepare for any contingency.”
-But.
“He must have come here with some hidden agenda. He’s not the type to just recklessly invade.”
The summit meeting is where heroes, hailed as the best of this era, gather.
No matter how powerful the Necromancer King was, or how he had reigned as a terrifying entity for 5000 years, invading this very place right now would be reckless.
“If he were going to invade, he would have done so when the Monster Queen was alive and the Giant King was still thriving.”
-Then why exactly did he come?
“I have a hunch.”
Having answered, Leo headed toward where the Necromancer King's aura was felt.
Thud-
The Necromancer King stood, unchanged from 5000 years ago.
Seeing Leo, Hell Kaiser curled the corner of his mouth.
“I wanted to meet you, Leo Flobe.”
Step- Step-
Hell Kaiser approached Leo.
“You're the hero candidate destined to lead the next generation, who has interfered with my plans countless times and performed numerous miracles, aren't you?”
Goooooooh-!
An ominous dark magic surged from Hell Kaiser's body.
“Didn't you say, when I asked about you before, that you were the one who would destroy me?”
Hell Kaiser's dark red eyes gleamed.
“I will ask again.”
Swoosh-
The aura of death surged from his raised fingertips.
“What is your true identity?”
KWAHH-ANG-!
A huge explosion occurred, shaking the very earth.
Piercing through the thick smoke, an aura of flame targeted Hell Kaiser's neck.
Kwaak-!
Leo's sword struck Hell Kaiser's neck.
But it was blocked, unable to sever his neck.
Goooooh-!
A powerful aura erupted from Leo's body.
Seeing that, Hell Kaiser raised his hand.
A staff made of grotesque black bone appeared in his hand.
Whoosh-!
As he swung the staff, a black aura enveloped Leo.
Leo used an Aura Step to evade the Necromancer King's attack.
Chiiiiiik-!
‘Curse of Decay.’
The moment anything touches that black aura, it begins to rot.
Leo scanned his surroundings.
Unbeknownst to him, a curse had spread throughout the entire area.
‘A Curse of Isolation.’
A curse that cut off the inside of the curse from the outside.
Even if Hell Kaiser rampaged here now, the outside world wouldn't know.
Leo looked at Hell Kaiser.
‘As expected. He came to figure out my true identity.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
What was before him now was not the Necromancer King's main body, but an avatar.
Nevertheless, it possessed formidable power.
Whooosh-!
Magic manifested at Leo's fingertips, which were not holding a sword.
Star Magic.
Flash! Kwagagagagang-!
Hundreds of light bullets, fired from the magic circle, assailed the Necromancer King.
“Playing crude tricks, aren't we?”
Hell Kaiser's eyes quickly scanned the magic.
Whoosh-!
The light bullets vanished as if evaporating before they even touched Hell Kaiser's body.
They weren't merely blocked by Hell Kaiser's power.
He had deciphered and dispelled them.
“I am the one who dispelled even Luna's magic. You should know better than anyone that crude imitations of her legacy won't work on me, shouldn't you? Leo Flobe, no.”
Goooooooh-
A black space opened above Leo's head.
Along with it, bones, flesh, and blood poured down.
“The surviving hero.”
Thududududududud! Splat! Splat! Shwaaaaah!
Bone fragments, flesh, and blood covered Leo.
Seeing that, Hell Kaiser smiled chillingly and activated dark magic.
Kwagagagagagang-!
The pile of corpses exploded, shaking the very earth.
“As expected, such magic doesn't work on you.”
Hell Kaiser burst into laughter.
“It's been a long time, Spirit of Radiance, has it been 3000 years?”
-Necromancer King.
Laruel gritted her teeth and showed her hatred.
A detestable enemy who had fought against Rodia, the Dragon of Creation, countless times 3000 years ago.
Leo, who had blocked the dark magic with Laruel's power, looked at the scattered pieces of bone and flesh.
Kneeling, Leo picked up a single sword hilt lying amidst the ruin of bones and flesh.
It was a weapon that had already lost its function.
It seemed to be the weapon used by one of the people in the pile of corpses that had just fallen, during their lifetime.
Leo raised his head and looked at Hell Kaiser.
“Are these the corpses of heroes?”
“It's a reunion gift, surviving hero. Didn't you survive countless heroes' deaths and live till the very end?”
Hell Kaiser burst into laughter.
“Didn't you even leave behind the deaths of great heroes, more precious than your own life, surviving hero?”
Hell Kaiser's laughter echoed.
“When the warrior died leaving behind words of apology, were you crying? What were your feelings before the death of Dweno, who left behind a profane weapon?”
A murderous glint formed in Leo's eyes.
“What might Luna have felt, saying it was better for you to survive than for herself?”
Grrrritch-!
“And when Risinas, who ultimately passed everything on to you, closed her eyes, and you, once again, survived alone to become the last hero. What were your feelings then?”
Goooooooh-!
The air trembled with the murderous intent emanating from Leo's body.
All living creatures that had barely survived Hell Kaiser's aura struggled to get as far away from Kyle as possible.
“Puff out your chest, surviving hero. No, last hero.”
Hell Kaiser flashed a sinister smile.
The smiling skeleton spread its arms.
“Even if everyone in the world forgets your impiety in striking down a god, I remember it.”
Hell Kaiser looked up at the sky and shouted.
“I know your folly, that you alone defied even death, which others could never overcome, and once again stood alone against a god!”
Clack, clack, clack-
The sound of bones clattering echoed.
“Ultimately, you will once again become the last hero! You are indeed the beginning of this era, and its end! But you need not worry. Until the day the world burns away by divine grace, I will remember! That a being like you existed! Hahahahahahahahaha!”
Whooosh-!
As Laruel transformed into light, it simultaneously enveloped Leo's feet.
Spirit Armored, equipping with a spirit.
“Are you done with your taunts, Necromancer King?”
Leo smiled.
At that chilling smile, Hell Kaiser visibly flinched.
‘It’s not working.’
He had intended to provoke Leo, but it wasn't working.
Even with surging fury, Leo remained exceptionally calm.
Whoosh-!
Leo dashed towards Hell Kaiser.
He closed the distance with Hell Kaiser like a flash of lightning.
Splat-!
Leo's sword severed Hell Kaiser's neck.
Hell Kaiser's body, separated from his head, flew through the air.
Spirit Armored is a spirit art that equips a spirit and draws out its abilities through the body.
Currently, Leo's speed was no exaggeration to say it was that of the spirit of light itself.
“You don't need to remember.”
Leo said coldly.
“Because this world will not perish.”
Kwagagagagak-!
Tracing a trajectory of light, Leo instantly carved up Hell Kaiser's body.
“And I will not become the last hero again.”
Goooooooh-!
Dark magic erupted from Hell Kaiser's body as if exploding.
The moment the dark magic tried to envelop Leo.
Whoosh-!
Leo's shadow surged.
Kwagagak-! Kwarghk!
The shadow became a blade and broke Hell Kaiser's bone staff.
In an instant, Hell Kaiser's eyes widened.
“This is…”
The Spirit of Darkness.
But not a mere Spirit of Darkness.
Hell Kaiser knew this Spirit of Darkness.
“Shadow Spirit?”
5000 years ago.
Hell Kaiser was agitated for the first time by the power of the Great Spirit of Darkness, which had perished at his hands.
Upon discovering Elsi perched on Leo's shoulder, Hell Kaiser's face contorted.
“How…!”
Slam!
At that moment, Leo, who had approached Hell Kaiser, grabbed his face.
Leo activated his aura.
Leo, clad in a gray aura, shot straight up into the sky.
KWAANG-!
Suddenly, Hell Kaiser's face was slammed against an invisible wall.
It was a wall created by the Curse of Isolation.
Kwagagagagak-!
Leo ascended into the sky, grinding Hell Kaiser's face against the wall of isolation as if pulverizing it.
Crack- Crack, crack, crack-!
The Curse of Isolation couldn't withstand Leo's power and began to crack.
Clink!
Soon, a hole formed in the Curse of Isolation, and Hell Kaiser, held by Leo, shot upwards into the sky.
“You have driven countless heroes to their deaths for thousands of years. And you have mocked their deaths and defiled their corpses. Now you will pay the price for that.”
Leo spoke in a low, menacing voice.
Hell Kaiser's very existence was an affront to those who had sacrificed their lives for the world.
Knowing this, Hell Kaiser had provoked Leo.
But even in his rage, Leo did not lose his composure.
“You…!”
Seeing Leo's cold eyes, Hell Kaiser's face contorted.
Leo forcibly twisted Hell Kaiser's gripped face.
Udududuk!
A gruesome sound of bones echoed.
Snap-!
Instantly, Leo ripped Hell Kaiser's head from his body.
“Look closely. And remember.”
Leo held Hell Kaiser's severed head and made him look at the stadium where the first-year tournament match was taking place.
“Those children, Erebus. Tartarus…”
Leo, making Hell Kaiser's head face him, said fiercely.
“They will destroy you. Hell Kaiser.”
WAAAAAAAH-!
At that moment, a cheer erupted, perhaps as Luke and Aina's match concluded.
Hearing the cheers, Leo smiled.
“It's not us who will burn and vanish!”
“Kyle…!”
Ududeuk-!
Cracks appeared on Hell Kaiser's head.
“It's you bastards!”
Poof-!
Hell Kaiser's head shattered in Leo's grip as if exploding.
Shwaaaaaaaaah-!
Hell Kaiser's avatar turned into sand and disappeared.
At that moment.
Hwarrrrreuk-!
Black flames flared up.
‘Flames of Calamity?’
Leo's eyes twitched at the sudden Flames of Calamity.
Whoosh-!
He activated his mana.
Gray mana coiled around the never-extinguishing black flames.
Whoosh-!
The Flames of Calamity died down.
At that moment.
Whooosh-!
The dying Flames of Calamity emitted a white light, then seeped into the gray mana.
Leo's eyes widened.
‘This is divine power…?’