Book 1 Chapter 454

454.

In a fading consciousness, sinking into the abyss, someone's faint cry was heard.

'Ar?'

At that voice, which showed such unwavering trust that it was almost foolish, his fading consciousness gradually revived.

With it, an old memory resurfaced.

The Age of Catastrophe.

An era when countless orphans were born, and it was considered perfectly normal.

They knew nothing of the happiness of an ordinary family.

It was an era where misfortune was natural.

Peace had vanished even before birth, and the world was filled only with despair.

Amidst that catastrophe, the weakest were orphans, with nowhere to go and no one to rely on.

Days when they just had to somehow prolong their lives.

A childhood where everyone they saw was unhappy.

Among them, he was an unluckier child than others.

"Why is he like that again?"

"I don't know. He's scared of the sky."

"Seriously, what's there to be scared of? Coward."

The other orphans in the alley always looked at him with disdain.

It was natural.

Because he was always terrified.

The gray sky scared him.

So he dared not lift his head.

"They say the sky used to be sky-blue."

"What's sky-blue?"

"They say it's light blue."

"What's that? Strange!"

The orphans shared the food they had scavenged during the day, filling their bellies.

"Wolf cub, you eat some of this too."

Back then, he was called Wolf Cub.

He had no name.

Because there were no parents to give him one.

They just called him whatever was convenient for their group.

Fortunately, even as a child, he was blessed with good people.

Because there was a human girl in their orphan group who took good care of the other children.

The girl would often give a little food to him, who was always terrified.

Then one day.

A wolf beast-man visited the orphans' street.

"Did you hear? He's Lord Agon, the Guardian of the Azure Sky!"

"I've heard of him! He's an amazing person, isn't he?"

"Why would such an amazing person come to this street?"

"He's going to take care of us! He said we won't have to beg for food anymore!"

"Really?!"

Agon, the Guardian of the Azure Sky.

To the orphans, he was no different from a savior.

Although they couldn't eat until they were full, they no longer had to starve without having to beg so hard for meals.

The children cheered, proclaiming this to be true happiness.

Thus, a great change came to the orphans' street.

But it must have been around that time.

That he became even more terrified.

From the day Agon came to the orphans' street, he ran away, avoiding him.

'Scary! So scary!'

The wolf cub was afraid of Agon.

Agon appeared too massive in the cub's eyes.

He had previously seen people on the main road setting out on an expedition to protect the city.

The wolf cub had felt fear from them too, but Agon was on a different level.

Agon was always on the orphans' street, so the wolf cub ended up starving more often.

One day, when he was so hungry that his stomach didn't even rumble.

Agon appeared before the slumped wolf cub.

"Do you not even have the strength to run away anymore?"

"Hiiik-!"

The wolf cub, terrified, tried to scurry away.

But even that small strength failed him.

Agon silently placed a bowl of soup and a piece of bread in front of the wolf cub.

And then sat at a distance, watching the wolf cub.

The hungry wolf cub hastily swallowed the soup and bread.

"Cough-! Cough-!"

He choked from eating too quickly.

But Agon closed his eyes and waited until the wolf cub finished his meal.

A moment later.

The wolf cub approached Agon.

He thought, 'His guard must have been lowered by the food.'

But what greeted Agon when he opened his eyes was an unexpected sight.

"Tha, tha-tha-thank you."

The wolf cub was still terrified.

What about him made this young child so afraid?

As he pondered this, he was impressed by the wolf cub's courage to express gratitude despite such great fear.

"Other children call you a coward. But unlike what I heard, you seem like a truly brave child."

"M-me?"

Agon smiled gently, looking at the trembling wolf boy who wore a bewildered expression.

"Yes, little one. What about me is so scary?"

"L-Lord Agon… is too massive. It seems other children don't see it, but… you seem to possess an enormous power."

At those words, Agon's expression changed.

'He saw through my power and was terrified?'

Agon thought he had perfectly concealed his power.

A surprised Agon even fully reined in the aura he was unconsciously emitting.

Then the wolf cub's eyes widened.

His pale face returned to its normal color.

As the fear vanished, the child's expression became bright and innocent.

Afterward, Agon had many conversations with Arion.

"Scared of the sky, huh… I see. You were born with tremendous power."

"Me?"

The wolf cub's eyes widened.

"Yes. The reason you are always terrified is that your instincts know something others don't. Uncontrollable power is, in a sense, close to a curse. It must have been difficult for you."

At those words, the wolf cub's face crumpled into a frown.

"Then I hate that power! It means I'm always terrified because of it!"

The wolf cub grew to hate the power he was born with.

"No, there must be a reason why you were born with such tremendous power."

"It's difficult."

"You'll understand when you're a little older. So, don't be afraid of your power. Accept it and make it your own. If you do, you might become the one to save the world."

Agon smiled brightly, seeing through the child's potential, which surpassed imagination.

"What does it mean to save the world?"

"Hmm. How can I make it easy to understand?"

Agon, who was pondering, nodded.

"Yes, saving the world means regaining the clear sky."

"What is a clear sky?"

"It's a sky filled with this color."

Woong-!

A sky-blue aura flowed from Agon's hand.

"A long time ago, the sky was all this color."

"Wow… it's pretty…."

His eyes were captivated by the beautiful color he had never seen before.

The wolf cub felt deep emotion looking at that color.

And then, he asked in an excited voice.

"What should I do to save the world!?"

"It's a very difficult task."

"Even if it's hard, I'll do it! I want to see a clear sky!"

"Really? Then, first, you'll have to become strong."

"Become strong?"

"Don't worry about that part. I'll train you. Before that, it would be good if you had a name."

Agon, who was pondering, smiled widely.

"Arion would be good."

"Arion?"

"Yes. In the ancient beast-kin language, 'Ar' means courage. 'On' means person. Combined, it means a courageous person."

"A courageous person… I don't think it suits me very well?"

"No. It suits you well, Arion. You already saw the sky-blue color and knew it would be a difficult task, yet you still wished to save the world, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"That is courage."

"Courage…"

"Yes, so when you feel anxious and terrified, remember the sky-blue you saw today."

Agon stroked Arion's white hair.

"It will surely give you courage."

Aaaah-!

A sudden howling sound completely awakened Arion's consciousness.

'Ar.'

Ar's howling was giving him courage.

And in response to Ar's howling, power surged through Arion's entire body.

Hwaak-!

With the power of Ar's howling, Arion transformed.

His blurring body returned to its original state.

When he opened his eyes, he saw sky-blue hair.

And he saw the broken sword that Chelsea was holding.

Brave.

The symbol of the broken hero.

To deliver this, Chelsea had gathered her courage and come to him.

Arion gripped the broken sword, looking at Chelsea's hair.

Hwarr-!

'Dwenno's Flame?'

A sudden golden flame became the blade of Brave.

Arion smiled, looking at Brave, which had returned to its perfect form.

Ar's howling ignited the courage that had been extinguished.

The sky-blue hair before his eyes showed him the way.

The sword Dwenno had created pushed him forward.

Golden light flashed in Arion's eyes.

Hwaak-!

Brave cut through the flame of disaster.

Tadak-

Arion, who had re-emerged into the world, asked Chelsea, who was held in his arms, with a gentle smile.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Chelsea. Thanks to you, I was able to find courage."

"What did I do…?"

"Sky-blue gives me courage."

Arion smiled gently and carefully set Chelsea down.

Erebos's face distorted, seeing Arion's appearance.

-How did you come back? Is it a miracle born of obstinacy to protect the name of a trivial hero?

Arion replied to Erebos's words, mixed with rage.

"I have no lingering attachment to the name 'hero.' Isn't it because I stepped into the realm of God that I returned?"

-Such absurd nonsense.

"Such absurd nonsense."

Erebos's eyes twitched, seeing Arion simultaneously speak the words he was thinking.

-You… surely the future…

"Yes, I see it clearly."

-Him…

"So I understand. The fact that the future can change at any time."

Very briefly.

His eyes opened to see a clear future, beyond fragmented glimpses.

Just for a moment.

He succeeded in briefly stepping into the realm of God.

Thanks to that, he succeeded in obtaining a very small fragment of divine power.

"It's just a very small fragment… but it's enough to finish you off."

Flash-!

Arion's sword was swung with invisible speed.

Kwaak-!

Erebos's body was bisected from head to toe.

-A mere ghost of the past, dead long ago!

Erebos's enraged voice was heard.

Arion smiled, looking at Erebos.

"We're both in the same boat, so let's not cling to this world."

-Gwoooooooo!

Erebos's enraged roar echoed.

Seeing that, Arion swung his sword.

A golden flash sparkled, and Erebos's body was disintegrated into tens of thousands of pieces.

Pwahk-!

"Amazing…!"

The moment Chelsea's eyes widened.

Flash-!

Leo's staff shone, and a pure white light surged into Arion's sword.

Arion's eyes widened, looking at Leo, who had cast magic on his sword.

Leo made a slashing gesture across his neck towards Arion.

Arion, understanding the meaning, gripped the sword with both hands and raised it.

And just before swinging.

He looked back as if remembering something and said.

"Chelsea."

"Yes!"

"Shall I tell you a secret?"

"A secret?"

"Mm. Actually, Leo is…"

Arion whispered very softly.

"…the Hero of Beginnings."

Chelsea's eyes widened.

"Kyle carried too many burdens. He will never share those burdens. So, please. As a sibling, become Kyle's… Leo's strength. Create a space where Leo can smile comfortably."

"Find what you want to do."

Before the final battle.

Words Kyle had given him, as an older brother before a friend.

'I thought I wanted to become a true hero after coming to this world… but that's not what I want.'

He had no interest in such things to begin with.

'There's only one thing I want. For my family to be able to smile in a peaceful world with good people. That is my wish for myself.'

It was a wish that Leo would surely have been angry about if he had heard it.

He would have scolded him, saying it was ultimately a selfless wish.

But Arion liked it.

Just thinking about it made him happy.

So he decided to keep this fact buried in his heart.

Stomp- Stomp-

Arion walked towards Erebos, who had begun to burn again, holding the sword imbued with pure white power.

"It's over now."

Swooosh-!

Arion tightened his grip on the sword and wore a fierce expression.

"Disappear, primordial evil."

Flash-!

Kuooooooh!

The pieces of Erebos, cut by the pure white light and golden aura, shrieked in agony.

Kwaaaaaak! Hwaak-!

Enveloped in pure white light, Erebos vanished.

The crimson-black sky faded away.

The murderous monsters also caught fire, engulfed in black flames, then extinguished.

Erebos had vanished.

The only evidence that primordial evil had existed was the traces of the fierce battlefield.

Amidst everyone's silence, dawn began to break.

Seeing that, Arion shouted.

"We are victorious!"

"Waaah-!"