Book 1 Chapter 476

476.

WHOOOOOOOOSH-!

A dry wind swept across the plains.

Flesh and blood were crushed and scattered everywhere, and broken weapons lay strewn about.

In the midst of the brutal battlefield, an elf woman in a brown robe knelt and mumbled.

"I can't forgive you, I can't forgive you, I can't forgive you."

Crunch- Crunch-

Figures clad in pure white armor and robes approached the elf woman.

"You've put on quite a show."

The mage at the front stroked his beard and spoke.

"Are you the Iron-Blooded Mage Tiara?"

To the question of the kindly-looking old mage, the elf woman, Tiara, didn't even glance at him.

"I will take your silence as affirmation. But truly. This is a strange occurrence."

The old mage laughed, as if in wonder.

"The Iron-Blooded Mage was a hero from 1000 years ago. And now, she suddenly appears in the present day."

Even with his glib words, Tiara continued to mumble, holding her head.

"Ah, I'm not saying you're not the Iron-Blooded Mage herself."

At the old mage's words, a knight standing next to him nodded and chimed in.

"This is the era when the Hero Arion, the Founder of Nebulae Luna, and the Comet Mage Seirune are reincarnated."

At that moment.

Tiara, who had been muttering the same words blankly, suddenly stopped moving.

"What… did you say?"

Tiara looked at the knight with a vacant expression.

"It's a lie. It's impossible. Them… they wouldn't do that… they wouldn't be like me… not like me… not so ugly…"

Seeing Tiara start to ramble again like a broken doll, an elementalist woman in pure white priestly robes scoffed.

"Of course, they are different from you. Their reappearance on this land is the will of the great God."

Disgust flickered across the elementalist's face.

"You are clearly different, resurrected by the dark magic of the evil Tartarus."

But even with these words, Tiara only mumbled, "It can't be."

Looking at Tiara, a mage in pure white robes said,

"I will grant you a peaceful slumber now, ghost of the past."

FWOOOOOOSH-!

A massive flame erupted from the mage's hand.

"I will let you close your eyes peacefully, thinking of the great deeds you accomplished. However… I cannot help but let your name fall into the dirt."

The old mage spoke solemnly.

"Heroes are chosen beings to lead the world. We cannot tolerate a hero who has been manipulated by the wicked Necrolord."

In the first place, the Iron-Blooded Mage Tiara was considered a heretic among elves.

"With this incident, I will erase your name from the pages of history."

KABOOOOOM-!

With a powerful explosion, flames surged upward.

Leaving behind a giant pillar of fire, the old mage covered himself with his white robe and mumbled.

"All is in the name of justice."

"It ended more anticlimactically than I thought."

The elementalist woman, Keleny, a hero with the epithet White Inferno, scoffed.

"Even if she was once a hero, she's now a pathetic soul fallen into the Necrolord's grasp. She's no match for us, the true heroes."

"Sir Nergin is right."

The hero, Spear of Light Nergin, nodded at the words of the Purification Staff Nogern.

These three were all heroes whose names were on the Hero Record and members of the Justice Guild.

"Hmph, with the merit of defeating the Iron-Blooded Mage, I should be able to be promoted to Queen Class, right?"

"But the merit was Nogern's?"

"Ah, I don't know, I don't know. We handled it together, didn't we?"

"I have no intention of monopolizing the merit. However, I wonder if defeating a mere undead, even a past hero, is enough for promotion."

"I think this is enough to elevate the guild's status! Hohohoho!"

Nergin clicked his tongue, watching Keleni burst into laughter.

Nogern, shaking his head at his two distracted companions, suddenly stopped and looked ahead, then mumbled.

"Leo Flob."

"What?!"

"Did you say Leo Flob?"

Keleny and Nergin looked ahead in shock.

There, Leo Flob was looking down at the three heroes.

"Ha, this insolent brat must want to die, coming here?"

"I will not forget the grudge of the guild members."

"That's strange. I have never killed a member of the Justice Guild."

At Leo's words, Nogern said.

"It's unlikely you don't know that we are helping the Kingdom of Petiman, Leo Flob."

The old mage hero stepped forward and said.

"Leo Flob, Guild Master of Justice. Mr. Lightseeker expressed great regret regarding your hostile actions."

"There's no need for regret."

Leo let out a scoff.

"However, before that, he also said he had a great desire to accept you into the Justice Guild. If you join the guild, he guaranteed you the status of Queen Class. And he also said he would overlook the murder of guild members."

"Nogern, is that true?! It's unacceptable! Queen Class for such an outsider!"

"Exactly! The position of Queen is too much for someone who has done nothing for the guild!"

Keleny and Nergin protested with expressions of shock.

Queen Class.

It was an executive position.

The Justice Guild called their Guild Master King and bestowed the title of Queen upon the executives who controlled the guild.

For heroes, there were the titles Knight, Rook for mages, and Bishop for elementalists.

Ordinary guild members were given the title of Pawn.

Queen Class was also a candidate for the next King.

As such, it was a position that could only be reached by performing well after joining the guild.

To grant such a position to an upstart who was hostile to the guild!

"This is not just the Guild Master's will. It is the will of all the executives. And Leo Flob has sufficient qualifications for it."

At Nogern's words, Leo opened his mouth.

"Is that Queen position really that valuable?"

"It is valuable. Depending on the rank, you will receive territory in the country our guild will establish in the future."

"A country?"

"Yes. Our Justice Guild plans to create a new and ideal country ruled by heroes."

"Heroic nations established by heroes have existed for a long time, so what's new about it?"

"It's different. We plan to create a country where heroes are the law."

"…"

"Heroes are like the representatives of God. Only special individuals can become heroes. Therefore, it is natural that they should have the right to rule the world."

Nogern spoke in a benevolent voice.

"We have the right and obligation to guide the ignorant commoners to the light."

"Don't you feel any guilt for arbitrarily starting wars that didn't need to happen, accumulating karma, and becoming heroes?"

"No. Their sacrifices will be the foundation for creating a just world."

Leo closed his eyes and sighed.

"It's different from the heroes I imagine."

"What is the hero you imagine?"

"Someone who can risk everything for others."

"That's a childish remark. It's a delusion that can only be uttered when you know too little about the world."

"Delusion or not, you are not heroes."

Leo said coldly.

"You are just idiots who think you are great and special."

"Your personal opinions are unnecessary. The fact that we are heroes is proven by the Hero Record, by the gods."

"Those gods must be idiots."

Leo knew the true nature of gods.

There were gods who sought righteousness and order, and gods who sought chaos.

Hedonists who purely sought amusement.

If such gods were watching the mortal realm.

'Seeing these fools become heroes and act so grandly would be quite entertaining for such gods.'

Nogern replied coldly to Leo's words.

"Do not blaspheme. And if you do not accept our guild's offer, your predetermined path is nothing but destruction. You could be hunted and killed by us right here."

At Nogern's words, Leo crossed his arms.

"Before you attack me, why don't you worry about your back?"

"What…?"

KABOOOOOOOOOOM-!

The pillar of fire that had soared high disappeared, and a dark crimson magic circle rose in the air.

The heroes of the Justice Guild showed expressions of shock at the thrilling magic.

"I-impossible!"

"A mere ghost from the past couldn't possess such immense magic!"

Keleny and Nergin showed expressions of shock.

Leo frowned as he looked at the magic.

'Is that Star Magic?'

It was distorted magic, to the point where even Leo felt a chill.

The magic left by the Iron-Blooded Mage remained as Heroic Magic and was passed down to Lumern.

However, due to its extremely difficult incantation difficulty proportional to its powerful effects, it was one of the avoided magics.

'The only user is Elena, though.'

He thought of Elena Zerone, a fourth-year student in Lumern's magic department with a wicked disposition.

'I see why she was ostracized as a heretic among elves.'

Tiara's magic was filled with hatred.

'That much hatred would have made her an ideal undead material for the Necrolord.'

Leo's brow furrowed.

"Sir Nergin! Keleny! Form ranks!"

Nogern readjusted his staff.

"We must eradicate this ghost!"

At those words, Nergin unleashed his aura and Keleny summoned an elemental.

"I will show this ghost, who defiles the name of heroes, what true heroic power is!"

***

The battle of the heroes, like a disaster, ended.

In the center of the devastated battlefield.

"Damn… how dare… how dare… a filthy undead…!"

Nogern, whose lower body had disappeared, was painfully retreating from the battlefield.

Tiara approached to finish off Nogern.

Thud-

Leo walked in front of Nogern.

"L-Leo Flob. Please… help me…!"

At those words, Leo looked down at Nogern with cold eyes.

"We are heroes whose names are on the Hero Record… Wouldn't it be right to join forces to fight against the undead of the wicked Tartarus?"

Looking down at Nogern, Leo walked towards Tiara.

"Hah! This milky-breathed brat! Save… save me! I'm not meant to die pathetically in a place like this… Cough!"

Nogern, who was raging and begging for his life, coughed up blood and collapsed.

It was truly instantaneous for the three heroes of the Justice Guild to fall.

The difference in power between the Iron-Blooded Mage and the three heroes was too great.

'Well, it's the limit of manufactured heroes.'

Unlike them, who were created by accumulating karma, the mage before him was a true hero.

Even though she was resurrected as an undead by the Necrolord's scheme and harbored endless hatred towards the world, the efforts and achievements the hero before him had built remained true.

Leo looked at Tiara's face.

Her eyes were unfocused.

All that could be felt was hatred towards the world.

All undead resurrected by necromancy harbored hatred for all living things.

Leo, who had dealt with countless undead, knew this fact well.

'But this one is fundamentally different.'

A mage can know about a person by looking at their magic.

The Iron-Blooded Mage's magic was distorted with hatred in itself.

As far as Leo knew, all elves in this world revered Luna.

They cherished the Star Magic she left behind.

Magic is the heart of the mage.

The act of carelessly defiling the great legacy left by Luna was considered an act of blasphemy against Luna.

'She wouldn't have been any different.'

GOOOOOOOO-!

"Eisen an Blut."

A spell flowed from Tiara's lips.

A cruel magic that tears apart the opponent with iron and blood.

Tiara had no reason left.

Only the hatred to tear everything apart remained.

'I can't let this go.'

An undead filled with hatred is a disaster that causes slaughter by its very existence.

She would undoubtedly not stop killing everything in sight until she disappeared.

'I will defeat her.'

The moment Leo raised his magic.

FWOOSH-!

Instantly, black mana erupted from Leo's hand.

"What?"

Leo's face stiffened as he saw the mana escaping his control.

'Berserk?'

For a moment, such a thought crossed his mind.

But the mana was not berserk.

Leo hastily dodged Tiara's magic and landed on the ground.

And he looked down at the black mana still flowing from his right hand.

'Rysina's mana?'

Leo was flustered as he saw the suddenly manifested Rysina's mana.

The black mana emitted a bright light.

FWOOSH-!

"Ack?"

Leo closed his eyes.

"Please… be at peace in your next life."

In the middle of the battlefield.

Rysina knelt and prayed.

Pure white spiritual energy flowed around her.

It was Rysina, who, after defeating thousands of Death Knight troops controlled by the Necrolord, was paying respects to their souls as a spirit summoner.

FWOOSH-!

The light disappeared.

And by some chance, the black mana had become pure white spiritual energy.

Leo asked with a dazed expression.

"To… save him?"

WHIRRRRR-!

As if answering Leo's question.

Rysina's spiritual energy resonated.