Book 1 Chapter 482

Under a sky painted with twilight.

A knight with a longsword and a knight with a greatsword stood facing each other.

Tamuss, the knight with the greatsword, clad in resplendent armor, spoke.

"You came out alone, brave one, Knight of Twilight."

Tamuss said in a chilling voice.

"The ignorant masses of this world babble on."

Tamuss aimed Nox, held in his hand, at Lumern.

"That the Knight of Twilight is the successor to Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning."

Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.

2,000 years ago.

The ultimate great hero who saved the world from the brink of destruction.

He overcame countless hardships and trials, surpassing countless limits.

Kyle, who ultimately saved the world despite desperate circumstances, is still revered as a role model for all heroes even after 2,000 years.

A hero's epithet is bestowed by the gods.

Literally, Kyle was the beginning of a new era acknowledged by the gods.

Therefore, any hero wishes to be called Kyle's successor.

"I cannot accept it."

Tamuss narrowed his eyes.

"The Hero of the Beginning is the most magnificent, noble, and strongest hero. It's absurd to say that you, a former slave, are his successor."

At his words, Lumern closed his eyes.

"Furthermore, you did not receive any conquest rewards even after conquering the Hero of the Beginning's world. Do you think you are worthy as the successor to the Hero of the Beginning?"

"I know better than anyone that I am not worthy as the successor to the Hero of the Beginning."

Lumern replied indifferently to Tamuss's words.

"Because I could not overcome my own limitations."

Lumern looked down at his hands and said.

"It is absurd for me, who gave up without overcoming them, to be Kyle's successor."

Lumern did not receive conquest rewards even after conquering Kyle's world.

Lumern believed he didn't receive the rewards because he was not worthy as Kyle's successor.

'I admired and respected him since I was young. That's why I wanted to follow his will.'

But even though he reached a position close to him, he ultimately couldn't touch it.

That was his limit.

His close friends each played their part.

They inherited the power of their respective great heroes, worthy of being successors.

'But I, who couldn't inherit Kyle's power, failed to fulfill my role. That's why I almost led my friends to their deaths.'

No matter how much he reached out, he couldn't reach Kyle.

Their origins were fundamentally different from the start.

Kyle was an all-class, while he was a swordmaster.

"You have a good grasp of your place."

Tamuss mocked Lumern.

"If I had been in your place when conquering Kyle's world… I would have certainly obtained Kyle's power."

"No, you wouldn't have inherited Kyle's power either."

"What?"

"Isn't it ridiculous to think you're Kyle's successor just because I'm not his successor?"

"How dare a mere former slave utter such blasphemy?"

"Rodia waited for you until the very end, she believed you would come."

Lumern's eyes turned cold.

"Not just Rodia. Seirun, Azonia, Damian. Though we now walk completely different paths, I believed and never doubted that you would come if you were a hero."

"You…"

"The whole world was waiting for you."

Until the moment the calamity's return was concluded.

In the world, the Knight of the Underworld was evaluated as the strongest hero.

His fame was higher than that of the Hero of Genesis.

Furthermore, many spoke of him as being stronger than the Hero of Genesis.

Not just individual strength.

His forces shook the hegemony of the continent and were powerful enough to threaten Tartarus itself.

Even the shadows that did not show themselves to the world, feared and scorned, appeared on the battlefield of Tartarus, led by the Shaan Empire.

"Everyone joined forces to confront the returned calamity. Because everyone knew why we were pushed to the brink of destruction 2,000 years ago."

The reason the world was driven to the brink of destruction during the Age of Calamity.

It wasn't just the catastrophic existence of Erebus.

The world, even more divided, was powerless before the advance of Tartarus.

Even as the world hurtled towards destruction, the fighting did not cease.

After the Age of Calamity ended and the new era began.

The world strived to ensure such a thing would never be repeated.

"There were divisions and conflicts, yes. Wars between races and factions were incessant. But we did not forget the past. For the past 2,000 years, whenever Tartarus stirred, the world has put aside its blades against each other and fought against evil."

The conflict between the Heroes of Genesis and the Knight of the Underworld was a well-known story.

However, they thought they would unite their strength in the face of world crisis.

People did not doubt that the Knight of the Underworld, called the strongest hero, would draw his sword to destroy evil.

But what returned was a betrayal of trust.

People fell into deep despair.

Amidst this, the Heroes of Genesis defeated the fragments of Erebus and saved the world.

But the joy was short-lived.

People turned their anger towards the Knight of the Underworld and his empire, Tarim.

Anger soon turned into mockery.

"Your sin is not just merely standing by during the world's crisis. You severed the bonds that had been maintained for the past 2,000 years."

Anger flared on Lumern's face.

"You destroyed one of the greatest legacies that the great heroes bestowed upon us with your own hands. And with that, you dare to claim to be Kyle's successor?"

"Hmph. A slave's pathetic thinking."

Tamuss snorted.

"After all, didn't you defeat the fragments of Erebus? The fact that they were dealt with by your hands, even without the greatest hero, me, stepping in, means it wasn't a great threat."

Tamuss wore an arrogant expression.

"If you fall by my hand, people will soon realize. That the greatest hero is still me."

Gooooo-!

Black aura surged from Tamuss's body.

"That your accomplishments are nothing. If that happens… Rodia. That woman will also realize! That her choice was wrong!"

Flash-!

His eyes flashed.

Spiritual energy emanated from his body.

"Glorious heroic spirits who follow my will! Rise! Show this arrogant one who challenges my majesty that the heavens are high!"

With Tamuss's roar, the subspace opened, and heroic artifacts poured out.

The heroic spirits summoned from the artifacts revealed themselves.

Tamuss's proud army of heroes.

Heroes who fell by his hand, or heroes who lost their lives on the battlefield while following him.

Tamuss had made contracts with such heroes and subjugated them as heroic spirits.

A skill possible only for him, who was called the strongest spirit summoner in the 2,000-year history since the Age of Heroes.

This was the reason he was called the strongest hero.

However, the heroic spirits did not move at Tamuss's command.

"Insolent! Why do you not obey my command!"

Tamuss's expression turned bewildered.

"I told you, you betrayed the world's trust."

Lumern pointed his sword at Tamuss.

"Did you think the heroic spirits would follow you?"

Tamuss's face contorted at Lumern's cold words.

"Pathetic fools. How dare you betray me."

Whoosh-!

Tamuss, having sent back the heroic spirits, curled his lips.

"It doesn't matter. The reason I'm called the strongest hero isn't my spirit summoning."

Tamuss lowered his stance and gripped Nox again.

"What can you do alone? Your achievements were merely built upon the expectations of my past comrades."

Lumern only became associated with Rodia five years ago.

Tamuss remembered when he first met Lumern.

Lumern had clearly conquered the world of a great hero alone.

But that was only the [Prologue].

Considering that time, Lumern was a weakling who hadn't even obtained the title of hero.

Only five years.

How much stronger could a weakling who couldn't even properly block his attack have become?

CRASH-!

Tamuss charged at Lumern.

SWISH-!

And his vision flipped.

"What?"

Tamuss uttered a dazed sound.

Tamuss didn't know.

When all the Heroes of Genesis fell.

It was Lumern, the Knight of Twilight, who had not given up until the end and cut off the head of Erebus's fragment.

The fact that Lumern's power had long surpassed Tamuss.

And Lumern's swordsmanship…

'…The Hero of the Beginning… Kyle?'

Tamuss had never entered Kyle's world.

But he had met him in the worlds of other great heroes.

That's why he could recognize at a glance that the trajectory of Lumern's sword just moments ago was identical to Kyle's.

Lumern's back was visible in his inverted vision.

His figure, somehow, overlapped with Kyle's.

'Deceiving me with lies! You inherited Kyle's power!'

Tamuss's eyes turned bloodshot.

'Why could you become so strong in such a short period?'

Tamuss was engulfed in the lingering question in his mind.

'I see! You strengthened yourself with conquest rewards from Hero Records, not with your own power! Unacceptable! You fake hero!'

Tamuss, having reached his own conclusion, poured out his hatred.

'It's all because of you! That I was betrayed by the heroic spirits! That Rodia abandoned me! That I couldn't inherit the power of a great hero! That I couldn't inherit Kyle's power! It's all because of you!'

His consciousness faded.

'If you hadn't existed! That position would have been mine…!'

***

"You crazy bastard."

"What…?"

"Why are you my successor? I never had a successor like you."

"You also think Lumern is your successor?! That guy is a pathetic former slave! He's not a successor worthy of your glorious name!"

Tamuss shouted in an agitated voice.

"I, of noble birth, Tamuss, am the one worthy of being your successor…"

"I don't particularly think Lumern is my successor either. What's so important about being a successor? Those who want to save the world are all the ones who follow in our footsteps."

Leo said indifferently.

"In that sense, you are not even a hero, let alone my successor."

"What?"

At Leo's declaration, Tamuss's body trembled with rage.

"Yes, I understand. You are not Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning."

"You yourself just said I was Kyle moments ago."

"There's no way the Hero of the Beginning wouldn't acknowledge me."

"He really is a crazy bastard."

Leo knew he was talking to someone he couldn't communicate with, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad, and he could only let out a hollow laugh.

A glint flashed from within his hood.

"I ascended to the position of hero through divine acknowledgment. How dare you, who are nothing, question my qualifications as a hero?"

"If you put it that way, I have nothing to say."

Leo curled his lips.

"Still, you are not a hero."

"Arrogant and insolent."

Killing intent poured from Tamuss's body.

"How dare you, a fake hero born with the power of Hero Records, judge me…!"

The moment Tamuss raged.

His movements stopped.

And then his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"This… this is impossible…!"

Tamuss stared at the message before his eyes with a look of shock.

[Hero qualifications have been revoked.]