Book 1 Chapter 493

493.

Leo couldn't find the words to say as he watched Luna laugh, holding his hand.

Luna's attire was exactly as it had been 5000 years ago.

A wizard's robe, soaked with blood from the fatal wound inflicted by Erebus.

Fortunately, the wound from 5000 years ago was gone.

She was different from Arion.

But she was also different from the Luna who had crossed over to the present world last time.

The heroes of the Hero's World, no matter how real they seemed, were ultimately illusions.

But Heroic Spirits are different.

Heroic Spirits are like the lingering memories imbued in mana.

A part of someone who existed in life.

But their essence is themselves.

The person before him was Luna herself, who had to end her time 5000 years ago.

'And this body.'

The crucial reason why Heroic Spirit Arts differed from Necromancy.

In the case of Heroic Spirit Arts, one allows a heroic spirit to inhabit their body to manifest its abilities.

Therefore, it cannot materialize the physical body from life, unlike necromancy.

But now, Luna had a physical body.

Luna seemed as perplexed by the current situation as Leo was.

She looked herself over, then spun around in a circle right there.

"Oh-ho, oh-ho?"

She exclaimed in admiration, touched her pointed ear with her fingertip, and then smiled brightly.

Then, she extended only her thumb and index finger on her left hand to make an 'L' shape, placed it on her chin, and puffed up her chest.

"Lady Luna, revived!"

"Seeing you talk nonsense so nonchalantly, it's definitely Luna."

"What? What's with that dry reaction? Aren't you happy that I'm revived!?"

Luna glared at Leo, raising her eyebrows.

Leo looked at Luna and said seriously.

"That you were revived as a Heroic Spirit and we met again… I'm happy."

Luna was flustered by the unexpected answer.

'I thought Ka, Kyle would definitely react sarcastically?'

She was secretly happy about his honest and serious reaction.

"Hmph, hmph! Well then, you should just be openly happy, shouldn't you?"

Luna hid her embarrassment, crossed her arms, and turned her head away as she spoke.

Leo looked at such a Luna and said.

"The reason you became a Heroic Spirit."

Leo clenched his fist.

"Luna, I ended up losing even Risinas."

"…"

At those words, Luna's ears drooped.

"But I narrowly managed to subjugate Erebus and saved the world. What do you think were the feelings I felt as I died?"

"…I can't guess."

"It was a sense of relief."

Leo closed his eyes and said.

"I couldn't completely defeat Erebus either. After all, there was a limit to what I could do alone. I reluctantly comforted myself that I had no choice but to entrust it to the future generations."

In the final battle with Erebus, what Leo feared most was not the black flames that burned everything.

Nor was it the anxiety that he might fail.

Nor was it the fact that the fate of the world rested in his hands.

It was merely the fear of being alone.

And the fear that he might not be able to fulfill the dying wishes of the friends who had left before him.

So, at the moment he succeeded in subjugating Erebus, his strength gave out, and he plummeted from high in the sky, dying as he fell.

He felt relieved seeing the rising sun and the receding gray sky.

He was relieved that his friends who had left before him could rest in peace.

"I wished you wouldn't leave any regrets behind."

"…Kyle."

At Leo's words, Luna clenched her fists tightly.

"You remained as a Heroic Spirit because you had regrets, didn't you?"

"I think so."

"What regrets did you have?"

Leo met Luna's eyes with a serious face.

Looking at Leo's serious face, Luna took a deep breath.

"My regret is, you see."

"Yes."

"I don't know."

"…"

Leo fell silent at Luna's answer.

"I feel like I have regrets, but I have no idea what they are, if you know what I mean?"

Luna smiled cheerfully and spoke nonchalantly, then patted Leo's shoulder.

"So, don't pretend to care about me, which doesn't suit you, and act as usual. It's actually creepy."

"Alright, got it."

Leo grabbed Luna's cheeks and pulled them roughly.

"Ugh-ge mwu-seu-ji-shi-ya!" (What is this!)

"Because I feel pathetic for worrying about you."

Leo shook Luna's cheeks violently, holding them with an expressionless face.

Eventually, Luna, unable to bear it, choked Leo's neck.

It was nothing short of a beautiful reunion between two people who had crossed the boundary of death.

***

After they had their little spat.

Leo sat facing Luna in the flower garden and said.

"Let's summarize. You became a Heroic Spirit after the battle with Erebus 5000 years ago, due to some lingering regret, and then formed a Heroic Spirit contract with me, right?"

"Yes."

"But how did you recognize that I was Kyle right away?"

This was a detail he hadn't thought of, surprised by Luna's existence as a revived Heroic Spirit.

It would be strange if Luna from 5000 years ago recognized him, Leo Flobe, now.

"And how do you, as a Heroic Spirit, have a 'physical body'?"

"Wait, I need to sort out my current situation a bit myself."

At Leo's question, Luna crossed her arms and fell into thought.

Soon, Luna nodded and said.

"First, I think it's best to explain why I, a Heroic Spirit, have a physical body."

"Alright."

"The reason I could have a physical body now is none other than the Kometes you possessed."

"Kometes?"

"Yes. That item called a Hero Weapon, obtained by someone conquering my Hero's World. I think I was able to form a physical body thanks to that Hero Weapon."

Leo could summon individuals from within the Hero's World to the present world using Hero Records and divine power.

Through that power, Luna and Arion had already crossed over to the present world once.

"So, ultimately, Kometes acted as a medium for you to have a physical body?"

"Yes. I think so. So, when all the magical power imbued in Kometes is depleted, I probably won't be able to stay in the present world as a Heroic Spirit."

Luna's words made Leo fall into thought.

Luna's deduction was very plausible.

Deep and flexible thinking was a wizard's greatest virtue.

Luna accurately reasoned out the current situation from the given fragmented information.

"And the reason I know you're Kyle is also deeply connected to Kometes."

"How is it connected?"

"A part of the memories I experienced within the Hero's World was transmitted to me through Kometes."

"A part?"

"Yes. The memories of meeting you during my school days and when Zeldian escaped outside."

"Memories of leaving the Hero's World?"

"No."

Luna shook her head.

'Only memories from within the Hero's World were transmitted? Why on earth?'

Leo made a serious expression.

Even Leo, the owner of the Hero Records, knew nothing about them.

'After all, I've only seen the Hero Records in their complete state once, in Rodia's world.'

No matter how much Leo tried, it was hard for him to truly grasp the potential of the Hero Records in such circumstances.

"It's a shame you don't have those memories."

"What? Why is it a shame? What happened when I went out?"

Luna's eyes widened, and she leaned closer to Leo, presenting her face.

"What did I, from the Hero's World, do?"

Leo made a very regretful expression, looking at Luna who blinked her large eyes and wore an innocent expression.

"You did."

"W-what did I do?"

Leo said, looking at Luna who blushed slightly.

"We exterminated that damn monster queen together."

"Huh?"

"She was your enemy. It would have been good if you had the memory of defeating her."

"Really?"

Luna's eyes widened.

"Anything else?"

"Anything else? Not really."

Leo shrugged his shoulders and stood up.

Luna's face twisted as she looked up at Leo.

'This idiot! There was a tragic farewell! A tragic farewell!'

In fact, Luna did have memories from the outside.

The reason she pretended not to know was simple.

'It's embarrassing! I confessed alone! I kissed his cheek alone!'

Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Just before death, she couldn't convey her feelings because she was worried about burdening Kyle and Risinas even more before the final battle.

In the Hero's World, with the thought that they might never meet again, she somehow conveyed her feelings.

And now…

'Is it possible to create time-reversal magic?'

Luna genuinely wanted to smack her past self on the back of the head.

Specifically, she wanted to knock herself out at that moment.

The reason she hadn't conveyed her feelings during her lifetime was also due to her useless pride, wanting him to notice first.

'By the way, so Risinas also had feelings for Kyle.'

Luna recalled Risinas.

Risinas.

'Honestly, even as a woman, I find her beautiful.'

Luna, who was confident that her beauty was second to none, felt a little self-conscious when compared to Risinas.

'Plus, she's mature and intelligent.'

She wasn't called the Queen of Wisdom for nothing.

Of course, Luna, as the greatest archmage in history, was also exceptionally intelligent.

But when it came to knowledge outside of magic, she couldn't compare to Risinas.

'And the atmosphere.'

If she was a tomboy, Risinas was a noble lady.

'…'

As Luna seriously contemplated, a question arose in her mind.

'Why does she even like that idiot?'

Why would the perfect savior of the world, who lacked nothing, like Kyle?

Along with the question, her confidence gradually vanished.

Luna, who was full of confidence and quickly became boastful in everything, also quickly became discouraged.

If the comparison was with someone else, maybe not.

But with Risinas, Luna couldn't just be triumphant.

Seeing Luna's ears droop and her face turn gloomy, Leo sighed deeply and said.

"Don't be too disappointed. You defeated her anyway. And… whatever the reason, we've met again, haven't we?"

Leo smiled.

"Don't think about anything right now, just enjoy this moment. There are countless landscapes you would have wanted to see. I hope you can see them, Luna."

At Leo's words, Luna's eyes widened.

And then, she smiled brightly.

"Yes!"

Luna's ears perked up, having regained her energy.

'That's right! There's definitely something I'm better at than Risinas!'

Luna, energized, put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.

'I'm rich in chest, but she's poor in chest, right? Men like rich people more!'

Luna hummed and nodded, unhesitatingly thinking thoughts that would have made Risinas charge at her if she had heard them.

Leo chuckled, looking at the re-energized Luna.

Then, with serious eyes, he walked towards his grave.

"Whose grave is this?"

"My grave."

At Leo's answer, Luna's eyes widened.

"Berkia collected my body and buried it next to you. It seems they couldn't find the bodies of the others, though."

"Ah…"

Luna let out a sigh of regret.

"…Do you think the others also had lingering regrets?"

"I can't say. But I think they didn't have any regrets left."

"…That's highly probable."

Luna herself didn't know what regrets she had left.

But she didn't think her other companions would have remained as Heroic Spirits due to regrets like her.

She hoped they hadn't left any regrets.

Meanwhile, Leo reached out his hand to Bihard's dagger in front of his grave.

And he paused.

'…It hasn't been long since it was left here.'

It wasn't an item that had been there for a long time.

At most, a few days.

'…'

'Even though it's autumn, the fact that flowers bloomed in this area might be due to Luna's influence, having been resurrected as a Heroic Spirit.'

Considering that they were Luna's favorite flowers, it was possible.

'That memory, which I couldn't tell if it was Berkia's or Bihard's, that was shown back then, is still a mystery.'

Leo gripped his hand.

'The fact that this dagger is placed in front of my grave… does it mean Bihard came here?'

Swish-!

The wind blew.

Looking down at the dagger, Leo clenched his fist.

'Bihard… Could it be that you've been revived with the power of the Necromancer King?'