Book 1 Chapter 493

Leo couldn't find the words to say as he looked at Luna, who was holding his hand and smiling.

Luna's attire was the same as it was 5,000 years ago.

A blood-soaked mage robe from a mortal wound inflicted by Erebus.

Fortunately, the wound from 5,000 years ago was gone.

It was different from Arion.

It was also different from Luna who had crossed over to the mortal world last time.

The heroes of the Heroic Spirit world were, no matter how real they seemed, ultimately illusions.

However, Heroic Spirits were different.

Heroic Spirits were like lingering memories embedded in mana.

They were fragments of those who existed in life.

But their essence was the person themselves.

The person before him was Luna herself, who had to end her time 5,000 years ago.

'And this body…'

The decisive reason why Spirit Summoning differed from Necromancy.

In Spirit Summoning, one manifests the Heroic Spirit within their own body to wield their abilities.

Therefore, it is impossible to manifest the physical body from their lifetime like in Necromancy.

But Luna now had a body.

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

She looked at her body here and there, then spun around once on the spot.

"Oho, oho?"

Exclaiming with admiration, she fiddled with her pointed ears with her fingertips and smiled brightly.

Then, making a 'ㄴ' shape with only her thumb and index finger on her left hand, she held it to her chin and puffed out her chest.

"Lady Luna, resurrected!"

"The fact that you're nonchalantly spouting nonsense means you're definitely Luna."

"What? Why such a dry reaction? Aren't you happy that I'm resurrected!?"

Luna glared at Leo, her eyes narrowed.

Leo looked at the enraged Luna and said seriously,

"I'm… happy to have met you again as a resurrected Heroic Spirit."

Luna was taken aback by the unexpected answer.

'If it were Kyle, he would have definitely reacted with annoyance!'

She was secretly pleased by his honest and serious response.

"Hmph! Then you should just honestly be happy!"

Hiding her bewilderment, Luna crossed her arms, turned her head sharply, and said.

Leo looked at Luna and said,

"The reason you became a Heroic Spirit."

Leo clenched his fist.

"Luna, I ended up losing even Lisinas."

"…"

At his words, Luna's ears drooped.

"But I barely managed to defeat Erebus and save the world. What do you think I felt when I died?"

"…I can't guess."

"It was relief."

Leo said, closing his eyes.

"I couldn't completely defeat Erebus either. After all, there were limits to what I could do alone. I had to entrust it to the successors of later generations, and I consoled myself with that."

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

It was not the anxiety that he might fail.

It was not the fact that the fate of the world rested on his hands.

It was simply the fear of being alone.

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

So, as he succeeded in defeating Erebus and his strength gave out, as he fell from high in the sky and died,

He felt relief as he looked at the rising sun and the receding gray sky.

He felt relief that his departed friends could close their eyes in peace.

"I hoped you wouldn't have any regrets."

"…Kyle."

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

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

"It seems so."

"What kind of regrets do you have?"

Leo looked Luna in the eyes with a serious expression.

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

"My regrets are…"

"Yes."

"I don't know."

"…"

Leo fell silent at Luna's answer.

"It feels like I have regrets, but I have no idea what they are."

Luna, who spoke nonchalantly with a beaming smile, patted Leo on the shoulder.

"So don't try to care about me in a way that doesn't suit you, just act normal. It's actually creepy."

"Okay, I understand."

Leo grabbed Luna's cheeks and pulled them hard.

"Mmph sfffffh!"

"I feel pathetic for worrying about you."

Leo, with a blank expression, shook Luna's cheeks violently.

Eventually, unable to stand it, Luna strangled Leo's neck.

It was a beautiful reunion for two people who had crossed the boundary of death.

***

After they had their fun.

After sitting facing each other in the flower garden, Leo said,

"Let's sort this out. You became a Heroic Spirit with regrets after the fierce battle with Erebus 5,000 years ago, and now you've formed a Heroic Spirit contract with me, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how did you know I was Kyle right away?"

It was something he hadn't thought about due to his surprise at Luna's appearance as a Heroic Spirit.

If it were Luna from 5,000 years ago, it would be strange for her to recognize the current Leo Flov.

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

"Hold on, I need to sort out my current situation too."

In response to Leo's questions, Luna crossed her arms and fell into thought.

Eventually, Luna nodded and said,

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

"Okay."

"The reason I can have a body right now is none other than the Cometess you possess."

"Cometess?"

"Yes. That thing called a Hero Weapon, obtained by someone conquering my Heroic Spirit world. Thanks to that Hero Weapon, I was able to form a body."

Leo can summon individuals from the Heroic Spirit world to the mortal world using his Hero Record and divine power.

Through that power, Luna and Arion had crossed over to the mortal world once before.

"So, the Cometess ultimately became the medium for you to have a body, right?"

"Yes, it seems so. So when all the mana imbued in the Cometess is depleted, I won't be able to remain in the mortal world as a Heroic Spirit."

Leo fell into thought at Luna's words.

Luna's deduction was very plausible.

Deep and flexible thinking was the greatest virtue of a mage.

Luna accurately deduced the current situation using only the fragmented information provided.

"And the reason I know you are Kyle is also deeply related to the Cometess."

"How is it related?"

"Through the Cometess, a part of the memories I experienced within the Heroic Spirit world was transmitted to me."

"A part?"

"Yes. The memories of meeting you during my school days and when Zerdiak ran away outside."

"What about the memories of going outside the Heroic Spirit world?"

"None."

Luna shook her head.

'Only memories from within the Heroic Spirit world were transmitted? Why on earth?'

Leo's expression became serious.

Even Leo, the owner of the Hero Record, knew nothing about the Hero Record.

'After all, I only saw a complete Hero Record once, in Lodia's world.'

Even Leo found it difficult to fully grasp the potential of the Hero Record in such a situation.

"It's a shame you don't have the memories from that time."

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

Luna's eyes widened, and she leaned close to Leo, sticking her face out.

"What did I do in the Heroic Spirit world?"

Leo looked at Luna, who blinked her large eyes with an innocent expression, and gave a look of great regret.

"You did."

"W-what did you do?"

Leo said, looking at Luna, whose face was slightly blushing.

"We defeated that damned Monster Queen together."

"Huh?"

"She was your enemy. I wish you had the memory of defeating her."

"Really?"

Luna's eyes widened.

"Anything else?"

"Anything else? Not really."

Leo shrugged and got up from his seat.

Looking up at Leo, Luna's face contorted.

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

In fact, Luna had memories from outside.

The reason she pretended not to know was simple.

'It's embarrassing! Me confessing alone! Me kissing his cheek alone!'

Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Just before death, fearing that it would burden Kyle and Lisinas more before their final battle, she couldn't convey her feelings.

In the Heroic Spirit world, she felt she had to convey her feelings, thinking they might meet again.

And… by now.

'Can't I create a time reversal magic?'

Luna genuinely wanted to hit 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 when she was alive was also due to her pointless pride of making him notice first.

'By the way, Lisinas also had feelings for Kyle.'

Luna thought of Lisinas.

'Honestly, even as a woman, she's beautiful.'

Luna, who was confident in her own beauty and didn't lose out to anyone, felt a little overshadowed when compared to Lisinas.

'And she's mature and intelligent.'

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

Of course, Luna, who was called the strongest archmage in history, was not lacking in intelligence.

However, in terms of knowledge outside of magic, she couldn't keep up with Lisinas.

'And her aura.'

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

'…'

As Luna was seriously contemplating, a question arose.

'Why on earth does she like that idiot?'

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

Along with the doubt, her confidence gradually disappeared.

Luna, who was always confident and easily arrogant, also became discouraged just as quickly.

It wasn't that she was comparing herself to just anyone.

When it came to Lisinas, Luna couldn't be entirely triumphant.

Leo let out a deep sigh as he looked at Luna, who had drooping ears and a gloomy expression, and said,

"Don't be too disappointed. After all, you were the one who defeated her. And… for whatever reason, we've met again like this, haven't we?"

Leo smiled.

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

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

And soon, she smiled brightly.

"Yes!"

Luna's ears perked up as her spirits returned.

'Right! I definitely have things I'm better at than Lisinas!'

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

'I have plenty of breasts, but she's poor in that department! Men prefer abundance!'

Without hesitation, thinking something that Lisinas would have rushed at if she heard it, Luna nodded.

Leo chuckled as he watched Luna regain her energy.

Then, with a serious gaze, he approached his own grave.

"Whose grave is this?"

"My grave."

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

"Berkias collected my body and buried me next to you. It seems he couldn't find the bodies of the others."

"Ah…"

Luna let out a sigh tinged with regret.

"…Do the others besides me have regrets?"

"We can't know. But I think I don't have any regrets."

"…That's highly probable."

Luna herself didn't know what regrets she had.

However, she didn't think her other companions remained as Heroic Spirits with regrets like herself.

She hoped they wouldn't have any regrets.

In the midst of this, Leo reached out to Bihard's dagger, which was in front of his grave.

Then 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.

'…'

'The fact that flowers bloomed in this area even though it's autumn might be due to Luna's revival as a Heroic Spirit.'

Considering it was a flower Luna liked, it was possible.

'The memory, which I couldn't tell if it was Berkias or Bihard, shown at that time, is still a mystery.'

Leo tightened his grip on the dagger.

'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 were resurrected with the power of the Necromancer King?'