Book 1 Chapter 503

503.

Suddenly-

Lunia, jolted awake from sleep, blinked a few times, then quickly sat up and looked around.

Last night.

Shocked by the scene, Lunia had passed out and fallen asleep before she knew it.

"Ugh…"

Groaning, Lunia sat up and approached a corner of the room, where a memo was placed.

It was a memo left by Eiran, saying he was going to attend Lumen's class.

'Leona Carl… and that child, Chen Xia, must have gone to Lumen too.'

If so, who was left here now.

'Luna-nim.'

With a complicated feeling, Lunia left the room and headed downstairs.

Unlike the night, it was morning, so the first floor was quiet.

Screech- Screech-

As she descended the stairs, the characteristic creaking of the old stairs echoed.

And the moment she reached the first floor.

"Ah…"

Lunia gasped involuntarily.

Several customers were having breakfast on the first floor of the tavern.

But what caught Lunia's eye among them was an elf sitting by the window.

Her silvery hair shimmering in the morning sun, her golden eyes shining with intelligence.

It was the appearance of Luna, the progenitor of the Nebula, whom Lunia knew.

'So I was seeing things yesterday!'

As Lunia, letting out a sigh of relief, approached Luna.

Luna looked at the contents of her glass and muttered.

"Ugh- Wine is just expensive and not my taste. What did Lysinas and Dwenno find so delicious about this?"

Seeing Luna grumbling with an expression like a laborer from a construction site, Lunia's foot got tangled, and she fell.

Crash-!

Seeing an elf with flamboyant red hair falling alone in the early morning, the customers having breakfast murmured.

"Look at that elf."

"She still seems drunk."

"And that elf drinking in the morning… my illusion of elves is broken."

Lunia, lifting her head, glared around with narrowed eyes.

The nearby people, startled, quickly turned their heads.

Taking a deep breath, Lunia got up and approached Luna.

Standing before Luna, Lunia adjusted her clothes, cleared her throat, and began to introduce herself.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is…"

"Yes, I know. Lunia, right?"

Luna said, writing something down with a quill pen.

"What?"

"In our hero's world, twice. No. We met once, right?"

"You remember that time?"

"Yes. We fought Erebus together, didn't we?"

Lunia looked at Luna, who had taken her eyes off her book and was smiling at her, with a surprised expression.

It was surprising enough that Luna was in this world, but she remembered events from the hero's world!

Seeing Lunia's bewildered expression, Luna rested her chin on her hand.

"So? You're my successor, aren't you?"

"What? Wh-what do you mean?"

Lunia's face turned red.

"I heard everything from Leo."

Chuckling playfully, Luna's laughter made Lunia flustered.

It was true that she wanted to follow Luna.

But the situation, being designated as a successor without Luna herself knowing, made Lunia feel embarrassed.

'Ugh! Why did he say that!'

While thinking of Leo, Lunia fidgeted.

"It's reassuring? To have a successor like you."

Lunia's eyes widened.

"Don't you resent me being your successor?"

"Huh? Why should I resent it?"

"You don't know me well."

"Yes. I don't know you well."

Luna smiled faintly.

"But I know what kind of elf you are."

"What?"

One could tell a person's disposition by their magic.

In Luna's eyes, Lunia was a white flame.

"You are an upright and talented child. That's why you completed the Burning Sea."

That alone is enough, Luna muttered to herself.

"I didn't do it alone. Kataru-nim's help was also great."

"That damn chicken head?"

"D-chicken head?"

Lunia stared blankly at Luna, who called the Phoenix King with such a coarse word, and then burst out laughing.

"Huh? Why?"

"Ah, no. Pffft. How should I say it? Your appearance yesterday… and your appearance today… it's very different from what I imagined."

"What do you imagine me to be? No. What do people of this era imagine me to be?"

"You had an image of being beautiful, benevolent, and pure. The perfect elf itself."

"What? That's me!"

Luna said with sincerity.

Lunia hesitated on how to respond, looking at Luna.

She felt like she would get hit if she contradicted her.

'Was Ar feeling this way?'

Lunia thought of Ar, her beastman friend.

The cowardly Arion was completely different from the hero people imagined.

But even so, Ar respected him without faltering.

'I'm so ashamed of how I reacted to Luna-nim's appearance yesterday.'

Taking a deep breath, Lunia looked at Luna with clear eyes.

"By the way, Luna-nim, what were you doing this morning?"

"I was creating magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes! The current world is amazing!"

Luna said in an excited voice.

"Magic has developed so much compared to 5000 years ago! It's pure potential!"

Originally, Luna was supposed to attend classes as an exchange student at Lumen, but today Luna decided to stay and research magic.

Lunia's ears perked up at Luna's words, and she listened intently.

And she exchanged stories about magic with Luna, filled with admiration.

While they were having a passionate discussion about magic.

Time had already passed well past lunch.

As they ordered lunch, Luna leaned back in her chair and smiled.

"Just like Chloe, you have excellent ideas about magic!"

"I'm so happy to be praised."

"Berkia was surprisingly disinclined to study, so it wasn't easy to have discussions like this."

Lunia smiled shyly, watching Luna humming a tune.

"You, Eiran, Chelsea, Chloe, Abad, and that girl Iliana. Seeing you all is truly enjoyable. You will become great mages. Ah, that girl Iliana is a bit like Berkiya, though."

Luna thought of the promising mages she had met in this era.

She had already talked a lot with the top students of Lumen's second year.

And meeting Lunia like this made her truly happy.

Lunia, whom Leo had evaluated as her successor, also held infinite potential.

Just looking at her sparked magical inspiration.

"Ah~ I don't want to leave."

At those words, Lunia's shoulders twitched.

Then, her lips moved.

"Luna-nim."

"Yes?"

"Can't you stay in this world?"

Luna's eyes widened.

"It's a presumptuous thing to say, but… Arion-nim saved the world once more last time."

The subjugation of Erebus's fragments.

A feat the world had yearned for.

With this, the world took one step closer to complete salvation.

And as she talked with Luna, Lunia was convinced.

'If Luna-nim were to stay in this world… the history of magic would change once more.'

"Simply by Luna-nim staying in this world, the world will surely be saved."

Lunia could easily tell that the magic Luna was creating was unique magic.

The magic, combined with Luna's knowledge of magic and the current knowledge of magic, was enough to make Lunia tremble.

She could instinctively tell.

With Luna's presence in this era, magic would make tremendous progress.

And…

'I want to talk with Luna-nim a bit more.'

Lunia felt sorry for Luna.

Even while they were talking, Luna smiled cheerfully, looking at the peaceful scenery outside the window.

The bustling crowd and the chaotic street scene.

It was literally an ordinary everyday life, but Luna looked at the scenery and rejoiced with all her heart, as if she had seen something amazing.

Seeing that, Lunia realized.

'She… couldn't enjoy anything.'

She risked everything to save the world, but couldn't enjoy anything.

A fact that Lunia, who had only seen the noble image in stories and history, had never known.

Before being a great hero, she was a person.

"It's strange."

Luna smiled.

"Everyone who discovered my identity revered me. You're the first to look at me with pity."

"I-I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. It means you understand me well."

Luna reached out and patted Lunia's red hair.

"Thank you."

Lunia blushed at Luna's gentle touch.

"I'm curious. What kind of hero you will grow up to be."

"I want to be like Luna-nim."

"Of course you should!"

Luna burst out laughing and stood up.

"Well then, let's go out with this sister."

"Go out?"

"Yes. Shouldn't we enjoy the festival?"

Luna grabbed Lunia's wrist, pulled her up, and strode confidently out the door.

As Lunia followed behind, she burst into laughter.

"Stop."

As soon as they left the tavern and walked a few steps down the alley, a group of elves blocked their path.

Seeing that, Luna tilted her head, and Lunia scrunched up her face.

"Pure Blood Society."

"Pure Blood Society? What's that?"

Luna tilted her head.

"They're elf supremacists."

"Elf supremacists then…"

At Lunia's answer, Luna narrowed her brow.

"Like High Elves?"

***

"All the Pure Blood Society elves connected to us have been annihilated."

Upon hearing the report from the Grand Duke of Dirge, Artkahn, the Lord of the Dead rested his chin and sighed.

"It seems they were searching for a long time. As expected, Berkiya stepped in."

The Elf Pure Blood Society.

Previously, thanks to Leo's efforts, most of the elves connected to the Lord of the Dead had died or been incapacitated.

However, their connection was not entirely severed.

"Elves really don't change their racial traits. That's why they're convenient."

5000 years ago.

During the Age of Calamity, the massive elven forces were easily crushed, also due to the Lord of the Dead's schemes.

Elves, trapped in racialism, are mostly stubborn.

Their arrogance, believing themselves to be superior, gave them a firm belief that they could control everything.

Even if it was the power of Tartarus that would choke their own necks.

Even if all the Pure Blood Society elves with connections had died, the Lord of the Dead was not particularly moved.

He was confident that elves who contacted them would appear again someday.

The Grand Duke of Dirge bowed his head to the Lord of the Dead.

"I still don't understand the intentions of Hell Kaiser-nim, who revived the Fairy Knight."

Fairy Knight Berkiya.

She was the most powerful hero revived by the power of the Lord of the Dead, Hell Kaiser.

However, even the Grand Duke of Dirge, who had been a close subordinate of the Lord of the Dead for many years, could not fathom his intentions this time.

Even with his power enhanced by Erebus's power, the Lord of the Dead's power had limits.

And reviving Berkiya as an undead consumed immense power.

However, Berkiya, revived as a dead soul, was out of the Lord of the Dead's control.

"If only you had awakened other Legion Commanders with that power…"

"It might have been of great help if I had awakened my old friends."

The Lord of the Dead said leisurely.

"But unfortunately, Tartarus was defeated by the great heroes of the past."

During the Age of Calamity.

Tartarus's forces suffered devastating blows at the hands of the great heroes.

"Even if they were revived, they would likely become sacrifices for the brats raised by the surviving heroes."

"But the Fairy Knight is a monster stronger than the heroes of the dawn. If the uncontrollable her were to point her blade at Tartarus…"

"If that happens, we wouldn't be able to handle it. But Berkiya would never point her blade at Tartarus."

"Why is that? Please enlighten this foolish me."

"It's not because of us that she was consumed by hatred."

The Lord of the Dead's lips curled upwards.

"She absolutely cannot tolerate it. The current world."

In a way, it is a more twisted and uglier world than 5000 years ago.

Berkiya would never tolerate it.

Countless forces would be annihilated by a rampaging Berkiya.

"But if she were to meet a surviving hero…"

"His voice will not reach her. The sins she committed will block her ears."

The Lord of the Dead, who revived Berkiya, cannot control her, but

the same applies to the other party.

Literally chaos that destroys everything.

That is the current Berkiya.

"I'm curious. How would the surviving hero react if he saw his fallen disciple?"

The Lord of the Dead's lips twisted.

"And what expression would he have if he knew his disciples had fought each other."