Book 1 Chapter 510
“Hmph!”
Meterrar roared as he quickly approached Mel.
Black haze rose around Mel.
Kwak-!
The haze bound Meterrar’s body like threads.
Kugugugugung-!
At that moment, Meterrar’s soles dug into the ground.
Meterrar’s eyes twitched.
“Gravity magic, is it.”
His eyes turned to Mel.
“You intend to buy time.”
The veteran knight, Meterrar, easily grasped Mel’s intention.
This was Rumen.
And he, as the former principal, knew Rumen’s forces well.
Among the students were those who already possessed strength comparable to heroes.
Not only that.
The professors who taught those students.
They were either listed in the Hero Records or possessed strength equal to heroes even if not.
It wasn't for nothing that the Hero Academies were one of the powerful forces suppressing Tartarus.
“How shallow.”
Meterrar smirked.
“You should know better than anyone that we are not typical heroes, right?”
Googogogog-!
A dark blue aura erupted from his body.
The aura soon turned into sharp sword energy, scattering in all directions.
Meterrar, who had forcefully broken the magic, was about to charge at Mel.
Tzzzzzzzzz-!
The ground began to freeze with an unusual sound.
Meterrar’s eyes twitched, and he leaped high.
Tak-!
Saaaaaaa-!
As the ground froze, a powerful chill scattered.
Meterrar’s gaze turned in one direction.
“Hoho, you’re using powerful magic even though you’re only a second-year.”
Jyeolgeureok-!
Chloe lifted the staff she had planted on the ground.
Then, a thin layer of frost fell from her body.
Ice World.
Her unique magic had threatened a hero who had made a name for himself in the previous generation.
‘A pure mage. It’s rare to see a mage using this level of ice magic, and at this age.’
The power of magic is not combat power.
No matter how powerful the magic, they are helpless if distance is allowed.
But even so, the magic used at this age is unusual.
‘A second-year using fifth-year level magic.’
“The Knight Department needs to step up.”
As Meterrar, who muttered softly, swung his sword at Chloe.
Kwagaagagaag-! Pajijijijik-!
A golden aura blocked Meterrar’s sword.
Meterrar’s eyes twitched as he looked at the young knight blocking his way.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Duran’s golden eyes flashed.
“An undead has no need to worry about the Knight Department.”
‘This guy is also a second-year?’
Meterrar frowned as he looked at Duran, who blocked his sword with a single blow.
A second-year who could block his sword, which was exceptional even among heroes.
“I’ll praise you. For blocking my sword, however fleetingly.”
Meterrar tightened his grip.
“But it’s reckless. Blame your foolishness and die.”
As his sword began to change, a small shadow lunged into his embrace.
Kkwang-!
With a resounding sound, Meterrar’s body was sent flying into the air.
Kyak-!
Meterrar, who was flung away, landed on the ground and looked at the girl who had sent him flying.
Chen Xia, who had used water aura, fused her aura with Duran’s with a blank expression and attacked Meterrar.
“Another second-year?”
Meterrar’s face contorted as he tried to subdue Chen Xia and Duran.
Kukugugugugung! Hwareureureuk-!
A giant pillar of flame poured down from the sky.
Selia, who had maximized the power of the flames with Abad’s magic, delivered a blow.
Meterrar’s face slowly hardened.
‘Another second-year?’
Students with strength far beyond that of a second-year appeared one after another.
‘Even so, there are only two at the front. Easily subdued….’
The two people holding him back.
He thought he could easily neutralize them by subduing only Duran and Chen Xia.
A giant rock flew with tremendous speed and slammed into Meterrar.
Kkwang-!
With a dizzying impact, Meterrar’s face contorted as he looked at the giant boy, Woreden, who had attacked him.
‘Another second-year!’
As he was about to counterattack.
A small mage girl and an elf swordmaster girl intervened between Woreden and Meterrar, hindering him.
“Woreden-nim, you’re amazing!”
“Ignorant.”
Eiran exclaimed in admiration, while Chelsea stuck out her tongue, looking bored.
Chelsea used wind magic to assist Woreden and Eiran’s movements.
It was then.
‘The movements are systematic. Who is directing them? The Dragon Lord?’
Not only their skill, but he was continually caught off guard by the formation designed to check him.
There was definitely someone who watched his movements and predicted the next attack.
‘And the movements of these brats are precise. It can only be the Dragon Lord’s command….’
“Kkkyaaaaaaak! Why are you suddenly flying so strangely!”
“Shut up! Who told you you could touch me in strange places! I’ll kill you right now! Kal Thomas!”
“It’s because you’re so menacing! This is irresistible force!”
Kal’s screams of pain and Eliza’s venomous voice echoed in the sky.
“Excellent, everyone.”
Mel smiled brightly at the second-years.
“What are these?”
Meterrar asked Mel.
Mel shrugged at the question.
“The future.”
“The future?”
“Yes. The future that will bear the weight of this world.”
Meterrar scoffed at his words.
“Did you deceive these children with sweet words too? What did you tell them? That they could save the world? Huhuhu. Like us? Hahahahahaha!”
Meterrar burst into laughter and pointed at Mel.
“Foolish students of Rumen. I will teach you the truth. I don’t know what you heard from this Dragon Lord, but you can never save the world. No, you will be abandoned by this Dragon!”
His eyes shone with hostility.
“You will not be given the chance to challenge the Genesis!”
Upon hearing his words, Celia frowned.
“Genesis? What is that?”
“Isn’t it related to the Heroes of Genesis?”
Chelsea put her hands on her hips in response to Chen Xia’s answer.
“No, the former traitor principal’s delusions are tremendous, isn’t it? Saying they were abandoned and all.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard that Professor Mel is a Dragon Lord.”
Chloe looked puzzled.
“What?”
Meterrar’s expression turned bewildered at the second-years’ confused reactions.
“There’s no need to listen to the words of a traitor who sold his soul to Tartarus,” Abad said with a laugh.
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll just defeat him.”
Woreden’s fighting spirit flared, and he clenched his fist.
Kugugugugung-!
The earth shook due to the great spirit of the earth he had contracted with.
“I feel reassured, everyone.”
Mel smiled softly at the second-years and then stood in front of Meterrar.
“I never abandoned you. You just went astray.”
Mel’s expression turned cold.
“I don’t even know what will happen to these children. But one thing is for sure: it’s arrogant to assume that just because you couldn’t do it, these children can’t either. Crucially.”
Mel paused and then said, looking back at the second-years.
“It wasn’t me who chose these children as the future of the world.”
“What?”
“It’s a great being far above me.”
Mel pointed a finger at the sky and grinned.
“Are you saying you are a god?”
“Um… in a sense, it might be similar. Because it’s the one who gave us the present world.”
“Nonsense.”
Meterrar’s face contorted.
Ignoring him, Mel said.
“By the way, it’s a shame.”
Mel sighed softly and raised his hand.
“That the hero I chose in the past fell into corruption, sold his soul to the Undead King… and can only serve as a disposable pawn to buy time.”
“What?”
“The Undead King will not invade Rumen.”
Mel’s eyes narrowed.
Undead, former heroes, and countless demons were invading Rumen.
It was clearly the Undead King’s army.
‘But this is just a small part.’
Mel, who had been silent for a long time and earned the title of the Silent Dragon, had by no means ignored the world.
In that silence, he had played a role as a great deterrent to Tartarus.
Mel, who had fought endlessly with the Undead King in unseen places, recognized it at a glance.
‘This is just a stalling tactic to tie me and Rumen’s forces down. The real target is… Lord Leo in Rumeria City.’
If so, Leo might be in danger.
The Undead King would not employ such a tactic unless victory was certain.
‘…It’s not just the power of Erebus’s fragment that has been amplified. His strength has also increased.’
Even without the Undead King’s main body here, it was not easy to decipher the curse of severance he had cast.
Mel clenched his fist.
‘But now we have a variable that even the Undead King didn’t anticipate.’
Mel clenched his fist.
‘Luna-nim.’
***
Tzajak-!
The Undead King’s eyes narrowed as he saw the void crack as if a mirror had shattered.
“As expected, the Mirror Queen’s abilities are not effective against the current ‘Surviving Hero’.”
Even with the power of Erebus’s fragment, he couldn’t revive countless Legion Commanders infinitely.
He could only revive one Legion Commander.
‘And all Legion Commanders will escape my control.’
The resentment of the dead Legion Commanders was deep.
As such, the moment they were revived, they would lose their reason and rampage, attacking the world.
The Undead King did not welcome this.
No matter how overwhelmingly powerful he was, attacking outside Tartarus in an era with many heroes would be suicide.
‘They will suffer damage while fighting, but… this side will also suffer considerable damage.’
In such a situation, he had revived the Mirror Queen, who could control her reason and had inflicted immense damage on the great heroes of the past.
Of course, the Undead King knew that the Mirror Queen’s abilities would not work on the current Leo.
In the past, the Mirror Queen had been defeated by Luna.
‘And the Surviving Hero has overcome countless trials. It would be strange if the Mirror Queen’s abilities didn’t deal immense damage to him, who has defeated even a god.’
Tzzzzzzzz-!
The cracks in the void widened.
‘But even so, it will surely inflict mental damage.’
The Mirror Queen’s illusions are terrible.
If one overcomes one illusion, another appears.
Even if it cannot shatter the mind, it can inflict a powerful blow.
‘Even in a weakened state, can he still stop me? Surviving Hero?’
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t defeat him.
‘I have thought for a long time. How the Surviving Hero was able to defeat Erebus.’
In a desperate situation, the Surviving Hero single-handedly defeated a god.
Simply by inheriting the power of all other great heroes.
Not because other comrades dealt a blow to Erebus.
‘After long thought, I realized that his mental strength surpasses the will of a god.’
Therefore, it was necessary to create cracks in that mental strength.
The Undead King’s goal was solely to erode Leo’s mental strength.
‘I pray for your suffering, Surviving Hero.’
The Undead King smirked.
Then he looked at the people of Rumeria City who were evacuating.
“There are things that cannot be protected.”
Jiiiiing-!
A summoning circle unfolded in the void, and undead legions began to pour out.
“I wonder how many people will die until you defeat the Mirror Queen and come out.”