Book 1 Chapter 586

Karl, who had been telling Liane about Leo for a while, carefully opened his mouth.

"Um… Lady Liane."

"Yes, Lord Karl. Command me."

Seeing the god before him, whose address had changed, Karl didn't know how to react.

'His eyes are not right.'

Though he hadn't lived a long life, Karl had experienced many things since enrolling in Lumern.

In that process, he had seen many people who were not in their right minds.

And Liane possessed a madness that was incomparable to those people.

Just moments ago, when Karl told Liane Leo's name and showed him a photo of them together, Liane had exclaimed, "To reveal the new name and face of the Hero of the Beginning! Ah! What can I do for you? Use this humble body! Use it as a footrest for Lord Karl!" and even crouched down in front of Karl.

The god who had treated Karl as less than a pebble on the road just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.

Now, he seemed more like a fanatic worshipping a god.

And he regarded Karl as a proxy for that god.

'This isn't just acting or overreacting out of joy.'

Cold sweat ran down Karl's back.

Honestly, Karl was afraid of Liane's current attitude.

It wasn't because he would harm Karl.

He was overwhelmed by the madness of a transcendent being he could never understand.

Karl swallowed hard and said,

"My friends are fighting the Flame of Calamity outside, so I don't know if I can stay here for long."

Liane knew how to defeat Erebus now.

But he couldn't tell Leo's story here for too long.

If he did, the situation would already be over.

At Karl's words, Liane said as if not to worry.

"You don't have to worry about that."

Liane spread his arms.

"This place is another world, disconnected from the outside. You can think of it as similar to the world of heroes. If I wish, time here flows slower than outside."

Liane smiled faintly.

"Lumern also held back Erebus here for a year."

"A year? Alone?!"

"As expected of Lumern."

Karl's expression was one of shock, and Rhodia marveled.

"So, Lord Karl, please tell me the story of the Hero of the Beginning with peace of mind!"

At Liane's words, Karl scratched his head and began to speak again.

Rhodia also focused on Karl's story beside him.

Eventually, Karl's story ended.

Liane closed his eyes and savored the lingering feelings.

Karl urgently said to Liane,

"Lord Liane. Then, please tell us how to defeat the Flame of Calamity now."

At those words, Liane opened his eyes.

"Yes. Based on what you've said, you have one card that can counter that monstrous entity."

Liane began carving a statue with a carving knife and jewels, whose origin he didn't know.

"First, Lunia El Lundar is the successor of the progenitor of the nebula."

"Lunia?"

"Yes. Was he called the one who chases the nebula?"

Liane skillfully sculpted Leo's statue.

"The magic left behind by the progenitor of the nebula for future generations, [Yan]. That magic is the only power that can counter the Flame of Calamity, which is the only unquenchable flame in the current world."

"Is it that powerful a magic?"

"Yes. It's a magic created by someone who can be called the greatest magic genius since magic existed."

Liane, having completed Leo's statue, examined it from various angles and continued,

"Of course, it's impossible to completely eliminate Erebus like the pure mana attribute. It will only be a 'seal' in the end."

Liane frowned slightly as he examined the statue.

Normally, he would have crafted the statue with great care.

But he was making it quickly now, so the quality was not satisfactory.

Liane put down one statue and began carving another jewel.

Jewel powder trickled onto the floor.

"But it's impossible for the current Lunia, that child, with their skills. They are still inexperienced."

At those words, Karl nodded.

"The second is to send it back to its original place, that is, to the world of creation. In the current situation, that is the only way."

"How do we send it back?"

"It seems that the monstrous entity invaded here through a connected world. Therefore, find and destroy the hole through which it came into this world… that is, its core. It's not its true body now. It's just a mass of power. If the core is destroyed, it will disappear."

"If it was such a simple method, why didn't you tell Lord Lumern!"

"It's absolutely not simple. It requires divine power to stop it. I would have to sacrifice myself. If there was a chance of victory, I would have sacrificed myself without hesitation. But there seemed to be no chance."

"Yes?"

"That is Lumern's limit."

Rhodia bit her lip tightly at those words.

Karl looked dazed.

"Lord Karl, do you know why Lumern told you to 'exceed your limits'?"

"……"

"He reached out for what he couldn't obtain, and was ultimately frustrated by not being able to grasp it."

Liane rested his chin on his hand.

"Birds can fly in the sky, but they cannot reach the end of the sky. If you struggle to reach it, all that remains is to fall. In that way, Lumern closed off his own possibilities."

"……I heard the gods liked Lord Lumern."

"Yes, they liked him. Gods like hero tales, but they also like to see heroes fall."

Liane smiled brightly.

"The Hero of Creation certainly changed the world. But he couldn't achieve anything beyond that. In the end, he couldn't become a great hero. The gods like such tragedies."

Rhodia bit her lip tightly and clenched her fist.

It was a truth that made her insides twist.

That's why she couldn't refute anything.

'When we defeated the fragments of Erebus and ended the recurrence of calamity, everything seemed like it would be fine.'

But the fragments they defeated afterwards reignited.

Seeing the constantly burning fragments of Erebus, the Heroes of Creation could only think.

That they had failed.

That they couldn't become great heroes.

According to Karl's words, they would find a way in the near future.

But that wasn't a solution.

It was just a makeshift solution to buy time.

'In the end… we accomplished nothing with our own hands.'

Lumern couldn't overcome his limits, and Seirun couldn't trust himself.

Azenia couldn't move forward, and Demian ultimately couldn't pursue possibilities.

'Me too.'

If the King of Wisdom's legacy to future generations was a seed of hope.

What Rhodia left behind was immense despair.

They had simply left it to future generations.

"Heroes are beings who accomplish what cannot be accomplished. While I do like Lumern, I don't know if it's worth sacrificing myself for Lumern who ran away from his limits…"

"Lord Lumern."

Karl interrupted Liane and said,

"Will overcome his limits and drive Erebus out of this world."

Liane tilted his head.

"Did you not understand what I said?"

"Well done."

Karl smiled.

"I know. That he was frustrated because he couldn't become like Leo. That Lord Lumern ultimately couldn't overcome his limits. And that he escaped his limits by sealing Erebus in the world of creation."

"And yet, you say he will overcome his limits?"

"Yes."

Karl answered without a hint of doubt.

"Why?"

"Because he didn't give up."

To the unexpected answer, Liane was momentarily dumbfounded.

"If he had given up… he wouldn't have thought of fighting Erebus endlessly in the world of heroes."

Karl looked at the statue of Leo that Liane had made and said,

"You might be frustrated because you can't find a way. You might collapse after hitting a wall. You might run away by delaying things to future generations out of despair at the trials before you."

Karl said with a smile,

"But if you had truly given up, you would have done nothing. If you haven't given up, you can always start again."

If you don't give up, you can challenge your limits again.

You can believe in yourself again, and stand up to move forward.

And find lost possibilities.

If you haven't given up, you can always start again.

"The Heroes of Creation did not fail."

"……"

"Their sacrifice, believing in the possibilities of the future… will ultimately save the world."

Rhodia looked dazed.

"So, Lord Lumern will overcome his limits. For the future."

This was Karl's conclusion, who had persevered without giving up, inheriting Lumern's educational philosophy at Lumern Academy.

"It's disgracefully foolish."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Yes, it's a compliment."

Liane took out a jewel from his pocket.

And he brought the jewel close to his eye.

Karl's reflection appeared in the jewel.

"Karl Thomas. You won't be able to become a hero in this era."

"I know better than anyone."

Liane smiled with satisfaction as he looked at Karl's reflection in the jewel.

And said,

"The core of the Flame of Calamity is the hole in this world. The fact that it came to this world means that a crack has formed in the world, so if the crack is removed, the monstrous entity can no longer exist in this world."

Liane smiled benevolently.

"You must insert me into the core."

"Yes?"

Liane approached Karl and took his hand.

Then Liane's body emitted a bright light.

"Lord Karl. No. Karl Thomas."

"……?"

"Meeting you may be a great fortune. Please continue to seek new beginnings as you are now."

"Lord Liane?"

Karl, flustered, called out to Liane.

After the light disappeared, Karl held a staff in his hand.

Looking at the staff, which emitted divine power like the Hero's Record, Rhodia said,

"I guess I'm at my limit too."

"Lady Rhodia?"

Rhodia smiled faintly.

The library had disappeared.

Where Karl and Rhodia were standing was the ruins of an underground temple.

*Whoosh-!*

"Flame of Calamity?!"

It was then that Karl let out a cry of astonishment.

*Grrrr-!*

Brilliant light flowed from Rhodia's body.

Soon, Rhodia's body transformed into the form of a dragon.

Rhodia, having returned to her true form, reached out and grabbed Karl.

Then she opened her mouth towards the ceiling.

*Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom! Flash-! CRASH-!*

A pure white breath spewed from Rhodia's mouth, creating a giant hole that reached the ground.

"Incr-incredible…!"

It was then that Karl's mouth gaped open.

*Flap-!*

Rhodia spread her wings and began to fly towards the ground at tremendous speed.

"Grrooooooan?!"

[Karl Thomas.]

"Yeeeeees?!"

Feeling the immense pressure of the wind, Karl answered with difficulty.

[You know that dragons choose heroes, right?]

"And sooooo?!"

Karl met Rhodia's gaze with a shocked expression.

*Whoosh-!*

Karl, who had suddenly reached high into the sky, saw the world burning.

"Lord Liane said I couldn't become a hero!"

[Not in this era, he didn't.]

Rhodia said with a voice filled with amusement.

Karl looked dazed.

To such Karl, Rhodia said,

[I won't remember you, the me you will meet again.]

*Swoosh-!*

Rhodia's body turned to ash and disappeared.

[I'll be looking forward to it. To you, who will be a hero.]

Certainly, his future self would be delighted to see Karl.

Saying that he was a hero of a new era, born thanks to her finding the world of heroes.

That those with potential that was bound to be obsolete now…

Had bloomed that potential and become heroes in the future.

[Help Lumern, Karl Thomas.]

*Swoosh-!*

Rhodia's body completely disappeared.

*Hooook-!*

At the moment Karl's body plummeted to the ground.

*Whoosh-!*

"Karl!"

Eliza, riding a flying dragon, snatched Karl.

"Where have you been all this time? What was that dragon just now?!"

"Didn't we agree to speak informally?"

"Is that important right now?!"

At Eliza's words, Karl looked at the staff in his hand.

"It was Lady Rhodia."

Karl answered, looking at the Flame of Calamity burning on the ground.

"What's the current situation?"

"It's being maintained thanks to the sudden appearance of Lord Lumern… but it's not good!"

"I see."

Karl took a deep breath.

"Then, let's start the counterattack now."