Book 1 Chapter 591

The heroic candidates who had been cheering collapsed one by one. The tense atmosphere loosened, and a sense of relief washed over them now that it was over.

“Whew, I really thought I was going to die this time.”

“We couldn’t afford even the slightest mistake… do heroes… always fight such heart-pounding battles?”

“Look, my hands are still shaking.”

Everyone was busy talking about the battle they had just experienced, speaking in unison. They had overcome countless trials while attending the Hero Academy. However, compared to today’s experience, those were nothing. They had even witnessed the battle between Erebus and the Great Hero, but they never imagined they would directly confront Erebus themselves.

“I really feel how amazing the Great Hero and the Heroes of Genesis are.” Even Celia, who always appeared perfect, shook her head while sitting on the floor.

“Ugh! Really! That was exhausting!” Ar lay spread out on the floor. She was so tired that she couldn’t even grasp the enormity of what they had accomplished. All they wanted was to rest.

Ar frowned slightly as she looked up at the sky. The brilliant sunlight bothered her eyes. As Ar squinted, trying to close her eyes against the sunlight, a shadow fell over her face as someone approached.

*Thump- thump-*

“Huh? Who is it?” Her vision was blurred by the sunlight, making it difficult to see the person’s face clearly. As Ar vaguely looked at the other person’s face, her blue eyes widened dramatically.

“You did well. You were amazing.” Seeing Kyle’s beaming smile, Ar, who had been opening and closing her mouth, sprang to her feet.

“Neeeoooooo?!” Everyone’s gaze instantly fell on Ar as she let out a strange shriek. Then, they all looked shocked as they discovered the man standing in front of her.

“W-wait! Is that real?!”

“Why is he here?! This is Lord Lumern’s world!”

“Is… is he fake?” Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

‘Oppa Leo?’ Chelsea’s eyes widened as she looked at the Hero of the Beginning. As their eyes met for a moment, Kyle smiled faintly. ‘It really is Oppa Leo.’ Even when he looked like Leo, Kyle had a charisma that commanded the surroundings. But now, he exuded an overwhelming charisma that was incomparable to when he looked like Leo. ‘Well, that must be his original form.’ She didn’t think Leo was mimicking someone his age. He had always been mature. He must have simply hidden his true self and naturally blended in with them. Sometimes pushing them from behind. Sometimes leading the way with his back exposed. Thinking of Leo, who had helped them grow without revealing himself, Chelsea nodded. ‘He’s a real adult.’ It was at that moment.

“H-he’s so cool……” Eiran mumbled dazedly, clasping her hands together.

“Miss Eiran, you’re drooling.”

“Hah?! *Slurp*.” At Chen Xia’s words, Eiran flinched and wiped her mouth.

“But he is cool, though,” Chen Xia exclaimed. Those who knew Leo’s true identity marveled at this new facet of him. Lunia silently gazed at Kyle’s form. ‘A goal I must reach someday.’ It was when Lunia clenched her fist tightly.

“Um… Are you Lord Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning?” Ar asked cautiously.

“Is there a problem?”

“Huh? H-how are you in Lord Lumern’s world?”

“I opened my eyes to find myself in a world 5000 years in the future. Erebus was there, so I dealt with him. But as I chased him, I ended up here.” Kyle said calmly.

“What exactly is this place?”

“This is a place called the world of heroes.” Chloe continued Ar’s explanation about the Hero Record.

“The future has strange things,” Kyle said calmly.

‘Oppa Leo is such a good actor.’ Chelsea chuckled inwardly as she watched him. The students, who had been frozen by Kyle’s appearance, snapped back to reality. They quickly swarmed around Kyle and bombarded him with questions.

“Lord Kyle! How did you feel when you fought Erebus alone?”

“What is the reason the Great Heroes can appear in this era?”

“Are you really in a relationship with Luna?!” The students, unable to contain their curiosity, peppered him with questions. Great Heroes were objects of reverence, but they also had many things they were curious about. The students who had the fortune to converse with a Great Hero didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

As the students of the Hero Academy gathered around Kyle, forgetting their hardships, Kal returned, supporting Lumern.

“What are you all gathered around for… *cough*?”

“The Hero of the Beginning?” Kal, seeing Kyle, looked surprised, and Eliza looked incredulous. At that moment, Lumern approached Kyle. The students parted to the left and right. Everyone held their breath at the unbelievable sight of the Great Hero and the Hero of Genesis meeting.

“I… I have always admired you and have come this far. Presumptuously, I have even been called your successor. I…” Lumern tightened his grip on his hand. “Do I have the right to follow in your footsteps?” Just as Lumern’s students in this place admired him and followed in his footsteps. Lumern had followed in Kyle’s footsteps. But he had shown weakness to the person he respected. Kyle, who had been silently observing Lumern, put his hand into his cloak. Then he drew his sword. It was an old sword. The sword he used before receiving Posteritas from Dwenoh.

“This is the sword I’ve used the longest.” Kyle handed the sword to Lumern. “It’s yours now. Does that answer your question?”

“……” Lumern took the sword with trembling hands. “You don’t need any qualifications to follow in my footsteps. I’m not so great as to be judging such things.”

“Thank you…”

“The one who should be grateful is me.” Kyle smiled. “Thank you for not giving up.” His grip on the sword tightened. Kyle’s acknowledgment was more precious to Lumern than anything else. It felt like his efforts over the past thousands of years had been rewarded. Kyle shifted his gaze from Lumern to the heroic candidates.

“I watched you fight.” At those words, the heroic candidates held their breath. “I thought about helping you… but it didn’t seem necessary.” Kyle curled the corners of his lips. “So, be proud of the great deed you accomplished today. Lift your heads. You will definitely…” As Kyle’s gaze moved from each heroic candidate to the next, it finally landed on Kal. “Become heroes.”

[Lumern’s World: Epilogue - Sacrifice has been cleared.]

With those words, a clear message appeared in the students’ sight. *Whoosh!* With a bright light, the world of heroes sent the students back to their original world. Only two people remained in the world of heroes. Kyle and Lumern. *Whoosh!* A bright light burst from Kyle’s body as well. At the same time, he returned to his Leo form.

“My body aches after having so much fun after so long.” Lumern couldn’t help but burst into laughter as Kyle, who had been similar in height just moments ago, became shorter than him.

“Stop wandering now.” Leo said, patting Lumern on the shoulder. “I am me, and you are you. You just need to go your own way.”

“……I understand now.”

“That’s all that matters.” Leo placed his hands on his hips and stretched. “How is Erebus, who is imprisoned?”

“……Since Seyrun informed us of Lord Kyle’s existence, he has been rapidly growing stronger. As if he had been hiding his power until now.”

“As expected.” The fragment of Erebus that Leo and Seyrun had jointly stopped in Seyrun’s world. It was a large fragment broken off from the main body. And the fragment in Lumern’s world was an even smaller piece. Yet, their power was comparable. That meant only one thing. Erebus’s fragment had become much stronger than before.

“No, he was probably strong from the start.” Leo narrowed his eyes. “He must have been using the world of heroes as fuel to grow stronger.” Fire gets stronger the more it burns. Until there is nothing left to burn. It adds to the firepower. The world of heroes was a prison that held Erebus, but it was also fuel that increased his power. Just as Leo defeated Erebus and transformed his power into divine power. Erebus was clearly absorbing divine power into his own strength. He must have been secretly building his strength for thousands of years. The fact that such an Erebus suddenly revealed his power meant…

“He must have realized the existence of Lord Kyle and become impatient.”

“How much longer can he hold out?”

“I don’t know. However…” Lumern looked at Kyle’s sword. “Seyrun, Rodia, whom you met… and I have clearly grown in thousands of years. So, we will hold out as long as possible. We will not collapse easily. We will stop him until the very end.”

“Please do.”

“Leave it to me.” Lumern smiled confidently. With that, the world began to collapse. The cleared world began to disappear. Leo’s body also began to glow brightly.

“Ah. Come to think of it, I forgot to say this.” Leo said as if he remembered. “Seyrun and Rodia.”

“Yes.”

“Tell those damn long-eared bastards and those rotten lizards.”

“Huh?” Lumern looked flustered as Leo’s language suddenly turned rough.

“Tell them that the next time I see them, I’ll shave off all their hair, so they should know that.”

“……” Seeing Leo growling, Lumern thought, ‘He found out I called them an idiot and an imbecile.’ Thinking of the two of them, Lumern shook his head. *Whoosh!* Leo disappeared with a bright light.

***

A void space where nothing existed. In the center stood a child with gray hair and eyes. Holding a book as large as his own body, the child opened his mouth.

“From now on, I will begin the Record Recording Meeting.” At those words, colorful spheres appeared in the void space.

- That’s unexpected. A voice of surprise flowed from a sphere emitting a light green glow. - We thought we would no longer have the right to select heroes.

“That’s right. Pibua. This meeting is entirely my discretion.”

- Hah~ They seem to follow the Hero of the Beginning’s every word. So in the end, you just wanted to do as you pleased?

- Even if you’ve changed, you’re still the same kind as us. Mocking voices echoed from all around. As he heard them, Lyan smiled faintly.

“From now on, I intend to end the gods’ role by selecting only three heroes.”

- Why three? Pibua asked in a serious tone, and Lyan replied, “I believe our role is to select the successors of the King of Wisdom, the Brave, and the God’s Blacksmith.” Lyan said calmly. “I believe it is our duty to present the Hero Record as a gift to the mortal realm.” At those words, the gods who had been mocking Lyan fell silent.

- If it’s the selection of successors for the King of Wisdom, the Brave, and the God’s Blacksmith, that’s three. Who is the remaining one? To another god’s question, Lyan said, “We’ll talk about that later. For now, I request a meeting to discuss whether to record Ar Tune.”

- Ar Tune… She did receive the Brave’s acknowledgment.

- Honestly, she reached a realm the Brave couldn’t go to. The ability to transform others into her likeness, does that make sense?

- But she hasn’t overcome trials worthy of becoming a hero. It’s a contrast to Lunia El Lundia. Of course, the progenitor of the nebula selected her.

- Lack of trials is no longer the case. Look at her performance against that monstrosity this time. If she can’t be a hero, who can?

The gods engaged in a deep discussion about Ar. The usual playful atmosphere was completely absent. The meeting proceeded in a solemn state. They, too, agreed with Lyan’s words. That selecting the successors of the Great Heroes was their duty.

“Then… do we recognize Ar Tune as a hero?” After the meeting, Lyan asked finally. No one raised an objection.

“By unanimous consent, Ar Tune will be recorded in the Hero Record. Her epithet is…” Lyan opened the Hero Record. “The one who inherits the will of the Brave.” Ar’s name and epithet were recorded in the Hero Record. After the meeting, the gods engaged in conversation. It was about the recent events. As the atmosphere became boisterous again, Pibua opened his mouth.

- Lyan. Is one of the four heroes you mentioned that we must select perhaps the successor of Kyle?

“Are you crazy? How dare we, like you and me, discuss the successor of the Hero of the Beginning? Are you in your right mind? Apologize on your knees to the statue of Lord Kyle immediately!” Lyan shouted, even pointing his finger. At Lyan’s reaction, Pibua let out a deep sigh.

- Then who is it?

“Our final duty.” At Lyan’s words, all the gods reacted with bewilderment.

“To select the heroes of the new era and completely end the era of the gods. Therefore, I propose an agenda regarding the recording of another person.” Lyan paused, took a breath, and then opened his mouth. “I request your permission to record Kal Thomas in the Hero Record.”