Book 1 Chapter 617

[Amazing. I never imagined I'd be caught so quickly.]

"I'll be coming to where you are soon, so wash your neck and wait."

[Hohoho. While waiting slowly might be enjoyable in its own way. It seems a little boring. So, I shall invite you.]

"Invite?"

[Yes. I'll tell you where I am now.]

"Where is it?"

[Ho? You don't even doubt it a little?]

"You just want my abilities anyway."

[You already know who I am? Zerdinger's senile old man? Or the loathsome shadows?]

"The location?"

Despite the Hero Slayer's show of interest, Leo, as if seeing no further value in conversation, got straight to the point.

[Hoho. Hohoho! I want to talk with you more slowly and at length.]

The Hero Slayer said with a smile of enjoyment.

[The territory of the Flov family. I am here. I am waiting.]

The communication ended with those words.

Leo's red eyes exuded a clear murderous intent.

Goooooo-!

The Shadow Lords.

And Legas, the hero of the previous generation and the greatest knight of Lorden.

They were overwhelmed by the murderous intent radiating from Leo.

The murderous intent, which had flickered like flames, soon subsided.

"It's a trap."

"I know."

Leo said calmly at the words of Algren, the Northern Shadow Lord.

"It's an unavoidable trap."

"……"

The Hero Slayer hadn't just taken Reina hostage.

He had taken everyone living in the Flov family's territory hostage.

That's why he revealed his location.

'A declaration of war.'

Leo smiled chillingly.

It meant he had finished preparing to hunt him and was waiting.

"Leo-nim. To go with the shadows…"

Anya's words were met with Algren shaking his head.

"No. He knows of our existence. Mentioning us was a form of blackmail. The threat is that if we lead the shadows, he will slaughter the residents of the Flov territory."

"Then Leo-nim has to go to the Flov territory alone? That's impossible!"

Seeing Anya speak as if she couldn't accept it, Kirin, the Southern Shadow Lord, said.

"Leo-nim, a decision…"

"He definitely didn't say to come alone."

Leo said, looking at the communication crystal in his hand.

"However, as the Northern Archmage said, we don't know what he'll do if the shadows move. He was hunted by shadows."

Leo opened his mouth.

"What he fears most are shadows."

The Hero Slayer is different from ordinary Hero Hunters who hunt heroes.

They are initially denied the opportunity to become heroes due to their status as traitors.

'No matter how absurd the gods are, they wouldn't choose such people as heroes.'

And all Hero Hunters hunt heroes by external forces.

Whether they were raised that way from birth.

Or if they were forced into the path of a Hero Hunter due to betrayal.

Later, they might go mad or become distorted and do it voluntarily, but the origin is external.

'No matter how much they turn their backs on the world, they ultimately have to chase the light.'

But the Hero Slayer is different.

He turned his back on the light of his own will.

Solely for his own desires.

What those desires are, we don't know, but whatever they are, the Hero Slayer's root is in being a hero.

That's why, despite massacring countless heroes, he was defeated by shadows.

'He must know a lot about heroes. That's why he was able to massacre heroes. But not shadows.'

A kind of natural enemy.

'That's why he's wary of shadows.'

It is difficult to grasp the movements of shadows that move stealthily in the darkness.

That's probably why he took the Flov territory hostage.

The threat is that if he senses the presence of shadows, he will immediately massacre the villagers.

'He probably thinks that if it doesn't work, he can just escape.'

If a large-scale suppression force is assembled, he will escape.

He won't fight disadvantageous battles.

'Then there's no reason to set a trap.'

"It should be possible to bring a small number."

At those words, Legas said.

"I will send Zerdinger's heroes."

"No. If he thinks the balance is tipping, he will escape."

"……"

"Hero candidates should be possible."

Legas and the Shadow Lords realized that Leo intended to go with Liss and his friends.

"While Liss and his friends might be okay, Celia and Rewalin's children might be in danger?"

At Legas's words, Leo said.

"It will be dangerous. Still, those children will be fine. And I want them to know."

"Want them to know?"

"About human malice."

"……"

Legas fell silent at Leo's words.

Chelsea, Celia, and Abad would grow even further.

Legas thought.

'The current hero candidates will far surpass not only me but even my sons. This is the era.'

When the world of heroes was discovered.

The world's power grew exponentially.

3000 years ago.

During the second coming of the calamity, the scales were tipped in Tartarus's favor.

Although Erebus's fragment was sealed and countless commanders were annihilated by the heroes of the Great Opening, the world also suffered immense damage.

The heroes of the Great Opening sealed themselves in the world of heroes along with Erebus to fulfill their duty.

And countless heroes lost their lives to the calamity, and the world, which had been revived for thousands of years, albeit not as much as during the age of calamity, burned.

Unlike that world, three commanders who had survived since the age of calamity were still active in Tartarus.

This was the first historical turning point since the end of the age of calamity.

An era that might have determined the fate of the world.

However, at that turning point, the world obtained a new possibility called the world of heroes and barely balanced with Tartarus.

Historians say.

3000 years ago.

The true age of heroes began after the second coming of the calamity.

The birth of new types of heroes who inherited the power of their predecessors.

And now is precisely such an era.

Not only are they inheriting the power of their predecessors.

The great heroes, who can be called the progenitors of current heroes, are reappearing in the world.

Gods who disappeared during the age of calamity have reappeared, and secrets of the world previously unknown have spread across the globe.

Heroes who had indiscriminately been named are losing their qualifications.

Shadows, who had been discriminated against behind the scenes of history, are also being named in the Hero Record.

'A turning point in history that determined the fate of the world.'

The hero candidates of such an era.

Will far surpass existing heroes.

With great power comes great responsibility.

The current hero candidates will face even more threats.

'Among them, there will surely be attempts to crush that potential before it fully blossoms.'

Soon.

'No, perhaps after becoming third-years. Celia might become a target for Hero Hunters.'

Battles with Tartarus and battles with Hero Hunters are different.

Tartarus are fundamentally irreconcilable beings.

But the traitor Hero Hunters are different.

'They walked the same path as us. In a sense, they are more dangerous than Tartarus.'

Because they can understand each other, they can act with greater malice.

That is why heroes are hunted by Hero Hunters.

Leo intended to expose them to such malice.

He was preparing a stepping stone for them to grow further.

'Reina is taken hostage… and the entire territory is in danger… is he looking at the future?'

Legas stared at Leo without a word.

'Does he have the confidence to save both Reina and the villagers?'

But Leo's eyes were different.

Legas, who had roamed battlefields for many years, muttered as he looked at Leo.

'He's used to it.'

He was used to losing.

What on earth has this boy, who is not old, lost?

And…

'And yet, he doesn't intend to give up.'

There was no trace of a hero candidate in Leo's appearance.

All that could be felt was a hollowness that only those who had fought endlessly on the battlefield could possess.

As the knight leading Zerdinger.

The old knight Legas, who had stood on the battlefield for a long time, possessed that emptiness.

'When you know loss, you eventually accept it and compromise.'

You give up a part of yourself.

Otherwise, you torment yourself even more.

But Leo had none of that.

Even knowing loss, he showed no sign of giving up.

'A hero.'

The true image of a hero that Legas had envisioned long ago.

Legas, who had been silent, said.

"I'm sorry, Leo."

"For what?"

"Because I was complacent, I have burdened you."

"…I suppose even my grandfather couldn't have imagined that someone holding a high position in the family would do such a thing."

Eggson had thoroughly hidden his desires his entire life.

When suspicious points were discovered and investigated, he just happened to find evidence at the right time.

He probably never imagined that someone who had fought on battlefields for a lifetime under the name of blood would stab him with a sword for a foolish desire.

"I was complacent as well. And… I don't consider it a burden. She is someone precious to me that I must protect."

Leo smiled.

"So don't worry. I will definitely bring Mother back."

"…I entrust her to you."

* * *

As he prepared to head to the Flov territory, Leo silently watched the situation unfolding before him.

-Els-nim. Here is tea brewed with herbs grown in the world's clearest air, boiled with morning dew.

-Oh my, the aroma is truly wonderful.

-Els-nim! This is fruit picked from the deepest forest in the world.

-Such rare gifts.

The highest-ranking fire elementals, who followed the Purification Spirit, were offering precious gifts to Els.

Els, who had returned to her usual palm-sized form, looked at the teacup and fruits that were the same size as her with a perplexed expression.

Only Fiora and Kirian were excited beside her.

Initially, when these two mischievous phoenix and fairy eyed the refreshments, the highest-ranking fire elementals became displeased, but they softened at Kirian's words.

-We are Els-nim's closest confidants.

Peep.

Seeing the two shamelessly lying, Ati looked troubled.

"Fiora-yang has always had a strong appetite, but recently, Kirian-gun's appetite is also considerable. I wonder if they'll both get fat at this rate."

In fact, Fiora had a history of becoming an obese phoenix.

-Absolutely not! These are things I cherish one by one! You unfaithful wretches! How dare you betray me!

Meanwhile.

Istar, trapped in the dark prison, could only scream while clutching the bars.

The highest-ranking fire elementals completely ignored him.

"I knew the spirit hierarchy was strict, but that seems excessive."

Larel sighed softly at Leo's words.

"Even lower spirits have emotions. It seems Istar was tormented quite a bit by the Purification Spirit. What are you planning to do with Istar?"

"First, defeating the Hero Slayer is the priority. We should go soon."

At those words, Els unfurled her shadow.

Then, the highest-ranking fire elementals entered into it, and Istar, subdued by Els, was also dragged in.

When Leo opened the door, Chelsea, Celia, and Abad stood before him with tense expressions.

Behind them were Liss, Uta, and Jamua.

The six people had already heard the situation and finished their preparations.

"Shall we go?"

Liss asked, and Leo nodded.

"Let's go."

Thump- thump-

Leo walked ahead, and the hero candidates followed him.