Book 1 Chapter 62
【62】61
“You’re a quick-witted whelp.”
The Death Knight, who chuckled with a sound like scraping metal, adjusted his grip on his greatsword.
“My name is Kargor! A knight serving the great Lich King!”
Kargor, pointing his greatsword at Leo, charged with incredible speed.
Leo swung his aura towards the front.
“And I am the one who will lead you to death! Hahahaha!”
*Swoosh-*!
In an instant, Kargor, who had dispersed into black smoke, reappeared behind Leo.
‘Wraithification!’
*Clang-*!
He hastily blocked Kargor's greatsword, which was aimed at his waist.
An immense pressure was felt in his hand.
*Thwack-*!
Leo's body was sent flying back with tremendous speed.
*Crash! Thump! Rumble-rumble-rumble! Bang!*
Leo's body, which had flown, crashed into two trees.
As the broken trees fell, Leo rose and stretched his stiff body.
“Did you deploy an aura shield in such a short time? Not bad.”
Kargor grinned and charged again.
Leo blocked the sword that was swung to cleave him in two from the head down.
*Clang! Crash!*
Leo was crushed by the pressure he felt throughout his body.
His soles sank in-! digging into the ground.
A dark red aura, shaped like a skull, raged madly.
Leo, frowning, put strength into his body, trying to shake off the greatsword.
“It's a futile struggle!”
As Kargor applied more force, the pressure intensified, and Leo's knees buckled.
“Hahahaha! Let's go to the world of death, you too!”
[Leo! I'll help you!]
Kirian charged at a ferocious speed, aiming for Kargor's opening.
“Annoying.”
*Thud!*
[Ugh!]
As Kargor unleashed a dark aura, Kirian was flung back.
Even as a Fairy Prince, Kirian's power was limited after losing his wings.
Seeing that, Leo opened his mouth.
“By the name of the sworn ally, I call upon thee.”
“Hehehe? Summoning a phantom beast now? You seem to be a fairy's sworn ally, but no matter what phantom beast you summon, it will be useless against me!”
“Answer my call!”
A summoning circle formed around Leo.
*Whoosh-*!
Flames flickered from the summoning circle, and those flames surged even more fiercely in response to Leo's spiritual power.
Kargor's dark red eyes widened.
“This is!”
Crimson wings flapped behind Leo's back.
A beautiful firebird glided high in the sky before descending, targeting Kargor.
“Phoenix!”
*Thrust-*!
Fiona pierced Kargor's chest directly.
Kargor's body crumbled into dust.
Fiona, having flapped her wings elegantly, settled on Leo's shoulder.
[Leo, you were a Phoenix contractor?]
“I was.”
[I-I can't believe it!]
Since Kirian wasn't an old fairy, Leo was the first one he had made a contract with.
Even that contract was forcibly made, not by Kirian's will, but due to his father Silrod's pact.
So, deep down, he had looked down on Leo and hadn't acknowledged him.
However, seeing him form a contract with a Phoenix at only a teenage age, his opinion changed.
[Indeed! If it's my contractor, they should be this capable! Now you finally suit being my contractor!]
“So far, you thought I wasn't suitable as my contractor?”
[Of course! You're human! Your spiritual power is terrible! Do you really think someone as rude and even violent as you suits me? *Cough*?!]
Kirian, who was babbling away, was suddenly grabbed by Leo's hand.
“Fiona, eat him.”
[S-save me!]
It was when Kirian was struggling, pale with fright.
*Groooowl-*!
A dark red aura swirled.
“Hehehehehe.”
Kargor, having regained his form with a chilling laugh, glared at Leo.
“A Phoenix and a fairy! You're a whelp who must never be allowed to live!”
*Stab-*!
Kargor, raising his greatsword, plunged it into the ground.
*Gush!* Dark red blood erupted from the greatsword, soaking the ground.
Leo's face hardened.
‘Death Ground.’
It was a curse that cast a death curse over a certain area, endlessly summoning undead.
*Thump! Crash!*
White bones emerged, piercing through the snowfield.
Skeletons began to pop out endlessly around them.
*Clack- clack- clatter-clatter-clatter-*!
They clashed their joints as if letting out a roar.
“Army of Death! Kill that whelp!”
With Kargor's command, the skeleton army charged, targeting Leo.
Seeing that, Leo put his sword away and gripped it again in front of his face.
The flame aura receded.
“Are you humbly accepting death?”
At Kargor's words, Leo made an indifferent expression.
“Am I crazy?”
*Hum-*!
A grey aura formed on Leo's sword.
Kargor's eyes twitched.
‘Another type of aura?’
It was Kyle's aura, not Zerdinger's.
‘Zerdinger's swordsmanship consumes a lot of aura.’
It was powerful and flashy, but too taxing for prolonged use.
‘Using it for the first time in a while?’
Leo lowered his stance.
He supported himself on his left foot and kicked off the ground with his right.
*Whirl-*!
He began to spin in place using the power of his aura.
“Have you gone mad with fear of death?”
Kargor scoffed.
Leo spinning in place looked like nothing but a futile act to anyone.
But Leo's spin grew increasingly powerful.
Eventually.
*Whirrrrrrrrrrr-*!
A vortex began to swirl.
An aura vortex swept through like a spinning top.
Kyle Style - Vortex.
*Crash!*
The aura vortex charged towards the skeleton army.
Bone dust flew everywhere.
Skeletons that approached Leo began to be pulverized at an incredible speed.
Leo, having instantly broken through the encirclement, withdrew his technique and began to run at an incredible speed using Aura Step.
Seeing his retreating figure, Kargor roared and began to pursue Leo.
The skeleton army also quickly chased after Leo.
[That's amazing! With that technique, you could wipe out all the skeletons, so why are you retreating!]
An excited Kirian asked with sparkling eyes.
The swordsmanship Kirian had just witnessed was very cool.
*Chirp- Chirp-*
Fiona seemed to feel the same way, showing a puzzled reaction.
“This technique has a fatal flaw.”
[What is it?]
“It's a powerful technique, but if I use it for too long, I get dizzy.”
Kirian muttered at such a pathetic reason.
[I take back what I said about it being cool.]
*Chirp-*!
“They said the same thing.”
Leo burst out laughing, remembering his past life.
“Stop! If you're a knight, fight me honorably!”
“What's the guy who summoned a bunch of subordinates talking about?”
At the angry shouts coming from behind, Leo made an exasperated expression.
*Whoosh-*!
The flame aura gathered at his fingertips burst forth as if exploding.
Along with that, it created tremendous acceleration.
[So faaaast!]
Kirian, clinging to Leo's shoulder, shouted in an excited voice.
Fiona, who had somehow returned to her original form, also chirped excitedly.
*Grooooaar!*
The wails of the dead were heard from all directions.
He chanted a spell, looking at the skeletons emerging from the ground and forming an encirclement.
Kirian was surprised by the runes flowing from Leo's mouth.
[Wait! Leo! You can use magic too?]
“So?”
[You're a knight and a summoner!]
“Is this your first time seeing an all-rounder?”
[An all-rounder? Like Kyle from the legends?!]
As Silrod's son, Kirian knew about the great heroes.
Among them, of course, were facts about the forgotten great hero, Kyle.
Leo, who smiled at the surprised Kirian, completed the spell and lowered his stance while running.
“Earth Wave.”
The ground began to ripple around Leo.
Accordingly, the skeleton army also staggered, unable to maintain their balance.
Leo, having plunged into the center of the skeleton horde, swung his sword.
*Slash!*
Skeletons were brutally cut down by Leo's sword, which had no aura imbued.
[They're totally nothing, aren't they?]
“Because skeletons are low-level undead.”
Skeletons themselves aren't threatening.
The problem was that if they combined with higher-level undead like Death Knights, they would be difficult to deal with.
Leo, who had run for a while, landed on the ground and took a deep breath.
Kargor's presence was no longer felt.
‘Looks like I've escaped from him.’
“Fiona, go back.”
After sending Fiona back, Leo left the forest, lost in thought.
‘So a Death Knight is here?’
A Death Knight is a high-level undead, rarely seen.
‘Is there something Tartarus is after in the Fairy Forest?’
It's certainly no coincidence that Silrod activated the former Fairy King's magic while sealing Kirian's wings.
*Whoosh-*!
Just then, something approached Leo at an incredible speed.
A silver blade, reflecting the sunlight, had already reached Leo's nape.
Leo glanced sideways at the elf boy who was pointing a sword at his neck.
“What are you doing?”
“Human. What exactly are you doing in this forest?”
Leo answered calmly, looking at the emotionless elf.
“I was gathering herbs.”
“Don't lie! How did a human get in here? And an evil undead has been discovered in this forest! I suspect you're involved!”
Leo furrowed his brow, looking at the elf who raised his voice.
The elves of Verkhia already know that students from Lumern have arrived.
Yet, to have such suspicions means…
‘Is he an elf from outside? And these clothes.’
He carefully observed the design of the clothes the elf was wearing.
‘It resembles the design of Eiran's uniform. So, a student from Seirun?’
“How about you calm down first?”
“Just answer my questions! What is your identity, and what were you doing in this forest?!”
Leo sighed deeply, looking at the Seirun student who clearly had no intention of listening.
“I'm a student from Lumern. I was just collecting herbs after being asked by the residents of Verkhia to gather them.”
“Lumern?”
The Seirun student looked a little surprised.
But then he narrowed his eyes.
“You're speaking even more nonsense. Do you think it makes sense for a Lumern student to be here?”
“What's so impossible about it?”
Leo, with an indifferent expression, grabbed the elf's sword pointed at his neck.
“You rascal!”
The Seirun student tried to swing his sword as it was.
‘No way…! It won't budge?’
But he widened his eyes at his sword, which didn't move an inch.
“If you take me to Verkhia, you'll know whether my words are a lie or not.”
As Leo pushed the sword away, the Seirun student's face contorted.
“How dare you refuse my command, a student of Seirun?”
“What kind of nonsense is that now?”
“Seirun students have the right to arrest and apprehend criminals!”
“But I'm not a criminal.”
“We can also arrest suspicious individuals. By the authority granted to me as a proud student of Seirun, I will designate you as a dangerous person.”
Leo sighed, putting his hands on his hips.
“He's impossible to reason with.”
[He seems to have an empty head.]
‘I agree.’
“So, if you designate me as a dangerous person, what are you going to do? Are you going to defeat me or something?”
“That's right!”
Leo gave a cold laugh, looking at the Seirun student who was shouting with a stern face.
“As a fellow Hero Academy student, I treated you as courteously as possible, didn't I?”
“Hmph. Even if you are a Lumern student, do you think you can surpass me, a Seirun student?!”
The Seirun student, shouting arrogantly, aimed his sword and charged.
Seeing that, Leo clenched his fist.
“Then, let's see.”
*Whoosh-*! *Clang-*!
Leo's fist, wreathed in aura flames, clashed with the sword.
“Ugh?”
“Shall we see Seirun's skill for once?”
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