Book 1 Chapter 680

680.

Leo stared ahead, his arms crossed.

Currently, Leo and his companions had formed a party and ventured outside the fortress to patrol the area around it.

This place was the heart of the Tartarus territory.

It wasn't long before the monster beasts' attacks began.

"All three of them are full of enthusiasm."

"Yeah. I think they were greatly influenced by Kal and Kanea's duel."

At Leo's words, Chelsea recalled the events of two days prior.

It was a duel that made the hero candidates feel a lot.

Chelsea, who was looking at the second-year Knight Department trio, glanced up at the sky.

Leo asked, his eyes still fixed on the second-years.

"Can you defeat them?"

Demons had appeared in the sky.

Chelsea took out her magic staff and smiled sweetly.

"Of course. What do you take me for?"

Chelsea flew high into the sky.

Watching her, Leo chuckled.

'Chelsea has also grown unrecognizable.'

She was now at a level where it was hard to treat her as a little kid.

It felt like she had become a full-fledged mage, doing her part.

Uwoooooooh!

The roar of a monster beast echoed.

Leo looked straight ahead.

He saw a golden flash of light.

Sss-s-s-thwack!

A chilling sound of flesh and bone being cut.

A giant ox-headed human.

The Minotaur's body was sliced and diced.

Thud-!

Aina, who had cut down three Minotaurs in the blink of an eye, landed on the ground.

Her body, armed with minimal armor for ease of movement, was covered in blood.

Watching her, Leo mumbled.

"She's still terrifying when she fights."

Aina doesn't care for her own body when fighting.

She slaughters enemies as if revealing a blade she harbors.

With eyes gleaming with bloodlust, Aina scanned her surroundings.

'What about the others?'

Habidun moved like the wind, piercing the Minotaur's heart with his spear.

Luke, on the other hand, became a silver flash, beheading a Minotaur.

Just as Aina confirmed that and was about to move to cut down the fourth Minotaur.

Grwoooooooh!

With a roar, a black shadow loomed over her head.

A gray-skinned Minotaur was bringing down a giant hammer.

'Lord Minotaur!'

Despite having the grand name "Lord," its appearance was no different from a regular Minotaur.

The difference was having gray skin instead of brown skin.

However, if it were simply a different color, it wouldn't have the title of Lord.

'As expected, there was a Lord.'

Ordinary Minotaurs don't live in herds unless they are under the control of a monster tamer.

But the number of Minotaurs currently attacking the party was close to fifty.

Monster beasts with the title of Lord can not only dominate lower species like monster tamers but also enhance them.

Moreover, the individual power of a Lord-class monster was overwhelmingly strong.

A Lord Minotaur, in terms of pure strength, was on par with a 3rd-rank demon.

A golden gleam flashed in Aina's eyes as she saw the Lord Minotaur.

Crack-!

The Lord Minotaur's hammer struck the ground.

Terrifying dark magic surged in all directions from the Lord Minotaur.

Everything touched by the dark magic turned to dust and scattered.

The Lord Minotaur, having pulverized the earth, displayed a wicked smile.

High-ranking monster beasts, though swayed by instinct, possess high intelligence.

A Lord Minotaur suppresses instinct with intelligence.

They become more cautious and malicious.

The Lord Minotaur knew that the human girl fighting against it was strong.

It was astonishing.

It had hunted countless humans on the battlefield until now, but there was no human of such a young age with such power.

And it wasn't just this human.

The other humans also possessed strength unbefitting their age.

But the Lord Minotaur didn't care.

This land was no longer humans' but their own.

It was certain that no matter how great a human was, it would ultimately be victorious.

And it would devour the strong.

The first one was the human girl right before its eyes.

Feeling ecstasy, the Lord Minotaur's eyes followed Aina.

A fast human.

As expected, she naturally dodged this attack, but it was useless.

Its attack possessed the power to destroy the entire surrounding area.

Besides, being fast was useless.

The human girl before it was emitting tremendous killing intent towards itself, a monster beast.

The Lord Minotaur's senses were reacting acutely to that killing intent.

Hoo-wook-!

As it snorted, the muscles all over its body twitched.

At that moment-

Aina, who stepped on a pile of earth scattered in all directions by the impact, sat down lightly on it.

Swoosh-!

And she rushed towards the Lord Minotaur with incredible speed.

The Minotaur swung its hammer at Aina.

At that moment-

A sharp sword energy glimmered at the tip of Aina's sword.

The sword moved smoothly.

As if performing a sword dance.

Beautiful swordsmanship adorned the air.

The sword of the Sword Saint, a hero who once shouldered an era, unfolded at the tip of Aina's sword.

The movement of the sword was beautiful.

But the slashes created by the sword were chilling.

Clang-clang-clang! Thump-!

Roaaaaaaar!

The Lord Minotaur let out a grotesque scream.

Its severed hands, which were now unrecognizable chunks of flesh and metal fragments, fell to the ground with a thud.

Watching this, Leo narrowed his eyes.

'It's gotten sharper.'

There are various ways to use a sword.

'Cutting, thrusting, striking, parrying.'

None of them are unimportant.

But what could maximize the characteristics of a sword was, indeed, cutting.

And Aina's talent for cutting was unparalleled.

'When it comes to cutting, Aina's talent is comparable to Arion's.'

Of course, Arion was a monster who was not limited to just cutting with a sword, but maximized the potential of the sword itself.

'Well, that guy handles all weapons that way, not just swords.'

He shook his head, thinking of a friend whose very origin was different.

He disliked fighting, but ironically, Arion was a genius when it came to fighting.

Shaking off thoughts of Arion, Leo looked at Aina again.

'If you only look at talent, she's beyond her great-grandfather, the Sword Saint.'

Kalian, who had shouldered an era, achieved distinguished service in subjugating the Monster Queen, and closed his eyes.

Of course, talent being superior doesn't automatically mean one surpasses the Sword Saint.

Talent is merely potential.

'But she'll surpass him.'

If it were last year's Aina, maybe not, but this Aina would surpass her great-grandfather.

'When I first saw her, she was precarious.'

Aina, full of bloodlust in everything she did, was like a bare sword.

A sword without a sheath.

A sheath is something that prevents others from being cut by the sword, but at the same time, it protects the sword from external damage.

A recklessly wielded sword dulls and eventually breaks.

But Aina didn't care about that fact.

She was merely consumed by anger, unable to properly see her surroundings.

She had no thought of taking care of herself, only interested in avenging herself against Tartarus, who had taken her family.

'Kalian's will said there was a condition that I had to acknowledge her to inherit everything from the Sword Saint, didn't it?'

The Sword Saint, in his final moments, knew Leo's identity, felt relieved, and closed his eyes.

But before writing the will, he didn't know Leo's identity.

'He must have thought Aina would definitely enroll in Lumern.'

The intention must have been for her to learn many things from Leo in that process.

As a hero who shouldered an era, Kalian also had an excellent eye for people.

Of course, Leo didn't teach Aina.

He merely guided her so she wouldn't go astray.

But that alone changed Aina.

'Though her ultimate goal hasn't changed.'

She is still a sharp sword, harboring hatred and murderous intent towards Tartarus.

But the misfortune of her destroying herself by failing to control her emotions will no longer happen.

Roaaaaaaar!

The Lord Minotaur roared.

Hands sprouted from the severed surface.

A frighteningly powerful regenerative ability.

But that was the extent of it.

Clearly, the Lord Minotaur's pure strength was comparable to a 3rd-rank demon.

'But its danger level is lower compared to those 3rd-rank guys.'

The most dangerous ability of demons is curses.

Minotaurs, being mere monster beasts, cannot use such curses.

Watching the recovered Minotaur, Aina landed lightly on the ground.

Fearsome killing intent emanated from her calm face.

The suffocating killing intent grew thicker.

And…

Thud?

The Lord Minotaur's eyes widened.

The space where Aina's sword could reach was filled with killing intent.

The Minotaur's senses, which were tracking Aina's movements by detecting her killing intent, became disturbed.

She had imbued her own killing intent with her murderous intent.

Aina had grown to the point where she could use her emotions as a weapon.

Slash-!

The Lord Minotaur's head flew into the air.

Aina, who had cleanly severed its neck, landed on the ground.

Aina sheathed her sword and walked away with light steps.

Blood spurted like a fountain from the severed neck.

The trembling Lord Minotaur raised its hand.

A Lord Minotaur does not die from having its head severed.

Its body moves by instinct and still exhibits powerful combat capabilities.

Swoosh-!

The Minotaur's gigantic hand swung as if to crush Aina.

At that moment.

Aina turned around with an indifferent expression.

At that moment.

Silver aura plunged from the sky.

Crash-!

The tough and resilient body of the Minotaur was brutally split apart.

"Aina, are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Is something wrong? Being careless. That's not like you."

She said with an expressionless face, looking at the flustered Luke.

"Because I knew you would come to help."

A Minotaur whose head is severed and only instinct remains is a rampaging monster.

It will attack until it kills the one who severed its neck.

As such, countless openings are created.

Aina knew this biology well.

The moment Luke saw Aina confronting the Lord Minotaur, he moved to help her.

Aina, realizing this, drew the Lord Minotaur's attention, leaving it defenseless against a surprise attack.

"I trusted you."

"Oh, I see."

Luke was a little surprised.

After the first semester of her first year, Aina had opened her closed heart to her classmates.

But even so, she had fought alone until the first-year final exams.

Aina's fighting style, accustomed to solo combat, was pointed out as her biggest weakness.

But now it was different.

'She's able to perfectly coordinate with her teammates now.'

Leo smiled faintly.

Aina's strategy just now was something she couldn't have pulled off if she didn't completely trust Luke or Habidun.

'Indeed, kids grow fast.'

Luke's growth was also noticeable.

Even if Aina had created a perfect opening, Luke's power, which dealt with the Lord Minotaur in one strike, was formidable.

"You're amazing, Aina, as expected."

Aina's eyes widened when Luke expressed his admiration.

Then she smiled brightly.

"You're amazing too, Luke."

"Huh?"

"You were cool."

Watching Aina smile brightly like a girl her age, Luke blushed, scratched his head, and stammered.

"You were cool too."

"Yes."

Aina was still a sharp sword.

But…

'She's found a good sheath.'

Leo turned his head towards Habidun.

Habidun was walking towards them, his long spear resting on his shoulder, looking up at the sky.

Luke said.

"Habidun, are you hurt anywhere?"

"Do I look like I'd get hurt?"

"Wow! Amazing!"

Aina, who returned with an expressionless face, said.

"Luke, why are you worried about Habidun?"

"Are you picking a fight, Aina Vaidna?"

As Habidun frowned, Aina said.

"He doesn't get hurt that easily."

"Hmph. That's true."

"It would've been embarrassing if he got hurt. I would've cut it faster? You can do it too. In fact, facing the Lord Minotaur is more impressive. So what Habidun did isn't that amazing."

It seemed she was displeased that Luke's attention had been taken away.

Watching Aina, a vein popped in Habidun's forehead.

"You are picking a fight."

'Trust.'

They achieved more than their strength, based on the trust among comrades.

"Whoa! Arrived! They're fighting again?"

At that moment, Chelsea returned from the sky.

"You're fast."

"A 4th-rank demon is simple now!"

A 4th-rank demon is a high-ranking demon.

However, considering Chelsea's skill, it was not a difficult enemy.

'And they're demons from the old era.'

The strategies for demons from 5000 years ago were already widely known.

Perhaps not in large-scale battles with many variables.

In a one-on-one duel, they were merely prey.

"They're quite good, aren't they?"

"The third-years will have to be nervous too."

"Huh?"

Leo smiled, looking at Chelsea's puzzled expression.

She would soon find out.

That there were terrifying juniors catching up.

Aina and Habidun bickering.

Luke calming them down in between.

Watching them, Leo opened his mouth.

"Aina Vaidna."

"Yes, Senior Leo."

Leo said, looking at Aina who stopped bickering and approached him.

"The restriction on Clesis must have been lifted."

"……!"

Aina's eyes widened.

Clesis.

The divine sword created by Dweno, bearing the true name "Demon Slayer."

In this era, it was the symbol of the Sword Saint and also the Sword Saint's legacy that Aina had not inherited.

It was a sword that could only be used with Leo's approval.

Aina, with trembling hands, opened her subspace and summoned Clesis.

Sring-

The blade of Clesis, old but retaining powerful strength, revealed itself.

'I can draw it.'

Her great-grandfather's legacy.

"Thank you."

Aina, sheathing the sword, smiled brightly and showed off the sword to her classmates.

"Look at this. This is the sword my grandfather used. Clesis."

"That's an amazing sword."

"Yeah. I, too, finally received Senior Leo's approval, just like you, Luke."

Then she glanced at Habidun and said.

"Only Habidun hasn't received Senior Leo's approval."

"Luke. Don't get close to Aina Vaidna."

"Huh? Why?"

"I've always thought it, but she's a devious woman."

Chelsea crossed her arms, watching the bickering second-years.

"They get along well. You can feel the trust between them."

"Indeed. Just like you and Celia."

"Huh? What are you talking about? What part of me and Celia Zerdinger gets along well? I don't trust her one bit. She's an enemy. An enemy!"

Chelsea frowned deeply.

Leo pinched Chelsea's cheek.

Watching the flailing Chelsea, Leo laughed.

Whether it was the second-years or the third-years.

Watching them bicker childishly reminded him of his past self.

Recalling Lysinas, Luna, Arion… and finally Dweno, Leo closed his eyes.

'Trust.'

After a moment of silence, Leo released Chelsea and said.

"Let's get going now."

Leo moved for reconnaissance.