Book 1 Chapter 685

"Hey! Leo's party is back!"

"Open the gates!"

In front of the fortress walls.

The warriors of Ibaldi became busy as they saw Leo and his party reach the moat.

"Did you find anything special?"

Leo shook his head at the question from Rahden, the head of the fortress walls, a beastman.

"No."

"Hmm! They must have hidden it very secretly! You guys! Haven't you already searched everywhere around here?"

Rahden put on a serious expression.

"We need to destroy the barrier as soon as possible and receive help from Gardslon."

"We'll find it soon."

Leo nodded at Rahden's words.

"You worked hard again tonight. Everyone, rest."

The search took place at night, with the moon and stars rising.

Basically, the demons of Tartarus exert stronger power at night.

However, this place is currently the boundary between the age of calamity and the mortal realm.

During the day, a gray sky appears.

Under this sky, demons become much stronger than in the mortal realm's night sky.

It has become a relatively safe situation to rest during the day and be active at night.

Upon hearing Leo's words, the hero candidates and warrior candidates headed to their tents.

As Leo, who remained alone, was about to move,

"Student Leo."

Artian approached with a serious face.

"I have something to say about the entrance."

Seeing Artian carefully bringing up the topic, Leo said,

"You're going to tell me that the entrance might be somewhere inside this fortress, aren't you?"

"As expected, Student Leo."

Artian nodded.

Artian, who majored in Heroology and had extensive knowledge of the hero's world, reached a similar conclusion to Leo.

"Although the people of Ibaldi have rebuilt the ruined fortress, if we look at its basic structure, it wasn't built anticipating a war with Tartarus."

"Then?"

"It was built for wars between races."

Artian pieced together the puzzle with the knowledge he possessed.

Despite being in Tartarus's sphere of influence, the embers of conflict between races, indulged in by a long period of peace.

Those embers became a great conflagration, and the power of the forces in this area would have weakened as a result.

Ultimately, the common story of falling to Tartarus's invasion.

"The major strongholds built during the era of inter-racial wars in this region often had underground labyrinths created by the defenders to wage a delaying battle."

"You know a lot."

"I like history."

As Heroology itself is a field of study that researches the history of heroes, Artian was also proficient in world history.

"The entrance must be deep within the fortress's underground labyrinth."

At Artian's words, Leo fell into thought.

'It was said that spatial distortions occur within the innermost part of the hero's dungeon, wasn't it?'

If such a thing were outside, it should have been discovered already.

That's why Artian inferred that the entrance would be in the innermost part of the dungeon.

"I briefly asked the Ibaldi warriors earlier. They said they've never seen anything like a labyrinth in this fortress."

Leo's eyes twitched.

"They don't know about the existence of a labyrinth?"

"Yes. It must be clearly hidden. That's why the Ibaldi warriors don't know about the entrance."

Artian clenched his fist.

"We must find the entrance to the labyrinth starting today…"

"No."

"What?"

"Let's take about two days to rest. You must have been very tired for the past ten days."

"Should we… do that?"

At Leo's reaction, Artian, with a slightly bewildered expression, nodded.

Even though they were in a professor-student relationship, Leo was currently the leader of the Archi party.

Moreover, Artian well knew that Leo's actions had a reason.

Artian was also well aware that Leo was far superior to him when it came to combat.

Whether it was strength or experience.

'He's a strange student.'

"Then, Student Leo. Let's get plenty of rest."

Artian left with a slight smile.

Leo, watching his retreating figure, began to walk.

Leo headed towards the outskirts of the fortress.

Where Dweno's workshop was located.

As he approached the workshop, the surroundings were quiet.

It should have been the time to hear Dweno's hammering and training sounds, but there was no such sound at all.

Upon reaching the workshop, Leo looked at the empty workshop.

The workshop was silent, as if everyone had gone somewhere.

Creak-

Leo entered the workshop and looked around.

And on one side of the workshop.

Leo approached the private room that only Dweno used.

This is where the weapons made by Dweno were stored.

"…"

For a smith, a personal storage is like a treasure trove.

Therefore, outsiders should not enter carelessly.

But Leo reached for the door without hesitation.

Clatter-

The door was locked.

It wasn't just locked.

It was magically locked.

As a smith, Dweno was also a highly skilled magician in the field of magical engineering.

He far surpassed Kyle in magical engineering and alchemy, not combat magic.

It would take Kyle a long time to open the door locked by Dweno.

Or he could force it open.

Jingle- Click-

However, Leo analyzed and released the lock pattern without difficulty.

The reason he could instantly unlock Dweno's magic lock was quite obvious.

If they had spent the same amount of time, he would never have caught up.

But Dweno's time had stopped, and Leo's time was flowing.

And with that time, Leo moved forward.

Creak-

Leo opened the door.

And upon seeing the inside of the workshop, he tightened his grip.

As he was examining the inside of the workshop, a voice came from behind.

"Since when did you notice?"

Leo turned around.

Dweno stood at the workshop entrance, wearing a bitter smile.

"You're unnecessarily perceptive when it comes to these things, Kyle."

***

Leo looked at Dweno for a moment, then turned his gaze back into the private room.

There, Aron's greatsword and Luna's ring were emitting powerful lightning and cold.

They were perfectly restored to their original forms.

And on one side, Brave, which had been broken, had regained its original shape.

Of course, Brave was not yet in its completely original state.

Even so, it would be impossible for Dweno, with his skill at this time, to restore Brave to that extent in such a short period.

Leo closed the door.

Then he turned completely towards Dweno.

"I started to suspect when you eliminated Gimeon."

Leo said calmly.

"It became almost certain when I thought there was an entrance somewhere in this city."

Dweno was a man who had been a vanguard in the defense of Gardslon, as well as Ibaldi, for many years.

"If it were you, whom I know, you would have thoroughly understood the fortress you needed to protect."

It was clear that he would have discovered the labyrinth entrance in the process.

But the warriors of Ibaldi did not know that fact.

It was highly likely that someone had intentionally hidden the existence of the labyrinth.

Putting the puzzle pieces together, Leo concluded that Dweno had memories.

"I was completely certain when I opened this door."

Leo pointed to the door behind him with his thumb.

"The magical engineering formula used to lock this door. You tried to hide it, but it was at the level of your magical skill when we went on our final expedition. Crucially."

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"You wouldn't lock a door like this."

Dweno had no attachment to smithing.

As such, he had no attachment to the weapons he created.

There was only one weapon that he called a masterpiece and gave a name to, surviving the age of calamity.

Most divine artifacts with names were named by their users, not by Dweno.

That alone showed Dweno's disposition.

The fact that such a Dweno locked the door meant that there was something he didn't want to show inside.

"…"

Dweno closed his eyes and let out a hollow laugh.

"I've felt it before, but you're quick-witted in these matters."

"Since when did you have memories?"

"The future… no. My memories returned as soon as I arrived in the current era."

Dweno looked down at his hands.

"I remember vividly. After Ibaldi was destroyed. The memories of me joining Archi and embarking on a journey with my comrades."

Dweno had a bitter expression.

"When Gias invaded Gardslon. The memory of you, Kyle, coming with those children from the distant future."

The moment he arrived in the mortal realm.

Dweno's memories reached into the future.

"…It seems you know a little further into the future now?"

"It's because of Brave."

"Brave?"

"That broken Brave showed me. Aron's last moments."

Dweno's gaze drifted beyond the window behind Leo.

Dweno's eyes sank.

Even if it was fake.

It had conveyed its master's last moments to its creator.

'So that time…'

Leo recalled Dweno, who was shedding tears while holding the broken Brave, and let out a deep breath.

Leo and Dweno were different.

After Aron's death.

Leo had sent off Dweno and Luna one by one… and finally Risinas.

Leo remembered all of their last moments.

'But I was reincarnated.'

Revived in the mortal realm, he continued to mourn his friends and commemorate them.

The sacrifices of his comrades.

Witnessing the results of his own sacrifice.

He let the sorrow flow through time.

That didn't make the sorrow disappear, but at least he was no longer buried in death.

But Dweno was not like that.

Even knowing that he and his comrades would die.

Even knowing that the world would be saved through that outcome.

Aron's death, which he directly witnessed through the memories conveyed by Brave, must have been a great sorrow for Dweno.

Leo, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

"Dweno, you know the entrance, don't you?"

"I know."

Dweno met Leo's gaze.

"But I cannot tell you where it is until I achieve my goal."

"What is your goal?"

"To show the people of Ibaldi a world that has been completely saved. To show them a tomorrow where the sun rises."

"…"

"I know my future. And the future of these people. I know I am fake. I know my stubbornness is meaningless."

Dweno had a sad expression.

"But they died in despair without even seeing a glimmer of hope."

What Dweno had called his own failure.

Dweno's past and his great regret that Leo did not know.

The people of Ibaldi died thoroughly in despair.

Isolated, without hope of salvation.

They simply died in despair and lamentation.

"I want to bring them even a little bit into the future. That much…"

Dweno bit his lip tightly.

"Isn't it alright to fulfill such a wish?"