Book 1 Chapter 685

685.

"Hey! Leo's party is back!"

"Open the gates!"

In front of the fortress walls.

Seeing Leo's group arrive before the moat, Ibaldi's warriors became busy.

"Did you find anything special?"

At the question from Rahden, a beastman and the general manager of the fortress walls, Leo shook his head.

"No."

"Hmm! It seems to be hidden quite secretly! You guys! Haven't you already searched all the surroundings?"

Rahden made a serious expression.

"We need to destroy the barrier as soon as possible and get assistance from Gadslon."

"We'll find it soon."

At Leo's words, Rahden nodded.

"You worked hard tonight too. Everyone, get some rest."

The search was conducted at night when the moon and stars were out.

Basically, the demon race of Tartaros exert stronger power at night.

But this place is currently the boundary between the Age of Calamity and the present world.

During the day, the sky is ash-gray.

Under this sky, the demon race becomes much stronger than in the present world's night sky.

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

Listening to Leo, the hero candidates and warrior candidates headed to their tents.

As Leo, left alone, was about to move.

"Student Leo."

Artian approached with a serious face.

"I have something to say about the entrance."

Seeing Artian carefully bring up the topic, Leo said.

"You're going to say that the entrance might be somewhere inside this fortress, right?"

"As expected, it's Student Leo."

Artian nodded.

Artian, who specialized in Heroology and thus had extensive knowledge of the hero's world, came to a similar conclusion as Leo.

"Although the people of Ibaldi rebuilt the ruined fortress, if you look at its basic structure, it's not a fortress built with a war against Tartaros in mind."

"Then?"

"It's a fortress built for wars between different races."

Artian pieced together the puzzle with the knowledge he possessed.

Even within Tartaros' sphere of influence, intoxicated by long peace, the embers of war flared up among the races.

The embers grew into a massive blaze, which must have weakened the power of the forces in this area.

Ultimately, a common story of collapse due to Tartaros' invasion.

"Major strongholds built in this region during the times of inter-racial wars often created labyrinths underground to wage delaying battles during sieges."

"You know a lot."

"Because I like history."

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

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

At Artian's words, Leo fell into thought.

'The distortion of space occurs inside the innermost part of the hero dungeon, right?'

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

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

"I just asked some of Ibaldi's warriors earlier. They said they've never seen a labyrinth-like structure in this fortress."

Leo's eyes twitched.

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

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

Artian clenched his fist.

"We must start searching for the labyrinth entrance today…"

"No."

"Yes?"

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

"Should we… do that?"

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

Even though it was a professor-student relationship, Leo was currently the leader of Arhi's party.

Moreover, Artian knew well that there was a reason behind whatever Leo did.

Artian also knew that Leo was far superior to him when it came to combat, whether in terms of strength or experience.

'He's a truly strange student.'

"Then, Student Leo. Get plenty of rest."

Artian smiled and left.

Leo, who watched his retreating figure, moved his steps.

The place Leo headed was the outer area of the fortress.

It was 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 the sounds of training, but no such sounds were heard at all.

Leo arrived at the workshop and looked at the empty workshop.

It was silent as if everyone had gone somewhere.

Creak-

Leo entered the workshop and looked around.

And in one corner of the workshop.

Leo approached the private room that only Dweno entered and exited.

This was where Dweno's crafted weapons were stored.

"…"

For a smith, a dedicated storage is like a treasure vault.

Therefore, outsiders should not freely enter or exit.

But Leo reached out his hand to the door without hesitation.

Clatter-

The door was locked.

It wasn't just simply locked.

It was locked with magic.

As a smith, Dweno was also a very high-level mage in the field of magical engineering.

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

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

Or open it with force.

Click- Clack-

But Leo analyzed and disarmed the lock pattern without difficulty.

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

If they had spent the same amount of time, he would never have been able to catch up.

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

And Leo had moved forward by that much time.

Creak-

Leo opened the door.

And after checking the interior of the workshop, he put strength into his hand.

As he was checking the interior of the workshop, a voice came from behind him.

"How long have you known?"

Leo turned around.

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

"You're unnecessarily quick-witted in these matters, Kyle."

***

Leo looked at Dweno for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the interior of the small room.

There, Arion's greatsword and Luna's ring emitted strong thunder and chilling cold.

They had been 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 completely in its original form.

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

Leo closed the door.

And completely turned his body towards Dweno.

"I had my suspicions ever since you executed Gimeon."

Leo said calmly.

"The thought that there was an entrance somewhere in this city almost turned into certainty."

Dweno was a man who had served as a vanguard in the defense of not only Ibaldi but also Gadslon for many years.

"The Dweno I know would have thoroughly understood the fortress he had to protect."

In that process, the labyrinth entrance must have been discovered.

But Ibaldi's warriors were unaware of that fact.

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

Putting the pieces of the puzzle together up to that point, Leo concluded that Dweno had his memories.

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

Leo pointed with his thumb to the door behind him.

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

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"You never locked such doors."

Dweno had no attachment to a smith's work.

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

There was only one weapon he called a masterpiece and named after surviving the Age of Calamity.

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

That alone showed Dweno's disposition.

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

"…"

Dweno closed his eyes and let out a hollow laugh.

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

"How long have you had your memories?"

"Future… No. My memories returned the moment I came to this era."

Dweno looked down at his hands.

"I remembered vividly. After Ibaldi fell. The memory of me joining Arhi and embarking on a journey with my comrades."

Dweno made a bitter expression.

"When Gias invaded Gadslon. Even the memory of you, Kyle, bringing those children from the distant future."

The moment he came to the present world.

Dweno's memories extended to the future.

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

"It's because of Brave."

"Brave?"

"That broken Brave showed me. Arion's demise."

Dweno's gaze shifted beyond the warehouse behind Leo.

Dweno's eyes sank.

Even if it was a replica.

It conveyed its master's demise to its creator.

'So that's why then…'

Remembering Dweno shedding tears while holding the broken Brave, Leo exhaled deeply.

Leo and Dweno are different.

After Arion died.

Leo, one by one, sent off Dweno and Luna… and finally, Lysinas.

Leo remembers all of their demises.

'But I reincarnated.'

He was revived in the present world and continued to grieve for his friends' deaths and commemorate them.

The sacrifices of his comrades.

Seeing the results of his own sacrifice.

He let the sorrow flow away with time.

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

But Dweno was not.

Even knowing that he and his comrades would die.

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

Arion's death, which he witnessed firsthand 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 do."

Dweno looked directly at Leo.

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

"What's your goal?"

"To show the people of Ibaldi a world completely saved. A tomorrow where the sun rises."

"…"

"I know my future. And their future. I know that I am a fake. I know that my stubbornness is meaningless."

Dweno made a sad expression.

"But they died in despair without even seeing hope."

What Dweno himself called a failure.

Dweno's past that Leo didn't know, and his great regret.

The people of Ibaldi died utterly in despair.

Isolated, without hope of being saved.

They simply died amidst despair and lamentations.

"I want to take them to the future, even if just a little. Surely that much…"

Dweno bit his lip tightly.

"Surely that much of a wish can be granted, can't it?"