Book 1 Chapter 73

[73] 72.

"Firewall."

As Leo finished the incantation, a wall of fire engulfed the orcs.

Kiiiiiiek!

Seeing the orcs instantly turn to ashes, Leo dispelled the magic.

Lunia and Eiran moved towards the orc corpses, only their skeletons remaining.

"Wait."

"Huh?"

"Yes?"

Lunia and Eiran stopped.

Leo, who had stopped them, stared intently at the orcs.

Gooooo-!

The orcs' skulls emitted black smoke and floated into the air.

Clack- Clack-

Bone by bone, they fitted together, becoming skeletons.

Lunia and Eiran wore tense expressions.

Until now, all undead had emerged from underground.

The undead, pre-summoned, were ambushing them.

But this time was different.

Monsters that had just died had become undead and risen.

"Is there a necromancer nearby!"

Lunia's eyes narrowed sharply.

Hwarururuk-!

She raised the Phoenix's magic, scanning her surroundings.

Eiran also armed herself with the Animus armor and readjusted her grip on her sword and shield.

Tadadadadak-!

The orc skeletons gripped their weapons and charged.

Lunia snorted and raised her palm.

Hwaruruk-!

A small sphere of flame materialized on her palm.

It was Fireball, the most basic fire attack spell.

Though a simple spell, its power varied drastically depending on the user's skill.

Hwahwahwahwahwak-!

The Fireball multiplied into several orbs in an instant.

Seeing this, Leo's eyes sparkled.

'To perform superposition casting at that speed at her age?'

A technique of reciting the same spell multiple times simultaneously.

The technique itself wasn't difficult, but doing it at high speed was challenging even for veteran mages.

'To achieve that purely through instinct. Amazing.'

While Leo was genuinely admiring,

Lunia's Fireballs engulfed the orc skeletons.

Kwagagagag-!

Creating explosions of flame, they shattered the orc skeletons in an instant.

"Easy."

Lunia, smirking, looked around.

"I've dealt with all the low-class skeletons you're using! Now, show yourself!"

Lunia's fierce voice boomed throughout the winter forest.

But all that returned was the echo of Lunia's voice.

"Oh? You're not coming out? Then I'll blow this whole area up…"

"Stop. There's no necromancer nearby."

Seeing Lunia raise her hand to cast a powerful spell, Leo gently held her wrist, stopping her attack.

"Leo, you saw it too, didn't you? The orcs turning into skeletons."

Seeing Lunia's bewildered expression, Leo said calmly.

"That wasn't necromancer-induced undeadification."

"Then what was it?"

"A curse."

"A curse?"

Lunia's eyes widened.

Eiran also wore a puzzled expression.

"Are there curses that create undead?"

"The Curse of the Dead."

"Curse of the Dead? I've never heard of it."

Seeing Lunia tilt her head, Leo looked puzzled.

"Don't you learn about curses in Seirun?"

"I- I do! It's just that we haven't gotten that far yet! Even in the same subject, the curriculum differs!"

"Even so, it's a famous curse."

"Ugh?"

Lunia flinched.

"While it's true that elves have strong resistance to curses and can deal with them more easily than other races due to the blessing magic in Star Magic, curses are one of the demon race's most powerful attack methods. You shouldn't neglect your studies. Even Luna has suffered from curses more than once."

"Ugh?"

Unable to refute, Lunia rolled her eyes.

"If it's the Curse of the Dead… isn't that the curse of the Undead King Hel Kaiser?"

Eiran asked cautiously.

"That's right. Eiran, you know well."

"It's a curse that appears frequently in the heroic tales of great heroes, so I know it well."

Lunia felt even more intimidated by Eiran's somewhat embarrassed expression.

"So, what is the Curse of the Dead? If it's related to a Legion Commander, it must be a dangerous curse, right?"

"The Curse of the Dead is a dangerous curse that continuously summons undead in the surrounding area."

"What?"

"The place where the curse is cast literally becomes a land of death."

As Eiran shrunk her shoulders and showed a frightened expression, Lunia's face turned ashen.

"Then what? Is Tartarus planning a large-scale attack on Elsalbekia now?"

If undead were endlessly summoned, it was an unusually dangerous situation.

"No. It's not like that. Even with the Curse of the Dead, powerful undead are not created unless Hel Kaiser casts it directly. It's probably a curse cast by one of Hel Kaiser's subordinates."

Leo glared at the forest.

"However, if Hel Kaiser has moved, it's certain that something from Tartarus is in this forest."

"What would a Legion Commander want?"

"Hmm. For example…"

Leo stroked his chin.

"An item related to the great hero?"

"An item related to… the progenitor?"

"Then that's a total jackpot!"

"We can't know for sure. Anyway, we'll know when we go…"

Leo's expression changed drastically.

Seeing Leo's sudden change in mood, the two elves, who had been looking puzzled, shivered.

Hwioooooo-!

A cold blizzard raged.

Through the blizzard, crimson eyes flickered.

"Hehehehe- Welcome, hero candidates."

Lunia's face hardened as she saw a Death Knight exuding a fundamentally different aura from the undead they had faced so far.

"Death Knight?"

"That's right! My name is Kargor! I am a proud knight who serves the great Undead King, and a messenger who will lead you to your death!"

Thump-!

Gooooooo!

As Kargor slammed his greatsword into the ground, the surrounding vegetation began to turn black.

A deathly aura began to emanate from the ground.

Pabak! Pababaat-!

A tremendous number of undead began to emerge from the ground.

Not just skeletons.

Zombies and ghouls.

Even corpse chimeras.

All sorts of undead appeared.

"Despair! Tremble in fear! I will make you regret coming to this forest! Hahahaha!"

Gworeeeeer!

Along with Kargor's manic laughter, the roars of the undead echoed.

Letting out a chilling laugh, Kargor looked at Leo.

"You won't be able to escape today."

"I'll handle this Death Knight. Eiran, you deal with the undead. And Lunia, cast your strongest spell."

"Yes!"

"Understood."

"Ho? You've chosen to fight me this time?"

"I'll face you."

"Huh!"

At Leo's words, Kargor chuckled lowly.

Readjusting his greatsword, dark aura flowed from Kargor's body.

Leo loosened his sword and unleashed Zerdinger's aura.

Hwarururuk-!

The Phoenix's flames blazed furiously.

As they faced each other,

Hwak-!

Leo's body vanished as if extinguished.

"Amateurish!"

Kargor swung his greatsword behind him.

Boom-!

The greatsword, swung with immense speed, was blocked by Leo's longsword.

Kargor's eyes flickered.

He expected it to be deflected, but Leo endured it.

Kwaak-!

As Leo put strength into his sword, the veins on his hand bulged.

Leo's sword pushed back Kargor's greatsword.

Creating an opening, Leo didn't hesitate and dived into Kargor's embrace.

"Haha! Foolish one! Did you think I was an ordinary human knight?"

Seeing Leo, Kargor sneered and unleashed his dark aura.

Gooooooo!

The dark aura engulfed Leo.

"Hahahaha!"

Hwak!

But Kargor's expression hardened as he saw Leo emerge from the dark aura.

As if he had foreseen it, the flames on Leo's sword, enveloped in flame aura, flickered furiously.

'Zerdinger's Secret Swordsmanship. Prominence.'

Leo's sword drew a crimson line towards Kargor.

Kwang-!

Kargor barely blocked Leo's attack by swinging his greatsword.

But the crimson flames, as if to consume everything, raged fiercely.

"You're no ordinary brat!"

Leo and Kargor's pure knightly combat prowess were on equal footing.

In a fight against such an opponent, the deciding factor was experience.

And Kargor was confident that he surpassed Leo in experience.

He didn't think it made sense for a first-year student at the Hero Academy to be outmatched in experience by himself, who had fought on countless battlefields as a Death Knight.

But that was Kargor's delusion.

'He's seeing through all my moves!'

Leo's experience, honed on countless battlefields, was on a different level than Kargor's.

Looking into Leo's impassive eyes, Kargor felt a chill.

The flames of the crimson glow dug into Kargor's greatsword.

Cheeeeeeek!

Under immense heat, Kargor's sword began to melt.

Hwak-!

Kargor's body disintegrated momentarily.

'Etherealization.'

Kargor, using one of the Death Knight's techniques, Etherealization, retreated urgently.

'I'll use the undead force for a war of attrition!'

Hwarururuk-!

A small sun appeared in Kargor's eyes for a moment.

With blinding light, the surrounding snow melted rapidly.

Lunia, casting Blazing Heat, shouted at Kargor.

"Die, you bone bag!"

A giant sphere of flame flew towards Kargor.

The undead caught in the flames instantly turned to ash without leaving a trace.

'There's nowhere to escape!'

Kugugugugung! Hwarurururuk-! Kwagagag-!

The flames spread in all directions, raging wildly.

Leo and Eiran lowered their stances to avoid being caught in the aftershock.

A moment later, the flames receded, and the surrounding area was devastated.

"This is what happens when you get caught by me!"

Lunia puffed out her chest with a triumphant expression.

"The forest…!"

Eiran covered her face, her expression ashen.

[Is that elf for real? Why is she so aggressive?]

Peep- peep-!

Kirran shook his head in disbelief, and Fiora flapped her wings as if she liked it.

Leo, looking at the spot where Kargor had been, muttered.

"Persistent."

"What?"

Lunia flinched.

Gooooo-!

"Ugh hmph."

"Oh? Still alive?"

Lunia cracked her knuckles.

"Then I have no choice but to burn you until you die."

[That guy really doesn't seem like an elf.]

Kirran whispered.

"Heh heh- Did you really think you could easily destroy me, Kargor?"

"Are you confident in your endurance? Let's see how long you can last."

Kargor, laughing at Lunia's warlike smile, said.

"Once this mission is over, I will bring you to death."

With those words, Kargor vanished.

"Swaggering even while running away."

Lunia snorted.

"What are you doing! Hurry up and chase him and take care of that damned bone bag and the curse on this forest!"

***

Hwak-!

Kargor, having retreated from the battle, appeared before Lauta, who was drawing a summoning circle.

"Did you finish dealing with them?"

"They'll be here soon. Hurry up."

"What?"

Lauta's face contorted.

"Don't be ridiculous! You incompetent undead! You couldn't even properly deal with a bunch of first-year brats?"

"Heh heh. Yes. It was only a bunch of first-year brats who did this to me."

Kargor chuckled lowly.

"Why are you grinning like that!"

"How can I not be happy! I have a chance to eliminate the sprouts who will become future heroes! The Undead King will be very pleased with this."

Seeing Kargor exclaim with a voice filled with delight, Lauta's face contorted.

"The sprouts… of a hero?"

"Yes, when I first saw you, I thought it was the end for the Hero Academy… but you're not ordinary."

"Don't speak carelessly. Right now, your master is me."

"You, who is weaker than me, claim to be my master?"

"Because your Undead King decreed it so!"

Lauta shouted irritably and showed a black ring.

"I could obliterate you right now!"

"Ugh hmph. Try it. If you can handle those three first-year students coming here by yourself."

At Kargor's sneer, Lauta flinched.

"Kuk!"

"Hurry up and finish the summoning circle, you worm of a master."

Lauta, grinding his teeth, drew the summoning circle.

'The moment I get my hands on the progenitor's power… I'll deal with you first!'