Book 1 Chapter 731
731.
Leo saw Lycidas glaring at him with murderous eyes and let out a deep sigh.
‘First, I’ll have to wait until he calms down a bit.’
It would be impossible to have a proper conversation with Lycidas, who was completely enraged.
Judging by past experience, his anger would subside to some extent soon.
‘Besides… what Lycidas is using right now is Chloe’s body.’
If it were Lycidas’s original body, it would be another matter.
Fists and kicks from Chloe’s body, a pure mage who couldn’t handle aura or summoning magic, didn’t seem like they would hurt.
Compared to the powerful body of a dragon, a human body would be weak.
‘Well, even if he uses magic. I should be able to block it.’
Thump- Thump-
What awoke Leo from his thoughts was the sound of Lycidas’s footsteps.
Swoosh-
Lycidas, who had unbuttoned his collar, seemed annoyed by the neatly tied uniform tie around his neck, so he tugged it loose, then tied up Chloe’s long hair tightly.
Cielia and Chloe were also impeccable honor students, famous for their proper attire and conduct.
But compared to Lycidas, they were cute.
Lycidas loosening his clothes to that extent was proof of how angry he was.
Leo smiled as he watched Lycidas roll up his sleeves.
Lycidas’s eyes twitched at the sight.
“You’re laughing? Do you take me lightly right now?”
“No. In the past, when you got angry, I used to flinch a little too.”
“Considering that, you talked quite a lot, didn’t you?”
Harsh words burst from Lycidas’s mouth.
His expression became even more murderous.
In contrast to Leo, who smiled when angry, Lycidas’s expression became murderous when he was angry.
And the only person who could enrage Lycidas to this extent was Kyle.
With Luna, they were normally the closest of friends.
Although they occasionally bickered, it was merely a difference of opinion.
There was no growling or anything like with Kyle.
Rather, Lycidas and Luna admired each other, consciously or unconsciously.
Luna admired Lycidas’s dignified appearance that made people follow him, and his ability to offer hope even in desperate situations.
Lycidas admired Luna’s cheerful and free spirit, and her ability to always make people smile even in difficult circumstances.
Because they had secretly and strongly admired aspects of each other that they themselves lacked, there was no reason for them to fight.
In Dwayne’s case too, they respected each other except when he mentioned “nude model” and such, so there was no fighting, and the same was true for Arion.
To Lycidas, Arion was the youngest member of the party to be taken care of, like a younger sibling, and Arion unconditionally followed Lycidas’s words.
Only Kyle angered Lycidas.
And that was one of Lycidas’s true forms.
The weight of the world is heavy.
Even more so if it’s a dying world.
Therefore, Lycidas was conscious of other people’s gazes.
He never showed a relaxed appearance in front of others.
A sorrowful appearance.
A tired and difficult appearance.
A laughing and chatting appearance.
None of these could be easily shown.
Lycidas was also a being with emotions.
He cried when sad, rested when tired and exhausted, and laughed when joyful and happy.
But from the moment he bore the burden of a dying world, he could not rashly show such an appearance in front of others.
He had to always show the image of a wise king who unswervingly led the world to hope, wherever and whenever.
Because only then could he give consistent trust.
Being swayed by emotions might look weak.
Thus, Lycidas always deceived people with a false appearance.
A swindler who told white lies.
Bearing the weight of the world was like that.
But the only time such a Lycidas showed his emotional side was when he got angry at Kyle.
How much the villainy and acerbity of the surviving hero Kyle could enrage people was well-known even in Gadthron.
And getting angry at Kyle was one of the few moments Lycidas could truly be himself.
Because it was the only time he could be completely honest with his own feelings.
“Now that I look at it, your angry face is cute.”
That thought came to him when he looked at it with a little more composure.
Lycidas faltered at Leo’s words.
“Cute?”
He furrowed his brows.
But his momentum slightly subsided.
‘Ah. This is annoying.’
He hated himself for feeling better at Leo’s honest reaction, but he didn’t entirely dislike it either.
Leo spoke to Lycidas.
“Yes. Now that I see it, Chloe, your angry face is cute.”
“……”
Lycidas asked again, looking at Leo, who was once again dragging his mood into the abyss.
“So you’re saying Chloe is cute?”
“And?”
“Right. It was my mistake to expect anything from an idiot like you.”
Leo scratched his cheek, watching him.
‘Should I stop teasing him?’
Lycidas looking cute was a genuine thought.
It was natural to feel that way since he perceived less danger.
‘My own insides are twisted, I guess.’
It was just as Leo let out a small laugh and was about to open his mouth.
Whoosh-!
“……?”
Lycidas reached Leo’s eyes in the blink of an eye.
“What?”
Leo’s eyes widened at the speed that exceeded his expectations.
In the meantime, Lycidas’s fist struck Leo’s abdomen.
Wham-!
Crackle-crack-crack-
Cold air exploded from the fist, sending Leo’s body flying back.
Thud! Thud! Whoosh-!
Leo, who had rolled several times on the corridor floor, barely regained his balance and stood up.
‘That speed just now?’
Even though it was Lycidas inhabiting Chloe’s body, Chloe’s physique had its limits.
But Lycidas’s speed just now far exceeded Leo’s expectations.
‘Did he move enough to put a strain on the body? No, no matter how angry Lycidas is, he wouldn’t damage someone else’s body…’
Thinking up to that point, Leo suddenly felt the floor was slippery.
Leo made a strange expression as he saw the floor had turned into ice.
‘Was he sliding?’
The moment he grasped the true nature of the fast speed.
Lycidas slid across the ice towards Leo.
Under his shoes, there were blades of ice, like ice skate blades.
“This hurts more than I thought…”
Swish-!
Seeing Lycidas close the distance with incredible speed once again, Leo hastily drew his sword.
Clang-!
The blades of ice under his feet and Leo’s sword crossed.
Instantly, Leo’s body was pushed back.
Whoosh-!
‘Gravity magic.’
He instantly increased the gravity at his feet.
Using that weight, he slid at tremendous speed and delivered the full impact to Leo.
Crackle-crack-crack-!
Leo stopped sliding by plunging his sword into the floor, then looked straight ahead.
Lycidas’s figure had already vanished.
‘He didn’t move fast. Spatial magic?’
But he didn’t feel the unique mana fluctuations of spatial magic.
Leo, who was sharpening his senses, suddenly turned around.
“Clench your teeth! You damn bastard!”
Wham-!
Lycidas’s fist, which appeared from behind, struck Leo’s jaw.
As a result, Leo’s body floated up.
“This is…!”
The moment Leo tried to counterattack amidst the ringing shock in his head.
Crackle-crack-crack-!
Chloe’s body was sucked into the ice floor as if absorbed.
Leo’s face hardened as he saw that.
‘Magic Luna created for Chloe.’
A magic that allows the user to momentarily enter the realm of spirits.
He could understand how Lycidas had managed to avoid his senses.
He had momentarily turned his body into a spirit and moved through the ice.
Lycidas, known as the strongest spirit user in history, had perfectly wielded that magic with Chloe’s body.
Thud- Stagger!
Leo, who barely managed to stand still, felt his legs giving out.
‘I underestimated him.’
His opponent was Lycidas, of all people.
He was at the pinnacle of summoning magic.
Moreover, his knowledge of magic was as deep as, if not deeper than, his own, never shallow.
For such a Lycidas to draw out Chloe’s potential to the maximum was, in a way, natural.
‘I shouldn’t have seen him as easy to deal with and cute.’
Whoosh-
A fiery aura erupted from Leo’s body.
Leo, whose red eyes gleamed, struck the floor with the fiery aura erupting from his hand.
Crackle-crack-crack-!
The ice floor began to crack, and soon the ice started to melt.
At the same time, Lycidas appeared behind Leo.
Grab-!
Lycidas hugged Leo from behind.
Hiss- Crackle-crack-crack-
Then an immense cold began to freeze Leo’s body.
Grab-! Whoosh-!
Leo grabbed Lycidas’s neck and spewed flames.
Lycidas, with a chilling expression, focused cold energy on his fingertips and shook off Leo’s hand.
Hiss-!
A dense mist, emitted as ice and flames met, enveloped the surroundings.
Leo unfroze his body and brushed off the thin ice clinging to his clothes.
Lycidas rubbed his neck where Leo had grabbed him, then extended his hand.
Crackle-crack-crack-!
Lycidas, who had generated a sword of ice, gripped the sword and pointed it at Leo.
“Alright, so you want to really fight, do you?”
When Leo sneered at the sight, Lycidas snorted.
The killing intent emitted by the two collided.
Crackle-crack-crack-
Cracks began to appear on the walls from their sheer momentum.
Chen Shia watched from afar with a serious expression.
‘At this rate, something really bad might happen.’
But it was a battle between great heroes, no less.
He didn’t dare to stop them himself.
‘There’s only one person who can stop this fight.’
Dragon Lord, Mellina.
‘Where on earth is Professor Mell?’
Chen Shia desperately waited for Mell, but there was no sign of Mellina coming.
***
“H-how is it?”
When En asked carefully, Mell smiled brightly.
“It’s so good! Lady Lycidas’s beautiful black hair and white flowers will go perfectly together!”
A beautifully decorated room.
Neither excessively grand nor insufficient.
The elegant room even felt sacred.
The two dragons, unaware of the situation, were busy doing their best to decorate the room so that their great ancestor would be pleased.