Book 1 Chapter 748
The Second Prince's faction’s army began to move, and Lisinas pondered.
He had to stop the elves’ wicked plan, but testing the Seirun students came first.
‘Let’s test the Seirun students first.’
He shouldn’t let personal feelings interfere with the test.
He intended to conduct the test fairly, just as he had with the Lumen students.
With that thought, Lisinas headed towards Diviana to block the Second Prince’s faction’s path.
Then he hesitated.
This was a battlefield.
A place where countless lives were lost.
Lisinas was familiar with battlefields.
5000 years ago.
He had stood on countless battlefields to save the world, and he had witnessed countless deaths.
And after the battles.
It was Lisinas who had honored the souls of those who could not depart even in death.
The resentment, lingering attachments, and indignation mixed with mana were all too familiar to Lisinas.
And then, a sound similar to that of 5000 years ago echoed.
Lisinas cautiously knelt in the middle of the battlefield.
And with a bitter smile, he asked.
“Won’t you tell me what happened?”
***
Luna, leading the Second Prince’s faction’s army on a white horse, sighed deeply.
It wasn’t just Luna.
All the elves dispatched from Seirun were at the forefront, riding white horses.
These white horses had all been provided by the Second Prince’s faction.
The reason for specifically choosing white horses was to match the color of the Seirun students’ white school uniforms.
The sight of beautiful elves, all dressed in Seirun uniforms and riding white horses in front of the soldiers, was a magnificent spectacle at first glance.
‘I don’t like this much.’
Luna muttered, clicking her tongue softly.
Luna was already a very striking figure.
She was a beauty who immediately caught the eye, but people weren’t drawn to her just because of her beauty.
It was because of her fiery red hair.
Luna’s red hair contrasted sharply with the white Seirun uniform, giving it a very glamorous feel.
Moreover, riding a white horse made her presence even more prominent.
And the Second Prince’s faction’s commander had arranged the army to be led by Luna, so thousands of soldiers were all looking at Luna’s back.
Glancing back, Luna’s expression turned complex.
Although Luna was dispatched from Seirun, she had never stood on a battlefield before.
This was partly because Luna’s power was difficult to control ‘fire,’ but more importantly, she was well aware of the weight of the title she held.
‘I am a hero now.’
[One who chases the nebula.]
The Comet Mage, successor to Seirun and heir to Luna, the progenitor of the nebula.
She was the heir of a great hero and was praised as the most noble among all elves.
‘The soldiers were hesitant about this war.’
They were forced onto the battlefield, but they weren’t actively engaging in combat.
The commanders were furious about the soldiers slacking off, but that was normal for a war without a just cause.
However, the atmosphere among the soldiers changed the moment they saw her.
Courage erupted in the soldiers’ eyes.
And their morale began to rise.
If this were their war and a desperate situation, she would have been energized by seeing those gaining courage through her.
But not now.
‘My existence is giving them false courage.’
She felt anew the weight of the title she carried.
A hero, by their very existence, had a great influence on those around them.
This influence could be towards good or evil.
‘What would Leo have done?’
Luna looked down at her palm.
The face of someone she had set as another goal appeared in her mind.
‘I have to end this war as soon as possible.’
With a determined expression, Luna glanced back again.
‘I want to send all these people home safely.’
The Hero of the Beginning and the Progenitor of the Nebula would surely have done so.
Just as Luna made a vow in her heart.
“Miss Luna.”
“Yes?”
“Someone has appeared ahead.”
At Ailran’s words, Luna looked ahead.
There stood someone, their face hidden by a black hood.
Thousands of soldiers were currently advancing.
To block the advance of such an army.
‘This kind of situation means one of two things.’
They’re crazy.
Or they are an immensely powerful being.
“How dare you! How dare you block the path of the army of His Highness Prince Vedeccos, the rightful ruler of this nation! If you are a subject of the great Devian, why don’t you move aside and bow your head!”
The captain of the Royal Knights of Prince Vedeccos stepped forward and shouted angrily.
But the opponent remained silent even to his shouts.
“Hmph! You insolent fool! I tried to hold back because you are in front of esteemed individuals! I will cut off your head!”
Seeing the captain of the Royal Knights finally erupt in anger, Luna said.
“Wait a moment. Let me speak.”
Luna, at the very front of the army, dismounted.
Naturally, the army’s advance stopped.
Luna, having closed the distance with the hooded figure, asked.
“Who are you?”
Even to these words, the hooded figure remained silent.
“Excuse me. So, who are you…!”
“Shh.”
As Luna tried to raise her voice, the hooded figure brought their right index finger to their lips.
At that action, Luna involuntarily shut her mouth.
Rustle- Rustle-
The hooded figure took a step.
Luna’s gaze followed the hooded figure.
Seirun students approached Luna.
“He’s someone unusual.”
“Right. It’s best to be cautious.”
Aris Tuina and Garin Tuina, the fraternal twins who were Luna’s classmates, spoke. Ailran nodded in agreement.
At that moment, the hooded figure stopped, crouched down, and dug into the ground.
Then, with a sigh, they carefully lifted something.
It was a human head.
“This person is filled with resentment.”
The hooded figure’s gaze turned towards the captain of the Royal Knights who had just been shouting.
“He was a soldier of the Second Prince’s faction. But the knights of the Second Prince’s faction cut him down for merit.”
The hooded figure’s voice was chillingly cold.
“What kind of absurd nonsense are you spouting! Knights are honorable individuals who have received investiture! Do you think they would do such a sordid deed!”
The captain of the Royal Knights was furious.
In truth, he knew.
That for merit, the knights under his command would cut down allied soldiers and use it as merit.
But he pretended not to know.
Knights could only achieve promotion by earning merit on the battlefield.
But in this era, there were no battlefields.
To be precise, there were no safe battlefields.
Devian also served as a bulwark against the Tartarus domain in the eastern part of the continent.
The reason why Devian could be the country with the most heroes in the east was precisely because such battlefields existed where great deeds could be accomplished.
Devian’s excellent knights all headed to the eastern front against Tartarus.
But the other knights didn’t want to go there.
The battlefield against Tartarus was hell itself, where lives were constantly at stake once a battle began.
Why should they go to such a place?
Those who served as bodyguards for incompetent royalty and nobles could not risk their lives by going to such a place.
However, they envied the knights who earned merit and received treatment there.
The treatment between knights who earned merit in Devian and those who didn’t was vastly different.
Then, at that moment.
A civil war broke out in Devian.
The Second Prince’s Royal Knights were eager.
A golden opportunity had arisen to earn merit simply by cutting down ordinary soldiers, who were clearly weaker than them and hadn't even learned Aura.
Even if they were incompetent, those who had learned Aura were like superhuman beings by ordinary standards.
The Royal Knights were eager to cut down more enemies.
Eventually, knights blinded by greed began to secretly cut down even allied soldiers.
It was not honorable and sordid.
But they didn’t care.
They were knights who protected the noble royalty.
They thought the lives of ordinary soldiers, who were mere consumables for their advancement, were unimportant.
Even the captain of the Royal Knights had annihilated two units by disguising them as enemies in nighttime battles.
‘After all, the dead tell no tales.’
The Seirun students’ mouths fell open.
“Wh-what is that……”
Ailran’s voice trembled.
To Ailran, the captain of the Royal Knights roared.
“Don’t believe him! It’s a scheme by that evil witch!”
“Do you think the dead tell no tales?”
The hooded figure’s voice grew colder.
“Then, shall we ask?”
“What?”
Goo-goo-goo-
A dark energy emanated from Lisinas’s body.
The captain of the Royal Knights’ face, as well as the faces of the Seirun students, turned pale at the immense energy.
Clack- Clack- Clack-!
The sound of iron scraping echoed.
This place had been a battlefield for several days.
As such, it was filled with the corpses of abandoned ordinary soldiers.
The knights’ bodies were all collected without fail, but no nobles cared about the ordinary soldiers.
Those corpses rose.
“This is the soldiers’ resentment towards you.”
Lisinas, who had deployed the 영령술 (Spirit Summoning), said coldly.
Originally, Spirit Summoning could only summon those who possessed great power in life.
However, the soldiers who had fallen on this battlefield had not been dead for long.
Lisinas, whose mastery of Spirit Summoning had reached its apex, had summoned them.
“Y-you necromancer! You must be a subordinate of the wicked Necrolord!”
“Noble candidates of the great Seirun! Please, vanquish this evil witch!”
The Second Prince’s faction nobles, led by the captain of the Royal Knights, cried out in shock.
The Seirun students also drew their weapons in surprise at the sudden situation.
“Demons?!”
“B-but they don’t feel like demons?”
The Seirun students looked bewildered.
To revive countless corpses.
Spirit Summoning was an extremely rare ability, and summoning so many spirits was beyond common sense.
Therefore, what Lisinas was currently wielding appeared to be necromancy to anyone who saw it.
However, the grim and evil aura characteristic of necromancy was not felt.
“Senior Luna! What do we do?”
“First… let’s stop them.”
To Rea’s question, Luna replied with a firm voice.
Clear hostility could be felt from the resurrected corpses.
As the Seirun students prepared themselves at Luna’s word.
[Gwaaaahhhhhh!]
[We won’t forgive youyyyyyyy!]
At that moment, the revived soldiers, spewing their indignation, charged with their weapons.
As the Seirun students prepared to counter.
“Huh?!”
The soldiers passed by the Seirun students and charged towards the knights.
“Hiiiik!”
“D-don’t come!”
“You filthy dead!”
The knights’ screams echoed.
Seeing that, the Seirun students were flustered.
“You are Seirun students, aren’t you?”
Lisinas walked towards the Seirun students, step by step.
The Seirun students tensed up as they watched.
“You are the descendants of Luna, aren’t you?”
Lisinas asked with a smile.
And just as Luna was about to answer.
“No! We are not Luna’s descendants.”
Rea stepped forward sharply.
At those words, Lisinas faltered for a moment.
Not Luna’s descendants?
Even the great Lisinas was slightly taken aback by such an unexpected answer.
“We are the descendants of Luna, the progenitor of the nebula, and Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning!”
“That’s right!”
“Well said! Our junior!”
The third-year students chimed in with Rea’s words.
Rea, emboldened by that, pointed at Ailran.
“And! Senior Ailran over there is a descendant of Berkia, born between Luna and Kyle! Literally the fruit of Luna and Kyle’s love!”
“No! Beria was a pure elf!”
Ailran corrected, startled, but Rea didn’t listen.
Believing what one wants to believe was one of the elves’ chronic racial traits.
At those words, Lisinas smiled faintly.
‘She’s just a child. Let’s not worry about it.’
Regaining her composure, Lisinas opened her mouth.
“There are also stories that the Hero of the Beginning was in a loving relationship with the King of Wisdom. You shouldn’t interpret history solely from an elven perspective.”
However, in the end, Lisinas, who had failed to maintain her composure, blurted out her inner thoughts.
At that moment, Luna and Ailran felt something strange upon hearing those words.
“Ah~ it seems like what Luna said when she descended the other day was misconstrued.”
Rea chuckled and wagged her finger.
“The story that Kyle and Lisinas were in love is something you’ve misunderstood! Rather, it was the King of Wisdom who unilaterally loved the Hero of the Beginning! That’s why Lisinas was jealous of Luna and Kyle’s relationship!”
“Who said that!”
“Luna did!”
This was a fabricated story that Luna had been spreading in Lumeria City some time ago.
A love triangle story where Kyle loved Luna, and Lisinas loved Kyle.
It was a story she had told clearly to her own advantage while drunk.
And combined with Luna’s confession, the story spread like wildfire, even reaching elven society, and with more details added, it became the story of Lisinas being jealous of Luna and spread rapidly through elven society.
“Ah… poor Lisinas… Why did you have to love someone like Luna and be left with a heartbreaking love? It’s so sad! That means Kyle must have been so cool and valiant!”
Rea, who was also an ardent fan of Kyle, chattered excitedly.
Lisinas, who had suddenly become defeated by Luna, began to tremble.
‘No! It was unrequited love! But why have I become a dragon who unilaterally envied the relationship between the two!’
Even as she tried to maintain her composure, it was difficult when it came to matters related to Kyle.
Especially, she had no idea how to react to this false rumor.
‘Why do I have to receive pity from such a young whippersnapper!’
Finally, Lisinas exploded.
“Luna… that rotten girl… what kind of bullshit…!”
Grind-
Lisinas’s voice, accompanied by the sound of grinding teeth, emerged with an ominous tone.
And the Seirun students who heard that voice began to get angry.
“How dare you insult Luna!”
“Unforgivable!”
However, unlike the other elves who were enraged, the two elves who knew the truth finally recognized who was in front of them at that moment.
Ailran’s face turned pale and he trembled, while Luna looked up at the sky and muttered involuntarily.
“We’re screwed….”