Book 1 Chapter 75
【75】74.
“Leo! What on earth is that?!”
Lunia and Eiran rushed towards Leo.
“Skeleton King.”
At that, Lunia and Eiran gasped.
Skeleton King.
One of the strongest undead that a necromancer could control.
“W-we should run…!”
Leo shook his head, looking at Eiran, whose face had turned pale.
“No. It’s better not to.”
“Eiran’s right, it’s best to retreat now! This isn’t the time to be stubborn!”
No matter that they were the top first-year students of Lumern and Seirun, they were outmatched against the Skeleton King.
Lunia and Eiran’s opinion was perfectly valid.
“If we try to escape recklessly, it’ll be more dangerous.”
Leo looked towards Kargor and Lauta.
“They won’t just stand by and watch us retreat so easily.”
Lunia gritted her teeth, and Eiran wore a terrified expression.
Indeed, fleeing with a high-grade undead like the Skeleton King at their backs was a dangerous choice.
“Then what do we do?”
“What do we do, you ask?”
Leo stepped forward.
“We defeat it.”
Lunia’s eyes widened, looking at Leo, who spoke as if it were obvious.
“That’s impossible!”
“In normal circumstances, it might be impossible, but…”
Leo curled the corners of his lips, looking at the Skeleton King.
“That Skeleton King wasn’t summoned by normal means right now.”
“What?”
“Lauta made a contract with Hell Kaiser through death and gained power. He seems to have summoned the Skeleton King by combining that power with the power of the Curse of the Dead spread here, but…”
Leo gripped his sword.
“He barely met the summoning conditions. That Skeleton King won’t be maintained for long.”
The most basic condition for summoning.
That was the spiritual power to maintain the summoned entity.
Just as necromancy was also within the realm of summoning, it was natural for the summoning to be dispelled if the spiritual power to maintain it ran out.
“Then we just need to hold out until the magic sustaining the Skeleton King’s summoning runs out!”
“But on their side, there’s not only the Skeleton King but also Lauta and the Death Knight. Can we really hold out?”
“We have to try. Lunia, you take Lauta. Eiran, you deal with the Death Knight.”
“Huh?”
“Are you planning to fight the Skeleton King by yourself right now?”
Leo nodded, looking at the two surprised girls.
“Yeah, that’s the plan.”
Lunia shouted, looking at Leo, who spoke in a light tone.
“That’s reckless!”
“Even if it’s reckless, it’s the only way right now. Trust me. If that Skeleton King is a top-grade undead…”
Leo pulled something from his pocket.
*Peep?*
“I have the strongest mythical beast.”
At that, Lunia gritted her teeth.
‘Indeed, right now, this is the only way…’
Lunia took a deep breath.
“You! If you die, I won’t let you rest in peace.”
“Pfft.”
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“No, I just heard the same thing before.”
Leo messed up Lunia’s hair, who was flustered, and grinned.
“Don’t worry. There’s no way I’d die to a pile of bones like that.”
***
“Hahahahaha! Power! Power overflows!”
Lauta shouted, unable to control the surging power.
“Skeleton King! Destroy the barrier in front of you right now!”
Whoooooosh-!
With Lauta’s command, the Skeleton King placed its gigantic hand on the ground.
Crrrack-!
With a grey light, a massive, worn-out sword appeared.
Grooooooan-!
The Skeleton King raised its hand to swing the sword imbued with a chilling black aura.
Whoosh-!
That alone created a powerful gust of wind, scattering the surrounding snow in all directions.
“This is amazing!”
Leo’s figure appeared in Lauta’s exultant eyes.
“That scoundrel! How dare he kill me!”
Lauta, with sparks in his eyes, chanted a spell.
Fwoosh-! Crack-!
Arrows of black flame flew, aiming for Leo’s back.
Crack! Boom-!
However, a wall of red flame was generated, blocking the attack.
Lauta’s face distorted.
“I’m your opponent.”
Lunia stood in front of Lauta.
“How dare you! Block your senior?”
“Senior? Don’t make me laugh. You’re just an apostate who disgraced Seirun’s name!”
Seeing Lunia, whose eyes were filled with contempt, Lauta’s complexion changed.
“It seems you need to learn how to respect your senior.”
Lauta summoned a staff.
And he struck the ground with that staff.
Thud-! Groooooan!
A magic circle was generated on the ground.
At the same time, undead began to appear.
Lunia snorted at that and unleashed her spiritual power.
Fwoosh-!
Numerous flaming mythical beasts appeared.
The battle between summoner vs. necromancer officially began.
“Heh heh- there’s no easier opponent than one filled with fear.”
Kargor, gripping his sword, let out a chilling laugh.
Eiran stepped back, looking at Kargor.
“Ugh.”
Since entering the forest, Eiran had been able to muster courage because Leo and Lunia were behind her.
But now, Eiran had to face the Death Knight all alone.
‘Can I do it?’
Eiran’s hands trembled.
Eiran, who disliked fighting, wanted to run away.
Stepping back, Eiran looked at Leo and Lunia.
‘If I can’t do it, Lord Leo and Miss Lunia will be in danger.’
Eiran’s eyes, which had been flickering with anxiety, gradually regained stability.
Looking at Leo, who was smiling and fighting the Skeleton King, she thought he was like a hero from a story.
Lunia, who was supporting Leo in her own way, looked more radiant than ever.
‘I never thought about wanting to be a hero. But… but…’
The girl who loved hero stories entered Seirun with the wish to watch those hero stories unfold beside her.
‘At the very least, I can’t hold them back!’
Groooooan-!
A fighting spirit swirled in Eiran’s eyes.
‘This girl… her aura has changed?’
Kargor’s face hardened, looking at Eiran, who stopped trembling and assumed a stance.
Leo, who was charging towards the Skeleton King, smiled.
‘Having grand dreams doesn’t make you a hero.’
Aura flames swirled around Leo’s body.
‘Sometimes, small dreams gather one by one to make a great hero. You’re different in personality, but in that regard, you resemble Berkhia more than anyone, Eiran.’
Eiran’s ancestor, Berkhia, was just like that.
Recalling the small elf girl who yearned for the footsteps of great heroes, Leo clenched his fist.
“Fiora!”
Powerful flame aura swirled around Fiora’s body.
Whoosh-!
Grrrrrrooooaarrrr-!
The Skeleton King’s roar echoed long and loud.
A black aura swirled around Leo’s body as he heard the sound.
“The Scream of the Dead.”
A type of fear-inducing curse used by undead.
A curse where the defense of the living who hear the scream decreases, and conversely, the attack power of the dead increases!
In the current situation, it was the worst curse.
But Leo grinned.
“Fiora. Scream!”
Piiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyaaahhhh-!
Fiora’s clear and cute cry echoed throughout the entire forest.
The moment they heard that sound, a red aura swirled around Leo, Lunia, and Eiran.
The Phoenix’s power, the Scream of the Unextinguishable Flame.
It was a blessing with the exact opposite effect of the Scream of the Dead used by the undead.
“How long are you going to keep peeping?”
Leo burst out laughing and charged towards the Skeleton King’s sword, which was being swung at the barrier created by the previous Fairy King.
Fwoosh-!
Fiora, transformed from a small, cute baby bird into a beautiful phoenix, gracefully landed on Leo’s sword.
‘Summoning – Manifestation.’
Fwoosh-!
Fiora turned into flames and resided within Leo’s sword.
It was a technique to embody a mythical beast or spirit in one’s body or weapon to draw out its power.
Fwoosh-!
Wings of flame appeared at the tip of Leo’s sword, and then a blade of flame was generated.
The fiercely burning flame sword instantly grew to the size of the Skeleton King’s sword.
Everyone looked at Leo with surprised eyes.
As Leo’s red eyes flashed, his sword was swung towards the Skeleton King’s sword.
CRAAAAAASH! BANG!
CRAAAAASH!
Grrrrrrooooaarrrr!
With an enormous explosion, the Skeleton King’s arm shot up into the sky.
Staggering from the shock, the Skeleton King fell backward.
Rumble-rumble-rumble! CRASH-!
Several trees were knocked down as the huge body crashed.
Leo used magic to float himself in the air.
Whoosh-!
Fiora, having emerged from the sword, gracefully flapped her wings and settled on Leo’s head.
[Wow! Leo! You can even use Manifestation?]
Kirian, who was watching the situation, clicked his tongue in amazement.
Manifestation was a difficult technique even for seasoned summoners.
[You’re still a kid, but quite impressive, aren’t you?]
At Kirian’s words, Fiora chirped, *Peep-!*, and then haughtily raised her chin.
[Hmph. That’s enough to be my subordinate. From now on, I’ll make you my subordinate number one… Argh! You chick bastard! I’m not food!]
Kirian, whose head was swallowed by Fiora’s beak, struggled.
“Stop playing around.”
At Leo’s words, Fiora *Ptui-!* and spat out Kirian.
Thud-! Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The Skeleton King stood up.
Although it had been thrown back by Leo, it hadn’t sustained significant damage.
Thud! Thud!
The Skeleton King, having risen, fixed its gaze on Leo.
Whoosh-! CRAAAAAASH!
The Skeleton King’s sword swung at an incredible speed.
CRA-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-!
The spot where Leo had been standing was instantly obliterated.
The Skeleton King’s gaze moved to the tip of its sword.
Leo, whose eyes met the Skeleton King’s blood-red gaze, pointed at the Skeleton King with his fingertip.
“Kirian.”
[Huh? Oh?]
Whoosh-!
A faint silver light emanated from Kirian’s body.
“Assist me.”
[Got it!]
Runes appeared at Leo’s fingertips.
It was none other than fairy magic.
“Luminance Ray!”
Flash-!
A star magic circle formed at Leo’s fingertips, and a powerful light projectile was fired.
BANG-!
Grooooooan!
The Skeleton King, whose right eye was directly hit, let out a shriek.
Whoosh-!
As the Skeleton King swung its sword wildly, Leo hastily disengaged from it.
‘High magic consumption.’
Leo sighed.
The magic he just used was a high-level spell that Leo couldn’t normally use.
Yet, Leo was able to use it thanks to Kirian’s help.
He used spiritual power to draw out Kirian’s latent abilities.
Fairies were also powerful practitioners of magic.
It was a magical computation that wouldn’t normally be possible to manifest, but it was supported by Kirian’s power.
‘If Kirian’s power had been complete, I could have used it without much difficulty, but…’
While it was true that he had dealt a blow with the magic just now, Leo also suffered from magic overload.
Crack-!
Leo landed in place.
Grrrrrrooooaarrrr!
The destroyed light in the Skeleton King’s eye regenerated.
‘The difference in class is too great.’
Leo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Even those two attacks were beyond what Leo was currently allowed.
‘But I just need to buy time.’
Leo’s goal was, after all, to stop the Skeleton King.
Leo crouched, preparing for the next attack.
*Swoosh-*!
The Skeleton King raised its sword again.
‘No matter how powerful an undead, it’s impossible to draw out its full power without proper support from a necromancer.’
Undead are just like mythical beasts.
Just as Leo couldn’t fully draw out Fiora’s power right now, the Skeleton King summoned by Lauta also couldn’t exert its full power.
‘If I just buy time, I can stop it…’
Wooooong-!
Suddenly, the Skeleton King’s sword glowed crimson.
Something flashed through Leo’s mind when he saw it.
At the same time, Leo instinctively swung his sword sideways.
*Whoosh-*! *Thwack-*!
“…!”
Leo gasped at the pressure he felt from his side.
As if it had teleported, the Skeleton King’s sword was suddenly beside Leo.
Leo, instinctively blocking it before he could even consciously register it, gritted his teeth.
CRA-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-!
Leo’s body was thrown back from that spot.
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