Book 1 Chapter 761

761.

Kwakwagagagag-!

Hundreds of ice tentacles descended upon Elena.

Annoyance flickered across Elena's face as she idly twirled her blonde hair between her fingertips.

Hwareureureuk-

Lil blocked Elena's path.

The ice tentacles melted away in an instant.

"Senior Elena! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine."

"…? Are you not feeling well?"

Lil wore a bewildered expression.

Elena replied with a blank face, looking at Lil.

"No."

'She seems to not be feeling well…'

She didn't voice the thought.

It was simply too obvious that Elena's mood was indeed very low.

The reason she answered "no" was purely out of pride.

'Annoying.'

Elena glared at the ice tentacles in front of her with an irritable expression.

Beyond them was the female demon of Legion Commander rank she had seen earlier.

The problem was that she couldn't break through these ice tentacles.

Elena's magic was blocked every time.

That fact made Elena impatient.

'If this continues, I'm worse than Lil.'

Elena bit her lip slightly as she watched Lil's retreating back as she charged towards the ice tentacles.

Lil couldn't break through the ice tentacles either.

However, Elena and Lil had different roles.

Lil's role was to stand at the front and block the enemy's attacks.

Of course, being such a talented junior, she could also act as a support, moving between the front and rear, or play the role of the party's main artillery, delivering a powerful blow from the rear.

But no matter what, crushing enemies in the front would be Lil's most fitting role.

In that sense, Lil was currently fulfilling her role excellently.

She was holding back the ice tentacles, buying Elena time to use her magic.

Using that time, Elena had been preparing magic to blow away the ice tentacles all at once, but she had repeatedly failed.

Whenever a powerful magical wave exceeding a certain level was detected, the ice tentacles went wild and targeted only Elena.

In the end, all Elena could do was melt a portion of the ice tentacles.

However, the ice tentacles were quickly restored.

Melting a portion of the tentacles was something even Lil could do.

Tsk-!

Elena clicked her tongue irritably.

She knew what the problem was.

'Lack of ability.'

The opponent was a demon of Legion Commander rank.

It was too much for Elena and Lil to handle right now.

However, that Legion Commander rank demon wasn't launching proper attacks.

In such a situation, with Lil clearly doing her part while she couldn't, Elena found it unacceptable.

Elena's eyes wavered.

'…I graduate this year.'

Soon, she would no longer be a student.

She would leave the school and fight against Tartaros to officially ascend to the position of a hero.

Elena understood what that meant.

'It means leaving Leo's shadow.'

Although she pretended not to, Elena was mentally reliant on Leo.

'Because he's the hero of the beginning.'

Elena knew that Leo had shown her the way and pushed her forward countless times.

That's why she thought graduation meant escaping Leo's shadow.

From now on, she would have to find her own path.

She could no longer stay solely within the protective fence of Leo Flov.

'I can't be in a protected position forever.'

While there was a slight disappointment, there was no lingering regret.

However, if she had one desire…

'I want to get a little closer before I graduate.'

It was a desire to be of some help to the ideal hero she had envisioned, and at the same time, it was her pride as the queen of Lumern.

It was a great ambition to become the most reliable companion to the hero of the beginning.

So, she wanted to show something before graduating.

Yet, she was helpless against this wall.

'Just surpassing my limits isn't enough.'

Elena bit her lips tightly.

'More… More…!'

Elena, who had been anxious, shivered.

Sensing a gaze from behind, she quickly turned her head.

'Leo…!'

"Senior Elena!"

Lil's urgent voice was heard.

At that moment.

Kwakwagagagag-!

An ice tentacle that pierced the floor tried to stab Elena's abdomen.

Tteong-!

Elena blocked the ice tentacle with a shield she deployed with all her magic.

She blocked the piercing.

But she couldn't completely stop the force and was knocked back.

"Keok?!"

Blood gushed from her mouth.

Coincidentally, Elena was thrown towards where Leo had suddenly appeared and was sitting.

Elena thought Leo would catch her.

But…

Hwik-!

"What?!"

Leo watched indifferently as Elena flew past him.

Elena gritted her teeth and deployed wind magic.

Hwak-!

Elena, who barely stopped in mid-air, glared upwards.

"You damn old man! What's the harm in catching me!"

Elena yelled furiously at Leo's unbearably cold attitude.

Her disappointment quickly turned into anger.

She lunged at Leo, grabbed his collar, and shook him violently.

"Brother!"

Lil smiled brightly and swung his hammer.

"Hoy!"

Kkwang-!

And with that, he swung his hammer and blew away the giant ice tentacle.

"Fighting well."

"Are you ignoring me now!"

Leo said, looking at Elena, who was about to spew fire from her mouth.

"No. Just."

"Just what!"

"It seemed like you wanted to graduate from the role of a princess waiting to be saved."

"……"

At Leo's words, Elena's hands, which had been gripping his collar, loosened.

Then, she glared at Leo with dissatisfaction and gritted her teeth.

"Did you ever save me?"

"I treated you like a naive princess."

"And?"

"Those who receive never really know."

Elena clicked her tongue at his somewhat shameless words.

Then, she averted her gaze from Leo.

Leo, watching Elena's retreating back, smiled and reached out.

He then reached out to Lisinas, with whom he was spiritually connected.

Even though they were far apart, the subspace of Lisinas's obsidian cloak opened.

Then, Leo took out a staff.

It was a staff with a predominantly gray hue.

Looking down at the small staff, the length of a dagger, Leo opened his mouth.

"Elena."

"……?"

Elena turned her head back with a puzzled expression.

Leo threw the staff at Elena.

"It has no name. Give it a suitable one."

"This is…?"

"If you ask Dryana, she can restore it to its original form."

Elena looked back and forth between Leo and the staff with a bewildered expression.

"Elena Zelon."

"Yes?"

Elena involuntarily used formal language at the sudden full name.

She was overwhelmed by Leo's aura.

"Did none of the great heroes you met offer you any advice?"

The hero of the beginning had never given Elena any advice.

He had only shown her the way.

The progenitor of constellations, who gifted talented mages with magic, left Elena no magic whatsoever.

The King of Wisdom, who led the heroes, offered no advice.

"Why do you think that was?"

"Well…"

Although she pretended not to care, Elena was very bothered by those facts.

She sometimes thought that perhaps the other great heroes didn't see her favorably because she was twisted and arrogant.

She never thought of herself as likable.

She tried to console herself and not dwell on it.

But now that the person involved said this, she was bewildered.

Looking at Leo with confused eyes, Leo said,

"You were already on the same stage as us."

It's natural for seniors to help those preparing to go on stage to get ready.

But for those who have already stepped on it, such things are unnecessary.

Instead, it would only cause confusion.

Therefore, all that's needed is to ensure those on stage don't fall off.

Leo was already playing that role, which is why Luna and Lisinas had not offered Elena any advice.

"You seem to want to play the role of a princess, but you were born a queen."

Leo said, clicking his tongue.

"So stop being disgustingly childish and grow up. You have the talent of a genius, so why is your mental state like this?"

"……"

Elena put on a prim expression and looked towards Lil.

Just before returning to the battlefield.

Elena asked.

"Still, I'm still very young, so you'll tolerate a little whining, right?"

"I won't tolerate it anymore."

"Hmph!"

Elena snorted and flew away.

But her face was filled with a smile.

Leo clicked his tongue, watching her retreating figure.

"I wonder when she'll finally grow up."

***

'Genius.'

It was a word she had never considered.

It had been as natural as breathing since birth.

But a great hero had acknowledged it.

Not anyone else, but the hero of the beginning.

Elena fiddled with the gray staff in her hand.

She didn't know whose staff it was, but she knew.

'The staff used by the hero of the beginning.'

Elena generated magic.

Lil, who had been blocking the ice tentacles, reacted to the magic and moved quickly.

Gooooo-!

Magic began to overflow from Elena's body.

As a result, the ice tentacles turned their attention to Elena and flew towards her.

Elena's pink eyes gleamed.

'Luna-nim said she could use magic freely while moving quickly, right?'

She said that the flow of incantations didn't break even during intense movements.

Simple spells were possible for Elena, but top-tier spells were impossible.

But.

'The hero of the beginning acknowledged me? He called me a genius.'

For some reason, that acknowledgment gave her confidence.

It was unfounded confidence, but for some reason, Elena felt like it was possible.

Wasn't it the evaluation of the man who saved this world, not anyone else?

'Well, if things go wrong, he'll save me.'

Of course, it wasn't about whether he would save her or not.

When using immense magic, maintaining the magic while moving intensely was dangerous.

If she made a mistake, her magic circuits could become tangled, and she might not be able to use magic.

'If that happens, I'll just tell him to take responsibility because it's his fault.'

Elena didn't care.

The hero of the beginning, not anyone else, had acknowledged her as a companion.

She couldn't stay here.

It was a moment when she had to overcome the limits several times over.

Gooooo-

The magic vibrated.

The incantation continued like flowing water.

Leo immediately realized whose imitation it was.

She dodged all the crazy attacks of the ice tentacles by deploying fly magic and completed the spell with a double incantation.

Finally, Elena unleashed the name of the magic.

"Apocalypse."

Flash-! Kwakwagagagag-!

Apocalypse, the star magic, called the strongest magic in existence, blew away the ice tentacles.

"Senior Elena! You're amazing!"

Lil's eyes widened in admiration.

As all the ice tentacles disappeared, the second saintess appeared.

Elena, barely holding her trembling body, lifted her chin.

And with a proud face, she looked towards Leo.

Seeing that, Leo chuckled.

"Seriously. If she didn't act so childish, I wouldn't be able to treat her like a kid."