Book 1 Chapter 763

763.

Flash-!

The Saint, like a giant ice sculpture, was engulfed in a flash of light.

No, to call it a flash, the light was somehow different.

It wasn't a bright light that instantly stole one's vision.

The light was precisely gray.

"That magic… What in the world is it?"

Lunia mumbled blankly.

"It looks like star magic…?"

Chloe made a confused expression next to her.

As Chloe said, everyone could tell that the magic looked like star magic.

But beyond that, they knew nothing.

They could only realize that it was someone's unique magic in the form of star magic.

Then Woredun mumbled.

"It's similar."

Everyone's gaze turned to Woredun.

"It's similar to the gray mana Leo Flove uses."

"Ah. Definitely! Then is that magic Senior Leo's unique magic?"

Rea asked, eyes wide.

"It's disappearing."

"What?"

But at Luca's subsequent words, everyone's gaze returned to Leo.

As Luca said, Amerirol's body, struck by Leo's magic, was slowly breaking into pieces and disintegrating.

No surrounding buildings exposed to the gray light were destroyed.

Leo's magic only harmed Amerirol.

Lysinas watched the scene and clenched his fist.

'It's a magic I've never seen before… but it's definitely Kyle's magic.'

He recognized it instantly.

In a way, that magic resembled the Hero of the Beginning himself.

The vaguely desolate pale gray light gave the beholder a strange sense of loneliness and yearning.

Unique magic sometimes expresses the wizard's inner world.

In that sense, that gray light resembled Kyle's life.

'Kyle before he met me.'

The faded inner self of Kyle, the surviving hero who had lost everything and had nothing left.

His inner self just before heralding a great beginning.

'He fused Termination and Innocent.'

Lysinas instantly saw through the magic's true nature.

A miraculous power, close to turning everything related to the evil god into nothingness.

One could tell at a glance.

The level of that magic.

The spells used to complete the magic were Termination and Innocent.

Magic created by Luna.

But fusing those two spells to create new magic was solely Leo's ability.

Even Luna probably wouldn't have dared to imagine that absolute destruction magic, Termination, and purely innocent magic, Innocent, could be fused.

Unbeknownst to them, Kyle's realm as a wizard had reached just behind Luna, who was a genius.

A distance was felt anew.

The distance between the advancing Leo and himself, left behind and standing idly in place.

'Since I can't advance further, this gap will surely widen.'

-Lysinas.

"Hm. Why?"

Elsie carefully looked up at Lysinas.

And was surprised.

Lysinas was smiling.

-Aren't you… sad?

"Hm? Why do you think I should be sad?"

-Because… you must have felt the distance from Leo.

Currently, they are miraculously sharing the same time.

But this miraculous moment is not eternal.

Arion, Luna, Dweno… and even Lysinas.

Whoever it was, miraculous moments had come to an end and would continue to do so.

Lysinas would be no different.

Elsie didn't know the feelings of Arion, Luna, and Dweno, who had left earlier.

She couldn't know how they felt looking at Leo.

But if it were Elsie, herself.

'I think I would have been sad and miserable.'

The sense of distance from someone more precious than her own life.

The reality of not being able to be together would surely have been despairing and resentful.

But Lysinas showed no such sign at all.

Instead, she was endlessly happy and smiling.

"I can't help but be happy."

-Pardon?

"All the things I said back then were lies."

-Lies?

"Yes. If they weren't lies, I couldn't have given people hope back then."

-…

"I had to deceive people somehow."

-But those lies have now become truths.

"Yes. But the fact that I was a con artist remains unchanged."

Lysinas smiled joyfully, looking at the completely vanished gray light.

"But now, a hero who speaks only the truth has appeared. And the fact that it will be Kyle…"

Lysinas spoke without a hint of falsehood.

"I'm so happy and proud."

Seeing Kyle, who will become the hero he couldn't be, and can no longer be, makes his heart tremble.

-…Did you fall for him again?

"…Yes. Enough to want to go and hug him."

-Let's go meet him.

"Okay."

Lysinas smiled and headed towards Kyle.

***

Amerirol vanished without even realizing she was dying.

Leo sheathed his sword and approached Elena and Lil with an expressionless face.

"As expected of big brother! To defeat a legion commander-class demon alone!"

Lil said in an excited voice.

At that, Leo said indifferently.

"Legion commander-class? Are you kidding me?"

"Huh?"

"Considering his position and dark magic, he might be legion commander-class. But his actual ability was just that of a diminished demon lackey."

If Sillatu or Gias, who had already been subjugated, had possessed Amerirol's abilities, they would never have been subjugated so futilely.

Possessed power does not represent absolute combat capability.

From that perspective, by Leo's standards, the second Saint, Amerirol, was just a strong idiot.

"…Isn't your standard too high?"

Elena frowned, and Leo chuckled.

"It would have been impossible for the two of you to subjugate him now. But it's true."

"What standard are you using for legion commander-class?"

"The legion commander-class that existed during the Age of Calamity."

-…

Even in this era, if a legion commander appears, the surrounding nations feel a threat close to annihilation.

In the case of the three great legion commanders, who are now all subjugated except for one, their very existence reigned as terror.

"Are the legion commanders born in this era truly legion commanders? They're high-ranking demons pretending to be legion commanders."

But the hurdle for this man is too high.

"Damn old man."

Elena muttered quietly.

At that, Leo approached Elena and pulled her ear.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! What are you doing to your senior! Lil! Quickly get away from this human."

"Stay still."

"I'm sorry, Senior Elena. Big brother's command comes first for me."

"This is insubordination…! Arghhh!"

Leo now pulled Elena's hair above her ear.

It was when Elena was screaming wildly.

"Looks like no one was seriously hurt."

Lysinas appeared from not far away.

"Hut! Lord Lysinas!"

Lil stood at attention and bowed 90 degrees towards Lysinas.

Thanks to that, Elena, who was being carried by Lil, fell straight to the ground and landed on her butt.

"What are you doing!"

Elena shouted, and Lil said in a stern voice.

"Senior Elena. We are in front of Lord Lysinas. Show some respect."

Usually, Elena bossed Lil around, but in front of the great heroes, she was bossed around by Lil instead.

Elena, who had been glaring at Lil, bit her lip tightly when she saw Leo suppressing his laughter with a 'kuk-kuk-'.

'This old man, seriously!'

It seemed like he enjoyed teasing her.

Elena felt like a toy and thought to herself.

'I really just want to punch him once!'

As Elena gritted her teeth inwardly.

Lysinas watched the scene and smiled.

And approached Leo.

Thump- Thump- Tap-tap-tap-tap- Wham-!

Before Leo could even react, he ran at full speed, then flew and delivered a dropkick to Leo's face.

Thwack-!

Elena and Lil's mouths hung open.

Leo was sent flying and tumbled on the ground.

"What did you do!"

Leo gnashed his teeth, and Lysinas pointed to his own chest with a cold face.

And then said chillingly.

"Be glad it ended with just this."

Lysinas snorted and ruffled Elena's and Lil's hair.

Elena had a 'serves him right' expression, and Lil didn't understand what was going on but just smiled happily when Lysinas praised her.

Seeing this, Leo's face contorted. He lay sprawled on the ground, picked up a chunk of ice that had rolled nearby, and placed it on his face.

-Lysinas.

'Yeah.'

-Didn't you say you wanted to hug him?

'I wanted to, but seeing his face, which showed not even an ounce of remorse, made me want to kick him.'

At that, Elsie shook her head.

***

Whoooooosh-!

Eastern continent.

Border region with Tartarus.

Debian's pride and a hero known as the [Steel Fortress].

Rasawan Robett sat atop the high wall.

He was an old man with a wrinkled face, frizzy white hair, and an eye patch covering his right eye.

An already aged hero.

But his shining left eye reminded onlookers that he was not merely an old hero, but a hero who had guarded this eastern front from demons for a long time and was still an unyielding bulwark.

Then, a woman with thick black hair climbed up the wall.

"Commander!"

"Have all winter supplies been distributed to the soldiers, Lieutenant?"

"Yes. But this abnormal weather, we don't know how long it will last, so is it really okay to fully equip them with winter gear so suddenly?"

Rasawan's lieutenant, Winnie Shen, was a hybrid with beastkin blood flowing in her veins.

She, too, was a hero known as [Iron Claw] and a soldier who had served Rasawan for a long time, guarding the eastern front.

In this eastern front, it wasn't just high-ranking demons or giant monsters that the soldiers couldn't handle that invaded.

There were also times when an enormous number of lower-ranking demons and monsters came in like a tidal wave.

No matter how powerful the heroes and the knights, mages, and summoners who followed them were, they alone could not contend with such numbers.

Therefore, on this eastern front, the soldiers were just as important warriors as the heroes.

As such, thorough preparations were made to prevent casualties other than in battle, and winter equipment was a prime example.

It was crucial material that protected the soldiers from the harsh cold winds blowing from the north in winter.

However, if the snow suddenly melted and the weather warmed, it could become an obstacle hindering the soldiers' movement.

Yet, Rasawan had ordered the soldiers to be fully equipped with winter gear.

Considering that the weather had eased once before, it could be an excessive measure.

At Winnie Shen's words, Rasawan took out a note from his pocket and handed it to her.

Winnie Shen, who received it with a puzzled expression, checked the letter's seal and stiffened.

"This is…!"

"It's the Dragon Lord's seal."

Rasawan said calmly.

"The Silent Dragon sometimes gives advice to heroes. She is usually silent… but I have not seen a hero who ignored her words when she spoke and did not lose their life."

Rasawan himself had received advice from the Dragon Lord several times.

And each time, he succeeded in stopping Tartaros's attacks, which were almost impossible.

"But… it's strange. If it's this kind of advice, wouldn't it have been okay to announce it officially?"

Many lower-ranking commanders were questioning the change to winter equipment.

If an official announcement had been sent, that confusion could have been reduced.

Yet, Winnie Shen felt puzzled that such a troublesome method was deliberately used.

"Do you know why?"

"Yes?"

"Because if she speaks officially… it becomes a command, not advice."

Rasawan's remaining eye shone wisely.

"Lieutenant… no. Winnie. Remember this."

"Yes."

"No matter how great an entity, commands inevitably provoke resistance. They might listen for now. But the Dragon Lord is an entity that gives advice, not one that rules us."

For now, since it's an issue related to the eastern front, there's no big problem.

But what if it's a matter where interests are intertwined?

"No matter how legitimate a command, conflict… Yes. Especially if she rashly intervenes in a situation like our country's civil war, one side will surely resist."

-…

"In that case, the authority of the one who issued the command will be lost."

"…This is an age of chaos. If we could just agree until this chaos ends…"

"Impossible. If dragons had reigned from the start, perhaps. But they have stepped back from world history as advisors… as selectors, for nearly 5000 years."

In people's minds, dragons are already observers.

"If they try to reign, it's clear it will cause greater resistance."

"It's difficult."

"It is difficult."

Rasawan sighed.

"This era needs a legitimate king who can reign over the world."

To unite a chaotic world, a king with powerful influence is needed.

"The existence of such a king is impossible. No one will be convinced."

Winnie Shen shook her head.

"Yes. It's virtually impossible. But you never know."

Rasawan smiled warmly.

"Now that the King of Wisdom, who led this world to salvation, has reappeared in the world. Perhaps that person will choose such a king."

"What?"

"Wasn't that person the one who selected the hero who saved the world? There's no law saying she can't select a king to lead the world."

It was when Rasawan chuckled heartily.

Thump-!

A small vibration resonated.

A very faint vibration.

But Rasawan and Winnie Shen, who had reached the realm of transcendence and become heroes, felt something unusual.

"I'm old, so… where did the shock originate?"

"…West."

"West?"

Shen frowned and turned his head.

The west was the land he had dedicated his life to protecting.

"…Something is amiss."