Book 1 Chapter 763

Flash-!

The saint, like a giant chunk of ice, was engulfed in a flash of light.

No, the light was different from what one would call a flash.

It wasn't a blinding light that stole one's vision for a moment.

The light was distinctly gray.

"What kind of magic is that…?"

Lunia mumbled absentmindedly.

"It looks like star magic…?"

Chloe made a confused expression beside her.

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

But beyond that, nothing else was known.

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

At that moment, Warden muttered.

"It's similar."

Everyone's gazes turned to Warden.

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

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

Lea said with her eyes wide open.

"It's disappearing."

"What?"

But with Luca's subsequent words, everyone's attention turned back to Leo.

As Luca said, Ameriol's body, hit by Leo's magic, was slowly fragmenting and dissolving.

None of the surrounding buildings exposed to that gray light were destroyed.

Leo's magic only affected Ameriol.

Lisinas, watching the scene, clenched his fist.

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

He could recognize it instantly.

In a sense, the magic resembled the Hero of the Beginning himself.

The somewhat bleak, pale gray color gave the viewer a strange sense of loneliness and longing.

Unique magic also expresses the mage's inner image.

In that sense, the 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.

The inner self just before announcing a great beginning.

'He fused Apocalypse and Innocent.'

Lisinas instantly saw through the nature of the magic.

A miracle-like power that returns everything related to the evil god to nothing.

One could tell at a glance.

The level of that magic.

The incantations used to complete the magic were Apocalypse and Innocent.

It was magic created by Luna.

However, the ability to fuse those two incantations and create new magic was entirely Leo's capability.

Even Luna would not have dared to imagine that it would be possible to fuse Apocalypse, the magic of absolute destruction, and Innocent, the magic of pure innocence.

Somewhere along the way, Kyle's realm as a mage had reached just behind Luna, the genius.

The distance felt palpable.

The distance between Leo, who was moving forward, and himself, who was left behind, standing still.

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

-Lisinas.

"Yes. Why."

Elsie looked up at Lisinas cautiously.

And she was surprised.

Lisinas was smiling.

-Aren't you sad…?

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

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

They were now miraculously sharing the same time.

But this miraculous moment was not eternal.

Arion, Luna, Dveino… and Lisinas.

No matter who it was, the miraculous moments had come to an end and would continue to do so.

Lisinas was no different.

Elsie did not know the feelings of Arion, Luna, and Dveino, who had left before.

She couldn't know what feelings they had towards Leo.

But if it were Elsie herself.

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

The distance from someone more precious than one's own life.

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

But there was no sign of that in Lisinas.

Instead, he was smiling with immense joy.

"I can't help but be happy."

-Huh?

"What I said in the past was all a lie."

-A lie?

"Yes. If it wasn't a lie, I couldn't have given hope to people at the time."

-…

"I had to deceive people somehow."

-But those lies have become truth now.

"Yes. But the fact that I was a swindler hasn't changed."

Lisinas smiled happily as he watched the completely vanished gray light.

"But now a hero has appeared who speaks only the truth. And the fact that it's Kyle…"

Lisinas spoke without a trace of falsehood.

"I am so happy and proud."

His heart trembled as he watched Kyle, who would become the hero he could not be, and could no longer be.

- …Are you infatuated again?

"…Yes. So much that I want to go hug him."

-Let's go meet him.

"Yes."

Lisinas smiled and headed towards Kyle.

***

Ameriol vanished without even realizing she was dying.

Leo retracted his sword and approached Elena and Lil with a blank expression.

"As expected of big brother! Defeating a demon of the Legion Commander class alone!"

Lil said in an excited voice.

To those words, Leo said indifferently.

"Legion Commander class? Are you kidding me?"

"Huh?"

"If you look at his position and black mana, he might be a Legion Commander class. But in terms of actual ability, he was just a stupid little demon."

If Silatus or Ghias, who had already been subjugated, had the abilities of Ameriol, who had just been subjugated, they would never have been subjugated so futilely.

Possessing power does not represent absolute combat capability.

In that regard, Ameriol, the second saint, was simply a strong but foolish idiot by Leo's standards.

"…Aren't the standards too high?"

As Elena scowled, Leo chuckled.

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

"What standard are you even using for Legion Commanders?"

"Legion Commanders that existed in the Age of Calamity."

"…"

Even in this era, if a Legion Commander appears, the surrounding nations feel a threat close to destruction.

The three great Legion Commanders, who have all been subjugated except for one, reigned with fear simply by their existence.

"Are the Legion Commanders born in this era true Legion Commanders? They are high-ranking demons pretending to be Legion Commanders."

Yet, for this man, the bar was too high.

"Damn old man."

Elena muttered softly.

In response, Leo approached Elena and pulled her ear.

"Ouch! What are you doing to your senior! Lil! Hurry and get away from this human."

"Stay still."

"I'm sorry, Senior Elena. Your big brother's orders take precedence for me."

"This is insubordination…! Ahhhhhh!"

Leo then pulled Elena's hair, which was now above her ear.

It was when Elena screamed as he pulled her hair.

"Looks like no one is seriously injured."

Lisinas appeared not far away.

"Whoa! Lord Lisinas!"

Lil snapped to attention! and bowed 90 degrees towards Lisinas.

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

"What is this!"

As Elena shouted, Lil said in a stern voice.

"Senior Elena. You are in front of Lord Lisinas. Be polite."

Normally, Elena, who would have her way with Lil, was instead swayed by Lil in front of great heroes.

Glaring at Lil, Elena bit her lip as she saw Leo, who was suppressing laughter with hiccups.

'This old man is really something!'

It seemed he found it amusing to tease her.

Elena thought to herself, feeling like a toy.

'I really want to hit him just once!'

As Elena gritted her teeth in her mind.

Lisinas, who had been watching, smiled faintly.

And approached Leo.

Thud- Thud- Tap tap tap tap- Whoosh-!

Before Leo could react, he ran at full speed and delivered a drop kick to Leo's face.

Thump-!

Elena and Lil's mouths gaped.

Leo, who was flung away, rolled on the ground.

"What is this!"

As Leo gritted his teeth, Lisinas pointed to his chest with a cold expression.

And then he said coldly.

"Be thankful it ended with just this."

With a snort, Lisinas ruffled Elena's and Lil's hair.

Elena had a smug look on her face, and Lil was bewildered, but he smiled happily when Lisinas praised him.

Leo, with a contorted face at the sight, lay down on the ground and picked up a nearby ice chunk to place on his face.

-Lisinas.

'Yes.'

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

'I wanted to, but seeing his face, which showed no hint of remorse, I wanted to kick him.'

At those words, Elsie shook her head.

***

Whooooosh-!

Eastern Continent.

Border region with Tartarus.

Rasawon Lobet, the pride of Debian and the hero with the epithet [Iron Fortress], sat on top of a high city wall.

He was an old man with a weathered face, dry white hair, and an eyepatch covering his right eye.

A hero who had already grown old.

However, his shining left eye reminded viewers that he was not simply an old hero, but a hero who had defended this eastern region from demons for many years and was still a formidable bulwark.

At that moment, a woman with dark black hair climbed onto the city wall.

"Commander!"

"Have all soldiers been issued winter gear, Deputy Commander?"

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

Winnie Shen, Rasawon's deputy, was a mixed-blood with beastkin blood flowing through her.

She was also a hero with the epithet [Iron Claw] and a soldier who had served Rasawon for many years and defended the eastern region.

In this eastern region, not only high-ranking demons and giant monsters that soldiers couldn't handle attacked.

There were also cases where vast numbers of lower-ranking demons and monsters surged in like a tidal wave.

No matter how powerful the heroes, their knights, mages, and summoners were, they couldn't possibly face such numbers alone.

Therefore, in this eastern front, soldiers were also strictly important warriors, just like heroes.

As such, thorough preparations were made to prevent attrition outside of combat, the most representative of which was winter gear.

It was important supplies that protected soldiers from the fierce cold wind blowing from the north in winter.

However, if the snow suddenly melted and the weather became warmer, it could become an obstacle hindering the soldiers' movements.

Yet, Rasawon had fully equipped the soldiers with winter gear.

Considering the time the weather had warmed up before, it could have been an excessive measure.

In response to Winnie Shen's words, Rasawon took a note from his pocket and handed it to her.

Winnie Shen, who received it with a bewildered expression, looked at the seal of the letter and froze.

"This is…!"

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

Rasawon said calmly.

"The Silent Dragon occasionally gives advice to heroes. She is silent in normal times… but I have never seen a hero who ignored her words when she spoke and did not lose their life."

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

And each time, he succeeded in repelling the nearly impossible attacks from Tartarus.

"But… it's strange. If it was advice like this, it would have been fine to discuss it officially."

Many low-ranking commanders felt confused about the change to winter gear.

If a formal letter had been sent, it would have reduced that confusion.

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

"Do you know why?"

"Huh?"

"If she officially opens her mouth… it becomes a command, not advice."

Rasawon's remaining eye shone wisely.

"Deputy Commander… No. Winnie. Remember this."

"Yes."

"No matter how great a being, commands inevitably provoke resistance. They will listen for now. But the Dragon Lord is a being who gives advice, not a being who rules us."

For now, it was a problem related to the eastern front, so it wasn't a big issue.

But what if it was a matter of conflicting interests?

"Even if the command is justified, conflict… yes. Especially if it interferes carelessly in situations like our civil war, one side will inevitably resist."

"…"

"Then the authority of the one who issued the command will be lost."

"…This is an era of chaos. If we could reach an agreement until this chaos ends…"

"It's impossible. If the dragons were to rule, perhaps. But they have been stepping back from world history as advisors… as selectors for 5,000 years."

In people's minds, dragons are already observers.

"If they were to try to rule, it would inevitably cause greater resistance."

"It's difficult."

"It is difficult."

Rasawon sighed.

"This era is one that needs a king who can reign over the world."

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

"It's impossible for such a king to exist. No one will accept it."

Winnie Shen shook her head.

"Yes, it's practically impossible. But you never know."

Rasawon smiled faintly.

"Now that the Wise King, who led this world to salvation, has reappeared in the world, perhaps he will choose such a king."

"Huh?"

"Wasn't he the one who selected the hero who saved the world? There's no reason he can't select a king to lead the world."

It was when Rasawon laughed heartily.

Thump-!

A small vibration echoed.

A very faint vibration.

But Rasawon and Winnie Shen, who had reached the realm of transcendents and become heroes, felt that something was not right.

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

"…From the west."

"The west?"

Shen scowled and turned his head.

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

"…This is not good."