Book 1 Chapter 77

【77】76.

"Damn it."

Leo struggled to get up, feeling pain all over his body.

He managed to sit up, but his body wouldn't cooperate.

'My aura and spiritual power are also depleted.'

He had poured all his remaining strength into blocking the attack just moments ago.

Leo looked around.

"Fairy Land…"

Leo staggered as he looked at the desolate homeland of the fairies, which had lost its former glory.

Losing his balance and stepping backward, Leo felt something touch his waist.

Behind him was a small stone pedestal.

And on it was a dagger.

Leo's eyes widened.

It looked like an ordinary dagger.

But Leo knew this dagger.

'That arrogant little brat… he said he didn't need it back then.'

Before the great heroes departed on their final expedition.

It was the item Kyle had given to Berkia.

He had given it to her, telling her to use it in emergencies, but she had reacted primly, saying she was no longer a child.

A hero's relic related to the hero of the beginning, Kyle.

In other words, it was the key to opening Kyle's hero's world.

'So that's why Hell Kaiser was after this place.'

Leo reached out his hand towards the dagger.

Despite the passage of thousands of years, the dagger was intact.

He could feel that its owner had cherished it dearly when he was alive.

*Fzzt-!*

As Leo gripped the dagger, Silode's magic reacted with resistance.

*Woong-!*

But soon, the magic imbued within the dagger responded.

The magic Kyle had left behind responded to its owner after thousands of years.

*Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!*

He saw the Skeleton King approaching.

"Hoo."

Leo smiled faintly, his own magic surging around him.

*Fwoosh-!*

A shadow fell over Leo's head.

*Boom!*

*Woong-!*

*Grrrrooooooar-!*

The surging magic repelled the Skeleton King.

*Kugugugung-!*

The Skeleton King fell.

Seeing that, Leo created a magic formation.

A colossal amount of magic, unimaginable for Leo in his current state, responded.

'I can use any magic just once. What magic should I use?'

As he pondered, he saw Lunia and Eiran looking at him with vacant expressions.

'Yes. That would be good.'

*Ziiing-!*

A giant gray magic circle appeared above his head.

Leo's unique magic, Bible, was activated.

'It might not be as good as the original, but it will still be a great gift to those kids.'

The gray magic was soon tinged with a brilliant golden light.

The surrounding area became as if dawn had arrived.

"Ah…"

Lunia and Eiran trembled.

They couldn't understand what this unknown star magic was.

However, according to records, when that magic was used, the world was said to be bathed in the starlight of dawn.

"Star magic, the ultimate spell."

Lunia muttered unintentionally.

The symbol of the progenitor of the great nebula.

"End."

Starlight fell upon the Skeleton King's head.

*Grrrrooooooar-!*

Overwhelmed by the star's power, which transcended common sense, the Skeleton King let out a pained scream and was shattered.

Leo clenched his fist.

*Kwak-!*

The space warped, and the shattered form of the Skeleton King disappeared.

*Fwoosh-!*

Darkness descended as if by a lie.

*Thump-!*

Leo sank to his knees with difficulty.

"Le, Leo!"

Lunia struggled to approach him.

Eiran, who had recovered a little strength, also crawled slowly.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Are you worried about us now? You're the one who's in the worst shape!"

"Leo-nim! Lunia! I believed you two would succeed!"

Eiran sniffled.

"Of course! By the way, what was that magic just now! It was like something out of a legend…!"

"It seemed like the magic imbued in this dagger."

Leo said, weakly holding up the dagger, which had lost its power and become an ordinary dagger.

"It seems to be an item related to a great hero."

Lunia and Eiran gasped.

If that were true, it would be an incredible discovery.

It wouldn't be strange for such an incident to occur in Tartarus.

"By the way, how do we get back? My magic is completely depleted."

"I don't think I can use recovery magic either. First, let's give Leo-nim first aid…!"

It was when Lunia and Eiran were in trouble.

[Hey! Kyle! Look at this! I found my wings!]

Kiran flew over, holding a small piece of paper.

[It's definitely my wings! How is it sealed like this?]

Kiran grumbled, tugging at the piece of paper with effort.

Lunia, watching him, was surprised.

"Wait! Isn't that a fragment of a Hero Record?"

Seeing Kiran's surprise, Leo suddenly remembered something.

'Silode didn't seal only this dagger?'

"Kiran, give it here."

Leo said urgently.

At his words, Kiran flew to Leo and handed over the Hero Record fragment.

The moment the Hero Record fragment touched Leo's palm.

[Hero Record Open. World of ■■. Chapter: ■■-■■■]

A familiar phrase appeared in Leo's eyes.

*Fwoosh-!*

Along with those words, the surroundings were engulfed in bright light.

"Ugh?"

"W, what is this…"

The surroundings were completely different.

A lush forest with overgrown vegetation.

"You're going to defeat Erebus?"

A voice filled with disbelief could be heard.

Lunia and Eiran turned their heads and froze.

There stood an elf girl.

That elf girl bore a striking resemblance to someone very famous.

The elf girl grumbled and swung her staff.

She healed her wounds with magic and then swung her staff towards Leo.

The injuries of the three were instantly healed.

And the beautiful elf girl uttered words that did not match her appearance.

"Are you an idiot?"

Lunia and Eiran's mouths hung open, and Leo burst into laughter unintentionally.

"What did you eat to think such a thing?"

Despite looking curious, the elf girl showed great interest in the human before her.

"Still, that's fine. Defeating Erebus! It's a goal that suits me perfectly! I like it. I'll join your party."

The elf girl, smiling confidently, extended her hand.

"You said your name was ■■, right? My name is Luna! I will be a being who shines like the stars in the night sky, so consider it an honor to be accepted into my party!"

*Fwoosh-!*

The world distorted and returned to normal.

"Th, that was!"

"It was Luna-nim! Could this be Luna-nim's Hero Record!"

Lunia and Eiran were incredibly excited.

'No. This is my Hero Record.'

It was exactly the same as what he had seen during his Hero Studies practical class.

'A record of the time Luna and I met.'

Leo looked down at the Hero Record, feeling his body recover.

'With this, it's certain.'

Leo let out a deep sigh.

'The guys in Tartarus are erasing the records of the great heroes.'

***

As Leo and his party began to leave the forest after recovering, soldiers arrived from Elsalbekia's Grand Assembly.

They had sensed the 'End' magic Leo used and realized that something had happened in the Fairy Forest, so they had urgently dispatched soldiers.

Among them were Halind and Heridium.

Halind's eyes turned icy cold when he spotted Leo.

Heridium lamented upon hearing that the top students of the school had left their dormitories at night.

The three were placed under house arrest on the spot and confined to the Grand Assembly room.

Although it was nominally house arrest, there was a separate reason.

"…Among Seirun's students… was there someone collaborating with Tartarus?"

Heridium asked with a deathly pale face.

"Yes. We didn't want to believe it, but…"

"Ah."

Seeing Lunia answer cautiously, Heridium covered his face.

It was a difficult thing to believe, but they identified the unrecognizable corpse found in the forest as Lauta.

The ring that had eaten Lauta had expelled the corpse, which it no longer needed, as waste.

And traces of necromancy were found on the corpse.

Meanwhile, Halind, who was listening to the story nearby, wore a serious expression.

"It happened in Seirun as well."

"In Seirun too… does that mean the same thing happened in Lumern?"

"Something similar happened. However, Lumern's superiors ordered silence."

Halind, who had been a professor at Lumern for a long time and Leo's homeroom teacher, had been subtly informed by Lumern's superiors about the events during the midterm exams.

"Seirun's superiors will decide how to handle this matter. Lumern will follow Seirun's decision."

"…"

Heridium nodded with a firm expression.

"And Leo Flov."

As Halind's cold gaze shifted to Leo, Lunia and Eiran involuntarily hiccuped.

Lumern's Wailing Wall.

The two female students, experiencing the fear of the upperclassmen and Halind's ferocious aura for the first time, were momentarily terrified.

Of course, Leo, who was used to it, waited for Halind's words calmly.

"As class president, I know that leaving the dormitory without permission is a grave offense."

"Yes."

"Normally, this would be a matter for the school disciplinary committee and you would be sent back to school immediately."

"…"

"However, given the public service, I will overlook it with 100 hours of school community service."

"Understood."

"And if you have any requests, please state them."

Leo suppressed a smile at Halind's words.

'No matter how I look at it, Professor Halind really takes good care of his students.'

The rules were rules, but it was evident that he was proud of his student's achievements.

"For the last day, I would like the entire class to have free time. It is a school trip, after all."

Halind paused at Leo's words and nodded.

"Understood. From the evening before, you will have free time as long as you don't cross the line."

If the students of class 5 heard this, they would go wild.

As Leo subtly smiled, Heridium cleared his throat.

"Lunia student, Eiran student must also be punished."

"What? Teacher~ We obtained the Hero Record of the Progenitor and an item related to the Progenitor, you know? Please let us off."

"Ah, no! Rules are rules…!"

"Teacher~"

Lunia whined.

Although Heridium was highly respected by his students as a teacher, he was so good to them that the students often acted spoiled towards him.

As he often indulged their spoiled behavior without realizing it, he lacked the overwhelming charisma of Halind.

Heridium looked at Halind with a hint of envy.

"The house arrest will be for today only. Even if classes resume tomorrow, remain silent about what happened today."

With Halind's final words, Halind and Heridium left the room.

Although called house arrest, it was essentially a command to rest there for the day.

"Ugh! I thought we were in big trouble!"

Lunia flopped down, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.

"S-still, it was a great adventure. It was like watching a heroic tale."

Eiran said excitedly.

"Right! It was amazing! Especially seeing the Progenitor's face!"

Lunia jumped up, her voice filled with excitement.

"Leo! This is your first time seeing a great hero too, isn't it?"

"No."

"What?"

"Have you seen other great heroes?"

"I saw Licinas in the hero's world in Lumern."

"Wow, amazing."

"I'm jealous!"

Lunia exclaimed, and Eiran's eyes sparkled.

Lunia and Eiran excitedly chattered about Luna.

'It turned out as you wished.'

Leo thought of Luna.

Like stars in the night sky. He thought of his friend who wanted to bring light to a dark world, and Leo burst into laughter.

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