Book 1 Chapter 77
【77】76.
“Damn it.”
Leo painfully pushed himself up, feeling the agony throughout his body.
He barely managed to get up, but his body wouldn’t obey him.
‘My aura and spirit power are depleted.’
He had poured out all his remaining strength blocking the earlier attack.
Leo looked around.
“Fairy Land…”
Leo staggered as he looked at the homeland of the fairies, now stripped of its past glory, with only desolation remaining.
Losing his balance and stepping backward, Leo felt something touch his waist.
Behind him was a small stone platform.
And on it was a dagger.
Leo’s eyes widened.
It looked like a common dagger.
But Leo knew this dagger.
‘That arrogant little kid… said she didn’t need it back then.’
Before the Great Heroes embarked on their final expedition.
An item Kyle had given to Berkia.
He had handed it over, telling her to use it in an emergency, but she had reacted huffily, saying she wasn't a child anymore.
A hero’s relic connected to Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings.
In other words, it was the key to opening Kyle’s Hero’s World.
‘So this was why Hell Kaiser coveted this place.’
Leo reached out his hand towards the sword.
Even after thousands of years, the dagger was intact.
It felt as if its owner had cherished it dearly during their lifetime.
Crackling-!
As Leo gripped the dagger, Silod’s magic reacted with repulsion.
Whoosh-!
But soon, the magic within the dagger responded.
Long ago, the magic Kyle had left behind reacted to its owner after thousands of years.
Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!
The Skeleton King could be seen approaching.
“Hmph.”
Leo smiled lightly at his magic swirling around his entire body.
Flash-!
A shadow loomed over Leo’s head.
Boom!
Whoosh-!
Grrroooaaaaarrrr-!
The swirling magic repelled the Skeleton King.
Rumble-!
The Skeleton King fell.
Leo looked at it and created a magical spell formula.
A massive 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 staring at him with blank faces.
‘Right. That would be good.’
Buzz-!
A massive gray magic circle formed above his head.
Leo’s unique magic – Bible – was activated.
‘It won’t be as good as the original, but it will still be a great gift for those kids.’
The gray magic soon transformed into a brilliant golden light.
The entire area seemed as if dawn had arrived.
“Ah…”
Lunia and Eiran’s bodies trembled.
They couldn’t understand what this mysterious star magic was.
But according to ancient texts, it was recorded that when that magic was used, the world would be bathed in the light of the morning star.
“Star magic, the strongest spell.”
Lunia muttered to herself.
The symbol of the progenitor of the Great Nebula.
“Extinction.”
The starlight fell upon the Skeleton King’s head.
Grrroooaaaaarrrrgh!
The Skeleton King screamed in agony, crushed by the power of the stars, which transcended all common sense.
Leo clenched his fist.
Squelch-!
Space distorted, and the crushed form of the Skeleton King vanished.
Flash-!
As if a lie, darkness descended.
Thud-!
Leo painfully sank to the ground.
“Le-Leo!”
Lunia painstakingly dragged her body closer.
Eiran, who had recovered a little energy, also crawled over.
“Are you guys okay?”
“Is this really the time to worry about us? You’re the one who’s the most messed up!”
“Leo-nim! Lunia-yang! I believed you two would make it!”
Eiran sniffled.
“Of course! Anyway, 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, painfully lifting the sword, which had now lost its power and become an ordinary dagger.
“It seems to be an item related to the Great Heroes.”
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.
“Anyway, how do we get back? My magic is completely depleted.”
“I don’t think I can use healing magic either. First, emergency treatment for Leo-nim…!”
It was at that moment that Lunia and Eiran were in a dilemma.
[Hey! Kyle! Look at this! I found my wing!]
Kirian flew over, holding a small piece of paper.
[It’s definitely my wing! How is this sealed anyway?]
Kirian grumbled, tugging at the piece of paper with difficulty.
Lunia, seeing this, was startled.
“Wait! Isn’t that a piece of a Hero Record?”
Seeing the surprised Kirian, Leo suddenly remembered something.
‘Silod didn’t only seal this dagger, did he?’
“Kirian, give it to me.”
Leo said urgently.
At his words, Kirian flew to Leo and handed him the piece of Hero Record.
The moment the piece of Hero Record touched Leo’s palm.
[Hero Record Open. World of ■■. Chapter: ■■-■■■]
A familiar phrase appeared in Leo’s vision.
Flash-!
With those words, the surroundings were enveloped in a bright light.
“Ugh?”
“Wh-what in the world…”
The surroundings were an entirely different landscape.
In a lush, dense forest.
“You’re going to defeat Erebus?”
A voice of disbelief was heard.
Lunia and Eiran turned their heads and froze.
There was an elf girl there.
The elf girl looked exactly like someone very famous.
The elf girl grumbled and swung her staff.
After healing her wounds with magic, she swung her staff towards Leo.
The wounds of the three people healed instantly.
And the beautiful elf girl uttered words that didn’t match her face.
“Are you perhaps insane?”
Lunia and Eiran gasped, and Leo unconsciously burst into laughter.
“What did you eat to come up with such a thought?”
Even with a curious expression, the elf girl showed great interest in the human before her eyes.
“Well, alright. Erebus subjugation! That’s a goal perfect for me! I like it. I’ll join your party.”
The self-assured elf girl smiled and extended her hand.
“You said your name was ■■, right? My name is Luna! I am destined to shine like a star in the night sky, so consider it an honor to have me join your party!”
Flash-!
The world distorted and returned to its original state.
“Th-that was just now!”
“It was Luna-nim! Is this perhaps Luna-nim’s Hero Record?!”
Lunia and Eiran were extremely excited.
‘No. This is my Hero Record.’
It was exactly the same as what he had seen in heroics practice before.
‘A record of the time Luna and I met.’
Leo felt his body recovering and looked down at the Hero Record.
‘This confirms it.’
Leo let out a deep sigh.
‘The guys from Tartarus are erasing the records of the Great Heroes.’
***
Around the time Leo’s group, having regained their composure, began to exit the forest.
Soldiers from the Grand Council of Elsalvekia arrived.
Feeling the magic of ‘Extinction’ that Leo had used, they realized there was a problem in Fairy Forest and urgently dispatched soldiers.
Among them were Harlind and Heldium.
Harlind’s eyes, upon seeing Leo, grew colder than ever.
Heldium lamented upon hearing that the school’s top honor students had snuck out of their dorms at night.
The three were immediately placed under house arrest and confined to a Grand Council room.
Ostensibly it was house arrest, but there was another reason.
“…You mean there was a Seirun student who collaborated with Tartarus?”
Heldium asked, her face pale.
“Yes. We didn’t want to believe it either, but…”
“Ah.”
Heldium covered her face, looking at Lunia who answered cautiously.
It was hard to believe, but they discovered that the unrecognizable corpse found in the forest was Lauta.
The ring that had consumed Lauta had used him as nutrients and then spat out the no-longer-needed corpse.
And traces of necromancy were found on that corpse.
Meanwhile, Harlind, who had been listening to the story next to them, wore a serious expression.
“So something like that happened in Seirun too.”
“In Seirun too… does that mean something similar happened in Lumerun as well?”
“Something similar happened. But Lumerun’s superiors ordered silence.”
Harlind, who had been a Lumerun professor for a long time and was Leo’s homeroom teacher, had been informed by Lumerun’s superiors about what had happened during the midterm exam.
“How this matter will be handled will be decided by Seirun’s superiors. Lumerun will follow Seirun’s decision.”
“…”
Heldium nodded with a stiff expression.
“And Leo Flobe.”
As Harlind’s chilling gaze turned to Leo, Lunia and Eiran involuntarily hiccupped.
The Wall of Lamentation of Lumerun.
The two female students, experiencing Harlind’s sharp, intimidating aura for the first time, were momentarily terrified, the fear of upperclassmen.
Of course, the accustomed Leo calmly awaited Harlind’s words.
“As class president, you know that the crime of leaving the dorms without permission is severe, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Normally, you would be immediately sent back to school and referred to the disciplinary committee.”
“…”
“However, given the public service you rendered, I will let it go with 100 hours of school community service.”
“Understood.”
“And if there’s anything you wish for, speak it.”
Leo suppressed a laugh at Harlind’s words.
‘No matter how I look at it, Professor Harlind takes good care of her students.’
Rules were rules, but her pride in her students’ achievements was evident.
“I hope the entire class can have some free time on the last day. It is a school trip, after all.”
Originally, the school trip schedule was packed until the very last day.
Harlind paused upon hearing Leo’s words, then nodded.
“Understood. From the evening before the last day, I will grant free time as long as you don’t cross the line.”
It was news that would cause an uproar if the students of Class 5 heard it.
As Leo subtly smiled, Heldium also cleared his throat.
“Student Lunia, Student Eiran must also be punished.”
“Huh? Teacher~ But we found the Progenitor-nim’s Hero Record and an item related to the Progenitor-nim, didn’t we? Please let us off.”
“Ah, no! Rules are rules…!”
“Teacher~”
Lunia whined.
Heldium, though respected by students as a teacher, was often doted on by them due to his kindness, so they often acted childishly around him.
Unconsciously, he often indulged their childishness, so he lacked the overwhelming charisma of someone like Harlind.
Heldium looked at Harlind with a slightly envious gaze.
“The house arrest is only for today. Even if classes resume tomorrow, you are to keep silent about what happened today.”
With Harlind’s final words, Harlind and Heldium left the room.
It was called house arrest, but it meant they were to rest here for the day.
“Whew! I thought we were in big trouble!”
Lunia flopped down, letting out an exhausted sigh.
“Ev-Even so, it was an amazing adventure. It felt just like seeing a hero’s tale unfold.”
Eiran said in an excited tone.
“Right! It was amazing! Especially since we saw the Progenitor-nim’s face!”
Lunia sprang up, saying in an excited tone.
“Leo! This is your first time seeing a Great Hero, too, isn’t it?”
“No.”
“What?”
“Have you seen other Great Heroes, sir?”
“I saw Lycinus in the Hero’s World in Lumerun.”
“Wow, awesome.”
“I’m so envious!”
Lunia exclaimed, and Eiran’s eyes sparkled.
Lunia and Eiran excitedly chattered about Luna.
‘It turned out as you wished.’
Leo remembered Luna.
Remembering his friend who wanted to light up the dark world like a star in the night sky, Leo burst into laughter.
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