Book 1 Chapter 773

773.

Celia was restlessly pacing around with an agitated look on her face.

Avad, watching Celia, said,

"Celia. Calm down a bit."

"No, still. They're going to torture him."

Celia said in a slightly anxious voice.

The elf captured alive by Lounia.

It was true that he was unforgivable for inflicting indiscriminate terror on Deang.

However, even so, with Leo saying he would torture him for information, Celia couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The reason Celia felt uneasy was simple.

Glimpse- Glimpse-

Celia's gaze went to the beautiful woman in this space.

A beauty so stunning it would take one's breath away.

One of the two most beautiful people Celia had ever seen in her life.

Lisinas, the King of Wisdom.

The only one with beauty comparable to hers was Luna, who had an equal reputation.

5000 years ago.

The dragon who selected the great heroes and saved the world.

As the last hero and the hero of the beginning, it might have been Kyle, the hero of the beginning, who opened the era of heroes.

But it was Lisinas who created this era of heroes.

This fact was undeniable.

At that moment, Lisinas's obsidian-like black eyes met Celia's.

Celia involuntarily turned her gaze away.

Lisinas, smiling faintly at Celia, patted the seat next to her.

"Would you come over for a moment?"

"Yes, yes!"

At her words, Celia, looking nervous, sat next to Lisinas.

Lisinas gently stroked Celia's head and said,

"I know what you're worried about."

"Pardon?"

"Are you perhaps worried that your cousin might receive a bad evaluation from me?"

Celia, her mind read, flinched.

It was exactly as she said.

Celia wanted her cousin, Leo Flove, to be a flawless hero.

Ever since her first year.

No, she knew Leo had led her ever since she enrolled.

It wasn't just her.

It was Leo who was leading Lumern now.

Unless the grand plan of completely subjugating Erebus was abandoned.

Leo, and no one else, would lead not only Lumern but also the beings known as heroes in the future.

But in Celia's view, torture was not something a hero would do.

She was restless, fearing that such an action might lead to a poor evaluation of Leo from Lisinas.

"Oh dear~ How sweet. I wish I had a younger sibling like you."

"I'm older than Leo, though?"

"Aren't you two the same age?"

"My birthday is earlier."

At Celia's firm assertion, Lisinas covered her mouth and burst into laughter.

Chen Sia, who was listening to their conversation, said,

"Give up, Celia. Young Master Leo will never treat you as an older sister. He doesn't treat me that way either."

"Exactly. It's lucky if he doesn't treat you like a kid."

As Lounia joined in with a bored expression, Eiran also sighed lightly and said,

"But Lord Leo treats us all like little kids."

Celia brushed back her hair, looking at them, and said,

"He treats me like we're the same age, though?"

"I think that's just your opinion."

Chloe scratched her cheek.

Lisinas, chuckling as she listened to the conversation, said,

"Anyway, you don't have to worry that I'll have a bad opinion of Leo. It's something someone has to do."

Lisinas closed her eyes.

"It's also something Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, did 5000 years ago."

"Pardon? Lord Kyle?"

Everyone was surprised by the completely unexpected situation.

"Indeed. The Book of Shadows is Lord Kyle's record, after all."

As Avad nodded, Lisinas said,

"Yes. It was originally something I was supposed to do too."

"Something you, Lady Lisinas, were supposed to do?"

Chen Sia tilted her head, and Lisinas smiled faintly, tapping the chair opposite Celia's empty seat.

As Chen Sia sat down, Lisinas stroked Chen Sia's head and said,

"Tracking down and executing the world's betrayers… that was originally the task of the Black Dragon clan."

Everyone was surprised by her words.

"It was our clan's duty to consume darkness within darkness."

Lisinas's words were unexpected even for Chen Sia, who was a shadow.

"It was something that someone absolutely had to do. And Kyle did it instead."

Lisinas, who was looking back at the past with a wistful expression, continued,

"Of course, it wasn't just Kyle."

Kyle alone couldn't bear the darkness of the world.

"More than you think, I… we, the great heroes, are not noble heroes."

The great heroes also had their own reasons and desires.

It wasn't as beautiful as it was depicted in fairy tales.

They wandered countless times, and consumed by hatred, they sometimes made wrong choices.

Since there is no perfect being, it was, in a way, natural.

"What's important is the spirit of not giving up until the very end. It's enough to do your best in your respective positions without giving up."

Lisinas smiled, looking at the hero candidates of later generations.

"You just need to move forward with your own will."

"…"

"I don't think Leo Flove is unheroic. On the contrary, he is truly the ideal image of a hero."

Celia was relieved by Lisinas's words.

Then Chloe asked,

"Lady Lisinas. Who are those so-called ancient heroes?"

"They are simply those who postponed things to later generations. Those who became livestock of the evil god themselves."

Lisinas said calmly.

"They say 'goddess'… Is there a different evil god than Erebus?"

At Chloe's question, Lisinas opened her mouth.

"To explain that, it would be best to first talk about the origin of Erebus."

Lisinas told the hero candidates the story of how Erebus became the embodiment of evil destined to destroy the world, and the resurrection of Nyx, the freezing of death, and Styx.

"Ancient demons, huh."

"No wonder the atmosphere felt different from Tartarus; so that was the reason."

"So, a fragment of Erebus has been resurrected, then."

The atmosphere became serious.

Seeing their expressions, Lisinas gave a bitter smile.

'It's only natural for them to be anxious. For these children, it must be an unprecedented calamity.'

They had to fight a fragment of Erebus.

This alone would clearly make them feel immense anxiety.

Lisinas said,

"Don't worry about that."

Everyone's gaze turned to Lisinas.

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

Lisinas placed her palm on her chest and smiled.

It was a smile that had given hope to countless people.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to…"

"No, no. We can't just leave it all to Lady Lisinas."

Lounia waved her hand.

"Last time Lord Arion came, we couldn't help at all."

"At that time, the only one who truly helped was Young Master Leo."

"We can't just stand by and watch this time either. Lord Leo's goal is the complete subjugation of Erebus, after all."

"Exactly. We can't just follow his tail forever."

"Let's make a contribution this time!"

Lisinas, who had been staring blankly at the hero candidates steeling their resolve, chuckled under her breath.

"Hehehe… Hmph!"

And then, soon, "Ahahahahaha!" she burst into loud laughter.

"Lady Lisinas?"

Chloe called out with a flustered expression, and Lisinas wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded.

"Yes. You are descendants of Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning. I had an impolite thought."

Lisinas smiled brightly.

"It's really good. To have reliable juniors."

At her words, the hero candidates were just about to smile shyly.

Slam-!

The door opened and Leo entered.

"You worked hard."

"Did you find out anything?"

Leo said calmly, looking at his friends who asked with curious expressions.

"For now, it seems the first princess of this country has conspired with Nyx."

"That princess… she eventually sided with the evil god."

Chen Sia frowned.

"Regarding that, Sia. Let's talk a bit later."

Leo crossed his arms.

"It looks like you've already been explained about the Erebus fragment."

At his words, everyone nodded.

"Shouldn't we tell our seniors too?"

Chloe raised her hand and spoke, and Leo said calmly,

"The seniors knew from the moment they came here."

"What?! Why didn't you tell us?"

Chloe asked back, looking indignant.

"Because I judged that it wouldn't be good for too many people to know."

At Leo's words, Chloe clenched her fist tightly.

The other third-years also looked slightly indignant.

"So you're saying the seniors are still more trustworthy than us?"

Lounia, with her arms crossed, asked in a slightly sulky voice.

Leo shrugged in response.

At Leo's reaction, Lounia curled the corners of her lips.

"Just wait. Someday I'll catch up and kick your butt."

Saying that, Leo snorted and said,

"If you don't catch up quickly, I'll be the one kicking your butt, so just try to catch up."

'Sometimes pushing from behind. Sometimes pulling from the front. Sometimes stimulating.'

Lisinas smiled gently, looking at the seeds of heroes influenced by Leo.

'What a wonderful sight.'

Lisinas wore a wistful smile.

'…If I… if we had been born with Kyle… it would have been more enjoyable.'

She felt a sense of regret at the capriciousness of fate.

'Kyle wouldn't have carried everything alone either.'

She knew better than anyone how heavy the burden Leo carried was now, because it was a burden she once carried herself.

It was just regrettable that she couldn't share the burden.

'Grow up quickly, little ones.'

Lisinas smiled faintly, looking at the heroes Leo had chosen.

***

Crackle-! Sniff sniff sniff-!

A white-haired girl with cat ears poked her face out from the bushes and sniffed the air.

Rwen, a fox beastman, looked at the girl, Ar, with a look of disdain.

"She really acts like a dog."

"I'm a cat!"

Ar bristled her fur and hissed-! Then she shouted,

"And there's a good word like 'wolf,' so why 'dog' of all things!"

"The wolf is the student council president, though. By the way, is this the right place?"

Ar, with her arms crossed, nodded at Rwen's question.

"Of course!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's my sharp wild instinct!"

Ar's blue eyes twinkled, and Rwen scrunched up her face.

"You're telling me to trust your instinct when we're looking for the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle's hero dungeon!"

"Why! It's usually right!"

Ar puffed out her chest! and said,

"Even Senior Kar complimented me, saying my instincts are often right!"

"…Senior Kar is truly unnecessarily kind, you know. Saying only nice things so the idiot doesn't get hurt."

Rwen grabbed her head and shook it back and forth.

Ar, who had been staring blankly at Rwen, grabbed her fluffy tail and bit it.

"Kyaah! What are you doing!"

"You called me an idiot first!"

Dion, watching the Azonia representatives, the beastman students, Ar and Rwen, loudly squabbling from a distance, clicked his tongue.

"What in the world are those idiots doing?"

He said that and looked up at the distant cliff.

There, the wolf beastman, the apex of Azonia, was gazing at the entire dense jungle.

"Senior Kar. I think you need to stop those idiots."

Dion used a communication magic orb to call Kar.

-You stop them.

"I don't think I'm strong enough. They'll only listen to Senior Kar."

-But it's scary.

Dion could only let out a deep sigh at the reply from beyond the communication magic orb.

Though he couldn't see him, he could clearly envision the student council president genuinely shrugging his shoulders.

He spoke to his Azonian classmates who were on the mission with him.

"Borman, Tabon. Let's go stop them."

At his words, Borman and Tabon, a tiger beastman and a bear beastman, approached Ar and Rwen.

Dion looked up at the sky.

"This mission won't be easy."