Book 1 Chapter 776
776.
“Is that Arion?”
“It’s Kyle, as expected!”
Arion, overcome with emotion, tried to embrace Leo.
“I don’t have a hobby of being hugged by men.”
Leo pushed Arion’s face away, narrowing his brows.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Ar, and the other Azonia students, acted as if they were seeing him for the first time.
And then there was Kar, an Azonian beast-man he was seeing for the first time.
No matter how he looked at him, he was his friend Arion, who had died 5000 years ago.
He didn't think he was mistaken.
‘There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize Arion’s movements.’
Just as Arion recognized him at once.
It was the same for him.
They had countless battlefields during the Age of Calamity, covering each other’s backs.
So there was no way they wouldn't recognize each other.
Leo clenched his fist.
‘I’ll send you to the world you should have rightfully enjoyed.’
Nyx’s words came to mind.
‘Send me to the world I should have enjoyed?’
Nyx was a divine being, even if she was an evil god whose path was different from Erebus.
As such, Leo had no way of knowing the full extent of Nyx’s power.
Leo looked down at his palms.
What if this wasn't an illusion, but reality?
‘Is it a parallel world?’
“Kyle, why haven’t you shown yourself until now?”
Arion… no, Kar looked at Leo with a slightly resentful gaze.
“Do you know how anxiously we looked for you?”
“We?”
Leo’s eyes widened.
Kar nodded, looking at Leo.
“Lysinas, Luna, and Dwenno too. They all looked for you so anxiously.”
“Did everyone else reincarnate too, besides me?”
“Of course!”
Leo made a blank expression at Kar’s words.
How much had he missed them?
How much had he longed for this?
How many times had he wished that he wasn’t the only one who had reincarnated?
But it was a desperate wish that could never be fulfilled.
He had to be content with just showing his friends the peaceful world of today through the Hero Record.
But now.
That impossible wish had come true.
‘…A world where the great heroes, excluding me, reincarnated.’
Leo looked up at the sky.
‘This world I’m in right now… is that world?’
“…The sound of fighting has stopped.”
Dion looked at where Leo and Kar had flown off to, his face tense.
“A fight powerful enough to change the terrain…”
“Isn’t this the first time anyone has fought Kar-senpai to this extent since Demian’s Valhalla?”
Borman and Tabon shivered.
Kar Levason.
He was a man of immense power, currently considered the strongest student in Azonia, the beast-man hero academy. No, he was even considered the strongest student in its entire history.
He was a powerful individual comparable to Azonia, the founder of the school, and was publicly regarded as Arion's successor.
Of course, his habitual timidity was a flaw, but no one really cared about that.
Because his actions since enrolling in Azonia were so outstanding that they could be called the second coming of Arion.
The appearance of an enemy who could fight him on equal terms was enough to make the Azonia students nervous.
“Don’t worry.”
Ar clenched his fist.
“Kar-senpai will win!”
“Of course he’ll win. He’s the strongest, after all.”
Rwen also looked unafraid.
As the students waited for Kar with tense faces.
Kar walked over from a distance.
Seeing Kar, the Azonia students cheered.
“As expected of Kar-senpai.”
“You defeated the enemy!”
“Kar-senpaaaaaai!”
Ar’s eyes rolled back as she rushed at Kar.
“Hee-eek?!”
“You’re so cool! Huff! Huff! You’re the best!”
“G-get away from me!”
Kar was terrified looking at Ar, who was clinging to his feet and panting heavily.
Three years had passed since she enrolled, but Kar was genuinely scared of Ar when she was like this.
As the other third-year students, seeing Ar flinching, made expressions of “she’s at it again” and tried to pull Ar off.
“Quiet.”
“Nyaaaaaaaack?!”
Leo, who appeared from behind Kar, pulled Ar’s tail.
Ar flinched and let go of Kar.
Leo dragged Ar away, separating her from Kar.
‘How can her actions be exactly the same? Well, in the end, it’s the same person.’
Only the events she experienced were different.
Fundamentally, she was the same.
As Leo gave a slight smile, Ar’s eyes flared up, and she tried to pull her tail out of Leo’s hand.
“How dare you pull a lady’s tail?! Let go! Let go of this!”
Ar, who was furiously pulling her tail, birmed her nails, and Leo swiftly—! Let go of her tail.
“To commit such rudeness since before! Do you want a scolding?”
As Ar hissed and got ready to pounce, Leo took out a handkerchief from his pocket and waved it.
“Nwoot!”
Then Ar instinctively reached out for the handkerchief.
“…”
Ar, who had been silent, turned red and then shouted.
“Y-you’re humiliating me! I’m going to kill youuuu!”
“Ah, no, Ar.”
Thwack—!
“Cough?!”
Kar, flustered, smacked Ar on the back of her neck.
Ar, instantly subdued, rolled on the floor, her eyes rolled back.
Leo narrowed his brows, watching Ar foam at the mouth and convulse.
“She doesn’t seem to be breathing.”
“Gasp! A-Ar! Breathe! Breathe!”
Kar, terrified, shook Ar wildly.
A moment later, Ar’s eyes snapped open.
“Gasp! I was chasing a black rabbit in a field, wasn't I?”
Kar let out a sigh of relief, watching Ar stand up abruptly, looking flustered.
When the commotion had somewhat subsided, Dion, wary of Leo, asked.
“What… what exactly happened? Kar-senpai. Who is this person?”
The two people who had fought with unusual intensity moments ago were now calmly together.
Kar even stopped Ar from rushing at Leo.
Kar’s juniors made confused expressions at the sudden change in situation.
Kar smiled, looking at the children.
“He’s an old friend of mine who I got separated from a long time ago.”
“Huh?”
“We didn’t recognize each other because so much time had passed, you see?”
***
The place where Leo fell was the Great Forest region in the southern part of the continent.
The southern continent was mostly desert, but not all of it was desert.
Some areas, like the Southern Great Forest, were lush green.
Most of these areas were adjacent to the coast.
The port city of Poreian, bordering the Great Forest.
It was a massive port city with countless ships coming and going, one of the trade routes connecting the eastern, southern, and western parts of the continent.
As such, it was a wealthy city with many outsiders passing through, and well-equipped accommodation facilities.
At the lobby cafe of the finest hotel in Poreian.
It was a place that sold food, tea, and alcohol, and a spot for travelers to enjoy the finer things in life.
Located far from the harbor, with Poreian's sandy beach stretching out, it was also famous as a tourist attraction.
Leo sat in that hotel, resting his chin on his hand, looking at the sunset over the sea.
‘…It’s definite. This is not an illusion.’
After a long period of confusion, Leo came to that conclusion.
This world was a stark reality.
‘…I crossed dimensions and came to a parallel world with Nyx’s power.’
Thinking that, Leo looked down at his hand.
‘Can I go back?’
Thinking that, Leo recalled the ice mirror he had found earlier in the Great Forest.
The ice mirror that no one but Leo could see.
‘…That must be both the entrance and the exit.’
Leo was lost in thought when.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
Kar approached and sat down in front of Leo.
The cafe was quiet despite it being a busy time.
Leo saw Kar putting something away in his pocket.
A magic card with Azonia’s emblem on it.
Through this, payments could be made even without money.
It seemed he had rented out the entire cafe.
“It’s a really convenient world, isn’t it?”
Kar said with a gentle smile, and Leo nodded.
“Because 5000 years have passed.”
“Yes.”
Kar nodded.
A moment later, the staff brought their meals.
After the staff left, Kar looked down at the lavish meal and said.
“You guys were right. The world that regained peace is more prosperous than I could have imagined… and a brilliant world.”
Kar looked at the sunset over the sea.
“Even now, sometimes every single moment feels like a dream.”
Kar gazed at the sunset with a dreamy expression.
“…I think it was worth all the hardship.”
Leo, who was watching Kar smile faintly, spoke.
“What about the others?”
“Huh?”
“How are the others living?”
Kar chuckled at Leo’s question.
“Dwenno reincarnated as a dwarf named Valhalla. He’s currently a 5th-year at Demian.”
Kar updated him on the whereabouts of their other friends.
“Luna’s name is Rune. She’s a 4th-year at Seirun. The same year as me.”
“…”
“Lastly, Lysinas… She’s a 3rd-year at Lumerin. Her name is Rea.”
“Lumerin?”
“Yes. Lysinas reincarnated as a human. Surprising, isn’t it?”
“…”
Leo looked surprised.
“I naturally thought she would have reincarnated as a dragon.”
“Yes. I was surprised too.”
“How did you all find out you had been reborn?”
“Thanks to Lysinas.”
“Lysinas?”
“Yes. Lysinas met Luna in her first semester of her first year after enrolling in Lumerin. Then during the summer break of her second year, she came to Azonia to find me.”
“Did you meet Dwenno by going to Demian in his first semester of his second year?”
“That’s right. How did you know?”
Arion looked surprised.
‘…My path is similar to theirs.’
Arion closed his eyes.
“Embarrassingly… I… and Dwenno… and Luna… none of us thought about fighting Erebus again until we met Lysinas.”
“…”
“I heard from Lysinas. That you, Kyle, were the one left alone in the end.”
Kar clenched his lips.
“She told me how you ended up alone at the very end, saved the world… and were forgotten by the world. And what you would have felt if you had seen us.”
Kar lowered his head and said.
“I’m sorry, Kyle. Even after being reborn, I’m still a pathetic coward.”
“Where would that nature go?”
Leo clicked his tongue and gave a faint smile.
“Still, don’t blame yourself too much. Even if it wasn’t Lysinas, you would have fought Erebus again.”
Kar gave a bitter smile at Leo’s words.
“As expected, you were thinking of fighting Erebus.”
“I can never forgive that bastard.”
Kar burst out laughing at Leo’s words.
“So?”
Kar made a serious expression.
“Why haven’t you contacted us until now? If you had seen our actions, you would have known it was us, so why are you only appearing now?”
Kar looked at Leo with resentful eyes.
“Do you know how much we looked for you, Kyle?”
Kyle, who defeated Erebus, left alone until the very last moment.
His friend, who had to overcome the ordeal alone because of the burden they had passed on to him.
But there was no trace of his friend anywhere in this world.
That fact was ultimately heartbreaking and guilt-inducing.
He always felt fear and guilt, wondering if Kyle hadn't been reborn.
It was then that Kar felt a question when he saw his friend appear so late.
“Arion. You and I were born in different worlds.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the hero of beginnings, Kyle, didn’t reincarnate in this world.”
“What?”
“In the world where I was born, the four of you didn’t reincarnate.”
“…What does that mean?”
Leo said calmly, looking at Kar’s confused expression.
“Parallel worlds.”
“…?”
“I crossed dimensions and came to a parallel world.”
“…!”
Kar’s eyes widened.
Leo, who was staring intently at Kar’s face, said.
“You didn’t understand, did you?”
“No.”
Leo sighed softly.
“Right. It’s my fault for telling such a difficult story to you, not Lysinas or Luna… not even Dwenno.”