Book 1 Chapter 776

"Arion?"

"It's Kyle, after all!"

Arion, his emotions running high, tried to hug Leo.

"I have no hobby of being hugged by men."

Leo pushed Arion's face away and narrowed his brow.

'What is this situation?'

The students of Azonia, led by Ar, acted as if they had never seen him before.

And then there was Kar, a beastman of Azonia whom he had never seen before.

He was undeniably his friend Arion, who had died 5000 years ago.

He didn't think it was a mistake.

'There's no way I wouldn't recognize Arion's movements.'

Just as Arion recognized him at a glance.

The same was true for him.

They had crossed countless battlefields, having each other's backs during the age of calamity.

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 enjoyed.'

Nick's words came to mind.

'Send me to the world I should have enjoyed?'

Even if Nick was a god, a different kind of evil god than Erebus.

As such, Leo had no way of knowing the divine power Nick possessed.

Leo looked down at his palm.

If this wasn't a hallucination but reality?

'A parallel world.'

"Kyle, why haven't you shown yourself until now?"

Arion… no, Kar looked at Leo with slightly resentful eyes.

"Do you know how desperately we looked for you?"

"We?"

Leo's eyes widened.

Seeing Leo like that, Kar nodded.

"Lisinas, Luna, and Duveno too. We searched for you desperately."

"So everyone else reincarnated too?"

"Of course!"

At Kar's words, Leo looked dazed.

How much had he missed them?

How much had he yearned for them?

How many times had he wished that he wasn't the only one who had reincarnated?

But it was a wish that could never be fulfilled.

He had to be satisfied with just showing his friends the current peaceful world through Hero Records.

But now.

That unfulfillable wish had come true.

'…A world where the great heroes, excluding me, have reincarnated.'

Leo looked up at the sky.

'Is this world I'm in now… that world?'

"…The sounds of fighting have stopped."

Dion looked at the direction Leo and Kar had flown with a tense face.

"Fighting to the point of changing the terrain…"

"Isn't this the first time someone could fight Kar-senpai to this extent since Demian's Valhar?"

Bormann and Taron shivered.

Kar Levason.

He was currently considered the strongest student ever at Azonia, the academy for beastman heroes.

He was so strong that he was compared to Azonia, the founder of the school, and was externally regarded as Arion's successor.

Of course, his timid nature was his only flaw, but no one cared about that.

His progress since entering Azonia was such that it could be called a reincarnation of Arion.

The appearance of an enemy who could fight him as an equal was enough to make the students of Azonia tense.

"Don't worry."

Ar clenched his fist.

"Kar-senpai will win!"

"Of course, he will. He's the strongest."

Ruen also showed a face that didn't seem worried.

As the students waited for Kar with tense faces, Kar walked from afar.

Seeing Kar, the students of Azonia cheered.

"It's Kar-senpai!"

"You defeated the enemy!"

"Kar-senpaiiiiiiii!"

Ar ran to Kar, his eyes wide.

"Eek?!"

"You're so cool! Hah! Hah! You're the best!"

"G-get away!"

Kar was terrified by Ar, who clung to his feet, breathing heavily.

Even though three years had passed since entering the academy, Kar was truly afraid of Ar when he was like this.

As the other third-year students looked at each other as if to say 'they're at it again' and tried to pull Ar off, Kar said, "Shut up."

"Niyayaaaaak?!"

Leo, who appeared from behind Kar, grabbed Ar's tail.

Ar, startled, let go of Kar.

Leo dragged Ar away from Kar.

'How can this guy be so similar? Well, in the end, he's the same person.'

Only the events were different.

Fundamentally, they were the same.

As Leo chuckled, Ar glared at Leo and tried to pull his tail out of Leo's hand.

"How dare you pull a lady's tail?! Let go! Let go!"

As Ar furiously pulled his tail, he sharpened his claws, and Leo quickly let go of the tail.

"You've been so rude since earlier! Do you want to be punished?"

As Ar snarled and got into a stance to pounce, Leo took out a handkerchief from his pocket and waved it.

"Nuot!"

Then Ar instinctively reached out for the handkerchief.

"…"

Ar, who had been silent, blushed and shouted.

"You're… you're humiliating me! I'll kill you!"

"Oh, you shouldn't do that, Ar."

*Thwack!*

"Gak?!"

Kar, flustered, smacked Ar on the back of the neck.

Ar, instantly subdued, rolled on the floor with his eyes wide open.

Seeing Ar foaming at the mouth and convulsing, Leo narrowed his brow.

"He doesn't seem to be breathing?"

"Gasp! A-Ar! Breathe! Breathe!"

Kar shook Ar frantically, panicked.

After a moment, Ar's eyes snapped open.

"Gasp! I was chasing a black rabbit in the field?"

Kar breathed a sigh of relief, watching Ar, who had jumped up and was looking bewildered.

As the commotion subsided somewhat, Dion asked Leo warily, "What… what happened? Kar-senpai, who is this person?"

The two who had been fighting with unusual intensity just moments ago were now calmly together.

Kar had even stopped Ar from attacking Leo.

Kar's juniors looked confused by the sudden change in events.

Kar smiled at the children who looked confused.

"He's my friend from a long time ago."

"Huh?"

"It's been so long, he didn't recognize me?"

***

The place where Leo fell was the Great Forest region in the southern part of the continent.

The southern part of the continent was mostly desert, but not all of it was desert.

Some areas, like the Southern Great Forest, were green.

Most of these areas were adjacent to the coast.

Poreyan, a port city bordering the Great Forest.

It was a huge port city, one of the trade routes connecting the eastern, southern, and western parts of the continent, with countless ships coming and going.

As such, it was a place frequented by outsiders, and consequently, a wealthy city with well-equipped accommodation facilities.

In that hotel, the finest in Poreyan, was the lobby cafe.

It was a place that sold food, tea, and alcoholic beverages, where travelers enjoyed leisure.

It was also a tourist attraction, far from the port, with Poreyan's sandy beach spread out before it.

Sitting in that hotel, Leo propped his chin and gazed at the sunset beach.

'…It's certain. This is not a hallucination.'

After a long period of confusion, Leo came to that conclusion.

This world was undeniably reality.

'…I traveled across dimensions to a parallel world using Nick's ability.'

Thinking so, Leo looked down at his hands.

'Can I go back?'

Thinking so, Leo recalled the ice mirror he had found in the Great Forest earlier.

The ice mirror that no one could see except Leo.

'…That must be the entrance and the exit.'

Leo was lost in thought when.

"What are you thinking so deeply about?"

Kar approached Leo and sat down in front of him.

Although it was a busy time, the cafe was quiet.

Leo saw Kar discreetly putting something in his pocket.

It was a magic card with the Azonia emblem.

With this, he could make payments even without money.

It seemed he had rented the entire cafe.

"It's such a comfortable world, isn't it?"

Kar said with a smile, and Leo nodded.

"It's been 5000 years."

"Right."

Kar nodded.

After a while, the staff brought the meal.

When the staff left, Kar looked at the luxurious meal and said.

"You were right. A world that has regained peace is richer than I could have imagined… and a shining world."

Kar looked at the sunset beach.

"Even now, sometimes every moment feels like a dream."

Kar looked at the sunset with a dreamlike expression.

"…I think it was worth all the hardship."

Leo, looking at Kar, who was smiling faintly, said.

"What about the others?"

"Huh?"

"How are the others living?"

At Leo's question, Kar chuckled.

"Duveno reincarnated as a dwarf named Valhar. He's a 5th grader at Demian now."

Kar informed him about the whereabouts of his other friends.

"Luna's name is Rune. She's a 4th grader at Seirun. The same grade as me."

"…"

"Finally, Lisinas is… a 3rd grader at Lumern. Her name is Lea."

"Lumern?"

"Yes. Lisinas reincarnated as a human. Surprising, isn't it?"

"…"

Leo looked surprised.

"I thought she would have reincarnated as a dragon, of course."

"Yes. I was surprised too."

"How did you know you had all reincarnated?"

"Thanks to Lisinas."

"Lisinas?"

"Yes. Lisinas met Luna in her first semester as a freshman at Lumern. Then, during her second year's summer vacation, she came to find me at Azonia."

"Did Duveno meet you at Demian in his second year's first semester?"

"That's right. How did you know?"

Arion looked surprised.

'…His path is similar to mine.'

Arion closed his eyes.

"Shamefully… I… Duveno… Luna… Before meeting Lisinas, none of us thought of fighting Erebus again."

"…"

"I heard from Lisinas. You were the one who was left alone in the end."

Kar bit his lip tightly.

"In the end, you were left alone to save the world… and were forgotten by the world. She told me, 'What would Kyle have thought if he saw us?'"

Kar, lowering his head, said.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. Even after being reborn, I'm still a pathetic coward."

"Where would that nature go?"

Leo scoffed and chuckled.

"But don't blame yourself too much. Even without Lisinas, you would have fought Erebus again."

Kar smiled bitterly at Leo's words.

"As expected, you thought of confronting Erebus."

"I can never forgive that guy."

At Leo's words, Kar burst into laughter.

"So?"

Kar's expression became serious.

"Why haven't you contacted us until now? If you saw our paths, you would have known it was us, so why are you showing up now?"

Kar looked at Leo with resentful eyes.

"Do you know how much we looked for you, Kyle?"

Kyle, who defeated Erebus by staying alone until the very end.

A friend who had to endure trials alone because of the burden they had left him.

But there was no trace of their friend anywhere in this world.

That fact was ultimately frustrating and shameful.

He always felt fear and guilt, wondering if Kyle had perhaps not been born.

As Kar felt doubt seeing his friend who had appeared late.

"Arion. The world I was born into is different from yours."

"What does that mean?"

"It means the hero of the beginning, Kyle, did not reincarnate in this world."

"What?"

"Because in the world I was born into, the four of you did not reincarnate."

"…What is that?"

Leo said calmly, looking at Kar's confused expression.

"Parallel world."

"…"

"I crossed dimensions and came to a parallel world."

"…!"

Kar's eyes widened.

Leo looked intently at Kar's face and said.

"You didn't understand, did you?"

"No."

Leo sighed softly.

"Yes. It's my fault for telling a difficult story to you, not Lisinas, Luna… or even Duveno."