Book 1 Chapter 781
781.
Fwooooosh-!
Demian's students began to form a formation in the fierce black flames.
"Are there any students who couldn't escape?"
"No! President!"
A male student answered Valhar's question vigorously.
Valhar nodded upon hearing this and said,
"Everyone, prepare for battle."
"Are you going to get rid of those black flames?"
"No. I'll handle that. You all take the opposite side."
"What?"
Valhar looked to the back.
"Something else is coming."
Grrrrooooooar!
The roar of a monster echoed.
This was the eastern edge of the continent.
A land where monsters appeared endlessly.
Because of that, countless monsters inhabited the surrounding area.
Of course, Demian's students had largely exterminated monsters to develop the mine, creating a safe zone.
But the monsters had broken through that safe zone and swarmed in large numbers.
"What is this!"
"They shouldn't be able to break through the safe zone and come over!"
Valhar spoke to the astonished dwarves.
"There is no such thing as absolute in this world."
At his words, Demian's students shivered.
"Don't be scared by hundreds of monsters. Aren't you the successors of Demian, who inherited Dweuno's will? Annihilate them."
At Valhar's words, the eyes of Demian's students changed.
"Front lines! Forward!"
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Demian's students, armed with heavy armor, advanced forward in perfect unison.
Dweuno and Demian had served as the sturdiest shields in the party of the Great Hero and the Hero of Genesis.
The Demian students who followed behind them were also famous for their solid defense, stronger than any other school.
In history, a considerable number of renowned front-line guard heroes were dwarves.
Of course, this didn't mean that Demian's students were all outstanding warriors.
In sync with the movements of the front line, the dwarf mages and summoners positioned in the rear were preparing to annihilate the enemies.
Amidst the swirling powerful magic, Driana, wielding a battle hammer, let out a war cry and charged forward.
Watching her, Valhar laughed heartily.
"You've grown so much! You brats!"
Saying so, Valhar looked at the black flames burning before his eyes.
Anyone would see it as the flame of disaster.
Valhar, more than anyone else, could clearly feel its presence.
'But it's not the true flame of disaster.'
It wasn't Erebus.
If it were Erebus itself, it would have emitted heat beyond comparison to this.
Furthermore, it would have perfectly controlled the monsters in the surrounding area.
There was only one reason why monsters were swarming, breaking through the safe zone.
They were simply rushing towards it, reacting to the power of the black flames before them without any thought.
'…A fragment of Erebus… No… perhaps it's just a thought.'
Valhar easily saw through the true nature of the black flames.
Valhar turned his head.
A giant mountain could be seen in the distance.
'Mount Errdien.'
The easternmost edge of the world.
This land, in the heart of the dwarven territory, was a dream land for dwarves because countless rare resources lay dormant there.
However, even after 5000 years had passed since the Age of Disaster, it still remained an undeveloped land.
It wasn't because it was Tartarus's territory.
This land had not been touched by Tartarus's claws for 5000 years.
Yet, the reason why the dwarves could not develop this land was quite simple.
'Endless monster appearances.'
No matter how many they exterminated, the monster appearances never ceased.
Moreover, it was a land of evil where not only common low-level monsters, but also high-ranking monsters that could threaten even heroes frequently appeared.
The reason why the area around Mount Errdien became such a land was simple.
'The final destination we intended to reach.'
However, it was a land that Dweuno himself could not reach 5000 years ago.
Here, the primordial evil, Erebus, was vanquished by the Hero of Genesis.
In the process, Erebus's blood rained down, and the land itself became a cursed land.
'It's a land imbued with Erebus's resentment.'
It was a land like that, so it was not strange for Erebus's thought to appear.
Even if he was an evil god, Erebus was still a divine being, no matter what anyone said.
'But why did it react suddenly?'
There were no records of such black flames suddenly appearing in this land for the past 5000 years.
Valhar approached the burning flame of disaster with a sense of doubt.
Gooooo-!
Golden flames erupted from Valhar's body.
The flames soon engulfed Valhar's entire body.
Even reborn, Valhar was still loved by flames.
In his past life, this love was a curse, but this life was different.
And above all, these flames had resistance to the flames of disaster.
Swoosh-!
Valhar pulled out a giant battle axe from subspace.
"Should I say it's been a while? Erebus. I don't know if you can understand, but."
Valhar said in a chilling voice.
"Do you recognize me?"
Thump-!
He stomped on the ground and charged towards the black flames.
Fwooooosh-!
Golden flames flickered on Valhar's axe blade.
"It will be different from 5000 years ago!"
Valhar's eyes gleamed.
Kwahang-!
The black flames and golden flames collided.
Along with it, a massive shockwave echoed around.
The materialized thought of Erebus blocked Valhar's axe with its arm.
Kwagagak-!
As the strength contest began, the surrounding ground began to sink deeply!
Erebus's body swayed and bent.
Just as he was about to strike Erebus's neck downward.
Thump-!
Erebus's thought inserted another arm into the ground.
Kwagak! Grasp-!
At that moment, Erebus's hand shot out from beneath the ground Valhar was standing on.
"Oh dear."
The moment Valhar clicked his tongue.
Kugagagak-!
Erebus's hand pulled Valhar in directly.
Valhar was sucked into the ground.
Kugagagagagagagak-!
A huge roar from underground and the ground bulged up and down!
Kwahang-!
Finally, as Erebus pulled out his arm, Valhar, whose ankle was caught, was also pulled out.
His clothes were a mess, but he had not a single scratch on his body.
Valhar, gripping the battle axe, immediately hurled it at Erebus's thought.
Kwagagak-!
The battle axe, engulfed in golden flames, spun like a wheel and flew.
Thump-!
Grrrroooar!
As the axe blade dug into its chest, the thought of Erebus let out a roar.
As Valhar scoffed at the thought of Erebus.
Hwaak-!
"……!"
Erebus's thought irritably threw Valhar towards the mine entrance.
Kwagagagagagagagagang-!
The sound of the long, extended mine interior being scorched echoed.
Thump- thump-
Erebus's thought walked to the mine entrance and opened its mouth wide.
Kwahahahahahaha-!
Black flames poured from its mouth, burning the entire mine.
That was not the end.
As Erebus's thought reached out its hand into the air, it grew larger.
The hand, as large as the mine that had dug into the small mountain, struck the mine directly.
Kwagagagagagagagang-!
The mountain was half-destroyed and collapsed.
A battle that literally changed the terrain and transcended common sense.
Demian's students, who had been exterminating monsters, watched the fight that far surpassed common sense with terrified faces.
Erebus's thought turned towards the dwarves.
Thump- thump-
As the thought approached, the dwarves wore tense expressions.
Kugugugugung-
At that moment, a part of the collapsed mine began to stir.
Kugeugeugeugeu-!
The ground began to shake, and a part of the collapsed mountain was lifted.
Since it had been developed as a mine, a part of the mountain was a huge stone.
Thud-! Thud-!
Valhar, lifting a part of the mountain with both arms, was grinning.
Veins bulged on his forehead and forearms.
Demian's students gaped at his tremendous strength.
Valhar, glaring at Erebus's thought, looked at the Demian students far away and said,
"Get out of the way on your own."
Leaving those words behind, Valhar directly hurled the part of the mountain towards Erebus's thought.
"D-Dodge! Dodge!"
"Run away!"
Demian's students screamed in panic and scattered.
Kwagagagagagagang-!
The aftermath of the part of the mountain lifting into the air and crashing to the ground was immense.
Literally, immense physical force overturned the surrounding area.
Valhar, dusting off his hands in the changed landscape, clicked his tongue.
"It's a stalemate."
Tzereuk- tzereuk-
As the rocks cracked, Erebus's thought walked out.
There was a limit to dealing damage through physical blows.
Conversely, Erebus's thought also lacked a decisive blow to defeat him.
Valhar extended his hand.
Then, the battle axe, buried in the rocks, flew to his hand.
Thump- thump-
Erebus's thought walked towards Valhar.
Valhar stroked the axe blade and said,
"You know, since I was reborn, I haven't been proud of myself at all. I felt pathetic for having to pass things on."
Valhar glared at Erebus's thought with fierce eyes.
"Even if the world revered me, I wasn't happy. I hated being called a savior who saved the world."
"……."
"So, pathetically, I wanted to forget. The fact that I was a great hero."
The reason he enrolled in Demian was simply to prove Kyle's existence.
"In this life, I just wanted to spend the rest of my days making pottery and painting."
Valhar gripped the axe handle.
"But it wouldn't do. I found myself thinking only about how to kill you."
He could no longer do the things he loved.
Painting.
Making pottery.
Sculpting.
He didn't even feel like spreading beauty to the world.
He just found himself trapped in guilt towards his friend.
"Proving his existence is not the path for him."
Golden light flashed in Valhar's eyes.
"This time, I realized that we need to finish it with our own hands to have the face to see that friend."
Valhar readjusted his grip on the battle axe.
"If I can't even deal with a mere thought… it makes no sense."
An unusual killing intent emanated.
As if in response, the battle axe began to tremble.
At that moment, Erebus's thought, which had been closing the distance with Valhar, stopped.
Fwoosh-
The burning black flames gradually subsided.
Eventually, the black flames began to take on a human form.
Valhar's expression hardened as he watched the figure.
Thump-!
Valhar immediately charged and beheaded Erebus's thought, which had taken on someone's form.
The floating head flew into the sky and then rolled on the ground.
Hwaak-!
The thought began to disappear, as if its power was exhausted.
Valhar watched Erebus's thought, which had taken the form of Kyle, disappearing, his face contorting.
"How dare you do something like this…"