Book 1 Chapter 786

The light magic that unfolded from Iliana's fingertips swept away the Death Knights.

"Wow, your magic power has gotten even stronger?"

Kal exclaimed in admiration and pulled a potion bottle from his pouch.

He then threw it straight towards the undead army.

Just before the potion bottle fell into the middle of the undead horde.

Kal pulled out a small hand crossbow and aimed at the potion bottle, hitting it.

*Boom!* *Swoooooosh-*!

The potion bottle exploded, and its compressed contents rained down.

*Grroooaaaarrr!*

Screams erupted from the mouths of ghouls, low-ranking undead.

"Is that a purification potion?"

"It's a new one I made recently, and it works well!"

Kal grinned and reloaded his crossbow.

He then pulled out another potion bottle, held it, and shouted confidently.

"Bring it on! I'll wipe you all out!"

*Grroooaaaarrr!*

Simultaneously with Kal's shout, an immense number of undead began to swarm in from afar.

Seeing this, Kal said to Iliana,

"A tactical retreat would be best, right?"

"Yeah."

Nodding, the two immediately began to flee.

"First, we need to rendezvous with Chelsea and Leo!"

"They must have seen my magic, so they'll be here soon!"

Before Iliana could finish speaking, wind swirled around the two of them.

Chelsea appeared with a strong gust of wind and pointed her staff towards the undead army.

Seeing this, Kal and Iliana quickly split to the sides, clearing a path for the magic to fly.

"Wind Storm."

With Chelsea's specialty of high-speed incantation, a powerful spell was quickly completed.

The gale that swept through the undead horde.

As Chelsea watched this, a meaningful expression crossed her face.

"Ahhh~ My cute corpses are ruined."

With a mournful voice, a woman wearing a hood emerged from among the undead.

The woman held a large human head in her arms.

It was a grotesque corpse with its eyes missing and its flesh rotted away.

However, the woman nuzzled the corpse's head as if it were beloved.

At the sight, Chelsea made a gagging face.

*Clack-*

Iliana stood in front of Chelsea and pointed her sword at the woman.

"Are you a demon?"

"Nice to meet you, brats. I am Eran. A necromancer who serves the great Lich King."

Iliana's eyes twitched.

"Eran…?"

"The Flesh Eater?"

The appearance of a notorious high-ranking demon made the group's expressions harden.

Eran grinned and bit into the corpse in her hand.

Seeing this, the three felt an instinctive revulsion.

"This corpse doesn't taste very good."

*Ptooey!* Eran spat out the mouthful of flesh, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and glanced at the three.

Eran's gaze then fell upon Kal.

"Orange-haired friend? You look like you're my type?"

"Lucky you, Kal. You've never heard that before at school."

"You can crack jokes in this situation?"

Kal clicked his tongue and pulled out a potion bottle from his subspace.

Chelsea gripped her staff again, and Iliana readied her sword.

It was true that their opponent was a high-ranking demon.

But that didn't mean they were going to back down.

"What about Leo?"

"I came in a hurry first. He'll be here soon. Even if his skills are good, I don't know how much help that ordinary person will be."

Iliana said firmly to Chelsea's words.

"It's okay. We can defeat them on our own."

Chelsea nodded at her words.

"Kal, I'll need your support."

"Leave it to me."

Kal took a deep breath with a tense expression.

Chelsea and Iliana's skills had grown to an extent that was incomparable to when they were first-years, as Kal knew.

'I did try my best… I'd be lucky if I don't get in the way.'

Kal chuckled and looked at Eran.

'By the way, why would such a high-ranking demon come all the way here?'

High-ranking demons with reputations like Eran rarely show themselves due to bounties from various countries.

They are also rarely encountered in the Death Land unless it's deep within.

'Furthermore, this isn't even the Death Land.'

The place where the group was currently located was not far from the Death Land.

Undead occasionally appeared, but it was clearly not the Death Land.

'It's definitely not ordinary.'

Kal quickly organized his thoughts and looked towards the campsite.

'That Leo guy… I hope he's okay.'

***

Lumern's Warp Gate.

Despite it being late at night, students were bustling in and out of the Warp Gate.

Meanwhile, Elena, the vice-president of the student council, was trying to sleep on a nearby bench.

"Elena senpai! Wake up! Are you a homeless person, Elena senpai?!"

Celia nagged Elena awake.

Elena, annoyed, turned over to go back to sleep.

But Celia forcibly woke Elena up.

"I was dragged out of my sleep."

As Elena whined, Celia retorted.

"We were all dragged out of our sleep!"

"The principal can entertain the guests~"

"This is a student event!"

"Why are you coming in the middle of the night? Tell them to come back tomorrow."

"When have you ever seen them consider our circumstances and act? You're an arbitrary elf!"

"You're just like Elena senpai used to be."

Lil supported Elena, who was staggering.

Elena stomped hard on Lil's foot.

"Haaahm!"

Elena yawned lazily and rubbed her eyes.

"Elena senpai! Button up your top button! Your underwear will show."

"I didn't wear one because I came out in such a hurry."

"Ah! Seriously!"

Celia, with a frustrated look, buttoned Elena's top shirt herself.

Then, she even tied her tie and tidied her appearance neatly.

"Celia, will you marry me when you graduate?"

"You just want to treat me like a maid, don't you?"

"Yeah."

Elena, now looking impeccable, giggled.

Celia sighed deeply at her innocent, princess-like demeanor.

Chloe, watching them, asked Lil,

"Is it true that Elena senpai was called the Queen of Lumern?"

"That's right. Before you all enrolled, Elena senpai was charisma itself! She was a tyrant through and through!"

Lil clenched his fist and his eyes sparkled.

'……Is that a compliment? Or an insult?'

Chloe let out a hollow laugh, but she looked at Elena, who was being pushed towards the Warp Gate by Celia, with a sense of wonder.

Now she had the feeling of a spoiled princess, it was hard to imagine her as the queen she once was.

When Elena was also ready, Chen Xia said,

"Is everything almost ready?"

"Yes."

"Why did they suddenly say they were coming?"

Chen Xia wore a look of confusion.

The ones at the Warp Gate now were the members of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th-year first parties.

The reason they came to the Warp Gate at this late hour in perfect readiness was none other than to greet the student council president of Seirun.

Although the reason for their sudden arrival in Lumern was unknown, as Lumern students, they didn't want to show even the slightest flaw to Rune, the student council president of Seirun.

No, rather, they wanted to show a perfect appearance.

Lumern students are superior to Seirun.

As rival schools, they had to prove that fact, but more importantly, it was because of Rune's attitude towards Lumern students.

Rune acted as if Lumern students were beneath his notice.

The difference was so clear compared to how he treated students from Azonia or Demian.

His expressionless gaze was like that of an adult looking at dolls displayed in a toy store.

That attitude of showing no interest, even subtly, offended the Lumern students.

'Why on earth would he do that?'

As Chen Xia wondered in her mind.

The Warp Gate glowed, and elves appeared.

At the forefront was none other than Rune, the student council president of Seirun.

A beauty that made onlookers momentarily lose their breath.

Rune, who emerged from the Warp Gate with a blank expression, surveyed the Lumern students who had come to greet him with a solemn atmosphere.

"Thank you for the grand welcome. My apologies for the late hour."

"We welcome your visit, Student Council President of Seirun."

Rune and Elena exchanged formal greetings with a faint smile.

A moment later, the Seirun students were guided to their assigned accommodations.

"Rune senpai."

"Why do you call me, Lunia?"

"Do you not like the Lumern students, Rune senpai?"

Rune chuckled as he saw Lunia's cautious question.

"It's not that I don't like them, but I'm not particularly interested."

"Why?"

"They lack individuality."

"What?"

"They are creations of Leah. And even then, they are replicas made by projecting someone's appearance."

Lunia and Eiran looked at Rune, who was saying something incomprehensible, with expressions of disbelief.

***

Leo sat on a tree not far from where Chelsea and her group were fighting and narrowed his eyes as he watched the three fight.

'Kal… is the same.'

He reads the flow of battle and displays flashes of wit.

And he provides appropriate support to Chelsea and Iliana.

He is the same as Kal from Leo's world.

But Chelsea and Iliana were different.

The movements of the two revealed someone's appearance.

And Leo could easily tell whose movements were similar to theirs.

'Me.'

Chelsea and Iliana's unique movements were absent.

The way they fought enemies.

The timing of attacks and defenses.

The tempo of their movements.

The way they led battles.

Everything was too similar to Kyle, the hero of the beginning.

It felt as if Kyle's movements had been intentionally taught.

'That Rishinas guy… what is he thinking?'

Leo scowled.

Chelsea and her group, having succeeded in defeating Eran, high-fived.

'……If those two are like this, then the other guys are probably in a similar situation.'

Leo sighed deeply.

*Rumble-*!

The sound of thunder echoed from the sky.

Leo looked up at the sky.

Along with it, a dark red lightning bolt struck towards where the three were.

Seeing the suddenly appearing Lich King, the faces of the three hardened.

"Are these dolls made by Lumern's student council?"

The Lich King spoke with a mocking voice.

Swirling dark magic.

An overwhelming presence.

It was exactly as described in the documents.

The three could easily tell that the being before them was the Supreme Commander of Tartarus.

"W-why all of a sudden…"

Kal uttered a groan.

Could they survive?

As such thoughts dominated his mind.

*Thump- thump-*

Footsteps were heard.

The three flinched and turned their heads, seeing a white-haired boy walking towards them.

"L-Leo…"

Kal spoke with difficulty.

Even though their bodies were frozen by the Lich King's overwhelming presence, unable to move, Leo was walking calmly.

"Hoho…"

The Lich King's gaze narrowed as he looked at Leo.

'What is this guy?'

From the darkness within his hood, the Lich King's eyes narrowed.

Leo, who had reached the Lich King, looked up at him.

"My neck hurts. Could you lower your posture a bit?"

"You have great courage. Do you know who I am?"

"I know very well."

*Crack-!*

"*…!"*

*Thump-!*

Leo kicked the Lich King in the shin.

The shin bone shattered, and the Lich King knelt on one knee.

Only then did Leo look at the Lich King, who was now at eye level with him, and curl the corners of his mouth.

"You don't know me?"

The Lich King's eyes were filled with shock.

"You… could it be?"