Book 1 Chapter 790
Leo, carefully laying the unconscious Chelsea, Kal, and Iliana to one side, brushed Chelsea’s hair.
Rian had descended from his divine position to become the administrator of Hero Records, but even so, the fact that his existence itself was divine remained unchanged.
If one were indirectly exposed to the hatred and anger of such a god, it could have led to mental instability.
“Fortunately, other than losing consciousness for a moment, there don’t seem to be any major issues.”
Leo, after examining the physical condition of the three, sighed softly and stood up.
Then, he turned his gaze to where the half-naked statue of Kyle, the Hero of Beginning, had been a moment ago.
There, Rian had drawn a red line around the area where the shattered gem fragments were.
“Destruction is the mother of creation. The destruction of my insignificant, humble work is proof of the miraculous encounter with Kyle-nim…! Ah! I was foolish! To engage in idolatry…! When true desire is fulfilled…! To preserve this moment eternally as a cautionary tale…!”
Leo approached Rian, who was spouting incomprehensible nonsense, and waved his fingers.
Whooooosh-!
Then, a gust of wind blew, gathering all the gem fragments into one place.
“Ah! Merciful Kyle-nim! You forgive my foolish sins!”
Rian’s eyes sparkled.
Leo, knowing that arguing would be futile, could only let out a deep sigh.
Leo, sitting on the sofa, said,
“I have something to ask.”
“It would be an infinite honor if my humble knowledge could be of assistance to Kyle-nim.”
“Leo.”
“Yes…?”
“My name is Leo now.”
“Ah! The new title of the Hero of Beginning!”
Rian clasped his cheeks and moaned “Haang~” as he collapsed onto the floor.
Ignoring Rian, Leo said,
“You know that the Great Heroes, excluding me, have been reincarnated into this world, right?”
“Yes. I learned that a short while ago.”
“Then you must also know that Lisinas and Luna have become a little strange.”
“Leo-nim, would it be sacrilegious for me to correct your words?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“The King of Wisdom and the Progenitor of Nebulae are not strange.”
“What?”
“The two of them are no different than they were in their past lives or now. They are simply trapped in the past.”
“……”
“And the reason they became trapped in the past is because Leo-nim does not exist in this worldline.”
“……They are not such weaklings that they would wander aimlessly just because I am not present.”
“Yes. But Leo-nim should also be aware of this point.”
Rian made eye contact with Leo.
“Just as the Hero of Beginning is not a perfect being, the King of Wisdom and the Progenitor of Nebulae are also not perfect beings.”
Rian took out statues of Lisinas and Luna from his pocket and carefully placed them on the floor.
“It’s not just these two.”
Rian added statues of Arion and Dwenno to the floor and said,
“Kyle-nim and the other Great Heroes have slightly different circumstances. Unlike Leo-nim, who shouldered the burdens of his friends and saved the world… the other Great Heroes merely entrusted their burdens to Leo-nim.”
“……”
“And they never received them back. In the end, that would have remained as guilt in the hearts of the Great Heroes in the world they reincarnated into. That’s why they are lost and wandering.”
Rian carefully took out Kyle’s statue and placed it among the other statues.
“But now that you have appeared in this world, the Great Heroes will return to their original selves. So, don’t worry too much.”
“No.”
“What?”
“They must return to where they belong.”
“……”
Rian fell silent at Leo’s words.
“The Arkh Party is incomplete without you. Without you, no matter how strong the Great Heroes are, they will only repeat what happened during the Hero of Genesis. And yet, you intend to return?”
“There will be no repetition of what happened during the Hero of Genesis.”
“Why?”
“Because they are Great Heroes.”
“What?”
“It’s not just me who is a Great Hero. They are Great Heroes equal to me.”
Leo reached out and picked up his own statue.
“Even without me, they will find the answer to defeat Erebus. That’s the kind of people my friends are.”
“You trust them. Your friends.”
“I have to trust them. They trusted me too.”
“……”
Rian smiled.
“I am truly envious, the me in Leo-nim’s worldline.”
“Perhaps you might be liked by others more than me.”
“I cannot even imagine such sacrilege. There is only one person I cherish the most.”
Rian became serious.
“By the way, how did you end up here, Leo-nim?”
“It’s complicated to explain.”
Leo recounted the events to Rian.
Rian summoned a book and pen and began to write down Leo’s story.
“Haa… Haa… *Slurp*! The Hero of Beginning’s… new story! Ahh. My brain feels like it’s going to melt. *Sniff*! Haa! *Sniff*! Haa!”
Rian buried his face in the book he had written, inhaling deeply, and trembled.
Leo shook his head, watching him.
He thought he had become quite accustomed to Rian’s eccentricities, but that wasn’t the case.
“Now, stop and open the entrance to Lumern for me, will you?”
“Are you going to meet Luna?”
“Yes.”
“It will be a reunion full of emotion.”
Rian asked with an excited expression.
“What will you say to Luna?”
“Let’s see.”
Leo tilted his head and chuckled.
“She’s not in her right mind, so I’ll have to kick her in the backside first.”
***
The place they arrived through the passage Rian opened was in front of the Hero’s Tower within Lumern.
Leo, standing in the familiar yet somehow strange garden, looked around.
Then, he laid the three unconscious people on a nearby bench.
“Huh? I’m experiencing all sorts of things in my life.”
At that moment, an amazed voice was heard.
Leo turned his head towards the sound.
The person there was someone Leo knew well.
However, it was someone he had never imagined meeting again.
‘Kalian Veydean.’
He was the principal of Lumern, known by the title Sword Saint, and a hero who had once carried the era on his shoulders.
Ho ho- Kalian, stroking his white beard, tilted his head after looking at Kal’s face.
“Isn’t that unconscious friend, Kal Thomas?”
“That’s right.”
“And Miss Chelsea and Miss Iliana, who are currently absent without leave…”
Kalian looked at Leo with a curious expression.
“How did you sneak into Lumern?”
“That’s a trade secret.”
“Ho ho ho.”
Kalian burst into laughter.
“So, you’re here to meet your friend, Miss Lea?”
“How did you know I was her friend?”
Leo asked, looking surprised, and Kalian smiled faintly.
“When you live a long time, you develop useless intuition. You and Miss Lea have one crucial thing in common.”
“A commonality?”
“You both give the impression of being immeasurably older than I am.”
Kalian laughed playfully.
Leo also burst into laughter, watching Kalian.
“So? Miss Lea isn’t in Lumern right now…”
“There’s that elf named Rune, isn’t there?”
“Are you friends with Miss Rune too? You have many pretty friends.”
“They’re not pretty at all?”
“You seem to have poor eyesight.”
Kalian let out a low chuckle.
Leo, watching Kalian, said,
“And I have other business as well.”
“Other business?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of business?”
“I intend to test the limits of the Lumern students.”
“……”
At those words, Kalian smiled faintly.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I want to ask for permission.”
“Permission…”
Kalian stroked his beard.
In Kalian’s eyes, he could see it.
The bottomless potential of the boy standing before him.
It was like seeing the current student council presidents of the hero academies.
Kalian stroked his chin.
“What is your name?”
“Leo Flove.”
“And another name?”
Leo’s expression turned surprised at the question about whether he was Kyle.
“Did Lea tell you?”
“No. But as I said earlier, when you live a long time, your intuition becomes unnecessarily sharp.”
Kalian burst into laughter.
“Tell the professors what I said. Feel free to test their limits to your heart’s content.”
“The school might become a mess.”
“Then it will be an even more valuable lesson.”
‘…Come to think of it, Principal Kalian was very lenient about causing trouble, wasn’t he?’
Recalling his first year, Leo let out a wry laugh.
*Thump*
“Ugh… Just five more minutes.”
“The Swift Sword of Light, Iliana, is here…”
Leo laid the three of them on the floor.
Chelsea whined, and Iliana mumbled in her sleep.
“Ugh. My head.”
Kal clutched his head and got up.
Then, he suddenly looked around.
“Huh?! Where is this?”
“You’re awake?”
“Wow, we really came into Lumern?”
Kal exclaimed in amazement.
“But how did we get here?”
However, his memory was hazy from that point on.
This was thanks to Rian’s dimming of his memories.
Kal, tilting his head, shook Chelsea and Iliana, who were sleeping on the floor, awake.
“Hey, hey. Get up.”
At those words, Chelsea and Iliana also rubbed their eyes and woke up.
“Where is this…?”
“Huh? Isn’t this in front of the dormitory?”
Chelsea and Iliana recognized the place and their eyes widened.
Leo handed the three of them cloaks.
“Wear them.”
At those words, the three looked puzzled and put on the cloaks.
Chelsea, pulling her hood up, looked puzzled.
“It looks like the outfit of someone trying to hide their identity.”
At those words, Kal also put on his hood.
“It does. It feels like we’re on a secret mission.”
When Iliana also pulled up her hood, Leo nodded.
“It’s hard to tell who anyone is at first glance.”
Chelsea tilted her head, looking at Leo.
“So? What are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to let you feel how much stronger you’ve become.”
“How?”
Chelsea tilted her head.
Leo, looking at Chelsea, smiled faintly and opened his palm.
*Fwoooosh-*
“Peep?!”
Along with flames, a heavy weight was felt in his palm.
“……”
Leo stared at Fiora with a look of disbelief.
Fiora, seemingly unaware of the situation, had a very bewildered expression.
“Isn’t this the obese phoenix of Lunia El Lundia?”
“What? That phoenix has a contract with Lunia El Lundia. How can Leo-oppa summon it?”
“But there can’t be another phoenix this fat…”
Iliana and Chelsea wore bewildered expressions.
“Wow… look how plump it is.”
Kal exclaimed and poked Fiora’s side with a *poke-*.
*Peaaaack-!*
“Huh?!”
Kal, seeing Fiora spewing crimson flames, was horrified and hid behind Leo.
‘It seems to have formed the original pact with Lunia.’
Fiora’s original contractor was none other than Lunia.
Leo clicked his tongue and said to Fiora,
“Fiora.”
Peep?
“Lend me some strength.”
Peck peck peck!
Fiora flapped her wings.
It was as if she was saying, Who are you to summon me!
Leo, completely ignoring Fiora, fulfilled the pact.
*Fwoooosh-*!
Flames erupted from Fiora’s body.
“Hey, Leo, you don’t mean…”
Kal’s mouth fell open.
“Don’t worry too much. I got permission from the principal.”
Leo used Fiora’s flames to create a giant sphere of fire.
And he threw it towards the dormitory.
*Kwaaaaang-! Fwoooosh-*
The inferno that fell in the middle of the dormitory garden burned fiercely.
The three of them gaped.
“Anyway, seeing you all, it looks like the entire Lumern student body is imitating others because of that Lea girl?”
Leo loosened the joints of his fingers.
“Even if I tell you you’re wrong, you won’t listen.”
It was a path taught by none other than the King of Wisdom.
And through that path, they had grown stronger.
‘They might become strong quickly. But the limit is clear. In the end, it’s not them.’
If they kill their individuality and follow me like mass-produced products, they will inevitably hit a wall.
And they will collapse.
Leo knew someone who had collapsed like that.
‘Lumern.’
The founder of this school, none other than him.
“The best way to let them know they’re on the wrong path is to have them break their bodies by crashing into it.”
‘Linis, you are wrong this time.’
The three shivered at the sight of Leo narrowing his eyes and grinning.
Chelsea, with a pale face, muttered,
“He looks like the Great Demon King from a fairy tale.”