Book 1 Chapter 797

797.

Shhh-!

It was raining.

Time is cruel.

Joyful and happy things.

Sad and unfortunate things.

Most things fade with the passage of time.

However, there are emotions and memories that do not change with the flow of time.

For Leah, the rain falling now was such a thing.

As King of Wisdom, Lysinas, just before closing her eyes.

Black rain was falling from the sky just like now.

"Unpleasant."

Leah muttered softly.

Everything was unpleasant now.

The black rain from the sky that gnaws away at life.

The giant king who reappeared.

And decisively, the lingering thought of Erebus in Kyle's form was the most unpleasant.

"Leah! Gias has appeared again! What should we do?!"

"You don't mean the giant king keeps resurrecting even if you kill him?!"

Kar and Valhar asked urgently.

The endlessly appearing giant king.

It was impossible by common sense.

But Kar and Valhar had no choice but to consider the impossible.

The opponent was none other than the Flame of Calamity, called the primal evil.

The very one who had driven the world to the brink of destruction.

Literally the most fearsome enemy since the world existed.

The two of them knew better than anyone that it was a being that delivered disasters beyond imagination.

Crushed by that disaster, they had no choice but to pass the burden to their close friends and close their eyes.

To the two's questions, Leah said,

"Looking at Gias's state… that's Gias from the Battle of Gadsron."

At Leah's words, Kar and Valhar winced.

The Battle of Gadsron.

It was an incident where the giant king Gias led his army and launched a large-scale invasion while the King of Wisdom, the Progenitor of Nebulae, and the Hero of Genesis were away from Gadsron.

Dwenoh and Arion, who were defending Gadsron at the time, succeeded in repelling the giant king's army.

Although Gadsron suffered considerable damage, Gadsron's victory was a miracle considering its strength at the time.

"If it's Gias from that era, it won't be difficult to defeat him."

Valhar narrowed his eyes.

A Legion Commander is a complete being.

In terms of pure power alone, the Gias of that time, who possessed divine power, might be even stronger than now.

'But combat power isn't determined by pure power alone.'

Just as the Great Heroes sublimated countless experiences into their power through the age of calamities.

The Legion Commanders are the same.

They too must have had countless experiences as fearsome calamities during the age of calamities and even the subsequent age of heroes.

Past beings are just past beings.

The Great Heroes already knew the strategy for defeating Gias, whom they had defeated before.

Therefore, defeating an enemy they had already defeated was not difficult for the Great Heroes.

'Moreover, he's not leading an army now, and there are three of us.'

But…

"Why did he come back to life after we clearly defeated him earlier?"

To Kar's question, Leah said,

"Hero Record."

"What?"

"It seems Erebus's lingering thought summoned the past giant king from the Hero Record."

"Is that possible?"

"It must be possible, because this phenomenon is happening. The only connection linking the past and present here is the Hero Record that he holds."

That was the insight of one who bore the title of King of Wisdom.

"Although called the primal evil, Erebus is an evil god. Essentially, he is no different from a god."

Leah's eyes narrowed.

"Since Hero Records are items made by gods, it's not strange that he can exert influence on the Hero Record."

"So, is Erebus modifying the Hero Record to summon past subordinates?"

"We don't know that. Whether he modified the Hero Record… or if it's an inherent ability of the Hero Record."

Leah clenched and unclenched her fists.

"But one thing is certain. If we defeat that giant king, Erebus's lingering thought will no longer be able to summon Gias."

"Why?"

"His strength has weakened compared to before he summoned Gias."

"Oh?"

"It must consume immense power to retrieve a past Legion Commander from the Hero Record."

Kar, with his cool and accurate assessment of the situation, said,

"Wow… you sounded just like the old Lysinas."

Leah shot him a sharp glance.

"Not Lysinas, but Leah."

"Hmph."

Kar quickly covered his mouth.

"You really sound like yourself from back then. The somewhat vague appearance is completely gone."

Valhar rested his battle axe on his shoulder.

"Is it because it's related to Kyle?"

"…I absolutely cannot tolerate that."

"It's not just you who can't tolerate it."

Valhar looked at the lingering thought of Erebus in Kyle's form with a cold expression.

"The insult to Kyle by that guy is something neither Kar nor I can ever tolerate."

Grrrrrr-

Golden flames erupted from Valhar's body.

Leah's eyes widened at the sight.

"I will handle that alone."

Valhar descended to the ground.

Along with him, the golden flames Valhar was emitting grew even fiercer.

"Val… har?"

Leah watched Valhar's retreating back with surprised eyes.

As Valhar descended to the ground, stronger flames burst from his body.

'In my previous life, I hardly ever liked myself.'

In my childhood, because of uncontrollable power.

Later, because I couldn't protect anything.

At the final moment, because of my weakness, which left me no choice but to pass it on.

The dwarf named Dwenoh could not love himself that way.

'You are the first person I've met who hates himself more than I do, Kyle.'

At least Dwenoh loved this world.

Because he loved this world, he cherished himself.

That's why he risked everything to protect this world.

But Kyle, whose life had already turned gray, didn't know why he endured hardship and tried to protect the world.

'Even now, I cannot understand you. What made you such a person who never gives up?'

Thump- thump-

Fwoooosh-

'But I know this one thing.'

The King of Wisdom saved the world for the people.

A person chosen by destiny.

He was the savior himself who would save the world in times of crisis.

The Progenitor of Nebulae saved the world, dreaming of endless possibilities.

This world was the very embodiment of possibilities for her.

The Hero saved the world, dreaming of a peaceful world he had never seen.

And I saved the world for a beautiful world.

'The fact that you saved the world for us.'

And I am enjoying the world saved in this way.

'That's why I decided to try and like myself.'

The golden flame was a curse to Dwenoh.

A symbol of destruction that burns everything.

Disliking his own destructive existence, he became fixated on beauty.

Dwenoh's feelings, who hated his own flames even until death, did not change.

He had only used it because it was necessary.

'I will never lose it.'

Fwoooosh-

'This world you saved.'

Grrrr-!

The flames Dwenoh emitted soon took the form of a giant.

'That's why I won't look back at you, at that time 5000 years ago.'

He accepted the past and himself as they were.

And he moved forward without looking back.

There was no wandering.

The Hero of Genesis is no more.

He accepted that fact and forged his own path.

Declaring himself the guardian of the world.

'That would be the way to honor you, who passed this world on to future generations.'

Dwenoh reached out to a realm he couldn't reach in his past life.

The giant made of golden flames grew larger and larger.

Its body soon became even larger than the giant king.

Ssssssssh-!

The surroundings lit up as if the sun had risen on a dark night.

The black rain evaporated.

The past fragments, summoned by Erebus's lingering thought influencing the Hero Record, disappeared without a trace.

"Fragments of the past can no longer stop me."

Valhar raised his hand.

The giant raised its hand in response.

"5000 years ago, you burned me to death."

A golden light flashed in Dwenoh's eyes.

"In this life… I will burn you to death."

KABOOOOOOOOOOM-!

The fist of the flame giant struck Gias like a mace.

Gias and Erebus's lingering thought evaporated without a trace.

Fwoooosh-

The golden flames dispersed.

Valhar, with his arms crossed, glanced back at his astonished friends.

'It's okay to wander. That's natural.'

But that was short-lived.

Valhar looked at Mount Erdien.

'But I won't wait.'

Valhar looked ahead.

'So hurry and follow me.'

5000 years ago, he was in the role of supporting his friends from behind, but now it was different.

Just like Lysinas 5000 years ago.

Now it was his turn to lead.

Valhar muttered softly,

"Don't be bound by the past. It doesn't suit you all."

***

"Ho ho… as expected of me. To think of such magic."

Run marveled at the magic Leo had taught him.

On the desk were papers with countless magic diagrams.

Run checked the magic at an incredible speed.

Leo, watching Run, said,

"You."

"Huh?"

"You haven't improved at all?"

At Leo's words, Run's face turned bright red.

"Wh-wh-what!"

"No, it's shocking. Luna Rubinan, the best, hasn't improved at all."

Leo looked at him with a pathetic expression.

"Luna and Eiran are also slow to grow compared to our Luna and Eiran."

"Hmph! If you're such a good teacher, why don't you teach them yourself? Like Chelsea and Iliana."

As Run scoffed, Leo said,

"No. That can't be done."

"Huh?"

"That's not my role. It's your role."

"…"

At Leo's words, Run put down the magic diagrams.

"Kyle."

"Why?"

"You… your next life…"

*BANG-!*

"Leo! Breaking news! Breaking news!"

Just then, the door opened and Carl entered.

The place where Leo and Run were currently staying was a private room in the inn operated by Carl.

Since Leo, an outsider, couldn't stay in Lumern indefinitely, the day after meeting Run, they left Lumern.

Run had followed Leo, and…

"What's wrong?"

Run looked at Carl with a prim expression.

Carl scratched his cheek at Run's reaction.

"Uh… did I interrupt a good time?"

"There's nothing like that with this womanizer."

Run scoffed.

"Why am I a womanizer?"

"I don't know. Anyone who goes around charming women is an enemy of women."

Leo clicked his tongue at Run's sharp reaction.

"So. What's the breaking news?"

"Yes! There's been a strange incident in the kingdom of Delan in the western continent!"

"…Delan?"

Leo's face hardened.

"Yes. It seems a pillar of black flame has been spotted in the territory of the Flov Marquisate in Delan!"

At Carl's words, Run's face hardened.

A pillar of black flame.

There was no way they wouldn't know what that was.

Leo got up from his seat.

'Erebus's fragment was sealed in the Flov territory.'

In this worldline, history did not involve his birth.

'The worldlines diverged due to other beings reincarnating. The events that occurred were also skewed.'

The Demon Queen and the Giant King were not defeated.

The reincarnation of the Great Heroes, a powerful deterrent, had made their movements more cautious.

Berkia was not manipulated by the hands of the Necromancer King.

If it were just Leo, perhaps. But knowing the existence of the Great Heroes, it would have been difficult for the Necromancer King to revive Berklia as an undead.

'Summoning a hero like Berklia as an undead would be a significant blow to the Necromancer King.'

The Necromancer King would not do something that would only waste his strength without causing any damage.

'And Erebus's fragment did not revive.'

But this is a different dimension than him not existing in the worldline.

After he defeated Erebus, 5000 years ago.

After the first fragment revived 3000 years ago, two more fragments revived in Leo's era.

'…Is it finally waking up?'

Leo clicked his tongue.

"Let's go, Run."

"I'll get ready right away."

"No, we have to go right now."

"Huh?"

Run's eyes widened.

"The pillar of black flame in the Flov territory is not just a fragment of Erebus's power."

"Then?"

"The second fragment of Erebus has revived."

"What?"

Run and Carl's faces were filled with horror.