Book 1 Chapter 801

Upon reaching the entrance of the mountain, a pungent smell of gunpowder stung their nostrils.

And at that terrible smell of gunpowder, Reina unconsciously scrunched up her brow.

Lunia, with a face as if she were about to vomit, slumped down.

Users of flame.

Especially the two who used the most powerful and holy flames of the Phoenix in the world showed a particularly sensitive reaction to the stench emanating from the traces left by the black flames.

"Lunia, are you okay?"

"Yes. Senior Rune. I'm okay."

Lunia forced a smile as she looked at Rune, who sat beside her with a worried expression.

"Why are you being so dramatic about this?"

Leo grabbed Lunia's wrist and forcibly pulled her up.

"Hey! Lunia is having a hard time!"

As Rune's expression turned fierce, Leo let out a snort.

"She's not so weak that she can't handle this much, is she?"

Leo said to Lunia as if provoking her.

"Right?"

At that, Lunia's eyes blazed.

"I can handle this much too, you know?!"

Shaking off Leo's hand, Lunia gritted her teeth and walked forward steadfastly.

Watching her, Rune reached out his hand worriedly.

"Hey, Lunia. You don't have to push yourself too hard…"

Thwack!

Leo grabbed Rune's wrist.

Looking at Rune, who wore a puzzled expression, Leo said.

"Isn't she your successor?"

"She is."

"Then trust her. Don't be too overprotective."

"……!"

Rune's eyes widened.

"Lunia is stronger than you think."

Leo said briefly and approached the rest of the group.

Rune silently watched Leo's retreating back.

Reina was leading the group dispatched from the Rodren Empire.

They were all renowned knights, mages, and summoners from the Rodren Empire, and Leo had seen some of them before.

They all wore strained expressions at the traces of Erebus.

Eiran and Kal also looked unwell.

A clear trace of the flame of disaster burned brightly.

The place where the primordial evil had swept through emitted a powerful poison that could lead ordinary humans to death.

It was natural to be distressed as the gunpowder-scented poison vibrated.

"Leo, are you okay?"

"No."

"You say that, but your face looks perfectly fine. Same with Student Council President Seirun."

"Well, that's because…"

'I'm used to it.'

Leo replied inwardly with a calm demeanor.

It was a smell he had intensely encountered in his past life.

Of course, that didn't mean he had developed immunity.

Both Leo and Rune had merely become accustomed to the smell.

"It still stinks like a dog after all this time," Rune muttered softly.

At his words, Leo let out a chuckle and said to Reina, "Let's move on."

"Alright."

Reina led the investigators forward.

Lunia, Eiran, and Kal followed behind, with Leo and Rune walking at the very end.

"…It seems the fragment of Erebus has truly revived."

A chilling glint appeared in Rune's eyes.

His blood ran cold.

As he walked, Rune touched his stomach and gave a slightly twisted smile.

A face filled with malice, hatred, and murderous intent.

It was still vivid.

The pain he felt when he received the wound that took his life.

"Leo. Does anything come to mind?"

"Hmm. I defeated him, though he was incomplete. And in my timeline, I also defeated this fragment."

"Hmph~ Yeah! So proud of yourself."

Rune said a little sharply and abruptly turned his head, then his eyes sparkled and he stuck close to Leo.

"If it's us, we can defeat him this time too, right?"

"Well, back then Arion put in all the effort by himself."

Although Leo delivered the finishing blow, it was Arion, who came to reality through the Hero Record, who held Erebus and weakened him.

'Arion back then was at his peak.'

Arion in his prime as a warrior.

He had even reached the realm of gods, surpassing his limits.

Compared to then, Leo had also gained strength, but he hadn't fully regained his past life's power.

'Luna is the same.'

Leo clenched and unclenched his fist.

Then he felt a question arise.

"Now that I think about it, there was Arion's Hero Record in Delan, the capital?"

"Huh? Really?"

"You didn't know?"

"Yeah. I never imagined it would be in a backwater kingdom like this."

"It had become a Hero Dungeon."

"Then you should definitely know."

Rune shook his head, and Leo nodded.

"By the way… why didn't he go on a rampage right after reviving?"

"It's a parallel world. Couldn't events happen differently?"

"Is it that simple?"

Leo narrowed his eyes at Rune's words.

Afterward, the investigation began in earnest.

However, despite half a day of searching, overcoming the intense poison emanating from the black flame's scorch marks, there was no significant progress.

As the sun began to set.

Kal, looking at the unburnt forest, murmured with a strange expression.

"It's kind of eerie."

"What do you mean?"

Eiran asked with a puzzled face, and Kal crossed his arms.

"There are no animals in this forest at all."

"Now that you mention it…"

Eiran's eyes widened.

They hadn't noticed because of Erebus's poison, but there were no mammals, birds, or insects.

Even the plants were all withered.

"You have very sharp eyes, Kal."

"Well, of course."

"Isn't it because you're less affected by Erebus's poison?"

Lunia said in a dull voice.

Lunia was still heavily affected by Erebus's poison.

Just then, Eiran sniffed the air.

"Rather, don't you smell something incredibly delicious?"

"Now that you mention it…"

Kal also tilted his head.

The investigators dispatched from Rodren also started murmuring, as if they had caught the scent.

"It's Leo."

Rune, who was casting a wide-area search spell, said casually.

"Leo-nim?"

"Yeah. It looks like he's preparing dinner."

As Rune said, as the sun began to set, Leo was preparing dinner not far away.

As people gathered, Leo began to ladle stew from a large pot.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Making dinner."

"In this situation?"

They were in the middle of a dangerous area where Erebus's power had manifested.

Moreover, it was a serious situation with clear traces of Erebus.

Reina found Leo calmly preparing dinner in such a situation to be absurd.

'Is he brave, or thoughtless… The latter doesn't seem to be the case.'

Leo handed Reina a bowl of stew and said, "We need to eat heartily to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. After all, the only provisions we brought were combat rations."

"That's true, but…"

"There's no immediate danger, so it's best to maintain both body and mind in the best possible condition. And it's quite delicious."

At Leo's words, Reina stirred the stew with the spoon she received and took a bite.

And her eyes widened.

"For some reason, it feels like my stuffiness is clearing up?"

"I added medicinal herbs that can detoxify the poison."

"Oh?"

Reina's eyes sparkled.

One by one, the investigators tasted Leo's stew and marveled.

"Wow, it's delicious!" Kal exclaimed.

"Leo! You'll be a great husband!"

"It's truly delicious." Eiran said, biting on his fork with a happy expression.

Because they were mentally exhausted, Leo's stew tasted even more delicious.

"Senior Rune, aren't you eating?"

Lunia, who had half-finished her stew, looked curiously at Rune, who was staring intently at the stew.

"Yeah, I should eat."

Rune smiled and picked up his spoon.

He took a spoonful of stew.

'…It hasn't changed at all… No. Has his cooking skill improved even more?'

Rune looked at Leo, who was laughing and chatting with Kal.

'I hope he doesn't go back.'

A question he was afraid to ask, fearing the answer.

When Leo's eyes met Rune's, Rune was startled and focused back on eating.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE-!

Suddenly, the ground shook.

Everyone flinched.

"Wh-What…"

Lunia looked around in confusion.

"Honestly."

Rune sighed lightly.

Even with the tremors shaking the earth, Leo calmly continued to eat his stew.

"It doesn't give me time to get lost in my thoughts."

Rune gulped down the stew, bowl and all, and wiped his mouth with his elbow.

The two of them, who were calmly filling their stomachs even in this situation, knew.

What was the cause of the tremors.

Leo and Rune rose to their feet simultaneously.

"Prepare yourselves."

Rune said calmly, with his arms crossed.

"For what?"

Lunia asked, looking bewildered, and Leo replied.

"You'll see soon."

Leo drew his sword.

"The flame of disaster."

KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-!

Not far away, black flames shot up as if erupting.

A breathtaking scene, as if a volcano had erupted.

The sunset sky was turning crimson and black.

Leo's eyes twitched as he watched the scene.

'What is it? It's a little different from what I remember.'

The giant fiery giant he knew was nowhere to be seen.

But the presence itself was clearly felt.

As Leo narrowed his brow.

"Um… someone's approaching."

Kal said, pointing to the forest with a bewildered expression.

Leo turned his gaze in the direction Kal was pointing.

And his eyes twitched.

Stomp- Stomp-

What emerged from the forest was a man with a blank expression.

A dry, emotionless face.

Ash-gray hair and eyes.

"Wait a minute. I've seen that face somewhere before…"

Lunia narrowed her eyes.

Just then, Eiran's eyes widened.

"Doesn't he resemble the person in the painting of the Great Hero we found last time?"

The painting of the Great Hero.

It was a painting drawn by Dewno in the era of disaster 5000 years ago, which Lea had found while tracing Kyle's whereabouts.

Of course, the academic community tended to view it as a later work, not something from the era of disaster.

However, it at least contributed to showing people what the first hero looked like.

And now, the person in that painting had suddenly appeared.

Stomp- Stomp-

The gray-haired man who reached the group scanned them with a sweep of his eyes.

And finally, his gaze fell upon Leo and Rune.

"It is a pleasure to meet you."

The man opened his mouth calmly.

"My name is Kyle."

His lips twisted.

"I am the one you call the First Hero."

Everyone's eyes widened.

'He's playing an interesting game.'

Leo revealed a murderous intent as he looked at Erebus, who bore the likeness of his past self.