Book 1 Chapter 803

803.

"Kyle, the Surviving Hero. 5,000 years ago, you sealed me."

Erebus looked at Leo and laughed.

"Even if the power you possessed was the only one that could defeat me, it was an impossible feat."

The Absolute Evil, who had devoured all evil gods that existed since the beginning and had been reborn as an entity that even the celestial gods could not handle.

Even if he had acquired all the power of the great hero, it was impossible for him not to be able to handle it.

"So I thought. I must take on your form, the one who stopped me."

"How?"

Erebus's lips curved into a malicious smile as he watched Leo, who asked with his arms crossed.

"Even if you accomplished a great feat, you are merely human. Imitating your appearance is not difficult."

A divine being.

Replicating Kyle's appearance perfectly using memories of the battle 5,000 years ago was not a difficult task for Erebus.

"Furthermore, destroying this world in the guise of the one who saved it would be even more significant."

"What you're thinking is truly abhorrent."

Leo revealed his animosity in a low voice.

The twisted malice of the fiend towards the world was clear.

Leo gripped his sword tighter.

'…Can I defeat him here and now?'

If he took the front and Luna took the rear, they might be able to fight to a draw.

But defeating him was another matter.

'Crucially…'

Leo glanced towards where the Plov Mansion stood.

A legion of monsters had suddenly appeared.

They were Erebus's subordinates, created with the authority of creation.

Those dispatched from Lordren, led by Reina, had indeed gone to protect the territory.

But…

'It's not enough.'

Their forces were overwhelmingly insufficient.

Although he was feigning composure in front of Erebus, the crisis remained unchanged.

'I need to end this as quickly as possible.'

Having thought that far, Leo spoke.

"Luna."

"Huh?"

Rune was slightly flustered, seeing Leo call her by her past life's name, not her current one.

"A full-power shot, please."

Rune was flustered, seeing Leo turn to her and grin.

"What? Then you'll have to stop that bastard all by yourself!"

Full-power.

Rune knew very well what that meant.

It literally meant for her to pour all the magic she could use into casting the most powerful spell possible.

The more magic and time one invests in completing a spell, the greater its power becomes.

But if that happened, a problem would arise.

During the time it took for the spell to complete, Rune would have to focus solely on the magic.

She would be completely unable to support Leo.

Furthermore, a spell that Rune crafted with only power in mind would be a great threat to Erebus.

He wouldn't just leave her alone until the spell was complete.

In the end, it meant Leo would have to protect Rune while fighting Erebus.

Neither Leo nor Rune had yet regained the power of their peak.

Even if he was just a fragment of Erebus, he was an entity that couldn't possibly be handled alone right now.

Seeing Leo take on a task close to impossible, Rune urgently tried to stop him.

"It's impossible! Don't do that, just hold out until the others arrive…"

"When have we ever…"

Leo looked Rune straight in the eye and said.

"…done things that were possible?"

"…!"

Rune's eyes widened.

"We've overcome hardships as tough as this countless times, haven't we?"

Rune bit her lip.

"Luna. Even with your eyes closed, you trusted me absolutely, didn't you?"

Leo looked at Erebus.

"I would have done the same."

If the situation had been reversed.

Leo would never have doubted Luna.

"I trust you."

"…"

"So, trust me, just like back then."

Rune's hand, gripping her staff, tightened.

"That's how we… accomplished the impossible, time and time again."

Leaving those words, Leo stepped forward.

Rune, watching his retreating back, threw both hands to her head and yelled irritably.

"Argh! Seriously! Why are you making my heart pound and being so dramatic in such a desperate situation?!"

Rune, having pulled at her hair once, glared at Leo's back.

"It's all because of that bastard! Why is he striking such an unnecessary pose! It's bad for my heart!"

Rune, having vented her inexplicable anger, took a deep breath.

And with all her might, she slapped both her cheeks with her palms.

*Smack!*

Setting aside her tingling cheeks, Rune gripped her staff.

'Alright, let's do this.'

Rune's eyes stared directly at Leo's back.

The back she couldn't quite follow in her previous life.

'…If I let him go alone even after being reborn… That would truly be the worst!'

*GoooOOOOOooo-!*

As immense magic surged, an incantation flowed from Rune's lips.

The incantation of the strongest magic, the End of All.

***

"Oho?"

Erebus looked at Leo with interest.

"Do you think you can handle me alone, Surviving Hero? You should know that fighting while protecting the progenitor of the nebula is impossible, shouldn't you?"

A laugh full of scorn.

But Erebus never underestimated Leo and Rune.

He couldn't possibly underestimate them.

5,000 years ago.

After all, didn't their tenacity tear his body and deepest desires to shreds?

To Erebus's smile, Leo replied.

"Don't smile with that distasteful expression. I don't smile like that."

"Hmm. I was merely perfectly replicating your smile, though?"

Erebus stroked his mouth.

Leo frowned at Erebus.

"I don't smile like that, you know?"

"Yes, you do smile like that?!"

"Whose side are you on?"

When Rune's voice, chanting from behind, reached him, Leo glared back irritably.

"Kekeke… Indeed, your mental fortitude is astonishing. To be able to have such a conversation even in this situation."

A situation where an age of calamity might return.

In front of such a possibility, the Absolute Evil couldn't help but let out a pure gasp of admiration at the sight of the two conversing so nonchalantly.

"So? Surviving Hero. How do you plan to stop me by yourself?"

With interest… and caution, Erebus asked, and Leo answered calmly.

"I'll show you."

*GoooOOOOOooo-!*

Grey mana, flickering like burning flames, flowed from Leo's body.

Seeing it, Erebus frowned.

'The Power of Purity.'

Ash grey.

It was a color exceedingly familiar to Erebus, who was also an incarnation of flame.

And it was also his favorite color.

Because eventually, this world would turn to ashes and crumble.

But now, it was the color he hated and feared the most.

Because it symbolized the nemesis who had defeated him.

'The Power of Purity being ash grey… how utterly ironic.'

*Whoosh!*

Black flames spewed from Erebus's body.

The flames of calamity that would burn the world, leaving no trace behind.

The flames grew even more intense.

"You cannot stop me now, Surviving Hero."

"I heard those words 5,000 years ago, too. And the outcome of this fight will be similar to 5,000 years ago. You will be vanquished by our hands."

"With your current power, that would be impossible, wouldn't it?"

Leo smiled at Erebus's sneer.

"Shall I tell you an interesting fact?"

"…?"

"When I first awakened my mana."

Leo spread his palm.

Grey mana began to condense there.

Looking at his mana, Leo continued.

"My mana color wasn't originally grey."

Erebus's eyes twitched.

Leo had only checked his mana color once in his past life, when he awakened it.

The color of mana is the color of a person's soul.

And surprisingly, a change in mana color was not that rare.

Mana colors change for various reasons.

"5,000 years ago, your flames that burned the world swept over me back then."

The Age of Calamity burned around young Kyle.

"Many things burned."

After losing his first comrades.

Leo's mana color became grey.

"Why are you suddenly telling me meaningless old stories?"

"Because after my reincarnation, I endlessly pondered how I could completely eradicate you."

Leo took his eyes off his palm and looked at Erebus.

"I am not Risinas, nor Luna. Nor am I Arion or Dweno. My capabilities are insufficient to forge ahead, blazing a trail like them."

During the final battle, Kyle used the essence of power accumulated by his comrades.

Not his own power, but the power of five.

But in this life, Leo was alone.

So he had no choice but to find the answer to defeating Erebus in his past memories.

Conversations he had with his comrades.

He repeatedly re-examined the past, looking for clues to develop his power from the things they had done together.

It was painful, but he didn't stop.

The words his friends had casually thrown out gave Leo revelations time and time again.

"Then I recalled memories I had forgotten."

Memories he wanted to forget.

The moment I awakened a special ability I had forgotten and lived without.

"The origin point, that's where I found my path."

Leo clenched his fist.

The burning grey mana faded.

At that moment.

Erebus felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

Leo's mana color was changing.

It gradually became fainter, as if the ash grey was draining away.

"I refined my mana countless times."

So that pure power could become even purer.

It was different from condensation and compression.

It was removing the impurities mixed in the mana.

It was encountering and overcoming the terrible memories etched into his soul, time and time again.

To refine his mana and regain his origin point.

Leo vividly recalled the memories he had experienced, over and over again.

Along with the pain I would never get used to.

He repeated the vivid pain that felt as if his mind would collapse.

*Flash!*

Soon, pure white mana gleamed from Leo's hand.

"You… What exactly are you, Surviving Hero?"

Erebus's face was painted with fear.

That pure white wasn't just obtained for free.

It was the product of a level of pain Erebus himself couldn't even imagine.

"How… is something like that even possible…?"

Leo smiled, looking at Erebus who asked with a shocked expression.

"It's all thanks to you, you bastard."

"What?"

"After being burned by you, I realized something."

Leo's eyes shone with murderous intent and venom.

"That even the pain of the past I wanted to forget was worth enduring."