Book 1 Chapter 817
'Now is the moment.'
Nyx, watching the fight between Kyle and Erebus, tried to quickly escape the battlefield.
He had to avoid annihilation at all costs.
He had to somehow continue his existence and fulfill his wish.
The moment Nyx thought this.
Flash— KAGAGAGAGANG—!
A beam of light poured down from the sky like a spear.
Nyx's face stiffened as he saw the spear of light descend, surrounding him.
Thud— Thud—
And he looked towards the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps sounded particularly loud.
For a moment, it felt as if the surroundings were being consumed by silence.
An appearance so beautiful it transcended a goddess.
A presence that seemed to overwhelm the world.
"Who are you?"
"The King of Wisdom, Lisinas."
"Ah! So you are the dragon the gods have given the title of King of the World."
Nyx smiled faintly.
"Are you here to help your companion? If so, aren't you mistaken to stand in my way?"
"No."
Lisinas shook his head.
"I am here to subjugate you."
Nyx's eyes twitched.
"Isn't the most threatening entity here now me, but that monstrosity?"
"That's why I've brought someone capable of handling it. The only natural enemy of a false god."
"Ha. To think the gods call you the King of Wisdom… how utterly foolish and senseless."
Nyx wore an expression of disbelief.
"What can that walking corpse possibly do?"
A smirk flickered across Nyx's face.
Walking corpse.
It was true.
"It seems you're also under the delusion that you've forgotten pain. That hero of the beginning will soon reach his limit. He won't be able to hold on for long."
Kyle, who descended in this era, is Kyle after the final chapter, right after subjugating Erebus.
Kyle subjugated Erebus after that brutal fight.
But as a price, Kyle lost his life.
It wasn't simply because the wounds inflicted on his body had reached their extreme.
It was because he had suffered irreparable damage.
The never-extinguishing flames of disaster.
Those flames were still burning Kyle's body.
Lisinas's healing magic couldn't cure it.
'No, there's no one in this world who can heal those wounds.'
Lisinas's best was to heal Kyle's continuously draining stamina and alleviate his pain with illusion magic.
It wasn't a complete recovery.
It was merely a shallow tactic to help him endure.
However…
"What's that?"
"What did you say?"
"Who are you to dictate Kyle's limits?"
Lisinas's eyes flashed.
"He won't last long? Nonsense!"
He knew better than anyone.
That man would never give up.
He believed more than anyone.
That he would perform a miracle, turning the impossible into the possible.
Because…
"Kyle is the beginning!"
Overcoming the end is that man's destiny.
So what he had to do was clear.
"I will stop you."
"Ha! To think such a foolish being is revered as the world's savior! Erebus will burn everything and turn it to ashes, but I am different! An eternally lasting world! Why don't you understand that the flames of disaster are more harmful than I am? My priority isn't…."
"I don't care about a world that's already ended!"
Gooooo—
Black mana flowed from Lisinas's body.
The black mana that had seeped into Lisinas's shadow spread out in strands and bound Nyx.
"The world we… we wanted was a world with infinite possibilities! A living world!"
For that wish, Kyle confronted Erebus, and he is still doing so.
"The future you desire is no different from the ashes destroyed by Erebus in my eyes. You are also a being that must never be tolerated."
Lisinas pointed a finger at Nyx.
"Therefore. I will erase your existence from this world."
"Foolish lizard!"
Nyx's eyes gleamed malevolently.
"You call that provocation? Loser?"
Lisinas sneered and flicked his finger.
Click—!
KAGAGAGAGAGAK! CRUNCH—!
The shadow that enveloped Nyx tore the false god's body to shreds.
At the same time, particles of light that appeared from all directions swirled and mangled Nyx's body.
"Insignificant mortal—!"
Nyx's voice, filled with anger and hatred, echoed.
At that moment, Nyx's eyes met Lisinas's.
A chilling gaze, so cold it made even Nyx, known as the ice of death, feel cold.
Seeing Nyx tremble with goosebumps, Lisinas opened his palm.
Swoosh—
Nyx, his mouth covered, struggled.
CRUNCH—!
CRUNCH—!
As he clenched his fist, Nyx's body shattered.
"I will utterly destroy you to the point where you'll think it would have been better to just disappear."
***
Erebus's eyes coldly assessed Kyle's full power.
'The hero of the beginning at his final moment.'
He was undoubtedly the hero who had defeated him and was dying then.
But…
'He is not omnipotent.'
In the final battle, Kyle was a monster close to omnipotence.
A power that overwhelmed even himself, the most powerful flame born from consuming all false gods and burning the world.
A power that even made the worst existence, himself, tremble was not Kyle's pure power.
'It was merely borrowed power.'
The Aura of the Dragon Warrior.
The Flame of the Divine Blacksmith.
The Mana of the Progenitor of Nebulae.
The Heart of the King of Wisdom.
All of them could exert such power when contained in the vessel of the hero of the beginning.
However, while the power of other great heroes was indeed contained in Kyle's vessel, it did not become Kyle's own power.
It was a one-time power that disappeared upon full use.
And Kyle poured all of it into the final battle.
What remained now were mere dregs.
The one before Erebus's eyes.
Was not the strongest hero, but merely a dying hero.
In terms of power alone, Erebus, who had regained half his strength, was overwhelmingly stronger.
Even so…
'…How can he fight like this?'
Kyle, who was desperately fighting while clinging to his fading life, continued to face and overcome his limits.
'Yes, he was an incomprehensible being from the start.'
Erebus gave up on understanding the source of Kyle's power.
'Is he any more understandable now?'
5000 years ago.
Erebus had been defeated because he couldn't understand Kyle's terrifying power.
So now, he gives up on understanding.
There was only one thing to do.
'Defeat the hero of the beginning.'
Fwooooooosh—!
Black flames gathered at the tip of Erebus's sword.
KAAANG—!
Sword met sword.
Fwoooosh—!
As the black flames surged, Kyle bit his lip.
WOOOO—!
Golden aura erupted from Kyle's body.
But it wasn't a brightly shining aura.
It flickered precariously, as if it might extinguish at any moment.
A faint, scattered golden aura.
'There is no more of Arion's power left within me!'
Just before death, he was called by Lisinas and came to the future.
However, he had only transcended time and space.
The fact that he was a person dying after the battle with Erebus remained unchanged.
The vessel called Kyle, the hero of the beginning, was empty.
Kyle created a gray aura.
With it, he began to fall behind in power.
Goooooo—
Black flame sword energy surged.
In an attempt to resist it, he invoked Dwenno's flame, but it only scattered as if about to extinguish.
The word 'limit' echoed in his mind.
'Yes. It's the limit.'
It was a wonder he was still alive and breathing.
But Kyle didn't care.
KAAAK—!
The sword in Kyle's hand broke.
'I'll be like this soon too.'
But… not now.
"You're persistent for a fake!"
Kyle scoffed at Erebus's shout.
"You truly have no learning ability. Didn't you know I'm persistent even after being torn into six pieces!"
Kyle taunted and widened the distance between himself and Erebus.
'Weapon… I need a weapon.'
This was a battlefield.
A place littered with weapons.
But what he needed now wasn't the abundance of weapons.
He needed a weapon that could withstand Erebus's attacks.
As Kyle felt a sense of urgency.
WHOOSH—!
He heard the sound of something flying through the air towards his ear.
Startled, Kyle reached out his hand.
Clink—!
He felt something familiar in his hand.
'Posteritas?'
The work Dwenno had given him.
The sword that had reached its lifespan along with him in the fight against Erebus.
Kyle, slightly surprised to see the sword back in pristine condition, let out a bitter laugh.
'Right, are you a fake too?'
This too was merely a replica that existed in the world of heroes.
'A fake.'
Come to think of it, did this battle hold any meaning?
He had already reincarnated.
The one here now was a fake created based on past records.
His whole body was burning.
Pain, as if his brain was cooking, assailed him.
Was there a reason to endure this pain?
'Yes.'
Swallowing the blood that rose to his throat, Kyle gritted his teeth.
Whether he was fake or not didn't matter.
What mattered was that it was time to fight.
'Besides, I got a second life.'
Kyle felt relieved after seeing the memories Lisinas had shown him.
Hope he saw in a world he thought had only despair left.
He had reincarnated.
'So I will endure!'
His future self would not give up.
WOOOO—!
Gray mana flowed through Kyle's entire body.
'Fake or not… I'll do what I can!'
As Kyle strengthened his resolve.
He saw three mages in his vision.
'Two humans… and one elf?'
Kyle was bewildered by the appearance of the three people floating high in the sky.
-Are you Lord Kyle?!
The elf mage, Lunia, urgently communicated with magic.
-Could you possibly send Erebus flying this way?
"Do you have a brain?"
-Yes!
"I'll try to do that."
Kyle lowered his stance.
All the strength in his body concentrated at his toes.
KAAAK—!
Kicking off the ground, Kyle shot forward.
Charging towards Erebus, Kyle gritted his teeth and concentrated his power at the tip of his sword.
The moment he reached Erebus's nose.
Kyle, with all his might, shoved Erebus upwards into the air.
BOOM!
Erebus was sent flying at tremendous speed.
"Hmm… a futile struggle…"
Erebus, who had curled up the corner of his mouth, paused.
'This power…?'
Erebus's eyes widened as if they would tear open.
'No way?!'