Book 1 Chapter 843

[Today is a glorious day.]

Clear and resonant sounds echoed throughout Retin.

Melini, standing on a platform on the balcony of the Archi Royal Palace overlooking Retin, was addressing the people.

[A long time ago, this world faced a great crisis. It was a terrible era when the world was on the brink of destruction.]

Melina's speech captivated the people with its calm and powerful delivery.

[But the world did not perish. For the wise King Lisinas gathered the great heroes and… made the world one.]

This was a fact everyone knew.

But now, at this very moment, the story resonated deeply in their hearts once again.

[And 3000 years ago, the heroes of the Great Genesis, carrying on the will of the great heroes, saved the world that was about to fall into darkness. We are living in a world that was left by the great heroes and protected by the heroes of Genesis.]

Melina closed her eyes.

[Since the end of the Age of Calamity, the present we live in is undoubtedly the most brilliant moment.]

An era where the great heroes and heroes of Genesis, who were beings of the distant past, revealed themselves.

And an era where even the long-lost gods appeared.

[The history of the Age of Heroes, built over 5000 years, must have been for this moment.]

Hearing Melina say they were living in the most brilliant era, the people felt a surge of exhilaration.

Indeed, there had been countless turning points in history over the past 5000 years.

However, there had never been such a continuous string of miraculous events.

Just as everyone was filled with such elation.

[But the brightest moment is also the closest to darkness.]

The sudden, heavy words from Melina cast a pall over the atmosphere.

[The dawning of Tartarus, the resurrection of Erebus's fragments. The world is closer to darkness than ever before.]

Melina revealed truths they had tried to ignore.

Currently, Tartarus had suffered a significant blow.

The successors of the great heroes were born, and a hero with the pure mana attribute, a natural enemy of Erebus, was born.

As a result, not only the legion commanders who had terrorized the world for ages, but also Erebus's fragments were vanquished.

However, this was not entirely a good sign.

It was a sign that the 5000 years of peace were fracturing.

A situation where the Age of Calamity could return.

The world was now shining brilliantly, but it stood at a crossroads, with no guarantee of not plunging into darkness at any moment.

Everyone swallowed hard.

[It is because of such an era… that we need a king.]

Melina dropped the words into the silent Retin.

[Those gathered here, please look beside you.]

The people listening to Melina's speech looked to their sides.

[This scene is very unfamiliar to us. The five races that have distrusted and disbelieved each other for 5000 years have all gathered in this Retin. But… despite this unfamiliar scene, none of us find this situation strange. Why?]

Melina smiled faintly.

[We are all descendants of those who resisted the destruction of the world 5000 years ago and survived. Therefore, our blood implicitly remembers the fact that we were one 5000 years ago.]

[The landscape of Gardsron was not different from now. We fought against darkness, trusting and relying on each other. United under a single king, we overcame the hardship of world destruction.]

Melina opened her eyes.

[The Wise King was not a ruling king, but a savior and a guide. And now… we have come here to witness the coronation of a new world king who carries on the will of the Wise King.]

Leo walked forward with a hesitant step.

[Dragon Lord Melini, as the proxy of the Wise King Lisinas, declares here and now. That Leo Flov, the new world king, the King of Beginnings, has been born.]

Melini removed her crown.

[That he is the savior who will guide the world to light.]

The crown was placed on his white hair.

[I announce the founding of the nation named 'Beginning', the Archi Kingdom, and the birth of its first king.]

Wooooooooooooooooh-!

"Long live the King of Beginnings!"

"Long live the Archi Kingdom!"

Thunderous applause and fervent cheers erupted from the crowd.

Then, Enkinia, magically disguised as Leo, whispered to Melini.

"I feel burdened, Melini-nim."

"Yes. I don't feel burdened."

The very thought of having to place the crown on Leo's head was enough to burden Melini greatly.

However, placing it on the substitute, Enkinia, was not a burden at all.

Of course, Enkinia was the opposite.

Everyone watching this scene rejoiced.

And at that moment.

Ominous movements were about to begin throughout Retin.

The Dark King, hidden among the crowd, let out a sinister smile.

"Fools. Die while rejoicing."

The Dark King, mocking the people, clenched his fist and shouted.

"If the King of Beginnings, who made the Commander of the Undead struggle, is tarnished, his authority will plummet! Then, the position of the Supreme Commander of Tartarus will be mine!"

His voice was filled with delight.

He believed that his voice would be the signal for the Hero Hunters and demons hidden throughout Retin to begin their terror.

But at that moment, the Dark King did not know.

He had fallen into a 'nightmare'.

***

A demon belonging to the Dark King's army, his eyes gleaming, awaited the orders of the commander he followed.

'How exhilarating this is!'

To be able to cast those filled with hope into the abyss of darkness.

The mere thought sent a thrill through him.

Feeling an unstoppable shiver, the demon let out a chilling smile.

But even when the time came, there was no signal from the Dark King.

'What's going on? Why is there no signal?'

The demon, Tafra, began to grow impatient and annoyed.

He wanted to drench this place in blood as soon as possible.

And when his annoyance reached its peak.

"I can't take it anymore!"

*CRUNCH!*

His body, disguised as a human, grew massive.

The skin on his head exploded outwards.

"GROOOOOOAR!"

As he let out a roar.

*WHOOSH!*

A massive battle hammer flew towards his head.

"Be quiet!"

*BOOM!*

With the hammer blow, his enlarged head caved in as if split open.

"Wow, that must hurt…"

A slightly worried voice was heard.

"It's a demon! Eiran-yang! Don't pity him!"

"What? I wasn't pitying him."

"Is that so?"

While Eiran and Lil were talking, the demon's crushed head regenerated.

"A woman! It's a woman!"

The demon's eyes gleamed with delight.

"Women are more fun to kill! Hahahaha! The look on their faces when you defile and kill them!"

Seeing the demon with a greedy expression, drooling, Lil said.

"Hmph! Even if I were to defeat you, my will cannot be broken! No matter how much you try to break my spirit!"

"Hahaha! Truly, you…"

"W-wow! Lil-nim! You're like a knight from a novel!"

"Hmm? I'm a spirit medium, you know?"

"B-but you're like a knight! So valiant and cool!"

Eiran said, clenching her fist.

"Is that so? What are the knights like in the novels Eiran has read?"

"Well, they had a very strong will! Unyielding, powerful knights! But they were defeated by the male protagonist, an enemy commander, and the male protagonist tried to break the female knight's spirit… Ugh…"

"The male protagonist is a vile human. That's new."

"No! The illustrations, well… they might resemble Leo-nim a bit…"

Seeing Eiran blush slightly, Lil muttered seriously.

"If older brother were to defile me to break my spirit, my spirit might be broken and I might fall."

"L-Leo-nim defiles Lil-nim to conquer her?"

"Yes."

"I-I might not be able to resist either…"

"Eiran-yang, are you feeling unwell? Your face has turned red."

"It's nothing!"

"Hey, you there."

Seeing the two hero candidates who had completely ignored him, the demon puffed out his cheeks in bewilderment.

"Hey."

"Mmm. How should I resist older brother?"

"C-can I resist?"

"It's likely close to impossible. Older brother is amazing."

"R-right? Leo-nim is so mature…"

"Hmm… Considering his occasional mature consideration… if I saw it while being tortured for a long time, I might not be able to resist and fall."

"Torturing… and then being kind… That sounds amazing!"

Though they were talking about different things, the conversation somehow progressed.

"You damn women are ignoring me!"

"I'm currently imagining resisting older brother, so don't interrupt!"

"This is a crucial moment! Don't interrupt!"

Lil menacingly raised her battle hammer, and Eiran, with uncharacteristic sharpness, lunged at the demon.

*CRUNCH! SLICE! SLICE!*

"KRAAAAAAAAH!"

Tafra screamed at the sudden change in atmosphere and the brutal attack from the two.

He shuddered at the chilling aura in their eyes.

'What! What is this madness!'

***

"……?"

No disturbance occurred.

Instead, it was quiet.

"What is this…?"

The Dark King's face contorted.

Only the cheers of the people echoed irritatingly.

"Shut up!"

Dark energy erupted from the Dark King's hand, engulfing the surroundings.

At that moment.

*WHOOSH!*

"……!"

The crowd exposed to the Dark King's attack scattered like petals.

However, the cheers did not stop.

As he watched, the Dark King's face hardened.

Suddenly, the fervent cheers of the people abruptly stopped.

And with them, the remaining people also disappeared like petals.

"What…?!"

The Dark King's face was filled with shock.

*Thump- thump-*

In the center of the Retin plaza, where people had disappeared and only silence remained.

Footsteps began to be heard.

"Has Hel Kaiser gone too far?"

At the same time, a voice filled with amusement was heard.

"Being threatened by a novice who doesn't even know he's been magically attacked."

"Leo Flov? Was it you?"

"No. It's Melini's doing."

Leo said indifferently.

Lisinas's unique magic, Nightmare.

It was the magic Melini had cast throughout Retin.

The targets were the demons and Hero Hunters hidden in Retin.

The Dark King's face contorted.

"Is the power of the Silent Dragon this much? It's different from the information I had."

"It would be. Melini is growing too."

"The Silent Dragon still had room for growth? How is that possible!"

"Who knows? Perhaps she met a good tutor."

Leo chuckled and tilted his head.

"So? Who are you?"

"My name is Dark King Dakirda. Remember it."

"Is it worth remembering?"

"What?"

"It's a bit rude to say this on our first meeting, but I don't think we'll meet again anyway. In that sense, I'll give you a choice."

Leo's red eyes gleamed ominously.

"How do you want to die?"