Book 1 Chapter 844
"Hah."
Dark King Dakir looked at Leo with an expression of disbelief.
"As expected. A cocky brat, just as I heard."
Gooooo-
A powerful killing intent erupted from the Dark King's body.
Dark magic poured out as if smoke was rising from his body.
"This magic… yes, it's Nightmare?"
A twisted smile formed on the Dark King's lips.
"But where is the nightmare?"
Nightmare.
It was originally a unique magic created by Lisinas.
As a dragon language magic, it was in a different league from the general magic system.
By now, it had been interpreted and reinterpreted to the point where anyone could use it, but the difficulty of its incantation and its danger level remained at the very top.
To use Nightmare, one must first be able to handle dragon language.
And one must be well-versed in the curses used by the demons of Tartarus.
This is because Nightmare itself is a magic created based on 'curses.'
Therefore, it was also a forbidden dangerous magic in Dragonia, preventing unauthorized use.
It was a magic that forced one to fight the enemy they least wanted to fight among those they knew.
However, the Nightmare used now was slightly different from the general Nightmare.
"It seems you've isolated the mind."
The Dark King curled the corners of his mouth.
He was currently in a state of partial sleep.
Perhaps in reality, not even a fraction of a second had passed.
This place was, quite literally, his dream.
Dakir's eyes glinted.
"Even if such a magic were properly cast, my mind wouldn't be destroyed… I see. Your shallow trick."
"Oh ho?"
"If my mind collapses due to Nightmare, my body will go berserk. Then it will suffer great damage."
Dakir chuckled.
"But if you defeat me here, my mind will die, and then my body will no longer move. That's what you're aiming for."
"That's right."
"Heh heh heh! How does it feel to have your shallow trick seen through?"
"I'm disappointed."
"What?"
"Didn't Helkaiser say something about you? He must have said a lot about you being an absolute imbecile, right?"
Leo looked at Dakir with a look of pity.
At Leo's gaze, Dakir felt a surge of anger.
'This bastard!'
Leo's gaze was strangely similar to that of Helkaiser, the current Commander-in-Chief of Tartarus.
A look as if he were looking at an idiot.
And Leo was right.
Dark King Dakir.
Long before he rose to the position of Legion Commander.
No, from the moment he was born as a demon of Tartarus, Helkaiser despised Dakir for his low intelligence.
Not just Helkaiser.
The now-vanished Demon Queen Silatuna and the Giant King Gias were the same.
Although Dakir was a young demon with exceptional power, he was indirectly ridiculed by other demons due to the contempt of the three Legion Commanders who had been a source of fear in the world since the Age of Calamity.
Now, even Leo Flov, who stood as Tartarus's greatest enemy, was looking at Dakir with the same gaze as those three Legion Commanders.
"This bastard!"
"It seems to be true."
Leo curled the corners of his mouth.
"Thinking that a large-scale terror at the coronation ceremony was a plausible plan, and acting as if figuring out my intentions was some great deduction."
Leo tapped his head.
"Of all the Legion Commanders I've seen, you seem to be the dumbest."
"You damn bastard!"
Sparks flew from Dakir's eyes in his excitement.
Gooooo-!
The energy extending from Dakir's hand engulfed Leo.
Serrrrk-!
Kwaga-gagag!
Leo's sword cleaved Dakir's energy in two.
The bisected dark magic flew backward and destroyed the plaza.
"Hmm."
Leo narrowed his brow and looked down at his sword.
Chiiiiiik-
A strong poison was emanating from the sword that had cut through Dakir's attack.
Not only that.
Every place exposed to Dakir's attack melted away, and a strong poisonous mist spread.
"Heh heh heh."
Dakir's mocking laughter echoed.
"Surprised, Leo Flov? You've seen this power before, haven't you?"
"Poison King, Zerdiak."
The previous generation's Legion Commander.
More precisely, the power of a Legion Commander who existed in the Age of Calamity.
The Legion Commanders of that era were on a different level from the Legion Commanders of this era.
Their power was overwhelmingly stronger, and they possessed powerful legions and authority.
If the Legion Commanders of this era were a crisis on the scale of a nation's destruction,
The Legion Commanders of that era were a great disaster that could lead to the destruction of an entire race.
Considering that the systematic subjugation of Legion Commanders began after the great heroes gathered in one place,
Their power can be easily inferred.
Zerdiak was a Legion Commander who was difficult to subdue, even with the combined efforts of the Hero of the Beginning and the Progenitor of the Nebula.
And once, when Luna first appeared in the mortal world,
He had appeared and been subdued at the same time.
Dakir was using that Legion Commander's power.
"Heh heh heh! That's not all!"
Intoxicated by the power, Dakir swung his arm.
Kwaga-ga-ga-ga-g-!
Leo flew into the sky.
Kwaga-ga-ga-ga-g-!
Dakir's right arm began to absorb the Retin.
More accurately, he was devouring the Nightmare incantations spread throughout this Retin.
A power that greedily and gluttonously devours everything.
Seeing that power, Leo's eyes narrowed.
"The power of Jormungandr."
"Hahaha! You recognize it well, Leo Flov!"
Dakir's eyes glinted.
"You made a big mistake by invading my mental world!"
Ujik- Ujijijik-
Gooooo-!
Dakir's body began to grow enormous.
The master of the nightmare had changed.
While moments ago this nightmare was under Melina's will,
Now it had become Dakir's.
He had stolen the leadership of his mental world by devouring the Nightmare incantations.
"This is my consciousness world! Then my power can become infinitely strong!"
Dakir's body began to shed its human form and transform into its demonic form.
Skin like obsidian glinted.
[I am the master of the Dark Legion, the Dark King! A being who has inherited the power of countless Legion Commanders of the past!]
An unusually large growth.
That was clearly Gias's ability.
[With the power of Legion Commanders and the infinite power I have gained in the consciousness world, you can never defeat me! Kawahahahaha!]
His laughter alone shook the earth.
[To find a chance to kill you so soon! With this, I will kill Leo Flov, the King of the Beginning, and become the Commander-in-Chief of Tartarus! And…!]
Dakir, with his grotesque appearance,'s eyes glinted.
[I will put an end to the Lord of Spirits and devour the fragments of the gods to be reborn as the true master of Tartarus and rule this world!]
Udu-dudududuk-!
Countless eyeballs appeared on Dakir's black skin.
Transforming the body and creating new traits.
That was the ability of the Demon Queen Silatuna.
[In the not-too-distant future! Consider it an honor to die at my hands as I am reborn as a new evil god! Leo Flov! Kawahahahaha!]
Dakir burst into maniacal laughter and looked down at Leo.
However, his eyes soon twitched.
"As expected."
Leo stroked his chin, ignoring Dakir.
"It's not just the Hero Hunter who can inherit the power of the vanquished demons through the demon world. I expected it, but… seeing it in person, this is quite troublesome."
Leo clicked his tongue.
"The kids are going to have a hard time."
As if Dakir wasn't even in his sight.
He worried about the hero candidates and shadows who had entered the nightmares of the demons and Hero Hunters scattered throughout the Retin.
However, that worry was not great.
He had confidence that they would overcome such trials.
Because…
'They are the heroes I chose.'
Leo curled the corners of his mouth.
[Hmph! You're ignoring me!]
Dakir burst into rage.
Leo tilted his head.
"So? How do you want to die?"
[What?]
"It seems I haven't heard your answer yet."
[You impudent brat!]
Serrrrk-!
In an instant, a gray sword energy shot up as if to cleave the sky.
The gray blade emanating from Leo's sword glinted dangerously.
"If it's hard to choose, I'll decide."
Leo smiled faintly.
Saeogeogeogeogeogeok-!
Arion's cleave manifested in Leo's hand.
Along with it, Dakir's enlarged body was cut.
Before the blood could gush out, flame aura was applied to burn the wound surface.
A disgusting burning smell echoed.
Peobeobeobeobeobok-!
A massive chunk of flesh fell to the ground with an unpleasant sound.
"It looks like trash being put into a trash can, so it would be perfect to process it as recycling."
[Who are you calling a trash can now!]
"Don't like it? Do you prefer burning trash? But that wouldn't be environmentally friendly…"
[Kwahahahaha!]
Dakir roared at Leo's taunts.
Leo's sharp tongue, which could infuriate even a great hero if he was determined, was known.
Dakir, with his short temper, could only be endlessly enraged by Leo's taunts.
However, Dakir's attacks still didn't reach Leo.
[Why! Why! Why aren't my attacks working! I've obtained the power of countless Legion Commanders!]
"Because you're trash, that's why."
[You milk-breathed human!]
"I appreciate you underestimating me, but…"
Leo curled the corners of his mouth.
"Show some respect. I'm the one who buried all the masters of the abilities you're using."
[What?]
Kwak-!
[Kwahahahaha!]
Leo's cleave gouged out Dakir's eye.
Dakir, writhing on the ground, let out a monstrous cry.
[Why! This is my mental world! Here, I clearly gained infinite power! Why!]
"It's because your imagination is poor."
Leo curled the corners of his mouth.
"You don't know how strong the Lord of Spirits, the Giant King, or the Demon Queen truly were."
He had no camaraderie with the Legion Commanders.
Only an indelible hatred filled him.
But even so, he knew their strength and terror better than anyone.
'Even if I've become strong… they weren't weak back then.'
Leo was someone who had fought against such Legion Commanders.
Dakir was merely an idiot who mistakenly thought he had become strong just by obtaining a little of the Legion Commander's abilities.
"And you know."
Leo rested his sword on his shoulder.
"You don't even know your own true nature."
[What?]
"You're not a monster of potential."
Leo curled the corners of his mouth.
"You're trash that eats away at the world."
Even if one inherited the power of countless Legion Commanders, their power didn't simply increase.
Demons have a clear innate capacity and limits for power.
While one could momentarily raise those limits through authority.
But one cannot transcend those limits.
However, Dakir, without realizing that fundamental truth, mistakenly believed he had become stronger just by inheriting power.
To Leo, it was simply pathetic.
"If you inherited their power through the demon world, there's only one advantage."
Being able to use various abilities.
But if one cannot utilize that power, it's useless.
Especially since Leo had helped subdue the Legion Commanders who used those powers to their extreme.
Against Leo's experience, Dakir's crude abilities were powerless.
"It might have been better if you had at least made one power your own."
Leo let out a snort.
"What's the point? You're going to end your life as a demon here."
[You… what exactly are you?]
"Me?"
A glint of light flashed in Leo's red eyes.
The moment their eyes met.
Dakir felt the scenery change instantly.
Countless demon corpses lay scattered tragically on the ground.
And in the midst of them.
A man with gray hair stood.
A presence so overwhelming it made one suffocate and tremble with fear just by looking at him.
In an instant.
The illusion disappeared, and he returned to the original scene.
Dudududu-
Dakir's body trembled with fear.
[What was that… what was that just now…!]
"I have no obligation to tell you."
Leo raised his sword.
Like the blade of a guillotine.
Kwaduk-!
It bisected Dakir's body.
Saaaaaa-
Dakir's body dissipated emptily.
'If he had been a proper Legion Commander, not just a strong idiot… it would have been troublesome.'
It was easy to deal with because Dakir was intoxicated by the power of other Legion Commanders.
Otherwise, it would have been a formidable threat.
Leo looked down at his hand.
'By the way… he was a disposable pawn. This guy is a failure.'
It has been 5,000 years since the demons of Tartarus last saw Erebus.
Even demons who were absolutely loyal to Erebus would inevitably develop distrust.
Especially if they recently succeeded in distorting the Hero Records and creating records for demons.
'It wouldn't be strange for such individuals to appear one after another.'
From the Lord of Spirits' perspective, they would be traitors who distrusted the god.
If such traitors targeted him and were defeated in vain,
The demons of Tartarus would no longer be able to doubt the Lord of Spirits' dominance.
'It's irritating that he seems to have moved according to his plan.'
Leo clicked his tongue.
Silatuna had been subdued, and Gias had also been subdued.
Even two fragments of Erebus had been subdued by Leo's hand.
It was undoubtedly a devastating blow to Tartarus.
'Given recent circumstances, it's said he's also absorbed the demons of Styx, right?'
The Lord of Spirits is moving in silence.
It was clear he was consolidating his inner strength.
But he was excessively quiet.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
'What's his scheme?'
***
"My King?"
"…"
Fairy King Silode closed his eyes without a word, even when addressed by his subordinate fairy.
Eventually, Silode opened his eyes.
"Your Majesty?"
"Hm? Ah, did you call?"
Silode looked at the fairies with a slightly flustered expression.
The fairies were taken aback by his unfamiliar demeanor.
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something else…"
"Yes, then I will report. Recently, an evil aura has been felt around Fairy Land. It seems to be…"
"… the Lord of Spirits, right?"
"Yes… However, even if they dare to bring the entire Tartarus Legion, they will not invade Fairy Land."
"That's right. Because I am here."
"Yes. No matter how much of a Lord of Spirits they are, they cannot break through the seal of Your Majesty, who has lived for 5,000 years."
The fairies looked at Silode with awe.
"… Your Majesty?"
"Ah. Yes. What is it?"
"So… even if they are the Lord of Spirits, they cannot break through the seal of Your Majesty, who has lived for 5,000 years…"
"… That's right."
"…"
"I've lived a long time."
Silode looked down at his hands with a bitter smile.
"Your Majesty?"
As the fairies looked bewildered by Silode's strange reaction.
"Everyone."
"Yes."
"Call the nameless hero, Leo Flov, and his sworn ally, Kirian, to Fairy Land."