Book 1 Chapter 862

862.

When they came to their senses, Leo and Chelsea were in the middle of a forest.

"This is the forest on the eastern continent where I used to be."

Quickly assessing their surroundings, Chelsea turned her head.

"Oppa Leo. Hurry. Melina and Kal are fighting the Legion Commander…!"

Chelsea's face grew serious.

Leo, who should have been by her side, was nowhere to be seen.

'What is this? Did only I escape the illusion?'

While flustered, Chelsea suddenly felt a presence below and looked down.

Instantly, Chelsea's eyes widened like saucers.

A boy with white hair, about Chelsea's height, was looking down at her hands.

He looked about 8 years old?

The boy, Leo, who had been clenching and unclenching his fists a few times, scowled.

"What is this…?"

"So cuteeeee!"

Chelsea exclaimed with a shriek and hugged Leo, lifting him up.

"What? What? Why are you so small, Oppa Leo? This is your childhood form, right? You're so cute!"

Chelsea bounced up and down, holding Leo like a doll.

"Put me down."

"Okay."

Chelsea put Leo down without a word.

"But why did you get so young? Kal and I became adults."

"It must be because of the illusion."

"Illusion?"

"Yes."

Leo crossed his arms.

"This illusion seems to project the future to those who look to the future… and the past to those who look to the past. Melina also said she kept seeing illusions of the future, and you two look like adults, so that must be it."

"So, was the past illusion unfolding because you, Oppa Leo, were looking to the past?"

"That's right."

"And is it because you're still in the form of a child that you look like a child now?"

"Probably. I never imagined this awkward form would be projected, though."

"Hmm. I see."

Nodding, Chelsea gazed intently at Leo.

"What?"

"No. Can I hug you one more time?"

"Do as you please."

Chelsea hugged Leo again.

"You're really cute~ I can see why Reina-nim likes you so much~! If I had a son like this, I might become like Reina-nim too?"

Leo sighed deeply, watching Chelsea rub her face against his cheek.

"Isn't your attitude changing too much just because my appearance has changed?"

"Is it?"

"So? Are Melina and Kal fighting the Legion Commander?"

"Ah!"

Chelsea exclaimed in surprise and let go of Leo.

"Oof."

Leo landed lightly on the ground and checked his body.

It wasn't just his appearance that had regressed.

His abilities were also in their pre-awakening state.

'Well, I can awaken my mana anytime I want, but…'

A child's body is not very suitable for combat.

'Chelsea's magic has increased.'

Just as he had the strength befitting his child form.

Chelsea also gained the strength befitting her adult form.

"Chelsea. Your and Kal's arrival means Kal has formed a party and come to Fairy Land, right?"

"Yes. Lil-senpai is the party leader. The members are me, Sia, Kal, and Eliza."

"Is that Kal's planned composition? He's put together a good one. So, which Legion Commander is it?"

"The Legion Commander of Pain."

"I've never heard that name before."

"They say he's a newly created Legion Commander."

"Indeed. They must be undergoing generational changes too."

Leo's eyes narrowed.

The Commander King had obtained the Legion's records by transforming Hero Records.

Dark King Dakir, whom he had fought during the coronation, was one such new generation Legion Commander.

'Even though he had quite audacious thoughts…'

He wouldn't send a Legion Commander with such a tendency to a place where Erebus's fragment was.

Therefore, it must be someone who is thoroughly loyal to Erebus and the Commander King.

'He might even be stronger than that so-called Dark King.'

A Legion Commander who inherited the power of a vanquished Legion Commander.

Regardless of the form, he was undoubtedly a powerful being.

"Chelsea. I don't have any mana right now."

"It seems so. Are you okay?"

Chelsea's expression turned serious.

"I can awaken my mana. But my body isn't suitable for combat…"

Leo looked up at Chelsea.

"For now, you two will have to do your best."

"Yes! Leave it to us!"

Chelsea grabbed Leo's hand and unleashed her magic.

"Here I go!"

Chelsea soared into the air.

"By the way, there was a very beautiful dragon earlier."

"Medea?"

"Yes. Her name is Medea. Who is she?"

"Well, maybe like a first love?"

"What?!"

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Leo-oppa's first love, of course I'm surprised!"

"To be precise, it's similar to a first love, but not a first love."

Leo thought of Medea.

"She was simply someone I admired."

Medea had never once thought of him as a romantic interest.

To Leo, she was like a mentor he wanted to reach.

It was a relationship that resembled love but was subtly different.

"That's a relief."

"What is?"

"That Oppa Leo also has some ordinary aspects."

At those words, Leo let out a hollow laugh.

Meanwhile, Chelsea thought to herself.

'That dragon named Medea didn't have a very large chest.'

***

Kiiiiing-!

With immense mana swirling, countless magic circles appeared around Melina.

"Fwoosh!"

Seneor whistled.

"Amazing! Truly amazing! This is the power of the strongest hero of this era!"

Melina, the Dragon of Silence.

But that was just a name given to her for her long silence.

In reality, the epithet bestowed upon her by the gods was different.

Long ago.

After failing to conquer the world of creation, Melina fell silent.

Guilt over her comrades.

And the burden of the approaching resurgence of disaster.

To prepare for the sealed disaster, she dedicated her life and became a silent dragon.

However, before she fell silent, she was a figure of terror to the demons of Tartarus.

Now, forgotten in people's memories, Melina's true epithet was more famous among demons.

And the reason the hero's epithet was famous among demons was simple.

Demons genuinely feared that hero.

Her epithet, the object of fear for demons…

"Indeed, she is called the Annihilator of Light! She's the coolest!"

Flash! Kwaragagagagaga!

As Melina unleashed her dragon language magic, flashes rained down from the sky.

The light of the flashes tore Seneor's body apart and devastated the surroundings.

"Kya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Melina's eyes narrowed as she watched Seneor burst into laughter in the light.

'I chose area magic, anticipating he would evade…'

She never imagined he would take all that magic.

Every time Seneor's body was torn apart, the torn wounds swelled and regenerated.

Even if his head was blown off, it quickly swelled and returned to its original state.

It was formidable regeneration.

The ground beneath Seneor's feet was covered in his flesh and blood.

"Ugh…! Disgusting."

Kal wore a disgusted expression.

"The fact that he didn't evade Melina-nim's magic… means being injured is advantageous for this Legion Commander, right?"

"That's probably it. Indeed, Kal-student. Your observation skills are sharp."

"Haha, well."

"The coolest pain! Ah! I'm so happy! I'm so lucky~"

Melina smiled faintly, watching Seneor tremble while clutching his body.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

"Of course! Pain is proof of life! Ah! What a blissful experience! I love those who carve pain into my body!"

Seneor, with a dazed expression, looked at Melina.

"Annihilator of Light, I'll add you to my collection too."

"I'm not boasting, but the epithet 'Annihilator of Light' must be quite terrifying to demons. You're brave."

"Huh? I'm different from those old fogeys! Just trembling in fear isn't cool at all!"

Seneor stuck out his tongue.

"I'm special!"

As he said that, Seneor wore a proud expression.

"The Legion Commander of Pain, undaunted even before the Annihilator of Light! The beginning of a new legend! I love it!"

"From my perspective, aside from your excessive self-consciousness, there's nothing special about you. What's different about you from other demons?"

"What? You don't understand! First of all, even the Legion Commander's name is different! Other Legion Commanders refer to themselves as kings, but I don't! I'm just the 'Legion Commander of Pain'!"

Indeed, that was true.

"Besides, I don't lead a legion!"

"Why?"

"Having a lot of subordinates! It's not cool at all! I'm special!"

"…"

At Seneor's words, Kal wore an incredulous expression.

"It's like looking at kids with adolescent complexes."

"There are dragons like that too, so the desire to be different seems to be the same for all races."

It was then that Melina let out a hollow laugh.

Crackle-! Kadadadad-!

Something began to rise from the ground Seneor was standing on.

"Didn't you say you don't have subordinates?"

"These aren't my subordinates!"

Seneor grinned.

"They are my clones!"

Seneor's spilled blood and flesh began to transform into monsters that resembled Seneor.

Seeing that, Melina's eyes narrowed.

"The ability of the Demon Queen."

"Ha! I'm different from that old hag in the coffin! That hag creates bizarre monsters, but I summon cool and beautiful clones that look just like me!"

"Why is that?"

"Because…"

Seneor crossed his arms.

"It's cool!"

The Demon Queen created all sorts of bizarre monsters using her flesh and blood purely for efficiency.

She created monsters that fit the situation.

However, even though Seneor inherited such an ability, he only created clones that looked exactly like himself.

Literally, appearances were important.

"Hehehe. Darkness surges from my right hand!"

Seneor grasped his right hand, wearing a meaningful smile.

Seeing that, Kal scratched his cheek.

"I heard that was popular during Professor Ren's generation. Demons have a delayed sense of trend."

At those words, Melina wore a sympathetic expression.

"I know, right? It seems like they're severely ill."

***

Leo and Chelsea, who had quickly joined the battlefield, could hear Seneor talking from afar.

"What is that?"

"A Legion Commander."

"That thing is a Legion Commander?"

"Huh? Doesn't he have enough power?"

"Is having a lot of power enough to be a Legion Commander? Legion Commanders should have dignity too."

Whether he had dignity or not, he was still a target to be subjugated, but Leo, who had experienced the age of disaster, didn't want to acknowledge Seneor as a Legion Commander.

"He just seems to have some sort of adolescent complex."

Chelsea inadvertently recalled a few classmates who were floundering.

"I didn't know demons could get that too, though."

"Illness? That's not an illness. He's just lost his mind."

Leo clicked his tongue.

"The Commander King has really gone too far, seating someone like that as a Legion Commander."

To Leo, the new generation Legion Commanders didn't seem like Legion Commanders at all.

Watching Leo, who absolutely refused to acknowledge Seneor as a Legion Commander, Chelsea thought.

'Wow, he's a boomer.'