Book 1 Chapter 862
862.
When they came to their senses, Leo and Chelsea were in the middle of a forest.
“It’s the forest in the eastern part of the continent where I used to be.”
Chelsea, who quickly assessed the surroundings, turned her head.
“Brother Leo. Hurry. Lady Melina and Karl are fighting the Legion Commander…!”
Chelsea’s face turned serious.
Leo, who should have been beside her, was nowhere to be seen.
‘What is this? Am I the only one who escaped from the illusion?’
Chelsea, who was flustered, suddenly felt a presence below and lowered her gaze.
At that moment, Chelsea’s eyes widened like lanterns.
A white-haired boy, about the height of Chelsea’s waist, was looking down at his hands.
Around 8 years old?
The boy, Leo, who repeatedly clenched and unclenched his palms, frowned deeply.
“What the hell is this…”
“So cuuuuute!”
Chelsea let out a scream-like exclamation, hugging and lifting Leo.
“What? What? Brother Leo, why did you get so small? This is your appearance when you were young, right? You’re so cute!”
Chelsea bounced around, holding Leo like a doll.
“Put me down.”
“Okay.”
Chelsea put Leo down without a word.
“But why did you get so young? Karl and I are adults now.”
“It must be because of the illusion.”
“Illusion?”
“Yes.”
Leo crossed his arms.
“This illusion seems to project the future appearance for those looking at the future… and the past appearance for those looking at the past. Melina also said she kept seeing future illusions, and you two are in your adult forms.”
“So, because Brother Leo was looking at the past, a past illusion unfolded?”
“Exactly.”
“Is Brother Leo still in his child form because he’s still looking at the past?”
“Probably. I never imagined such an awkward form would be projected, though.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Nodding, Chelsea stared intently at Leo.
“What?”
“No. Can I hug you just one more time?”
“Do as you please.”
Chelsea hugged Leo again.
“You’re so cute~ I think I know why Lady Reina dotes on Brother Leo so much~! If I had a son like this, maybe I’d be like Lady Reina too?”
Leo let out a deep sigh, watching Chelsea rub her face against his cheek.
“Isn’t your attitude too different just because my appearance changed?”
“Is it?”
“So? Melina and Karl are fighting the Legion Commander?”
“Ah!”
Chelsea gasped in surprise and released Leo.
“Whoop.”
Leo landed lightly on the ground and checked his body.
It wasn’t just his appearance that had gotten younger.
His abilities were also in their pre-awakening state.
‘Well, I can awaken my mana anytime I set my mind to it, but.’
A child’s body wouldn’t be very suitable for combat.
‘Chelsea’s magic power has increased.’
Just as he possessed strength befitting his young appearance,
Chelsea also gained strength befitting her adult appearance.
“Chelsea. Your and Karl’s arrival means Karl formed a party and came to Fairy Land, right?”
“Yes. Senior Lil is the party leader. The members are me, Shia, Karl, and Eliza.”
“Is that the composition Karl thought of? Well-formed. So, which Legion Commander is it?”
“The Legion Commander of Suffering.”
“I’ve never heard that name before?”
“They say he’s a newly born Legion Commander.”
“Indeed. They must be undergoing a generational change as well.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
The Necromancer King had transformed the Hero Records and obtained the Legion’s Records.
The Dark King, Dakir, whom they faced during the coronation, was one of those new generation Legion Commanders.
‘He had some pretty arrogant thoughts, but.’
He wouldn’t have sent a Legion Commander with such tendencies to where a fragment of Erebus was.
If so, he must be thoroughly loyal to Erebus and the Necromancer King.
‘He might even be stronger than that Dark King guy or whatever he was.’
A Legion Commander who inherited the power of a vanquished Legion Commander.
Whatever form he takes, he is undoubtedly a powerful being.
“Chelsea. I have no magic power right now.”
“It seems so. Are you okay?”
Chelsea wore a serious expression.
“I can awaken my mana. But with this body, it won’t be suitable for combat…”
Leo looked up at Chelsea.
“For now, I need you two to put in some effort.”
“Yes! Leave it to me!”
Chelsea grabbed Leo’s hand and unleashed her magic power.
“Then let’s go!”
Chelsea flew into the air.
“By the way, there was a really beautiful dragon earlier, wasn’t there?”
“Medea?”
“Yeah. Her name is Medea. Who is she?”
“Well, something like a first love, I guess?”
“What?!”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“B-Because you said Brother Leo’s first love, of course I’m surprised!”
“To be precise, it’s something similar to a first love, not an actual first love.”
Leo recalled Medea.
“She was just someone I admired.”
Medea never once thought of him as a romantic interest.
To Leo, she was like a mentor he aspired to reach.
It was a relationship that resembled love, yet was subtly different.
“That’s a relief.”
“What is?”
“To know that Brother Leo has a normal side too.”
At that, Leo let out a wry laugh.
Meanwhile, Chelsea thought to herself.
‘That dragon, Medea, didn’t have very big breasts.’
***
Kiiiing-!
A massive surge of magic power swirled.
Countless magic circles appeared around Melina.
“Whew-!”
Seneor whistled.
“Cool! Very cool! This is the power of the strongest hero of this era!”
The Silent Dragon, Melina.
But that was merely a name given to her for her long period of silence.
In fact, the gods had given her a different epithet.
Long ago.
Melina entered into silence after experiencing failure in the conquest of the World of Genesis.
Guilt towards her comrades.
And the burden of the approaching revival of disaster.
To prepare for the sealed disaster, she dedicated her life and became a silent dragon.
But until before her silence, she was an object of terror to the demons of Tartarus.
Now, Melina’s true epithet, forgotten in people’s memories, was even more famous among the demons.
And there was only one reason why a hero’s epithet was famous among demons.
It was because the demons genuinely feared that hero.
Her epithet, the object of fear for demons, was…
“Indeed, she deserves to be called the Eradicator of Light! Absolutely awesome!”
Flash! Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang!
As Melina unleashed Dragon Language magic, flashes of light poured down from the sky like rain.
The flashes of light tore through Seneor’s body, devastating the surroundings.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Melina’s eyes narrowed as she watched Seneor burst into maniacal laughter amidst the light.
‘I anticipated him dodging and chose an area-of-effect spell…’
She never in her wildest dreams imagined he would take all of that magic head-on.
Each time Seneor’s body was torn, the torn wounds swelled and regenerated.
Even when his head flew off, it quickly swelled up and was restored to its original state.
It was a terrifying regenerative ability.
Beneath Seneor’s feet, his flesh and blood were abundant.
“Ugh…! How disgusting.”
Karl made a disgusted expression.
“The fact that he didn’t dodge Lady Melina’s magic… means that getting injured is advantageous for that Legion Commander, doesn’t it?”
“It would seem so. Indeed, student Karl. Your perception is sharp.”
“Haha, well.”
“The coolest pain! Ahh! I’m so happy! I’m totally lucky~”
Melina smiled faintly, watching Seneor clutch his body and tremble.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Of course! Pain is proof that I’m alive! Ahh! What an ecstatic experience this is! Beings who carve pain into my body are truly adorable!”
Seneor, with a dazed expression, looked at Melina.
“Eradicator of Light, I’ll add you to my collection too.”
“Not to boast, but the epithet ‘Eradicator of Light’ must be quite terrifying to demons. You’re brave.”
“Huh? I’m different from those old geezers! Trembling in fear is totally uncool!”
Seneor stuck out his tongue.
“I’m special!”
Saying that, Seneor wore an arrogant expression.
“The Legion Commander of Suffering, unafraid even before the Eradicator of Light! The beginning of a new legend! Excellent!”
“From my perspective, other than your excessive self-consciousness, you don’t seem special. How are you different from other demons?”
“What? You don’t understand! First of all, my Legion Commander name is different! Other Legion Commanders refer to themselves as kings, but not me! I’m just the ‘Legion Commander of Suffering’!”
That was certainly true.
“And I don’t even lead a legion!”
“Why not?”
“Having a bunch of subordinates! That’s totally uncool! I’m special!”
“…”
Karl looked dumbfounded at Seneor’s words.
“It’s like watching kids with that unique adolescent syndrome.”
“Even among dragons, there are such individuals. It seems that thinking one must be different from others is the same across all races.”
It was then that Melina let out a wry laugh.
Kwaduk-! Kwadududuk!
Something began to rise from the ground Seneor was standing on.
“Didn’t you say you had no subordinates?”
“These aren’t my subordinates!”
Seneor grinned.
“They are my clones!”
Seneor’s spilled blood and flesh began to transform into monsters resembling Seneor.
Melina’s eyes narrowed at the sight.
“The Monster Queen’s ability.”
“Ha! I’m different from that old hag in the coffin! That old hag creates grotesque monsters, but I summon cool and beautiful clones that look exactly like me!”
“Why is that?”
“That’s…”
Seneor crossed his arms.
“Because it’s cool!”
The Monster Queen’s use of her flesh and blood to create all sorts of grotesque monsters was purely for efficiency.
She created monsters suited to the situation.
But Seneor, despite inheriting such an ability, only created clones identical to himself.
Literally, appearance was what mattered.
“Heh heh heh. Darkness storms from my right hand!”
Seneor held his right hand with a meaningful smile.
Karl scratched his cheek at the sight.
“I heard that was popular during Professor Ren’s generation. Demons are behind the times.”
At that, Melina wore a sympathetic expression.
“Indeed. He seems to be severely afflicted.”
***
Leo and Chelsea, who quickly joined the battlefield, could hear Seneor’s words from a distance.
“What’s that now?”
“A Legion Commander.”
“That thing is a Legion Commander?”
“Huh? He has enough power, doesn’t he?”
“Is just being strong enough to be a Legion Commander? A Legion Commander needs dignity.”
Regardless of whether he had dignity or not, the fact that he was a target for subjugation didn’t change, but Leo, having experienced the Age of Calamity, didn’t want to acknowledge Seneor as a Legion Commander.
“He just seems to have that peculiar adolescent syndrome.”
Chelsea unconsciously thought of a few classmates who were aimlessly wandering.
“I never knew demons could suffer from something like that, though.”
“Syndrome? That’s not a syndrome. He’s just lost his mind.”
Leo clicked his tongue.
“The Necromancer King has really gone too far. To put someone like that in charge as a Legion Commander.”
To Leo, the new generation of Legion Commanders didn’t look like Legion Commanders at all.
Watching Leo’s refusal to ever acknowledge Seneor as a Legion Commander, Chelsea thought.
‘Wow, he’s an old man.’