Everyone was left speechless by Arron’s overwhelming majesty as he split the sky.
Rumble-!
The pillar of Calamity Flame had erupted from a place impossibly far from where Arron stood.
Yet as if such a distance meant nothing, Arron bisected the pillar of fire with his incredible might.
A massive sword scar was carved into the earth in a straight line between Arron and the pillar of fire.
A thick cloud of dust rose.
One by one, the students’ gazes fell on Arron’s back.
“As expected of Arron-nim! You’re amazing!”
At that moment, Ar raised both hands and shouted.
Her voice snapped everyone back to their senses.
“Is... is that really the Hero Arron?”
“What other warrior besides Arron could unleash such an overwhelming strike?”
“Besides, that girl Ar! Didn’t she just call him Arron-nim?”
The strikingly similar appearance and transcendental martial power.
On top of that, Ar herself had experienced Arron firsthand while clearing the Hero Record.
“The Hero!”
“He returned to the present world just like the Hero of Beginning and the Founder of the Nebula!”
“Arron-nim!”
On the castle walls that had been filled with despair, embers of hope began to flicker.
“Is that person truly the Hero?”
“Yes. He is the true Hero.”
Melina nodded at Akatis’s astonished question.
En did not take her eyes off Arron.
Ruuuumble-!
At that moment, the earth shook once more.
Craaaash-!
From the place where the Calamity Flame had erupted, something like black magma surged upward.
Splat-! Sizzzzle-! Fwoosh-!
Flames ignited on the ground wherever the black magma touched.
The magma gathered together like slime, then transformed into the shape of a giant made of flame.
Watching Erebos take form, Melina drew in a deep breath.
For her, a Challenger from the World of Genesis, it was a nightmarish figure.
The faces of the Hero Candidates hardened.
Erebos.
5,000 years ago and 3,000 years ago.
The horrifying primordial evil that had driven the world to the brink of destruction.
Those living in the Age of Heroes could not possibly be ignorant of that name.
But in the 3,000 years since the Genesis Heroes had ended the disaster’s return, almost no one had ever seen Erebos in person.
They could only imagine its appearance based on records left behind in literature.
“Haha. Damn it. It looks exactly like it does in the storybooks.”
Carr muttered with a trembling voice.
Lunia’s face was stiff as she clenched her fists.
“This is... incomparable to back then.”
Lunia, who had once fought against a fragment of Erebos slumbering in Luna’s world, swallowed dryly at the overwhelming pressure that was incomparable to that time.
If the Erebos she had fought in Luna’s world was a small bonfire, this was a raging wildfire.
“What’s there to be afraid of! We have Arron with us! If we combine our strength, we can defeat even a revived fragment of Erebos! Everyone, have courage!”
Ar shouted, her eyes sparkling.
But those facing the world-destroying calamity they had only known through stories could not so easily recover their courage.
As Erebos took shape, their fear became all the more real.
“It’s okay to be afraid.”
Arron spoke, his back still turned to the Hero Candidates of the future.
“It is only natural to tremble before a great terror. I did. Lysinas did. Kyle, Luna, and Dweno did as well.”
Arron took a breath.
“What matters is overcoming that fear. So, will you show me?”
Arron turned around.
“Your courage.”
At those words, Vanir’s eyes widened, and she stepped forward.
“Noble Great Warriors! Students who bear the name of Azonia!”
Vanir shouted to the students of Azonia.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Vanir.
At her fierce voice, Arron flinched for a moment, but no one noticed.
“The great Hero wishes to witness our courage!”
“Ah, no. I’m not really testing you... I just want to see it...”
“Did we not enroll in Azonia for the sake of the world?! Did we not dream of becoming heroes, carrying in our hearts the courage passed down by the Hero, to protect this world entrusted to us by the great heroes?!”
“Yes, sunbae-nim!”
The students of Azonia roared.
“That crisis is now upon us! Though compared to Arron, we may be weaklings, worse than pebbles rolling by on the roadside!”
“Weaklings? It’s not good to belittle yourself like that...”
“But! If we tremble in fear here, then we are trash, worse than pebbles! Do you want to become trash!?”
“No, sunbae-nim!”
“Then prove it! Prove that you are not trash! If you are proud to be Arron’s descendants, then show your courage! Do you understand?!”
“Yes, sunbae-nim!”
Arron placed both hands on the shoulders of Vanir, who was leading her hubae, and spoke seriously.
“Calling yourselves weaklings, worse than pebbles, or trash... you shouldn’t use words that belittle yourselves.”
“Arron-nim...!”
“You and the students of Azonia are already more than worthy of pride. I’m not saying I’m testing your courage. I’m only asking you to show it. So please, cherish yourselves...”
“Did you hear that!? You weakling trash! Arron says he’s proud of us!”
“Uwoooooh!”
Watching Vanir shout in excitement, Arron looked on the verge of tears and glanced at Melina.
“Azonia students are simple-minded, so it’s best to just leave them be.”
Melina smiled awkwardly, and then Torua spoke.
“He still gets simple and reckless when he gets fired up, huh? Rhys, don’t we have some fancy speech or something?”
As Torua tilted her head and asked, Rhys chuckled and spoke to his hubae.
“Let’s show them that courage does not belong to Azonia alone.”
“Yes! Understood!”
“Arron-nim! You’re so cool!”
“Please give me your autograph later!”
Cheers also erupted from the Lumene side.
Riennia crossed her arms.
“Hey, everyone. Listen up. We inherited the will of the great Founder of the Nebula, Luna, didn’t we? On top of that, Arron has returned, and the Azonia kids are going to serve as sturdy shields for us. Does it make any sense to be scared when we’ve got such excellent meat shields?”
“Hey, who are you calling a meat shield?”
Vanir growled lowly, and Riennia corrected herself.
“Friend shield.”
“I don’t like that either, you know?”
Vanir shouted, but Riennia didn’t even bat an eye.
“Anyway, we at Seiren proved to Luna and Kyle last year that we’re the best! This time, let’s prove to Arron that we’re the best too!”
“When did you ever prove to Luna and Kyle that you were the best?”
“It is we, Azonia, who will be acknowledged by Arron!”
Watching the former student council presidents bicker, Drianna raised her hand.
“Shouldn’t the former president say something too?”
“What’s the point of me saying anything? I’ll just get drowned out by those lunatics.”
“You still have no presence, President.”
“Was that supposed to be an insult?”
“It was a compliment.”
Just as Weckerdun, the former student council president of Damienne, let out a deep sigh—
“Excuse me, but could I borrow a sword?”
“Gasp! Ah, Arron-nim!”
Weckerdun’s eyes flew open.
“I-I’ll give you one! No, please use it!”
Moved that the Hero Arron had asked him for a sword, Weckerdun opened his Subspace and poured out his swords.
“Please use whichever one you like!”
From among Weckerdun’s swords, Arron chose one that had been discarded off to the side.
Clack-!
Holding the sword, Arron took a deep breath.
Shing-!
It was a nameless sword, but a magnificent one.
Looking at his own face reflected in the blade, Arron said,
“This is a fine sword. I’ll use it well and return it to you.”
“Not at all! Hehehehe!”
“He really is a flatterer.”
“The only time his presence becomes clear is at moments like this.”
Graduates from the other schools whispered among themselves, but Weckerdun paid them no mind.
It was then.
Thud-!
The earth shook.
Erebos, now fully formed, began to move.
Gwoooooooooo-!
Erebos’s roar rang out.
At that, Arron took a deep breath.
-Kuhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung!
Arron’s Howling pushed back Erebos’s roar.
Those who heard his voice widened their eyes.
“So this is the Hero’s Howling?”
“Incredible!”
The unease that had filled them only moments ago vanished.
Their hearts pounded, and their courage swelled.
Amid everyone’s admiration, Arron raised his sword.
“Everyone, get ready now.”
Fwoooosh-!
Flames blazed from Erebos’s body.
“It’s coming.”
Kwaaaaaaaah-!
A wave of Calamity Flame surged toward them.
Gwoooooooh!
Arron adjusted his grip on the sword and swung it horizontally.
Fwhaap-!
A giant golden line split the Calamity Flame apart.
The sharp golden sword strike landed directly on Erebos.
Slice-! Pshwaaaak!
Kuaaaaaaaaargh!
Erebos let out a scream of pain as its body was bisected.
Seeing that, Arron’s eyes twitched for a moment.
Fwoooosh-!
Dark red blood gushed from the wound, soaking the ground.
But the wound was soon covered in black flames and regenerated.
Fwoooosh-!
The blood of Erebos that spilled onto the ground gave birth to grotesque monsters.
Seeing this, Arron muttered,
“...The right arm?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
Shaking his head, Arron turned around.
“I’ll now form a party to attack Erebos with me.”
“It seems to be the right arm.”
Leo narrowed his eyes.
-What do you mean?
At Leo’s murmur, Kirran looked puzzled as he asked.
“That fragment is Erebos’s right arm.”
“How do you know that, Master? From the outside, it just looks like a huge black giant.”
As Arti tilted her head, Leo replied,
“You all know that Demons are Erebos’s creations, right?”
The summoned beasts nodded.
“Erebos used its right hand to create Demons, Demonic Beasts, and monsters. Lysinas believed the authority related to creation was imbued in its right hand.”
-I see. So that’s why you think the fragment that was cut down is the right arm.
As Elci spoke in understanding, Leo nodded.
“But this is strange. The authority of creation should consume a great deal of its power, so why is it wasting its strength like this?”
Watching Erebos suddenly create monsters left and right filled him with doubt.
“Leo!”
Arron, having finished forming the party that would fight Erebos, called out to Leo.
Leo landed on the ground.
And he checked the members.
‘Arron, Melina, Torua, Ulta, Riennia, Lunia, Eiran, Eliza.’
Aside from Arron, there wasn’t a single pure knight-type among them.
In the cases of Eiran and Riennia, they were Magic Swordsmen, but they possessed mobility on par with most knight-types and greater firepower than mages.
‘A formation focused on firepower and mobility.’
Riennia and Eiran also wore slightly troubled expressions, as if Arron had already explained their roles to them.
At that moment, Ar approached Leo.
“Black Rabbit! Arron-nim said he’d hold off Erebos by himself, but will that really be okay? Shouldn’t we help at least a little?”
Ar asked with a worried face.
Looking at Ar, Leo replied,
“He said he’d handle it alone because he knows he can.”
“B-But still...”
The enemy was none other than Erebos.
The world’s worst monstrosity, the being that had driven the world to the brink of destruction.
No matter how fragmented it was, the idea of a single person stopping such a horrifying monster seemed far too precarious.
“You still don’t know which point in time that Arron came from, do you?”
“Huh?”
Ar’s eyes widened.
Come to think of it, she really hadn’t heard.
“Which point in time? Black Rabbit, did you hear?”
“The final chapter.”
“What?”
“He’s the Arron from the time he subjugated Erebos.”
Ar’s eyes widened in astonishment.
‘If not for the restriction that he disappears once he exhausts all his Divine Power, the current Arron is strong enough to win a war against all of Tartarus by himself.’
With the Monster Queen already subjugated and the Giant King absent, Tartarus, with only Death King Hell Kaiser remaining, had no way of dealing with a complete Arron.
“You stay here and fight the monsters.”
Step. Step.
Leo walked over to Arron’s side.
“Well then, shall we go?”
Arron asked, adjusting his grip on the sword.
“To subjugate the primordial evil.”
***
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