“What in the world is going on in there?”
Riennia shouted in frustration.
Because of the wall of black flames rising before them, they couldn’t see what was happening on the other side at all.
Seeing that, Torua raised her staff.
Vwoooom-!
A massive drill of light formed through Torua’s magic.
Kwwaaaaaack-!
Torua launched the spell at the wall.
Fwoosh-!
But the black flames devoured Torua’s Magic Power.
Torua’s eyes twitched at the sight.
“I’ll try.”
Lunia began to chant.
Fwaaaaarururuk-!
White flames erupted all over her body.
Kwwaaaaaaa-!
The white flames surrounding Lunia’s body blazed even more fiercely.
“Lunia!”
Eiran called out to Lunia urgently.
Fwoosh-!
With her fiery red hair turned pure white, Lunia clenched her teeth.
The Flame Emperor’s fire, which burned her own body to annihilate everything impure.
The flame given to Lunia by Katariu, the last Phoenix King, was the noblest flame in the world.
Enduring the burns from that fire, Lunia completed her spell.
“[Flame Emperor]!”
Fwoosh-!
It was as if a white sun had appeared.
A massive sphere of fire materialized above Lunia’s outstretched palm.
Lunia hurled the sphere of fire at the wall of black flames.
Pzzzzzzzzzt!
The black flames and white flames tangled together.
But soon, a tremendous repulsive force erupted and pushed them apart.
The flames burned violently, as if two opposing powers had collided.
Fwoosh-!
But in the end, the black flames devoured Lunia’s fire.
Kwagagagagagagang-!
An explosion unlike anything before burst forth.
“Keuk?!”
At the immense flash and the shockwave of the explosion, everyone covered their eyes and ducked their heads.
Kuuuuooooong-!
The sound of the explosion lingered in the air.
But even then, the wall of black flames remained intact.
“Damn it!”
With her hair returned to its original red, Lunia clenched her fists and shouted harshly.
She squeezed so hard that her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood.
A searing pain spread through her entire body from the burns.
But Lunia glared at the wall of flames with resentment in her eyes.
‘What next Student Council President? What successor to Luna-nim!’
Lunia had been excited lately.
As a member of the Lunda family, which had contracted with Phoenixes for generations, she had inherited the power of the Phoenix King, which had long since vanished.
On top of that, she had been praised as the successor to Luna, the Founder of the Nebula, and had even been acknowledged by Dragon Lord Melina.
That was why she had thought she had gotten a little closer.
But she hadn’t.
‘It’s far.’
The distance between her and Leo was still impossibly vast.
‘No, I already knew that!’
She had always known there was a gap she could never close, no matter how much stronger she became.
So she had run with all her might, trying to follow behind Leo.
What enraged Lunia wasn’t the distance between herself and Leo.
‘I’m useless!’
She knew what Leo’s goal was.
None other than the subjugation of Erebos.
It was a colossal goal, one she couldn’t even begin to imagine.
But after being praised so highly by those around her, she had become full of confidence.
She had believed that in the battles to come, she would surely be of help to Leo.
In fact, Lunia had already experienced battle against Erebos three times.
The first was in Luna’s world.
The second was in Dweno’s world.
The third was in Seiren.
And after obtaining the Flame of Purification on the second and third occasions, she thought she had gained the power to fight Erebos.
‘I was deluding myself...!’
What she had faced until now had been nothing more than a fragment of Erebos.
She was only now realizing that fact in her bones.
Seeing Lunia’s tightly clenched fists trembling, Eiran quickly grabbed her hand.
“Lunia-yang, please take care of yourself! At this rate, you’ll ruin your body...!”
“This isn’t the time to worry about my body...!”
“Listen to Eiran, Lunia.”
Melina appeared before Lunia.
“If you destroy your body by using your power recklessly, you won’t be of help. No, you’ll only become a burden.”
At Melina’s words, Lunia lowered her head.
Looking at her, Melina smiled bitterly.
“I’m not asking much of you all right now. Just lend enough strength for Arron-nim to fight. The same goes for you graduates.”
“Are you saying we’re not qualified to stand on this battlefield yet?”
At Torua’s question, Melina nodded.
“To put it bluntly, yes. The only reason I recommended you to Arron-nim was because I hoped for a little support.”
At Melina’s words, everyone lowered their heads.
Seeing that, Melina spoke.
“Don’t be discouraged. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you.”
“Pardon?”
“You are all still young.”
Melina spoke firmly.
“Even if you’ve graduated. Even if you are top students. You are bound to be inexperienced. You are not Heroes, but Hero Candidates.”
Melina took a breath.
“It is entirely my responsibility for putting you, who are not yet ready, on the battlefield just to raise the probability of victory even a little.”
Melina turned around.
“So this is not your fault. In fact, you all did very well. From here on, leave it to me, the adult.”
Melina brought her hands together.
Silver Magic Power began to ripple from her body.
Seeing that, the Hero Candidates flinched.
Her silver-and-black hair swayed.
Soon, the silver Magic Power turned black.
Melina chanted a magic spell.
“[Nihil].”
Fwoosh-!
In an instant, the wall of black flames vanished without a trace.
“Incredible.”
Torua’s mouth fell open.
Lysinas’s magic.
At present, only two people in this world could use it.
The first was Leo/Kyle, the Hero of Beginning.
The second was Melina, who had inherited Lysinas’s Magic Power.
The black flames disappeared.
The gaze of Erebos, who had been facing Leo and Arron, shifted to Melina.
—So you were not merely some trivial creation. Through the Record System, you inherited the power of that foolish one.
Kugoong-!
Erebos’s gaze swept over Melina and the Hero Candidates.
And then over the other candidates in the distant castle, who were holding back the assault of its creations.
—Indeed, it seems many have been deceived by the sweet nothings that foolish one left behind 5,000 years ago and have embraced useless hope.
“Lysinas-nim was no fool, Erebos.”
Melina spoke in an icy voice.
It was a frosty demeanor she had never shown before.
“Lysinas-nim is the great Wise King who led the world to salvation.”
—Just uselessly grand titles. Wise King. Hero of Beginning.
Erebos spoke in an emotionless voice.
—The foolish one and the Surviving Hero are sufficient titles for them.
Gooooooooooh-!
A terrifying flame flickered in Erebos’s hand.
As if every attack he had used until now had been nothing more than child’s play.
A mass of flames containing destructive power beyond imagination surged.
—Hero, if these trivial creations are the hope you speak of, then I shall remind you how insignificant that hope truly is.
Kwwaaaaaaaaak-!
Erebos slammed the fireball into the ground.
Kugugugugugugugugu-
An earthquake followed.
The ground shook violently.
Crack- Craaaack-!
The earth split apart.
Kwhaaaaaak-!
Krrroooooooooo!
From the cracked ground, Demonic Beasts poured out without end.
The grotesquely misshapen Demonic Beasts, with nothing left in their eyes but the urge to slaughter, let out monstrous roars and charged toward the castle.
At the sight of the Demonic Beasts endlessly pouring from the fissures, Ulta’s face filled with horror.
“What is this?”
“This is basically a legion!”
Riennia shouted, her face pale.
The horde of Demonic Beasts advancing now was on a scale comparable to the legion of the Monster Queen they had seen in Seiren last year.
“It appears he has created a legion’s worth of troops.”
Melina spoke as if it were nothing.
Faced with a sight that defied common sense, the Hero Candidates looked utterly appalled.
The scale of the Demonic Beasts that had just appeared was comparable to Sillatna’s legion.
Of course, Sillatna’s legion had many high-ranking Demons, so this force could not compare in quality.
But to create a legion-level force on the spot, on a scale normally led by a Legion Commander, was a chilling feat.
And even now, the number of Demonic Beasts was still increasing.
Watching the scene, Melina thought for a moment, then looked at Leo.
Their eyes met, and Leo nodded.
Melina then spoke.
“Everyone, return to the castle and prepare to stop the advance of the Demonic Beasts.”
“Yes!”
“Then what about Erebos...?!”
“Leave him to Arron-nim and Leo Plov.”
Melina answered the Hero Candidates’ question with a faint smile.
The Hero Candidates nodded and were about to turn back when Erebos let out a sneer.
—You worthless creations who lack the right, pay the price!
Kwwaaaaaak-!
When Erebos swung his arm, the air split open.
From that rift, countless black hands shot out and lunged at the candidates.
Seeing this, Melina swung her hand.
Flash-!
Light generated from a silver magic circle blasted away the black hands Erebos had summoned.
But she couldn’t block all of Erebos’s attacks.
The surviving black hands slipped past and stubbornly targeted the candidates.
Ulta used the power of her Pegasus to eliminate all the hands.
Torua blasted them away with magic.
And Eiran deflected Erebos’s attacks with her Animus Sword and Armor, protecting Lunia and Eliza.
Seeing that, Erebos’s eyes twitched.
“Don’t underestimate them too much.”
Leo sneered at Erebos.
“They are the children chosen by the one who personally cut you into six pieces.”
Fwoosh-!
Leo widened the distance between himself and Erebos.
“You think your crude attacks will work?”
—You dare call this body’s power crude?
“Yeah. I’ve learned quite a lot about you through our brief fight.”
Leo’s red eyes gleamed.
“First. You may have revived, but you are not complete. You’re even disconnected from the first fragment that revived. You have no knowledge of that fragment’s memories.”
This was huge.
It had been 5,000 years since Erebos was sealed.
And 3,000 years since the first fragment was sealed.
During that time, the world had continuously cultivated power to oppose Erebos.
That didn’t simply mean the development of Aura, Magic, and Summoning.
Erebos knew nothing of the potential this world now possessed.
“In the first place, if you had the memories from 3,000 years ago, you wouldn’t have rushed in so recklessly.”
Leo scoffed at Erebos.
“Second. Your power is specialized in the authority to create Demons and Demonic Beasts.”
He became certain after watching Erebos create a legion just now.
That authority alone was not much inferior to the power of the complete Erebos.
That meant only one thing.
“It means your combat power is lower compared to the other fragments.”
Of course, that was only weak in comparison to the other fragments.
As a piece of the Primordial Evil, its combat power was still tremendous.
‘If Arron weren’t here, it would have been difficult for me to handle this thing with only my current power.’
That was why this fragment had to be subjugated here and now, no matter what it took.
The moment the fragment before him gained control of Tartarus, powerful Legion Commanders would be born.
“Third. Your power is still not complete.”
A fire grows stronger the more it burns.
And the Erebos before him was a fire that had only just begun to burn.
That was why its destructive power was still weak.
To Erebos, this world was nothing but kindling.
The more of the world it burned, the stronger Erebos would become.
‘The fragment that revived 3,000 years ago burned for a long time.’
And even now, it was still burning.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
Watching Leo, Erebos laughed.
—Do not worry. This is more than enough to finish all of you.
“You think so?”
—I do. If the companion you summoned through the Record System had been someone else, you might have subjugated me again. But since he is here, you will die.
“Nonsense.”
Leo answered coldly.
—You overestimate the Hero too much. Isn’t that right, Hero?
“Don’t be ridiculous! I won’t die. Because I... will definitely defeat you!”
—Yes, go ahead and struggle!
Goooooooooh-!
Black flames erupted from Erebos’s body.
Watching the flames surge toward him, Arron gritted his teeth and activated [Hyper Sense].
At that moment—
Kwagagagagang-!
Erebos’s black flames engulfed Arron.
Within the black flames, Arron’s face turned deathly pale.
‘...Hyper Sense is...!’
***
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