The Hero Candidates let out thunderous cheers at the feat of the legendary Hero unfolding before their eyes.
The great threat that had tried to destroy the world had now vanished before them.
They had literally witnessed a page of legend being written with their own eyes.
Arron smiled as he watched the cheering Hero Candidates.
“That’s our Arron-nim!”
Ar shouted as she ran toward him.
Looking at Ar’s face, beaming with a bright smile, Arron held out his hand.
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
“I was able to wake up because I heard your voice.”
At those words, Ar became so shy she didn’t know what to do.
“Arron-nim. About what you said a moment ago...”
When Chelsea asked hesitantly, Arron turned around and gave her a wink.
At that, Chelsea silently nodded.
“Ar, Chelsea. Let’s go tend to the injured now.”
“Yes!”
Answering energetically, Ar and Chelsea returned to the castle.
It had been a fierce battle that lasted all night.
While Arron had been locked in a desperate struggle against Erebos, the Hero Candidates, despite their small numbers, had endured an onslaught of Demonic Beasts on the scale of a legion.
As a result, there were many wounded.
The Hero Candidates, who had been cheering in the joy of victory, quickly came to their senses and began treating the injured.
Following Ar as she ran toward the castle, Chelsea glanced back.
She saw Arron walking behind them, with Leo at his side.
Arron held out his right fist toward Leo, who was walking to his right.
Leo smirked and lightly bumped it with his left fist.
They looked exactly like old comrades and best friends.
‘So Leo really is... the Hero of Beginning.’
Seeing them, she finally understood what Arron had told her earlier.
Step. Step.
“Kyle, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I failed to live up to the faith you had in me.”
Arron said as he looked at the sun rising and pushing back the darkness.
“In the final battle, I acted brave. But honestly, I was trembling. I had seen the future.”
“The future?”
“Yeah. I knew we were going to lose that fight. So I was about to tell you we should run away. But then I saw a future where you and Luna would die if we fled.”
“...So you died in our place?”
“Yeah. And I gave up.”
“You didn’t give up until the very end.”
“...”
“It’s not like you were ever a burden. Not once did we stop believing in you.”
Arron smiled at Leo’s words.
“I know that now. So don’t worry so much.”
“Do I look like I’m worried? I’m scolding you for only realizing it now, you idiot.”
Arron scratched his head as he looked at Leo, whose face was twisted into a scowl.
“If Luna were here, do you think she would’ve hit me?”
“You think it would’ve ended with just one hit?”
“Definitely not.”
Shaking his head, Arron burst into laughter and looked down at Brave in his hand.
Brave had returned to its original broken form.
“A little while ago, Dweno’s flame stirred.”
“I know.”
Leo remembered the flame of Dweno reacting to Arron’s Aura.
“Dweno’s will responded and tried to help you.”
Leo himself had done nothing.
And yet, Dweno’s flame had ignited on its own.
Perhaps when Arron found the courage to step forward, Brave had tried to help its master.
Though it was already a broken sword, it had borrowed its creator’s power and briefly returned to its original form in order to fulfill its duty.
“That’s the kind of Artifacts Dweno makes.”
“Yeah.”
Artifacts that responded to the will of their user.
That was why Dweno had been called the blacksmith of the gods, and why Leo and Arron had trusted him until the very end.
Step. Step.
Before they knew it, the two had reached the castle walls.
Leo stopped and looked at Arron.
“By the way, Arron. While subjugating the fragment of Erebos this time...”
“Kyle, can you give me my Hero Record fragment for a second?”
Arron said, cutting Leo off.
Leo handed over the Hero Record fragment with a puzzled expression.
Arron looked down at the fragment in his hand and took a deep breath.
Then he stepped into the castle.
“It’s Arron-nim!”
“Arron-nim!”
“Hero!”
The Hero Candidates cheered for Arron.
Arron entered the castle Melina had created.
Leo followed behind him.
The Hero Candidates crowded around Arron.
The students of Azonia in particular were even shedding tears.
“Everyone.”
Arron opened his mouth.
“Thank you for fighting so well and not losing your courage, even in such a desperate situation.”
“It would’ve been impossible without you, Arron-nim.”
“We were able to fight because you gave us courage!”
At the Hero Candidates’ replies, Arron shook his head.
“Courage isn’t something you receive from someone else. It’s something all of you already have, right here.”
Arron said with a smile as he tapped his chest.
“Even if I hadn’t been here, all of you would still have fought Erebos without yielding.”
The students’ faces filled with emotion at his words.
“So, thank you. Truly.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean...?”
“For letting me feel at ease.”
Arron smiled gently.
“Just like the heroes who fought beside us in that era 5,000 years ago. Just like the Genesis Heroes and the heroes who protected that era 3,000 years ago. I know now that all of you are here.”
“Arron-nim...”
“It’s your turn now.”
At the Great Hero’s words, the Hero Candidates held their breath.
Everyone instinctively sensed it.
The end of this miraculous moment was approaching.
“Can we do it?”
Just then, Vanir, the former student council president of Azonia, asked.
“Can we really succeed like the heroes of the Era of Calamity and the heroes of the Return of the Calamity?”
The Hero Candidates, who had faced that horrifying calamity today, couldn’t shake off the overwhelming despair.
And Arron, who had defeated the fragment of Erebos, would soon disappear.
It wasn’t just Vanir.
Most of the Hero Candidates gathered here probably felt the same.
After a moment of thought, Arron looked back at Leo.
Then, locking eyes with him, he spoke.
“Things will surely be very difficult from now on. There will be people you can’t protect, and you’ll grow frustrated by the trials that never seem to end.”
Arron smiled at Leo, then looked back at the Hero Candidates.
“But even so, you will make it through. Because all of you are courageous people.”
Passing on the words Leo had once told his younger self to the young Hero Candidates,
Arron spoke firmly.
“I guarantee it.”
At his words, everyone clenched their fists.
Whoosh-!
The moment he finished speaking, golden light poured out from Arron’s body.
“Ugh?”
“Arron-nim?!”
Everyone squeezed their eyes shut against the brilliant light.
“Ah?!”
As Ar covered her eyes as well,
“Ar.”
“Arron-nim?!”
Ar’s eyes flew open.
After stroking Ar’s head, Arron handed her the broken Brave.
“This sword always gave me courage. It may be broken, but... I want you to have it.”
“Are you... leaving?”
“Yeah.”
Arron wiped away the tears welling in Ar’s eyes and murmured,
“So this is how my friends must have felt.”
“Huh?”
“Reliable... but still worried. They must have all been anxious.”
“What do you...?”
“It just means you’re like a little sister to me.”
Smiling softly, Arron took a step back.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Arron said to Ar,
“For the day we stand on the same stage.”
After leaving her with those words of encouragement, Arron turned away without any lingering attachment.
No more words were necessary.
Because that fearless cat would run forward without hesitation.
The last place Arron headed to was where Leo and Melina were standing.
Neither of them was affected in the slightest by the light pouring from Arron’s body.
Watching Arron walk over, Leo said,
“Arron. You can stay in this era.”
Leo spoke with a worried expression.
It looked a lot like the face Arron had shown while looking at Ar just moments earlier.
“You gained Divine Power while subjugating the fragment of Erebos. You can stay here and find what you want to do...”
“I’ve already found what I want to do, Kyle.”
Arron shook his head.
“If I keep remaining in this world, that power will only be wasted.”
Leo clenched his fist at Arron’s firm words.
“Besides, as you know, my Hero Record fragment is already at its limit.”
Arron looked down at the Hero Record fragment Leo had handed him earlier.
It was a fragment so burned away that it wouldn’t have been strange if it crumbled to dust at any moment.
If Arron disappeared, that fragment would likely burn away and vanish as well.
“Keeping me in this world in this state would consume a great deal of Divine Power. Please use that power when the time comes to completely subjugate Erebos.”
“...”
“Kyle, as you know, there are things neither you nor I can do. When the time comes that you need the power of Lysinas, Luna, and Dweno, that power will pave the way. So you must never waste it recklessly.”
“But...”
“Don’t worry about me.”
Arron grinned.
That grin somehow looked exactly like Leo’s.
“I can’t keep being the little brother who only ever makes you worry, can I?”
At Arron’s words, Leo gave a bitter smile.
“We’ll meet again.”
“Yeah.”
Leo nodded.
Arron looked at Melina and said,
“Melina, please help Leo a lot.”
“Yes, Arron-nim. I will do my best to assist Leo-nim.”
“Good.”
After patting Melina on the head as well, Arron climbed onto the castle wall.
Whoosh-!
Soon, the golden light disappeared.
Everyone looked around, searching for Arron.
“Ah! He’s over there!”
Then they spotted Arron’s back standing atop the castle wall.
Everyone watched him.
Still facing away from them, Arron raised his right hand and gave a thumbs-up.
Then he turned around, smiled confidently, and said,
“I’ll be back!”
Leaving those words behind, Arron vanished in a brilliant flash of light.
Everyone stared blankly at the place where Arron had disappeared.
And then soon after...
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
A powerful cheer erupted from everyone.
Leo, leaning against the castle wall with his arms crossed, wore an expression of disbelief.
“He’s finally putting what he learned to use.”
“Pardon?”
“Just talking to myself.”
Closing his eyes, Leo recalled the old days.
“You want to know how to always give other people confidence, like I do?”
With her arms crossed, Luna held her head high with a triumphant expression.
Looking at Luna, the boyish Arron said,
“You’re not always reliable, Luna. Usually you’re not reliable. Only when you’re fighting...”
“What?!”
Luna’s eyes flashed at Arron, who was calmly stating the truth.
Startled, Arron shrank back and said,
“...You’re always reliable.”
“Of course, of course!”
Once again wearing a triumphant expression, Luna said,
“Lady Luna’s special lecture on how to give people confidence! First! You need to keep a confident expression no matter the situation!”
“A confident expression?”
“A prime example would be Kyle’s signature smug, annoying smile.”
“Kyle has a smug, annoying smile?”
“You know it too, right? This expression.”
Luna grinned.
“Ah! I think I get what you mean!”
“Right? It’s annoying, isn’t it? Smug, isn’t it?!”
“Who are you calling annoying and smug?”
“You.”
Kyle tried flicking Luna on the forehead after hearing that.
But Luna wasn’t the type to get hit so easily.
Watching Luna deftly dodge, Kyle frowned and asked,
“What are you two doing?”
“I’m learning from Luna how to give people confidence.”
“From her? You’d be better off learning from Dweno.”
“Are you saying I’m worse than that pervert?”
Luna flared up and lunged at Kyle.
Kyle pushed Luna’s face away with his palm and said,
“So let’s say I learn how to smile like you. What comes next?”
“Once you’ve mastered the confident expression, the next important thing is the pose. You dazzle people with something flashy, then strike a cool pose and say a line that sounds convincing. I’ll show you.”
With a cool expression, Luna swept back her hair and said,
“Brace yourself, for I have arrived.”
Then she turned a profound gaze on Kyle.
Seeing that, Kyle said to Arron,
“Do you know what they call that?”
“What do they call it?”
“Trying too hard to look cool.”
“You bastard!”
Luna’s eyes flew open as she tried to smack Kyle with her staff.
Kyle quickly ran away.
Luna shrieked and chased after him, swinging her staff.
Watching them, Arron pulled out a mirror and tried making a solemn expression, then tried striking a cool, plausible pose.
To the boyish Arron, Kyle and Luna’s expressions and poses looked very cool.
“What are you doing, Arron?”
At that moment, Lysinas approached and asked.
Arron smiled brightly.
“I was copying Kyle and Luna. I want to become someone who gives other people confidence, just like them.”
“You’re already a very reliable person, Arron.”
Lysinas said with a gentle smile.
“But...”
As Arron was about to say something, Dweno spoke up.
“Let me give you one piece of advice, Arron.”
“Okay.”
When Arron nodded, Dweno jerked his chin.
Before they knew it, Luna was choking Kyle, and Kyle was yanking Luna by the ear.
“If you imitate those fools, you’ll become a fool too.”
“Who are you calling a fool, you pervert?”
“Who’s a fool! You dirty man!”
Kyle and Luna ran over and hit Dweno on the head.
“The fools have sharp ears, I see.”
Staring blankly at the three of them bickering, Lysinas said,
“Arron.”
“Yes.”
“You must never become like that. Understood?”
Seeing the somehow sorrowful look on Lysinas’s face, Arron nodded.
***
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