[Hero of Beginning, Kyle? The Great Hero from the heroic tales?]
Tiar’s eyes widened in pure bewilderment.
'This reaction is surprisingly refreshing.'
It had already been about a year since the world learned that the Hero of Beginning, Kyle, had actually existed.
The revelation that the fifth Great Hero, once thought to be a fictional creation, was real had shaken the entire world.
Leo had already grown used to the fact that his forgotten past self was now known to the world, but for others, it was different.
Everywhere he went, the name Kyle was on everyone’s lips.
Having long since grown accustomed to the commotion surrounding him, seeing such a bewildered reaction from a hero from 1,000 years ago felt rather novel.
As he watched the stunned Tiar, Leo raised his right hand into the air.
Vwoooom—!
With a resonant hum, the Magic Staff revealed itself.
Tiar’s eyes widened as she watched the staff in Leo’s hand release Magic Power.
[Cometes...]
She too had seen Cometes when she was alive, back in her days as a student at Seiren.
That was why she recognized at a glance that the staff in Leo’s hand was the Hero Weapon once wielded by Seiren.
Cometes was shining brilliantly, as if it had finally met its true master.
Even in the hands of the Tingel family, it had never emitted such a radiant light.
“I suppose it’s not easy to believe that I’m Kyle, the Hero of Beginning.”
Leo raised his hand.
Then Aura and Spirit Energy flickered from his palm.
[All... Class!]
Tiar gasped in shock.
The All-Class that existed only in legends, and the brilliant light of Cometes.
[Are you truly... the Hero of Beginning, Kyle-nim?]
Though she still could not fully believe he was Kyle, it was clear that the boy before her was no ordinary being.
First, she had to thank the benefactor who had rescued her from the Death King.
[Great Hero. I sincerely thank you for delivering me from the sinister clutches of the Death King.]
“Right. If that’s the case, will you help me with something?”
[Kyle-nim is my benefactor. If it is within my power, I will help.]
“Then can you explain in detail how you were resurrected as an Undead?”
Tiar had died harboring deep hatred.
She explained that after her consciousness had been extinguished for a long time, she began hearing the thoughts of the Death King.
Her consciousness had fiercely resisted the Death Magic of the Death King, which sought to dominate her.
“But in the end, an irresistible force dragged your consciousness in, and you became a Corpse burning with hatred?”
[Yes. The one who first awakened my consciousness was the Archduke of Funeral.]
Leo watched Tiar grit her teeth in resentment and asked,
“Did you happen to sense the presence of other Spirits?”
The basic principle of Death Magic was similar to Spirit Magic.
It followed the lingering scent of Mana to revive and dominate the consciousness of the dead.
The process itself was like a contract.
In essence, Tiar had been in a contract with the Death King until now.
If so, she should have sensed the presence of other Spirits who had entered into contracts with the Death King.
At Leo’s question, Tiar clenched her fists.
[I felt the presence of countless Spirits. And among them, there were some whose strength was especially powerful... there were heroes among them as well.]
Tiar’s shoulders trembled.
Terror was written all over her face.
[Among those commanded by the Death King, there were beings who far surpassed even me.]
The Iron-Blooded Sorceress was still remembered to this day among the countless heroes who had existed during the Age of Heroes 1,000 years ago.
That alone proved how powerful a hero she had been.
For someone like her to tremble in fear meant those heroes were monstrously powerful.
'By current standards... does that mean they’re on the level of the Sword Saint?'
The Sword Saint.
A mighty hero who, had he been born in the right era, might well have challenged the World of Genesis.
His very existence had served as a deterrent against Tartarus.
'If he hadn’t died last year and were still alive, Tartarus wouldn’t have been able to move so freely.'
“Even if he strengthened his Divine Authority using Erebos’s power, is something like that really possible?”
As Leo muttered with a grave expression, Tiar lowered her head.
[Surely... among the heroes, there must be some who willingly accepted the Death King’s contract.]
“...”
At those words, Leo let out a deep sigh, and Tiar looked apologetic.
She still could not be certain that the boy before her was truly Kyle, one of the Great Heroes.
But what if he really was one of the Great Heroes from 5,000 years ago?
'Then what could be more shameful than this?'
The Great Heroes had risked everything to leave the world to future generations.
And yet the heroes of later generations—
Even in death, they were now willingly cooperating with the Death King.
They had chosen to become his slaves, to continue existing as Corpses and pursue the greed they had clung to in life.
It was nothing less than a betrayal of the world.
As a hero who had lived her entire life consumed by hatred, Tiar had witnessed the ugliness of the world countless times.
She knew better than anyone that beneath a shining world lurked a deep shadow.
That was why, as one of the heroes of the later generations, Tiar could not bring herself to meet Leo’s eyes.
Looking at Tiar, who kept her gaze down, Leo said,
“I felt it earlier, but you’re way too harsh on yourself.”
[Pardon?]
“It doesn’t really matter, does it? Whether the others cooperate with the Death King or not.”
[But...]
“That isn’t something you should be taking responsibility for.”
Leo reached out and placed his hand on Tiar’s head.
“It’s not as though we set out to create some especially righteous world or dreamed of some ideal one. We just saved it because we wanted to save it.”
Leo let out a short laugh.
“So it’s ridiculous for you, someone from a later generation, to worry about how I’ll react because of other people.”
[...Kyle-nim.]
“I heard that Spirits who remain behind always have some regret lingering in a corner of their hearts.”
Leo recalled Tiar apologizing to Luna just moments earlier.
“Sorry, but I ended up seeing a glimpse of your life.”
Tiar had never regretted the path she had chosen and walked.
She had lived a life where her own people pointed fingers at her, where nothing stayed in her hands, and where she lost everything in the end.
She had lived unable to let go of her hatred until her final moments.
But she did not consider that a regret.
“Being that stubborn is a disease too. Luna isn’t the type to feel insulted no matter how you create Star Magic. She’s not that delicate. That girl... she’s just a simple fool.”
Tiar gritted her teeth.
Seeing her look as though she were about to cry, Leo said,
“So you don’t need to apologize. And the Monster Queen was subjugated by Luna and me. So.”
Leo patted Tiar on the shoulder.
“Rest in peace. Whatever your reasons were for fighting, you still contributed to the peace of the world.”
[Thank you.]
Tiar, who had kept her head lowered as her shoulders trembled, soon vanished.
Watching Tiar’s Spirit scatter away like grains of starlight, Elci, who had been quietly observing, spoke.
[Leo, you understood her well.]
“Isn’t it because we’re in similar situations?”
[Similar situations?]
“I can understand that feeling, at least a little. The feeling of not being able to find rest.”
After saying that calmly, Leo fell into thought.
'Tiar fell to the Death King’s power and became a Spirit.'
And purifying such a fallen Spirit into a true Spirit was one of Lysinas’s specialties.
'I’m nowhere near as good as Lysinas, but I’ve at least started to become able to use her Spirit Magic.'
Leo looked down at his hand.
He remembered the Mana from earlier that had seemed to possess a will of its own.
“Hey. If you can hear me, answer me.”
But even at Leo’s call, Lysinas’s Mana remained silent.
At that, Leo gave a bitter smile.
To soothe the regrets of a Spirit was called Ascension.
And once a Spirit ascended, it never reappeared.
'...The Lysinas I first met in the Hero Record was a Spirit summoned from her final moments.'
In that process, Lysinas must have ascended as well.
No, perhaps that meeting had only been possible because it was inside the Hero Record.
Because the Lysinas of the past had called upon her future self.
'I’m not Lysinas.'
In the first place, summoning a person from 5,000 years ago as a Spirit was probably impossible unless one possessed Divine Authority.
The reaction from Lysinas’s Mana earlier had likely just been a trait imprinted within the Mana itself.
More than conscious will, it was probably closer to the urge to save a pitiful Spirit struggling against a malicious force.
Even so, he had asked just in case.
'...Would it kill you to hold onto your regrets just a little longer?'
Leo clenched his fist, shook the thought off, and moved forward.
'The Death King now commands powerful Spirits. They’re probably the ones who couldn’t let go of their desires even in death.'
Not all heroes were saints. They could become twisted.
The Justice Guild had already proven that.
'Among them, there must be some who once served as pillars of their era.'
Leo’s expression darkened.
[Leo, is something worrying you?]
At Elci’s question, Leo let out a deep sigh.
“I was thinking that if things go wrong, I might run into someone I know.”
[Someone you know?]
Elci looked puzzled.
Leo looked up at the clear sky and thought of someone.
'Vihar.'
Vihar had originally been one of the Orphan Soldiers created so their bodies could be used as powerful corpses.
Because of that, she had burned with endless hatred toward the Death King.
The Era of Calamity had ended.
The world had been saved, but Vihar’s heart probably had not.
'As long as the Death King was still alive, she would never have stopped.'
She would have spent her entire life in the shadows, chasing the Death King.
Leo imagined the worst possible scenario.
'What if the Death King, after growing even stronger in Divine Authority, finds Vihar’s grave and corrupts her to a Spirit?'
Then the world might end up facing the strongest shadow in history as its enemy.
Because Vihar was also the successor Lysinas had acknowledged.
'She probably closed her eyes after reaching a realm comparable even to the Genesis Heroes.'
Thinking of the worst-case scenario, Leo sighed deeply.
'No. I should trust her.'
Step. Step.
'She’s the one I entrusted the aftermath to. She wouldn’t fall to the likes of the Death King.'
Composing himself, Leo moved forward.
'What matters right now are the Corpses revived by Atkan and the Death King.'
===
“...So you’re saying the heroes of our guild who were sent to subjugate the Corpses appearing in each region have all been slaughtered?”
Jerome asked with a puzzled look.
“Yes.”
“Hmm. As expected, heroes who claimed their positions through their own strength are different. Is there really a limit to turning failures who couldn’t even graduate from Hero Academy into heroes?”
“What should we do now?”
Vice Guild Master Chain asked expressionlessly.
“What about Leo Plov?”
“We can no longer confirm his location.”
“You can’t even track him with Thousand-mile Vision?”
“No. He blocked it.”
“Hoh.”
Jerome looked impressed.
“I truly am curious about the true nature of that endless potential.”
“He is most likely the true chosen hero you always speak of.”
At Chain’s words, Jerome rose from his seat.
“First, we need to subjugate the Corpses of the heroes rising in each region—”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“If Pawns won’t suffice, send the Rooks, Knights, and Bishops this time. And if even that won’t be enough, send the Queens.”
“Master Jerome. Aren’t you being overly obsessed with Leo Plov?”
“I believe he’s worth that much. I have a rough sense of what kind of person he is. He is definitely not someone who will join us.”
Jerome clicked his tongue.
“Then it’s better to crush him before he grows any further. Alone, he can’t do anything anyway.”
===
[Speaking of which, Leo.]
“Yeah?”
[Is it really okay to leave those Justice Guild people alone?]
[Chirp.]
Fiora chimed in as though agreeing with Kirran.
But Leo was indifferent.
Now that he was faced with a far greater problem, the threat posed by the Justice Guild felt almost insignificant.
“They don’t seem like much of a threat right now, so I’ll wipe them out later.”
***
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