Under a sky dyed in twilight colors, a knight wielding a longsword and a knight wielding a greatsword faced each other.
Tamuss, the greatsword-wielding knight armed with brilliant Artifacts, spoke.
“You came out alone, Twilight Knight.”
Tamuss’s voice was chilling.
“The ignorant masses of the world love to prattle on.”
Tamuss pointed Nyx, which he held in his hand, at Lumene.
“That the Twilight Knight is the successor to Kyle, the Hero of Beginning.”
The Hero of Beginning, Kyle.
2,000 years ago.
The last Great Hero who saved the world from the brink of destruction.
He overcame countless hardships and trials, surpassing his limits again and again.
Kyle, who ultimately saved the world even in a desperate situation, remains a figure respected as a role model by all heroes even now, 2,000 years later.
A hero’s Epithet is something bestowed by the gods.
In the most literal sense, Kyle was the beginning of a new era acknowledged by the gods.
That was why any hero would want to be called Kyle’s successor.
“I cannot accept it.”
Tamuss narrowed his eyes.
“The Hero of Beginning is the greatest, noblest, and strongest of all heroes. It is absurd that a former slave like you would be his successor.”
At those words, Lumene closed his eyes.
“Furthermore, even after conquering the Hero of Beginning’s Hero Record, you failed to obtain the [Conquest Reward]. Do you really think someone like you is worthy of being the successor to the Hero of Beginning?”
“I know better than anyone that I am not worthy of being the successor to the Hero of Beginning.”
Lumene answered Tamuss calmly.
“Because I failed to surpass my limits.”
Looking down at his own hands, Lumene said,
“It is absurd for someone like me, who gave up without overcoming them, to be called Lord Kyle’s successor.”
Even after conquering Kyle’s Hero Record, Lumene had failed to obtain the [Conquest Reward].
Lumene believed he had failed to receive it because he was unworthy of becoming Kyle’s successor.
‘Ever since I was young, I admired and respected him. That’s why I wanted to carry on his will.’
But even after climbing to a place close to him, he ultimately failed to reach him.
That was his limit.
His comrades had all fulfilled their roles.
Worthy of being the successors to the Great Heroes, they had each inherited the power of their respective Great Hero.
‘But I, who failed to inherit Lord Kyle’s power, failed to fulfill my role. And because of that, I nearly led my friends to their deaths.’
No matter how far he stretched out his hand, he could not reach Kyle.
From the very beginning, their foundations were different.
Kyle was [All-Class], while he was a Magic Swordsman.
“You certainly know your place.”
Tamuss mocked Lumene.
“If I had been the one to conquer Kyle’s Hero Record instead of you… I would have definitely inherited Kyle’s power.”
“No, you wouldn’t have been able to inherit Lord Kyle’s power either.”
“What?”
“In the first place, just because I am not Lord Kyle’s successor, isn’t it ridiculous for you to think that you are?”
“How dare a mere former slave say such things in front of me?”
“Rodia waited for you until the very end. She believed you would come.”
Lumene’s eyes turned cold.
“It wasn’t only Rodia. Seiren, Azonia, and Damienne as well. Even though we now walk completely different paths, they never once doubted that you would come as long as you were still a hero.”
“You…”
“The whole world was waiting for you.”
Until the very moment the Return of the Calamity came to an end.
In the eyes of the public, the Nether Knight had been acknowledged as the strongest hero.
His reputation had surpassed even that of the Genesis Heroes.
More than that, many said he was a hero even stronger than the Genesis Heroes.
It was not merely because of his individual martial prowess.
The power he possessed did not stop at shaking the hegemony of the continent. It was strong enough to threaten even Tartarus.
Even the shadows, who had lived as objects of fear and contempt and never revealed themselves to the world, appeared on the battlefields against Tartarus under the banner of the Shan Empire.
“Everyone joined forces against the returning calamity. Because everyone knew why the world had once been driven to the brink of destruction 2,000 years ago.”
The reason the world had once reached the crisis of extinction during the Era of Calamity was not simply because of the catastrophic existence known as Erebos.
More than that, it was because a divided world had been powerless against the advance of Tartarus.
Even while the world was spiraling toward destruction, fighting between its peoples had not ceased.
After the Era of Calamity came to an end and a new era began, the world strove to ensure that such a thing would never happen again.
“There were divisions and conflicts. There were constant disputes between races and wars between factions. But the past was never forgotten. For the last 2,000 years, whenever Tartarus showed signs of movement, the world turned its blades away from one another and united against evil.”
The conflict between the Genesis Heroes and the Nether Knight was a famous story.
Even so, people believed they would unite in the face of a crisis threatening the world.
No one doubted for even a moment that the Nether Knight, called the strongest hero, would raise his sword to eradicate evil.
But what returned instead was a betrayal of that trust.
People fell into deep despair.
And in the midst of that despair, the Genesis Heroes subjugated the Fragment of Erebos and saved the world.
Yet the joy was short-lived.
The people turned their anger toward the Nether Knight and his empire, Tarim.
And that anger soon became ridicule.
“Your sin is not merely that you stood by during the world’s crisis. With your own hands, you destroyed one of the greatest legacies the Great Heroes left behind, a bond the world had maintained for the last 2,000 years. And yet you dare claim to be Lord Kyle’s successor?”
Anger flared across Lumene’s face.
“Hmph. Such thinking suits a lowly slave.”
Tamuss snorted.
“Wasn’t the Fragment of Erebos subjugated in the end? The fact that it was dealt with by your hands even though I, the greatest hero, did not step forward proves it was not such a great threat.”
Tamuss wore an arrogant expression.
“Once you fall by my hand, the people will realize soon enough. They will see that the feat you all accomplished was nothing special. And when that happens… Rodia. That girl will also realize. That her choice was wrong!”
Wooooooo—!
Pitch-black Aura poured from Tamuss’s body.
“They’ll understand that the one who should be called the greatest hero is still me!”
Flash—!
A gleam flashed in his eyes.
Spirit Energy erupted from his body.
“Glorious Spirits who follow my will! Rise! Show this arrogant fool who dares challenge my dignity that the heavens are high!”
At Tamuss’s roar, Subspace opened and the Artifacts of heroes poured out.
The Spirits summoned from those Artifacts revealed themselves.
The Heroic Legion Tamuss was so proud of.
Heroes who had fallen by his hand, and heroes who had died on the battlefield while following him.
Tamuss had formed contracts with such heroes and used them as Spirits.
It was a technique possible only for him, the man known as the greatest Necromancer in the 2,000-year history since the Age of Heroes.
That was the reason he had been called the strongest hero.
Yet despite Tamuss’s command, the Spirits did not move.
“Insolent! Why do you not obey my command!”
Tamuss’s face twisted in confusion.
“I told you. You betrayed the world’s trust.”
Lumene pointed his sword at Tamuss.
“Did you really think the Spirits would follow someone like you?”
At Lumene’s cold words, Tamuss’s face contorted.
“Pathetic fools. How dare you betray me.”
Whoosh—!
After dismissing the Spirits, Tamuss curled his lip.
“It doesn’t matter. The reason I am called the strongest hero is not because of Spirit Magic.”
Tamuss lowered his stance and tightened his grip on Nyx.
“What can you possibly do alone? Your little achievement was only possible because you leaned on my former comrades.”
It had only been five years since Lumene had joined with Rodia.
Tamuss remembered the first time he met Lumene.
Lumene had certainly conquered a Great Hero’s Hero Record alone.
But that had been no more than the [Prologue].
Back then, Lumene had been nothing more than a weakling who had not even earned the title of hero.
Only five years.
How strong could a weakling who could not even properly block a single one of his blows have become?
Boom—!
Tamuss charged at Lumene.
Slash—!
And then his vision flipped upside down.
“What?”
A dazed sound escaped Tamuss.
Tamuss did not know.
When all the Genesis Heroes had fallen, the one who did not give up until the very end and took the head of the Fragment of Erebos had been Lumene, the Twilight Knight.
He did not know that Lumene’s power had already surpassed his long ago.
And that Lumene’s swordsmanship…
‘…Hero of Beginning… Kyle?’
Tamuss had never entered Kyle’s Hero Record.
However, he had met him within the Hero Records of other Great Heroes.
That was why he could tell at a glance.
The trajectory of Lumene’s sword just now was identical to Kyle’s.
In his inverted vision, he saw Lumene’s back.
That figure somehow overlapped with Kyle’s.
‘To mock me with such a lie! You did inherit Kyle’s power!’
Veins bulged in Tamuss’s bloodshot eyes.
‘How could he have become this strong in so short a time?’
Questions swirled in Tamuss’s fading mind.
‘I see! He didn’t become strong through his own power, but through the [Conquest Reward] of the Hero Record! Unforgivable! You fake hero!’
Having reached his own conclusion, Tamuss spewed out his hatred.
‘It’s all because of you! The Spirits betrayed me because of you! Rodia abandoned me because of you! I failed to inherit the Great Hero’s power because of you! I failed to inherit Kyle’s power because of you! It’s all because of you!’
His consciousness began to fade.
‘If only you had never existed! That place should have been mine…’
===
“You crazy bastard.”
“What… did you say?”
“Why would you ever be my successor? I’ve never had a successor like you.”
“Do you also think Lumene is your successor?! That man is a lowly former slave! He is not worthy of inheriting your great name!”
Tamuss shouted in agitation.
“I, Tamuss of noble blood, am the one worthy of being your successor…”
“I’ve never particularly thought of Lumene as my successor either. What does being someone’s successor even matter? Anyone who tries to save the world is someone walking in our footsteps.”
Leo spoke indifferently.
“In that sense, you aren’t even a hero, let alone my successor.”
“What?”
At Leo’s declaration, Tamuss’s body trembled with rage.
“A fake hero born by borrowing the power of the Hero Record dares judge me—”
Just as Tamuss was about to erupt in fury, his movements abruptly stopped.
Then his body began to tremble like a leaf.
“Th-this… This can’t be…”
Tamuss stared at the message in front of him, horror filling his face.
[Heroic status has been revoked.]
(T/N : Serves you right you annoying prick. On a side note, then does that mean more people will find out now that he is Kyle?)
***
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