Schlick— schlick— schlick—!
Leo irritably sliced through Elgenie’s neck while gripping her head firmly.
Elgenie, who had been screaming from the agony in her throat, suddenly locked eyes with Leo.
A cold, expressionless face that seemed devoid of emotion.
Together with those dry, hollow red eyes.
Looking at him, Elgenie felt goosebumps rise all over her body.
“Kieeeeh! Keok!”
The scream spilling from Elgenie’s mouth was cut off.
What gagged her was none other than Leo’s sword, which had been sawing through her neck.
“Stop barking. It’s noisy.”
“Keok! Ggeok! Ggeok!”
Thuck—!
Leo annoyedly put strength into the sword he had shoved into Elgenie’s mouth.
The blade pierced through her mouth and came out the back of her neck, digging deeper into her flesh.
Elgenie’s blood-red eyes flashed dangerously as she coughed up clumps of blood and made stifled, choking sounds.
Flash—! Boom—!
A red flash sparked from the blood Elgenie spat out, triggering a massive explosion.
A colossal blast shook the very foundation of the earth.
From within the soaring dark-red flames and smoke, Elgenie burst out, clutching her neck.
“Hahaha! You stupid brat! Who do you think you’re dealing with?!”
Elgenie sneered as she looked back at the burning blood-red flames.
“I am the Queen of Blood! My blood itself is a powerful weapon! It is a power that even heroes fear! Serves you right! Ahahaha!”
Gasping for breath with bloodshot eyes, she mocked Leo relentlessly.
Elgenie was talking more than necessary.
It was a desperate struggle to escape the fear she felt.
As a Demon, she had lived her life as an object of terror.
Strong enough to rise to the rank of Legion Commander, Elgenie had been a powerful Demon since birth.
She had been active on countless battlefields and fought many heroes in the process.
Elgenie had rarely ever been the underdog.
Among the enemies she had faced, there were some strong enough that she could not handle them.
However, she could say for certain that there had never been anyone who could kill her as easily as crushing a bug until now.
The aura Leo radiated did not simply feel like that of an overwhelmingly powerful warrior or a hunter.
'He was like a butcher.'
It was a moment when Elgenie could not escape the fear of Leo that had been etched into her in that brief instant.
Fwoosh—!
“...!”
The blood-red flames wavered, then began to gather in one place.
Whoosh—!
Despite being swept up in the powerful explosion and flames, there was not even a single speck of soot on Leo’s body.
Flar—!
Leo looked down at the flaming blood-fire from Elgenie hovering above his palm, then looked up.
“The more I look at you, the more annoying you get.”
“What?”
“Are you from the Monster Queen’s Legion?”
“How do you know that?!”
At Leo’s words, Elgenie flinched and trembled.
The Legion Commanders of Tartarus were beings who led the Demons.
In the process, they sometimes created their own subordinates.
And depending on the Legion Commander’s characteristics, the tendencies of the Demons they created were revealed.
The murderous intent in Leo’s eyes grew even colder.
This was the place where Luna had closed her eyes long ago.
He could not tolerate a Demon setting foot in such a place.
Especially if that Demon was related to the Monster Queen, who shared a deep, ill-fated history with Luna from 5,000 years ago.
Fwoom—!
The blood flames burning in Leo’s hand began to blaze in a crimson hue.
“Purgatory.”
Leo completed the spell.
The flames of Purgatory were created with Star Magic.
It was a spell positioned at the very top of the fire-attribute spells within the Star Magic system perfected by Luna.
Of course, if one included Star Magic : Flame Emperor, which Lunia had mastered, the strongest fire magic within Star Magic would be the Flame Emperor.
Unfortunately, Flame Emperor was a magic Luna had failed to complete during her lifetime.
Therefore, by the standard of completed spells, the strongest in the fire lineage of Star Magic was Purgatory.
And Purgatory was a sort of lower-tier version of Flame Emperor, born during the experimental process of trying to complete the latter.
However...
'Flame Emperor was the magic Luna researched specifically to kill Erebos.'
Leo looked at the Purgatory blazing in his hand.
Even if it did not reach the level of Flame Emperor, it was still a magic of terrifying firepower to Demons who were not divine beings like Erebos.
Furthermore...
'It is the natural enemy of Demons who manipulate flames.'
Purgatory was the Flame of Purification.
It was a magic that exerted lethal power against Demons who dealt with fire.
Fwoosh—!
Leo’s sword was enchanted with Purgatory.
“Leo-nim?”
Chen Xia called out to Leo cautiously.
He was different from the Leo she knew.
“Are you angry?”
Leo turned to look at Chen Xia, who asked with a worried expression, and gave a slightly bitter smile.
“Would you two mind waiting here?”
Leo looked at his sword again.
“It’s a side of myself I’m not particularly fond of showing.”
It was then.
Unable to withstand the sight of Leo, Elgenie fled.
She realized instinctively.
That the boy before her was a monster.
Just as Leo was about to pursue Elgenie, a gate opened and monsters poured out.
Leo frowned at the sight.
“Go, Leo-nim,” Eiran said, drawing her sword.
“Will you be okay?”
“You cannot forgive them, can you? A Demon setting foot in the place where Luna-nim rests.”
Eiran spoke with eyes sharper than usual.
“I cannot forgive them either. I will cut down these hideous monsters.”
At Eiran’s words, Chen Xia raised her hand.
“I don’t know the full situation, but... from the moment I resolved to follow Leo-nim, I never intended to be a burden to you.”
Chen Xia smiled brightly.
“If Eiran-ssi and I join forces, we can easily handle monsters like these. Please go and execute that Legion Commander without worry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Compared to Leo-nim, we may still be lacking. But please don’t think of us as subjects that only need to be protected. Remember what you said to Duran during the combat tactics class? That you would be waiting at the peak.”
Chen Xia gave a soft laugh.
“I want to stand on the same stage as Leo-nim. I will do my best to catch up. So please, trust us.”
“Me too, Leo-nim!”
Leo stared at the two girls speaking so enthusiastically.
Then, he let out a short laugh.
“They really do grow up fast.”
Watching the two girls, who were growing faster than he had thought, Leo stepped forward.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Taking an Aura Step, Leo pursued Elgenie at incredible speed.
“Let’s go, Xia-ssi!”
Eiran, armed with the shield Erquinte that Dweno had made for her, stepped forward eagerly, then paused.
“Xia-ssi?”
Eiran was flustered as she saw Chen Xia wearing a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
“If he knows we’re growing fast, I wish he’d see us as women a little more.”
===
Leo tore through the forest at immense speed, pursuing Elgenie.
It had not taken long for Leo to get past the Legion Elgenie had summoned.
But even that short amount of time was enough for a powerful Demon of the Legion Commander class to escape.
'For an ordinary opponent, that is.'
Leo narrowed his eyes.
His awakened Hyper Sense keenly scouted the surroundings.
During the height of the Era of Calamity.
The Great Heroes who had suppressed countless Demons had, at some point, become objects of terror to the Demons.
Among them, the one the Demons feared most was none other than the Surviving Hero Kyle.
The reason was simple.
'Because I killed Demons in the most brutal ways.'
He was a man who had executed traitors and shown a ruthless hand in the process.
There was no reason to go easy on Demons, the fundamental enemies who had pushed the world to the brink of ruin.
And through his long years as a mercenary, Leo knew very well.
There was no better way to control a battle than by etching fear into the enemy.
Demons and monsters were living creatures too.
As such, they possessed fear.
Any Demon who had faced Leo and survived felt an immense sense of dread.
Snap—!
Leo adjusted his grip on his sword.
In that instant, he threw the sword like a projectile.
Thwack—!
“Keok!”
The sword, flying at incredible speed, buried itself in Elgenie’s back.
“H-How...”
“You should give up on running.”
Grip—!
Leo grabbed the hilt of the sword.
“Of all the Demons I decided to kill on the battlefield, the only one who ever successfully escaped was Sillatna.”
“Ugh! What nonsense are you—”
Rip—!
“Kyaaaaaakh!”
As Leo jerked the sword upward, Elgenie’s body was brutally torn open.
Squelch! Crack! Screech—!
Leo’s sword strikes shredded Elgenie’s body with terrifying speed.
“Stop... it! You inferior creature!”
Struggling in agonizing pain, blood sprayed from Elgenie’s body like buckshot.
Kaboom—!
Wherever the fragments of blood touched, a massive explosion occurred.
However, Leo did not take even a scratch from Elgenie’s attack.
Crunch—!
“Kihek!”
Rather, he was faster in crushing Elgenie’s head with his foot.
Crack— Snap—!
Her mangled head regenerated at incredible speed.
Leo kicked the regenerating Elgenie.
Elgenie rolled miserably across the ground and struggled to push herself up.
“How...”
“It’s because I’ve killed more than just a couple of Demons.”
Leo smiled coldly.
“I’ve hunted those who use all sorts of bizarre powers until I was sick of it. Usually, those types only rely on their innate strength.”
Leo’s sword flashed as he finished speaking.
“Kieeeeeeh!”
Slash! Splat—! Thud!
Leo’s sword thoroughly butchered Elgenie.
Elgenie, who had been systematically tortured by Leo just enough to stay alive, trembled violently as her body recovered.
“You! Just! Just why are you doing this to me?!”
Looking at Elgenie, who was shaking after losing all reason, Leo spoke.
“Do you Demons have a reason for trying to destroy the world?”
Elgenie was left speechless.
“It’s the same thing. The reason I’m brutally killing a Demon like you.”
Leo gave a cold sneer and spoke.
“You... just who are you?!”
“Leo Plov. Didn’t you hear my name from the Death King?”
“Leo Plov?”
Elgenie’s face turned pale.
She had heard it from the Death King.
That if she ever encountered him, it would be difficult to survive, so she should avoid a confrontation if possible.
Until then, the Legion Commanders, including Elgenie, had not been able to understand it.
They had doubted whether there was a need to fear a mere human of such a young age, even if he was a hero.
But now that she was facing him like this, she understood the meaning behind the Death King’s words.
“Anyway, you’re weak for a Legion Commander. He must have a lot of worries.”
Leo realized in an instant that the Legion Commander before him was a weakling even among her rank.
The Legion Commander who had been resurrected before, Curse King Kigors, had not been this pathetic.
Even though Kigors had not been at full strength at the time, he still possessed power befitting a Legion Commander.
“Did you just take Sillatna’s place after she vanished? No wonder you’re so mediocre.”
When Leo threw out the mockery, Elgenie’s shoulders trembled.
“How dare... a mere human look down on me!”
“I don’t think someone who doesn’t even have the qualifications to be a Legion Commander has any right to speak.”
Leo raised the hand that was not holding his sword.
Along with powerful Magic Power, Cometes was summoned.
Vrum—!
A powerful Star Magic surged.
“Give up.”
Leo sneered.
“It’s easier if you just give up.”
Flames of Purgatory, far more powerful than anything shown so far, blazed up.
Roar—!
Elgenie’s face grew pale.
At that moment.
Hummm—!
“...?”
Cometes reacted.
Flash—!
'What is this?'
Suddenly, Lysinas’s Spirit Power surged in Leo’s hand.
Cometes reacted to that Spirit Power of Lysinas.
Hum—! Hum—!
'Luna’s Magic Power within Cometes is resonating?'
Just as Leo was flustered by the power slipping out of his control.
Crumble—!
Cometes turned into grains of light.
“What?”
Leo hurriedly reached out toward Cometes.
But he could not catch Cometes, which had already become grains of light.
Seeing that, Leo was shocked.
'The retrieval function inside Cometes?'
During her life, Luna had a strong attachment to the staves she used.
Just as a knight collected Artifacts.
Luna also had a hobby of collecting powerful Magic Staves.
Because her attachment to her possessions was so strong, she had also engraved a Retrieval Magic Formula into her staves.
That was a function literally only the owner could use.
Not even Leo, let alone Seiren, should have been able to use that magic.
'The only one who can use it is one person.'
It was when Leo had a bewildered expression on his face.
Fwooooosh—!
“W-What is this?”
Elgenie’s body began to burn.
The bewilderment on Elgenie’s face suddenly began to turn into ecstasy.
“Ah... the power... the power!”
The blood-red flames soon turned into Black Flames.
Elgenie trembled from a sense of omnipotence she had never attained until now.
“Ah! I can hear it! I can hear it!”
Holding her head and rolling her eyes back, Elgenie shouted in a trembling voice.
“God’s... the Great God’s voice is calling! God desires it!”
Having lost her sanity, Elgenie lunged at Leo with crazed eyes.
“Surviving Hero Kyle! He wants your death!”
At the sudden change in atmosphere, Leo narrowed his eyes and raised his sword.
Slash—!
Elgenie’s head flew into the air.
Leo had seen something similar to this before.
'Erebos’s lingering thoughts.'
It resembled the thoughts of Erebos he had encountered at the place where he had died.
The fact that Elgenie, who had been calling him Leo Plov, suddenly called him Kyle seemed to be due to that influence as well.
Quickly assessing the situation, Leo adjusted his sword and was about to strike down Elgenie’s torso.
Whoosh—!
Elgenie’s body was swept away by Black Flames and vanished.
Thud—!
Leo, having struck the ground fruitlessly, let out a breath.
'She got away.'
He could no longer feel her presence.
She had completely vanished.
Shing— clack—!
Leo sheathed his sword, sent it back to Subspace, and looked down at the back of the hand that had been holding Cometes.
A Contract Seal had appeared there.
It was neither a Spirit’s nor a Summoned Beast’s.
It was the first Contract Seal Leo had ever obtained.
'Spirit Contract.'
A contract with a Spirit he had never made.
And from the faint Star Magic he felt from it, Leo felt his heart tremble.
Step— step—
The entire forest had suddenly become quiet.
The presence of the monsters he had felt until moments ago had vanished as if washed away.
Leo took his eyes off his hand and looked around the silenced forest.
Then he started walking in the direction Cometes had flown.
Crunch— crunch— crunch—
The sound of treading on scattered flowers and fallen leaves echoed quietly.
Rustle— rustle—
Soon, the sound of footsteps changed to the sound of treading on vibrant grass.
At that moment, Leo stopped walking.
'Magic?'
Leo’s eyes widened as he saw the Illusion Magic spread out before him.
He did not know who had cast it, but it was an Illusion Magic so sophisticated that even Leo had difficulty recognizing it.
Leo reached out his hand.
The space wavered, and a new space appeared.
Shhhhhh—!
What appeared before his eyes were two gravestones.
Among them, Leo’s gaze was drawn to a familiar gravestone.
5,000 years ago.
The gravestone Leo and Lysinas had made.
And beside it...
'My gravestone.'
It was the tomb where the remains recovered by Velkia and Vihar were buried.
In front of Kyle’s tomb was a black dagger he had seen before.
'Vihar’s dagger?'
It was the dagger Leo had asked Dweno to make and given to Vihar as a gift.
Just as Leo was about to approach the tomb.
Hummm—!
The Spirit Contract engraved on the back of his hand reacted.
Leo’s gaze turned toward Luna’s tomb.
There, Cometes, which had become grains of light, was floating.
Within those grains of light, he could feel someone’s clear presence.
The moment he saw it, Leo felt his heart stir.
'What on earth is going on?'
Questions arose.
But one thing was certain.
Leo reached out toward Cometes with a trembling hand.
The moment he extended his hand toward the unseen someone.
Someone grabbed Leo’s hand.
And then...
Whoosh—!
Flower petals fluttered all around.
The grains of light gathered into one and gradually began to take shape.
But it was not the shape of a staff.
The Light Orb transformed into a human figure.
Then, finally, the light vanished, and there stood a beautiful elf floating in the air, holding Leo’s hand.
Leo, who had suspected as much, gasped at the sight.
The body of the elf floating in the air, Luna, slowly descended and landed on the ground with a soft rustle.
Leo, frozen while holding her hand, carefully spoke.
“Lu... na?”
At Leo’s call, Luna’s closed eyelids trembled.
Then, golden eyes shining like stars revealed themselves to the world.
Whoosh—
Her pale silver hair fluttered in the blowing wind.
The beautiful eyes, which had been hazy as if she had just woken up, soon came into focus.
Luna, who had been staring blankly up at Leo, smiled and answered his call.
“Yes, Kyle.”
***
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