Lunia, waking from her slumber, blinked a few times before hurriedly sitting up and scanning her surroundings.
Last night.
After witnessing that shocking scene, Lunia had fainted and fallen asleep before she knew it.
“Ugh...”
Letting out a groan, Lunia stood and approached one side of the room, where a note had been left.
It was a note from Eiran saying she had gone to attend classes at Lumene.
‘Leo and Carr... and that girl Chen Xia must have gone to Lumene as well.’
If so, the one remaining here now was...
‘Luna-nim.’
With complicated feelings, Lunia left the room and headed to the first floor.
Perhaps because it was morning, unlike the night before, the first floor was quiet.
Creeeak. Creeeak.
The distinctive friction of the old wooden stairs echoed as she descended.
And the moment she reached the first floor...
“Ah...”
Lunia let out an involuntary exclamation.
On the first floor of the tavern, several guests were having breakfast.
But what caught Lunia’s eye was an Elf sitting by the window.
Silver-blond hair shimmered in the morning sun, and intelligent, glowing golden eyes shone beneath it.
It was the image of Luna, Founder of the Nebula, that Lunia knew.
‘I knew it. I was seeing things yesterday!’
Lunia breathed a sigh of relief and was about to approach Luna when it happened.
Luna looked at the contents of her glass and muttered.
“Ugh. As I thought, wine is just expensive and not to my taste. What on earth did Lysinas and Dweno find so delicious about this?”
Watching Luna grumble with the expression of a laborer at a construction site, Lunia’s feet tangled, and she stumbled.
Thud!
Seeing a flamboyant red-haired Elf trip all by herself first thing in the morning, the guests eating breakfast began to whisper.
“Look at that Elf.”
“Looks like she hasn’t sobered up yet.”
“That Elf drinking from the break of dawn, and her... my illusions about Elves are shattering.”
Lunia lifted her head and glared at the people around her.
Startled, the people quickly turned their heads away.
Taking a deep breath, Lunia stood up and approached Luna.
Standing before Luna, Lunia straightened her clothes and cleared her throat with an ahem before starting her introduction.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is...”
“Yeah, I know. You’re Lunia, right?”
Luna spoke as she scribbled something down with a quill.
“Pardon?”
“We met twice in the Hero Record. No, wait. It was once, wasn’t it?”
“You remember what happened then?”
“Yeah. We fought Erebos together, didn’t we?”
Lunia wore a look of surprise as Luna looked up from her book and smiled at her.
It was surprising enough that Luna had come to the present world, but to think she remembered the events of the Hero Record!
Luna rested her chin on her hand as she watched Lunia’s bewildered expression.
“So? I heard you’re my successor?”
“What? That, what do you mean by that?”
Lunia’s face turned bright red.
“I heard everything from Leo.”
Lunia did not know what to do as she watched Luna break into a playful chuckle.
It was true that she wanted to follow in Luna’s footsteps.
However, Lunia felt embarrassed by the situation, as she had been designated as the successor without Luna herself knowing.
‘Ugh! Why did he have to say something like that!’
It was while Lunia was fidgeting, thinking of Leo.
“It’s reassuring, you know? Having a successor like you.”
Lunia’s eyes widened.
“Are you not displeased that I am your successor?”
“Huh? Why would I be displeased?”
“You don’t know much about me.”
“Yeah. I don’t know you that well.”
Luna smiled broadly.
“But I can tell what kind of Elf you are.”
“Pardon?”
One could tell a person’s disposition by looking at their Magic Power.
In Luna’s eyes, Lunia was a white flame.
“You are upright and overflowing with talent. That must be why you were able to complete Flame Emperor.”
That alone was enough, Luna muttered to herself.
“It wasn’t something I achieved alone. Katariu-nim’s help was also great.”
“That damn birdbrain?”
“B-Birdbrain?”
Lunia looked aghast as she watched Luna refer to the Phoenix King in such unconventional terms.
“I should have found a day to boil and eat him.”
Lunia, who had been blankly watching Luna click her tongue in annoyance, suddenly burst out laughing.
“Huh? Why?”
“A-Ah, no. Pffft. How should I put it... Yesterday’s appearance, and today’s too... You’re very different from the image I had imagined.”
“The me you imagined... No, what is the image people of this era have of me?”
“You were an image of beauty, benevolence, and purity. The perfect Elf itself.”
“What? That’s exactly me, isn’t it?”
Luna spoke with total sincerity.
Looking at her, Lunia agonized over how to respond.
She felt like she might get hit if she refuted it.
‘Is this how Ar felt?’
Lunia thought of her Beastman friend, Ar.
The cowardly Arron was completely different from the Hero people imagined.
But despite that, Ar did not falter and continued to respect him.
‘I’m ashamed of myself for losing my mind after seeing Luna-nim’s appearance yesterday.’
Taking a deep breath, Lunia looked at Luna with clear eyes.
“By the way, Luna-nim. What have you been doing since this morning?”
“I was creating magic.”
“Magic?”
“Yeah! The world right now is amazing!”
Luna spoke in an excited voice.
“Magic has developed to a point that can’t even be compared to 5,000 years ago! It’s the embodiment of possibility!”
Originally, Luna was supposed to attend classes since she was known as an exchange student at Lumene, but today she decided to stay here and conduct magic research.
Lunia listened intently to Luna’s words.
And with admiration, she began to exchange stories about magic with Luna.
Encouraged by Lunia’s attitude, Luna also continued the conversation joyfully.
While they were engaged in a heated discussion about magic, time had already passed well beyond lunch.
Ordering lunch, Luna leaned back in her chair and laughed.
“Chloe is one thing, but your ideas about magic are excellent too!”
“I’m so happy you’re praising me.”
“Velkia secretly hated studying, so it wasn’t easy to have discussions like this with her.”
Watching Luna hum a tune, Lunia smiled shyly.
“You, Eiran, Chelsea, Chloe, Abad... even that girl Eliana. It’s truly fun just watching all of you. You will all become magnificent mages. Ah, though that Eliana girl is a bit of the Velkia type.”
Luna recalled the promising mages she had met in this era.
She had already talked a lot with the honor students of Lumene’s second year.
And meeting Lunia like this made her truly happy.
Lunia, whom Leo had evaluated as her successor, also possessed infinite potential.
Just looking at her sparked magical inspiration.
“Ah~ I don’t want to leave.”
At those words, Lunia’s shoulders flinched.
Then, she parted her lips hesitantly.
“Luna-nim.”
“Yes?”
“Could you not stay in the present world permanently?”
Luna’s eyes went wide.
“It may be presumptuous of me to say... but Arron-nim saved the world once more recently.”
The subjugation of the Fragment of Erebos.
A feat the world had yearned for so much.
With this, the world moved one step closer to complete salvation.
And through her conversation with Luna, Lunia was certain.
‘If Luna-nim stays in the present world... the history of magic will change once more.’
“Just by Luna-nim remaining in this world, the world will surely be saved.”
Lunia could easily guess that the magic Luna was creating was Original Magic.
That magic, which combined Luna’s magical knowledge with modern magical knowledge, was enough to make Lunia tremble with excitement.
She could tell instinctively.
By Luna’s existence in this era, magic would achieve immense progress.
And...
‘I want to talk more with Luna-nim.’
Lunia felt sorry for Luna.
Even while they talked, Luna laughed joyfully while looking at the peaceful landscape outside the window.
The sight of countless people moving busily and the hectic streets.
It was literally an ordinary daily life, but Luna was truly happy, as if she were seeing something extraordinary.
Seeing that, Lunia realized.
‘This person... she hasn’t been able to enjoy anything.’
She saved the world by risking everything, but she could not enjoy a single thing.
It was a fact that Lunia, who had only seen her noble image in stories and history, could never have known.
Before being a Great Hero, she was a person.
“It’s strange.”
Luna laughed.
“Everyone who found out my true identity looked at me with awe. You’re the first one to look at me with pity.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. It just means you understand me that well.”
Luna reached out and patted Lunia’s red hair.
“Thank you.”
Lunia’s face flushed at Luna’s gentle touch.
“I’m curious. What kind of Hero you will grow into.”
“I want to become like you, Luna-nim.”
“Of course you should!”
Luna laughed heartily and stood up.
“Now then, let’s go out together with this Unni.”
“Go out?”
“Yeah. Shouldn’t we enjoy the festival?”
Grabbing Lunia’s wrist and pulling her up, Luna marched out the door with a confident stride.
It was just as Lunia was following her with a laugh.
“Halt.”
As soon as they left the tavern and walked a few steps into the alley, a group of Elves blocked their path.
Seeing this, Luna tilted her head, and Lunia’s face contorted.
“The Pureblood Society.”
“Pureblood Society? What’s that?”
Luna tilted her head.
“They’re Elf supremacists.”
“Elf supremacists...”
Luna furrowed her brows at Lunia’s answer.
“Something like High Elves?”
===
“All the Pureblood Society Elves who had connections with us have been annihilated.”
At the report from Atkan, the Archduke of Funeral, the Death King rested his chin on his hand and exhaled.
“It seemed like they were searching for a long time. As expected, Velkia made her move.”
The Elf Pureblood Society.
Previously, due to Leo’s activities, most of the Elves who had connections with the Death King were either killed or ousted.
But that did not mean the connection had been severed.
“Elves truly don’t change their racial characteristics. That’s why they’re easy to deal with.”
5,000 years ago.
It was also the Death King’s manipulation that had vainly brought down the massive Elven forces during the Era of Calamity.
Most Elves who fell into tribalism had rigid minds.
Their arrogance in believing they were the best gave them a firm belief that they could control everything.
Even if it was the power of Tartarus that would choke them.
Even if all the Pureblood Society Elves with connections were dead, the Death King did not feel much of anything.
This was because he was certain that Elves who would contact them would appear again someday.
The Archduke of Funeral bowed his head to the Death King.
“I still do not understand Hell Kaiser-nim’s intention in reviving the Fairy Knight.”
Fairy Knight Velkia.
She was the most powerful Hero resurrected by the Divine Authority of Death King Hell Kaiser.
However, even the Archduke of Funeral, who had been the Death King’s confidant for ages, found it difficult to gauge his intentions this time.
No matter how much the Death King’s Divine Authority had been strengthened by the power of Erebos, there were limits to Divine Authority.
And reviving Velkia as an Undead consumed a vast amount of power.
However, Velkia, who had been revived as a corpse, was beyond the Death King’s control.
“If you had used that power to wake the other Legion Commanders instead...”
“If I had awakened my old friends, it might have been a big help immediately.”
The Death King said leisurely.
“But unfortunately, Tartarus was defeated by the Great Heroes of the past.”
During the Era of Calamity.
The forces of Tartarus suffered a crushing blow from the Great Heroes.
“Even if they are revived, they will likely become sacrifices for the greenhorns being raised by the Surviving Hero.”
“But the Fairy Knight is a monster stronger than the Genesis Heroes. If she, whom you cannot control, were to point her blade at Tartarus...”
“If that happens, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. But Velkia will never point her blade at Tartarus.”
“Why is that? Please bestow your teachings upon my foolish self.”
“Because it wasn’t because of us that she was swept away by hatred.”
The corners of the Death King’s mouth curled up.
“She will never be able to tolerate it. The world as it is now.”
In a sense, it was a world more distorted and hideous than it had been 5,000 years ago.
Velkia would never tolerate that.
Countless forces would be annihilated by the rampaging Velkia.
“But if she were to meet the Surviving Hero...”
“His voice will not reach her. The sins she has committed will block her ears.”
Even the Death King who revived Velkia could not control her.
But the same was true for the other side.
Literally, a chaos that destroyed everything.
That was what Velkia was now.
“I’m curious. What reaction the Surviving Hero will show when he sees his fallen disciple.”
The Death King’s mouth twisted.
“And I wonder what expression he’ll wear when he finds out there was a blade-fight between his disciples.”
***
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