Editor : Amethyst00



Fwoooooom—!

“This is…!”

Lunia’s face went rigid with shock.

Chen Xia’s expression hardened as well.

It was that dreadful power—the one no one could ever forget, the power that had driven the world into calamity.

“The Flames of Calamity…!”

With cries of shock, Lunia and Chen Xia immediately ran toward the source of the energy.

Elena, Chelsea, and Eiran’s expressions changed instantly as well.

“Hm? So it really is exactly as Leo said?”

Narrowing her eyes, Elena turned her gaze toward the place where Erebos’s power could be felt.

“We need to evacuate everyone right now!”

At Chelsea’s urgent cry, Elena raised her index finger to her lips.

“Shh. Stay still for just a moment and let me get a grasp of the situation first.”

At Elena’s words, Chelsea and Eiran both faltered.

After gauging Erebos’s aura for a moment, Elena finally spoke.

“It doesn’t seem like a fragment of Erebos has actually revived after all.”

“What?”

At those words, Chelsea and Eiran both looked flustered.

Looking at the two of them, Elena said—

“I cast a detection spell over the area where the aura was coming from, but the presence is far too weak. It doesn’t even measure up to the fragment we defeated before.”

Elena recalled the portion of Erebos they had defeated before in Luna’s world.

A fragment of an Erebos shard that had been sealed in that world.

It did not possess even that much power.

“But Eiran said Lady Seiren came to the present world, right? Could something have been dragged along with her at the same time?”

“No. I don’t think so. But I’m certain it’s one of the fragments.”

Elena gave a shrug.

“Some bastard is using an Erebos fragment to wield its power.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I can see what’s happening over there right now.”

Elena spoke as she looked at the scene spread out across her vision.

Watching her, Eiran let out a quiet sound of admiration.

“You can see what’s happening far away in real time without using a magic device or a familiar?”

As a magic swordswoman, Eiran had immediately noticed that Elena was using a detection spell.

But detection magic was a type of magic that let one determine an enemy’s location and gather information about the surrounding area; it could not obtain visual information as well.

That was why, in order to acquire visual data, magic devices and familiars were used as supplementary tools.

Because transmitting visual information belonged to the domain of communication magic.

Of course, it was not impossible to obtain visual information through detection magic, but doing so required radically overhauling the spell formula itself, and on top of that, it took far too long, making it an absurdly inefficient method.

And yet Elena had pulled it off as though it were nothing.

“If you use a magic device or a familiar, it takes too long.”

“Normally, that’s the faster option, though…?”

As Eiran looked slightly flustered, Chelsea let out a small sigh.

“Eiran, you really shouldn’t try to understand Senior Elena when it comes to magic.”

Like Abad, Chelsea was also a mage who had been called a genius since childhood.

Her talent was so exceptional that it did not fade even in Lumene, where countless gifted individuals gathered.

In fact, although a complicated set of circumstances and good fortune had played a part, Chelsea had earned the epithet of Hero at a young age.

And yet even Chelsea, with all her talent, could not begin to measure the extent of Elena’s genius.

Elena, who had been smiling softly at Chelsea’s words, suddenly turned serious.

“A human using the power of Erebos… What in the world is that?”

There was no way to know its true identity.

But if it was connected to Erebos, then one thing was certain: it was a traitor.

'Is stopping that bastard the reason that child came from the future into the past?'

Having thought that far, Elena spoke.

“Chelsea. First, inform the professor of the situation, and evacuate the people while preventing confusion as much as possible.”

If they suddenly ordered an evacuation, it would only make the confusion worse, and people could be hurt in the chaos.

If this were truly the worst-case scenario, that might be unavoidable.

But in Elena’s judgment, the present crisis had not yet reached that point.

“Yes!”

With that answer, Chelsea immediately ran off.

“Eiran, help me out. I’m a mage, so I need a bodyguard.”

With a bright smile, Elena linked arms with Eiran.

“I’ll protect you.”

“Oh my, how reassuring. Then shall we go save my granddaughter?”

“Your granddaughter?”

“Yes. Rena is fighting the enemy right now.”

“Um…”

“Hm?”

“She could be my granddaughter too, you know.”

At that, Elena grabbed Eiran and started dragging her along.

“Stop talking nonsense and move.”

“But… that isn’t nonsense…”

“Come on, come on! Hurry up and move!”

bl

Whoosh—!

Leo raced toward the place where Erebos’s aura had been detected.

His movement was faster than anyone else’s.

As Leo ran across the rooftops on the school grounds at a terrifying speed, his eyes twitched.

[Leo!]

Elsie cried out urgently.

“Tch!”

A sharp click of Leo’s tongue rang out.

And in that instant, his vision went black.

Only for the briefest moment.

Tak—

Leo came to a stop.

Fwhoooooosh—!

A cold northern snow wind swept in.

A freezing gale.

It was nothing like the mild weather from just moments before.

And yet the place itself had not changed.

Leo was still standing exactly where he had been.

On the roof of the Seiren Building.

Leo’s eyes narrowed.

'What changed wasn’t the place… it was time.'

“No matter how many times I see it, it’s astonishing. To think you’re not surprised in the slightest.”

Leo’s gaze shifted straight ahead.

There, a man was standing.

A man with brilliant blond hair and golden eyes.

At the sight of him, Leo’s head tilted slightly to one side.

“A dragon?”

“Yes. I must admit, I’m rather tired of having to greet you yet again… but it can’t be helped. It is an honor to meet you, O great King of Beginnings, Leo Plov.”

Ignoring the man’s polite greeting, Leo glanced around his surroundings and said—

“A King?”

“Heh.”

“And you came from the future?”

“Well, now…”

“And this time period right now is the future too.”

“There’s something I’m genuinely curious about… Where in the world does that insight of yours come from?”

“Experience.”

Leo answered calmly.

The place had not changed.

Only the point in time had.

And yet the buildings of Seiren—the very heart of elven society—had been reduced to ruins.

Ever since Seiren was founded, it had always stood at the center of elven society.

Never once had it been left abandoned like this, untouched by elven hands.

If so, then there was only one answer.

'This is what the future looks like.'

It could not be the distant future.

At most, it was the near future—perhaps no more than a hundred years away.

'It doesn’t seem to be a mere illusion.'

Leo’s red eyes slowly took in the bleak, desolate sight of Seiren.

And without much difficulty, he realized that this was a future yet to come.

'To be precise, this must be the Seiren this bastard saw.'

“It is curious.”

“You mean the fact that the once-glorious Seiren fell into ruin like this?”

“No.”

Leo let out a short laugh.

“What I’m genuinely curious about is why you’re carrying around so much resentment and hostility after I went through hell to save the world.”

Leo truly was curious.

“Well, not that I’m bragging… but in the end, I did defeat Erebos, didn’t I?”

“……”

“And I must’ve dealt with Tartaros too.”

Irritation showed plainly on Leo’s face.

“This time, I must have defeated Erebos completely, didn’t I?”

Leo was genuinely dumbfounded by the conduct of the future Dragon King glaring at him like that.

“I should have created an age of peace, shouldn’t I?”

As he spoke, Leo studied the expression of the dragon who had come from the future.

There was no sign of denial.

“So I gave you everything, didn’t I?”

For one of the rare times, Leo openly showed his irritation.

“So what exactly are you dissatisfied with?”

He had no intention of boasting about having saved the world.

He had no intention of bragging about it either.

It was simply something that had to be done.

He had merely accomplished what he had failed to do five thousand years ago.

He had no desire to be worshipped for it now, nor any wish to stand above others because of it.

But the fact that someone still held resentment toward the age of peace he had won by staking everything on it filled him with irritation.

“What more do you want me to do?”

Leo demanded harshly.

The reason he was angry was painfully simple.

From the Age of Calamity up to the present—

so many had staked their lives on it.

No, they had tried to bring about the world’s long-cherished wish even at the cost of their actual lives.

Some had fallen in despair—

Some died carrying crushing guilt in their hearts, while others placed their faith in the generations to come and devoted nearly thousands of years of their lives to the world.

Leo was by no means a saint.

He had never once intended to save the world or sacrifice himself for faceless strangers he did not even know.

The driving force behind Leo’s actions had always been, in the end, his precious people.

And the reason he bore all of it in the end was because of them.

He didn't expect gratitude for the peaceful era he'd created.

But seeing a man from the future look at it as though, far from being grateful, he were saying “What you did was wrong” made Leo’s anger flare.

Leo had no fresh desire to earn the approval of future generations, yet as anger rose within him, he also felt genuine curiosity toward the dragon standing before him—this being who had gone so far as to come back into the past to voice his dissatisfaction directly to Leo himself.

“What exactly is this all about?”

At Leo’s question, the dragon curled the corner of his mouth upward.

“This is the first time you’ve asked a question like that, too.”

Watching the dragon wear an amused expression, Leo’s eyes narrowed.

'He’s been talking for a while now as if he’s gone through me many times before.'

“No matter what I say, you will never understand. In the end, the King of Beginnings will bring the Age of Heroes to an end. Just as your convictions demand.”

Shing—!

The dragon drew his sword.

“I am a Dragon King—one charged with selecting heroes and guiding the world onto the proper path.”

“Sounds like the future is desperately short on dragons fit to be Lords.”

“My apologies, but it seems the King of Beginnings believes that only he himself is special—”

Whoosh—!

As a blade strike came flying straight for his throat, Leo swung his sword.

And in that instant—

Kang—! Shhk!

“…?”

The sword veered away from the path Leo had predicted, knocked his blade aside, and sliced across his cheek.

'What is this?'

Was he being overwhelmed by superior swordsmanship?

No.

'He can see right through my movements.'

Leo’s red eyes turned toward the enemy before him.

“Do not worry. I have no intention of killing you.”

The Dragon King curled the corner of his mouth upward.

“No matter what anyone may say, the King of Beginnings is a precious life destined to defeat Erebos.”