Editor : Amethyst00



"Do you know me?"

Aaron looked at the boy he had never seen before, his face showing slight confusion.

"I do."

At that, Leo nodded.

He wanted to talk a little more.

There were so many things he wanted to say.

But right now, what he had to do was awaken the Hero standing before him.

And for Leo, who had fought countless battles for so long, that was not a difficult task.

"Your siblings are in danger."

"What?"

Aaron, wearing a confused expression, widened his eyes at Leo’s words.

"Tonight, your siblings might all die. I need your strength."

Aaron turned his stiff face toward the far southern edge— toward the place where his home was.

He could clearly sense something ominous.

Whoooom—!

Aura whirled around him.

The pupils of his once-gentle golden eyes narrowed vertically.

His eyes sharpened, his muscles swelled slightly, and fangs peeked out.

To leap in one motion, Aaron placed his foot on the railing.

Then, suddenly, he turned to look back at Leo.

"Have we… met somewhere before?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"In the not-too-distant future."

For a moment, Aaron wore a puzzled look.

"Now’s not the time to talk about that."

"Ah!"

Hearing Leo’s words, Aaron kicked off the railing.

Crack—!

Leo laughed as he watched Aaron’s figure vanish at invisible speed.

‘Running for the sake of someone precious— some things never change, then or now.’

bl

The southernmost edge of Raysar.

In the place known as the Cursed Quarter, two figures—one man and one woman—appeared.

"Why must I come back to this nauseating place again?"

Even for someone like Levaiten, one of the ruling powers, it wasn’t easy to issue orders to slaughter residents where an outbreak had occurred.

Especially since if it turned out that no real plague existed, things could become very troublesome.

That’s why he only sent a small number of people who followed him completely.

"Useless trash."

In the end, because they had failed, Levaiten had no choice but to come here himself.

Moments later, Levaiten arrived at a clearing.

And there, as though he had been waiting, stood Aru.

Levaiten’s eyes twitched.

"Ha, so I got done in by some brat like that?"

"You’d better leave now—unless you want to end up like your men."

"How dare you—do you even know who you’re talking to?"

Levaiten curled his lips upward.

"I am the one who will become the lord of Raysar. The future Great Hero who will be praised by all people of the surface for generations to come!"

"Don’t make me laugh. In the future, there won’t be a single person who praises scum like you."

"What?"

"Someone like you won’t even be recorded in history. Oh wait—no, you will be recorded."

Aru grinned fiercely.

"In the Age of Calamity, there once existed trash like you."

The Hero Record—the chronicle written by the gods, recording the footsteps of heroes.

Everything that happens in the world of heroes is guaranteed as truth under the name of the gods.

Sometimes, the discovery of a new Hero Record would invalidate old histories and rewrite the world’s official accounts.

If Leo and Aru conquered this world, Levaiten—an existence from five thousand years ago—would be written into history.

And future generations would forever curse his name.

Levaiten’s face flushed red with rage.

"How dare you!"

The furious Levaiten charged toward Aru.

Kwaaang—!

In the blink of an eye, a massive greatsword appeared in his hand, and he swung it with terrifying force.

Each strike was so deadly that even a graze could mean death.

But Aru’s eyes clearly traced the sword’s trajectory.

Fwoosh—!

"……!"

"All that strength, and still such a sloppy attack."

"You little…!"

Seeing Aru standing atop his greatsword, smirking, Levaiten released a surge of mana into his greatsword.

Bzzzzzt—!

Blue sparks crackled.

But before the magic could strike, Aru leapt away, widening the distance.

“You don’t seem like a warrior. For your skill, that weapon’s wasted.”

Levaiten, who could use any powerful armament from the lord’s armory, was clad in countless magical artifacts.

But that was all he had.

Having been trained since childhood, exposed to every kind of ability, and prepared to become a hero, Aru was not someone who could be overpowered by a man who relied solely on weapons.

"A mage pretending to be a warrior."

Aru narrowed her eyes, having seen right through Levaiten’s strength.

And indeed, it was as she said.

His close combat ability came only from the magical weapons he wielded— Levaiten was, purely, a magician.

So his weapon handling was clumsy.

"Pathetic!"

All show, no substance.

"Who are you calling pathetic, you filthy wretch?!"

Levaiten shouted furiously.

"You call me trash?! I am a Hero! The one destined to rule Raysar as the Great Hero!"

Killing intent flashed in Aru’s eyes.

“Don’t you dare put the word ‘Great Hero’ in your mouth!”

The fur on Aru’s body bristled with rage.

She compressed aura into her toes.

Boom—!

Her body, coiled tight with energy, shot forward like an arrow.

"Kh! Re–Reflection Shield!"

Crash—!

Aru’s kick struck Levaiten’s protective magic.

Crackle—!

Cracks ran through the wall of mana Levaiten had formed.

Levaiten’s face turned pale.

But the barrier didn’t break.

He had poured all his mana into it— the magic held firm.

"Uraaaahhh!"

Feeling her strength bounce back through the barrier, Aru roared and invoked the Brave's Breath.

The aura gathered in her foot exploded in intensity.

She could have redirected the rebound to minimize the damage and prepare for another strike— but she didn’t.

She couldn’t forgive the traitor before her for daring to utter the title “Great Hero.”

With sheer defiance, Aru forced her returning strength back through.

A sharp pain seized her right leg as though something massive was crushing it.

But Aru didn’t care. She raised her head and thrust her leg out.

‘I won’t be satisfied until I smash this bastard’s face in!’

Crack—BOOM!

"Kehek?!"

Aru’s kick struck Levaiten squarely.

Levaiten’s body was violently hurled away, smashing through building walls one after another.

"Haa… haa…"

Aru gasped, pain pulsing through her right leg.

Clap— clap— clap—

"Impressive. No—astonishing."

Aru’s gaze turned toward the woman.

"Mother was right. The heroes of the surface are still dangerous."

"Hmph! Come here then, I’ll send you flying too!"

Aru swung her leg in the air and growled.

The woman smiled.

"My, can you really do that, little kitten?"

Crack—snap—crunch!

As the woman shed her human skin, her body swelled grotesquely.

Aru’s face hardened.

"Wouldn’t it be lucky if you don’t get eaten instead?"

Her lower half was that of a giant spider— a demon with the upper body of a human mocked Aru.

A disgustingly vile mouth flicked open beneath her abdomen.

"A… a demon?"

Aru’s face went pale.

Overwhelming fear seized her.

"How? Why don’t you smell like one?"

The demon before her carried no trace of the typical demonic stench— instead, she smelled like a dense forest.

The woman—Taratnia—smiled sweetly as Aru backed away.

"Who knows? Maybe because I ate the arm of the Fairy King?"

Daughter of the Monster Queen Sillatna— the Spider Princess, Taratnia.

After devouring the Fairy King’s arm along with his ring, she discovered that her demonic presence could be erased.

And so she secretly infiltrated the refugee city— for she knew that the sword Schatten, once wielded by Agon in the war against the Hero Alliance ten years ago, contained an Elemental Lord.

The greedy demon who had eaten the Fairy King’s arm used Levaiten merely to devour that Elemental Lord.

"Now then."

Her grotesque spider legs lifted high.

"Die."

Fwoosh—!

Like a massive spear, her front leg thrust down to pierce Aru—

Clang—!

A shadow shot up in front of her, blocking the strike.

"So you finally appear, Schatten."

Taratnia licked her lips.

Looking at her, Elsie spoke.

"Schatten is merely the name of the sword I dwell in. My name is Elsie."

"The name doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m going to eat you."

Riiip—!

Mouth opening wide, Taratnia lunged to bite her.

Clang—!

In an instant, her body froze.

Frowning, Taratnia looked back— her shadow was being held down.

Expressionless, Elsie unleashed her power.

"Huh?"

Taratnia’s front leg, its shadow seized, trembled violently— and then—

Slash—!

Crack—!

Without hesitation, her own leg skewered her throat.

And that wasn’t all.

Her other spider legs twisted at horrifying angles.

With her shadow seized, Taratnia became nothing more than a puppet on strings— and Elsie was the one pulling them.

"Nothing’s changed in ten years, Spider Princess."

Taratnia, who had once defeated both Agon and Elsie, Elsie smiled lightly and snapped her fingers.

Crunch—!

Taratnia’s vision flipped upside down— her neck had been cleanly broken.

Blinking, she suddenly burst into mad laughter.

"Kyahahahahaha! Interesting! So interesting!"

Crack—snap—pop!

Her twisted limbs instantly mended.

Her pierced, shattered body returned to normal.

The Spider Princess, whose power could destroy nations, possessed near-infinite vitality.

Elsie’s expression faltered as she saw Taratnia regenerate instantly.

Thud—!

"Gah?!"

In a blink, Taratnia’s front leg impaled Elsie’s body.

Elsie’s face contorted.

Slash-slash-slash—!

From her wounds burst shards of darkness, shredding Taratnia’s body into unrecognizable pieces.

"How’s that? Not the same as ten years ago, right?"

With only her mouth remaining above a destroyed body, Taratnia smiled wickedly.

"You think an immature Elemental Lord without a contractor can defeat me, daughter of Sillatna?"

"Kh…!"

"I wonder… what does a Elemental Lord taste like?"

Riiip—!

Even as she was torn apart, Taratnia’s greed never waned.

With her endless vitality, she was a living catastrophe—impossible to kill.

Just as she lunged to bite into Elsie’s neck—

Fwoosh—CRACK!

Aru flew in and kicked Taratnia’s jaw.

Her face twisted at an odd angle, and she grimaced irritably.

"Little kitten."

Though terrified, Aru’s spirit burned once more.

"That coward… saved the world."

For some reason, Leo’s voice passed through her mind.

‘If I’m following in the Brave’s footsteps— I can’t just stand here, trembling in fear!’

Gritting her teeth, Aru prepared to strike again.

Thud!

"Kh!"

Suddenly, her head rang— one of the spider legs had struck her hard across the skull.

"I’ll save you for dessert later."

Taratnia sneered as Aru, bleeding from her head, crashed into a corner— then turned her gaze back to Elsie.

"Ugh…!"

Just as Aru struggled to stand again—

"Are you alright?"

"Huh?"

At the voice behind her, Aru jerked her head up.

And her eyes widened.

"You’ve held on well."

Aru’s body trembled.

He looked different from what she remembered.

Younger, to be exact.

But she knew him at a glance.

The figure who had given her courage in her childhood— the one she had admired, who saved the world.

"Sir Aaron."