Editor : Amethyst00



Elena walked up to the elf girl writhing on the ground.

The slave girl, Merin, had been kicked in the stomach. Blood trickled from her mouth.

Elena stirred her mana.

Vrrmm—!

A soft light enveloped Merin’s face, easing her pain.

“E-En, you can use magic?”

Merin, who had grown up with her since childhood, couldn’t hide her surprise at seeing her friend cast magic.

“I’m not En right now, Merin.”

“What?”

Seeing Merin’s confusion, Elena smiled brightly.

“I borrowed your friend’s body to punish the bad people.”

Merin was flustered as Elena gently stroked her hair.

She didn’t understand what her friend meant, but being too young to truly grasp the world, she believed her words.

“Are… are you an angel?”

“Oh my, how sweet.”

Elena beamed and patted Merin’s head.

Squelch—!

Just then, a wet sound echoed.

Hearing it, Elena smiled radiantly.

“Merin, keep your eyes shut until I tell you to open them, alright?”

“Y-Yes.”

Merin squeezed her eyes tight.

Elena rose and turned around.

And there he was—Sarman, his upper body blown apart, struggling to rise.

“You should’ve stayed down. It would’ve hurt less.”

“You damn bitch!”

His half-destroyed face regenerated, twisting into a grotesque grin.

Gone was his neat, handsome appearance—now only a hideous monster.

Any ordinary person would have screamed or retched, but Elena was unfazed.

“You really don’t know when to keep your mouth shut.”

She smiled faintly.

“Seems you don’t want to die cleanly, huh?”

Her eyes began to glow with a deep pink light.

Sarman flinched.

The pink glow darkened, deepening into crimson.

Watching that, Hardin gave a bitter smile.

‘Again… she’s gotten stronger.’

Back in their first year, Hardin had been the perfect model of a Seiren student—proud of his school, proud of being an elf, and convinced that elves were the supreme race.

When he entered Seiren’s elite Class 1 and became class representative, he believed he was one of the chosen few.

‘I wanted to be a hero.’

Every student at the Hero Academy shared that dream.

And during the school tournament between Lumene and Seiren, he met a girl—a fellow first-year.

All elves were beautiful by nature. Yet even among them, this girl’s grace and beauty made them lose their breath.

In the duel for school pride, Hardin was utterly defeated.

‘I couldn’t do a thing. The gap was just… different.’

That was the first time in his life he’d felt a true difference in rank.

From that moment, his goal changed—from becoming a hero to chasing after Elena.

Not the senior students of Seiren, nor the legendary heroes of history—just that one girl.

‘It wasn’t admiration.’

From the very first moment, Hardin could sense there was something twisted about her.

Behind her beauty lay distortion… and cruelty.

Not someone you could admire.

Even so, he never stopped chasing her.

And the closer he got, the clearer it became—

‘We’ll never stand on the same ground.’

Hero academies often crossed paths in training and events. Especially students of the same year.

No matter how far he chased her, the distance only grew wider.

It wasn’t despair he felt—just hollow laughter.

They were simply born different.

Because his goal was her, he saw her more clearly than anyone.

The girl praised as a genius wasn’t just a genius—

She was born to be a hero.

‘A chosen one.’

He could never catch up.

And yet, he never gave up.

“Y-You little—!”

“I told you.”

Now her eyes blazed crimson, overflowing with killing intent so thick it stifled the air.

Yet her expression remained calm.

With a sweet smile, Elena covered her lips with her finger.

“I told you to watch your mouth.”

Flash—! Crack-crack-crackle—!

Magic circles bloomed in the air, unleashing radiant chains of light.

A thousand years ago, this was the signature magic of the Iron-Blooded Mage, the elf hero Tiaru.

Eizen Unblut.

This was its Hero Magic version.

A spell that crushed bone and flesh alike—so brutal that even elves called it heretical.

Though Tiaru had become a hero with this very magic, it was condemned for its cruelty, said to defile the divine Star Sorcery.

Elves forbade anyone from learning it.

But that didn’t change its overwhelming power.

‘A spell designed purely to hunt Tartaros.’

Elena’s magic mercilessly tore Sarman apart.

Squelch—!

As she watched his body become a heap of blood and flesh, Elena clapped cheerfully.

Despite the gruesome carnage, her expression was innocent—childlike.

“Still alive? What a fun little toy. You must have some curse protecting you. Let’s see… ah, [Nullification], is it?”

She instantly read his ability, then looked bored.

“There’s really nothing else interesting about you.”

The moment her interest faded, his worth as a toy vanished too.

And that meant only one end.

Whoosh—!

Scarlet flames flared from her fingertips.

Sarman, halfway through regenerating his face, went pale.

“Still, meeting you was amusing.”

With a radiant smile, Elena incinerated him.

“H-how…”

Only his head remained, staring up at her in horror.

Elena lazily twirled her hair, looking down at him with a bored expression.

“If you want to challenge me, bring along a legion commander’s lieutenant at least. A small fry like you doesn’t even count. Well then, goodbye.”

Smiling sweetly, Elena stomped down—

—and his head burned to ash without a trace.

Turning away, she walked lightly toward Hardin, as if the brutality moments ago had been nothing.

“You really are interesting, Hardin.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Elena snapped her fingers.

Crackle—!

The magical restraints holding Hardin shattered.

“There are only two kinds of people who know my true self: those who fear me, and those who despise me.”

She clasped her hands behind her back, acting coy.

“But you’re just the same as the first time we met.”

Spinning lightly, Elena walked toward En.

“You’re still chasing me, even knowing you can’t catch up.”

“You think that’s foolish?”

“No. I think that’s your charm. It’s… entertaining.”

She smiled softly.

“You’ll be a fine hero someday.”

Having seen countless heroes, Elena could say that with certainty.

Hardin looked at her and asked, “And you? Still don’t want to be a hero?”

Elena twirled the ends of her hair and smirked.

“I do admire heroes.”

There was no lie in her words.

“But my personality’s too rotten. The gods probably wouldn’t accept me as one.”

She shrugged.

“And besides… I don’t really want to be a hero.”

She could lead others—she knew that much.

But leading people didn’t make someone a hero.

‘A hero sacrifices for others.’

Elena admired heroes.

But she also hated them.

No—she resented them.

‘Because they took away what was precious to me.’

So while she admired them, she could never admire their lives.

“For now, let’s get out of here. Oh, and take that girl with us.”

She pointed at En.

“Why?”

“If we leave her here, she’ll end up in trouble. You’ve noticed it too, right? This era doesn’t have the noble elves you remember.”

Elena spoke in a teasing tone, and Hardin sighed deeply.

“Fine.”

“So, why were you in prison anyway? Let me guess—you got all worked up and did something stupid again?”

“I’ve got no excuse.”

“Admitting it so easily? How dull.”

Elena huffed.

“Anyway, Hardin. You know how serious this situation is, right?”

“Yeah.”

Elena walked to En and took her hand.

En’s eyes widened.

Elena smiled warmly.

Through magic, their conversation was hidden from En’s hearing.

“Tartaros is here in the Hero’s World, just like us. This is an unprecedented event.”

“Yeah.”

Elena’s eyes narrowed.

“This might turn the whole world upside down.”

bl

Luna entered Akint’s laboratory.

“I didn’t think you’d agree to counseling, Teacher Akint.”

“I didn’t think things between us were that bad.”

“…You’re right. You’re not just a teacher—you’re my magic mentor, and…”

“And?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Luna smiled awkwardly.

Leo could tell what she had swallowed back.

‘Someone like a father.’

Even so, there was distance between her and Akint.

Leo understood what that meant.

‘History’s been completely twisted.’

So much that even Luna’s bond with those dearest to her had grown faint.

Akint was still her strongest supporter—but that alone had put him under pressure from others, as Leo had seen earlier in class.

That must have been painful for her.

‘So she isolated herself.’

Luna was the honor student, sponsored by the Elf King himself.

It made no sense for her to be researching magic alone in a storage room, or digging through records by herself.

Even if the elves of this era were corrupt, they weren’t stupid.

From the moment they first saw her, they must’ve known—

That the greatest mage in elven history had been born.

Even if her social rank was low, she should have been revered.

Luna had been famous even before the Age of Calamity.

And yet now she was treated like this.

Her shoulders drooped, her ears sagged.

‘So the Tartaros bastards really have infiltrated this world and warped history. But why?’

They were scheming something inside the Hero’s World.

‘It must be connected to my broken page. Are they trying to sabotage the conquest? No… they wouldn’t need to, unless—wait. Conquest?’

Leo froze mid-thought.

For people on the surface, conquering the Hero’s World meant overcoming trials.

But what about Tartaros? What would their conditions for conquest be?

‘For them, heroes are enemies—the greatest threats. Helping them isn’t in their nature.’

Their purpose must be to disrupt the heroes.

‘Don’t tell me… they’re trying to conquer the Hero’s World in their own way?’

Even though Luna was young, she was still an immensely powerful mage.

Facing her was suicide unless you were a demon general or one of their lieutenants.

Killing her wasn’t an option.

So instead, sabotaging her path—hindering her growth—made sense.

The objective of this world’s trial was to complete the Star Magic.

If Tartaros wanted to prevent that, everything fell into place.

Grinding his teeth, Leo seethed.

‘How dare you defile Luna’s world?’

“I’ve been struggling lately,” Luna whispered.

Her head drooped, fingers fidgeting nervously—a habit whenever she was conflicted.

“I’m not sure if I truly belong in Balharun.”

Her eyes trembled.

“I don’t even know if the magic I pursue is worth anything.”

Leo could see it—Luna’s spirit had been broken.

Tartaros’s plan was nearly complete.

But Leo only scoffed.

‘You think breaking her once is enough?’

“Luna.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll tell you this.”

Leo knew better than anyone—there was nothing inherently special about great heroes.

They, too, despaired and faltered.

In fact, they fell and broke more than anyone else.

And yet, they stood back up every single time.

That was what made them heroes.

And Leo knew the words that could lift Luna again—

Words only those who had shared that era could speak.

He smiled faintly.

‘You used to say it all the time.’

“Balharun exists for one reason—to raise an elf like you.”

Luna’s eyes widened.

“You’ll be the most revered elf of all time. Do you know why?”

As she stared at him, wide-eyed like a startled rabbit, Leo declared with certainty—

“Because you’re destined to shine like a star in the night sky.”