Editor : Amethyst00



The elves wore looks of shock as they gazed at the brilliantly shining light of Polyum.

Lunia too stared with wide, startled eyes, glancing back and forth between Leo and Luna.

“Leo, what on earth is that staff?”

“Polyum.”

“What? Polyum?”

Polyum had once been the magic staff symbolizing the Elf King.

But now, it had become a staff symbolizing only Luna.

It was said that Polyum shone with its most radiant light when used by Luna.

‘As though it had been made just for her.’

And so it was now.

Compared to when Leo had touched it, the brilliance it emitted was beyond comparison.

“Why do you have Polyum?”

“I happened to get it.”

Leo shrugged in answer to Lunia’s question.

“Well then.”

Leo lifted his gaze to the World Tree.

“Shall we go?”

“Go where?”

“To defeat Erebos.”

At Leo’s words, Lunia flinched.

“You’re saying we’ll defeat Erebos?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that even possible?”

Lunia’s face darkened.

Defeating the Calamity.

It sounded like something out of a fairy tale.

Having seen Erebos with her own eyes, Lunia thought it was as good as impossible.

“There’s no way to conquer this world except that.”

“What?”

At Leo’s words, Lunia looked stunned.

‘I still don’t know for sure. How Tartaros managed to enter the Hero’s World. Why a fragment of Erebos exists in Luna’s world.’

Leo clenched and unclenched his hand.

‘But if Tartaros can enter the Hero’s World, it must be tied deeply to the Erebos Lunia saw.’

And also tied to the destruction of the Hero’s Pages.

Convinced of this, Leo spoke.

“You don’t need to be too afraid. The Erebos you saw is probably different from the one we know.”

“What?”

3000 years ago. When even a single shard of the shattered Erebos revived, the surface world suffered devastating damage.

That day, called the Return of the Calamity, marked the beginning of cracks in the peace the Great Heroes had achieved.

‘A monster so terrible that even one shard could threaten the world.’

Its presence could never be forgotten.

Yet now, the aura of Erebos that should have been palpable was absent.

‘It’s not because it’s asleep. The Erebos in this world isn’t whole. It may be nothing more than a fragment.’

If so, then with their current strength, defeating it might not be impossible.

With that thought, Leo turned to Luna, who was curiously examining Polyum.

“Luna, let’s go.”

“Huh?”

At Leo’s familiar call, Luna paused.

She stared at him for a moment, then asked:

“I did say I’d help you. But shouldn’t you tell me first what I’m supposed to help with? And besides, this doesn’t seem like the right time to leave.”

She was right.

This was the hall celebrating the Elf King’s birthday.

Leo and Lunia were nothing more than intruders here.

Everyone still looked at them with wary eyes.

But since they had all clearly seen Leo bring out Polyum, no one could act rashly.

At that moment, Leo approached the Elf King, Ergen.

“Human boy. Why did you disguise yourself as a High Elf to trespass in this sacred land? And why is it that you hold Polyum?”

Ergen asked, calmly assessing the situation.

“I am here by the will of God.”

“God?”

“Yes. By the will of Lord Pivua.”

At the mention of Pivua’s name, Ergen exhaled deeply.

Pivua.

Outwardly known only as the headmaster of Balharun.

But only a handful of High Elves knew that he had existed since the founding of this city—an ancient god.

For Leo to invoke his name meant he had truly come here by Pivua’s summons.

‘And this boy even brought Polyum.’

Even if he himself hadn’t been chosen by Polyum, Ergen still had the eyes to distinguish the true from the false.

The Polyum in Leo’s hand was genuine.

Pivua had foreseen this, and entrusted it to Leo.

“What is the will of Lord Pivua?”

“To purge the darkness that has fallen upon the World Tree.”

“The darkness of the World Tree? Can you do it with only your group?”

“It’s something only we can do.”

At Leo’s words, Ergen nodded.

“Very well. The elves will not stand in your way.”

At his words, the elves at the banquet widened their eyes.

“Y-Your Majesty! A human trespassing here deserves punishment! And yet not only do you let him go, you even allow his filthy feet to tread upon the World Tree?!”

One elf cried out desperately.

Ergen sighed as he looked at him.

“You saw it as well, did you not? The light of Polyum choosing this human boy. And—”

His gaze turned to Luna, clad in Balharun’s school uniform.

“Choosing that student as well.”

Only those chosen by Polyum could become king.

That was the elves’ tradition, their very culture.

To deny the light of Polyum was to deny the honor they held most sacred.

“That can’t be the real Polyum!”

“Yes! It must be a counterfeit brought by these villains!”

But the protests did not subside.

Ergen ignored them and spoke coldly.

“I will handle matters here. Go, human boy.”

At those words, Leo bowed his head and returned to Luna and Lunia.

‘He truly is the last king of the elves.’

Ergen was the king who, at the dawn of the Age of Calamity, fought against Tartaros until the bitter end.

The kings who succeeded him had all been corrupt, but Ergen had risked his life for his people.

“Let’s go.”

At Leo’s words, Luna and Lunia followed behind him.

“This really is the true Polyum, huh.”

Luna admired it, looking it over carefully.

Then she tilted her head as she glanced at Leo and Lunia.

“So, I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves yet, have we?”

At those words, Lunia quickly spoke.

“Hello, Lady Luna! My name is Lunia El Lunda! It’s an honor to meet you!”

“Lunia El Lunda, hmm hmm! I’ll be counting on you. Though, is it really something to call an honor just to meet me?”

“Of course! You’re famous!”

“What? My fame spread that far outside? Hmph. As expected, the genius that is me can’t be hidden no matter what!”

With her hand on her chin, Luna gave a smug smile.

Seeing that, Lunia shut her eyes tight with an “Ahhh!”

Leo frowned slightly at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“She’s too dazzling! Beautiful! Adorable! To think I can speak with the Poet herself!”

‘…She’s just a boastful fool, isn’t she. What’s so dazzling about that?’

Leo let out a deep sigh.

“Aru was weird when she saw Aaron too… and now you’re acting the same way?”

At those words, Lunia forgot for a moment that Luna was right in front of her, and flinched as she looked at Leo.

“Aru? You mean the first-year honor student of Azonia?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you know how she reacted when she met Lord Aaron?”

“Because I was with her when we conquered Aaron’s world.”

“What?! How?!”

“Too long a story to tell now.”

Leo’s words made Lunia frown.

“What did you think of her? That girl named Aru.”

“She was excellent. Worthy of being Azonia’s year representative.”

“And?”

“And? Just… cute.”

“C-cute…?”

Lunia was flustered.

Watching them, Luna cut in.

“Hey. Keep those stories the two of you share for later. What’s your name?”

“Leo Plov.”

“Good. Leo, Lunia. So? What do you need me to do? Earlier you were saying something about darkness over the World Tree, weren’t you?”

“That’s right. There’s a monster hiding in the World Tree. We’re going to hunt it.”

“A monster? Not a bad choice for my first achievement.”

Luna’s response was brimming with confidence.

“What about Polyum?”

“You hold onto it.”

“Huh?”

“It’s yours anyway.”

Smiling, Leo opened the great gates of Balharun’s castle.

creak—

The castle was connected to the interior of the World Tree, serving as a kind of entrance.

“There’ll be plenty of obstacles. Stay sharp.”

Luna and Lunia’s eyes went wide at the sight beyond the gates.

Inside Balharun Castle, the sacred elven sanctuary, was packed with grotesque demonic beasts.

“Where did all of these come from?!”

As Lunia cried out in horror, Leo spoke.

“If Erebos is here, then this much is only natural.”

Leo narrowed his eyes.

“Right now, this place is practically a demon’s den.”

With that, he drew his sword.

whoosh!

Flames of aura wrapped around the blade.

Seeing that, Lunia too summoned her mana.

flare!

The aura imbued with the power of the Phoenix rose.

Luna let out a gasp of admiration.

“Incredible abilities.”

Then, spurred on by the rivalry that comes naturally to youths her age, Luna gave a sharp grin.

“Guess I’ll show what I can do too.”

She swung Polyum with a whirl! in a flashy motion.

thunk!

Then she gripped it tightly and channeled her mana.

Silvery mana shimmered around her.

Lunia looked on with awe.

‘To see the Poet’s magic before my very eyes!’

Could there be any greater honor for an elf?

With the two elves ready, Leo gathered mana and shot a spell skyward.

whoooosh—! BOOM!

A magic flare exploded brightly high above.

A signal.

It was meant to alert Elena and Hardin somewhere within Balharun.

Leo turned his gaze inside the castle.

As the pack of demonic monsters revealed their bloodlust, Leo spoke.

“Let’s go.”

With those words, Leo charged forward.

Behind him came Luna’s voice, like a beautiful melody of incantation.

Hearing it, Leo felt strength fill his grip.

‘To think I’d be in sync with her again.’

The faint unease left in his chest faded away.

The voice that had pushed his back and saved his life countless times on the battlefield was awakening his senses again.

The voice that had endured countless trials with him was once more giving him courage.

crunch!

Leo severed the neck of the beast before him.

What followed was nothing less than a brilliant fountain of blood.

Leo’s movements as he weaved through the beasts were near divine.

He reacted to attacks from every direction as if he had eyes in his back.

With minimal motion, he butchered the creatures.

Lunia’s eyes widened as she watched.

‘I knew he’d grown stronger… but I never imagined this much.’

He was on a whole different level from the school trip.

Lunia felt her emotions tremble.

‘I can’t lose.’

Beside her was the Poet she had admired since childhood.

Before her was the boy she had sworn to chase as her goal.

‘I can’t lose.’

Determination filled her crimson eyes.

flare—

She raised her index finger.

A small flame bloomed atop it.

It compressed, then spun violently into a disk.

“Crimson Frisbee.”

It was Lunia’s original magic, perfected after months of effort since the school trip.

Her magic, infused with will, cut through the beasts like blades.

“That’s impressive.”

Luna, watching the two fight, gave a word of admiration.

‘I can’t fall behind either.’

“Fireball.”

fwoosh—

The completed spell was surprisingly simple.

At the sight of the basic fire spell, Lunia looked puzzled.

But Luna added one more formula to the Fireball.

“Multiply.”

Lunia’s face twisted in shock as the Fireballs filled the space.

The magic itself was extremely simple.

Just a duplication formula.

Yet the phenomenon was extraordinary.

Luna simply repeated the duplication endlessly.

The rapidly multiplying Fireballs multiplied again.

A simple, brute-force method.

And the more duplication was applied, the harder it became.

Normally, once or twice was the limit.

But Luna repeated it again and again without much difficulty.

‘This is the power of the Poet.’

She wasn’t called a genius merely for creating the Stars Sorcery.

Her sense for magic itself, and her sheer mana capacity, were on another level.

“This should be enough.”

Luna snapped her fingers.

snick! whoosh—!

The multiplied Fireballs shot toward the monsters.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!

“GROOAAAH!”

The monsters’ screams filled the air.

A simple Fireball spell was annihilating an entire unit of monsters.

Even in this age of advanced magic, such a feat was impossible.

“Amazing.”

She was still only in her girlhood.

Yet her power was overwhelming.

‘This is Luna Luminance, Poet of the Stars.’

Lunia didn’t even dare to try judging her.

She could only tremble in awe at the Poet’s power.

Seeing her, Luna cleared her throat with an ahem!

Her eyes sparkled brightly as she looked at Lunia.

Like a child craving praise.

But Lunia couldn’t quite tell what she wanted.

‘What is she hoping for?’

The idea that the Poet wanted praise was something she couldn’t even imagine.

As Lunia stared blankly, Luna began to look disappointed.

That was when Leo returned.

As if used to it, he reached out his hand.

He tousled Luna’s hair and said:

“Well done. That was amazing.”

At his praise, Luna’s face lit up. She puffed her chest proudly and nodded.

Then she froze—and exploded.

“Hey! You’re younger than me, right? How dare you treat your elder sister like a kid?!”

“You’re the one childishly fishing for compliments.”

“Urgh? H-how did you…? A-anyway, I’m your elder! I don’t need the praise of someone younger! I’ll be the one to praise you instead!”

Luna pounced on Leo and ruffled his hair.

Leo chuckled softly and let her.

Watching this, Lunia felt a strange emotion.

‘How does Leo know exactly what Lady Luna wants?’

Ahead of her, Leo and Luna.

For some reason, the two seemed awfully close.

‘Almost like old friends.’

How could he be so casual with a great hero?

It amazed her.

But at the same time, seeing how much closer Leo seemed to Luna than herself made her feel something odd.

As she looked at them with complicated eyes, it happened.

“Lunia.”

“Mm?”

“Your new magic was impressive. You’ve been working hard, huh?”

Leo smiled faintly and patted her head.

Lunia frowned.

“Hey, I’m older than you.”

“Oh yeah? Then should I treat you like an old lady?”

“You little—! You wanna die?!”

Lunia glared and lunged at Leo.

Leo laughed as he was shaken around by his old comrade and his current one.

Then he turned his gaze deeper into the castle.

‘How much farther will we have to go?’